The Star: Family Christmas Movie Devotional

Have you ever had to change your plans or change what you were doing? Sometimes we make changes when we are building with blocks. It can be a good thing! Maybe you figured out a way to make your tower stronger or taller. Sometimes we make changes because someone tells us we have to, like when someone comes along and tells you that you have to stop and clean up?  Those kinds of changes can be a little hard to feel happy about. But our adults know what is best for us and will help us along!

In the movie, The Star, we saw the characters change. Mary was visited by an angel and was told some very unexpected news. What did she find out? (she was going to have a baby!) This was a big change from her plans. She was not expecting to have a baby yet! Bo wanted a change! He didn’t like working at the mill and he was excited to get out! Another change is that all the people had to go where they were from to get counted. That meant Mary and Joseph would be traveling to Bethlehem. It was a long journey and had lots of unexpected things happen on the way.

The biggest change we see is when Jesus is born! What changes did you notice in the animals? The biggest change I noticed is that the dogs who had been chasing them changed. They realized the importance of baby, Jesus. He is Emmanuel, God with us.

• Read Luke 2:15-20. What did the shepherds do after they saw Jesus?
• Read Matthew 1:23 and Isaiah 7:14. We see that Jesus has always been a part of God’s plan. God’s plan is that Jesus would be born to Mary. Jesus is fully God and fully man!

You can read the whole Christmas story in Matthew 1:18-2:12 and Luke 1:5-2:20.

Family Activity: We just saw that when the animals and people encountered Jesus there was a change in how they looked and acted. Let’s play a game where we look for change together. Gather a cookie sheet and 10-12 Christmas ornaments. Arrange the ornaments on the cookie sheet and have everyone take a close look at them. Choose one person to remove one ornament while everyone else closes their eyes. Hide the ornament in your lap and then everyone can open their eyes. Who can find the change in the ornaments? Once someone correctly knows the missing ornament, replace it on the tray. Then that person gets to hide the next ornament.  Keep going until everyone has a turn.