Including the Director’s Cut of the script~
Music 0: O Come, all ye faithful
Narrator 1 (there is a second half to this narration at the very end of the pageant)
Art 1 (Draw the very first light that God made on the first day of Creation)
Music 1a: O heavenly Word, eternal Light
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Narrator 2 (there is a second half to this narration at the very end of the pageant)
Art 2 (the ‘Word’ is another way to talk about Jesus before he had a body. Draw the Word and God hanging out in space.)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Art 3: Annunciation
| Narrator 3 | Actor 1: GabrielDress like an angel, find a normal place in your house where a teenager might hang out (who knows, maybe sit on the vanity in the bathroom) and record each of the below three passages with a little bit of a pause between) |
| In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, | |
| “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” | |
| But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, | |
| “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” | |
| Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, | |
| “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” | |
| Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” |
Narrator 4 |
Art 4: Magnificat (Draw Mary the Mother of God like a super hero. Maybe with a strong arm or knocking over a throne or feeding the hungry.)
Music 1b: ???
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Narrator 5
Art 5 (Draw an angel visiting Joseph. Joseph maybe looks surprised or scared! Or maybe Joseph is asleep)
Music 2: O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
Actor 2: (dress angelly and maybe go stand over a bed while you say these lines)
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife.
Narrator 6 |
Art 6 (either: draw Mary and Joseph headed home through a desert w the North Star overhead in the night sky OR draw Mary and Joseph in the inn surrounded by animals and Jesus in the manger)
Music 3: O little town of Bethlehem
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Music 4: Away in a manger
Narrator 7
Art 6 (draw shepherds in the fields with their animals and an angel with them)
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,
Actor(s) 3 (One or a couple of siblings could be the Angels — one could deliver this first line [do not be afraid…] and the couple of them could say the second line [Glory to God…] in unison
“Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and 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 heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
Narrator 8
Art 7 (Draw the shepherds visiting Mary and Joseph and the newborn baby)
Music 5: Angels we have heard on high,
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
Actor(s) 4: (One or a couple of siblings dress up like shepherds [crooks or sticks or canes? farm hats? straw sticking out of overalls?] find a nice outdoor place in the yard to deliver this line in unison and then get filmed for thirty seconds traipsing through nature (as if on a journey to Bethlehem)
“Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went with haste* and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Music 6: The first Nowell
Art 8 (Draw the three wise men visiting with King Herod. Maybe they are in a castle or a throne room. Maybe Herod has a scowl/frown on his face)
Narrator 9
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the East came to Jerusalem, asking,
Actor 4: (Dress up like Magi {Magi are just weird–anything that makes you seem kind of weird can work!! remember the animal hats?} and deliver this line in unison.)
“Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”
When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him**; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.** Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.
Music 7: We three kings of Orient are,
Art 9 (draw the three magi giving presents to Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus in the house/stable. maybe there is a star above the house!)
Narrator 10
When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Narrator 2 | Art 2
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
Narrator 1 | Art 1
God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
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