Christmas Lessons

Lessons from a Candy Cane

Use this red-striped puppet and the skit below to retell the story of the candy maker and his very special candy.  Reinforce the skit with the Candy Cane Song.

Chorus from the "Candy Cane" song:

"J is for Jesus and I do believe
Red is for His blood He gave for me
White stands for holiness and setting people free
And the staff is for the Shepherd
I'll follow as He leads"

(Be sure you use a tiny, sweet voice for this skit to be effective.)

     Hello. I’m  Caleb. I know. I know I've heard it all day. My mom thinks it looks cute, but I think I look stupid. She dressed me up in this striped shirt so I could tell you the candy cane story. Actually, it's a pretty cool story.  Show candy cane. She said I could eat the candy after I tell you the story so here's the short version.  

     It’s a true story about how candy canes were made. A candy maker from Indiana wanted to make a very special Christmas candy. It had to be hard candy because the gospel is built on the rock solid promises of God’s word. Its shape would be very special, too. It would be shaped like a shepherd’s staff. And when turned upside down it would form a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, the good shepherd that gave His life for His sheep.   Can I eat the candy cane now?

     Oh, that's right. That's right. The sin part. Because Jesus never did anything bad the candy had to be white. The white reminds us that Jesus was pure and clean. Jesus never sinned one time. Imagine that, He never told a lie. He never took anything that didn't belong to Him.   Can I eat the candy cane now?

     Yeah, that's right the red... red stands for the blood of Jesus.  Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for the sins of the world. He could do that because He never sinned. The large red stripe reminds you that Jesus purchased your salvation with His blood on the cross. The three thin red stripes represent the stripes on Jesus’ back. It hurt Jesus so bad, but Jesus took that bad whipping to purchase your peace and your healing.

     I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I'm not really a kid and I can't really eat this candy cane, cause in case you haven't noticed,  I'm just a puppet. I only pretend to be real. I can only move when the puppeteer moves me. I can only talk when the puppeteer moves my mouth, but God didn't make you a puppet. He gave you a free will. You make choices with that free will. You either choose to accept God's free gift of salvation or reject it.  If I handed you a candy cane, you would say thank you and just enjoy it. Salvation is a gift like that. Why don’t you take God’s gift today? You can receive it right now. The teacher will tell you how. 

     And one more thing. Next time you eat a candy cane, think about what I said? Those candy canes sure look good.

     Give each child a candy cane to take home with them. Encourage them to
share the story with their parents. Sharing what they learn will do two
things teach them to share Jesus with their relationships and increase
their retention.

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