Additional Sharing Time Ideas, December 2007

The following are additional ideas Primary leaders may use with the Sharing Time printed in the December 2007 Liahona. For the lesson, instructions, and activity that correspond with these ideas, see “The Greatest Gift” on pages F4 and F5 of the children’s section in this issue.

1. Display three wrapped gifts. Tell the children that at Christmastime we celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ coming to the earth (see John 3:16). Explain that by coming to the earth and promising to return again, Jesus has given us three wonderful gifts! Tell them that by answering questions about Jesus Christ they can find out what those three gifts are. (Before Primary, write in large print the words peace, happiness, and love, and then cut each word into puzzle pieces.) Invite three children to hold the packages. Explain that as the children answer each question correctly, they will get a puzzle piece that will tell them what their gift is. Ask questions such as “Who is Jesus’s mother?” (Mary), “Who is Jesus’s father?” (Heavenly Father), “Where can we read about Jesus?” (in the scriptures), “When we take the sacrament, what does the bread represent?” (Jesus’s body). Each time a correct answer is given, give a puzzle piece that goes with the box to the child who is holding it. Let groups of children work together to complete the puzzle and reveal the word. At the end of the game, the boxes will display the words peace, happiness, and love.

   When the children have assembled the words, have them open the packages. Inside each have a key word and a scripture: Peace—John 14:27; Happiness—Mosiah 2:41; Love—John 15:13. Have the child holding the box read the scripture. Sing a song or hymn about the Savior, and bear testimony of the peace, happiness, and love that come through following Him.

2. To learn more about Bethlehem, divide the Primary into three groups. Give each group one of the following: a map of the Holy Land (found in the Bible or your meetinghouse library); scripture reference Micah 5:2; and scripture reference John 6:51. Have the first group show the location of Bethlehem. Have the second group read Micah 5:2 and explain that our Heavenly Father’s plan was for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem. Have the third group read John 6:51 and explain why Jesus is the Bread of Life. Tell the children that the meaning of the word Bethlehem is “House of Bread.” Point out that the Bread of Life was born in the House of Bread.

   Teach the first verse of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (Hymns, no. 208) or another Christmas hymn. Describe how Bethlehem might have looked on the night Jesus was born. Tell how people beginning with Adam and Eve looked forward to Christ’s coming to earth. People hoped that He would come, and some feared that He might not come.

   Have the children draw a picture of Bethlehem (see “Drawing Activities,” Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 166–67). Testify that Jesus Christ, by coming to the earth, fulfilled the prophecies and made it possible for us to live with God again.