Jesus, Our Loving Good Shepherd
A Christmas Family Devotion: God’s Love is for Everyone
Based on Luke 2:8-20
📖 Bible Passage:
Adjust how much Scripture you need to read or focus on according to your family’s dynamic (ages, attention spans, maturity, etc.). The selection below may be enough for younger kids, while older ones may enjoy the full passage.
Luke 2:8-12
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:16-17
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
🎯 Main Idea:
Christmas time usually means decorating our homes with lights, trees, and wreaths. Somewhere in the midst of it all, you’ll often find a Nativity Scene—baby Jesus surrounded by Mary, Joseph, shepherds, Magi, and angels. The Nativity reminds us of the true reason for Christmas. But there’s another simple item that can also point us back to the quiet manger scene: the candy cane.
Candy canes now come in many shapes, colors, and flavors, but the most recognizable is the red-and-white striped peppermint cane. Its curved shape lets us hang it on a tree, but it also resembles a shepherd’s staff—the very kind of staff the shepherds may have carried on the night of Jesus’s birth. These shepherds were ordinary men—uneducated, poor, even a little weary from their work. Yet God chose them as the first to hear the good news that His Son had been born. Why? To show us that Jesus came for everyone.
This Christmas, when you see a candy cane, remember the shepherds’ message. Just as God welcomed them to the manger, He welcomes us too. And in turn, we are called to welcome others, inviting them to meet our Savior. Let’s thank God for sending Jesus for all people, and let’s open our hearts to share that invitation with everyone around us.
You may also like this post on Psalm 23 concerning God as our Shepherd
Hands-On Activity: Homemade Candy Canes
Make a melted candy cane ornament:
“J” reminds you of Jesus or the shepherd’s hook
Red reminds us of the blood he shed for us
White reminds us that he lived a pure life and has washed our sins away.
🧰 What You’ll Need:
- Peppermints
- Cookie Cutter
- String
- Parchment Paper
🛠️ Instructions:
- Read Luke 2:8-20 and the devotional
- Talk about all the ways that the candy cane can remind us of Jesus this Christmas season.
- Turn the oven on to 350
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper – don’t skip this step, otherwise, they will stick to the baking sheet.
- Place peppermint candies in a single layer in the cookie cutter- If they are too big, you can break them up. * Make sure it is a single layer, or it won’t melt evenly
- Place the baking sheet in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Pull them out as soon as all the candy has melted. ** You don’t want it to bubble, so make sure you watch it closely.
- Let the candy ornaments cool for about 2 minutes.
- Use a toothpick or skewer dipped in cooking oil to make a small hole at the top of the ornament for the ribbon. ** Make sure to wait the 2 minutes or your hole will fill in with melted peppermint.
- Allow to cool for an additional 5 minutes before trying to remove it from the cookie cutter.
💬 Discussion Questions:
- When you see a candy cane, what comes to mind?
- How does the shape of the candy cane remind us of the shepherds at Jesus’s birth?
- Why do you think God chose to invite shepherds to see baby Jesus first?
- What does their story teach us about who Jesus came for?
- How can we “welcome others to the manger” this Christmas season?
🙏 Prayer:
“Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You that He came for everyone, just like You showed the shepherds. Help us remember, when we see a candy cane, that we are all welcome at the manger. Show us how to share Jesus with others this Christmas. Amen.”
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