Description of Christmas Teaching Idea
Youth will search famous Christian hymns for clues to the real meaning of Christmas!
Resources
- Hymn books or the words to famous Christmas Hymns
- Large sheet of paper for each group. (classifieds from the newspaper are a cheap alternative) (Group size can be pairs or small groups of any number)
- One water soluble marker for each group
- Adhesive tape
Preparation
- Arrange the chairs so that youth will sit in small groups when they enter the room.
- Inside each circle of chairs place one or more hymn books and a large sheet of paper.
- Tape a list of page numbers for the hymns under one chair in each group to help them quickly locate the Christmas Hymns.
- The person with this list is designated the group leader.
- Tape a water soluble marker under one chair. The person sitting in this chair will be responsible for writing the list of observations.
What to Do
- Once the youth are seated, have them look under the chair for the list and the marker. Assign each task accordingly.
- Each group is given a task to search through the Christmas Hymns and identify what they teach us about Christmas. They should identify the song title and the phrase for each response.
- They should search the stanzas and the hymn titles and write what they find on the piece of paper given.
- When you are ready, stop the activity.
- Ask the team leaders to present their lists to the class as a whole.
Take it to the Next Level
- Here are some of the questions you can ask. Each group can be assigned the same question, or each group may have a different one.
- Who are the key people discussed in each hymn?
- What are the key events mentioned in each hymn?
- What references to scripture can be found in the hymns?
- What facts about Jesus’ birth are referenced?
- What phrases are used to describe the baby Jesus?
- What things are mentioned that are based upon tradition instead of Scripture?
- What response do these hymns require from us related to Christmas? Do they ask us to do anything?
- What emotions are suggested or expressed?
- Why do you think this hymn was written?
- Why do you think this this hymn has become popular for the Christmas season?
Variation
- Instead of splitting up the questions, ask each group the same list of questions, but give each group a different hymn.
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.
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