CHILDREN – 4th Sunday of Advent B

OBJECTS: None

I have an announcement to make!

But before I do, let me ask you about that word. What is an announcement? (Solicit children’s answers.)

That’s right – an announcement is a special kind of message, usually one letting us know that something important is going to happen. You might have received certain kinds of announcements in the mail. Sometimes when people graduate or changing jobs they send out announcements. The leaders of our government make announcements on TV or in the newspaper. Your parents probably make announcements at home – like announcing when dinner is ready or when it’s time to take a bath.

Today’s gospel lesson contains a special announcement. In fact, it’s such a special announcement that we even call it that: It is the story of “the annunciation.” In this reading, the Angel Gabriel appears to a young woman named Mary and he announces that she is going to have a baby – and not just any baby – he tells Mary that her baby will be the Son of God. Mary is to be Jesus’ mother.

Click Title for Entire Message

SOURCE: Sermon Writer

OBJECT: Pictures of Blue Wales

The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived on the earth. Try to picture in your mind how big a blue whale is. An adult blue whale can be 90 to 100 feet long. This is far longer than the length of most houses. Blue whales weigh 100 to 150 tons – 200,000 to 300,000 pounds – bigger than the biggest dinosaur that ever lived. Its heart alone weighs 1,000 pounds – the size of a cow. Are you getting an idea of how big a blue whale is?

Blue whales are also the loudest animal on earth. When they come to the surface and blow water into the sky the sound is louder than a jet airplane. Underwater the rumbling noise they make can be heard for hundreds of miles.

Now imagine that you are in a boat and you see a blue whale swimming by and it blows a spout of water forty to fifty feet into the air, making the loudest sound you have ever heard. (If your church structure has something equivalent to the height of the blow, point this out to the children.) How do you think you would react? How would you feel? I think you would feel very surprised to see and hear something so large and powerful. You might also feel frightened.

Thinking about how you would feel if you saw a whale might help you understand how Mary, who was to become the mother of Jesus, might have felt when an angel came to her. She saw and heard something very powerful. The angel, Gabriel, who was sent by God, told her she was going to have a baby boy, and he was to be named Jesus. The angel said Jesus was the Son of God.

Click Title for Entire Message

OBJECT: A big sign with the words, ANNOUNCEMENT on one side, and CHRISTMAS on the other.

(Enter carrying a sign that says, ANNOUNCEMENT facing the children. Lean or hang the sign so the children can see it as you speak.)

What is an announcement? (Give children time to answer.) Yes, it is an important message isn’t it? You might think of it like Mom or Dad announcing that dinner is ready. Or, the President making an announcement about something important on television. Sometimes we see a big billboard announcing a special product or a sign telling about a special sale.

(Turn the sign over to show CHRISTMAS.) Now, I have an announcement, “Christmas is coming!” (Again lean the sign so the children can see it as you speak.)

In our story from the Holy Bible an angel visited a little town in Nazareth to tell a young woman, “You will give birth to a son and call his name Jesus” (verse 31).

(Point to your sign showing CHRISTMAS.) The angel’s announcement and my announcement are important because they both have to do with Christmas. See the angel that visited Mary in Nazareth was announcing what would happen on the first Christmas. The angel also told Mary that she would be blessed and that the Lord was with her. He told Mary about her special baby who would be born on a special day.

Click Title for Entire Message

SOURCE: Sermon Writer