December 24, 2020: The ABC’s of Christmas : A Christmas Eve Sermon Mindful of Children
For this sermon, each person is assigned a role;
when your character is named you are invited to shout the following line:
Men play the part of the Wise Men: “Look! A star!”
Women play the part of the Angels: “Hallelujah!”
Kids play the part of the Shepherds: “Let’s go see!”
______
A is for ANGEL. The ANGEL Gabriel began the story by telling Mary, (Luke 1:28-31) “Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” And when she saw him, she was troubled. And the ANGEL said unto her, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.”
B is for Bethlehem, where our story takes place. The Holy Family traveled from far away to get to Bethlehem, which was not a very big village.
C is for Census, which means an official counting of all the people. Many people were in Bethlehem for the Census.
D is for Donkey. A donkey carried the family on their long journey. Mary and Joseph had to travel 107 miles along the Jordan River to get from Nazareth to Bethlehem. That’s a pretty long journey.
E is for Exhausted. That’s how everyone must have felt when they arrived. It would take about 36 hours of walking to go that far. That’s three days in a row of doing nothing but walking.
Carol: O Little Town of Bethlehem
F is for Family. Mary and Joseph and their new baby Jesus created a new family, one that would bless the whole world. (Luke 2:6-7) “And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
G is for the Good News about to be shared with all the earth. (Luke 2:8-14) “And there were in the same country SHEPHERDS abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the ANGEL of the Lord came [to the SHEPHERDS], and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the ANGEL said [to the SHEPHERDS], Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the ANGEL a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Song: Hark the Herald Angels Sing
H is for Hope. Now we light the Advent candle of Hope. Hope is knowing that good news is coming, even when things look bleak. Jesus is the source of our hope.
(Light the Purple Candle of Hope)
I is for Imagine. If we close our eyes and imagine the scene, we can see the beauty and wonder of the ANGELS proclaiming good news to all men and women. We can see the SHEPHERDS, first terrified, but then overcome with joy as they hear the good news. If we try even harder, we can imagine a world where God’s peace reigns, where there is no war or hunger. And if we can imagine it, we can do it with God’s help.
J is for Joy. Now we light the Advent candle of Joy. Joy is a kind of happiness that comes from God. It cannot be dampened and is always shared. The birth of Jesus gives us joy.
(Light the Pink Candle of Joy)
Carol: Joy to the World
K is for King. Though Jesus would be King, he was not the kind of King people were used to. Most kings are born in palaces, surrounded by servants. He was born in a stable, surrounded by dirty, smelly SHEPHERDS. Most kings rule with power and fear. Jesus rules with mercy and love.
L is also for Love. Now we light the Advent candle of Love, Jesus summarized his ministry by saying “Love God…” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Light the Purple Candle of Love)
M is for Manger. A manger is usually used to hold food for animals, but this time it held the baby because he had no crib.
Carol: Away in the Manger
N is for Noel. “Noel” is another word for Christmas. It means new birth, and that’s what happened in our story. That’s what happens every year at Christmas time. That’s what happens every time we decide to follow Jesus – he is born anew in us.
O is for Offering. The WISE MEN gave gifts to the baby, and we can offer our gifts every day. We give our time, our talents, and our treasure to God, and pray that as a Church, we are good stewards of all that is entrusted to us. So we share our gifts now.
Offertory – To Thee My Heart I Offer
P is for Peace. Now we light the Advent candle of peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and is the source of the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding.
(Light the Purple Candle of Peace)
Q is for Quiet. We begin a time of prayer in quiet, allowing God to speak to us, and joyful when the quiet is broken by small voices.
(Silent prayer)
R is for Revealed. Revealed means “showing us something that was once hidden.” God revealed to us what love looks like by giving us Jesus. Jesus is love and reveals to us the way to love one another.
S is for Star. One special star guided WISE MEN to come to see the baby. They were mysterious, and they lived far away, but they brought gifts to Jesus because they knew that he would grow up to be a King. (Matthew 2:9-11): “When [the WISE MEN] had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When [the WISE MEN] saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when [the WISE MEN] had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.”
T is for Tell. When Jesus grew up, he asked his friends to tell others about him, which is what we do every Christmas when we tell the story of his birth.
Carol: Go Tell It on the Mountain
U is for Unity. Christmas is a time when people can come together and be one. People put aside their differences as they celebrate the birth of Jesus, who taught us that we are all God’s children.
V is for Vulnerable. Vulnerable means, “able to be hurt.” Every baby is very vulnerable, and so are we when we love one another. God became vulnerable when Jesus was born, and we are called to be vulnerable when we love our brothers and sisters.
W is for Wonder. Like the WISE MEN, we stand in awe and wonder of the newborn King.
X is for Christ. X is the Greek letter Chi, the first letter in the word “Christ.” The X is one of the most ancient symbols of Christianity. People have been using the letter X to stand for Christ for centuries. And now we light the Christ candle, symbolizing the coming of light into the world. Jesus is born!
(Light the Center Christ Candle)
Y is for You. You ANGELS. You WISE MEN. You SHEPHERDS. You sons and daughters. You mothers and fathers. You friends and strangers. You are all here to worship and celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Z is for Zeal. Let your zeal for Christ burn brightly. In a few moments, we will dim the lights in the sanctuary, and one by one, each candle will be lighted to symbolize the light of Christ that shines through each one of us. Though these lights will die out, the light of God in us is steadfast; it endures forever.
Letter A through letter Z,
God loves you and God loves me.
ANGELS, SHEPHERDS, WISE MEN, see?
Christ is born to set us free!
[1] Adapted from Rev. Robb McCoy: https://fatpastor.me/2013/12/19/interactive-christmas-eve-service-the-abcs-of-christmas/?sfns=mo