Isaiah's Announcement of the Coming Messiah

An interactive Puppet Drama from member "Lerner"

• You can do this with the puppeteers reading, or better yet, with readers reading from the script and the puppeteers focused on the acting.
• Make sure someone records the drama with their camera for viewing (and reinforcement) afterwards!
• You can expand the "audience response" idea by adding more responses to the rest of the narration if desired. This also works as a presentation in worship.

Scripture Reference:

Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23

Materials List:

• Puppet Stage (optional)
• Puppets
• Cue cards, markers
• Video camera

LESSON PLAN

Opening

Greet the children and introduce yourself. Let them know what they'll be doing and learning today.

Let's Get Started!

Teach the children the background about Isaiah being a prophet and a statesman, married with two sons, who lived from about 758 – 698 BC. He lived during the lifetimes of four different kings (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah), in Jerusalem, and at the same time as the prophets Amos, Hosea and Micah. The former nation of Israel had been divided into two kingdoms. The one in the north was called “Israel” and contained all the tribes (10) except Judah and Benjamin. (SHOW ON MAP) The southern two tribes comprised the kingdom of Judah, and that’s where Isaiah was called to minister.

Isaiah tried to give King Ahaz hope and a reason to believe God. He said God would give him a sign, if he would only trust in God alone. Then Isaiah told of future things, of the Savior, God’s Son, who would be born to a virgin and would be called “Immanuel” (God with us, see Isaiah 7:14), Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace (see Isaiah 9:6,7).

Isaiah’s job as a prophet was not easy because he often had to tell people, including the king, things they did not want to hear. He had to tell the people and the king to worship only God, not idols, and to trust God rather than to trust in their own strength.

Puppet Drama: He is Coming

CHARACTERS:
4 puppet prophets, #1, #2, #3 and #4  (or as many as you want)

Mary, Joseph, Angel Gabriel, another (?) Angel of the Lord, baby Jesus, and a narrator (or group of narrators speaking various parts for the puppeteers).

You may or may not want to use a puppet stage.

Prepare the Scene 1 audience response "cue cards" in advance. These can be written on a white board or cards.

Prepare to record your puppet drama and view it at the end of class!

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Scene I: The Prophets Tell of His Coming

(The four prophet-puppets may be operated by two to four children, depending on how many are present. They may act out their lines dramatically and you may have other puppets "listening" and reacting to prophecies.)

The (REACTIONS) can be spoken by other puppets or the audience. You can hold up "cue cards" with these comments on them.

Prophet #1: “He will be a descendent of Abraham. Genesis 22:18”   (AH!)

Prophet #2: “He will be a descendent of Jacob. Numbers 24:17”   (HMMM....)

Prophet #3: “He will come from the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10”   (OK.)

Prophet #4: “He will come from Jesse’s family. Isaiah 11:1”   (SOUNDS GOOD)

Prophet #1: “He will come from Jesse’s son David’s family. Isaiah 9:7”  (HUH?)

Prophet #2: “He will be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2”   (WHERE?)
 
Prophet #3: “A star will announce his birth. Numbers 24:17”  (YAY!)

Prophet #4: “He shall be born of a virgin and called ‘Immanuel’, ‘God with us’. Isaiah 7:14”   (WHAT?)

Prophet #1: “He will be called Wonderful Counselor. Isaiah 9:6”  (AWESOME!)

Prophet #2: “He will be called Mighty God. Isaiah 9:6”   (COOL)

Prophet #3: “He will be called Everlasting Father. Isaiah 9:6”   (OK!)

Prophet #4: “He will be called Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6”   (MUCH NEEDED!)

Prophet 1: "He save people from their sins"  (HUH?)  In other words, "Forgive and Welcome us all into his Kingdom" (HOORAY!)

Prophet 2: "Fast-forward now to a little town in Israel a few hundred years later where God is about to enter the world as a small child."   (HOORAY!  YAY!  AWESOME!   COOL!)

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Scene II: The Angel Gabriel Visits Mary (see Luke 1:26-38)

Narrator: The Lord sent the angel Gabriel to visit a young, unmarried woman named Mary in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. Mary was engaged to be married to a carpenter named Joseph.

Angel Gabriel: “Greetings favored one; the Lord is with you.”     (OOOOOH)

Mary: (She just looks fearfully at the angel.)

Angel Gabriel: “Do not be afraid, Mary. I have good news. You will have a baby boy, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the son of the Most High. His kingdom will never end.”   (ABOUT TIME!)

(If desired, a teacher or a narrator could read Luke 1:30 – 33 instead, if the spoken lines are too difficult for the children to read.)

Mary: “How can this happen, since I am not married.”  (YEAH, HOW?)

Angel Gabriel: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you; the holy one to be born to you will be called the Son of God…Nothing is impossible with God.” (see Luke 1:35,37)    (OH)

Mary: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”  (HOORAY!)
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Scene III: The Angel Visits Joseph (see Matthew 1:18-25)

(As the scene opens, Joseph is lying down and goes to sleep. An Angel of the Lord appears to him in a dream.)

Angel: “Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The Holy Spirit has caused her to be carrying a boy baby. You are to call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Joseph: (He stays asleep, but in his dream he is paying attention to the angel.) 

Angel: “The prophet said, ‘A virgin shall be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means, God with us.’”     (NICE!)

Narrator: “Soon after that, Joseph was married to Mary, and took her home to be his wife.”   

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Scene IV: Baby Jesus is Born in Bethlehem

Mary: (holding a puppet or doll baby Jesus) “Isn’t he wonderful, Joseph?”

Joseph: “Yes, and just think, he was born in Bethlehem, just like the prophets said.”   (YAY)

Mary: “I am a descendent of David, so our baby is also a descendent of David.”   (COOL)

Joseph: “It is an awesome job to be the parents to the Son of God! Thank you, Lord, for letting us love your Son!”   
(Mary and Joseph both smile at baby Jesus.)   (AWWW....)

Narrator:  And so Isaiah's promise of a Messiah came true, and Jesus grew up to be the Savior of the World (YAY, HOORAY, AWESOME!)

Narrator:  Now, the only thing left for you to do is to accept Jesus as your Savior and become one of his disciples (HUH?,  OH! OKAY!)

Closing/Sharing/Discussion Questions:

1. Can you think of any reasons God might tell people about the birth of Jesus hundreds of years before it happened? (ANS: To give people hope.)

2. If you were an angel like Gabriel assigned to go tell your friends and family about Jesus, what would you say to them?  Where would you meet them? What would they say when they saw you? Why would they believe you?

3. What do you think is the single most important description of the Messiah given by Isaiah in the opening?

A lesson written by member "Lerner"