Children and Families - Scripture Union NZ

Are you looking for some media or video clips for your Advent and Christmas events or church services? Here are some options to get you started. Some of them are Youtube clips, others are free to download and use.  Learn more about the Shepherds who feature in the Christmas account.  This video series 'Drive Thru History' is well worth a watch, for giving you background information, as well as for playing in a church or community service: The Mystery of the Noisy Neighbour: From the Bible Society UK. Show this free animation in your church services, children's programmes and community events. Suited for a young audience. Discover who Jesus really is... Emmanuel, Rescuer and King. Click here to find out more and download. The Bible Project: The Birth of Jesus - Gospel of Luke Ch. 1-2: If you are looking for an excellent series of clips digging deep into the Bible, these are great! Use them as study material for your Sunday School team or volunteers, before...

“…while they were there,   she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the guest-room.” It was time. God's son was about to be born into the world. Jesus was born, not in a palace, or even in a guest room! Instead, the creator of the universe was born in the room attached to the house where the animals were kept. It may even have been one room shar ed by all the people in the house, with the animals in one corner.  This is what it might have looked like: This image comes from www.psephizo.com The family would have had a mule or a donkey to plough their fields or to carry all their gear when they travelled. They were too precious to leave out in the winter cold. And the animals acted like a heating system for the house. They helped make things nice and warm. This is a beautiful painting on a church wall in Bethlehem, but can you spot what needs to be changed to make i...

…While they were there,   she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn [guest room]. Bethlehem is crowded when Mary and Joseph arrive in town. Lots of people are pouring into town and families are squeezing people into every single room. It’s noisy, as people greet each other, excited to see one another. Food is cooked and feasts are held. People are yelling too, as someone claims a room that belongs to someone else. Joseph helps Mary as they walk along the busy street where Joseph’s family live. It’s a full house.  But there is the place where the animals live of course...  This picture comes from a book called 'Daily Life at the time of Jesus'. Let's talk about the Inn for a moment: Lots of Christmas books you might have read will tell you that Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room in the inn. An inn is another word for a motel. T...

Hill country near Jerusalem (the photo was taken in summertime). It must be so difficult for Mary. She has just returned home from visiting her cousin Elizabeth. And now she has to pack up and travel again. Bethlehem is a long way away, about 138 kilometres. Mary is about to have her baby. It will be difficult for her to travel. But Joseph is there to support and help her. Together they pack up their belongings and leave town. They travel with some other people from Joseph’s family, as well as others who are heading back to their home towns. It is a stressful time. She will have to walk some of the way, or maybe catch a ride in a cart travelling that way. There’s not much chance that she will ride a donkey, not when she’s pregnant, what a bumpy and uncomfortable ride that would be! Their journey takes them over the hills, through rocky lands and desert conditions. They are heading to Bethlehem. Like Nazareth, there is nothing special about it.  Once, a long time ago it w...

Luke 2:1-4 About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books… Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. The kind of landscape Joseph and Mary would have had to travel through. Life goes on as normal. Talk of angels and babies dies down, and people get back to normal life. But what about Joseph? It must have been a huge shock to him to find out Mary was going to have a baby. Everyone waits to hear that Joseph has called off the wedding. No one would blame him. But he is a good man. And he doesn’t give up on Mary.  Joseph is an important part of this story. He still wants to marry her and help her to raise the baby that Mary is carrying. And then everything gets tense and crazy! The emperor Augustus, the ruler of Rome, has given an order. Now, what you need to know is that the Romans are in charge of Israel. They are in charge of...