Make a Joyful Noise

Open with Praise Band singing Santa Clause is coming to Town

Student is sitting on edge of stage listening

Other Students come running down the aisle (toward end of song) yelling:

“Stop, stop, stop…”

PB 1

“What’s wrong? We’re rehearsing for our Christmas show. Didn’t you like our singing? We’ve been practicing the harmony on that song for the last 20 minutes.”

DS 1

“It’s not your singing..it’s lovely.”

DS 2

“It’s that song. It’s not exactly…”

PB 2

“Festive enough? Are you kidding, it’s got all the ingredients for a great Christmas Carol.

PB 3

“Yeah, it’s upbeat, it’s catchy, it’s even got good moral fiber..” (a few together sing a little…”you’d better not pout, you’d better not cry.”)

DS *(from edge of stage)

“Yeah you guys, what’s wrong with good moral fiber…wait- will that help my digestion issues?”

DS3

(Looking at DS * disgustingly…) “What? No.”

(To band) “It’s not exactly what our teachers were talking about when they said to put together a show about Christmas.”

DS 4

“Yeah, Mrs. Sparks and Mr. Hunter…”

PB 4

“Don’t forget Isaiah”

DS 5

“Especially Isaiah!” They want to make sure we know what Christmas is all about.”

DS 6

“I’m pretty sure they didn’t mean Santa.”

CB student:

“I have an idea. What about this?”

Concert Band plays….

Oh Christmas Tree

DS 7

“You guys, Christmas is not about Santa, or trees or even bells…”

BS

Did someone say bells?

Bells play Jingle Bell Rock

DS 1

“That was lovely. But here’s the thing; we need to focus our show on the true meaning of Christmas. There are so many ways that people forget the actual celebration of Jesus’ birth…”

DS 2

“Yeah. Did you know that Jesus’ birth was predicted in the book of Isaiah hundreds of years before it actually happened?”

DS 3

“AND- the only way we could be reconciled with God the creator of heaven and earth was for him to send His only Son to earth in the form of a baby?....

DS *

“huh?”

DS 4

It’s true! Up until this point, God’s people had to sacrifice animals to say sorry to God for their sins….

DS 5

Yeah- that’s why Jesus is often called the sacrificial lamb…

PB 5

“Wait- Christmas is about the sacrifices Jesus made? I thought it was about a baby...”

DS 6

“It’s about a lot of things. It’s about Jesus as a baby, and us coming to Him with the innocence of Children and….”

PS 6

“The innocence of children….? I know a Christmas song that children sing…”

PB Sings:

All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth.

DS 7

“That’s a great song but it’s not exactly the type of innocence we meant”

DS 1

Christmas should a season of great joy. It is a time of God showing His great love for us. It can be a time of healing and renewed strength. You see, Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born. His birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event. They knew this was no ordinary baby. The prophets had told of His coming hundreds of years before. The star stopped over Bethlehem just to mark the way for those who were looking for this special child.

DS 2

“People knew it was a huge deal and it still is”

DS 3

This is why so many Christmas traditions are celebrated with lights and bells- because it’s great news!”

BS

Bells? Did you say bells?

Bells play Silver Bells

DS 4

“I’m not sure you guys are really getting the message here. The most important thing that ever happened to any of us was Jesus’ birth.

DS 5

But why did He come? Why did God send His son to this cruel and hard world?

DS 6

He sent Jesus to us so that one day, He would grow up to become a very important part of history. His story or history is one of truth, love, and hope. It brought salvation to all of us. Without Jesus, we would all die in our sins.

Jesus was born so one day the price could be paid for the things we have done that are wrong. The Bible says that all have sinned. We are all born with a sin nature. We do things that don’t please God. Through the sins of Adam and Eve, we have all inherited that sin nature. We need to have that removed. The only way is through Jesus. Jesus came so He could die on the cross for ALL of our sins. If we believe that Jesus died for our sins, we can ask Him to come into our hearts and forgive us. Then, we are clean and made whole. We can know that heaven is a place where we can go to when this life is over.

DS 7

1 John 1:9 says "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong”

DS 1

We can truly be happy at Christmas! No matter what may be happening, we can know that we are His children. We then become sons and daughters of God. Heaven will be our home one day.

DS 2

“The Bible says in Isaiah chapter 53, “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows[a] that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,a punishment for his own sins!

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

DS *

“Wow- I have always thought of stuff like candy canes and stocking stuffers and reindeer, but this puts things in a whole new light for me.

CB

Us too.

Concert Band plays O come O come Emanuel (Solo or Monologue)

DS 3

“Now you’re catching on.”

DS 4

“It reminds me of a poem:

Guitar plays in background: Away in a Manger

Sing, Christmas bells!

Say to the earth this is the morn

Were on our Saviour King is born;

Sing to all men-the bond, the free,

The rich, the poor, the high the low,

The little child that sports in glee,

The aged folk that tottering go

Proclaim this morn

That Christ is born

That saveth them and saveth me!”

DS 5

“Sing angel host!

Sing of the stars that God has placed

Above the manger in the east

Sing of the glories of the night

The Virgins sweet humility

The Babe with kingly robes bedight

Sing to all men wher’er they be

This Christmas morn

For Christ is born

For Christ is born

That saveth them and saveth me.

PB 1

“I think we’re getting it too.”

PB 2

“Yeah- it’s kind of a big deal.”

PB sings

Angels We Have Heard on High

BS

“Us too!”

Bells Play

What Child is This?

DS 6

“Yes, you’ve all got it.”

DS 7

We should all look at Christmas in a new way this year. This is the year to invite Jesus into your heart. You will then have a truly"Merry Christmas." The joy and peace you will receive will last all year as you look to God for all your needs to be met.

All Sing

Silent Night

CB and DS have candles and they surround audience

Natvitiy is created in the front.

DS*

This is so exciting! I finally get Christmas! Let’s sing an exciting Christmas song to show God how much we love Him.

DS 1

Anyone have any good ideas?

PB 3

How about Joy to the World?

PBS

Jeremiah was a bullfrog….

All

Merek!

All Sing

Joy to the World

DS 2

Thank you for coming to our show

DS 3

It is our hope and prayer that you will remember the true meaning of Christmas.

DS 4

And that you will keep the celebration of Jesus birth in your heart and soul year round.

All

We Wish You a Merry Christmas (during bows)