Children will learn:
Jesus Is:
Our Savior (Stanza One)
Our Hope (Stanza One)
Our King (Stanza Two)
Our Everything (Stanza Two)
Memory Verse:
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
— Galatians 4:4-5
Learning Resources
The Story
How Many Hymns Did You Say?
When people meet Jesus and accept His gift of salvation, they’re so happy they love to sing about Jesus.
They sing in church. They sing at home. And they sing in the car.
And sometimes they write, too!
They write notes, letters, books, poems and hymns.
When a young man named Charles Wesley began to write hymns, he couldn’t stop writing because he loved Jesus so much.
In fact, he wrote nearly 9,000 hymns over his lifetime!
That’s the same as ten lines of poetry every day for fifty years!
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus is one of his most popular Christmas hymns.
Charles wrote it one day when he noticed some orphaned children and prayed for them to know Jesus the way he knew Jesus.
As you learn this hymn, imagine what it was like for the first people who heard that the Savior who God promised them so long ago was finally here! How happy they must have been.
Baby Jesus was God Himself and He grew up to die as payment for our sin. When we accept this wonderful gift of salvation, we can live forever with Him in Heaven.
And we rejoice the same way God’s people rejoiced that very first Christmas Day.
The Hymn
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
by Charles Wesley, 1707—1788
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Luke 2:38; Rom. 6:22; Heb. 2:14-15; Heb. 4:3,10
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
Luke 2:25; Joel 3:16; Haggai 2:7; 1 Peter 1:8-9
Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
Gal. 4:4-5; Isa. 9:6; John 18:37; Rev. 11:15
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.
