"The angel Gabriel was sent by God to... Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.'
She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High... The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.'"
"The angel Gabriel was sent by God to... Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.'
She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High... The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.'"
(From the Gospel)
(Allow any spontaneous prayers, perhaps leading by example. 3-6 year olds relate most naturally to God through prayers of praise and thanksgiving; 6+ will have started thinking about their needs and the needs of those around them in prayers of intercession. Some children may also just want quiet time to speak with God in their hearts.)
Let's imagine this scene. Mary is at home, perhaps praying, or looking after the house. Probably she is talking to God whatever she is doing. But she gets a great surprise - an angel appears to her!
How do you think she might have felt to get such a sudden and wonderful visitor? How would you feel if it happened to you?
Then the angel speaks to. "Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you." What could this mean? It made Mary sound very important, but she was just a normal person.
Mary also wondered what the angel meant, and was a little frightened and confused. But the angel told her not to worry, that God was pleased with her, and had chosen her to be the mother of someone very special. I wonder if this comforted her or made her even more confused!
The angel said that the Holy Spirit would come upon her to make her the mother of this special child.
What names did the angel give for the child?
Yes, Son of the Most High, Son of God. And He would be holy.
Who do you think this child could be?
Yes, Mary was to be the mother of God, of Jesus. Imagine how she must have felt to realise this!
Mary must have known that it would not be easy to be the mother of Jesus, but she said yes anyway.
Thank you, God, for sending us Your Son. Thank you, Jesus, for coming to us as a baby. Thank you, Mary, for saying yes!
(Sing a simple hymn or chant if your children like singing. Or even if they don't ;) This can also be done at the beginning. )
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