From Birth to Resurrection
This story can be told for the twelve days leading up to Christmas, or all at once. You will open one gift each day. Ideas for items to put in the gift boxes are at the end of the story. May God bless your desire to share with your children the real meaning of Christmas.
The 1st day of Christmas
A long time ago, God came to earth. God actually became a baby! An angel told His mother, Mary, to name Him Jesus. We celebrate His birthday every Christmas.
The angel said:
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:30-31, also Matthew 1:23).
(open box #1)
Do you think Mary gave Jesus a rattle?
The 2nd day of Christmas
Jesus grew up just like every other little boy grows up. But He didn’t act like any other little boy. Jesus never lied. He never cheated. He never said an unkind word, or did an unkind thing. And Jesus never, not even once, disobeyed His parents. Jesus never sinned! He never did anything wrong.
The Bible says,
“The child [Jesus] grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon Him” (Luke 2:40).
(open box #2)
Do you think Jesus played with blocks? Maybe He did. He might have played with bouncy balls, too.
Have you ever said an unkind word, or disobeyed your parents? The Bible says everyone has sinned. Jesus is the only one who never sinned. (see Romans 3:23)
The 3rd day of Christmas
God told the people of Israel He would give them a King, their very own Messiah. The Messiah would love them and forgive them and show them how to live. The people waited and waited for their King. It seemed He would never come. But they kept waiting and hoping and looking for their King. Then, one day, a man named Andrew met Jesus.
After Andrew met Jesus, he hurried to Simon, his brother, and said,
“We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41).
(open box #3)
Do you think Jesus wore a crown? No, He didn’t. The first time Jesus came to earth, He came as God’s servant. But when He comes to earth again, He will come as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then everyone will bow down to Him. (See Philippians 2:9-11)
The 4th day of Christmas
Jesus performed miracles to prove that He and God are one. He healed many people who were sick. He told a storm to stop, and it did! He walked on water. He turned one little boy’s lunch into enough food to feed over 5,000 hungry people. And He brought a dead person back to life. Only God could do those things!
Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
(open box #4)
A long time ago, men wrote God’s word on parchment paper, and rolled it into scrolls. Now the Bible is a book. We learn about God, and get to know Him, when we read the Bible. It’s filled with true stories about Jesus! Do you like to hear true stories? (see John 20:30-31)
The 5th day of Christmas
Jesus loved people more than anyone ever could. Some people loved and followed Jesus. Other people hated Him. They didn’t want to obey Him, or bow down to Him as King. They wanted to kill Him.
The Bible says,
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
(open box #5)
Did you know that God loves you? He wants you to love Him, too. When we love God, we want to obey Him. (see 1 John 4:19)
The 6th day of Christmas
On the night before Jesus died, He ate supper with His friends. He told them about His plan to go back to heaven, and prepare a place for them. He said one day they would live with Him in heaven.
Jesus said,
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:2-3).
(open box #6)
What do you think heaven will be like? The Bible says God will live with His people, and there will be no crying or sickness or pain. The streets will be made of gold! Everything will be made new. (see Revelation 21:3-4)
The 7th day of Christmas
After Jesus ate supper with His friends, He prayed for them. Jesus knew He would be killed. And He knew His friends would be very sad. So He asked His Father to take care of them.
Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father….they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:1, 11, 15).
(open box #7)
Prayer is talking to God the same way you talk to your mom or dad, or grandma or grandpa. God likes it when we talk to Him. (see Philippians 4:6-7) What are some things we can pray about?
The 8th day of Christmas
When Jesus finished praying, a mob of angry men came and took Him away. They put Him on trial, and declared Him guilty, even though He had never done anything wrong. They decided to kill Him by hanging Him on a cross—but that didn’t surprise Jesus at all. He came to die for sinners, and He knew He would die on a cross.
One day, Jesus said, “…the Son of Man [must] be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14).
(open box #8)
Jesus died on a cross, to take the punishment for sin. Do you know what sin is? Sin separates us from God, because God is Holy. Everything He does is good and right and true. He never lies, or does anything wrong. We can tell God we’re sorry for the things we’ve done wrong. We can ask Him to forgive us, and He will! Do you know why? Because Jesus took the punishment for everyone who believes in Him.
The 9th day of Christmas
While Jesus hung on the cross, people mocked Him. They said, “If you are God, save yourself!” And Jesus could have saved Himself. He could have called for ten thousand angels to rescue Him. But He didn’t, because He wanted to take the punishment for the sins of everyone who would believe in Him.
The people who watched Jesus on the cross wagged their heads and said, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. He saved others; but he cannot save himself. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now” (Matthew 27:40-43).
(open box #9)
Did you know that angels do whatever God tells them to do? Sometimes He sends them to protect people. (see Matthew 26:53-54, Psalm 91:11-12)
The 10th day of Christmas
After Jesus died, two of His friends took Him off the cross. They wrapped His body in strips of cloth and sweet-smelling spices. Then they laid Him in a tomb.
The Bible says,
“So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews” (John 19:40).
(open box #10)
Jesus died, and His friends were very sad, but God has power over life and death. Something exciting happened three days after Jesus died! Do you think you know the end to this true story? (see 1 Corinthians 15:54-57)
The 11th day of Christmas
Strong men rolled a huge stone in front of Jesus’ tomb, so no one could get in and no one could take Jesus out.
The Bible says they “rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away” (Matthew 27:60).
(open box #11)
A tomb was like a cave, with an opening at the front, so people could walk in and out. How big do you think the stone had to be to close the entrance of a tomb? Do you think it was bigger than you?
The 12th day of Christmas
Three days after Jesus died, three of His friends went to the tomb. They were women who wanted to put more spices on Jesus’ body. On the way to the tomb, they said to each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us?” When they got to the tomb, an angel had already rolled away the stone. When they went inside, they found an empty tomb!
The angel said to the women,
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said…go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead” (Matthew 28:5-7).
After Jesus finished all the work God gave Him to do, God brought Him back to life. And He still lives, to this very day!
(open box #12)
Why do you think there’s soap in our last egg?
Thanks to Jesus, we can ask God to wash away our sins. And He will! The Bible says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Jesus came to His own people, but they didn’t care about Him or love Him. They didn’t want to obey Him or honor Him as King. But to all who believe Him, who receive Him as Savior and King, He gives the right to become children of God (see John 1:11-12).
That’s why we celebrate Christmas.
Here’s what you’ll need: Twelve very small gift boxes or bags. Most of the dollar stores have small boxes, and small gift bags. I also purchased a large box to hold all of the little boxes; this will make it easier to bring to gatherings and pack away for future years. Number the boxes from 1-12.
Box 1: any small item found in the baby shower section of stores, an It’s a Boy trinket, a small piece of baby blanket, a rattle
Box 2: marbles, small bouncy balls, small blocks or toy
Box 3: crown (charm or sticker)
Box 4: rolled up Scripture tied with twine (copied from page of Bible), picture of Bible, Bible charm or sticker
Box 5: heart (plenty of options to choose from)
Box 6: chocolate gold coins
Box 7: praying hands (charm, clipart cutout, or sticker)
Box 8: cross (many options to choose from)
Box 9: angel (charm, sticker, ornament)
Box 10: strips of muslin and whole spices such as cloves or all spice berries
Box 11: stone
Box 12: soap (small soap balls found by bubble bath, or bar of soap)
If your boxes are large enough, you can add duplicate items in each box so the children can keep them as a reminder of the story.
