Candle lighting skit Nativity Advent 4: Mary

Hello

I am Mary
At Christmas time, you hear a lot about me and Joseph

We didn’t plan to be special at Christmas
It just happened
Or perhaps I should say God had better plans than ours
God’s plans and vision for us was far bigger than what we thought was possible

Like many other people
Joseph and I had plans to be married
Our parents had arranged it
We were in love
We had planned to raise children
And for Joseph to go about building houses and other things

But then it happened, our plans were changed
An angel appeared to me and said I was going to have a baby
But not just any old baby
I was going to give birth to the Son of God
And His name would be called Jesus
And I discovered that Joseph wouldn’t be the father

Now for a moment I thought how could this be?
I am going to get married to Joseph
But then I remembered the teachings from my father and his father that with God anything is possible
And I mean anything!!!!

I was worried Joseph would not want anything to do with me or the baby
But he stuck around
He helped when things were tough
He loved both of us

But God’s surprises didn’t stop there
Even today he surprises us
He surprises us a lot with His love
As you open up your presents this Christmas
Remember that God brings you surprises

And this can be clearly seen when I look at the life, death and then life again of Jesus
Jesus showed people that God was loving
Jesus was a special child
He really loved people
He wanted everyone to receive the benefits of heaven
He dearly wanted many people to love God and love others as they loved themselves
And no matter what people did
He still kept on loving them, not only saying it but also showing it
He would still talk to them, help them, heal them and respect them
Jesus is a wonderful gift that God gave not only me
But also you, and you and you
Because as I discovered sometime later
The reason Jesus came to the world as a little baby was to show that God is love
And as he grew up God’s love could be seen in many different ways
You can still see this love as you read the pages of scripture,
Like the Gospel of Luke, why not plan to do this over the next year??
And as you do you will discover that Jesus came to do something very special
To pay the price so we could be free to be with Him and other Christians in heaven
This is how much God loves you

Over the last three weeks we have discovered that Christmas is about
God bringing us hope
God bringing us peace
God bringing us joy

And this week we have discovered that God bring us true love…
So along with the candles of hope, peace and joy let’s light the candle of love

Christmas programAmongst a mess....comes Christmas

Children’s Christmas Program

Characters
Mum
Child
Innkeeper
Mary
Joseph
Angel (s)
Shepherd 1
Shepherd 2

ORDER OF SERVICE

Welcome
Carol: O Come All Ye Faithful
O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him,
Born the king of angels:

O come, let us adore Him,O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God
In the highest:

O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Call to Worship
Pastor: The people who are now living in darkness will see a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light will shine on them.

Person 1: Lord, you will make our nation larger. You will increase their joy. They will show you how glad they are. They will be as glad as people are at harvest time. They will be as glad as soldiers are when they share the things they've taken after a battle.

Person 2: You set Israel free from Midian long ago. In the same way, you will break the heavy yoke that weighs us down. You will break the wooden beams that are on our shoulders. You will break the rods of those who strike them down.

Pastor: Every fighting man's boot that is used in battle will be burned up. So will every piece of clothes that is covered with blood. All of them will be thrown into the fire.

ALL: A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace.

Person 4: The authority of his rule will continue to grow. The peace he brings will never end. He will rule on David's throne and over his kingdom. He will make the kingdom strong and secure. His rule will be based on what is fair and right. It will last forever. The Lord's great love will make sure that happens. He rules over all

ALL: We live under and worship the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Prayer of the Day

Song: AT 302 Soon and very soon
Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!
Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!
Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
We're going to see the King!

No more crying there, we are going to see the King!...

No more dying there, we are going to see the King!...

Andraé Crouch 1978


LHS 629 Silent Night
1 Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
Round the virgin mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

2 Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories streams from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing: Hallelujah!
Christ the Saviour is born,
Christ the Saviour is born.

3 Silent night, holy night!
Wonderous star, lend your light
With the angels let us sing
Hallelujah oto our king
Jesus, Lord, at Your birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Your birth.

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht
Joseph Mohr (1792-1848)
Tr. Anonymous, 1871

The scene opens with a box opened paper torn……and the Stable, and characters of animals, mary and joseph, angel(s), shepherds and baby Jesus all scattered over the floor…
The child is looking down at them, scratching his/her head….
Mum walks in….

Mum: What’s going on here? I can’t take my eyes off you for five minutes

Child: mmmm….its Christmas….you know that box you said not to touch
Mum: yes
Child: well I wanted to find out about Christmas…… you said it was the Christmas box So I opened it…..(said quickly) But I don’t see what use it is?
Mum:: At every birthday there are gifts, sometimes parcels and sometimes boxes. Tonight we celebrate Jesus’ birthday and this box has a special gift about Christmas. It contains things to remind us of the special gift that came down at Christmas time. It comes in several parts so lets pick them up and see what they mean.

The Birthplace
Mum: First, lets start with the easiest….the cattle shed
Child: What use is a Cattle Shed, I rather a motel or a caravan park with a pool and trampoline. What use is a cattle shed??
Mum: lets wait and see??

Carol: Once in Royal David’s City
LHS 632

1 Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.

2 He came down to earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor,mean and lowly
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.


The Innkeeper
Mum: What should we pick up next?
Child: How about that fellow over there?
As child goes to pick up the innkeeper, the innkeeper springs to life….
Innkeeper: That’s my cattle shed. It’s just behind my inn in Bethlehem. My animals stay in the shed and sometimes guests at my inn have animals too. Animals come to life and walk over to sit in the stable. One night my inn was so crowded I had to put some people out in the shed with the animals. You’ll hear that story tonight.

The Parents
Child: (rubbing eyes) Did you see that?
Mum: See what the cattle shed, inn keeper and animals?
Child: yes, but…
Mum: what should we pick up next?
Child: How about the man and woman over there….points to Mary and Joseph,
Mum: That’s Jesus’ mother and father, Mary and Joseph, lets put them in the cattle shed
(as they go to lift them they spring to life and walk to the stable)

Carol: LHS 741 Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
1 Infant holy,
infant lowly,
for his bed a cattle stall;
oxen lowing,
little knowing
Christ the babe is Lord of all;
swift are winging
angels singing,
nowells ringing,
tidings bringing,
Christ the babe is Lord of all.
Christ the babe is Lord of all

2 Flocks were sleeping,
shepherds keeping
vigil till the morning new
saw the glory,
heard the story,
tidings of a gospel true;
thus rejoicing,
free from sorrow,
praises voicing,
greet the morrow,
Christ the babe was born for you.
Christ the babe was born for you

W Zlobe Lezy
Polish carol
Tr. Edith Margaret Gellibrand Reed 1885-1933

Child: Mum why are they in the cattle shed…isn’t that where animals go? Why didn’t the innkeeper give them a room, with a nice warm bed?
Mum: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire, and everyone went to register, each to his home town. Joseph and Mary went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem, to the town of David, because they were descendants of David. Joseph took his wife Mary, and stayed in a cattle shed because there was no room for them in the inn.

Child: Ummm….sleeping in a shed…..i don’t think I would do that?
Mum: They had no choice
Child: What next?
Mum: How about the angels
Child: Ohhh Yes I like angels.
Mum: Let’s put them near the cattle shed.
(As they go to pick up the angels…..they spring to life and move towards the cattle shed)


Carol: LHS 744 The first Nowell

1 The first Nowell the angel did say
was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay;
in fields where they lay, keeping their sheep
on a cold winter’s night that was so deep:

Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell,
born is the king of Israel.

Child: What did the angels do?
Mum: On the night when Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem, some shepherds were in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks. The angels appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angels said to them,

Angels: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be
for all people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been
born to you: he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You
will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger”.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased”.

Carol: LHS 33 Hark the Herald Angel Sing

1 Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.
Joyful, all you nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim:
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the new-born King.

3 Hail, the heaven-born Prince of peace!
Hail, the sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that we no more may die,
Born to raise us from the earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the new-born King.

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Revised by George Whitefield (1714-1770),
Martin Madan (1726-1790) and others.


The Visitors
Mum: So when Jesus was born, it was good news in heaven and on earth. The angels celebrated his birthday in the heavens and they told the shepherds the good news of His birth, so that it was celebrated on earth too. There is still more to pick up.
Child: What about the shepherds?
(as they go to pick up the shepherds they spring to life)

Carol LHS 624 While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night
1 While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.

‘To you in David’s town this day
Is born of David’s line
A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord;
And this shall be the sign:

‘The heavenly babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swaddling clothes,
And in a manger laid.’

‘All glory be to God on high,
And to the earth be peace;
Good-will henceforth from heaven to men
Begin and never cease.’

Nahum Tate (1652-1715)

Shepherd 1: When the angles had left us and gone into heaven, we said to one another,
“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about”.
So we hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby who was lying in the manger. When we saw the Baby, we told people everywhere what we had been told about this child.

Shepherd 2: Well, how could we keep the angel’s message to ourselves? We had to tell all the people we met about this special birthday. The angels of heaven had told us that the child was the promised Saviour. We heard the angel choir sing praise to God who had brought his peace to people on earth.

The Child
Child: I have nearly picked it all up. I should be rewarded for picking up this mess.
Mum: There is still one more piece to go
Child: The baby in this crib
Mum: That’s baby Jesus

(child places Jesus in the manger)

Carol: LHS 634 Away in a Manger

1 Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

2 The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

3 Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay
Close by me for ever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there.

Anonymous, U.S.A., c.1883
St.3: John Thomas McFarland (1851-1913)

Child: Baby Jesus is in the manger now. He looks like any other baby. Why is He so special that you have all come here to celebrate His birthday?

AT 329 This Kingdom version 2
Jesus God's graciousness revealed

The love of God, the heart of God,revealed to us.

Jesus, redemption's sacrifice our hope revived,

lives reconciled, His grace has come.

And his kingdom will know no end

and his mercy shall know no bounds

for the grace and the compassion

Of this kingdom's King has come.
And now forgiveness reigns

And his love now rules

Our hope and trust for all eternity

Jesus God's graciousness revealed.

Jesus the expression of God's love

The Grace of God,

The Word of God, revealed to us

Jesus, God's heart of love displayed Our hope revived,

lives reconciled, His grace has come.

And his kingdom will know no end

And his mercy shall know no bounds

For the grace and the compassion

Of this kingdom's King has come.
And now forgiveness reigns

And his love now rules

Our hope and trust for all eternity

Jesus God's graciousness revealed

Geoff Bullock 1995

Stating our faith

Apostles or Nicene creed)

Address

Song: The King of Christmas by Colin Buchanan


Prayers

Pastor: At birthday parties we always have a cake and candles.

It is especially good to light candles at Jesus’ birthday, because he is the light of the world.
(candle is lit beside manger scene)

Carol: LHS 627 Joy to the World

1 Joy to the world! the Lord is come:
Let earth receive its king;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing.
And heaven and nature sing.
And heaven and heaven and nature sing.

2 Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns:
Let us our songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.
Repeat the sounding joy.
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.
And wonders of His love
And wonders, wonders of His love

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

Blessing

AT 194 Christmas Blessing
May the feet of God walk with you
And His hand hold you tight,
May the eye of God rest on you,
And his ear hear your cry,
May the smile of God be for you, and His breath give you life.
May the Child of God grow in you, and His love bring you home.

Copyright Robin Mann and Aubrey Podlich

Advent 3 Songs

LHS 2 O come, o come immanuel
At 325 Sing to God Iona Community
Christ the king Colin Buchanan
At 206 As the deer pants Martin Nystrom
At 288 take and eat Tim Tscharke
At 294 God give you joy Grace Simpson

Candle lighting Advent 3....animals

Hello I am one of the animals who were at that first Christmas

You maybe surprised….but we can talk

Are you looking forward to Christmas?
For all the visitors, some expected and some unexpected?
Are you looking forward to being surprised by a person or two?

I can you tell you, at that first Christmas we were surprised…
Here we were thinking we were all comfortable….
Sitting in what we thought was OUR stable,
preparing to rest
When our quiet night was interrupted by some unexpected guests!!!
These were guests who weren’t even supposed to be in OUR stable’
A stable is no place for humans to sleep, its for animals!!!
But that innkeeper….
Shared some of our space with a young man and young woman

And boy did they mess things up
They disturbed our sleep,
They moved things around
They interrupted what we thought was a peaceful and organised life

You see not long after they arrived, a baby was born
Do you know how much noise babies make?
Also they used our feeding bucket for His bed
But it didn’t stop there
Other people came visiting, looking for this baby!!!
There were some smelly shepherds
Some characters from a foreign country with gifts
And a lot of angels
And there was this huge star lighting up the place

Everyone was happy
They were singing

And you know what?
Their joy rubbed off on us
Because we soon discovered that we were experiencing something special
God was born in our stable
We were proud

So we told everyone
And he was bringing hope and peace to the world as you discovered last week
But not only this he brought joy to us
And he brings true and long lasting joy to everyone
So with the candles of hope and peace
Lets light the candle of joy

Because as we discovered when God enters our space we discover true joy no matter how inconvienent, it may be at the time

Hymns and songs for Advent 2

LHS 2 O come O Come Immanuel
AT 246 They word
CD: Christ is the king of Christmas Colin Buchanan
AT 155 I believe
At 288 take and eat this body
AT 95 make me a channel of your peace

Nativity Candle lighting skit Advent 2

Hello
I am not used to talking to groups of people
In fact as a shepherd I am not really used to groups of people at all

Its not that I don’t like people, its just that they tend to stay away from me.
I am not quite sure why?
What’s wrong with not having a shower for 30 days?
Or smelling like you have slept curled up to a sheep?
I suppose its because I don’t have much to offer….I live a fairly rough life
Perhaps people think I am a little strange living in the bush with wild animals, snakes and creepy crawlies, with my closest friends being sheep
Even my brother doesn’t invite me to his Christmas parties!!!

So could you imagine my surprise when many years ago on that first Christmas
A whole bunch of angels came to me and told me some news
There was so many of them that the whole night sky went from complete blackness to a really bright white….
it was like it was daylight, yet it was after midnight
The entire sky was filled with angels, singing

I thought they had lost their way out here in the bush!!
Why would anyone want to tell me any news…
there are more important people in the world
People who have a lot more to offer than me

But it turned out the news was for me
We were one of the first to be told about the birth of baby Jesus
We were one of the first to be told about that very first Christmas
Not only this we were told where we could find the baby,
Would you believe he was born in an animal shed??

I still can’t believe it that God would want us smelly old shepherds to be the first to know about the special gift he sent at Christmas
But that seems to be God’s way
To be willing to come to anyone and everyone,
even people like me

Some years later he did something similar
He could of chosen anyone to be his messenger
But he chose a weird, rough looking character called John the Baptist,
He was so weird that he ate bugs and only wore camel hair shorts and shirt
No one really liked him much
He came from the bush with a message to get ready
To get ready for Jesus

Are you getting ready to celebrate the coming of Jesus?
This is a good thing to get ready for, because
Jesus makes the rough ways smooth,
and probably rough people smooth too
Not only this, he makes it possible for us to see and experience God’s salvation.
He makes it possible for us to have peace with God and with other people

Last week we lit the candle of hope with Gasper the wise man
This week as we prepare to celebrate Christmas lets light the candle of peace
As a reminder that Jesus brings peace by making the the rough ways smooth
For our life on life heaven and earth

Songs and hymns for Advent 1

• Gathering Song: LHS 2 O come O come Emmanuel (modernised words) from the Great Antiphons 12-13th Century
• Following Confession: AT 194 May the feet of God walk with you © 1983 Music Robin Mann, Words: Aubrey Podlich
• Kids Song: The King of Christmas © 2005 Colin Buchanan...from The King of Christmas cd https://secure.colinbuchanan.com.au/shop/shop92.html
• After the Sermon: AT 313 Christ be our light © 1993 Bernadette Farrell
• Preparing for HC: LHS 894 Father God in heaven (Lord's prayer) ©James E Seddon
• Sending Song: AT 302 Soon and very soon ©1978 Andrae Crouch
  
  Other possible songs:

AT 233 He will listen to you © Mark Heard
LHS 17 Come thou long expected Jesus Charles Wesley
AT 355 Freedom is coming © Ultryck Publishing Sweden
AT 434 Sing out for joy He is coming © 1987 David R Dell

AT refers to All Together series published by Openbook and Robin Mann
LHS refers to Lutheran Hymnal with Supplement published by Openbook

To obtain copies visit
www.openbook.com.au
http://www.robinmann.com/

Advent lighting of the candles skit

We are in Advent. Advent means coming...as a community of Christians we use this time to prepare for the second coming of Jesus.

Many church's use an advent wreath in their worship with four coloured candles (sometime all the same colour, sometimes different colours) plus a white Christ Candle. The four coloured candles represent Hope, Peace, Love and Joy

Each week we will be lighting the advent candle following discussion from one of the characters of the nativity scene.

Advent 1: Wise men

Wise man:
Hello
My name is Gaspar,
Many people know me as one of the wise men
But do you know there is nothing special about me or the other two wise fellows, we simply try to be in touch with the right things and the right people
This meant listening to God and His promises and the signs that he said would occur
This is how we prepared for that first Christmas!!!

What about you, how do you prepare for Christmas??

Now some of my friends are preparing for Christmas by going to parties, eating lots, working out how they will deal with family, trying to finish work, planning holidays and looking for bargains.
On the other hand some of my other friends don’t like this time of the year at all. They don’t have many friends, they are missing someone or they simply want to avoid crowds so keep to themselves.

We found it best to prepare for Christmas by first listening to God
Then looking out for the signs he said would occur
And looking forward to the promises he makes

And you how we found Him,
We followed what God said would occur when He was born
We followed that bright star, because that is what God said would lead us to the new king.

As you prepare for Christmas
Take some time to follow the light of Jesus
The light that gives you and me hope of a better future

You know you can easily do this through out Advent by spending some time everyday listening to God and talking to Him
Take home the booklet ‘The Gift of Christmas’ and use it for your personal or family devotions everyday.
Listen for his promises and the Good News He brings

We now light the candle of hope
Because our king Jesus gives us hope no matter what we face

Advent 2: Shepherds, heard from John Baptist
Advent 3: One of the Animals in the inn, (Thessalonians)
Advent 4/Christmas eve: Mary and Joseph

©2006 Richard Schwedes. Churches, schools, sunday schools and families are free to use this play. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Everyone else should contact me for permission. schwedes@ozemail.com.au