Faith Stories: Angels at Christmas Time
Adapted from the Children’s Moment on Sunday, December 17, 2017, based on Matthew 1:18-25.

I know that you are as excited as I am that Christmas is getting closer! There are all kinds of things around that remind us that the holiday is near; I especially enjoy all of the decorations! What are some decorations that you have seen? I have seen lights, wreaths, Christmas trees and more. One of the things that I really like to see at Christmas time is all of the angels. I have all SORTS of angels that I put out at Christmas time.
Why do you think that we see so many angels at Christmas time? Well, there are angels in the Christmas story – they appeared to the shepherds out in the fields to tell them when baby Jesus was born. But an angel is important to the Christmas story even before Jesus was born. An angel appeared to Mary to tell her that she was going to have a baby.
But today, we’re going to find out about another time there was a visit from an angel. This visit was to Joseph. As you know, Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married. So when Joseph found out that Mary was going to have a baby before they were married, you can imagine how surprised he was. He probably thought, “What do I do now?” Joseph was a good man and didn’t want to make Mary feel bad, so he decided to just quietly break off their engagement. But then listen to what happened!
One night Joseph was sleeping, and while he was asleep, an angel came to him in a dream! The angel said to Joseph, “Don’t be afraid to get married to Mary. The baby that she is going to have is the Son of God. She is going to have a baby boy, and you are going to name him Jesus, and when he grows up, he is going to save all of the people from their sins!”
When Joseph woke up, he knew what the angel had said and knew what God’s plan was and did what he was supposed to do. But you know, Joseph didn’t really understand how everything was going to happen, but that didn’t matter; he didn’t need to worry about what other people would think. Joseph trusted God and obeyed him.
Sometimes you and I may find ourselves in a situation where we don’t know what to do. Like Joseph, we might ask ourselves, “What do I do now?” But if we listen, God will tell us what to do. He probably won’t send an angel to speak to us like he did with Joseph, but he will speak to us if we listen. It is up to us to pray and to listen carefully and to obey God’s plans for us.
Barbara then gave each child a little angel to help them remember to listen carefully for God to speak to them and to obey what he wants them to do. Then they prayed together:
Dear God, Please help us to listen to you and obey your plan for us. Amen.
Barbara Benton