OUR CHRIST EVE SERVICE

Last night, I read this to the children during our eleventh annual Christmas Eve Service at Gatetree.

It was the night before Christmas and a beautiful young girl and a devoted carpenter had been traveling to his hometown. Now the beautiful young girl was going to have a baby and in order to get to the devoted carpenter’s hometown, she had to ride on the back of a donkey for 3 days and 3 nights. She became so tired she could barely hold her head up.

When they got to his hometown, there was no place for them to stay. Back then, there weren’t hotels on every corner—so the carpenter remembered a place where the animals stayed. It wasn’t clean and it wasn’t even made for people—but it was the best he could do for her.

So the devoted carpenter made a soft place for the beautiful young girl to lay—right next to the mother goat and her three little ones. While she lay there, she knew it was time for her baby to be born—right there in that place where the animals stayed.

Not far from there—some sheep herders were working in the field—making sure all their sheep were safe and ready to move out when the morning’s sun arose. And while they sat there listening to the silence of the country side, they were almost knocked over by what they saw. It was a great angel in front of them, shining so brightly that they almost had to look away. But they didn’t.

And chills ran up and down their necks as the great angel began to speak. The great angel said, “Don’t be afraid because I am here to tell you something that will make you very happy. Right now, not far from here, God has come down for a visit.” Well the sheep herders couldn’t believe their ears—God—the one who made the universe and everything in it—down here?

And the great angel said, “YES! And unbelievable as it may seem, tonight, God is a baby. And he’s lying in a trough, in a place where the animals stay. He’s come here as a gift to you and to the entire world.”

AND SUDDENLY—the whole sky seem to suddenly appear as an explosion of light—as if the moon had blown up right in front of their eyes. They’d never seen anything like that.

And then there were thousands of angels that began to sing—like a giant rock concert in the sky. And the great angel, with his volume turned all the way up, began to sing “It’s time to celebrate; God has come to earth for a visit because God can do anything He wants to do—and this is what He wants to do.” It was INCREDIBLE!

Well, as all of this was happening—the baby (who was God come to earth) lay fast asleep in the arms of the beautiful young girl.

And the cows he created—watched him sleep. Up rafters, the doves he’s covered with wings—watched him sleep. And the donkey who carried him to this place—watched him sleep. And sitting close by—the devoted carpenter watched him sleep.

And as he watched—the devoted carpenter thought to himself, “The world will never be the same because God has come down for a visit.”