Christmas Family Service

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Guide to Christmas Worship

  • Worship with 1-2 songs
    • Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy)
    • Silent Night
  • Read Scripture
    • Matthew 2:1-12
  • Pray together
  • Recap the Scripture you read together
  • Close out with 1 more song
    • How Many Kings
  • Time of Response

Worship through Music

Read Scripture

Matthew 2:1-12  (New Living Translation)

2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise me from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
    are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Pray Together As a Family

Give out assignments for each person to pray for one of these things and any others you’d like to add:
1. Thank God that Jesus came to rescue us from our sin.
2. Tell God that you love Him because He loved us first.
3. Ask God to help us be grateful for all the good things He has given us.

Recap Questions

• Why was Jesus born?
Jesus was born to rescue us from our sin.
• Who were the wise men looking for?
Jesus.
• Where did the prophets say the Christ would be born? Bethlehem.
• Do you think King Herod really wanted to worship Jesus too?
No, he was trying to trick the wise men so he could get rid of Jesus.
• Did the wise men go back to Herod? Why not?
No, they were warned in a dream. God was taking care of His Son.

Worship through Music

We pray this will be the beginning of a consistent family time that involves discussing the truths of the Bible together!

Time of Response