Welcome!
What is your name? Do you know who chose it for you?
Sunday school · Ages 7–9
Joseph’s dream
Matthew 1:18–25
Mainline Christian
Welcome each child by name. Ask the question and let two or three children answer. Say: Today God tells a man named Joseph what to name a very special baby.
Joseph was a good man.
Joseph was going to marry Mary.
Joseph had a hard problem.
Mary was going to have a baby. Joseph knew it was not his baby.
Joseph made a kind plan.
He did not want anyone to be mean to Mary.
An angel came in a dream!
“Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid.”
Name him Jesus.
The angel said, “You shall name him Jesus.”
Immanuel: God with us
“They shall call his name Immanuel, which is, being interpreted, “God with us.””
Matthew 1:23
Joseph woke up.
He did just what the angel said.
Joseph named the baby Jesus.
Joseph loved Jesus and took care of him.
God is with us.
God was with Joseph and Mary. God is with us too.
I wonder…
I wonder how Joseph felt when he woke up from his dream.
I wonder…
I wonder when you need to remember that God is with you.
Question 1 of 7
Who was Joseph going to marry?
Joseph and Mary had promised to marry each other.
Question 2 of 7
How did the angel talk to Joseph?
An angel spoke to Joseph in a dream while he was asleep.
Question 3 of 7
What did the angel tell Joseph first?
The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid.”
Question 4 of 7
What name did Joseph give the baby?
The angel said to name him Jesus, and Joseph did.
Question 5 of 7
What does “Immanuel” mean?
Matthew tells us that Immanuel means “God with us.”
Question 6 of 7
What did Joseph do when he woke up?
Joseph took Mary home to be his wife, just as the angel said.
Question 7 of 7
What does this story show us about God?
Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, every day and every night.
Great job!
You finished all 7 questions.
Our memory verse
“They shall call his name Immanuel, which is, being interpreted, “God with us.””
Matthew 1:23
Make a God-with-us door hanger
- Write “God with us” on the front.
- Draw yourself, your family, or your home.
- On the back, write “Don’t be afraid.”
- Draw a night sky with a moon and stars.
- Hang it on your bedroom door.
Wake up, Joseph!
- Everyone rests their head and closes their eyes.
- The angel whispers a message to one sleeper.
- Wake up, Joseph! Do what the angel said.
- Everyone guesses the message.
Let’s pray
Dear God, thank you for Joseph, who listened and was kind. Thank you for being with us, day and night. Amen.
Speaker notes