Level One: Why do we celebrate Christmas?Unit Outline
In this unit students will explore the celebration of Jesus' birth. They will be encouraged to relate their experiences of giving, receiving and celebrating to this important liturgical event. It will be reinforced that the Bible contains many stories that tell us about Jesus' life on earth. Scripture: Lk 2:1-20: The Birth of Jesus About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family. Mary was engaged to Joseph and travelled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn. That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord's glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, "Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David's hometown a Saviour was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay." Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said: Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God." After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about." They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay. When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. Everyone listened and was surprised. But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant. As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said. Mt 2:1-11 : The Wise Men When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, "Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?" They told him, "He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote, 'Bethlehem in the land of Judea, you are very important among the towns of Judea. From your town will come a leader, who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.' "Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. He told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too." The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were thrilled and excited to see the star. When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. |
Websites:
|
- Home
- Religious Artworks
- Holy Land Pictures
- School Values
-
Units of Work
- Level One >
-
Level Two
>
- The Life of Jesus
- Creation
- What is Baptism?
- Sacraments are Special Celebrations
- Jesus Helps Me to Choose
- Bible Stories About Jesus
- Grief and Loss
- We Can Pray in Different Ways
- Sharing with Others - Our Call to Mission
- Loving God and Others - Our Call to Mission
- Getting Ready for Jesus - Advent
- The First Christmas
- Lent
- Pentecost
- Easter
-
Level Three
>
- Followers of Jesus
- For Creation, Praise
- Community of Believers
- Jesus Models Forgiveness
- Sacraments of Initiation - Eucharist
- Sacraments of Initation - Confirmation
- God's Holy Word
- Circle of Life
- Prayer
- Reaching Out
- Serving Others
- Christmas - The Message of Joy and Peace
- Christmas - The Promise is Fulfilled
- How Do We Journey to New Life During Lent?
- How Do We Prepare for Easter?
- Celebrating the Gift of the Spirit
-
Level Four
>
- Who is Jesus in Luke's Gospel?
- Harmony in Creation, Our Responsibilty
- The Church in Australia
- Sacramental Life
- Reconciliation
- Sacred Stories
- Living as Disciples
- People of Prayer
- Mission - Witnessing and Proclaiming
- Mission - Living and Sharing
- What was the Message of John the Baptist?
- The Birth of Jesus, The Messiah
- Feasts of the Christmas Season
- How Can Lent Transform our Lives?
- The Risen Christ
- Pentecost - Celebrating the Spirit
- Discovering our Christian Heritage
- Sacraments
- Feast Days
- Prayers
- Seasons of the Church's Year
- Mary
- Jesus
- Bible Stories
- Popes
- World Youth Day
- Grief
- R.E. Newsletters