Today my children and I are reading more about the shepherds! But first, let’s review the memory verses.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life…”
I couldn’t be more impressed by how well my 6-year-old is doing with the memory verses! Today she even corrected me when I said the new part was, “In him was light…” She remembered that it is actually, “In him was life…”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luke 2:15-20, NIV
What should you teach them?
This is what I tell my kids:
- In yesterday’s reading the angel of the Lord visited shepherd’s in a field near Bethlehem. The angel gave the shepherds the good news of the Messiah’s birth. The angel even told them where and how to find him.
- After the angel and the heavenly host left them and went back into heaven, the shepherds decided to look for the baby they had been told about.
- The shepherds found Mary, Joseph and the baby exactly as the angels said they would. Baby Jesus was lying in a manger!
- This must have been a life changing experience for the shepherds! What would they do now that they had seen these miraculous and amazing things? Well, they spread the good news that the angel had told them. They told everyone that everything the angel had told them was true!
- Naturally, everyone was amazed by what the shepherds told them. The scripture tells us that Mary “treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart.” What a beautiful way to put it! To ponder is to think about something carefully. Do you have anything treasured up in your heart that you ponder?
- After their experience, the shepherds went back to their regular lives and their jobs watching sheep. They glorified God and praised him for everything they had heard and seen. The good news of the Messiah’s birth was already starting to spread!
- Now we close our reading and learning with a prayer.