Kids’ slot for Christmas. You need a small crakcer, a pack of crackers and a giant cracker with the usual three things inside.

Who can tell me what this is?

Who can tell me what I’ll find inside?

Who wants to pull it with me?

What do we find in there?

• We’ve got a joke
• We’ve got a present
• We’ve got a crown

I’ve got a much bigger cracker here. Who wants to pull it with me? Let’s pull out the things that we find. This week I realized that crackers are a brilliant thing to have at Christmas because they remind us all about Jesus.

1. the joke reminds us that Jesus brings us great joy

Crackers always have jokes in them. Let’s read one of the jokes from the cracker.

• Knock Knock
• Who’s there?
• Wayne
• Wayne who
• Wayne in a manger!

I’ve also got one for the grown ups.

• Q: Why is Christmas just like any other day in the office?
• A: Because you do all the hard work and the fat guy in the suit gets all the credit!

Jokes are brilliant because they make us laugh and they bring us great joy. The joke reminds us that God sent Jesus to bring us great joy. Jesus is the only person who can make us really joyful. Following and trusting in Jesus is the most fantastic thing that we can do.

2. the present reminds us that Jesus is God’s gift

Crackers always have a gift in them. This is the gift I put in the cracker. It’s a rubber chicken. It’s such a great gift to have because you never know when you’ll need a rubber chicken! The present reminds us that God sent Jesus as a gift. Jesus is very valuable and very precious. Jesus is the best present that God could give us. I’m sure that there are lots of things that we’d like to have at Christmas but there’s no better gift to have than Jesus.

3. the crown reminds us that Jesus is a king

Crackers always have a hat or a crown in them. This is a crown that Flora made. The crown reminds us that God sent Jesus as a king. Jesus is in charge of everything. Even though we can’t see him he is looking after everything to make sure that we’re ok.

If you’d like to have a cracker to take home come and see me at the end of the meeting and I’ll give you one. But before you go off to Christ Church Kids let’s pray.