19 - Simon The Elder and Prophetess Anna
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen
Lesson No. ( 19 )
References
Matthew 2:25-41.
Notes for Servants
i The Lord Jesus Christ desired to fulfilSimeon’s wish to see Him only, but He gave us to touch him and to eat His body and drink His blood.
i Jesus was humbly born in a manger to comfort the poor: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".
Objectives
General: To celebrate Christmas.
Specific: The children will be able to ...
- Learn that God gives these two prophets time to see Christ birth.
- Know that God planed to save the world from the beginning.
- Express how Simeon and Anna felt when the saw the baby with His mother. Bible Verse
"Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel."
Matthew 1:23
Teaching Aids
The children could perform a simple play about the virgin, the Child Jesus and Joseph when they went into the Temple and met Simon the Elder.
Instruction
(1) Review last week's lesson.
(2) Who remembers the verse?
(3) Remind the children about the church occasions for the coming week.
(4) Teacher should prepare the appropriate questions to emphasize the objectives during the lesson.
Story Time
Simon the prophet, a pious and righteous man lived in Jerusalem. "Please, God,"he prayed, "Let me see the Messiah just once. then I shall be able to die in peace." Simon waited and waited, week after week, year after year, until he became very old. One day, God said to him "Go to the Temple, Simeon, and you will find Him there."
That same day Mary had taken Jesus to the Temple to present Him to God. Jesus was forty days old at the time. According to the Law, the first-born child was offered to the Lord and the child's mother was to offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God.
As was customary among the Jews,she and Joseph offered a pair of turtle doves in exchange for their first-bornson, as a thanksgiving to God. When Simeon saw Mary carrying her child he came towards her. "Blessed be God," he said, and took the baby from her. He held Jesus in his arms and said softly, "Lord, now your servant can die in peace, for his prayer has been heard. My eyes have seen the salvation that come to all men. The light that now shines on earth will bring glory to your people Israel." Then he turned to Mary, who was amazed at his words, and said, as he put the baby back into her arms: "Your child will make many men great and will cause some to fall. But there will be people who will not believe in Him, and your heart will be pierced with sorrow."
There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser. She was very old. She was a widow of about eighty four years, who stayed in the Temple, but served God with fasting and prayers dayand night. That day she saw the child and gave thanks to the Lord and spake about him to all those that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
When Mary and Joseph had finished making their offering to God, they went back to Bethlehem with the baby Jesus.
Discussion
1 - Follow up the story by talking about it with the children.
2 - Continue the discussion while they do the activity.
Learning Activities
Activity Sheet.
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