No Room

TEXT: Luke 2:1-7; John 3:16

Michelle and Charlie's mom read in the newspaper about the Tyler City Christmas Festival. There would be a Christmas play, the Joyful Noise Carolers, a Christmas craft sale, and much more. The family planned to go on Friday afternoon and come home on Saturday. That would give them lots of time to see everything.

It took them almost two hours to drive to Tyler City. But they had fun looking at the winter scenery and the Christmas lights along the way.

The first thing they did when they arrived was to stop at a motel. Michelle, Charlie, and Mom waited in the car while Dad went inside. He soon returned to the car and told them there were no more rooms available in that motel. In fact, the manager had told him there might not be any rooms available in the whole town!

"Wow, I guess the Christmas festival is more popular than we thought," said Michelle. "What will we do, Dad?"

"If we can't find a room in town, I guess we will have to go back home tonight," answered Dad. "We'll stay and see the Christmas play anyway."

They stopped at several places, but the motel manager had been right. There were no rooms available.

"I'm sorry, children. I know how much you wanted to spend the night in Tyler City," said Dad. "Next year we'll make reservations. But right now let's go see the Christmas play."

As the play began, Michelle was still feeling very sad that they hadn't found a room to stay in. It would have been so much fun.

They watched as Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem. Then Joseph knocked on the door of the inn. He asked for a room for Mary and himself. The innkeeper told them there was no room.

"Mom, Dad!" whispered Michelle excitedly. "That's what happened to us! Oh, I know just how they must have felt. Such a long trip and then no room! How sad!"

"Yeah, and they couldn't just turn around and go back home!" said Charlie. "They had come a long way."

Going home that night, Michelle said, "In that play the man said that God sent Jesus to earth because He loved us. Why couldn't that innkeeper find a good room for Him. If I had been the innkeeper I would have made room for Joseph and Mary. Then Jesus would have been born in a nice place."

"Yes, God really did love the world, Michelle," said Dad. "And He showed it by sending Jesus, His very best Gift. The innkeeper couldn't find a nice room for Jesus, but you and Charlie can still give Him a room. You can give Him a room in your heart."

PARENT'S CORNER

This lesson focuses on the Christmas story—the birth of the Christ Child. Help your child make a Baby Jesus ornament as a way to center his attention on this important event.

Dip two cotton balls in a mixture of flour and water (about pancake batter consistency) which has been lightly colored with a bit of red food coloring. On a greased cookie sheet arrange the cotton balls touching each other, one as a round ball to form the head and the other slightly elongated to make the body. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the "baby" seems hard to the touch. Let cool.

Use a pen to draw on features, and if de­sired make a halo from a yellow pipe cleaner. Use a small piece of flannel as a blanket to wrap around Baby Jesus' body, and glue in place. If you wish, make a man­ger from a tiny cereal box painted brown and filled with straw.