downloadTheology & History
A Dramatic Reading For Christmas
The following reading is based on various Scripture readings for the Christmas season.
Reader 1: The world was filled with the darkness of sin and desperately needed a savior. God promised such a deliverer through the prophets. Reader 2: Isaiah wrote: "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned" (Isa. 9:2). Reader 3: This light came to us through Jesus Christ. He was born to be the light for our darkness. Reader 4: Concerning Jesus, the apostle John said: "In Him was life, and that life was the light of men" (John 1:4). Reader 2: For the most part, people did not recognize this light. Often Jesus spoke of His mission. Reader 4: At one point He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). Reader 1: God does not desire that humans stay in the darkness that they created for themself. At Christmas we can remember this marvelous gift of deliverance. Reader 3: Jesus said, "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness" (John 12:46). Reader 4: The light brought to the world through Christ continues to shine. His Spirit dwells in us, sending light to the world. Reader 3: For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our heart to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). Reader 2: His light shines through His church, each part of the body can be a beacon of love to a world that still does not know the light has come. Reader 1: Jesus spoke these words: "You are the light of the world … let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:14a, 16, rsv). Reader 5: The light of Christ will shine for eternity. We carry His light now and will live forever in its warmth. The apostle John records this vision: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth….I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God….I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it" (Rev. 21:1–2a, 22–24).