This past weekend, I attended all four productions of the Children's Christmas Program, "Angels Aware!" What an incredible show it was! I am very proud of all who put many hours and work into the show, especially the children.
"Angels Aware!" tells the Christmas story from a different perspective. The show takes place in heaven as God prepares to send Jesus to earth as a baby. We met Gabriel, Michael, Moses, Isaiah, the heavenly host and all the prophets. They sang, danced and shared the good news of Jesus' birth. I find myself singing songs from the show throughout the day, and am thankful for the memories and messages those songs bring.
Here are some things I learned from the musical I would like to share with you:
1. Sharing the good news can be a lot of fun! The kids on stage had a great time doing it. The smiles on their faces, the enthusiasm in their songs and actions, the energy they put into the show were contagious. If you left the show without a spring in your step and a smile on your face, you must not have been paying attention!
2. God has a plan. In the show, Moses and Isaiah shared with us that even though God tried over and over to get us back to a right relationship with God, we still kept falling into the trap of sin. Instead of focusing on others, we kept thinking only of ourselves ("I" trouble!). And even though it seemed like that problem would never go away, Isaiah the optimist reminded us that God always has a plan.
3. God's ways are not our ways. When the angels got word that God was going to send His Son to the earth, they pondered what role he would take - a popular rich leader, or a military man, or a maybe even a rock star! They were shocked when they heard that God had chosen to go as a baby.
4. God loves you! At the end of the show, the kids on stage shared the message that God's love is for all. Kandis Wean (what a great job she did in directing the show!) told the kids to find someone in the audience and point directly at them when they shared that line. Imagine her surprise when, at the end of the last show, they all pointed at her. She told me that she was blown away by that. That is what God's love is all about - God loves YOU so much, and has paid a great price to show you just that.
5. God wants us to hear the good news of Jesus, the one who saves us from our sin. I think that sometimes hearing the message from the pastors over and over again can cause us to get complacent in our hearing the good news. We hear it over and over again, and because we have heard it before, we forget just how great the message is. So how wonderful it is when we get to hear the message from others, through a different means and we experience again the greatness and joy and power of this good news!
6. God has equipped us to share the message. I truly believe that we all have been gifted by God to share the good news of Jesus Christ in some way. For some it is preaching, for others it is teaching or singing or caring for others. There are many gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. We are blessed at Epiphany Lutheran Church to have a ministry in which kids from preschool through eighth grade are given the opportunity to try out these gifts. For many years, hundreds of children have been given this opportunity, and many of them will tell you how this experience strengthened their gifts, and how they are still using these gifts today to do what God has equipped them to do.
I am sure there are many more things you could add to this list. Again, thanks to all for a great message!
Peace,
PC
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