Exploring Different Nativity Stories

To explain that the shepherds were the first people to welcome Jesus

The children will be able to identify the shepherds as the first people to welcome Jesus.

• Bibles
• Colored paper
• Crayons, markers, pencils, and pens

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• Invite the children to share what they know about Jesus in the manger. Also, ask the children to share the types of nativity scenes that they've seen at home, at church, or in other places.
• Then introduce the children to the nativity stories in Matthew 1:18-23 and Luke 2:1-20.
• Gather the children into small groups and assign each group one of the two stories to read.
• Ask the groups to read their assigned nativity stories and then share their interpretations with one another.
• Invite the groups to present their interpretations in any way they like: dramatic interpretation, oral summary, choral reading, visual representation, and so on.
• Provide groups with coloring supplies, props, and anything else they might need for their presentations.
• When the children are prepared, invite them to share their presentations with the entire group.
• Close the activity by asking the children to share their thoughts about the different interpretations of these stories.
• Say to the children: On Christmas Day we celebrate the birth of Jesus by thinking about what his birth means to us.

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