(December 2021) Christmas Eve at our house always features each guest performing some sort of program. This year I teamed up with Karl and the grands. For the script, I stole ideas from the classic book with the Herdman children, that adorable video from Southland Church, The Chosen, oh, and Luke 2. Karl sang, Christian was Joseph and narrated, Alexa was the Angel of the Lord, Surraye was the mother of Baby Jesus. And Jackson was the donkey Mary rode in on!
CHRISTIAN: “It was a crisp starry night in Nazareth right between BC and AD. People said that nothing good comes from Nazareth but that was about to change BIG TIME.
An Angel of the Lord came to a girl named Mary who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph.
The angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
But when Mary saw the angel, she was afraid AND she wondered what the heck he was doing in her house!
But the angel reassured her, “Don’t be scared, you have found favor with God. And by the way, you are going to have a baby and you should name him JESUS. He will be the Savior of all the world, the ONE you have been waiting for.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am only a teenager and I’m not even married?”
And the angel answered, “Your baby will be the Son of God, NOT the son of your fiancé. And get this! Your cousin Elizabeth is also pregnant! And she is super old! In fact, she is so old that no one thought she could have babies anymore, but she is already six months along!”
Then Mary said to the angel saying, “Behold, I am your servant! Let it be to me according to your word.” In other words, “Count me in! I will do whatever God asks, even if it doesn’t make any sense to me. I am willing and available! It may not be easy but it’s going to be AMAZING!”
KARL SINGS:
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
CHRISTIAN: In those days Israel was ruled by Rome and the Emperor Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. That means that the big wigs in Rome wanted everyone counted so they could tax them more! Everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because that’s where his people came from.
KARL sings:
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
CHRISTIAN: When they got to Bethlehem, they looked all over town for a place to stay but all the hotel rooms were taken because of the census travelers. Mary and Joseph were so tired from the long trip; they had to walk over 90 miles and camp out for almost a week to get there! Can you even imagine being 9 months pregnant and riding on the back of a donkey for days and days?!?! They must have looked like a couple of refugees: Dirty. Tired. And messy! But Bethlehem awaits…
ALEXA’s solo: Bethlehem, heaven’s gem, story of love;
Starry night, heaven’s light, sent from above.
On that morn, child was born, wise men still find,
Bethlehem, heaven’s gem—gift to mankind.
CHRISTIAN: Finally, a kindly innkeeper had pity on them and let them stay in his cave out back where he kept his livestock. They were so grateful even though they had to hang out with the barn animals. It was a dirty and smelly place, but they made the best of it because they had BIGGER things on their minds! Mary and Joseph both had inside information that the baby was going to be the Savior of the World! That night the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him up tight in swaddling clothes and gently placed him in a manger.
KARL SINGS:
Away in a manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head
CHRISTIAN: It so happened that there were shepherds out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them out of the dark night.
ALEXA: Shazam!!!
The glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified! But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. For I bring you good news of great joy for all the people. Today in Bethlehem a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord! The ONE you have been waiting for!
Follow the star and you will know it’s him because you will find him in a stable lying in a feeding trough.
Suddenly the sky was filled with a whole bunch of angels praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to all mankind.”
KARL SINGS: Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King, Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled
CHRISTIAN: When the angels had left them and had gone back into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go check it out! The Lord sent these crazy messengers to tell us about it, so it must be true! Let’s go!!! It will the perfect Instagram moment — whatever that is!
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph in the stable, and there was a baby lying in the manger! Just like the angel told them! And just like the prophets described in the Scriptures so many years ago. When they saw him, they were totally freaked out! But they knew this was the ONE they had been waiting for!!
“He’s the best baby I’ve ever seen; he’s going to be our very best friend! People must know. People must know!!!” they agreed.
ALEXA SINGS (with hand actions):
Go tell it on the mountains
Over the hill lands everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born
CHRISTIAN: So, the shepherds ran back into town and told everyone they met! Those lowly shepherds were the first evangelists! No TV. No radio. No how-to-get-saved tracts! Just telling all the people, one at a time! Everyone who heard it were amazed!!
The shepherds returned to their camp, glorifying, and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
KARL SINGS: Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains
CHRISTIAN: After the census, the new little family went back to their home in Nazareth. In those days Herod was the king of Israel. And let me tell you, he was a real jerk! He must have had a traumatic childhood, because boy was he MEAN!! When he heard all his people saying that the King of the Jews had been born, he put a hit out on the baby Jesus and ALL the baby boys in the kingdom! What a psychopath!!
When Jesus was about two years old, some travelers from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star back home and have come to worship Him.”
KARL SINGS:
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
CHRISTIAN: When the wise men came into the house, they saw the young child with his mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. They presented him with treasures they brought with them: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
I don’t know about you but I feel like if those wise men would have been wise women they would probably have asked for directions, arrived on time, cleaned the stable, and brought diapers, wipes, and a canned ham! But instead the wise men were two years late and brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
But those magi are superheroes in my book because they went back to their countries by another route and never told stupid King Herod where they found the baby!
KARL SINGS:
Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing
CHRISTIAN: Well, when all is said and done, this story is about a new baby, and his mother and father who were in a lot of trouble – no money, no place to go, no doctor, nobody they knew could help them. We may like to think of Mary as all pious and pure-looking, as if she never washed the dishes or cooked supper or did anything at all except have Jesus on Christmas Eve. But Mary was just a regular girl, sort of nervous and bewildered, but ready to clobber anyone who laid a hand on her baby! And that baby grew up to be the Savior of all mankind! And today people all over the world celebrate his arrival in all kinds ways, because He is the One we have been waiting for!
Out of the mouths of babes.
Fantastic job!!!!