Joyful Moments in Christ

1. After — Coming later in time.
2. All — Every part or every person in a group.
3. Amazed — Feeling very surprised and filled with wonder.
4. Answers — Words you say or write to a question.
5. Asking — To speak or write a question to someone.
6. Blessing — A good gift or kindness from God.
7. Command — A rule or order someone must follow.
8. Day — The time when it is light outside, from morning to evening.
9. Developing — To grow or change over time.
10. Doing Things — To carry out or complete actions or tasks.
11. Every year — Happening once in twelve months.
12. Everyone — All people.
13. Father — A male parent.
14. Finish — To complete or be done with something.
15. Found — Discovered or saw where someone or something was.
16. Full — Having a lot of something.
17. Grew — Became bigger and older.
18. Group — A number of people together in one place.
19. Grow — To get bigger or taller over time.
20. Heard — To have listened to sounds or words.
21. Home — The place where a person lives.
22. Joseph — The man who cared for Jesus like a father.
23. Knew — Past tense of know; to have the answer or understand something.
24. Know About — To be aware of a fact or situation.
25. Known — Something that everyone is aware of.
26. Law of the Lord — The rules God gave for his people to follow.
27. Listening — Paying attention with your ears to hear what someone is saying.
28. Little Boy — A young male child, usually before he is a teenager.
29. Look — To use your eyes to find something.
30. Mary — The young woman chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus.
31. Mature — Fully grown or acting like an adult.
32. Meaning — What something shows or explains.
33. Mother — A female parent.
34. Must — Something you have to do.
35. Obey — To do what you are told.
36. Parents — A mother and father.
37. Passover Festival — A special time when Jewish people remember how God saved them from Egypt.
38. People — A group of men, women, or children.
39. Pleased With — Happy with or satisfied by someone or something.
40. Possible — Something that can be done.
41. Question — Something you ask when you want to know more.
42. Religious — Relating to the worship of God or a faith.
43. Return — To go back to a place.
44. Said — Told someone something.
45. Saw — Looked at something with your eyes.
46. Should Have — Something that was expected or the correct thing to do.
47. Sitting — To be resting on a chair or a seat.
48. Son — A male child in a family.
49. Stay — To not leave a place.
50. Taller — Higher in height; growing up.
51. Teacher — A person who helps others learn.
52. Temple Area — The space inside or near the special building where people worship God.
53. Thinking — Using your mind to have ideas or understand something.
54. Travel — To go from one place to another.
55. Understanding — The ability to know the meaning of something.
56. Very — Used to show that something is stronger or bigger in amount.
57. Went Back — Returned to a place you were before.
58. Whole — All of something; complete.
59. Wisdom — Knowing how to make good choices and decisions.
60. Wise — Knowing what is good and right because of learning and life experience.
61. Wonder — To feel curious or surprised.
62. Work — A job or task someone does.
63. Worried — To feel afraid or nervous that something bad might happen.
64. Years Old — To have lived for a certain number of years.
65. Young Man — A male person who is grown up but not yet old.

1. Amazed — Feeling very surprised and filled with wonder.
2. Answer — Something you say when someone asks you a question.
3. Astonished — Extremely surprised or shocked.
4. Became — Started to be something new.
5. Blessing — A good gift or kindness from God.
6. Body — The whole physical part of a person.
7. Boy — A young male child.
8. Father — A male parent.
9. Favor — Kindness and good treatment from someone.
10. Festival — A happy time when people gather to celebrate something special.
11. Find — To see or get something you were looking for.
12. Finished — Done or completed.
13. Friend — A person you like, trust, and care about.
14. Full — Having a lot of something.
15. Gain — To get something good.
16. Grew — Became bigger and older.
17. Group — A number of people together in one place.
18. Heart — The part inside where feelings and thoughts live.
19. Heard — To have listened to sounds or words.
20. Hometown — The town where a person was born or grew up.
21. Intelligent — Smart and able to understand things well.
22. Law Of The Lord — The rules God gave for his people to follow.
23. Listen — To pay attention to sounds or words.
24. Look — To use your eyes to find something.
25. Mother — A female parent.
26. Obedient — Doing what you are told to do.
27. Parents — A mother and father.
28. Passover Festival — A special time when Jewish people remember how God saved them from Egypt.
29. Question — Something you ask when you want to know more.
30. Relative — A person in your family.
31. Required — Needed or ordered to be done.
32. Return — To go back to a place.
33. Saw — Looked at something with your eyes.
34. Son — A male child in a family.
35. Started Back — Began the trip to return home.
36. Strong — Having power in your body or mind.
37. Teacher — A person who helps others learn.
38. Temple — A special building where people worship God.
39. Terribly — Very; in a strong or serious way.
40. Thought — Believed or guessed something in your mind.
41. Travel — To go from one place to another.
42. Treasured — Loved and kept something safe in your heart.
43. Try — To make an effort to do something.
44. Understand — To know the meaning of something.
45. Went Back — Returned to where you were before.
46. Whole — All of something; complete.
47. Wisdom — Knowing how to make good choices and decisions.

Joseph and Mary Return Home
39 Joseph and Mary finished doing all the things that the law of the Lord commanded.
Then they went home to Nazareth, their own town in Galilee.
40 The little boy Jesus was developing into a mature young man, full of wisdom.
God was blessing him.
Jesus as a Boy
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they went to the festival as usual.
43 When the festival was over, they went home, but Jesus stayed in Jerusalem.
His parents did not know about it.
44-45 They traveled for a whole day thinking that Jesus was with them in the group.
They began looking for him among their family and close friends, but they did not find him.
So they went back to Jerusalem to look for him there.
46 After three days they found him.
Jesus was sitting in the Temple area with the religious teachers, listening and asking them questions.
47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and wise answers.
48 When his parents saw him, they wondered how this was possible.
And his mother said,
“Son, why did you do this to us?
Your father and I were very worried about you.
We have been looking for you.”
49 Jesus said to them,
“Why did you have to look for me?
You should have known that I must be where my Father’s work is.”
50 But they did not understand the meaning of what he said to them.
51 Jesus went with them to Nazareth and obeyed them.
His mother was still thinking about all these things.
52 As Jesus grew taller, he continued to grow in wisdom.
God was pleased with him and so were the people who knew him.

Luke 2:39-52 (ERV)

The Return to Nazareth
39 When Joseph and Mary had finished doing all that was required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee.
40 The child grew and became strong; he was full of wisdom, and God’s blessings were upon him.
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
41 Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.
42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they went to the festival as usual.
43 When the festival was over, they started back home, but the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this;
44 they thought that he was with the group, so they traveled a whole day and then started looking for him among their relatives and friends.
45 They did not find him, so they went back to Jerusalem looking for him.
46 On the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting with the Jewish teachers, listening to them and asking questions.
47 All who heard him were amazed at his intelligent answers.
48 His parents were astonished when they saw him, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried trying to find you.”
49 He answered them, “Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?”
50 But they did not understand his answer.
51 So Jesus went back with them to Nazareth, where he was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
52 Jesus grew both in body and in wisdom, gaining favor with God and people.

Luke 2:39-52 (GNT)