An Angel Appears to Mary

Luke 1:26-38

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.”

But Mary was very startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean.

The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace. Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?”

The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason, the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. Now Elizabeth, your relative, is also pregnant with a son though she is very old. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. God can do anything!”

An Angel Appears to Mary

Luke 1:26-38

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.”

But Mary was very startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean.

The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace. Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?”

The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason, the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. Now Elizabeth, your relative, is also pregnant with a son though she is very old. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. God can do anything!”

1. God uses messengers: In Sunday School this week as went over the Story of the Angel visiting Mary, I expressed to the children how the Lord often uses messengers to relay his will to people. Those messengers can be parents, teachers, pastors and preachers. When we talk about angels, I like to give the example of a mail man delivering mail. God is the sender of the mail, but the mailman delivers the mail.

2. We were made to serve the Lord: Mary's response to the Angel Gabriel's news is something we all can learn from. It is important to remind children that God created them with a purpose, that purpose being to fulfil his will.

3. Jesus is our Savior: The angel Gabriel lets Mary know that the child she will bear is to be named Jesus and he will save his people from their sins. I asked the children if they knew what sin was. We discussed how sin is anything that goes against God's commands. To make it more relatable to them I reminded them about God's commandment in Exodus 20:12 for children to obey their parents and how disobedience to parents is sin in the Lords eyes. I expressed to them that sin is not something we can get rid of on our own, which is why we need Jesus as our savior.

Craft Ideas and Activities

To help children remember what they have learned I like to have a craft and activity prepared that goes along with the Story. This week I designed a couple of printable crafts that have been added to my store. I will be sharing the links to all crafts used as well as a freebie playdough activity mat that you can download from my FREE Library!

• Puppet Craft: This week we made Angel Paper Bag puppets that the children had fun coloring and cutting out, this is great for encouraging pretend play and storytelling.

Paper Bag Puppet PDF Download

• Angel Craft: I created a craft that involves cutting and pasting, featuring Gabriel visiting Mary with the message of the Good News. Kids can make their own angel; it’s an excellent option for a quick, no-preparation activity. You can also incorporate materials like paper plates, construction paper, pipe cleaners, glitter, or even paper towel rolls to design an angel if you want a more artistic project! As I always say, use what you have and let your creativity shine!

An Angel Visits Mary Cut and Paste PDF Download

• Playdough Mat Activity: Unfortunately, we did not have time to get to this, but I did prep for an engaging hands-on activity that involves playdough. My question for you is, who doesn't love playdough? These FREE and fun playdough mats let children practice spelling out the sweetest name of all, J-E-S-U-S of course! Children can also make an angel out of playdough. If you would like to use these FREE playdough mats for your lesson this week, simply download here the PDF, print and laminate. Then you have your very own easy to clean playdough mat.

Songs and Bible Verses

Before every Lesson we start off with time for prayer request and praise. I believe that teaching prayer at a young age is very vital to help increase their faith in the Lord. We have had a variety of prayer request for the healing of boo boos and bug bites to prayers for parents and lost loved ones to have Salvation. Taking time to praise the Lord for answered prayers is just as important too. I am grateful to say that the kids in our group love giving praise to the Lord. One way we like to give praise is by thanking God and by singing songs. I usually choose 1-2 songs to sing with the kids that goes with the lesson. The ones I choose this week have to do with walking with and loving Jesus. I usually print of the lyrics and chords and play the song for the children with my ukulele. I ordered them some egg shakers from amazon so they can participate instrumentally. I will make sure to leave the link for the songs we used and the egg shakers!

Walking With Jesus ☀️ Kids Songs 🌙 Hi Heaven

I LOVE YOU JESUS DEEP DOWN IN MY HEART

If you have stayed until the end my prayer is that God gives you exactly what you need while teaching your lesson this week and that you have fun doing it! What a blessing to be able to teach young hearts about the Story of our Savior Jesus Christ! Stay tuned for next week's blog about the Birth of Jesus.