Theme: The Wise Men
Sunday 28th December 2025
Aim: To discover that the wise men came from a long way away to worship Jesus.
Bible passage: Matthew 2:1–12
For such familiar biblical figures, we actually know remarkably little about the wise men. Variously called wise men, kings and magi, we can’t be 100% sure who exactly they were (or how many of them there were). They may have been priests from another religion who had a keen interest in the stars and saw something they didn’t expect, leading them to investigate its origin and find Jesus. We also don’t know exactly where they came from – perhaps Persia or India. What we do know is that they were awake enough to read the signs of the times and open enough to let their observations lead them to Jesus.
As we explore the story of the wise men, help each other to reflect on the Christmas story as a whole. The big day has come and gone, so this time before the end of the year and the school term starts again is an ideal time to think about who Jesus is and what it means that God’s special Savour was born.
Kids Work Video
Storytelling Video
Things You May Need
Wise-men printout
Felt-tip pens
Collage materials (eg wool, coloured paper, stickers, ribbon), scissors, glue sticks
Cloak printout
Questions & Thoughts
Over the Christmas period, we have been making little models of all the characters in the Christmas story. You can collect them all and create your own nativity set at home – they are all available on the website . You’ve made Mary, Joseph and Jesus in a manger. Two weeks ago, it was a shepherd and an angel; today it’s a wise man!
Take a printout and decorate it to look like a wise man. What do you think the wise men looked like? They brought Jesus expensive gifts, so they could have been quite rich – wearing reds and blues and purples. When you have finished, roll this into a tube and tape to secure (start by rolling at the blank end towards the character).
As you work, carry on talking about the story. Ask: “If Jesus is God’s special Saviour, what does that mean?”
Chat & create
Share out some refreshments and enjoy eating and drinking together. Start to talk about the Bible story using these questions:
Which is your favourite part of the story? Why?
What is important about this story? Why?
Why do you think the wise men travelled all the way from the east to see Jesus?
What do you think Mary and Joseph thought when the wise men arrived at their house?
Why do you think Herod wanted to get rid of Jesus?
What do you think the whole story of Christmas means?
Worship
These are the worship songs being played in our kids groups this morning, if you wish to listen to the same:
Under 5s:
My God is so big
My Lighthouse
My Whole Self
Detonate (school years 1-3):
10, 000 reasons, bless the Lord
Alpha and Omega
Inferno (School years 4-6):
House of the Lord
10, 000 reasons
Encounter
Set out the collage materials you have and challenge each other to make a collage cloak that might be fit for a wise man. As you work, chat about why you think the wise men came to visit Jesus. Ask: “What gift would you give to Jesus?”
Once you have finished, think about what the whole Christmas story means. If you can, turn over the cloaks and write or draw their thoughts on the back. If you have used so many decorations that you can’t turn the cloak over, then you can write or draw on a piece of paper and stick that to the cloak.
Finally, ask God to help you carry on thinking about the Christmas story, why Jesus was born, what it means that Jesus is God’s special Saviour and who they want to talk to about Jesus.
Growing faith at home
This week, we finished our Christmas journey! We heard about how the wise men travelled from the East to visit Jesus, God’s special Saviour.
For all children
• Read or listen to the story together. You can use the video retelling the children watched in the session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk1LhnqROCM. Or read it in the Bible (Matthew 2:1–12) or a Bible storybook.
• Explore the story of Christmas by using these craft ideas: https://flamecreativekids.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas. Don’t forget to talk around the story as well as do the craft!
• In the session, we finished our own nativity set by making models of a wise man from paper tubes. If your child(ren) missed this or they have mislaid the figure they made at church, then you can make your own this week. As you create together, chat about what you would give to Jesus. Share your own thoughts as well as asking your child(ren) for their ideas.
• In this ‘in between’ time, set out some leftover Christmas paper, Christmas cards etc (it could be paper that was used to wrapped presents that you haven’t yet put in your wheelie bin!) and make a collage cloak that might be fit for a wise man. As you work, chat about why your child(ren) think the wise men came to visit Jesus. Ask them: “What gift would you give to Jesus?”
