Redeemer Church of Dubai: UAE

Christmas Eve at Redeemer

by Glen Jones on January 5, 2012
Category: Songs @ Redeemer

On Christmas Eve (2011) we had a service at JW Marriott that was intended to do two things: tell the story of Christmas through songs, Bible readings, and monologues; and help people to see how the story of that first Christmas fits into God's story of redemption and give us opportunity to respond in worship.
Here's what we did... 

With a full band and choir up the front we opened with two songs:

SONG: O Come All Ye Faithful

SONG: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

I welcomed people and explained what was going to happen - here's my script:

Good evening! Welcome to Redeemer Church of Dubai’s Christmas Eve gathering! 

Thank you so much for coming to celebrate with us the coming of Jesus Christ. My name is Glen Jones, and I serve as one of the pastors here at Redeemer.

The birth of Jesus, over 2000 years ago has forever marked history. Calendars were changed; nations were turned; the lives of millions of individuals have been swept up into a God-sized story of redemption that will be the source of awe and wonder for all of eternity.

Christmas is about so much more than presents, carols and Christmas trees. It is about God’s amazing story of redemption through sending His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. 

Our service this evening will be filled with carols that speak of the wonder of Christ’s birth, and scattered throughout we’ll hear from a few of the characters involved in the first Christmas story, as they tell us some of their story. All of their accounts are based on what we see in the Bible, and can be read in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.

SONG: How Suddenly A Baby Cries - this song picks up on the idea that those involved in the first Christmas story didn't necessarily know the full picture of what God was doing, but were swept up into a plan of redemption that would be a source of praise for God's people for all eternity.

Jospeh and Mary (played by Kelly and Jolene Wiens) shared their story. Here's the script:

JOSEPH’s STORY

[Tone of delivery is like you’re retelling the story of when this happened in your life]

When Mary said to me, “Joseph, I’m pregnant” I watched my dream of a quiet and happy marriage go out the window. 

We weren’t even married yet, so I knew I wasn’t the father. While my mind was still reeling she said, “it’s through the Holy Spirit.” 

“What do you mean?” I said.

She then went on to explain how an angel had appeared to her saying “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Well, it all sounded a bit hard to swallow at the time - nothing like this had ever happened in the history of humanity! Was she lying? Had she gone crazy? I didn’t want to bring shame to Mary - I love her. And had it not been for the angel appearing to me also, I would have quietly divorced her. 

But the angel said to me: “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Wow! God had a bigger story in mind than my dream of a quiet and happy marriage! Somehow, because of God’s amazing grace, we were swept up into this incredible tale where Mary gave birth to God’s very own SON!! Who would have thought it possible?!?

[References used Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 1:18-25}

MARY’s STORY

It was a first for me too! (said with a sideways glance and smile at Jospeh). 

But at the time, though I was so young and had no idea where this would all end up - I couldn’t help being filled with joy. So much so that I wrote this song: 

46 “My soul glorifies the Lord
 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
   of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
   holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
   from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
   he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
   but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
   but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
   remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
   even as he said to our fathers.”         (from Luke 1:46-55)

SONG: Mary Did You Know sung as a solo by Donita Jones

I introduced the next song with the following:

Mary and Joseph found themselves in the middle of an amazing story. But there were some who had been waiting faithfully a long time for this. The Messiah’s birth had been spoken of hundreds of years ago in Isaiah 9:

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

SONG: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

DRAMATIC READING: Luke 1:68-75 (Brian Parks memorized this and delivered it as if it were his own, telling the story of Zechariah and how he longed for God's fulfillment of His promise).

SONG: O Little Town of Bethlehem

SONG: Angels We Have Heard on High

Gabriel (played by Nisin Matthew) shared the story from the perspective of an angel. Here's the script:

[Tone: really excited! Wonder and awe]

My heart was racing with excitement as I headed to give the Lord’s message to Mary. It was finally happening! Jesus was about to enter into the world He had created. The other angels and I had been longing for this day. 

We didn’t know when it was going to happen, but we knew that it would. Ever since the great rebellion the whole of creation has been groaning for God to restore things and set them right. 

God had been telling the humans about it for centuries through the prophets. But we didn’t know any more than they did! All we could do was watch in amazement as the LORD of the universe humbled himself to become a little baby. INCREDIBLE!!   

Those poor shepherds didn’t know what hit them! We sang our hearts out that night [said with a little chuckle]. This was the greatest news! I said:

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Then we sang a song celebrating God’s salvation:

“Glory to God in the highest,
   and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

References used Luke 1:26-38 and Luke 2:8-15, 1 Peter 1:12

SONG: The children from Redeemer Kids Ministry sang Love Shone Down a song that's now out of publication, but was originally written for a Christmas cantata in the earlier 1960's, and is sung from the perspective of the shepherds.

SONG: Silent Night

SONG: O Holy Night

Herod (played by Raul Santos) then shared his story. Here's the script:

[Tone: Herod is humbled, but not repentant. He is frustrated.]

[puffed up] I’m the King of Judea! I always get what I want..  [humbled] at least, I thought I did. The day the Magi came into my court reporting that a King had been born was just the start of it all. They claimed that, according an ancient prophecy, he was a special king. They said: 

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
   who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”

A KING?! From Bethlehem?! You’ve got to be kidding! No little baby from the backwaters of this Roman colony was going to claim my allegiance! So I did everything in my power to stop it. With one single command I wiped out an entire generation of boys. [pause] 

[puzzled] It didn’t make sense... Unless there was some kind of divine intervention, there’s no way he could have escaped. 

I thought I was the King. I thought I could do whatever I wanted... But it seems this baby, born in obscurity was more than just a baby.

SONG: Thou Who Was Rich - an old hymn that I re-wrote the melody to. You can download the lead sheet and the chord chart. There's no recording of this yet.

SERMON: Dave Furman wove it all together, making reference to the different stories we'd heard throughout the evening, and tying it all into God's redemption plan in sending Jesus to live a perfect life, die on the cross for our sin, and rise again to give us new life.

SONG: What better way to finish than with Joy To The World (all 4 verses!).

Feel free to use this or parts of it in your own church services - so that Christ and His redemption might be more clearly seen in your church next Christmas.