Nativity in Copper and Umber, by J. Kirk Richards

December 20–26

Christmas

The Matchless Gift of God’s Divine Son

Remember that class members’ most important and effective gospel learning takes place in their homes. As you prepare to teach, consider how your Sunday School class can reinforce their personal and family study.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

How has studying “The Living Christ” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org) this week blessed members of your class? You might share these words from President Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society General President, and then invite class members to talk about any similar experiences they’ve had: “As I have studied the life and teachings of Jesus Christ with more focus and committed ‘The Living Christ’ to memory, my gratitude and love for our Savior have increased. Each sentence of that inspired document contains a sermon and has enhanced my understanding of His divine roles and earthly mission. What I have learned and felt through this period of study and reflection confirms that Jesus truly ‘is the light, the life, and the hope of the world’” (“That Your Joy Might Be Full,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 85).

Teach the Doctrine

“None other has had so profound an influence.”

• Class members could read the first paragraph of “The Living Christ” and share their thoughts about why Jesus Christ’s influence has been more profound than any other person’s. What other statements in “The Living Christ” support this claim? Invite class members to share how He has influenced them personally. The video “Why We Need a Savior” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org) can supplement your discussion.

• Have class members ever had to explain to someone of another culture why they celebrate Christmas? Perhaps they could share their experiences. Or you could invite class members to imagine they were asked this question by someone who is unfamiliar with Christianity. How might we respond to this question? Encourage class members to review “The Living Christ” with this question in mind, and invite a few to share their thoughts. As a class, you could also read Luke 2:10–14 or sing a hymn that expresses the joy of Christmas (such as “Joy to the World,” Hymns, no. 201) and talk about why the birth of Christ brings “great joy.” What can we do to “receive [our] King”?

  

  Light of the World, by Howard Lyon

“God be thanked for [His] matchless gift.”

• In “The Living Christ,” the Apostles refer to the Savior as a “gift” from our Heavenly Father. To help class members learn more about this gift, you could write on the board Through Jesus Christ, God gives us the gift of … and invite class members to suggest ways to complete this sentence, based on what they read in “The Living Christ” and the statement by President Russell M. Nelson in “Additional Resources.” How do we receive these gifts? You could invite class members to choose one of these gifts and work to receive that gift more fully.

Additional Resources

Gifts the Savior offers.

Speaking at Christmastime, President Russell M. Nelson listed four gifts that the Savior gives to all who are willing to receive them:

“First, He gave you and me an unlimited capacity to love. That includes the capacity to love the unlovable and those who not only do not love you but presently persecute and despitefully use you.

“With the Savior’s help, we can learn to love as He loved. …

“A second gift the Savior offers you is the ability to forgive. Through His infinite Atonement, you can forgive those who have hurt you and who may never accept responsibility for their cruelty to you. …

“A third gift from the Savior is that of repentance. This gift is not always well understood. … Repentance is a resplendent gift. It is a process never to be feared. It is a gift for us to receive with joy and to use—even embrace—day after day as we seek to become more like our Savior. …

“A fourth gift from our Savior is actually a promise—a promise of life everlasting. … Eternal life is the kind and quality of life that Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son live. When the Father offers us everlasting life, He is saying in essence, ‘If you choose to follow my Son—if your desire is really to become more like Him—then in time you may live as we live and preside over worlds and kingdoms as we do.’

“These four unique gifts will bring us more and more joy as we accept them. They were made possible because Jehovah condescended to come to earth as the baby Jesus” (“Four Gifts That Jesus Christ Offers to You” [First Presidency Christmas devotional, Dec. 2, 2018], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Improving Our Teaching

Prepare yourself spiritually. “Powerful gospel teaching means not just preparing a lesson but preparing ourselves. … Effective gospel teachers—before they think about filling class time—focus on filling their hearts with the Holy Ghost” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way, 12).