THE TRUE CELEBRATION

 

memory verse for this unit

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NIV*).

objectives of this unit

This unit will help your preadolescents:• Understand the ministry of John the Baptist, who prepared the people to receive the Savior, and to get ready to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas which is the birth of Jesus• Understand what the incarnation means, thank God for what he did by identifying with us and saving us, and receive Jesus’ forgiveness for their sins• Recognize that the birth of Jesus was a crucial event in God’s plan to save the world from its sins, as well as rejoice and receive the gift of salvation by understanding what God really did for us• Be certain that God always fulfills his promises, trust in God’s promises of salvation, and demonstrate these truths in their daily lives.

the reason we teach this unit

Since preadolescents are often involved in secular aspects of Christmas, they may have forgotten some of the true wonder of this time. This unit will help them discover and better appreciate the path to salvation that God planned, prepared and gave us through the birth of Jesus Christ. It is good to encourage preadolescents to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus, who was born of the virgin Mary, in addition to being the Son of God. The eternal Son of God came into the world in the form of a baby. Jesus Christ had both natures: the divine and the human. In one of these lessons, we will celebrate the biggest announcement ever delivered. It was not announced by the press in a large city, but through humble shepherds from one of the hills of Bethlehem. The angels said: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” The long-awaited and promised Messiah had come to redeem the people from their sins. Seeing the faithfulness of the Lord to Simeon and Anna, we can trust that God will also be faithful in keeping his promises to us. Finally, seeing the ways God prepared for the birth of the child Jesus, we will also be encouraged to trust that God has the ability to carry out his will in any situation. Through this unit, help our preadolescents take the time to celebrate all the wonders of the Christmas Story, thanking God for all that he has done, is doing, and will do in their lives.

Also, this is the last unit in this age 10-13 cycle. As is done in many schools, it is important to promote learners to the next level. Plan for a special time to help your pre-adolescents to celebrate and transition well to the next level. Nazarene Discipleship International (NDI) also offers global discipleship curriculum for youth and young adults. it is available on the Wesleyan Holiness Digital Library (WHDL). We call it "Click". Search for it at https://www.whdl.org/en/browse/resources?keys=click 

* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™