Preteen Christmas Lesson: What Would Jesus See?

Use this preteen Christmas lesson—What Would Jesus See?—in your Sunday school classrooms this December. Find more great Sunday school lessons to help kids grow in their faith.

1. Inside Out

You’ll need:

• Bibles

Say: Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth as a tiny baby. He saw what was in the world. Some things he saw made him happy; other things made him sad. People tend to see what’s on the surface or outside of people, but Jesus sees into our hearts.

Read aloud 1 Samuel 16:7.

2. In My Heart

You’ll need:

• heart-shaped papers
• markers

Give each child a heart-shaped piece of paper and a marker.

Say: Draw a cartoon of what Jesus might see if he looked into your heart. Maybe he’d see some feelings you don’t talk about much. 

Allow five minutes. Have kids fold their drawings four times so the cartoons aren’t visible.

3. Christmas Prayer Circle

You’ll need:

• a wide-mouthed jar

Form a circle. Place a wide-mouthed jar in the center of the circle. Ask if children have any joys or concerns to pray about.

Then say: God gave us so much when he sent Jesus. At Christmas, we celebrate the gift of eternal life through the gift of Jesus. If you’ve never received that gift, you can receive it now. If you’d like to receive that gift, pray silently and tell God so. Then leave your paper heart in the jar at the end of our prayer. Let’s pray silently about our joys and concerns.

After a few minutes, pray: Jesus, thank you for coming into our world. Fill our hearts with your love this Christmas. Amen.

4. Christmas Snack

Bring all the kids together to prepare the snack. Sing Christmas carols as the snack bakes. Then finish the snack and enjoy!

You’ll need:

• paper baking cups
• shredded wheat biscuits
• dried apricots cut in thin round circles
• apples cut into thin wedges
• canned biscuit dough
• cinnamon
• brown sugar

Place the apple wedge “body” and apricot “head” on a flattened biscuit with a dash of cinnamon and brown sugar. Wrap the biscuit dough around the apple wedge with part of the apricot showing like a baby’s head. Bake as directed on the biscuit can. Crumble part of the shredded wheat biscuit into a baking cup to represent the straw in the manger. Place the baked treat on the shredded wheat and serve.

Judy Williamson is a director of children’s ministries in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Check out all these Christmas ideas!