Introduction:
Have a rubbish bin full of dry rubbish. Begin to sort
through the rubbish, pulling out some of the contents as you talk about
rubbish.
Where are rubbish bins kept? They’re not in a pride of
place. They’re not centre of attention. That’s because rubbish is not very
important. They’re kept out the back, or at the side of the house. We don’t
really want to see them, or know they’re there and we certainly don’t want
to know what is inside them!
(Suddenly stop mid sentence, and gasp at what you have
seen in the rubbish bin. Ask one of the children to come and take it out for
you.) It’s a beautifully wrapped present. Ask the child if they expected to
find a present in the bin (hopefully they say no!). Get suggestions of where
you might expect to find a present. |
Main Content:
Jesus’ birth was a bit like that present in the bin. It
wasn’t where people expected it to be. Imagine the excitement of the
shepherds when the angels told them that a Saviour had been born. For those
first few seconds, I wonder what pictures went through they’re heads? I bet
they weren’t expecting the next sentence: "You will find a baby wrapped in
cloths and lying in a manger."
And what about the Magi, the wise men from the East. They
were looking for a king, so went to the palace in the most spectacular city
in Israel. They were certainly not expecting a king to be born in a stable
in the dirty town of Bethlehem.
Who would have thought it? The King of all Kings, the
Prince of Peace, the Saviour of mankind, born in a stable like a present in
a rubbish bin.
At Christmas time you will have lots of food, open
presents (if you haven’t opened them all already) and create lots of
rubbish. At the end of the day you or your parents will be taking the
rubbish out the back to the dustbins. Wrapping paper, boxes, drinks bottles
and left over food will all be thrown away. It’s easy to put Jesus out the
back too, forget about him for another year, or until you next come to
church. But Jesus is too precious for that. He’s the Son of God, and was
given to you and me as a very special Christmas gift. And when all our other
gifts are broken, or used us, or forgotten about, Jesus can still be with
us, as a very special friend.
This Christmas, don’t treat Jesus like rubbish. |
