All About Jesus-Week 1

Memory Verse

“For a child will born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (CSB)

Day 1-What a Name!

  • Pray.
  • Ask
    • What are you most excited for as we start counting down to Christmas?
    • What do you love about the Christmas season?
    • Why do we celebrate Christmas?
  • As we start this Christmas season, it is important to remember that our focus needs to be on Jesus. He is the reason we celebrate. We celebrate how He came to earth as a baby, both God and man, to provide forgiveness for sins and eternal life with God. But we also need to celebrate that He will come again one day, (John 14:3) and on that day everyone will know Who He is!
  • Read Philippians 2:9-11.
  • Discuss
    • Think of some of the great, famous names you know or have heard of. What are they? What makes them so great?
    • Jesus’ name is above every other name; no other name is even comparable. At His name every knee will bow and every tongue will eventually acknowledge that He is Lord.
    • What comes to your mind when you hear “every knee will bow”? What picture do you see in your head? (If they are having trouble, guide them to think of everyone in a court, both nobles and commoners, bowing down to the king because he is the one who rules and is in control and has all authority.)
    • So, if everyone will one day bow down to Jesus, that means that He must be _____________. (example answers: King, in charge, ruler, Lord, etc.)
  • This month we will be looking at the different names that the Bible uses to refer to Jesus. By looking at each of these names, we are able to understand more about Jesus, the One whom we are celebrating this Christmas season and the One to Whom we will all bow down.
  • Introduce the memory verse-Isaiah 9:6. For those of you with younger children, you may consider just having them memorize the last part of the verse, starting with, “and He will me named…”
    • Open your Bible to the verse and have each of your kids open their Bibles (if they are old enough) to find the verse. Highlight the verse.
    • Explain that this verse was a prophecy-an explanation of what had not yet happened but what would happen. God gave these words to Isaiah about 700 years before Jesus was born to let the people know that He would send a Savior.
    • Read the verse aloud.
    • Break the verse into chunks and have them repeat you.
    • Begin working together on motions that will help your family memorize the verse.
  • Activity
    • Draw the verse: Philippians 2:10-11
      • Draw what you pictured in your head when we read “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow…and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

Day 2-The Word

  • Pray.
  • Practice the memory verse. Have your kids write it down or trace it if you need something for them to do while you are preparing a meal.
  • Have you ever heard someone say something like, “I will get the job done; you have my word,” or “There was word from the airport that our luggage came in,”? Someone might say, “This coffee is good.” and another person might agree by saying, “Word.”
  • When the word word is used like this, it means a promise or a message or truth/I agree. We see in the Bible that Jesus is called The Word. Let’s see if this name He is known by fits with the definitions we just looked at (a promise, a message, or truth).
  • Read John 1:1.
    • Does this verse start like another verse in the Bible?
    • Read or say Genesis 1:1.
    • What does this verse (John 1:1) say about “The Word”?
  • Read John 1:2-3.
    • What do we know about creation and the Word?
  • Read John 1:14.
    • Now is it clear Who the Word is? What is flesh? Talk about how God became a man,, Jesus, and the way Jesus lived and what Jesus said showed us all about God.
  • Jesus is the Word. Jesus has always been. He was with God in the beginning before anything else existed, and He is God. Through Him all things were created. God chose to dwell among us through Jesus to show us in a clear, personal way who He is.
  • Jesus is the Word means that Jesus is the Truth. The words of Jesus and how Jesus lived and what Jesus did is the message God wants us to know. As we get to know Jesus, we are getting to know God.
  • You may want to reread those same verses but each time you see “the Word” replace it with “Jesus”.
  • Write “the Word” on your Names of Jesus chain, poster, or banner (see the intro page for more info-Intro Page ) P.S. I added the names will be looking at this month to that same page.
  • Song
    • “What a Beautiful Name” by Hillsong Worship
  • Reference

Day 3-I AM

  • Pray.
  • Practice the memory verse.
  • Play a quick game of Who Am I?.
    • Using yes or no questions, try to guess the identity of a famous person (or someone you know).
  • We figure out who these people are by thinking about their character and traits that make them unique. In the same way, we get to know Jesus by looking at His character and what makes Him unique.
  • Let’s look in the Bible and see what Jesus says about Who He is.
  • Read Isaiah 44:6.
    • In this prophecy many years before He was even born, we see that Jesus is unique, “there is no God like Him” because He is the first and He is the last.
    • What does that mean, “I am the first and I am the last?”
  • Read Revelation 1:8.
    • Who is Jesus?
    • Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Jesus is the beginning and the end. He always is, always has been, and always will be the Almighty.
  • Do the words in these verses make you think of any story in the Bible?
  • Look at Exodus 3:1-4. Read Exodus 3:14.
    • “I AM WHO I AM” seems like a strange name.
    • What does it mean?
    • Jesus is the same throughout all eternity. He doesn’t change! He is, and was, and always will be.
    • Does knowing that Jesus is the Great I AM help you understand Him more? How?
  • Pray. Have one of your children pray, thanking Jesus that He is the same Almighty God forever.
  • Song
    • “Is He Worthy?” by Andrew Peterson

Day 4-Immanuel

  • Pray.
  • Practice the memory verse.
  • The name of Jesus we will learn about today is Immanuel. Many years before Jesus was even born, God gave assurance to the king by promising that He would one day send Immanuel.
  • Read Isaiah 7:14.
  • What always happens when God promises something? He always keeps His promises; things happen just as He said they would. So, let’s see how this promise is fulfilled.
  • Read Matthew 1:18-25.
  • Discuss
    • Tell me about what was happening with Mary and Joseph in this passage.
    • What was Joseph’s plan?
    • Why did he change his mind?
    • What did the angel explain to Joseph?
      • Who was the baby?
      • Why were they to name Him Jesus?
      • What does Immanuel mean?
      • Why is that name, Immanuel, so important?
    • Let’s go way back to the beginning of the Bible (Genesis 1-3) . Remember God used to walk with the people in the garden. It was a perfect time, and they had perfect fellowship with Him. But when sin came into the world, the people were separated from God because He is holy (set apart from sin). After that we see that God was with His people, in the midst of them, but it wasn’t as it was before. Think about the cloud and the pillar of fire as the Israelites left Egypt. He was always with the people, but still separated. Think about the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God’s presence. He was always there with His people, but a curtain separated the most Holy place and only the high priest could go in there once a year. Things were different than they had been before.
    • When Jesus came as Immanuel, God came to live with His people again. He did not stay separated from from us as we deserved; He came to live with the people and live the perfect, sinless life that none of us could live.
  • How does knowing that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, make you feel?
  • Have your kids pray, silently, thanking God that He came to live with us so we wouldn’t have to be separated from Him forever.
  • Song
    • “O Come O Come Emmanuel”

Day 5-Son of the Most High, Son of God

  • Pray.
  • Practice the memory verse.
  • Yesterday we read about the message from the angel to Joseph about who Jesus was (Immanuel). Today we will read about the message from the angel to Mary about Jesus.
  • Read Luke 1:26-38.
  • Talk about it
    • What news did the angel have for Mary?
    • We see two names that Jesus is called. What are they? Son of the Most High and Son of God
    • To be called the “son” of someone meant that you shared the same qualities of your father; you were equal. So when Jesus is called the Son of the Most High and the Son of God, that shows that He is equal to His Father, the Most High God.
    • What are some ways we know that Jesus was the Son of God, that He was equal to Him? What are some qualities you can think of that only God and Jesus have?
      • sinless
      • miracle-working
      • rose from the dead
      • all knowing
      • loving
      • merciful
        • For older kids, you might explain that when Jesus was older and said He was God’s Son, many Jews very mad because saying He was God’s son was saying He was equal to God and this was blasphemy to them. They didn’t understand that Jesus was the Messiah they were waiting for and because of this they put Jesus to death, thinking that would solve their problem. But that was all part of God’s great plan. When Jesus rose from the dead, He proved He truly was God’s son- equal to God-because only God has the power over life and death! (John 19:7, John 3:16-18, Luke 22:70, John 20:31)
    • What are two things you are going to remember about what we read today?
  • Song
    • “How Many Kings” by Downhere
    • “This Baby” by Steven Curtis Chapman