Hi everyone, it's Aunt Frenita
Today's story is called: Spread the Joy
The memory verse is from Luke Chapter 2 verse 17
it says: "When they had seen him, they spread the word"
Today's message is: I worship God when I joyfully tell others about Jesus
One night, Grandma was telling Sabine about the day Sabine was born
"When you were born, I lived far away from you mom and dad"
"When your dad phoned me and said you have a new grand daughter"
"I was so excited!"
"I wanted to get on a plane and come see you right away"
"I couldn't wait."
in our Bible story
Some people couldn't wait to see another new born baby
Lets see what's it all about
The bright choir of angels had faded into a distance
The shepherds were in the dark again
Alone with their sheep
They looked at each other
All thoughts of being with the sheep were gone
such wonderful news!
With angels telling them where to find baby Jesus
They had to go now
They shepherds hastened to Bethlehem
"Lying in a manger," the angel had said. That meant a stable
a place where animals were sheltered
Listening at every stable
The shepherds searched for the baby
At last, they found the right place
The shepherds entered the stable quietly
Can you imagine how they felt?
Curious, Would they see an ordinary child?
They saw just what the angel said they would
A newborn baby wrapped in cloths
Lying in a manger, on top of fresh hay
They had to explain why they were there
Quickly, they must have told the exciting story about the shining angels
They must have told about the angel choir and their beautiful song
Did they say that they believe this baby was God's son?
The one who was their Savior?
Mary and Joesph must have had questions
The bible says that Mary treasured the news the shepherds brought
She must have loved God even more for his way of encouraging her
The shepherd story must have helped Joesph believe God's word too
Do you think the shepherds wanted to touch the special baby?
Maybe they held their hands up to their face in awe
Or maybe they slapped each other on the back as they smiled at the baby
They must have realized how blessed they had been to be visited by angels
We don't know how long the shepherds stayed in the stable
But we do know that they bowed down and worshipped baby Jesus
They knew he was their Savior
Perhaps they left Bethlehem a little before dawn
as people were beginning to move about
Perhaps others were finishing a night's work of some kind
The bible says the shepherds spread the word
They told everyone they met about seeing the baby
God's son. And all who heard it were amazed
The shepherds returned to their sheep praising God
They had just seen the Messiah. Just as they had been told
And what of Mary and Joesph? how did they feel?
Mary treasured all these things
and thought of them often
What would the future hold?
How would she and Joesph raise this child, the Son of God?
To worship God may mean that we tell others about Him
Just as the shepherds did
Or we may thank Him silently for His love as Mary did
but we can't worship God until we know for ourselves how much He loves us.
Then we can worship him by telling others about the birth of Jesus
And how wonderful He is.