Adult Christmas

6 pages

Six readers.

Nativity scene may be composed of statues or actors. In this moving and unusual reading you can show your congregation just how much they value Christmas by taking it away. Three Non-Believers explain away Christmas, eliminating first the shepherds and wise men from the manger scene and finally Joseph, Mary and the Christ Child. When they've eliminated everyone, all that's left is a void, an awful emptiness. The Believers, however, show how that night at the stable did happen. By accepting the miracle, they give us back that night! Easy to produce, yet unforg...

17 pages

5 m, 4 w, 2 flex, doubling possible.

Strangers meet at an inn in Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus. They all had things they wished to give Him but one by one, they gave their gifts to needy people. Finally, as a group, they decide to go to the stable and seek out the baby with the one thing they have left to give - their love. A symbolic story which shows that we are all strangers, in a way, until we meet through the person of Jesus Christ. An optional nativitiy scene creates a beautiful ending. Performance time: 25 minutes.

19 pages

4 m, 2 w, 1-2 flexible

A reader’s theatre play. Howard Sinclair is ready to direct the church’s outdoor manger pageant again, but since the previous one five years ago was a complete disaster, his wife Gladys wants everything to run smoothly. But of course that doesn’t happen! First the rented animals are delivered a week early, but instead of a camel, a goat is sent and it promptly starts eating the neighbor’s bushes. To appease their prickly neighbor, Howard agrees to let him play the part of a shepherd, even though another church member had been promised the role. Then there’s t...

15 pages

4 to 5 readers.

Enhance your Advent services with meaningful weekly worship skits. Each skit, centered around the traditional holiday Advent wreath, addresses one particular aspect of the Christmas story. Four candles represent a theme on the wreath and are discussed in turn each week: The Candle of Prophecy, The Candle of Bethlehem, The Candle of the Angels, and The Candle of the Shepherds. The fifth Candle of Christ, located in the center of the wreath, is lit on either Christmas eve or Christmas day. Speaking parts are minimal, allowing for the presentation of each skit t...

18 pages

flexible cast

Tis' the season to be...busy! Here's a collection of five skits, ranging in length from five to seven minutes, that challenge Christians to take time throughout the Christmas holiday season to celebrate Jesus. These skits highlight the truth that even when circumstances are less than ideal, Christians always have something to celebrate. The skits can be performed independently or as a weekly series leading up to Christmas. With contemporary settings, they're easy to stage and produce.

12 pages

1 m, 1 w, extras, non speaking.

Here's an unusual and touching candelight service. Guardian angels Gabriel and Agnes are confused when they hear God is sending the Prince of Peace to earth as a baby. A baby?! No army, no muscle, no clout? Then the Child will certainly need the best home and education to succeed. As they argue over the details, they realize He has already been born. The two angels then help the only way they can. From one stable candle they start lighting candles of the congregation to "light the waiting hearts of all those who stand in the dark." Performance time: About 20 ...

14 pages

2 m, 3 w

Time has passed. Della and Jim, the young couple from O. Henry's short story, are now elderly. At their yearly Christmas Eve visit to a simple coffee shop, they encounter a melancholy woman. Touched by her sadness, they tell their story in a flashback scene of their first Christmas together when they each sold their most precious possession to buy the other a present. That experience changed forever their idea of buying expensive Christmas gifts. Instead they exchange the most priceless of all, love.

12 pages

6 m, 3 w, 6 flex, extras.

Bring the biggest news story ever to your congregation with special, on-the-spot reports from the hills of Bethlehem. Reporters interview villagers on the scene including shepherds who tell how the singing of angels led them to a stable where a baby has just been born. Soon the reporters interview wise men and even the baby's parents themselves. As one reporter closes the newscast he wonders what the world will one day make of the events of this night.

8 pages

1 m, 2 flexible parts.

Hiriam, the innkeeper from Bethlehem, interrupts the modern day speaker's sermon. Hiriam has been desperately seeking the couple he turned away some 2,000 years ago to now make amends to them. The modern day speaker and assistant are amazed then outraged at his story. But their piousness fades as they see how Hiriam is truly seeking the Christ child. They tell what happened to that newborn Babe and explain that He is still alive and the only way to keep Him is to share Him. Then they do so by shaking hands with everyone. This program will make even visitors a...

13 pages

4 m.

A modern retelling of the Job story from the Bible. A fascinating discussion about the differences in modern religions. In the waiting room of an airport in the American Midwest, Joe Barnes, a prosperous businessman, is met by his doctor, Ed Tishman. Joe's wife and children were aboard a plane that crashed at the Tel Aviv airport, and he's waiting to hear what happened to them. Dr. Tishman offers pills to calm Joe's nerves, but he refuses them. Joe recounts his toughness in riding out business losses, but confesses his confidence and faith have now been shake...

20 pages

2-3 adults, 7 children

It’s Christmas Eve in the 1770s, and a father is depressed he cannot afford to buy his eight motherless children any gifts. Suddenly he thinks of a present that won’t break or wear out, one they can all enjoy together. He sings a beautiful round about the Savior’s birth and the children quickly join in. An old sea captain living upstairs offers them money for peace and quiet. But without singing, the family’s mood becomes somber once again. Father tells the oldest child to return the moneythe family is going to sing! Ultimately, the old captain still gives th...

12 pages

6 m, 7 w, 3 flex, 3 g. 2 b, extras.

Easily staged using spotlights. Abia watches with interest when his cousin, Joseph, and his fiancee, Mary, become the talk of the town. From that time, throughout the major events in the life of Christ, Abia is simply a curious spectator. Abia is staying at the inn when Jesus is born. Years later he is also with the caravan that returns to find the missing 12-year-old and hears the bickering that surrounds Jesus' ministry. But later, when Pilate asks, "What will you do with Jesus?" Abia realizes that no one can be just an observer. About 30 minutes.

12 pages

2 speaking parts.

A minister, alone in the sanctuary, wants something different for Christmas Eve service, something with a real emotional kick, perhaps a famous person. Then the Voice from above speaks. For every glitzy idea the minister has, the Voice counters it. Finally by recounting Jesus' birth, the Voice seems to get through to the minister. The simple nativity story is best. The minister pulls out a tape recorder proclaiming, "But I do have a celebrity!" The tape, however, has only one voice - his own. The minister realizes the old, old story of Love's greatest gift gi...

39 pages

3 m, 4 w, 1 g.

Kate Sherman, grieving over the deaths of her daughter and son-in-law from a car accident, finds it almost impossible to show her love for granddaughter, Tammy. Kate won't even allow any Christmas decorations in the house including the now dusty star Tammy's daddy made for her. A climax is reached when Tammy steals her late mother's christening dress for a nativity scene being staged by a young visiting minister, his wife, and friend Jo, whose brother was the drunk driver who caused the fatal accident. At the end, Kate shows her renewed faith when she vows ne...

17 pages

5 m, 7 w, extras.

Here's the story of a woman of Bethlehem so caught up in the activities of the day that she missed the very first Christmas. It is also the story of some of the people of our own time who almost miss Christmas for the same reason. A closing nativity scene blends both contemporary and Biblical characters to give a meaningful message. Ten carols add to the beauty of this program. Performance time: 50 minutes.