(15 minutes with questions and prayer)
Teacher Note: Have the children form a semi-circle with their chairs. Start your story time with a few stretches to get the wiggles out. Go over your expectations for Bible Story Time (hands in their laps, feet on the floor, listen to you when it is your turn to talk, etc.). Make sure you have the Bible open on your lap while you tell the story.
Below is a Bible story that you can read word-for-word to your students. With younger children, focus only on the main points of the story (see text in bold). With older students, share more of the story’s details.
Today’s Treasure Story comes from the book of Matthew. Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. We are going to be studying the four books about Jesus’ life and death called the Gospels. The book of Matthew was written for the Jewish people. Many stories from the book of Matthew focus on how the Jews had been waiting for their Messiah from the line of David. In today’s Treasure Story, we are going to learn that Magi came to visit Jesus to worship Him.
The Magi followed the star to Bethlehem. What might you use if you needed directions on how to get somewhere? That’s right! You might use a map, but the Magi followed a star for their directions. The Magi were men who studied the stars who were not from Jerusalem, but they had learned from the Jews that a Messiah was coming. The Jews had waited for their Messiah for many years, but they overlooked Jesus’ birth. Yet the wise men traveled from very far away to worship Him and bring Him special gifts.
King Herod was jealous of Jesus. When the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, they wanted to know where they could find the King of the Jews called Jesus. Their words angered Herod because he did not want anyone to be king except him. Herod asked the Magi to find the child in Bethlehem and report back to him. King Herod made it seem as if he was interested in worshiping Jesus too.
The Magi worshiped Jesus. The men continued to follow the star until it stopped above the place where Jesus and His family were staying. The Magi worshiped Jesus and gave Him very precious gifts that were fit for royalty. They had finally found the true King! God warned the Magi in a dream to go home a different way rather than return to Herod.
The Jews who had been waiting for their Messiah missed the arrival of Jesus. The Magi were foreigners who were not Jews, yet they longed to see Jesus. We can see that God was working and is working to bring all people into a relationship with Himself. We should be eager to worship Jesus because of all He has done for us, just like the Magi did in our Treasure Story today.
Bible Story Questions