The Birth of Jesus The Nativity Story

Mary and the Angel About two _hundred_ years ago, in the town of Nazareth, there lived a young _woman_ named Mary. She was engaged to be married to _Joseph_, a carpenter. One day an _angel_ appeared before her and told her she had been chosen to have a special baby. The baby would be _God's son and she must call him _Jesus_.

Journey to Bethlehem Soon after the angel's visit, Mary _and_ Joseph were married. Mary was due _to_ have her baby when they were told they had to go on a long _journey_ to Bethlehem, which was where Joseph came _from_. This was because they had to pay a special tax. Mary had to ride on a _donkey_ for a few days over the hills of Gallilee.

No Room at the Inn At last Mary and Joseph _arrived_ in Bethlehem. It was crowded with other people _who_ needed to pay their taxes. Mary _was_ very tired and needed a place _to_ stay. At each inn, the story was the same. There was no _room_ for them. Eventually, one kind innkeeper said he had a stable where he kept his _animals_. They were welcome to stay there.

Jesus is Born And so it _was_ that a few hours later, Mary _gave_ birth to her son in that stable. She _wrapped_ Jesus in strips of cloth and _laid_ Him in a manger full of hay.

Shepherds hear News _At_ the same time, _over_ a hillside overlooking Bethlehem, some shepherds were watching over their sheep. A bright light appeared _in_ the sky. They were very afraid. It was an angel sent _by_ God. The angel told them not _to_ be afraid, because he had some good news. He said the Son _of_ God had been born and they would find Him _in_ Bethlehem.

Shepherds give Gifts The shepherds wanted _to go_ and see the baby. When they arrived at the stable, they _were_(be) filled with joy at seeing Jesus _lying_ in the manger. They knelt down and _worshipped_ Him. They told Mary and Joseph how the angel had _appeared_ in the sky and told them that Jesus was to be the Saviour of the world.

A New Star Appears Far away _in_ the East, Wise Men saw a new star shining high in _the_ sky. These men studied the stars and they knew this _was_ a very special star. They studied their scrolls where _37_ said that whenever a bright new star appeared it meant _that_ a great ruler had been born.

Following the Star The Wise Men decided _to find_ this new ruler. They went to Jerusalem _to see_ King Herod, as they thought the baby would be in the palace. They _asked_ to see the child that would be King of the Jews. The king _was_ troubled. He thought this new king may _take_ away his throne. He told them _to return_ when they had found the baby so that he could _worship_ the child himself.

Wise Men give Gifts The Wise Men set off to find the baby. They were guided _by_ the star to the stable in Bethlehem. Here _they_ knelt down and worshipped Jesus. They gave _him_ gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. That night, the men had _the_ same dream where an angel warned them that King Herod wanted _to_ kill Jesus and told them not to go back to his palace.

Jesus is Safe The Wise Men _went_ back to their own country without calling to see Herod. Soon after Joseph had a dream where an angel told _him_ to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt as King Herod _had_ ordered that Jesus be killed. They left Bethlehem right away. When the wise men did _not_ return, Herod ordered that baby boys in Bethlehem be killed. They did not find Jesus _so_ he was safe

For making the cloze test I used the text found at the following website: http://www.topmarks.co.uk/christianity/nativity/index.htm