Joseph’s dream

Teacher background

Matthew tells the Christmas story from Joseph’s side (Matthew 1:18–25). Mary and Joseph were engaged, which in their day was a promise almost as strong as marriage. Before they lived together, Mary was found to be expecting a child, and Joseph knew the child was not his. Matthew calls Joseph “a righteous man” who did not want to shame Mary in public, so he decided to end the engagement without a fuss. Then an angel spoke to him in a dream: Joseph should not be afraid to take Mary as his wife, because the child was from the Holy Spirit. The angel told Joseph to name the baby Jesus, which means “God saves,” and Matthew adds the prophet’s name for him, Immanuel, “God with us.” Joseph woke up, took Mary home, and named the baby Jesus.

The main idea for children is that God is with us, and God helped Joseph be brave and kind. When Joseph named the baby, he was saying, “This child is my son.”

Speak gently about the hard part. If a child asks who Jesus’s father was, you can say that Jesus came from God in a special way, and Joseph loved him and raised him as his own son. Some children live with a stepparent, an adoptive parent, grandparents, or one parent. Joseph’s choice honors every family made by love.

Matthew 1:18–25 is the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent in Year A. For background, read The Christmas story.

Welcome activity

What’s in a name? (5 minutes). Give each child a name tag or sticky note and help them write their name in big letters. Then gather in a circle. Each child says their name and one thing about it, if they know: who chose it, what it means, or a nickname they like. A child who does not know can name their favorite letter in their name.

Then ask:

• Why do you think names are special?
• If you could choose a name for a new baby, what would it be?

Say: “Names are special. In today’s story, God tells a man named Joseph what to name a very special baby. Let’s find out what the name was, and what it means.”

Telling the story

10 minutes. Open your Bible to Matthew 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.

Once there was a man named Joseph. He lived in the town of Nazareth. Many people think he was a carpenter, a builder who worked with wood. (Pretend to hammer.) Joseph was a good and kind man. He loved God.

Joseph was going to marry a young woman named Mary. They had made a promise to each other. Soon Mary would come to live in Joseph’s house, and they would be a family.

One day Joseph heard some surprising news. Mary was going to have a baby! Joseph knew he was not the baby’s father. He did not understand what was happening. He felt confused and sad. (Put your head in your hands.)

Joseph thought and thought. He decided not to marry Mary after all. Still, Joseph was kind. He did not want anyone to say mean things about Mary. So he made a plan to end their promise without a fuss.

That night Joseph went to sleep. (Lay your head on your hands and close your eyes.) While he was sleeping, he had a dream. In his dream, an angel from God came to him!

The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid. Take Mary home to be your wife. Her baby is from God’s Holy Spirit. She will have a son. You will name him Jesus, because he will save his people.”

The name Jesus means “God saves.” Matthew tells us that Jesus has another name too: Immanuel. Immanuel means “God with us.” (Point up, then hug yourself.)

Then Joseph woke up. (Open your eyes and stretch.) He remembered his dream. He did just what the angel said. Joseph was brave. He took Mary home to be his wife.

A few months later, Mary’s baby was born. Joseph held the tiny baby boy. (Rock a baby in your arms.) And Joseph named him Jesus, just as the angel said. Giving the baby his name was like saying, “This is my son. I will love him and take care of him.”

Joseph listened to God. He chose to be kind and brave. God was with Joseph, and with Mary, and with baby Jesus. God is with us too, every day and every night. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

Wondering questions

5 minutes. Wondering questions have no wrong answers. Ask one at a time, wait in silence, and welcome every answer without correcting it. 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 Joseph felt when he heard Mary’s news.
• I wonder what the angel looked like in Joseph’s dream.
• I wonder how Joseph felt when he woke up.
• I wonder what it was like for Joseph to hold baby Jesus.
• I wonder when you need to remember that God is with you.

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 God-with-us door hanger

10 minutes. Each child makes a door hanger to remember that God is with them, day and night.

You will need card stock, crayons or markers, and star stickers if you have them. Before class, cut a door hanger for each child: a strip about 4 by 10 inches, with a circle about 3 inches across near the top and a slit from the circle to one side, so it slips over a doorknob.

1. Write “God with us” in big letters on the front. Children who are ready can write it themselves.
2. Under the words, draw yourself, your family, or your home.
3. On the back, write “Don’t be afraid.”
4. Draw a night sky on the back with a moon and stars, or add star stickers.
5. Take it home and hang it on your bedroom door.

Say: “When you go to bed tonight, look at your door hanger. Remember what the angel told Joseph: Don’t be afraid. God is with us.”

Game: wake up, Joseph!

7 minutes. This is a listening game. Gather the children on the floor or at tables.

1. Everyone goes to sleep: rest your head on your arms and close your eyes.
2. You are the angel. Tiptoe around the room, choose one child to be Joseph, and whisper a message in their ear, such as “Hop three times,” “Wave to everyone,” or “Give a friend a high five.”
3. Say, “Wake up, Joseph!” Everyone opens their eyes, and Joseph does what the message said.
4. Everyone guesses what the angel’s message was. Then everyone goes back to sleep for the next round.

Play until every child has had a turn as Joseph. Older children can take turns being the angel. If a child does not like surprises, say their name softly before you whisper. The game has no winners; everyone gets to listen and wake up.

Memory verse

3 minutes. Teach the memory verse with motions. Explain that “being interpreted” means “which means.”

They shall call his name Immanuel, which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:23

• “They shall call his name”: cup your hands around your mouth.
• “Immanuel”: clap once for each part of the name, Im-man-u-el.
• “which is, being interpreted”: open your hands like a book.
• “God with us”: point up, hug yourself, then spread your arms wide to everyone.

Say the verse together softly, then loudly, then in a sleepy whisper, like Joseph waking up. The memory verse coloring page lets children color the words in bubble letters.

Snack idea

Optional. Serve star-shaped crackers or cookies, like the stars over Joseph’s house at night, with cheese or fruit. Check for food allergies before class, and serve water or juice.

Closing prayer

Ask the children to fold their hands or open them on their laps. Read each line and let them repeat it after you.

Dear God,
thank you for Joseph,
who listened and was kind.
Help us listen to you.
Help us be brave and kind too.
Thank you for Jesus, Immanuel.
Thank you for being with us,
every day and every night.
Amen.

Take-home note for families

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

Today in Sunday school

Today your child heard how an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:18–25). Joseph was engaged to Mary and learned that she was expecting a baby. He was confused and planned to end the engagement without shaming her. Then an angel told him, “Don’t be afraid,” and said to name the baby Jesus. Joseph woke up, took Mary home, and named the baby Jesus. Matthew tells us that Jesus is also called Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

Talk about it

• How do you think Joseph felt when he woke up from his dream?
• Joseph made a home for Mary and Jesus. Who makes a home for you?
• When is it good to remember that God is with you?

Try this at home

Hang your child’s door hanger on their bedroom door. At bedtime this week, say together, “God is with us,” and name one good thing from the day.

Pray together

Dear God, thank you for being with us, day and night. Help us be brave and kind like Joseph. Amen.

Adapting for younger or older children

Younger children (ages 4 to 6). Tell the story with a pillow and a blanket, and let the children pretend to sleep and wake up with Joseph. Skip the crossword and the word search, and use the maze, the coloring pages, and the door hanger with the words written ahead of time. Teach only “God with us” with its motion.

Older children (ages 10 to 12). Read Matthew 1:18–25 together from a Bible, then read Luke 1:26–38 and compare: in which Gospel does the angel speak to Joseph, and in which to Mary? Read Isaiah 7:14, the verse Matthew quotes. Talk about Joseph’s hard choice and how he was both fair and merciful. Use the crossword without the word bank.