Yesterday I didn't preach. Instead we had our Children's Christmas Pageant. It was fabulous, and it delivered an experience and a message that mere preaching cannot compete with. One church veteran told me today that it was the finest children's program he had ever seen. I would agree. Here are some of my reflections on Sunday's experience.
1. The energy created by a completely jammed packed sanctuary was electric.
2. I was mesmerized by a solo sung by a little girl named Madison who communicated a sincerity and love for Jesus that just stunned me. It took my breath away. If Madison can retain this kind of faith and love for Jesus she will change the world.
3. If the rest of the kids can retain their passion and excitement for telling others about Jesus, they will also change the world.
4. The pageant set up as a contrast between the ho hum lack of faith of a TV announcer (played by Rick Shannon) and the celebrative, alive faith of the kids who were excited about Jesus. I came away wondering how much of the announcer's attitude was in me, and asking God to make me more like the kids.
5. The message of the pageant was inviting people to the birthday party. One of the secrets of the full house was that the kids were given invitations to give to people they wanted to attend. From these invitations, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and others poured into the church. One child's teacher from public school came. I wonder what would happen if we adults started doing this on a regular basis. Maybe we could have "electric" every week.
6. It would not be a Christmas Pageant without some on-stage shenanigans: mostly from the boys. I did not notice any nose picking or outright fighting, but we did experience some bare belly showing, some yawning, some arms out of T Shirts, and a short verbal rumbling between a couple of nativity participants. These things always remind me that we human beings are not angelic, and that part of the Christmas story was that Jesus entered a very messy and human world and invested in people like you and me who miss being perfect by about 1000 miles.
7. We were all blown away by the shooting confetti at the end of the service. And the birthday cake for Jesus was awesome!
For those of you who were there yesterday, what did you think was the best part? Post a comment and I will make sure that the kids hear your encouragement!
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The kids did a wonderfull job. I had to leave a few minutes early so I missed the confetti but I got to see the kids as they ran out of the sanctuary so pumbed and excited. It was awesome to see 3 teen guys join the younger kids in a part in the program and be mentors for those kids. Melanie Wright
ReplyDeleteThe kids Christmas pageant was simply moving. The most sincere, honest and truly simple message came from the hearts of children. As in most messages from God, he was speaking through the children directly to me. Now it is time to go out and change the world!
ReplyDeleteAMAZING EXPERIENCE!! That's all I can say! From the very first day of rehearsals to the very last confetti being picked off the floor, God was with us! It all happens because of HIM. Who else could pull off a miracle? As we were getting ready to enter the sanctuary, some of the nerves began to show... "What if I forget my lines? What happens if...." and the questions began. I could just feel the Holy Spirit saying, "Tell the children I'm here for them." I want all of you kids to remember that. HE was with us and you were perfect! Miss Tammy
ReplyDeleteI was blown away by the pageant yesterday. Having watched a lot of the practices, I expected the normal pageant with kids being distracted by finding their family in the audience, acting up as children do and just general ho-hum presentations. Much to my surprise it was awesome! Having the lights down eliminated a lot of distractions for the children so that they could focus on the leaders who were there to keep them on track. The inthusiasm of the children was electric, even my almost 2 year old grandson sat and watched quietly (much to my amazement). The work put in by Tammy, Lesley, Doug & Joey was very evident yesterday and the sets were truly awesome. The whole project was obviously guided by the holy spirit from beginning to end. What a class act! Dorothy
ReplyDeleteWow -it was a wow! Our beautiful children, and wow were they beautiful, asked us all an important question...
ReplyDeleteWhat will we do with Jesus?
Sure we all have to buy Christmas dinner, make sure our Christmas outfits are ready, wrap the presents etc. etc. etc. But is Jesus on the list? I'm no longer so focused on creating a post-card Christmas... I'm refocused on what I'm doing with Jesus...
I hope my answer is better than baking a ham!
I thought the program was WONDERFUL and it was great to see a full house with so many friends and family there. The confetti at the end and the celebration song was a fantastic finishing touch! I was so happy to have our friends and family there to witness what a wonderful church we have!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely amazing! As always, the kids teach me more than I teach them! I was so proud and impressed with how the children took seriously our challenge to invite at least 5 people...it was evident by how full the church was. And the message they gave us was the most important one we could ever hear - that Christmas is about Jesus Christ, who came to earth to transform us...to bring us from B.C. to A.D.! Lindsay sang a beautiful solo during the "Birthday Party" scene that gave me chills. Thank you all for your hard work! And special thanks to Tammy, Lesley and Doug for their dedication to this program and all the hours they put in!
ReplyDeleteIt is such a joy to see a new generation of children growing up at FUMC. I would like to thank the children and thier parents for being the promise of tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteIt was a wonderful experience getting to work with the children and to see how hard they worked to do everything so nicely. I know God was there with us at every turn, it is the only way I could be on stage, knowing God "has my back" and we are doing it for his message..:)
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone who made this a great experience for me, it even gives me things to think about in my own life.
The whole thing, from practices to everyone's participation, was, as many times said in the pageant, SENSATIONAL!
Rick Shannon (AKA Anchorman Rod Stark..hehe)
I came away so full!!!! 2 year Clarissa was completely engaged and even moved her arms along with the children as they sang. Near the end she turned to me on her own initiative and hugged me, she was so happy, I know God's Spirit had touched her...even as He touched me through the children's ministering to us on Sunday. I completely loved the teens involvement as the Wise Guys! I think their participation will have had a huge impact on all the little ones who look up to them. Wow! I am still filled! Well done thou faithful little servants!
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderful, it reminded me of my 3 yr olds christmas video. Everyone and every thing was right on target. We loved the little girl singing happy birthday to Jesus. It was great when the confetti and the celebration song came on and nobody wanted to leave. We were all traped in a wonderful moment of Christmas. It really felt like a birthday party for Jesus! Great Job Everyone!
ReplyDeleteI don't even attend your church on a regular basis, but your comments brought me to tears. I love when the Holy Spirit can break open the heavens and we have a little Christmas.
ReplyDeleteWOW! WOW!! is right what a performance. Thank you adults for all your efforts !! The performance and
ReplyDeletememorizing the KIDS had to do was awesome !! It was so real and does compel us all to think about
our own faith walk !! God Bless us all "THRU" the childrens story. Frank Reese
The message, for me, is that "Nothing is Impossible With God" From the beginning of rehearsals, and the vast age ranges, to the amount of work to be done, I kept praying and the answer I heard in my heart was plain and clear` Nothing is impossible with God. As we worked week after week, it was clear that this was in God's hands and He would be with all of us as we delivered this important message. The journey was also just as important as the destination. Working hard, learning about each child and celebrating their talents and strengths along the way. I had goose bumps from the electricity and passion coming from our children as they sang each song. They truly were amazing!!!!! Miss Lesley
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