Come and Join the Journey

In some parts of the Cotswolds there was more than twelve inches of snow. We were fortunate in Cheltenham by comparison: we just had four inches or so!

It wasn't just the snow that was the difficulty, however, it was the ice. The roads around the church were like a skating rink!

In spite of all that many of our children were able to get to church. Most of our families live within walking distance. So it was that our Nativity service was able to go ahead.

It was good to welcome a number of visitors, one of whom had braved the journey from Stroud in a land rover. She was from the States originally and thought nothing of the tiny bit of snow we had had. It was just like being at home, she said, but she failed to understand the fuss we were making!!

A smaller number braved the elements to join in a very different carols by candlelight service in the evening.

If you missed our Nativity you can catch up with it here. Written by Becky Hartwell, it invited us all to join the journey!


Joining the Journey

(Start with the song Journey on while the children get in positions)

Narrator: A long time ago God began a story that went on and on. Heroes came and went and still the story went on and on. People lived and died and they only heard little bits of God’s story.

It was a long, long story, a story of the journey of God’s people.

Right at the start of that journey, thousands of years ago, God made a promise to a man called Abraham, that one day He would send someone very special to help people through their troubles.

Little by little the story became clearer.

It was as if God was building a picture of Himself and his people.

On and on went the story. More and more people joined the journey.

Every now and then God whispered in the ear of one of his people and a little bit more of the picture fell into place. It was a picture of someone very, very special.

His name will be Immanuel – God with us.

Wonderful counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

It was a picture of a very special time
A time of righteousness and justice,
A time when the wolf shall live with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the kin,
The calf and the lion and the fatling together
And a little child shall lead them.

Lead them on a journey, the most wonderful journey of all time.

And then something happened in Nazareth.

Let us join together and sing At This Time of Giving

Hymn: At This Time of Giving

Narrator: In the town of Nazareth lived a young woman called Mary, she was due to be married to a young carpenter called Joseph.

One day, it was just an ordinary day, just like any other day, Mary sat in her house all alone. She had no idea, no idea at all that her journey was just about to begin.

(Mary sits on platform cleaning, Angel stands at pulpit)

Angel: Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.

Mary: Aah! Who are you? What are you talking about?

Angel: Don’t be afraid Mary; God has shown you his grace. Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will rule over the people of Jacob for ever. His kingdom will never end.

Mary: But I don’t understand how this can happen

Angel: Your baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. God can do anything!

Mary: I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say.

(Angel sits down in pulpit)

Narrator: At that moment Mary knew! In her heart of hearts she had no doubt. She was about to begin a journey and it would be the most wonderful journey of her whole life. From deep down inside her she could feel a song welling up: it was the song she would take with her through the whole of her journey.

With all my heart I praise the Lord,
and I am glad because of God my Savior.
He cares for me, his humble servant.
From now on, all people will say
God has blessed me.
God All-Powerful has done great things for me,
and his name is holy.
He always shows mercy to everyone
who worships him.
The Lord has used his powerful arm
to scatter those who are proud.
He drags strong rulers from their thrones
and puts humble people in places of power.
God gives the hungry good things to eat,
and sends the rich away with nothing.
He helps his servant Israel and is always merciful
to his people.
The Lord made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his family forever!

Mary’s journey was about to begin … and she was ready for it! And yet in a strange way the journey had begun long, long ago, right back then at the very beginning with Abraham. It was a journey that had been going on right up to now. And now it was a journey Mary was going to join.
There could be no doubt about it, Mary was ready!

But what about Joseph? Coming back from a hard day’s work, he could see something had happened.

(Joseph joins Mary on stage)

Joseph: Mary, what is going on? You seem different. Please tell me what is going on.

Mary: I am pregnant. An angel of the Lord visited me and told me I would have a child, a son. He would be a king who would reign forever. The angel said the Holy Spirit would come upon me and that’s how I’d be able to have this baby.

Joseph: I’m sorry Mary, I can’t deal with this right now. I don’t think I believe you, I don’t think I can trust you.

(Mary sits off stage, Joseph stays at front, pretends to sleep)

Narrator: There was no joy in Joseph’s heart. It seemed to be the end of everything. And so he began to make plans to divorce Mary secretly. Little did he know that he too was about to set out on a journey. In that moment of darkness, he was not alone. God was there … for him. God was there … for Joseph. It was later that night while he was asleep and dreaming that God sent an angel to meet him in his dreams.

(Angel stands up in pulpit)

Angel: Joseph descendent of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you will name him ‘Jesus’ because he will save his people from their sins. This is to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet, “she will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel which means ‘God is with us’”.

(Joseph wakes up)

Narrator: When Joseph woke up, he knew in his heart of hearts that all would be well. If Mary was about to set out on the most wonderful journey of her life, he would be part of that journey. And deep down he knew that it wasn’t only Mary’s journey he would be part of: it would be the journey that had begun so long ago. It would be the most wonderful journey he had ever been on.

And so it was he did what the angel had told him. He took Mary to be his wife, and pledged his heart to her

(Mary joins Joseph back on stage)

Where you go, I go;
and where you live, I'll live.
Your people are my people,
your God is my god;
where you die, I'll die,
and that's where I'll be buried, so help me God
—not even death itself is going to come between us!"

The most wonderful journey of all was about to begin for Mary and Joseph; it was a journey they would share together. They both knew it was God’s journey. But little did they know what kind of journey it would be …

Soon after this Caesar Augustus sent an order that all people in the countries under Roman rule must list their names in a register. Joseph, from the family of David had to go to the town of Bethlehem, the town of David to be registered. Mary knew this would be a difficult journey and she was heavily pregnant but together Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem.

Let us join now together and sing Little Donkey

(During the song Mary and Joseph walk round the church and then back to the front)

Hymn – Little Donkey

(innkeeper stands at front)

Narrator: It took many days to reach Bethlehem. When they arrived Mary was very tired. They needed to find somewhere to stay but the town was crowded. Many others had come for the census and every inn they went to was full.

(Joseph meets innkeeper 1)

Joseph: Have you got any room for two travellers? We have had such a difficult journey.

(Innkeeper 1 shakes head and walks away)

(Joseph meets innkeeper 2)

Joseph: Have you got a room to spare? Even for just one night? My wife is very tired. The baby is due very soon and I must get her a room.

(Innkeeper 2 shakes head and walks away)

(Joseph meets innkeeper 3)

Joseph: Sir, my wife is so tired. Please, have you got a room? Please, have pity. Is there nowhere at all?

Innkeeper 3: I’m afraid we’re fully booked, all my rooms are in use. But you seem desperate, I do have a stable at the back. It’s got animals in it and not like any of the rooms but it is dry and warm.

Narrator: The journey had been a hard one, so long. But now their journey was over. Joseph had found somewhere for them to stay.

(Mary and Joseph go through the doors at the back of the platform with the innkeeper)

Mary and Joseph went to the stable and that night Mary gave birth to Jesus. She wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger.

Let us join now together and sing Away in the Manger

Hymn: Away in a Manger

Narrator:
A long time ago God began a story that went on and on. Heroes came and went and still the story went on and on. People lived and died and they only heard little bits of God’s story.

It was a long, long story, a story of the journey of God’s people.

Little by little the story became clearer.

It was as if God was building a picture of Himself and his people.

On and on went the story. More and more people joined the journey.

Every now and then God whispered in the ear of one of his people and a little bit more of the picture fell into place. It was a picture of someone very, very special.

'God says: From now on, I myself am the shepherd.
As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered,
I'm going after my sheep.
And I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep.
I myself will make sure they get plenty of rest.
I'll go after the lost,
I'll collect the strays, I'll help the injured to get better,
I'll build up the weak ones and oversee the strong ones
so they're not exploited.

Mary and Joseph were not the only ones to join the journey, God’s journey.

On a hill that looks over Bethlehem another journey was about to start.

(shepherds lay on platform, pretend to be asleep)

Bob: Hey
Bill: What?

Bob: You guys awake?

Bert: Well, we are now

Bob: It’s really cold and dark

Bill: That’s the life of a shepherd.

Bob: How do you stand it? The cold, the darkness, the silence, the isolation.

Bert: You get used to it.

Bob: But does it get any less boring? Does anything happen here at night?

Bill: A shooting star once in a blue moon. What do you think a shepherd does?

Bob: I don’t know I just thought it would be more exciting than this.

Bert: I’m going to check on the sheep.

(angel stands up in pulpit, other angels stand at the front)

Angels: Do not be afraid!

(shepherds tremble)

Angel: We bring you good news that will be a great joy to all people. Today in the town of David your Saviour is born. He is Christ, the Lord. You will find him wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a manger.

Angels: Glory to God in heaven!

(All angels go through the back doors)

Bob: Wow, that was amazing! There’s nothing else for it … we have a journey to make!

Bill: Let’s get down to Bethlehem, I want to meet this baby. Although, I’m not sure what a manger is.

Bert: I think it is where animals feed. But hold on, I’m not sure we are special enough to meet this wonderful baby. The angels called him our Saviour.

Bob: Don’t be silly, the angels just came and told us. Wow, we are so blessed. Hurry up guys!

(shepherds go through back doors)

Narrator: So, the shepherds went quickly on their journey. They ran as fast as they could. Seeing was believing! They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the shepherds were amazed.
Let us join now together and sing Joy to the World

Hymn: Joy to the World

Narrator: A long time ago God began a story that went on and on. Heroes came and went and still the story went on and on. People lived and died and they only heard little bits of God’s story.

It was a long, long story, a story of the journey of God’s people.

Little by little the story became clearer.

It was as if God was building a picture of Himself and his people.

On and on again went the story. More and more people joined the journey.

Every now and then God whispered in the ear of one of his people and a little bit more of the picture fell into place. It was a picture of someone very, very special.

Give the king your justice, O God
And your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness
And your poor with justice.

Kings remote and legendary will pay homage, kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth. All kings will bow down and worship,

There were still others who had a journey to make. They had been chosen to be part of this very special story. Little did they know it, but they too would have a journey to make, and as they made it they too would join God’s journey.

(wise men stand at the front)

Caspar: Well, just another day at the home of the wise men. Hold on, (looks up) is that? No, it’s too bright. Hold on. I think that star is brighter than all the others. Guys, come and take a look at this.

Tony: What are you shouting about? I was studying my books.

Stanley: What are we meant to be looking at? Wow, that star is so bright.

Tony: It’s not like any I’ve seen, so bright, I don’t even need a telescope.

Caspar: You know what this means? I’m sure it says in one of our books that the birth of the King of the Jews would be foretold by a star.

Stanley: You can’t be serious. The birth of a king, the most important king?

Tony: I remember reading that. This birth is supposed to be a really special event. We need to go and meet him.

Caspar: Are you sure you want to do that? That star will probably take us somewhere like Jerusalem – that’s a really long journey and I have bunions. The camels are resting and well, we’ve got things going on. How important can it be?

Tony: This is big, we have to go, we have to go now. We need to get packing.

Caspar: But…

Stanley: But nothing. We have to go. We have a journey to make. Let’s get packing. And we need gifts. Now what have we got in our special presents cupboard. Gold is an obvious one, he is a king after all. And frankincense, he will be no ordinary king: he’ll be worthy of our worship.

Tony: And myrrh.

Caspar: Myrrh? But that’s for dead people surely: not for babies. That is not a gift for a newborn baby. He is a really special baby as well.

Tony: Definitely myrrh. I can’t really explain why but it’s important, we need to give myrrh.

Stanley: Well, lets get packing, we’ve got quite a journey ahead of us – especially if he’s going to be moaning about his bunions.

(wise men walk round the church, ending up at platform, Herod also goes to platform)

Narrator: So the wise men set off on their journey. It was a journey that took them far, far from their home in the East. It was a journey that took them to Jerusalem, to the palace of King Herod. Surely that’s where their journey would end: it was the obvious place for a king to be born.

King Herod: You tell me there is a new king to be born, I must speak to my advisors. Please take a seat.

Narrator: Although King Herod seemed happy to see the wise men he wasn’t. He had battled long and hard to get the power he now had. On no account would he lose that power. He spoke to his advisers and realised that this birth would mean something terrible for him. Herod was angry. Very angry.

(Herod storms off to the back of church)

Stanley: Well, he seemed very nice.

Caspar: And we mustn’t forget to tell him where the baby is once we have met him.

Tony: I can’t believe he wanted to worship him as well, what an incredible man!

Narrator: So after hearing from Herod’s advisors that the new king would be born in Bethlehem the wise men resumed their journey. They followed the star and soon they found Jesus in the stable.

(wise men go out the back doors on the platform)

Narrator: They journeyed to the stable. They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented their gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
It was a long journey for all that came to the stable. Let us have a moment of prayer, thinking of journeys that others will be facing this Christmas.

Time of prayer

We will now share in worship singing From the Squalor of a Borrowed Stable

Hymn: From the Squalor of a Borrowed Stable

(During the song the stable scene with the children is created on the platform)

Let’s join in the joy of Christmas as the children sing Behold the Star, join in when you like.

Kids sing Behold that Star

Narrator: A long time ago God began a story that went on and on. Heroes came and went and still the story went on and on. People lived and died and they only heard little bits of God’s story.

It was a long, long story, a story of the journey of God’s people.

Little by little the story became clearer.

It was as if God was building a picture of Himself and his people.

On and on went the story. More and more people joined the journey.

And that night, in that stable, in that little town of Bethlehem all those people reached their destination. It was their journey’s end.

Or was it?

That night, in that stable, in that little town of Bethlehem the wise men, the shepherds, Mary and Joseph discovered that their real journey, the journey God had in store for each of them was only just beginning.

Once the wise men had seen Jesus they were warned by God in a dream not to go back to Herod. So instead they returned home a different way. What a journey they’d had! What a journey lay before them!

(wise men leave the platform, go to the back)

Narrator: The shepherds were changed people. Once they had seen the baby they went and told people what the angels had told them and everyone was amazed. They then went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything they’d seen and heard. What a journey they’d had! What a journey lay before them!

(shepherds leave the platform, go to the back)

Narrator: An angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to escape with Mary and Jesus because Herod wanted to kill the little baby. What a journey they’d had. What a journey lay before them!

(Angels leave the platform)
(Mary and Joseph leave the platform)

Narrator:
A long time ago God began a story that’s still going on. Heroes have come and gone and still the story goes on

It’s a story of the journey of God’s people. It’s a journey God wants all of us to join.

The baby Jesus grew up and became a man.

Come and follow me, he said, and many joined the journey.

It took him to the cross and beyond to resurrection.

Come and follow me, he said, and many joined the journey.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

I am with you always … to the end of the age!

Come and follow me, he said, and ever since many have joined the journey.

And so Jesus reaches out to us all down through the years and says …

Come and follow me … join the journey.

I am the way and the truth and the life
No one comes to the Father except through me

Come and follow me … join the journey

I am the light of the world,
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

Come and follow me … join the journey.

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you have joined the journey and that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Come and follow me … join the journey.

I am the resurrection and the life
Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.
And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.

Come and follow me … join the journey.

Let us join in singing our final worship song, will you come and follow me

Song: Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?

We shall now close with a prayer:
In my journeying with you,
may I never lose my sense of direction,
never lose sight of the landmark towards which I travel.
And should cloud or rain obscure my vision,
may I draw closer to you,
so that my feet may tread in your footsteps,
your words be my encouragement,
and your love my protection against the storms that assail me.