This was a candlelight service. You are more than welcome to use this however you want, I don't hold any copyrights on it. I used a tool belt and rolled a flannel shirt in sawdust for props.
Christmas Eve
Joseph’s Dad
December 24, 2021
Open: My Soul Magnifies the Lord – Special
Call to Worship:
A: The people who once lived in darkness have been given a great light!
J: Praise be to God who has heard our cries.
A: Our souls sing out God’s praise!
J: God has brought us a light of Hope and Peace.
A: Tonight, in this place, the Light of God’s Love is given to us!
J: And we shall see that light and let it shine through our lives. AMEN.
Carols: - Congregation & Worship team
O Come All Ye Faithful – Casting Crowns version
Joy to the World
Prayer:
Lighting of the Advent Candle
-The Wonder of Christ – Part of Skit Guys series
Song: Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) – Worship team & Congregation
Reading: The Christmas story is one of the most fascinating stories ever told. It has mesmerized young and old alike for centuries. This story is not one of fiction but comes straight to us from the pages of scripture as told to us by the gospel writers. Tonight we want to immerse you in the story as told by someone that you don’t see in the Bible but was most surely there. We only know his name to be Jacob at told to us in Matthew 1:16. Creative liberties have been taken but the story is all based upon scripture and cultural ideologies of that time. We hope you enjoy the greatest story ever told, Jesus.
Enter: Jacob the Father of Joseph
Good evening to all of you, my name is Jacob. I am a descendent of the great King David, although you wouldn’t know it as I am/was a carpenter. I took great pride in my work and while I would never get wealthy it was enough to provide for my family.
I am a husband and a father. My wife and I were blessed with two boys and two girls. Children are such a blessing from the Lord. My son, Joseph was the second born to my wife and I. It was such a joy when he was born. He was so strong right from the start unlike his older brother, Jacob. I remember taking him to the temple for circumcision and dedication and telling the rabbi that his name was Joseph.
I had such big plans for my boys. Joseph’s older brother, Jacob had never been very healthy so when he died at a young age, I put all my focus on Joseph. I would teach him the carpentry trade just like my father had taught me. Joseph would be my protégé. My father had worked hard to build a business and I had done everything that I could to see that it succeeded and nothing would bring me further joy than to see my son continue it.
I hoped that one day I’d see him have a son of his own and begin to teach him to be a carpenter and continue the family legacy.
Joseph was a good kid. I mean what boy doesn’t get into some trouble here and there but for the most part he was a good kid. He was a good student at the synagogue but has he grew he was needed here at the family business.
He was a good carpenter. He asked lots of questions and learned what all of the tools did and how to use them all very well. I was so proud of him and I knew that he would do well. I taught him many things. We talked a lot about work, life and the promised Messiah.
Joseph was very good with what the Old Testament prophets had foretold. I was still a better carpenter but he knew the scriptures better than his old man. One thing we all had in common was anxiously awaiting for the day when the promised one from the line of David would come…..
"When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" (2 Samuel 7:12–13).
Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Congregation & Worship team
Jacob continues….
Joseph grew into a fine young man and I began to talk to him about taking a wife. I told him he should begin to make a decision. I pretty much knew who he was thinking about. I had seen him many times talking with Mary. A whole group of them would be together and yet somehow he always ended up talking to her.
She was the right age for arranging a marriage. Joseph had worked hard and we had manage to save the necessary bride price to offer the father of the women he wished to be his bride.
Mary came from a good family. We knew them well and had done business together many times with her family. I could see something special between them. They just had that look in their eyes when there were around each other. The playful banter….the flush of the cheeks.
We went to Mary’s father to make all the necessary arrangements. He assured us that Mary had not been with another man and so we paid the agreed upon bride price. We would also need to go to the temple and tell the rabbi so he and Mary would officially be betrothed. They were committed to each other but would not come together until all the preparations were done. Then Mary’s father would give the okay, we would have a feast and they would be married!
I had raised him to be a man and I couldn’t have been happier at the time. I told him if he needed he could take some extra time off to build their chambers and get everything he needed ready for the big day. During the betrothal time they are legally married but they don’t live together yet and they are both supposed to stay pure during this time until the wedding.
When he came home a few months later I knew something was wrong. I could tell he was upset. He took a table that he had been working on and just began to smash it. Yelling, “How could she do this?”
“Son, what is going on, who did what?” I asked him.
“Mary just returned from her relative, Elizabeth and she told me that she is pregnant. Mary is pregnant! and it’s not mine. Dad, this is so embarrassing! She claims there is no one else that before she left some angel told her that she was pregnant. That she was going to give birth to a son and that she was to give him the name Jesus. He would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High. That the Lord God would give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Talk about confirmation for Elizabeth.
“What are you going to do?” I asked him.
“I don’t want hurt her, she’s going to have enough to deal with anyway! How could she do this to me?! How could she hurt me like this? Maybe I’ll just divorce her quietly and not make a big deal about it. I just need some space to think this over.” And out the door he went.
Mary acted all sweet and innocent. How could we have misjudged that? Her parents assured us that everything was right that she had never been with anyone and wouldn’t be until their wedding day. We could have her stoned for this!
Joseph stayed out all night and I was a little bit worried but when he came back home the next day he was much calmer. I asked him what he was going to do about this whole situation. He told me that he had decided to just divorce her quietly. While he was upset and hurt he said in the end he felt worse for her knowing the ridicule that she was going to go through so he would just get back the bride price and quietly move on.
He told me then however that an angel appeared to him too…just like Mary had said appeared to her. He told me the angel said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” This confirmed exactly what Mary had told him. He even had a little smile on his face.
“Dad, I think Mary might be the pregnant with the Messiah!”
Song – Mary Did You Know - Special
Joseph continues:
Angels! The Messiah?? How much wine had he drank? I told him that he was crazy! Everyone would think that is was he that had done the sleeping around getting Mary pregnant. He said he didn’t care.
I told him that he better start caring. We had a family name to uphold. We were from the line of David and we did not need to invite this kind of person or scandal into our family. Oh, boy did Joseph and I have it out. It was quite a shouting match. That ended with an ultimatum. Either her or his family!
He looked at me and said, “Dad, I’m so disappointed in you. I love you but I have to follow God.” Before I could tell him to get out, he walked out of my shop and out of our lives.
Disappointed in me!!! I wasn’t the one who was breaking all the laws of God and bringing disgrace to our family name. Don’t come back here you are not welcome!
From time to time I would see him, our village was not too large. We mostly avoided each other. He had tried to talk to me but I wanted nothing to do with them.
I would also see Mary, that tramp! How could she do this to my son, to our family. What a disgrace!
She was quite pregnant when the word came down that a census was to be taken and we would all be traveling to Bethlehem to be counted. Well, they’d have to figure it out. We arrived in Bethlehem well before them and found lodging with family. The town soon swelled with all the travelers and by the time Joseph and Mary got there….well my family sure wasn’t going to take them in and there wasn’t any room anywhere else so I wondered where they’d end up staying. I guess I didn’t really care.
I guess I didn’t even really know that they had gotten there until I overheard my niece and daughter talking about the new baby. Joseph had always been protective of his little sister. She and Mary were about the same age. Unbeknownst to me they had been watching for Mary and Joseph to enter Bethlehem….well, the girls saw that Mary and Joseph ended up in a stable and when they went to go see them, they found Mary was in labor. They stayed and helped Mary deliver her baby. She told me they had a beautiful little baby boy and they named him Jesus.
She said he was so sweet. They had wrapped him tightly in strips of cloth and put him in the manger while Mary cleaned up. She said Joseph just stared at him with the biggest smile on his face.
Congregation –
Away in a Manger
Well, this I needed to see. I was going to tell them this is what they got for the choices that they had made. How could they name him Jesus? He should be called Jacob or Joseph!
As I made my way to the stable a bunch of dirty smelly shepherds passed by me. Shouldn’t they be outside of town? Didn’t they have flocks that they should be tending? What would bring them into town? Maybe they were looking for a stable to bring their sheep into? They were talking about angels and a baby. Probably drunk again…they are such a rough crowd.
Well they apparently they were headed to the same stable I was. I hung back a little bit, I didn’t want my son to see me. That’s when I heard the shepherds more clearly. I heard them say angels had come to them and said, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord.” They told us that we would find the baby here…..and I’m not sure I heard much after that.
Sing: Glorious Night – Congregation & Worship Team
Could I have had this all wrong? Would they every forgive me? I waited until they left and then I walked into the light of stable and saw my son, holding a little bundle in his arms.
He looked at me and smiled and said, “Dad, would you like to hold your grandson, Jesus?” My heart, all the anger and bitterness melted away in that moment. He was so beautiful and so peaceful. I know we are supposed to not show emotion but I couldn’t help it. The tears began to flow as I held my grandson. I asked them for their forgiveness. How would this little baby grow up to be the Messiah? What a night that changed my life!
That night changed everything. That child changed everything. God had come to earth. He would heal the hearts of many and offer forgiveness to all. This Christmas be amazed at the love of God as he sent his Son to save the world and the promise that he will return for all who believe in him.
Sing: Adore – Congregation and Worship team
Has your life been changed by Jesus. Life is messy. Jesus entrance into this world was messy. But Jesus came and the angels proclaimed his birth to some of the lowest in society, the shepherds. Their lives were changed. My life was forever changed and continues to change because I have encountered Jesus. Have you experienced the hope, joy, peace and love that can only be found in Jesus? You can find it now, the greatest gift ever given to the world, Jesus.
Spreading the Light:
Jesus is the light of the world. AS his followers we are called to receive his light and carry him into the darkness of today. Watch the light grow as each of us receives the light of Christ. May your life reflect the light and love of Jesus this Christmas.
Piano play or sing during lighting of candles
Sing: Silent Night (after candles are light)
Benediction
Postlude
