Surprise!
"They hurried to teh village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told eveyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished." Luke 2:16-18
*God, thank you for keeping your promise to the shepherds. Eventhough the baby wasn't what they were expecting, it was a great surprise! Help us to look for good, unexpected things You've given our family. Amen
Activity
Choose one family member (age or size won't matter), and have that person stand facing a wall, placing both palms on the wall and locking his/her arms out straight. Then have the person place one foot forward and one foot back so it looks as though that person is boldly holding up the wall.
Now have the rest of the family line up behind the first person and gently push forward against the shoulders of the family member in front of him/her. If you're doing the experiment correctly, no number of people will be able to push that person into the wall! What a surprise!
Ask: What did you expect would happen during the experiment? what do you think surprised the shepherds that first Christmas?