Christmas Cafe - What Do You Know About The Christmas Story? Series

WELCOME START WITH VIDEO INTRO

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Welcome to our Christmas Cafe Church

It’s great to have you with us.

This morning we are going to be thinking about the Christmas Story and as its Cafe Church our format is different from a normal Sunday morning.

Couple of things to point out:

First - feel free to help yourself to snacks or drinks throughout the service.

Second - we will do a little singing as we go along, there will be some videos for us to watch,

a little comedy,

a quiz,

a drama,

a music video and even a little rapping - a Christmas Rap not wrapping paper.

And for the younger ones there are some colouring sheets for you to give to the old people if they get a little bored.

Did I get that the wrong way round, nope I’m sure that was right!

So, It’s the 3rd Sunday of Advent - it’s just 11 days to Christmas Day.

So let me ask you:

SLIDE01 Are you ready for Christmas?

“Are you ready for Christmas?” ....

What question am I really asking you this morning, when I ask are you ready for Christmas?

Do you think I’m asking: have you done all your gift shopping yet?”

Do you think I’m asking have you put your tree and decorations up yet?

Do you think I’m asking if you have ordered your Turkey, Goose or Vegetarian NutRoast?

When I ask “Are you ready for Christmas?”

What I am really asking is:

Are you ready to Celebrate the birth of Jesus?

Are you ready to celebrate the real reason for the season?

You see in all the busyness of getting ready for Christmas, the decorating, the shopping, the cooking, often the thing that so many in the world today ignore, is that Christmas is meant to be a time to celebrate the coming of Jesus into this world.

We can be so busy buying presents that we forget the greatest gift of all.

Let’s watch a little video of some people who were too busy until something wonderful happened.

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VIDEO01 Christmas FLASH MOB from YouTube (5min 36Sec)

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Maybe we can be so busy doing Christmas we forget what Christmas is really all about.

This morning we are going to take a journey back to the first Christmas,

to think again about what and who Christmas is supposed to be about.

We are going to take a little reality check and rediscover the truth about Christmas.

But lets sing a couple of Carols first:

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408 O come all ye faithful

243 In the bleak midwinter

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When we think about that first Christmas each of us probably have a picture inside our heads.

SLIDE02 Classic Nativity Scene Picture

When you think about the Christmas story maybe you imagine a manger scene like this,

with angels hovering, shepherds watching,

animals gazing, clean straw,

a strong looking Joseph,

a vulnerable yet invincible baby,

maybe a halo over Mary’s head,

a beautiful star in the evening sky…

everything a perfect scene

But the reality was quite different wasn’t it.

The events leading up to the birth of Christ were eventful to say the least.

It’s life in the raw, better than any reality TV show or TV soap.

Mary, the non-married pregnant young woman is engaged to Joseph.

Joseph, now Joseph knew he wasn’t the father but God had made sure Joseph knew what was really going on.

If someone asked you what is Christmas all about, how would you answer?

Someone asked a group of kids that question and here is the response they got.

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VIDEO02 - Kids asked the question "What is Christmas?"

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Kids are great. Some interesting responses there too!

Some people find it easy to talk about Christmas, some think they know a lot about it, others not so much.

Do you find it easy to talk to others about Christmas?

Do you know what your talking about or does it just sound like a load of old waffle?

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So it’s time for the quiz

SLIDE03a HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CHRISTMAS? (10-15mins)

How much do you really know about Christmas?

10-15 mins to answer some questions about the Christmas Story

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Before I give you the answers lets watch a short video called Retooning the Nativity

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VIDEO04 - RETOONING (3m45)

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Surprising isn’t it - how different the reality is to the story we think we knew. Carols / plays / tradition / graphic licence / they can all distract us from what really happened can’t they.

Let’s find out How much we knew about Christmas

Quiz answers

Lets Sing another Carol 498 Silent Night

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SLIDE 04a Silent Night, All is calm all is bright, a nice picture but maybe the night was not that calm or silent.