Jesus Christ Is the Son of Heavenly Father

Purpose

To help each child understand that Jesus Christ is Heavenly Father’s son.

Preparation

Prayerfully study Matthew 3:13–17 and Luke 1:26–35; 2:1–7, 41–52. See also Gospel Principles (31110), chapter 3.
With the approval of your Primary president, invite the father of one of the children to come to class to talk about his child when he or she was a baby. Ask him to bring photos and a favorite toy, if possible. Encourage him to express love for his child.
Materials needed:
1. A Bible.
2. Picture 1-16, The Nativity (Gospel Art Picture Kit 201; 62495); picture 1-17, Boy Jesus in the Temple (Gospel Art Picture Kit 205; 62500); picture 1-18, John the Baptist Baptizing Jesus (Gospel Art Picture Kit 208; 62133).
Make the necessary preparations for any Enrichment Activities you want to use.

Note to the teacher: As you talk about fathers in this lesson, be sensitive to any children in your class who do not have fathers in their homes. Emphasize that we all have a Heavenly Father who loves us. If some of the children in your class have stepfathers, explain that stepfathers also love us and take care of us.

Learning Activities

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Attention Activity

Ask the children if they know who the visitor is. Invite the visitor’s child to introduce him to the class. Have the father tell the children about his child. Invite each child to tell something about his or her father, such as the color of his hair or his occupation.

Jesus Christ is the son of Heavenly Father

Tell the children that each of them has two fathers: an earthly father and a Heavenly Father. Our earthly father is the father of our physical bodies. Heavenly Father is the father of the spirits inside our bodies. Jesus has only one father, because Heavenly Father is the father of Jesus’ spirit and his physical body. That is why Jesus is called the Son of God.

Story

Show picture 1-16, The Nativity, and tell the story of the birth of Jesus, as found in Luke 1:26–35 and Luke 2:1–7. Emphasize that the angel told Mary her baby would be the Son of God. Refer to the picture as you ask the following questions:

Which person is Jesus’ mother?
What is her name? (See Luke 1:27.)
Who is the man in the picture? (See Luke 1:27.)
Who is Jesus’ father? (Heavenly Father. Joseph was a good man chosen by Heavenly Father to take care of Mary and Jesus.)

Song

Have the children stand and sing or say the words to “Away in a Manger” (Children’s Songbook, p. 42). Improvise appropriate hand and arm movements as suggested by the words.

Away in a manger, no crib for his bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;
The stars in the heavens looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Jesus loves Heavenly Father and obeys him

Story

Show picture 1-17, Boy Jesus in the Temple, and tell the story of Jesus in the temple, as found in Luke 2:41–52. Emphasize that Jesus went to the temple because he loved Heavenly Father and wanted to teach people about him.

What is Jesus doing in the temple? (See Luke 2:46.)

Activity

Have the children stand and do the following activity verse several times:

Young Jesus went to the temple (walk in place)
Before he grew strong and tall (stretch arms up)
To do the work of his Father (hold hands out)
Because he loves us all (hug self).

Story

Show picture 1-18, John the Baptist Baptizing Jesus, and tell the story of Jesus’ baptism, as found in Matthew 3:13–17. Explain that Jesus was baptized because he loved Heavenly Father and wanted to obey him. Jesus also wanted to set a good example for us. Read aloud verse 17 (starting with This is my beloved Son), and explain that these are Heavenly Father’s words. Heavenly Father was pleased that Jesus was baptized.

Have you seen someone be baptized?

Explain that one way the children can be obedient to Heavenly Father and show him they love him is by being baptized when they are eight years old.

Testimony

Bear your testimony that Jesus Christ is the son of Heavenly Father. Express your love for Jesus and the gratitude you feel for him.

Enrichment Activities

Choose some of these activities to use during the lesson.

Put the three pictures from the lesson face down on your lap or on a table. Invite a child to choose one of the pictures, show it to the class, and tell the story illustrated by the picture. Do the same with the other two pictures.
Have the children sing or say the words to the first verse of “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” (Children’s Songbook, p. 57).
Have the children act out the story of the birth of Jesus, using simple props such as a doll, a shawl, and scarves.

Additional Activities for Younger Children

Show picture 1-16, The Nativity, and ask the children who the baby in the picture is. Tell them about the birth of Jesus.

Explain that Jesus is not still a baby. He is grown up now, and he is Heavenly Father’s most important helper. Show picture 1-3, Jesus the Christ, and tell the children that Jesus loves us and helps us in many ways.
Have the children stand and sing the following words to the tune of “Once There Was a Snowman” (Children’s Songbook, p. 249). Use crouching actions for the first verse and stretching actions for the second verse.

Once I was a baby, baby, baby,

Once I was a baby, small, small, small.

Now I’m growing bigger, bigger, bigger,

Now I’m growing bigger, tall, tall, tall!
Talk to parents of your class members in advance to get photographs of class members as babies or small toys they used to play with. Show these to the class. Identify the baby in each picture or the owner of each toy. Explain that when they were babies, the children used to look like the photographs and play with the toys.