Christmas
THE WHISPER
OF ADVENT
How do we prepare for Christmas? Is it all about
hustle and bustle or is there something we’re missing? Have we stopped to
listen to the whisper of Advent?
WHERE'S JESUS?
Dad searches for a missing Jesus from the Nativity scene while his family
falls apart.
A BIG FAMILY CHRISTMAS
An overworked and
underappreciated woman searches for peace in the midst of the
holiday festivities.
THE CHRISTMAS SOLDIER
A Roman soldier finishes his
watch and wakes an innkeeper for some food and to tell him of an unusual
experience he just had that involved some shepherds and a newborn baby in
a manger.
DUST BUNNIES
A young wife expresses her frustration with the holidays and her dysfunctional
family gatherings.
EXPECTING FATHERS
Joseph visits the mute
Zechariah to discuss the visit he had from an angel telling about the coming birth
of Jesus.
PLAN A
An angel is alarmed and
worried when he learns that the only plan for salvation is Jesus’ birth
and death, wondering if it will be enough to save mankind from its sin, and if people will
accept it.
THREE WISE MEN
Three not-so-wise men follow a star that leads them to a hut
in Bethlehem.
STUFF CYCLE
SAINT NICK
A man flying home for the Christmas holiday strikes up a conversation with a fellow traveler in a Santa suit, and in the process learns a lesson on charity.
MAKING ROOM
The innkeeper who turned away Mary and Joseph reflects on his decision many years later.
IT ALL STARTED IN THE CHECKOUT AISLE...
A single mother comes to the end of herself and realizes that Jesus is enough for her and her son.
DOLL IN THE TRASH
A cute doll named Betty is shocked when her little girl owner throws her away. She longs to be cleaned up and made new so another child can love her one day.|
CHRISTMAS BABY
Four people give their views on how they see Christmas and view the baby.”
ARE YOU WORTHY?
An angelic game show host questions his next contestant: Mary, the future mother of the Savior.
ONE SMALL CHILD
A mini-pageant that relates the Nativity narratives found in the Gospels of Matthew & Luke as a bedtime story.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS?
Three independent scenes (featuring the same two actors in different roles) illustrate how worry, doubt, and guilt keep people from enjoying the holidays.
ALONE IN THE CROWD )
A mother in a house full of relatives struggles with feelings of loneliness in the aftermath
of Christmas dinner.
AS
SILENT STARS GO BY
Two cowboys exchange their outlooks on life. The older cowboy tries to
help the younger one see that he is scared of living life to its fullest.
There is the sense that something is about to happen that may change them
dramatically.
GOOD
GIFTS
Often we confuse tithing and gifts. On Christmas morning, two children
learn the difference between a tithe (giving back what is God’s)
and a gift (giving to God from what is ours).
THE
CHRISTMAS WISH
Two shepherds on the hills close to Bethlehem on are about to find out
that wishes really do come true.
TWO
VIEWS OF CHRISTMAS
While preparing for the busy Christmas season, Ron and Kathy try to remind
June and Mike of what the reason for the season really is.
TOY
WARS
A single mom and a rabid Star Wars fan face off over an action
figure at Christmas time
THE BELLS
Inspired by the folk tale When the Chimes Rang. A young boy and his sister
travel to town to make a humble Christmas offering. After an encounter
with a sick woman, the young boy goes to town alone. Everyone in church
is hoping that the chimes will ring, and many elaborate gifts are given.
But it is the offering of the young boy and his sister that ultimately
makes the chimes ring.
QUIET NIGHT
The shepherds are stunned when an angel appears to them in the field.
THE AMERICAN DILEMMA
Pete and Grace discuss how they can break out of the traditional American
Christmas, which puts a high priority on material goods. They attempt
to find a way to focus on giving to those in need instead falling into
the commercial trap.
THE
GREATEST GIFT
Paul and Shelley demonstrate the gift of kindness by inviting a suffering
couple to Christmas dinner.
THE
GIFT
A
theatre team struggles to mount a production of the traditional Christmas
story, with humorous consequences. At the last moment, however, they pull
themselves together and recount the tale with reverence and poise.
I MISS HIM SO MUCH
Roger
tries to sell Margaret a carpet cleaner but the pair soon realizes they
have great personal tragedy in common. Margaret shares her faith, but
Roger is reluctant to believe in a God who would let such a horrible tragedy
happen in his life. He does finally accept Margaret's offer of dinner
and the promise of looking at his tragedy in a new way.
THE
IMAGE OF CHRIST
A
Kinko's worker rants about his hectic work schedule at Christmastime until
he sees a photograph that reminds him of the people he met due to 9/11.
THE
FORGOTTEN CHRISTMAS STORY
Mark
Stilman and his wife get a lesson in the true meaning of Christmas from
their pastor, a group of carolers and their own children.
EVERY
DAY OF THE YEAR
RICHARD
and CAROL argue over the placement of the nativity characters until their
friend SANDY reminds them that the spirit of love and giving should last
the whole year, not just for the Christmas season.
IF
ONLY IT WERE TRUE
Alan
wraps his Christmas presents while discussing the transitory nature of
Christmas. The season is all well and good to foster temporary good will,
but the feelings don't last. They aren't real, just as the manger isn't
real or so Alan thinks.
JOSEPH AND HIS LAWYER
Joseph is at his lawyer's office to pick up his
divorce papers, which would officially end his engagement to Mary. He has had a change of
heart and tells his lawyer he's going through with the marriage after all.
THE CHRISTMAS
PARTY
To demonstrate how we often forget to honor Jesus at Christmas
GOD REST YE MERRY
Mark, a recent divorcee, is riding the commuter
train home after a day of Christmas shopping for his children. His ride
is interrupted by Lady, a well-meaning,
chatty grandmother. As their encounter unfolds, we feel Mark's pain and
witness love in action as Lady opens her heart and home to Mark.
THE INNKEEPER
In this comic look at the original
Christmas story, we meet Amos, an enterprising innkeeper, out to make
a buck during the census. We also meet several travelers looking for lodging,
among them, Mary and Joseph. The twist to the familiar story comes in
the way Mary and Joseph are "invited" to stay at the inn. (Note:
While this may seem like a large cast, the parts are short and don't require
much memorizing.).
HUNG ON A TREE
Sarah is helping her new roommate, Becky,
get ready for a Christmas party with her family. They are decorating
Becky's Christmas tree with ornaments she's collected over the years.
To Becky, Christmas is glitz, glamour, and "peace on earth."
Sarah gently tries to remind Becky what she's really celebrating. The
culmination comes when they pull out the last ornament in the box—baby
Jesus in a manger—which Becky says doesn't belong on a tree.
SINGLE CHRISTMAS
We all know someone who holds a grudge
against a family member and wears
the badge proudly, even touting, "I haven't been home or spoken to
them for years." Beneath that veneer often lies a hurting individual.
But where does the healing begin? In this poignant scene, we get a peek
beneath Kristen's veneer and see the first steps toward reconciliation.
Without being preachy or judgmental, this sketch opens the doors for hurting
individuals to talk.
LOVE STRUCK
At Christmas, "the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us" (John 1:14). Jesus was the incarnation of God's love. We,
too, are called to incarnate God's love in our lives, but what does that
mean? The mini-sketches included here portray two examples of how God's
love may become flesh in us.
CHRISTMAS WITH STRANGERS
This script helps viewers to visualize what it was
like for Mary and Joseph to have Jesus born while they were so far from
home, far from the comfort and support of family and friends. It also
shows that just as Jesus' first visitors were strangers, so he came to
preach his gospel to the ends of the earth, an earth full of strangers
who need to know him. The couple in this drama receive a similar calling
one Christmas.
THE
UNINVITED GUEST
It is Trial’s
first day on the job (since being promoted up from an Irritating Circumstance),
and the assignment is to steal Sally’s joy. Little does Trial know,
but Sally is prepared and celebrates the arrival of her guest! A hilarious
look at the biblical view of trials and perseverance.
QUITTIN’
TIME
A department
store Santa sits down on a bench and begins to complain about his woes
of the season to the young stranger next to him.Soon Santa shows himself
to be something other than the kind old Kris Kringle one would expect.
LOVE
YOUR ENEMIES
At a rehearsal
for a “reader’s theater” presentation of Luke 6:27 –38,
Brenda doesn’t like the tone of the verses she’s been assigned
— especially as they call one to “love your enemies.” It’
up to the rest of the cast to show Brenda the depth of those words.
IRRECONCILABLE
DIFFERENCES
A modern woman
reflects on the near destruction of her marriage. All seems lost until
she and her husband are reminded of another couple from 2,000 years ago
that almost broke up over a pre-marriage pregnancy. Could the miracle
of Christmas save this modern marriage, too? A touching tale of relationships
and superceding love.
THE
NEW FATHER
In this familiar
setting, a brand-new father is greeted by a friend in the waiting room
of a hospital. The celebration of the birth and the proud plans for the
new child dissolve into confessions of fear and insecurity. A thoughtful
sketch on the responsibility of parenting.
A
GIFT
How does anyone
find love? After the breakup of a relationship, Jess feels unloved and
unlovable. It takes an honest reminder from a friend for Jess to remember
how beautiful she truly is. This slice-of-life sketch is a reminder that
love has already come to us all.
LAST-MINUTE
RUSH
This farce brings
us the Christmas rush in all its materialistic wrappings. Too busy to
shop himself, a father sends his business associates out to shop on Christmas
morning for his family's presents. But as the new possessions fail to
satisfy the spoiled children, the father is left to wonder if there is
anything more to Christmas than presents.
A
MOMENT OF ANTICIPATION
In this fast-paced
society, how often do we enjoy the wait? In this sketch, two friends prepare
to watch a meteor shower in a field. As they savor the moments of anticipation,
life is put in perspective again. A wonderful sketch for the Advent season
of anticipation.
PREPARE
THE WAY
Readings from
the book of Isaiah and the Gospel according to Mark combine to form a
beautiful dramatic reading of the nativity story. A wonderful text for
the Advent season.
