Christmas Day All Age Service: The Birth of a Saviour
Luke 2:1 – Luke 2:20
The Birth of Jesus Christ
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
This transcript has been automatically generated
The reading is printed on the service sheets in front of you and is taken from Luke’s Gospel, chapter 2, verses 1 to 20.
In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them.
Shirley, thank you very much. Happy Christmas, everyone. It is a, it is a very exciting time, isn’t it? Christmas. Admittedly, if you’ve been up for 9 and a half hours now, the excitement might be starting to wane a little bit, but I want to ask the children what they think is the most exciting thing Christmas?
What do you think is the most exciting thing? Yeah, Freddie. Archie. Yeah, you’re Freddie. There you go.
What’s that? Snowball fights. Yeah, thin on the ground this year, but fun nonetheless. Yes. Jesus’ birthday.
Jesus’ birthday. Your parents’ hearts must be swelling with pride right now. 2 more answers. Yeah. Christmas pudding.
Christmas pudding. Very good. I like Christmas pudding. And And one more, yeah, at the back.
Eating mince pies. It is a lot of fun, isn’t it? No one said presents, amazing. I love Christmas, we all love Christmas, it’s a very exciting time. And 2,000 years ago on that first Christmas morning, there was just as much excitement, wasn’t there?
Amazing things happening like, well, like angels appearing out of nowhere and and proclaiming that Jesus had been born, and lots of other things like shepherds coming out. Lots of deep— lots of deep— lots of— lots of— hello, who are you? I’m Angel. Of course you are. And what brings you to these parts?
Well, I heard you mention my name and I thought I might be of some help. Ah yes, now yes, I’m glad you’re here actually, because I was wondering about I have a few questions about what happened on that first Christmas morning. The baby Jesus was born and there’s a lot of fuss, isn’t there? A lot of excitement, but, well, I can’t quite work out what it’s all about. Well, it’s all there in Luke’s account.
Right. Where was he born? Where was he born? Good question. Can anybody help me?
Where— yes, where was Jesus born? He was born in a manger, yes. And which place? Yes.
In the stable, yes. Which town was he born in? Yes, Bethlehem. Very good. Verse 4, have a look down.
He was born in the City of David, which is called Bethlehem. Okay, he was born in the City of David, Bethlehem. Very good. Who was his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather?
Who was his great-great-great-great— that’s a tougher one, isn’t it? It’s in verse 4, but let’s try it. Let’s see what we get. Yes. Gods, yes.
Let’s come back a little closer in time. Yeah, go on. David, very good. Verse 4, he was of the lineage of David. Thank you very much.
His great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was King David. And what was his name? What was his name? Now there’s any number of answers here, aren’t there? Yes.
Jesus, very good. Any other names? Have a look down if you’re thinking in verse 11. Can anyone see? Yes.
Prince of Peace, very good. This is lots of fun, lots of names. Son of God, excellent. Emmanuel. Any others?
Yes, at the back.
Okay, you’re going to say Emmanuel. Okay, one more. Christ. Christ, that’s what it says, isn’t it? Verse 11.
A Saviour who is Christ the Lord, which means King. It means King. So his name was King. Today in the town of David, of the line of David, is born a King, a Saviour who is God’s King, Christ. Today God’s Son and King comes.
Brilliant. So that’s what all the fuss was about, that a King was born. Now I’m going to come and get that. I should have thought about the logistics a bit harder, but I am going to get it.
Okay, 1, 2, 3.
There we go.
I didn’t think about the aerodynamics. There we go. So today, in the town of David, of the line of David, a King is born. Now that is worth getting excited about, isn’t it? God’s King was born in Bethlehem.
It’s no wonder, is it, that we celebrate it every year at the same time. In fact, it’s no wonder that they changed the dates back then. It’s no wonder that angels announced it. But it is possible, isn’t it, that we just forget. We forget what we’re celebrating.
Whether it’s because we’re giving or receiving presents, because we’re cooking the dinner or eating the dinner, we forget. That a King was born on that day 2,000 years ago. Now there’s one detail that’s confusing me about this whole storey still, because if God’s King was going to come into the world, I’d have thought he’d come on a blazing chariot or something like that. But he doesn’t, does he? No.
When God’s King was born, He was born in a, in a manger. Shane, has anyone seen Shane? Where is he? Have you got him? No?
Shane, you know, Shane the sheep. He is so fast, I can never catch him. Can I help? I’m looking for Shane the sheep. That’s him, that’s the one.
Brilliant, Shane. He always gets away. Shane the Sheep. Is it— this is your friend, is it? This is Shane, my very best.
Well, I’m glad you’re here. This is timely because I’ve got some more questions that I want to ask. You see, we’ve established already that God’s King has been born, right? But the truth of the matter is that he was also born in a barn. God’s King was born in a barn.
He was— some of my friends down here helped me see he was born in a manger. But I don’t know what it’s all about. Well, did you know I was there that night? Really? That’s helpful.
So not surprisingly, I can remember it. I was in the fields when the angel appeared. Frightened the socks off me.
But the angel then said, go to Bethlehem. There you will find the Christ, the baby. And he said, the place you will find him is in a manger wrapped in swaddling cloths. So we did. We went to Bethlehem, and that’s what we found.
Nothing special, just Mary, this young girl, Joseph, the animals, and the baby. In the animal trough. Now that’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? A baby born in a manger. But the question I want to ask is, what’s it all about?
What does it mean? Jamie, didn’t you go to theological college?
I don’t know what they teach nowadays.
But you know what, to be fair, at the time we thought the same thing. We couldn’t understand why God’s King would be born in a manger. But now as we look back, it makes more sense. Because all through his life, Jesus said he didn’t even have anywhere to lay his head. And then if you get to the end of Jesus’ life, when he went into Jerusalem with huge crowds watching him, he was riding on a donkey.
And then in Jerusalem, what happened was he ended up on a cross. Dying, being treated as a criminal, like a thief. But if you put it all together, you realise that’s the kind of King Jesus is. He’s meek and humble, coming not to serve himself but to serve others like us. Do you know, when you put it like that, it makes perfect sense.
Thank you very much. You better get off before your beard falls off.
So there you go, you see, a crown and a cradle, a Messiah in a manger. God’s King was born in a barn. It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it, when you think about it for a second? Yet that’s the way our King is. That’s the— like the shepherd said, that’s the kind of King he is, a King who comes to serve other people.
Not like so many of the kings we find around us today, taking the highest place, using their power for themselves. No, Jesus was a king who served other people. Do you know, I was walking around London yesterday, looking at all the people, thinking to myself, what is it that people most love about Christmas? You know, there are lots of different things, aren’t there? But I think one of the things people love about Christmas is the fact that it’s the time of year when everyone tries, just for a little while, to stop thinking about themselves and to think about other people.
We say, don’t we, goodwill to all men. But of course, come the new year, we forget about it and we get on with looking after number one. Well, you know, Jesus never stopped thinking about other people. It wasn’t just Christmas when he was born in a manger. No, he never had anywhere to lay his head.
He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He died on a cross for the sake of other people. That’s the kind of King he was. And so at Christmas time, it’s wonderful, isn’t it, that we can remember him and think of the reaction of the shepherds. We can go away from here thinking about the King who was born in a manger, giving thanks in our hearts and praising God for him, indeed telling everyone about him.
As we eat bread and drink wine later, we can think of the King who died on a cross for our sakes. And indeed, as we go away and celebrate the rest of Christmas, we can do so remembering the King who was born in a barn. Shall we say a prayer?
Our Heavenly Father, we thank you very much for Jesus, the greatest gift of all. We thank you that he was willing to come, to become a man, Indeed, to die on a cross to serve us and to save us. And we pray that this Christmas he would be the first in our hearts, that we would grow in love for him and enjoy celebrating his coming. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
