. all rights belong to Tanis Harms –
. refer to www.church-skits.com
CHRISTMAS CHARACTERS – written by Tanis Harms
TOPIC: Jesus’ birth, gospel message
SCRIPTURE: Matthew, Luke 3:23-38
Style: a Christmas program with scripture readings,
. short soliloquys, and songs.
Cast: MARY, JOSEPH, INNKEEPER’S WIFE,
. SHEPHERD, MAGI, PERSON, READER
Props: costumes
NOTES: - You can take selections from
. the recommended songs - to be sung
. either by soloists, choir or congregation;
. or choose other applicable songs.
. – You can project the scripture origins
. on a screen while each portion
. is being read
SCRIPT:
SONG/S: “O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM”
. by Phillips Brooks, Lewis H.Redner
. OR “O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL”
. by John M.Neal, Henry S.Coffin, Tom Fettke
(CHARACTERS and READER enter taking turns speaking.)
MARY Although I’m just a young girl, I do desire
. to follow God’s will for my life.
. But who am I to do this thing? My life
. is pretty much just beginning – what do I know?
. And I’m only human. I make mistakes.
READER (Luke 1:26-29) -the angel Gabriel
. was sent from God to a city called Nazareth,
. to a virgin engaged to a man whose name
. was Joseph, of the descendants of David;
. and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in,
. he said to her, “Greetings, favored one!
. The Lord is with you.” But she was
. very perplexed at this statement...
JOSEPH Growing up, I was taught God’s commandments.
. I take these things very seriously.
. But what God is asking me to do – will be
. questioned by society and put us into danger.
. Perhaps there is a way that I can hide
. this sort of public disgrace.
. 2
READER (Matthew 1:20-21) But when he had
. considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord
. appeared to him in a dream, saying,
. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid
. to take Mary as your wife; for the Child
. who has been conceived in her
. is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son;
. and you shall call His name Jesus,
. for He will save His people from their sins.”
WIFE My husband and I have done our best to make
. our inn a success. We may never be super rich,
. but we certainly want to come as close to that
. as possible. Amazingly enough, we’re very busy.
. We don’t have time for this. And so close
. to our dreams, we are now being asked to give?
. We work very hard for what we have.
READER (Luke 2:1-4) Now in those days a decree
. went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census
. be taken of all the inhabited earth...
. And everyone was on his way to register
. for the census, each to his own city.
. Joseph also went up from the city of Nazareth,
. to the city called Bethlehem, because
. he was of the house and family of David.
SHEPHERD Something’s gotta give. I’m stuck here in this
. dead-end job. Sure, at least it’s a job,
. but - I barely make ends meet. We’re just
. struggling to survive. There’s got to be
. more to life than this.
READER (Luke 2:8-9) In the same region there were
. some shepherds staying out in the fields and
. keeping watch over their flock by night.
. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood
. before them, and the glory of the Lord shone
. around them; and they were terribly frightened.
MAGI Higher education is what we strive towards.
. Just when you think you have uncovered
. the facts and discovered some scientific
. explanations – you run into more questions.
. But absolute truths - wisdom of the ages –
. this is to be sought after and cherished.
. Although, it may not always be acceptable
. amongst one’s peers. And it may not earn you
. any popularity votes.
. 3
READER (Matthew 2:1-3) Now after Jesus was born
. in Bethlehem in the days of Herod the king,
. magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
. saying, “Where is He who has been born King
. of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east
. and have come to worship Him.” When Herod
. the king heard this, he was troubled,
. and all Jerusalem with him.
PERSON Call me a skeptic, but can these people from
. Bible-times even be real? How can this story –
. or the book that is called the Bible –
. ever apply to me today? Isn’t it all
. outdated jargon? Old-fashioned values?
READER (John 9:39) And Jesus said, “For judgment
. I came into this world, so that those
. who do not see - may see, and that those
. who see - may become blind.”
. (2 Corinthians 4:4) In whose case
. the god of this world has blinded the minds
. of the unbelieving so that they might not see
. the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
. who is the image of God.
SONG/S: “COME, THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS”
. by Charles Wesley, Rowland H.Prichard
. OR “THOU DIDST LEAVE THY THRONE”
. by Emily E.S.Elliot, Timothy R.Matthews
. OR “WHAT CHILD IS THIS?”
. by William C.Dix
MARY My only choice was to trust and look to God.
. I am only human. I still make mistakes.
. But when I am weak – I am strong – BECAUSE
. I have learned to lean on God’s strength
. no matter how easy or difficult life becomes.
READER (Luke 1:30-33) The angel said to her,
. “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you
. have found favor with God. And behold,
. you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
. and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great
. and will be called the Son of the Most High;
. and the Lord God will give Him the throne
. of His father David; and He will reign
. over the house of Jacob forever,
. and His kingdom will have no end.”
JOSEPH From hearing the scriptures, I knew that God 4
. had protected the Israelites from enemies-
. such as the Pharaoh of Egypt – by parting
. the Red Sea. Well, if God can do that,
. certainly God can protect us from angry kings
. and plotting priests. I had to realize
. that God is in control. God would certainly
. carry out His plan which He set before us.
READER (Matthew 1:22-23) Now all this took place
. to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord
. through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN
. SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON,
. AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,”
. which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
WIFE My husband and I found some room for them.
. But since our inn was completely filled up,
. THAT had to be outside - in a stable.
. And even then, they were most appreciative.
. It made me realize that I took everything
. that I have for granted. Is there more to life
. than just working and buying items of luxury?
READER (Luke 2:6-7) While they were there,
. the days were completed for her to give birth.
. And she gave birth to her firstborn son;
. and she wrapped Him in cloths,
. and laid Him in a manger, because there was
. no room for them in the inn.
SHEPHERD We were just trying to mind our own business,
. as usual. Trying to stay out of trouble.
. When something really crazy happened.
. And you never think it could happen to you.
. I mean, who are we? Just a bunch of
. worthless nobodies. But there they were –
. giving us this very important message. To us!
. At first we thought we were just dreaming –
. but come on–you can’t just make this stuff up.
READER (Luke 2:10-12) But the angel said to them,
. “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you
. good news of great joy which will be
. for all the people; for today in the city
. of David there has been born for you a Savior,
. who is Christ the Lord. This will be
. a sign for you: you will find a baby
. wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
MAGI Years of schooling and studying, and I have 5
. never experienced anything so profound.
. We knew of the prophecies, we saw the signs
. that were foretold, we had prepared for this
. journey, we followed the star of promise...
. and when we found the Christ-Child – words
. cannot express how deeply humbling this
. encounter was. We had brought many precious
. gifts, but these were nothing compared to how
. precious it was to meet God-in-the-flesh.
. How precious that God came - to us!
READER (Matthew 2:11-12) After coming into the house
. they saw the Child with Mary His mother;
. and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him.
. Then, opening their treasures, they presented
. to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
. And having been warned by God in a dream
. not to return to Herod, the magi left
. for their own country by another way.
PERSON I know I am full of excuses.
. I do whatever I can to justify immoral actions.
. Telling myself lies to convince myself
. that I’m in the right.
. Making all efforts to run from the truth...
. I try... but no matter what, it always
. comes back to stare me in the face.
READER (Isaiah 52:10) The LORD has bared His holy arm
. In the sight of all the nations,
. That all the ends of the earth may see
. The salvation of our God.
SONG/S: “BREAK FORTH, O BEAUTEOUS HEAVENLY LIGHT”
. by Johann Rist, John Troutbeck, Joseph Barlowe
. Johann Schop, J.S.Bach
. OR “ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY”
. by James Montgomery, Henry T.Smart
(PASTOR can insert a short message of salvation here.)
SONG/S: “ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH”
. OR “JOY TO THE WORLD!”
. by Isaac Watts, George Frederick Handel
MARY Have you given yourself to God and
. have you let go and relied on His strength?
. I could never have done what I did –
. without God being there for me every step.
. 6
READER (Luke 1:35-37) The angel said to her,
. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
. and the power of the Most High
. will overshadow you; and for that reason
. the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth
. has also conceived a son in her old age;
. and she who was called barren
. is now in her sixth month.
. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
JOSEPH Have you asked for God’s guidance?
. He cares about every purpose – great or small,
. and honors those who honor and obey Him.
READER (Matthew 1:24-25) And Joseph awoke from
. his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord
. commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
. but kept her a virgin until she gave birth
. to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
WIFE Have you looked to God for a greater purpose
. in life? Have you made room for Jesus?
READER (Matthew 6:19-21) “Do not store up
. for yourselves treasures on earth,
. where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves
. break in and steal. But store up for yourselves
. treasures in heaven, where neither moth
. nor rust destroys, and where thieves
. do not break in or steal; for where your
. treasure is, there your heart will be also.
SHEPHERD Have you realized that God cares for you?
. God sent His Son to bring hope to
. the common man... to the entire world.
READER (Luke 2:15-20) When the angels had gone,
. the shepherds began saying to one another,
. “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then,
. and see this thing that has happened
. which the Lord has made known to us.”
. So they came in a hurry and found their way
. to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay
. in the manger. When they had seen this...
. the shepherds went back, glorifying and
. praising God for all that they had heard
. and seen, just as had been told them.
MAGI Have you searched for wisdom and learned? 7
. Humbled yourself before God and
. given the most precious gift
. you could possibly give Him?
READER (1 Corinthians 1:18-21)
. For the word of the cross is foolishness
. to those who are perishing, but to us
. who are being saved it is the power of God.
. For it is written,
. “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE,
. AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER
. I WILL SET ASIDE.” Where is the wise man?
. Where is the scribe? Where is the debater
. of this age? Has not God made foolish
. the wisdom of the world?
. For since in the wisdom of God
. the world through its wisdom
. did not come to know God,
. God was well-pleased through
. the foolishness of the message
. preached to save those who believe.
PERSON Have you seen the light?
READER (John 8:12) -Jesus again spoke, saying,
. “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me
. will not walk in the darkness,
. but will have the Light of life.”
. (Matthew 5:16) Let your light shine
. before men in such a way
. that they may see your good works,
. and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
(READER or PASTOR begins to spread the candlelight.)
SONG: “A THOUSAND CANDLES”
. by Evie Karlsson, Emmy Kohler, Eugene Thomas
. OR “SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT”
. by Joseph Mohr, John F.Young, Franz Gruber