Good news for Zechariah and Elizabeth

Luke 1:5-25, 57-80

To help the children know that God accomplishes what he promises.

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11, NIV*).

A broken promise can hurt a child’s heart. To trust, elementary-aged children need to know that what they are told will come true. As your children experience how God keeps his promises, their trust in him will be strengthened. Trusting that God is faithful to his Word and does not disappoint us will give them greater security and stability.

Christmas is one of the most exciting times for children. Now that the month of December has begun, they are likely to be more restless. Therefore, try to channel their energies into productive activities that are related to the lesson. Talk to them about the preparations made by their families before Christmas, but emphasize that the center of this holiday is not gifts or food, but commemorate with joy the birth of Jesus, the Son of God.

Read Luke 1:5-25, 57-80. Zechariah was a righteous man and faithful priest in the temple of God. His wife, Elisabeth, was also a servant of God. Both were elderly and had never had children.

Zechariah was chosen to offer incense in the sanctuary of the Lord. This was a very great honor for the priest because it was a sacred occasion. The smoke of the incense symbolized the prayers of the people.

While Zechariah offered the incense, the angel Gabriel appeared to him to announce that he would have a son, whom he would call John. He would be great before God and full of the Holy Spirit.

Due to his advanced age, Zechariah doubted the angel’s announcement, and because of his disbelief, he remained silent until after the birth of the child.

As the angel promised, after a while the child was born. When he was eight days old, according to the Mosaic Law, they had to take him to the temple to circumcise him. The custom was that the firstborn should have the name of the father, but God had decided that the child would be named John.

For his faithfulness and service, God used Zechariah and Elizabeth to be the parents of the man who would prepare the way for the promised Messiah.

Jesus Our Savior Is Born
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #207-C and #207-D. Have the children cut out the Week 1 picture in #207-D and glue/ tape it into the Week 1 box in #207-C.  Thereafter, collect the activity sheets and continue the process each remaining week of this unit of lessons.

Christmas decorations

During the week, draw angels and stars on card stock; then cut out the figures. Have glitter, glue and colored markers or pencils on hand.

Give a figure to all the children, and ask them to decorate it using the materials provided. Remind them that they should do this activity without speaking. Then, decorate the room with the finished figures.

Ask the group to try not to talk while doing the following activities.

Tell them that today’s Bible story is about a man who was promised something special by God and could not talk for almost a year.

To prepare the way!

Gather the children and tell them: “When the president of a country is about to visit a city, many preparations are made. There are people who spend many days arranging to make the visit as successful as possible. Security officers plan the best route. The maintenance people fix the streets and paint the walls. Gardeners arrange trees and flowers. Why do you think it is important to prepare for the visit of an important person?”

Remember that at this time they cannot speak, so they must answer by signing or writing the answers.

Today we will hear the story of the birth of a special person who prepared the way for Jesus.

One answered prayer

“Today I have to offer the incense,” thought Zechariah as he entered the temple. He had prepared himself very carefully for that special day. Soon he saw that the smoke of the incense rose gently through the air, reminding him of the prayers of the people.

Suddenly, an angel appeared before him, and Zechariah was frightened.

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah. God has heard your prayer,” said the angel. “Your wife Elisabeth will have a son. His name will be John, and many people will rejoice and praise God for his birth. He will be great before God. Because of him, many people will come to God. Your son will go before the Lord with the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah. He will help people return to God and prepare them to receive the Lord.”

“But I am very old, and my wife Elisabeth is no longer of child-bearing age. How can I believe what you tell me?” asked Zechariah.

“I am Gabriel,” said the angel. “I stand in the presence of God and he has sent me to give you this good news. But, since you did not believe, you will not be able to speak until after the baby is born. Then you will see that everything I have told you is true.”

Meanwhile, the people outside the temple asked themselves, “Why is Zechariah taking so long to come out?”

When he finally came out, he tried to tell people what had happened with the angel and the message God had given him. But, he could not because he could not talk.

“Look, Zechariah cannot talk! See how he signs with his hands? Surely he had a vision of the Lord!” people said.

Zechariah went home and tried to explain to his wife Elisabeth what had happened, but he could not speak.

Soon after, Elisabeth knew she was pregnant. She was going to have a baby. She was so excited!

“God, thank you,” Elizabeth prayed. “We wanted a child for so long, and now you have given us one.”

“How good God has been in granting Zechariah and Elizabeth a child!” said his friends and neighbors. “They have wanted one for a long time.”

“Now Zechariah will have someone who bears his name,” they said.

After the required time, the baby was born.

“It is a boy! It is a boy! Zechariah and Elisabeth have a baby boy!” the neighbors said with joy.

When he was eight days old, Elisabeth and Zechariah took the baby to the temple. The Jewish custom was that when families had a new baby, they had to offer a special sacrifice to God, and they named the baby.

Zechariah still could not talk. So when the priests brought the baby to the Lord, they would give him the father’s name, but Elizabeth said, ‘No! He will be called John!”

“Why?” they asked. None of his relatives is named John. That is very strange; let us ask the father what he wants to call his son.

“What name do you want to give the child?” they asked Zechariah.

Zechariah asked for a tablet and everyone was surprised when he wrote, “John is his name.”

At that moment, Zechariah recovered his voice and could speak again.

“Praise the Lord!” he exclaimed. “And you, my son will be called prophet of the Most High because you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.”

Ask the children: “How do you feel when people break their promises?” (allow several responses) Then say: “Yes, broken promises can hurt a child’s heart. To trust, we need to know that what we are told will come true. As we experience how God keeps his promises, our trust in him will be strengthened. Trusting that God is faithful to his Word and does not disappoint us will give us greater security and stability.”

Ask: “What are some of the preparations made by your families before Christmas?” (try to get many responses) Then say: “Christmas is one of the most exciting times for many children, but the emphasis of this holiday is not gifts or food. It is to commemorate with joy the birth of Jesus, the Son of God.”