Simple Narrated Nativity Service

 Simple Narrated Nativity Service

Your Sunday School isn't a drama group so you probably haven't got the time to plan anything complicated. A narrated play where there isn't dialogue and the characters can read from a cue card is ideal in this situation. The coloured cast names have speaking parts. Pick people who will practise and learn their lines and tell their parents so they do!

Cast (12+):

Mary                             

Joseph                         

Elizabeth                    

Herod                          

Soldier                         

Angel Gabriel            

Magi                             

Shepherds                   

Jewish teacher          

Prop manager             

Additional shepherds and sheep to be played by creche.

Narrators (4+):

Principle narrator     

Female voice,            

Male voice                   

Angel voice                

Minister                              

 

Props: Big engagement ring, gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, bed, stable, baskets for magi to collect gifts, “boo” sign, congregation items, road signs saying “Nazareth”, “Hill Town”, “Bethlehem”

Minister: Brief introduction

[As congregation enter they are given an angel on a stick, a piece of picture with a line-drawn present on it and a pen. They must write things they want to thank God for]

Carol - “O come all ye faithful” accompanied by orchestra

Carol - “Little Donkey” accompanied by orchestra

Male voice: All of you have an angel. Listen carefully to our story. Whenever there is a “host of angels” wave your angel in the air. There are also some nasty characters in the play. When you see the “Boo” sign, make sure you boo loudly.

[Shepherds go to Bethlehem Fields. Herod, soldier and teacher go to Herod’s palace. Herod sits on throne, soldier stands by his side and teacher sits at his feet. All other actors go to off stage area.]

[The principle narrator opens a bible near Luke 1]

Principle narrator: This is the story of the birth of Jesus the Messiah. His mother Mary was from a town called Nazareth,

[Prop manager places the sign “Nazareth” on display. Mary stands centre stage]

Principle narrator: Mary was engaged to a man called Joseph who was also from Nazareth.

[Joseph kneels on one knee and presents Mary with a ring who looks  overjoyed. Mary takes it and Joseph leaves]

Principle narrator: Before the wedding, God sent the Angel Gabriel to Mary.

[Gabriel enters]

Principle narrator: The angel came to her and said,

Angel voice: Greetings Mary! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you.

Principle narrator: But Mary was very shaken by what the angel said. She wondered what it meant but the angel reassured her saying,

Angel voice: Don’t be afraid, Mary, because God is very pleased with you. Listen! You will become pregnant and have a baby boy, who you will name Jesus, which means saviour. People will call him the Son of the Most High God, and the Lord God will make him king like his ancestor David. He will rule over the people of Jacob forever; his kingdom will be eternal.

Principle narrator: Mary didn’t understand how she could be pregnant as she was making Joseph wait until their wedding night. She asked the angel,

Female voice: How will this happen? I am still a virgin.

Principle narrator: The angel told her that her husband-to-be wouldn’t be the father but God.

Angel voice: The Holy Spirit will come to you, and the power of the Most High God will cover you. The baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. And here’s something else: Your relative Elizabeth is pregnant. Although she is very old, she is going to have a son. Everyone thought it was too late for her to ever have a baby, but she has been pregnant now for six months. God can do anything!

Principle narrator: Mary was amazed that she had been chosen for this special task. She told the angel.

Female voice: I am the Lord’s servant. Let this thing you have said happen to me!

Principle narrator: Then the angel left.

[Angel leaves, Prop manager places the sign “Hill Town” on display. Elizabeth comes slowly onto the stage heavily pregnant using a walking frame. ]

Principle narrator: After the angel left, Mary got up and quickly went to a town in the hill country of Judea, where her cousin Elizabeth lived with her husband Zechariah. She went into their house and greeted Elizabeth, who was pregnant with a baby who would one day be known as John the Baptist. [Mary enters and joins Elizabeth] When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she said to Mary,

Elizabeth: “God has blessed you more than any other woman. And God has blessed the baby you will have. You are the mother of my Lord, and you have come to visit me! Why has something so good happened to me? When I heard your voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy. Great blessings are yours because you believed what the Lord said to you! You believed this would happen.”

Principle narrator: Then Mary said,

Female voice (magnificat):

I’m bursting with God-news;
    I’m dancing the song of my Saviour God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
    I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
    the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
    on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
    scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
    pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
    the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
    he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
    beginning with Abraham and right up to now

Principle narrator: Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then went home.

[Elizabeth leaves, Mary returns to centre stage, prop manager changes sign to “Nazereth”.

 Joseph greets Mary]

Principle narrator: Mary’s husband-to-be, Joseph, was a good man but he didn’t think he could marry Mary when she was already pregnant with a baby that wasn’t his. He didn’t want to cause her public disgrace, so he planned to divorce her secretly and get on with his life.

[Joseph holds out his hand and Mary returns the ring and leaves]

Principle narrator: But Joseph couldn’t get Mary out of his mind. He thought about her all day, until he went to bed that night.

[Joseph gets into bed]

Principle narrator: An angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream.

[An angel enters]

Principle narrator: The angel said,

Angel voice: “Joseph, son of David, you mustn’t worry about accepting Mary to be your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.”

Principle narrator: All this happened to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord said through the prophet: Isaiah:

Male voice: The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a son. People will name him Immanuel. Immanuel means “God with us.”

[Angel leaves]

Principle narrator: When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel told him to do.

[Joseph gets out of bed, Mary enters and Joseph gives her the ring back]

Principle narrator: He married Mary and they waited for the baby to be born. It was about that time that --sent out an order to all people in the countries that were under Roman rule.

[Soldier puts up census sign]

Principle narrator: The order said that everyone’s name must be put on a list. This was the first counting of all the people while Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to their own hometown to have their name put on the list. So Mary and Joseph left Nazareth and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea.

[Mary and Joseph walk around the outside of the church. Whilst they are away the prop manager puts up the sign “Bethlehem”]

Principle narrator: Bethlehem was known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David, and he registered with Mary because she was engaged to marry him. While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have the baby. All of the guest rooms in Bethlehem were already full, so they stayed with an innkeeper’s cattle, outside the inn.

Principle narrator: Mary gave birth to her baby, and they called him Jesus. She wrapped him up well and laid him in a box where cattle are fed.

[Mary takes out the baby and puts it in the manger]

Choir sings “Away in a Manger” accompanied by piano

Principle narrator: Let's sing Silent Night. Please have your angels ready!

Hymn - Silent night

[shepherds stand up to the side of the stage]

Principle narrator: That night, some shepherds were out in the fields near Bethlehem watching their sheep. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord was shining around them.

[An angel runs from the front to the shepherds]

Principle narrator: The shepherds were very afraid. The angel said to them,

Angel voice: “Don’t be afraid. I have some very good news for you—news that will make everyone happy. Today your Saviour was born in David’s town. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box.”

Principle narrator: Then a huge host of angels from heaven joined the first angel, and they were all praising God, saying,

Angel voice: Praise God in heaven. And on earth let there be peace to the people who please him.

 

Principle narrator:The angels left the shepherds and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other,

Male voice: “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this great event the Lord has told us about.”

Principle narrator: So the shepherds went running and found Mary and Joseph.

[Shepherds run to Mary and Joseph (led by Gabriel if needed)]

HYMN – “While shepherds watched their flocks by night” accompanied by worship group

Principle narrator: As the angels promised, the shepherds found the baby, lying in a feeding box. When they saw him, they explained what the angels had said about this child. Everyone was surprised when they heard what the shepherds told them, and Mary continued to think about these things, trying to understand what they meant. The shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything they had seen and heard. It was just as the angel had told them.

[shepherds return to their sheep]

Principle narrator: When the baby was eight days old, he was circumcised, as the law of Moses commanded, and he was named Jesus. This name was given by the angel before the baby began to grow inside Mary.

Principle narrator: All this happened during the time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born, some magi from the east came to Jerusalem.

[magi walk around the audience asking where Jesus is]

Principle narrator: They asked people,

Male voice: “Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east and have come to worship him.”

[Herod enters to the side of the stage. Female voice holds “Boo” sign]

Principle narrator: When King Herod heard about this, it upset him as well as everyone else in Jerusalem. Herod called a meeting of all the leading Jewish priests and teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah would be born. They answered,

Male voice: “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea, just as the prophet wrote:

‘Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are important among the rulers of Judah.
Yes, a ruler will come from you,
and that ruler will lead Israel, my people.’”

Principle narrator: Then Herod had a private meeting with the magi from the east.

[magi go to Herod]

Principle narrator: He learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. Then he sent them to Bethlehem. He said,

Male voice: Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, come and tell me. Then I can go to worship him too.

Principle narrator: After the magi heard the king, they left.

[magi leave]

Principle narrator: Herod didn't want another king taking over from him. He planned for his soldiers to kill this new king.

[Female voice holds “Boo”]

Principle narrator: Meanwhile the magi saw the same star they had seen in the east, and they followed it. The star went before them until it stopped above the place where Jesus was. They were very happy and excited to see the star had finally come to rest.

Angel voice: All of you were given a paper gift on the way in. As well as their own gifts, the magi will present your gifts to Jesus too. The choir will sing a song for you to give you a chance to write your message. Then the wise men will collect the gifts while we sing a carol. Please have them ready as these men believe they are kings and aren't used to being kept waiting.

[Choir sings ““Come See the Beauty of the King”

Hymn – “We three kings of orient are” accompanied by worship group  as Magi collect gifts in baskets and then wait to the side of the stage]

Principle narrator: The magi came to the house where Jesus was with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshipped him.

[Magi approach stage and bow down]

Principle narrator: Then they opened the boxes of gifts they had brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

[Magi stand and present the gifts]

Principle narrator: God warned the magi in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they went home to their own country a different way.

[Magi leave]

Principle narrator: After the magi left, an angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream.

[Angel approaches Joseph]

Principle narrator: The angel said,

Angel voice: “Get up! Take the child with his mother and escape to Egypt. Herod wants to kill the child and will soon start looking for him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to come back.”

[Mary and Joseph get up and leave]

Principle narrator: So Joseph got ready and left for Egypt with Jesus and Mary. They left during the night. They stayed in Egypt until Herod died and Jesus remained safe from Herod’s plans. This gave full meaning to what the Lord said through the prophet: Hosea:

Male voice: “I called my son to come out of Egypt.”

Female voice: I hope you enjoyed our story but it doesn't end here. Jesus the baby grew up to become Jesus the man. He died on a cross and came back to life again so that we can be forgiven for everything wrong we have done. That is his gift to us – it is greater than gold, frankincense, myrrh or anything we can give to him. Isn’t that the most amazing story… even without Hollywood.

Minister: Concluding remarks

Hymn – Calypso Carol accompanied by worship group