Lesson - What The Angel Said To Joseph

VERSES:   Matthew 1:18-25

MEMORY VERSE:   Matthew 1: 25   "...and he called his name Jesus."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   John.   Write "John" on small slips of paper and hand out to the students at the end of class. Memorizing the books of the Bible can be helpful and this is one way to promote learning all the names of the books.

PRAYER:   Thank God for providing a savior to all mankind.

SPECIAL SONG:   The B-I-B-L-E (see February - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #2 on this blog. Click orange circle for tune.)

VISUAL AID:  Draw Joseph on the whiteboard or chalkboard. Write sentences around Joseph as in Activity below.

LESSON POINTS;   

• We have studied a lot about angels lately, haven't we? Remember the angel named Gabriel who appeared to Zacharias, John's father (see Lesson - December - What the Angel Said To Zacharias on this blog) and then that same angel appeared to Mary, Jesus' mother (see Lesson - December - What The Angel Said To Mary on this blog)? In our lesson today, an angel appears to someone else--Joseph, Jesus' earthly father. We say "earthly father" because who was Jesus' real father? That's right! God was Jesus' father. That's why Jesus is called the Son of God. So an angel appeared to three people, but this time when the angel appeared to Joseph, the Bible does not tell us the angel's name. 
• In the book of Matthew, which is the first book of the New Testament, there was a good man named Joseph who had promised to marry Mary, but he discovered that she was going to have a baby and that concerned him tremendously. Joseph was a righteous and just man and was thinking about putting Mary away secretly, so she would not be a public example. 
• While Joseph was thinking about these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel told Joseph not to be afraid to marry Mary because the baby that was going to be born was from God. The angel said Mary was going to have a baby boy and Joseph should name him "Jesus" because He was going to save the people from their sins. Then the angel quoted a verse from an Old Testament book, Isaiah 7:14, that foretold how Jesus would be born and that was exactly like it was happening then! 
• So, Joseph, did as the angel said and married Mary. Joseph and Mary had other children (Matthew 13:55, 56), but Jesus was God's only begotten Son (John 3:16)..

"Older Student Tips:

• Joseph was a man who could trace his lineage or he could prove who his earthly father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather, his great-great grandfather, his great-great-great grandfather, and so on all the way back to Abraham! By being able to prove who his family was, Jesus had a legal right to be king. In Luke 3:23, it tells of how Jesus could prove that He had a blood right to be king through Mary's lineage. These were very important points with the Jews. 
• There were 333 Old Testament prophecies prophesied about Jesus.

ACTIVITY:   What The Angel Said To Joseph
Materials needed:  9" x 12" orange construction paper, scrap of tan and brown construction paper, 8.5" x 11" piece of white bond paper, scissors, glue, marker.

1. Hand out orange paper.
2. Hand out tan and brown paper.
3. Draw Joseph.
4. Cut Joseph out.
5. Glue Joseph in bottom right corner of orange paper.
6. Write "What The Angel Said To Joseph" and "Matthew 1:18-25" at the top of the orange paper.
7. Hand out white paper.
8. Cut out five white "dream clouds."
9. On each dream cloud, write a different sentence:
1. "Don't be afraid to marry Mary."
2. "The baby was from God."
3. "Name him Jesus."
4. "Mary was going to have a baby boy."
5. "Jesus would save the people from their sins."
10. Glue sentences around orange paper.
11. Write "Joseph and Mary had other sons and daughters (Matthew 13:55, 56), but Jesus was the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16)" at the bottom left side of the orange paper.