Sunday School or Bible Clubs > Games > Christmas Story Games > Middle School
“Angel announces Jesus’ birth to Mary” through ”John’s Birth”
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1.Compare how Mary responded to the angel’s announcement with how Zechariah responded. (Mary believed what the angel said, even though it would take a miracle. Zechariah questioned how it could happen, since they were unable to have a baby for so many years, it seemed impossible to him.
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2.How did God encourage Mary once the significance of what this announcement would mean in her daily life began to sink in? (He told her about another miracle baby who was going to be born, which gave her the idea to go visit an older relative that she could trust and talk things over with--Elizabeth)
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3.Why was Zechariah unable to speak? (He didn’t believe the prophecy)
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4.What did Zechariah’s friends want the baby’s name to be? (Zechariah)
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5. When could Zechariah speak again? (after he obeyed God by insisting that “His name is John”)
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6.Bonus question: Who did Zechariah’s son grow up to be, and what did he do? (John the Baptist; he preached repentance to many people, baptized Jesus, and was beheaded)
For easier questions, see Elementary Questions
“Trip to Bethlehem” through “Jesus’ Birth”
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1.Why did Mary and Joseph have to travel to Bethlehem? (a census was being taken of the entire Roman empire) or (They went to Bethlehem because Joseph was a descendent of David)
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2.What is a census? (taking a census is the process of counting all the inhabitants in a country)
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3.Who made the decree to take a census? (the Roman Emperor, Augustus Caesar )
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4.How far did Mary and Joseph have to travel to Bethlehem? ( 92 miles or 148 kilometers)
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5.Tricky question: Was Jesus born on Dec. 25? (No) (Extra information: the church decided to make this date a holiday to replace a heathen holiday for Christians about 1000 years after Jesus was born. Some people think that Jesus was probably born in the spring, since that is the time of year that shepherds stayed with the flock at night because that is when new baby lambs were born.
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6.Why was Jesus born as a human being? (To save all who believe in him from the consequences of their sins -- by dying on the cross, suffering hell for us and rising again on the third day.)
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7.Tricky question: Is Jesus God or man? (He was/is both--100% God, and 100% man.)
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8.Why does it matter--whether Jesus is God or man or both completely God and completely man? (If Jesus were only man, then he could not be a savior, because he would be a sinner, just like us.)
“Shepherds’ Visit” through “Jesus’ Dedication
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1.What 2 things did the angel tell the shepherds so they could find the messiah? (1. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, 2. He was lying in a manger)
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2.After the angel told the shepherds where to find Jesus, what happened? (thousands of angels began singing praises to God)
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3.What did the angels sing? (Glory to God in the highest and Peace on earth, good will toward men)
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4.How did the shepherds know what the angels were talking about? (All Jews knew about prophesies in the Old Testament that told of a messiah who was going to come and save people.)
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5.Who did the shepherds tell about Jesus? (everyone they met)
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6.Bonus question: What does “messiah” mean? (Messiah is the Hebrew word, and Christ is the Greek word that both mean “the anointed one.”)
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7.Where did Joseph and Mary take Jesus when he was 8 days old? (the temple)
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8.Why did they go to the temple? (to make a sacrifice to redeem him, as directed from the time the Israelites were brought out of Egypt by God--all first born males had to be redeemed.)
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9.Who was excited to discover the messiah at the temple? (Anna and Simeon)
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10. Name one thing that was prophesied by Anna or Simeon. (Luke 2:29-35 a light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory for Israel/ This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel/ be a sign that will be spoken against/ the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed/ a sword will pierce Mary’s soul)
“Wise Men’s Visit”
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1.Why did the wise men go to see Herod? (they knew that the star announced the birth of an important person--presumably born in the king’s house.)
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2.How did King Herod know where to look for Jesus? (He asked scholars who looked up prophecies in the Old Testament)
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3.Is the King Herod who is mentioned here, the same Herod that killed John the Baptist once Jesus and John were adults? (No. There were 4 king Herods in the N.T., and this one died before Joseph brought his family back from Egypt.)
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4.Name the 3 presents the wise men gave Jesus. (gold, frankincense, and myrrh)
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5.Tricky question : How many wise men were there? (The Bible does not specify, so we only know that there was more than one. There were 3 gifts, so people assume there were 3 wise men.)
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6.Tricky question: Which of the following animals are mentioned in the Christmas story in the Bible? camels, donkey, sheep? (sheep)
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7.Why did Herod want the wise men to report back to him after they found the baby? (He said he wanted to worship the baby but he really wanted to kill the baby.)
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8.Why did Herod want to kill the baby Jesus? (This informations is not found in the Bible, but is known through non-biblical sources about the man mentioned in the Bible. King Herod was an extremely paranoid man who killed one of his wives and some of his own sons because he feared they were going to kill him to take his place.)
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9. Why did the wise men not go back to report to Herod? (they were warned in a dream to go a different way so that Herod would not be able to find Jesus)
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10. How did Joseph know to escape? (He was warned in a dream)
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11. Where did Joseph take Mary and Jesus? (Egypt)
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12. How did Joseph know when it was safe to return to Israel? (He was told in a dream.)
Christmas Story Questions for Middle School:
Choose questions below that will review the part of the story you will be telling.