Excerpted from the book by Ruth Gilmore © 2001 – 2011 All Rights Reserved
Christmas Eve: “Saving the Ants”
Phil. 2:5-11
Preparation: Bring a toy ant or a picture and, if possible, a jar of real ants.
Tonight is very special isn’t it? It’s Christmas Eve, the night of Jesus’ birth! Can you imagine being at the manger the night that Jesus was born? Mary and Joseph would be there, watching their newborn son all wrapped up, so tiny and so amazing. They knew that night in the stable that the Almighty God Himself had come to earth as a helpless human baby. God had sent His Son to the world to save all people.
There were other creatures there at the manger too, besides humans. What other animals do you suppose saw the baby Jesus? (Let children name some of the animals.)Do you suppose there were any very tiny creatures that looked something like this? (Show toy ant.) There are ants all over the world, aren’t there? I’m sure there were some ants near the stable. And real ants aren’t usually big like this toy ant; they are extremely tiny. Real ants are this small. (Show jar of ants.)
Let’s say that for some strange reason, you really loved ants with all your heart. Let’s say that there was an ant colony near your house. You were careful not to step on those ants, and you would even leave food out for them. Let’s say that you loved each individual ant and wished that they could know that you loved them.
How in the world could you talk to an ant? (Let children offer their ideas.) Even if you got down on your belly and tried to look a teeny ant in the eye, you couldn’t make the ant understand. The only way that you’re going to get through to those ants, is to become an ant yourself. Can you imagine being an ant? Especially a very tiny one? It would be a dangerous experiment. You could get squashed. Maybe you would go through all that trouble to become an ant and they wouldn’t even listen to you. The ants that you love might drive you away. You might try to warn them about a flood or a fire that was coming and explain to them that you became an ant so that you could save them. Some might listen to you and others might not. But becoming an ant would be the only way to really communicate.
Well what did God do? The Infinite Creator, the Almighty God loved the people of the world so much, that He made Himself as tiny as a baby, so that He could talk to us. And God told us through Jesus, that He loves us more than anything. God came to earth at Christmas and that is why we celebrate. Merry Christmas everyone!(Hold up your ants and greet them as well.) Merry Christmas little ants.
Dear Lord, thank you for sending your son, Jesus to our earth to show us how very much you love us.
