The shepherds hear the good news

Teacher background

On the night Jesus was born, shepherds were living out in the fields near Bethlehem, keeping watch over their flock (Luke 2:8–20). An angel of the Lord appeared, the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel told them to have no fear and announced “good news of great joy which will be to all the people” (Luke 2:10). A Savior was born in David’s city, and they would find him wrapped in cloth and lying in a feeding trough. Then a crowd of angels praised God.

The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem, found the baby, and told everyone what they had heard. Mary kept all these things in her heart, and the shepherds went back to work praising God.

Shepherds were working people who spent their nights outdoors with the sheep; the Lutheran scholar Stephen Hultgren calls them “lowly shepherds.” Bethlehem’s most famous shepherd was King David, who kept his father’s sheep there as a boy (1 Samuel 16:11). God’s good news came first to people at work in the dark, and they became the first to share it.

The main idea for children is that God’s good news is for everyone, including them, and good news is for sharing. Some children are afraid of the dark or of loud surprises, so take time with the angel’s first words: “Don’t be afraid.”

For more background, read The Christmas story.

Welcome activity

Good news circle (5 minutes). Roll a sheet of paper into a megaphone. Gather the children in a circle and pass the megaphone around. Each child who wants to can share one piece of good news from the week, such as a visit from a grandparent, a lost tooth, or a new pet. Any child may pass.

Then ask:

• What is the best news you ever heard?
• Who did you tell first?

Say: “Today’s story is about the best news anyone ever heard. God sent it to some shepherds in the middle of the night. Let’s find out what happened.”

Telling the story

10 minutes. Open your Bible to Luke 2 and show the children where the story is. If you can, dim the lights a little for the first part. Turn them up when the angel appears. Read this version aloud, or tell it in your own words.

On the night Jesus was born, some shepherds were out in the fields near Bethlehem. Shepherds take care of sheep. (Say “baa.”)

It was dark. The stars were out. (Look up at the sky.) The sheep were sleepy. But the shepherds stayed awake. They kept watch all night so the sheep would be safe.

Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood in front of them! God’s glory shone all around. It was so bright! (Cover your eyes.) The shepherds were scared. They shook from their heads to their toes. (Shake all over.)

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid.” (Hold up your hands gently.)

Then the angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy.” This good news was for “all the people.”

Here is the good news. Today a baby is born in Bethlehem, the town of King David. He is the Savior. He is Christ the Lord!

The angel told them how to find him. You will find a baby wrapped in cloth. He will be lying in a manger, a feeding box for animals.

Then all at once, the whole sky filled with angels! (Wave your arms like wings.) There were more angels than the shepherds could count. They praised God. They sang, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace.” (Raise your arms high.)

Then the angels went back into the sky. The night was dark again. The shepherds looked at each other. They said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened.”

So they hurried. (Run in place.) They ran across the fields and into the town. They found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger, just as the angel said!

The shepherds told everyone what the angel had said about this baby. Everyone who heard it was amazed. (Make a surprised face.) Mary listened. She kept all these things in her heart and thought about them. (Put your hand on your heart.)

Then the shepherds went back to their sheep. But they were different now. They praised God all the way home. (Clap.) They had heard good news. They had seen it with their own eyes.

Why do you think God sent the good news to shepherds first? Shepherds were ordinary working people. They had muddy feet, and they probably smelled like sheep! (Hold your nose and smile.) God’s good news came to them first. So the good news is for everyone. It is for you!

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 the shepherds felt when the angel came.
• I wonder what the angels’ song sounded like.
• I wonder why God told the good news to shepherds first.
• I wonder who you would tell this good news to.
• I wonder where you are in this story.

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 good-news angel

10 minutes. Each child makes an angel with handprint wings to carry the good news home.

You will need paper plates, construction paper, pencils, crayons or markers, safety scissors, glue sticks, tape, and yellow chenille stems or yellow paper for halos. Cut the paper plates in half before class.

1. Color half a paper plate for the angel’s robe. Roll it into a cone and tape it closed.
2. Trace both hands on construction paper and cut them out. Glue them to the back of the cone as wings.
3. Cut a small paper circle for the face and draw a face on it. Artists have painted angels in every color, so draw your angel any way you like. Glue the face to the top of the cone.
4. Bend a chenille stem into a circle, or cut a ring of yellow paper, and tape it behind the head for a halo.
5. Write “Good news for all!” on the robe.

When everyone is done, stand the angels together on a table, like the crowd of angels that filled the sky.

Game: pass the good news

7 minutes. This is a whisper game, like telephone, with messages from the story.

1. Sit in a circle.
2. Whisper a short message from the story to the first child, such as “A baby is born in Bethlehem!”
3. Each child whispers the message to the next child.
4. The last child stands up, spreads their arms like an angel, and tells everyone the message.
5. Say the first message aloud and see if it changed. Then play again with new messages: “Don’t be afraid!” “Glory to God!” “Let’s go to Bethlehem!”

Laugh together when a message gets mixed up, and finish each round by shouting the real message all together. Nobody wins or loses; every child gets to be the angel at least once if time allows.

Memory verse

3 minutes. Teach the memory verse with motions.

I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.

Luke 2:10

• “I bring you good news”: cup your hands around your mouth.
• “of great joy”: throw your arms up high.
• “which will be to all the people”: sweep your arm around the circle.

Say the verse in a big angel voice, then in a sleepy shepherd voice, then all together. The memory verse coloring page lets children color the words in bubble letters.

Snack idea

Optional. Serve bread, cheese, and grapes, simple food that shepherds might have carried into the fields. 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 the good news
of Jesus’ birth.
Thank you that it is for all the people,
and for me.
Help me share your love
like the shepherds did.
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 about the shepherds on the night Jesus was born (Luke 2:8–20). An angel told them, “Don’t be afraid,” and brought good news of great joy for all the people. A sky full of angels praised God. The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem, found the baby in the manger, and told everyone what they had seen. The children learned that God’s good news is for everyone, and that good news is for sharing.

Talk about it

• How do you think the shepherds felt when the angel came?
• Why do you think God told the shepherds first?
• Who could we share some good news with this week?

Try this at home

Read Luke 2:8–20 together. Step outside one evening this week and look at the night sky the way the shepherds did. Then call or write to someone with a piece of good news.

Pray together

Dear God, thank you for the good news of Jesus, which is for all the people. Help our family share your love. Amen.

Adapting for younger or older children

Younger children (ages 4 to 6). Let the children be sheep while you tell the story, curling up in the field and then following the shepherds to Bethlehem. Use the maze and the coloring pages, and teach only the memory verse motions.

Older children (ages 10 to 12). Read Luke 2:8–20 from a Bible, taking turns. Ask why Luke tells about shepherds while Matthew tells about wise men. Have the children write a short “breaking news” report from Bethlehem, as if the shepherds were telling it. Use the crossword without the word bank.