Love: Mary says yes

Teacher background

The fourth Sunday of Advent turns toward Christmas. The Gospel is Luke 1:26–38: the angel Gabriel visits Mary, a young woman engaged to Joseph in the small Galilean town of Nazareth. The church calls this story the Annunciation, from a Latin word for “announcement.”

Gabriel greets Mary as “highly favored.” The Greek word, kecharitōmenē, is related to charis, the word for grace: Mary has received God’s free gift of love. Mary is troubled, she asks a real question, and then she gives her answer: “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). The first reading, 2 Samuel 7, is God’s promise to King David of a kingdom that lasts forever, and Gabriel says Mary’s son will receive “the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32).

Christians have understood the angel’s visit in different ways, and all of them hear in it the good news that God’s love comes close to ordinary people. The main idea for children: God loves us so much that God came to be with us in Jesus, and Mary said yes.

Children may ask how Mary could have a baby before she was married. Answer briefly: the Bible says this baby was a special gift from God, and Joseph loved Mary and Jesus and cared for them as a family. Families come in many shapes, and God’s love is in every one.

Welcome activity

Light the candles. Switch on the battery candles of hope, peace, and joy again, then the fourth candle. Say: “Many churches call this the candle of love. Christmas is almost here!” If the children made paper Advent wreaths in the first lesson of this series, remind them to glue a flame on the LOVE candle at home this week.

Yes or no? (5 minutes). Gather the children in a circle and ask everyone to stand. Ask a few silly questions and a few real ones. Children stay standing for yes and crouch down for no.

• Do you like pizza?
• Would you eat ice cream made of broccoli?
• Would you ride a giraffe to school?
• Would you help a friend who is sad?
• Would you share your snack with someone who forgot theirs?

Say: “Some questions are easy to answer. Some are bigger. Today God sends a very big message to a young woman named Mary. Let’s find out what Mary said.”

Telling the story

10 minutes. Open your Bible to Luke 1 and show the children where the story is. Then read this version aloud, or tell it in your own words. Pause where the notes in italics suggest.

Long ago, a young woman named Mary lived in a town called Nazareth. (Make a roof over your head with your hands.) Nazareth was a little town with dusty roads and small houses. Not many people had heard of it.

Mary was going to marry a man named Joseph. Joseph came from the family of King David. David was a great king from long ago.

One day, God sent a messenger to Mary. The messenger was the angel Gabriel. (Spread your arms wide.)

Gabriel came in to where Mary was. He said, “Rejoice, Mary! God loves you very much. The Lord is with you!”

Mary was surprised. (Put your hands on your cheeks.) She was troubled, too. She wondered, “What does this mean? Why would an angel come to me?”

Gabriel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is pleased with you. You are going to have a baby boy. You will name him Jesus. He will be called the Son of God. He will be a king like David, and his kingdom will never end.”

Mary had a question. “How can this be? I am not even married yet.”

Gabriel said, “God’s Holy Spirit will come to you. God’s power will be with you. So your baby will be holy. He will be called the Son of God.”

Then Gabriel told her more good news. “Your relative Elizabeth is going to have a baby too! Everyone thought she was too old. Nothing is impossible for God.” (Hold up your hands in wonder.)

Mary thought about everything the angel said. (Put a finger on your chin.) Then Mary gave her answer. “I am God’s servant. Let it happen just as you said.” (Nod your head.)

Mary said yes! (Children say, “Yes!”) Then the angel left.

Mary said yes to God’s plan, and God’s plan was full of love. God loved the whole world so much. So God came to be with us as a tiny baby named Jesus.

God chose a young woman in a small town. God’s love comes to ordinary people in ordinary places. It comes to you too. God’s message for you is like the message for Mary. Don’t be afraid. God loves you, and God is with you.

Today we light the fourth candle. It is the candle of love. Soon it will be Christmas, and we will celebrate Jesus, God’s gift of love. (Make a heart with your hands.)

Wondering questions

5 minutes. Wondering questions have no wrong answers. Ask one at a time and give the children time to think. Welcome every answer without correcting it, and repeat back what a child says so they know you heard them.

• I wonder which part of this story you like best.
• I wonder how Mary felt when the angel came.
• I wonder what Mary thought about before she said yes.
• I wonder what it was like for Mary to wait for her baby.
• I wonder what message of love God has for you.
• I wonder how you could share God’s love this Christmas.

After the wondering questions, play the quiz on the slides, or ask the questions aloud and let the children call out the answers.

Craft: a message angel

10 minutes. Each child makes a paper-plate angel that carries God’s message.

You will need a paper plate, a paper circle about 3 inches across, and a paper strip about 1 by 5 inches for each child, plus crayons or markers, safety scissors, tape, and glue sticks.

1. Fold the paper plate in half, open it, and cut along the fold to make two halves.
2. Roll one half into a cone and tape it closed. This is the angel’s robe.
3. Cut the other half into two pieces. Tape them to the back of the cone as wings.
4. Draw a face and hair on the paper circle, and glue it to the top of the cone.
5. Write “The Lord is with you.” on the paper strip, and tape it to the front of the angel.
6. Color and decorate the robe and wings.

Artists have pictured angels in many ways. The slides show two: a winged Gabriel from an Armenian Gospel book, and a column of golden light in Henry Ossawa Tanner’s painting. Let the children make their angel look however they imagine.

Game: good-news messenger

7 minutes. Set one chair at one end of the room. This is Mary’s house in Nazareth. Line the children up at the other end. Put a paper heart inside the envelope and tuck in the flap.

1. One child takes a seat in Mary’s chair. The first child in line holds the envelope and is Gabriel.
2. Call out a way to move: tiptoe, hop, or walk like a penguin. Gabriel moves that way to the chair.
3. Gabriel gives the envelope and says, “Good news! God loves you!”
4. The child in the chair opens it, holds up the heart, and says, “Yes!” Everyone cheers.
5. That child puts the heart back, carries the envelope to the next child in line, and goes to the end of the line. Gabriel takes a turn in the chair.

Keep going until everyone has been Gabriel and has had a turn in the chair. With more than ten children, use two chairs and two envelopes. The game has no winners; everyone cheers for every message.

Memory verse

3 minutes. Teach the memory verse with motions. Explain that “favor” means God is pleased with you and loves you.

Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Luke 1:30

• “Don’t be afraid”: open your hands and shake your head gently.
• “Mary”: wave hello.
• “for you have found favor”: hug yourself.
• “with God”: point up.

Say the verse together in a whisper, then in a normal voice, then with a big smile. To finish, go around the circle and say to each child, “(Name), God loves you.” The memory verse coloring page lets children color the words in bubble letters.

Snack idea

Optional. Serve a love snack: strawberries cut in half (they look like little hearts) and heart-shaped crackers or cookies. Check for food allergies before class, and serve water or juice.

Closing prayer

Ask the children to fold their hands or hold their angels. Read each line and let them repeat it after you.

Dear God,
thank you for Mary,
who said yes to you.
Thank you for Jesus,
your gift of love.
Help us say yes to you
and share your love
with everyone we meet.
Amen.

Take-home note for families

Send this note home with the angels and the activity sheets. It also prints by itself on the printables page.

Today in Sunday school

Today was the fourth Sunday of Advent, when many churches light the candle of love. Your child heard how the angel Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth (Luke 1:26–38). Gabriel told Mary not to be afraid, because God loved her and had chosen her to be the mother of Jesus. Mary said yes. In Jesus, God’s love came close to us all.

Talk about it

• How do you think Mary felt when the angel came?
• What is the best message you have ever gotten?
• How can we share God’s love this Christmas?

Try this at home

Write short love notes to each other this week, such as “I’m glad you’re you” or “Thank you for helping me,” and hide them for someone to find. Set the message angel near your nativity set or on your table.

Pray together

Dear God, thank you for loving us so much that you came to be with us in Jesus. Help us say yes to your love. Amen.

Adapting for younger or older children

Younger children (ages 4 to 6). Tell the story in a few short sentences, holding a sealed envelope as Gabriel’s message. Cut the plate pieces ahead of time for the craft. Skip the crossword and the word search, and use the maze and the coloring pages. Teach only the memory verse motions.

Older children (ages 10 to 12). Read Luke 1:26–38 together from a Bible, taking turns, and then read Mary’s song in Luke 1:46–55, which many churches read this Sunday in place of a psalm. Compare Gabriel’s visit to Zechariah earlier in Luke 1:5–25, and talk about the different questions Zechariah and Mary ask. Look again at the two paintings on the slides and talk about how each artist imagined the angel. Use the crossword without the word bank.