1. Tech Que: “Shake It Up” Title Graphic

2. Hello everyone and welcome back to our final week of “Shake It Up”
Hello everyone and welcome back to our final week of “Shake It Up”! If you have any shake left in you, you better get it out today! Last week we shook up some presents and what did we discover? (Call on kid.) That’s right! We learned that on Christmas day, the prophecies finally came true—Jesus, the Light of the World, was born.

3. Speaking of prophecies, does anyone remember what a prophecy is
Speaking of prophecies, does anyone remember what a prophecy is? (Take answers.) That’s right. Long before Jesus was born, God gave messages to the prophets about the future Savior. Those messages about the future are called prophecies. During today’s story, I want for you to listen carefully for 3 of those prophecies from the Old Testament. Here they are:

4. Tech Que: “The Savior Will” Graphic (You can read the following from the above graphic.) The Savior will be born in Bethlehem, be brought out of Egypt, and live in Nazareth. If you hear in our story how Jesus matched any one of those 3 prophecies, I want you to shout, “It’s a Match!” (Have the kids practice.) Are you ready for the story?

5. Optional: For added fun with younger kids, say, “If you’re ready for the story, shake your hands in the air.” “Shake your heads,” then feet, elbows, etc.

6. Tech Que: “The Bible Story” Graphic Sometime after Jesus was born, there were some Wise Men from the East who followed a star that they believed would lead them to Jesus— the King of kings. At that same time, there was an evil king named Herod who ruled over the land. Invite a kid to the teaching area to play the part of the king. Place a crown on his head and hand him the “No Way” sign. Tell him to hold it up every time you say, “No way.”

7. When Herod heard about this so-called child king, he was pretty mad
When Herod heard about this so-called child king, he was pretty mad. (Tell “king” to look mad.) No, I mean he was really mad. (Tell “king” to look madder.) No, I mean he was off the charts, red-in-the-face, head- exploding mad! (Motion to “king” to look as mad as possible.) Nice job! You see, King Herod thought that Jesus was going to take his throne away from him. Do you think the king was cool with that? (Tell king to shake his head “no” and hold up “No Way” sign) No way! Let’s see what he did about it.

8. During the small group connect time, kids will have had a chance to shake different presents and guess what’s inside. Hold up present #1. Ask the kids what they think is in it. Present #1 contains an apple. After taking some answers, remove the lid and reveal its contents. (Optional: after each reveal, PLAY the “Shake It Up” music jam and have the kids who guessed correctly do their crazy “Shake It Up” dance.)

9. King Herod asked the teachers of scripture (hold up apple) where Jesus was supposed to be born. “In Bethlehem,” they told Herod. (Kids should shout, “It’s a Match!”) When King Herod heard this, he told the

10. Wise Men to go find the baby and then report back immediately so that he too could go worship Jesus. Do you think King Herod really wanted to worship Jesus? (Tell king to shake his head “no” and hold up “No Way” sign) No way! He wanted to kill him! An angel warned the Wise Men about this, so when they found Jesus, they didn’t go back to tell King Herod. When the king realized he had been tricked, he was furious (Tell king to look furious) and came up with a terrible plan! Let’s see what it was.

11. Hold up present #2. Ask the kids what they think is in it
Hold up present #2. Ask the kids what they think is in it. Present #2 contains a diaper. After taking some answers, remove the lid and reveal its contents.

12. Herod knew that Jesus was a baby (hold up diaper), he just didn’t know which baby. So he ordered that every baby boy less than two years old be killed. Do you think Herod’s plan worked? Do you think Jesus was one of the babies who was killed? (Tell king to look sad and hold up “No Way” sign) No way. An angel warned Joseph about the plan. So that very night, Joseph woke everyone up and they fled for Egypt, where Herod couldn’t get them. Let’s see what they did next.

13. Hold up present #3. Ask the kids what they think is in it
Hold up present #3. Ask the kids what they think is in it. Present #3 contains dead leaves. After taking some answers, remove the lid and reveal its contents.

14. Mary and Joseph stayed in Egypt until King Herod died. (Hold up leaves
Mary and Joseph stayed in Egypt until King Herod died. (Hold up leaves. Tell king to pretend to die. Thank and dismiss him.) When Herod had died, they brought Jesus out of Egypt. (Kids should shout, “It’s a Match!”) But then something interesting happened. Let’s see what it is.

15. Hold up present #4. Ask the kids what they think is in it
Hold up present #4. Ask the kids what they think is in it. Present #4 contains matchbox cars. After taking some answers, remove the lid and reveal its contents.

16. While Joseph was traveling, (hold up car) he was warned in a dream not to return home. Instead, Joseph took Mary and Jesus to live in a town called Nazareth. (Kids should shout, “It’s a Match!”)

17. Tech Que: “Big Bible Story Questions” Graphic At the end of the Bible story have the kids turn briefly to their small groups and discuss the following questions: For Younger Kids: What did you find interesting about this story? How do you think the prophets knew all of those things would come true so many years before they happened?

18. Tech Que: “What are the Chances. ” Isn’t that amazing
Tech Que: “What are the Chances?” Isn’t that amazing! In just that one story, we saw how Jesus matched 3 of the Old Testament prophecies. Do you think it’s possible, though, that maybe Jesus just accidently matched those 3 prophecies and that He wasn’t really the coming Savior that God had talked about? (Take answers from kids.) I don’t think so either! The chances of that happening are almost impossible. Let me show you what I mean.

19. #1: Hold up six dice. Roll the dice on a table or the floor where the kids can see what you’re doing. Pick the dice back up and roll again. Continue rolling the dice as you ask the kids what the chances are that you would roll all 6’s at one time.

20. #2: Hold up 10 coins. Shake the coins up in your hands and then toss or drop them on a table or the floor for kids to see. Pick them back up and do it again. Continue dropping the coins as you ask the kids what the chances are that you would get all heads or tails.

21. #3: Hold up a marker. Remove the cap and write the number 48 on the palm of your hand so that the kids cannot see it. Ask the kids to think of a number between 1 and 100. Tell them to say their number aloud on the count of 3. Afterwards, show the kids what number you wrote on your hand. Ask them what the chances are that every kid would have guessed the right number.

22. The chances of those things happening are nearly IMPOSSIBLE
The chances of those things happening are nearly IMPOSSIBLE! Do you know what, though? It would be WAY more impossible for Jesus to accidently match all of those prophecies in the Bible. In fact, Jesus didn’t just fulfill 3 prophecies. (Show the number on your hand again.) Did you know that there are at least 48 prophecies about the coming savior in the Old Testament, and Jesus matched them all! The only way that could happen is if Jesus really is Lord.

23. That’s what our Bible verse for today proclaims
That’s what our Bible verse for today proclaims. Take a look at this verse from the Bible. (Encourage kids to open their Bibles to Philippians 2: Be prepared to give younger kids more time and assistance in finding the verse. When ready, choose a kid to read it aloud or read it aloud yourself while the kids follow along.)

24. Tech Que: “When the name of Jesus is soken, everyones knee will bow to worship him… Everyone’s mouth will say that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Philippians 2:10-11 Isn’t that amazing! Jesus IS the Lord and Savior that God spoke of long ago. Let me ask you a question, though. Have you ever asked Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your life? If you haven’t, then maybe today could be your first time! Asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior is as easy as ABC. Let me explain what I mean. The “A” stands for “Admit.”

25. Tech Que: Admit If you want to become a Christian, you have to admit that you sin and ask God for forgiveness. The only way to get rid of sin is to confess your sins to God and tell Him you’re sorry. God loves you so much He’ll forgive you no matter how much you’ve sinned.

26. Tech Que: Believe The “B” stands for “Believe”—believe in Jesus and that He died for your sins. Jesus, who was the perfect Lamb, died to take the punishment for the sin in your life which separates you from God. When we believe Jesus died for our sins, we can be forgiven.

27. Tech Que: Choose And finally, the “C” stands for “Choose”—choose to follow Jesus for the rest of your life. Choose to live your life the way He wants you to instead of how you want to.

28. Lead the kids through the salvation prayer
Lead the kids through the salvation prayer. It’s important that kids say the salvation prayer for themselves as opposed to just reciting the words after someone else. To do this, prompt the kids to silently pray on their own. After each prompt, give the kids 10-15

29. seconds to respond. Begin by asking the kids to bow their heads and prompting them to admit to God that they’ve sinned and ask Him for forgiveness. Next, prompt the kids to tell God they believe that Jesus died for them and washed away their sins. Finally, prompt the kids to tell God they choose to follow Him. Close the prayer by thanking God for the amazing gift of His Son. Tech Que: “Shake It Up” Graphic