LESSON OVERVIEW FOR ADULTS
In Matthew 2:1-12, we discover the remarkable journey of the Wise Men who traveled from a distant land to worship the newborn King. These scholars noticed a special star appear in the sky and understood it signaled the birth of an important king. They packed expensive gifts and traveled a great distance to find Jesus. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they first went to King Herod’s palace, thinking a king would be born there. However, Herod was not happy about another king. He was proud and loved his power more than he wanted to know God. The Wise Men continued following the star until it led them to a small place where they found Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus.
The Wise Men knelt down before Jesus and presented three special gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These wise men humbled themselves to worship a baby. God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, so they went home a different way. This story teaches us that seeking Jesus is always the wise thing to do. No one is too far away from God, and God wants us to be humble. Just like the Wise Men traveled far to worship Jesus, we should seek Him too, whether we are rich or poor, old or young.
OPENING ACTIVITY 6:00-6:15 | Star PlayDoh Mats
Items Needed:
- PlayDoh (yellow only)
- Wise Men Playdoh Mats
- Star-shaped cookie cutters
Children will use PlayDoh to create stars and place them on the template. They can press the PlayDoh into star shapes, use cookie cutters, or create their own stars. As they play, talk about how the Wise Men followed a special star to find Jesus.
SONG 6:20-6:30
PRAYER 6:30-6:40 | Prayer Circle
Transition kids to the floor for prayer time. Have everyone sit in a circle. Sing a simple prayer song like “Whisper a Prayer” or “God is So Good.” Then pray together:
“Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to be our King. Help us to seek Jesus every day, just like the Wise Men did. Thank You that no one is too far away from You. Help us to be humble and worship Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
BIBLE STORY 6:50-7:00
Question 1: Where is this found in the Bible? Matthew
Question 2: Is this in the Old Testament or New Testament? New Testament
The Story of the Wise Men
Are you ready for our Bible story today? Let’s get ready to use our listening ears! Cup your hands around your ears. Can you show me your listening ears? Great job!
Our story today is about some very special men. They were called the Wise Men. Can you say “Wise Men”?
These Wise Men lived far, far, FAR away. Can you point far away?
Now, these Wise Men LOVED to look at the stars at night. Let’s pretend we’re looking up at the stars. Tilt your head back and look up! Can you count some stars with me? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! So many stars!
But one night, something AMAZING happened!
[Have helper turn off lights. Use flashlight as “star”]
A NEW star appeared in the sky! [Shine flashlight upward]
The Wise Men had NEVER seen this star before! Let’s all say “WOW!” and make big surprised faces!
One Wise Man said, “Look at that star!” Can you point at our star?
Another Wise Man said, “That’s a SPECIAL star!” Can you say “special star”?
And the third Wise Man said, “This star means a very important KING has been born! Let’s go find Him!”
So what did they need to do? They needed to pack for a trip! Let’s help them pack! Pretend you’re folding clothes and putting them in a suitcase. Fold, fold, pack, pack!
The Wise Men brought three special gifts. Let’s count them on our fingers: 1, 2, 3!
The first gift was GOLD! Gold is shiny and yellow.
The second gift was FRANKINCENSE! That’s a big word! It smells really, really good.
Let’s pretend to smell something good. Sniff, sniff. Mmmmm!
The third gift was MYRRH! Another big word!
Can you say “myrrh”?
Good job! Now, how were they going to travel? On CAMELS! Have you ever seen a camel? [
Let’s pretend we’re riding camels! Get on your knees and rock back and forth. Rock, rock, rock! Camels go through the hot desert. Rock, rock, rock!
The Wise Men traveled for many days.
Day after day, they followed that bright star. Every time they looked up, there was the star! Let’s point up at the star again!
They would say, “Follow the star! Follow the star! Follow the star to find Jesus!” Can everyone say that with me? “Follow the star! Follow the star! Follow the star to find Jesus!”
Great! Finally, they came to a big city called Jerusalem.
Inside the palace lived King Herod. But uh-oh… King Herod was NOT a nice king. Let’s make a grumpy face.
When King Herod heard about a NEW king being born, he was ANGRY!
Can you stomp your feet because you’re angry? Stomp, stomp, stomp!
But he pretended to be nice. He said in a fake-nice voice, “Oh, when you find this baby king, come back and tell me where He is!”
But really, King Herod wanted to hurt baby Jesus. That was NOT nice. Should we hurt other people? That’s right—NO!
But God had a plan! The Wise Men left the palace. And look! [Shine flashlight] There was the star again!
Let’s follow the star! Stand up everybody! We’re going to march and follow the star!
March in place or around the room saying: “Follow the star! Follow the star! Follow the star to find Jesus!”
The star led them to… was it another big palace? No! It led them to a small place where baby Jesus was.
When the Wise Men saw Jesus, they were SO happy! Let’s all cheer! “Hooray!”
The Wise Men knew Jesus was the most special King EVER! So what did they do? They bowed down low to worship Him. Can you bow down low like this? Everyone bow down!
Even though the Wise Men were important and rich and smart, they bowed down to baby Jesus. Because Jesus is the MOST important King of all!
They gave Jesus the gold and the frankincense and the myrrh!
And they were SO happy because they found Jesus! Let’s say “We found Jesus!” and jump up and down! “We found Jesus!”
Theological Questions:
- Who made the special star that the Wise Men followed? God did! God made the star to show the way to Jesus.
- Why did the Wise Men bow down to baby Jesus? Because they knew Jesus was the King – the most important King of all! They wanted to worship Him.
Life Application Questions:
- The Wise Men traveled very far to find Jesus. How can we look for Jesus today? We can pray to Him, learn about Him in the Bible, sing songs to Him, and talk to Him every day.
- The Wise Men gave Jesus special gifts. What can we give to Jesus? We can give Jesus our love, our hearts, our worship, and we can be kind to others for Jesus.
Lesson Prayer:
“Dear Jesus, thank You for being our King. Thank You that the Wise Men traveled so far to find You and worship You. Help us to seek You every day. We give You our hearts and our love. We want to worship You just like the Wise Men did. Amen.”
BIBLE VERSE GAME 6:40-6:50 | Follow the Christmas Star (Path)
Items Needed:
- 10-12 large paper stars
- Masking Tape to secure them to the floor in a winding path
- Picture of baby Jesus at the end
- Christmas Star song
Description:
Create a winding path of stars on the floor leading to a picture of baby Jesus. Children take turns walking along the star path to “find” Jesus. As they walk, have the song playing. This game reinforces the Wise Men’s journey in a way preschoolers can physically experience.
Note: Would be fun to have the kids walk the path on a “Stick Camel” but I haven’t been able to locate one.
BIBLE CRAFT 7:00-7:10 | Wise Men Crown
Items Needed:
- Crown template
- Gold, silver, and colorful star stickers
- Jewel stickers or foam shapes
- Glue
- Stapler
- Markers or crayons
Help each child create a crown to wear like the Wise Men. Measure a strip of construction paper to fit around their head, then let them decorate it with star stickers, jewels, and drawings. Staple or tape the ends together to form a crown. As they wear their crowns, remind them that the Wise Men were important people, but they still bowed down to worship Jesus, the most important King of all.
SNACK TIME & CENTERS 7:10-7:25
Items Needed:
- Coloring pages
- Crayons
- Snack
Description:
Pass out snacks and allow kids time to eat snacks. A coloring sheet will be available for kids to color while they eat their snack. Use the coloring pages from the PDF (pages 12-20) showing the Wise Men, stars, camels, and King Herod. This quiet activity allows children to wind down, enjoy their snack, and continue processing the lesson through artistic expression.
BONUS ACTIVITY | Musical Gift Passing
Bonus Activity 4: Musical Gift Passing
Items Needed:
- Three wrapped boxes
- Labels: “Gold,” “Frankincense,” “Myrrh”
- Christmas Star song
Description:
Children sit in a circle. Start with three wrapped boxes labeled with the gifts the Wise Men brought. Play music while children pass all three boxes around the circle. When the music stops, the three children holding boxes stand up and say together, “We brought gifts for Jesus!” Then they sit back down and continue. This game teaches the three gifts in a fun, active way appropriate for preschoolers.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Matthew 2:1-12 (KJV)
¹ Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
² Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
³ When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
⁵ And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
⁶ And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
⁷ Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
⁹ When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
¹¹ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
¹² And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
PARENT TAKE HOME SHEET
Today’s Key Takeaway:
Seek Jesus
What I Learned Today:
Today we learned about the Wise Men who followed a special star to find baby Jesus. The Wise Men traveled very far because they wanted to worship Jesus. When they found Him, they gave Jesus special gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. God wants everyone to seek Jesus, whether we are young or old, rich or poor. The Wise Men teach us to be humble and worship Jesus as our King!
Questions to Ask Me:
Theological Questions:
- Who made the special star in the sky? (God made the star)
- How many Wise Men came to see Jesus? (The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly, but many people think there were three because of the three gifts)
- What does it mean to “worship” Jesus? (It means to honor Him, bow down to Him, and tell Him He is special and important)
- Why was King Herod upset about baby Jesus? (He didn’t want another king; he loved his own power more than he loved God)
- Where did the Wise Men find Jesus? (In a house with Mary and Joseph, not in the palace)
Life Application Questions:
- How can you “seek” or look for Jesus in your own life? (By praying, reading Bible stories, singing to Him, and being kind to others)
- The Wise Men gave Jesus gifts. What can you give to Jesus? (My love, my heart, my worship, kindness to others)
- The Wise Men traveled very far to find Jesus. Would you travel far to see Jesus? Why? (Yes, because Jesus is special/important/our King/worth it)
- King Herod was proud and mean. How should we act instead? (We should be humble and kind like the Wise Men)
- The Wise Men were very happy when they found Jesus. What makes you happy about Jesus? (That He loves me, that He is my King, that He came to earth for me, etc.)