Joy to the World!
The Children’s Word is a weekly bulletin for Orthodox Christian young people. Copyright 2014 Alexandra Houck.
“Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Mark 10:4
Sunday, December 21, 2014 Volume 2, Issue 51
JOY to the World!JOY to the World!JOY to the World!JOY to the World!
Angels. Shepherds. Wise men. Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. Even as
the littlest kid, you knew the story. But
you know lots of stories, don’t you?
What’s different about the Christmas
story?
Well, the Christmas story is true! And it
brings you joy! On Christmas Eve, we’ll hear
about the shepherds, who saw an angel
standing in front of them. And what did he
say? “Do not be afraid, for behold I bring you
good news of great joy which will be to all people.”
Wait. To ALL people? Not just for my family and me? Not just for my friends
at church? Not just for Christians? No! Joy to all people. Joy to the world!
Sometimes we might think that our Lord, Jesus Christ is just for us Chris-
tians. But the Bible tells us that He came to earth to bring joy to ALL people.
Did you know that YOU can help bring that joy to all the world? When you
try to be like Christ, you help bring joy to the world. When you are kind and
loving to others, you can share the joy of Christ to everybody around
you...even people who aren’t Christians, even people who don’t go to your
church, or to any church at all! Yes, joy to all the world!
A Ministry of the
Orthodox Christian Network
Jesus Christ is for everybody!Jesus Christ is for everybody!Jesus Christ is for everybody!Jesus Christ is for everybody!
What’s in an icon?
WHAT DO YOU SAY?WHAT DO YOU SAY?WHAT DO YOU SAY?WHAT DO YOU SAY?
This icon was made
more than one thousand
years ago!
Can you find Mary, the
Theotokos and our Lord
as a baby?
Unscramble these
words to find out
what you can say
to people at
Christmastime!
Greeting:
CSHIRT SI ROBN! __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __!
Answer:
GIOFYLR MIH! __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __!
Greeting: Christ is born! Answer: Glorify Him!
GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS FOR TWO THOUSAND YEARS!
How do YOU get ready for
Christmas? Do you buy or make
presents? Do you help cook a fancy
dinner? Do you decorate the house?
We all have ways of getting ready for
the great day.
But in today’s Gospel reading, we hear
about how people had been getting
ready for the very first Christmas.
They had been getting ready...for al-
most two thousand years! We hear,
“Abraham was the father of Isaac, and
Isaac the father of Jacob…” and so on, all
the way down to Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Abraham lived almost two thousand years before Christ was born!
Ever since then, the faithful people had waited. They got ready for the
first Christmas. Not with fancy dinners or pretty Christmas trees, of
course. They prayed that God would give them a Savior, somebody
who would save the world. This Somebody was our Lord, Jesus Christ!
So on Christmas Eve night, when you are excited for Christmas to come,
just remember the people who really had to wait...for two thousand
years! Then, let’s thank God that He has come!
We celebrate the Nativity of our Lord on Thursday, December 25th!
OUR waiting is the easy part!OUR waiting is the easy part!OUR waiting is the easy part!OUR waiting is the easy part!