Joyful Moments in Christ

1. Abraham — A man in the Bible whom God chose to be the father of the Jewish people.
2. Afraid — Feeling scared or worried.
3. Agreement — A promise between two or more people.
4. Area — A part of a place or region.
5. Away From — Not near; at a distance.
6. Baby — A very young child.
7. Began — Started to do something.
8. Birth — The time when a baby is born.
9. Boy — A young male child.
10. Bring — To take something to a place or person.
11. Came — Moved from one place to where someone is.
12. Child — A young boy or girl.
13. Circumcise — A religious act done to baby boys in Jewish families.
14. Continue — To keep doing something; not stop.
15. Darkness — A time or place without light; in this story, it also means a time of evil or bad things happening.
16. David — A famous king of Israel in the Bible.
17. Days Old — To have lived for a certain number of days.
18. Death — The end of life.
19. Elizabeth — The wife of Zechariah in the Bible.
20. Enemy — A person who wants to hurt you or is against you.
21. Everyone — All people.
22. Family — A group of people related by birth or marriage.
23. Father — A male parent.
24. Fear — A strong feeling of being afraid.
25. First — Before all others.
26. Forgiven — When someone says you do not have to be punished for a wrong thing you did.
27. Free — Not held down, trapped, or controlled.
28. Freedom — The state of being free; not controlled by others.
29. Give — To let someone have something.
30. Go Before — To go ahead or in front of someone else.
31. Good — Kind, nice, or helpful.
32. Grew Up — Got bigger or older.
33. Guide — To lead or show the way.
34. Had A Boy — She gave birth to a male baby.
35. Happy — Feeling good and pleased.
36. Hate — To feel very strong dislike.
37. Heard — To have listened to sounds or words.
38. Heaven — The place where God lives.
39. Hill Country — Land that has many hills.
40. Holy — Very special and pure, belonging to God.
41. Holy Spirit — God’s Spirit who helps and teaches people.
42. John — The son God promised to Zechariah and Elizabeth.
43. Light — Brightness that lets people see.
44. Little — A small amount of something.
45. Live — To be alive or continue to have life.
46. Lord — A name showing respect for God.
47. Love — To care about someone or something very much.
48. Made Signs — Used hands or movements to show what they wanted to say.
49. Make — To build or create something.
50. Mercy — Kindness and forgiveness when it is not deserved.
51. Message — Words sent from one person to another.
52. Most High God — A name for the one true God who rules over everything.
53. Mother — A female parent.
54. Name — A word a person is called.
55. Neighbor — People who live close to you.
56. New Day — A way to talk about a new, better time coming.
57. No One — Not one person; nobody.
58. Peace — A time without fighting, when people feel calm and safe.
59. People — A group of men, women, or children.
60. Power — Strength or ability to do something.
61. Powerful — Very strong.
62. Praise — To say good things about someone.
63. Prepare — To get something ready.
64. Promise — To say you will do something for sure.
65. Prophet — A person chosen by God to speak for him.
66. Reached — To arrive at a place.
67. Relative — A person in your family.
68. Remember — To keep something in your mind.
69. Right — Good, correct, or best.
70. Rule — To have control or power over others.
71. Save — To help someone and keep them safe from danger.
72. Savior — Someone who saves people from danger or sin.
73. See — To use your eyes to look at something.
74. Servant — A person who works for someone else.
75. Serve — To work for and help someone.
76. Shine — To give off light.
77. Show — To let someone see something.
78. Sin — Doing something God says is wrong.
79. Something — A thing that is not known or not named.
80. Spirit — A being that you cannot see, like an angel or demon.
81. Strong — Having power in your body or mind; not weak.
82. Surprise — Something that happens that you did not expect.
83. Talk — When a person speaks with words.
84. Tell — To give information with words.
85. Thought — Believed or guessed something in your mind.
86. Time — A point in the past or future; how we measure things like hours or days.
87. Told — Said something to someone.
88. Understand — To know the meaning of something.
89. Very — Used to show that something is stronger or bigger in amount.
90. Way — A plan or path to do something.
91. Wondered — Thought about something with curiosity.
92. Write — To put words on paper or another surface.
93. Wrote — Past tense of write.
94. Zechariah — The father of John the Baptist in the Bible.

1. Ahead — In front of or before someone else.
2. Allow — To let something happen.
3. Ancestors — Family members from a long time ago.
4. Birth — The time when a baby is born.
5. Bright — Giving off a lot of light.
6. Cause — To make something happen.
7. Circumcise — A religious act done to baby boys in Jewish families.
8. Covenant — A strong and special promise made by God.
9. David — A famous king of Israel in the Bible.
10. Dark — Without light.
11. Dawn Of Salvation — The beginning of being saved and helped by God.
12. Death — The end of life.
13. Descendant — A family member who comes after you, like a grandchild.
14. Enemies — People who want to hurt or fight you.
15. Fear — A strong feeling of being afraid.
16. God — The one true, holy, and powerful ruler of everything.
17. Guide — To lead or show the way.
18. Hate — To feel very strong dislike.
19. Heard — To have listened to sounds or words.
20. Heaven — The beautiful, perfect place where God lives.
21. Help — To do something for someone to make things easier.
22. Hill Country — Land that has many hills.
23. Holy — Very special and pure, belonging to God.
24. Holy Spirit — God’s Spirit who helps and teaches people.
25. Lord — A name showing respect for God.
26. Merciful — Kind and forgiving, not giving someone the punishment they deserve.
27. Message — Words sent from one person to another.
28. Mighty — Very strong and powerful.
29. Moment — A very short time.
30. Most High God — A name for the one true God who rules over everything.
31. Name — A word a person is called.
32. Neighbors — People who live close to you.
33. Oath — A strong promise.
34. Path — A small road to walk on.
35. Plain — Easy to see or understand.
36. Power — Strength or ability to do something.
37. Praise — To say good things about someone.
38. Prepare — To get something ready.
39. Prophet — A person chosen by God to speak for him.
40. Promise — To say you will do something for sure.
41. Publicly — So that other people can see or know.
42. Rejoice — To be very happy and celebrate.
43. Relatives — Family members.
44. Rescue — To save someone from danger.
45. Righteous — Living in a good and right way before God.
46. Rise — To go up.
47. Sacred — Very holy and special.
48. Salvation — Being saved from sin or danger.
49. Save — To help someone and keep them safe from danger.
50. Serve — To work for and help someone.
51. Set Free — To let someone go who was in trouble or danger.
52. Shadow — A dark shape made when something blocks light.
53. Shine — To give off light.
54. Signs — Movements or pictures that give information.
55. Sins — Bad things people do that go against God.
56. Solemn — Serious and important.
57. Son — A male child in a family.
58. Speak — To use your voice to say words.
59. Spread — To move to more people or places.
60. Steps — The moves you make when you walk.
61. Surprised — Feeling something unexpected has happened.
62. Tender — Gentle and kind.
63. Tell — To give information with words.
64. Writing Pad — A small book or paper to write on.

The Birth of John
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she had a boy.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord was very good to her, and they were happy for her.
59 When the baby was eight days old, they came to circumcise him.
They wanted to name him Zechariah because this was his father’s name.
60 But his mother said, “No, he will be named John.”
61 The people said to Elizabeth, “But no one in your family has that name.”
62 Then they made signs to his father, “What would you like to name him?”
63 Zechariah asked for something to write on.
Then he wrote, “His name is John.”
Everyone was surprised.
64 Then Zechariah could talk again, and he began praising God.
65 And all their neighbors were afraid.
In all the hill country of Judea, people continued talking about these things.
66 Everyone who heard about these things wondered about them.
They thought, “What will this child be?”
They could see that the Lord was with him.
Zechariah Praises God
67 Then Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and told the people a message from God:
68 “Praise to the Lord God of Israel.
He has come to help his people
and has given them freedom.
69 He has given us a powerful Savior
from the family of his servant David.
70 This is what he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
71 He will save us from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
72 God said he would show mercy to our fathers,
and he remembered his holy agreement.
73 This was the promise he made to our father Abraham,
74 a promise to free us from the power of our enemies,
so that we could serve him without fear
75 in a way that is holy and right for as long as we live.
76 “Now you, little boy, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go first before the Lord to prepare the way for him.
77 You will make his people understand that they will be saved
by having their sins forgiven.
78 “With the loving mercy of our God,
a new day from heaven will shine on us.
79 It will bring light to those who live in darkness, in the fear of death.
It will guide us into the way that brings peace.”
80 And so the little boy John grew up and became stronger in spirit. Then he lived in areas away from other people until the time when he came out to tell God’s message to the people of Israel.

Luke 1:57-80 (ERV)

The Birth of John the Baptist
57 The time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard how wonderfully good the Lord had been to her, and they all rejoiced with her.
59 When the baby was a week old, they came to circumcise him, and they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father.
60 But his mother said, “No! His name is to be John.”
61 They said to her, “But you don’t have any relative with that name!”
62 Then they made signs to his father, asking him what name he would like the boy to have.
63 Zechariah asked for a writing pad and wrote, “His name is John.”
How surprised they all were!
64 At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again, and he started praising God.
65 The neighbors were all filled with fear, and the news about these things spread through all the hill country of Judea.
66 Everyone who heard of it thought about it and asked, “What is this child going to be?”
For it was plain that the Lord’s power was upon him.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he spoke God’s message:
68 “Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has come to the help of his people and has set them free.
69 He has provided for us a mighty Savior,
a descendant of his servant David.
70 He promised through his holy prophets long ago
71 that he would save us from our enemies,
from the power of all those who hate us.
72 He said he would show mercy to our ancestors
and remember his sacred covenant.
73-74 With a solemn oath to our ancestor Abraham
he promised to rescue us from our enemies
and allow us to serve him without fear,
75 so that we might be holy and righteous before him
all the days of our life.
76 “You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his road for him,
77 to tell his people that they will be saved
by having their sins forgiven.
78 Our God is merciful and tender.
He will cause the bright dawn of salvation to rise on us
79 and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death,
to guide our steps into the path of peace.”
80 The child grew and developed in body and spirit. He lived in the desert until the day when he appeared publicly to the people of Israel.

Luke 1:57-80 (GNT)