Prepare:  You will need a really good blindfold, so that whoever is wearing it is completely in the dark.

  As the children gather find a volunteer to be blindfolded.  They do not need to do anything other than sit and listen, they just need to wear the blindfold.  Ideally this is one of the children, but if none of them are willing it can be a youth or adult helper.  They will need to talk about wearing the blindfold at the end, so it should be someone who is not too shy.

  I bet you are wondering why (person’s name here!) is wearing a blindfold.  We will get to that, but first we should talk about the reading from Isaiah.  Did you hear that?  What a great Christmas story, don’t you think?  (give a little time)  Wait, you didn’t hear the Christmas story in that reading?

Well, let’s see if we can tell the Christmas story together, what do you think?  (Prompt the children through the story, starting with the Mary and Joseph traveling, and end with the angels and the bright light that the shepherds saw.  Take a little time, we want that person in the blindfold to be there for a while!)

Wow!  You guys know this story really well!  Well, let’s see if we can find that story in the reading from Isaiah.  The story of Christmas is the beginning of something new.  Jesus being born changes everything.  The Isaiah reading talks about people who can’t see the good things in life, or don’t have hope, finding hope and love.  It is about people who difficult lives finding relief from the things that are hard.  Some of those difficult things could be being sick, or getting bullied, or just being sad about something.  We get used to these things, so when they are taken away it is surprising.  All of this is why Jesus came to earth, why he was born!

So, what does it feel like to have a burden lifted?  Let’s see – (Take off the blindfold) what do you see?  (Give a little time for the blindfolded person answer). 

  God of hope and light, we praise you for the gift of your son and for the chance to share his love.  Help us to keep you in our hearts during this season and throughout the year.  Amen

  May God’s Word shine a light into your life today and always.

~GB

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