God. With Us. Creative. Communications. Sample

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Ursula Lamb
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1 God With Us A Children s Christmas Service

2 God With Us Children s Christmas Service Notes For Leaders Speaking Parts There are six sections with a total of 84 lines that can be assigned to three or more children playing the part of siblings or cousins. If there is a large number of children available for speaking parts, different children can be assigned to each of the six sections. There are also 16 Scripture readings (indicated by an R in the script), which can be read by one or more older children or an adult. Children can be dressed in modern-day, casual clothing or more formal Christmas attire. Children s Songs Songs by children are indicated in the script and include Go Tell It on the Mountain. Joy to the World and I Am Jesus Little Lamb (for the youngest children). Additionally, children can be assigned verses for congregational hymns, if desired. All children with speaking and non-speaking parts should gather to sing in a designated area. Centerpiece Display A long table with at least eight chairs set up for a formal dinner is in the center. Off to the side is a smaller table (such as a card table) with supplies for making placemats. The display of eight placemats completes the centerpiece display. Placemats can be presented in various ways. The following are suggestions: Eight placemats can be made ahead of time with the following names and images on them: Great-Grandma (with a picture of a branch growing from a tree stump), Great-Grandpa (with a picture of a branch growing from a tree stump), Aunt Ellen (with a picture of a lightbulb), Grandma (with a picture of a shepherd s staff), Grandpa (with a picture of an open book), Mom (with a picture of potter s hands around a clay pot), Dad (with a picture of potter s hands around a clay pot), and Jesus-Savior (with a picture of a manger and a cross). Placemats can be made larger than life, such as on poster board, to make them easier to be seen by the audience. Children may or may not color them sometime before the service. They can be displayed (when indicated in the script) on the backs of chairs set at the dinner table (attached to face the audience) or can be hung on a clothesline with clothes pins (as if being hung to dry). Electronic images of placemats (as part of the Powerpoint document on the kit CD or digital download) can be displayed on a big screen. Children can pretend to make placemats using construction paper and place them on the table as images are displayed on screen. 2 God With Us

3 Eight 8 1/2 x 11 placemats are provided in print in this kit or electronically on the pdf on CD or digital download. Options for using this resource are as follows: Print out and enlarge completed placemats. The placemats can be displayed (when indicated in script) by hanging them on a board or clothesline behind the table, or attaching them to the chairs (facing the audience) at the dinner table. Nativity Tableau The script calls for costumed nativity characters including Mary, Joseph, angels and shepherds. Instructions are included as to when these characters should enter and exit. The nativity tableau is optional, but if using, a manger with a doll representing baby Jesus should be used. It can be set up on either side of the table centerpiece as space allows. A Children s Christmas Service 3

4 God With Us Children s Christmas Service + Order of Service + Pre-service Music As We Gather As we gather for worship, we may look around the room to see who is here. It s good to see friends and family with us. But be sure to look beyond the seats in this room. Jesus, whose name means God-With-Us, is here with us also. Keep looking for him as he makes known his very real presence among us. Processional Hymn...O Come, O Come, Emmanuel CC CC CC O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. O come, thou Wisdom from on high, who ord rest all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go. O come, thou Branch of Jesse s tree, free them from Satan s tyranny That trust thy mighty pow r to save, and give them vict ry o er the grave. O come, Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind; Bid thou our sad divisions cease, and be thyself our King of Peace. Invocation In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Call to Worship (Isaiah 7, 9 and John 1) The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Immanuel, God with us! For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, Jesus, God with us! Prayer of the Day 4 God With Us

5 Lord, bless our worship and the children who lead us to see Jesus. Open our hearts to receive Jesus and rejoice in his presence this day and throughout our lives. Amen. A Meditation Who will be at your dinner table this Christmas? Likely, they will be family members and close friends who each have unique ways of relating to you that make them very dear to you. They are probably the people who love you unconditionally. And while they may occasionally annoy you with their strong opinions and unsolicited advice, they are the ones who shaped you to be the person you are today. They re the ones you can count on in dark times. They guide you, care for you and bring joy to your life. The special relationships God gives us create a beautiful picture of his Son, Jesus, and his presence in our lives. He is Immanuel God With Us not just when we think about him most, like on Christmas or Easter, but every day and for eternity. Jesus is the Savior promised long ago to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and all God s people. He was born into the family line of David, but came to make all of us a part of God s family. Today we hear that Jesus is always with us. He is our Living Branch in God s family tree. He is our Shepherd who cares for us, our Light in the darkness, our Guide and our Potter who shapes our lives to glorify God. He is our Savior who forgives and loves us unconditionally. And unlike some of our family and friends whom we only see on holidays or on special occasions, Jesus is with us always, to the very end of the age. Listen now as the children help prepare our hearts to welcome him. A Children s Christmas Service 5

6 RR God with Us Our Living Branch (Children enter with supplies for making placemats for Christmas dinner.) 1. (sniffing) Ahh! Christmas dinner sure smells good. I can t wait to eat. 2. (holding up a placemat) First, we need to finish making these placemats for everyone at the table. 3. I love making homemade placemats. I want them to be special this year. But they still need something. 4. Well, we d better get busy! We have a lot of them to make. The whole family is here with us today. 5. Well, not the whole family. Great-grandma and Great-grandpa are in heaven this Christmas. 6. I want to make placemats for them anyway just to remember them and how important they were to our family. 7. Good idea. After all, none of us would be here if it weren t for them. 8. (jokingly) And what a dismal place the world would be without me! 9. You have to admit, we have a pretty awesome family tree. 10. Family tree that s it! I know how to make these placemats special! 11. Huh? What does a family tree have to do with Christmas and placemats? 12. The prophet Isaiah tells us about Jesus family tree. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1) 13. Jesus was born into a family: Jesse s. He was the father of David. 14. You mean King David the guy who played the harp, wrote lots of psalms and killed the giant Goliath with a slingshot and a stone? 15. That s the one. But as great a king as David was, he wasn t perfect. 16. Nope. David, along with everybody else in the world, messed up and rebelled against God in so many ways. 17. The whole world deserved to be cut off from God forever. 18. (laughing) Why do you think Isaiah says the stump of Jesse? 19. God had a plan to give Jesse, David and all people new life a life that would last forever, even though sin made them as good as dead! 6 God With Us

7 God With Us Over two thousand years ago God came into our world as the tiny baby Jesus to be our Savior. Scripture verses, recitations and songs by the children in this service help us to remember that our Immanuel is with us even now and will be forever. A dining table serves as a centerpiece upon which placemats highlighting Christ s presence are added. Hymns include O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, Go, Tell It on the Mountain, I Am Jesus Little Lamb, Lo, How a Rose Is Growing, Come, Your Hearts and Voices Raising, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Joy to the World. By Sandi Geis. Art by Lindsay Taylor by for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc., 1564 Fencorp Dr., Fenton, MO com. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. GS7V

SAMPLE. Invocation In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Call to Worship (from Psalm 148) Praise the Lord!

SAMPLE. Invocation In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Call to Worship (from Psalm 148) Praise the Lord! E L P M A S Notes For Leaders Speaking Parts There are four mini-dramas with a total of 86 lines that can be assigned to two or more children playing the part of siblings and one or two parents. The same