Planning Christmas Eve Worship

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Our worship leader will be out of town over Christmas, so I’m planning the annual Christmas Eve gathering. We always limit the program to between 45 and 60 minutes, starting at 5:00 pm, so the service can act as a sort of prelude to family gatherings later that evening. It’s always been fairly traditional, but this year I’m thinking about opening the evening with a Jars of Clay video of a live performance of “Little Drummer Boy.”

I need your help. If you were taking your family to a Christmas Eve gathering at a church, what would you expect to be included in the program?

14 thoughts on “Planning Christmas Eve Worship”

  1. Paul,
    I would expect nothing less then, praise, glory and thankgiving to the Lord and Saviour, in any of our services.
    Sing boldly to the Lord.
    You asked. Scott Mc.

  2. I have a Little Drummer Boy story…*: )

    One Christmas my grandmother and I and my children had spent the night at my parents house…My Nana was sleeping in the livingroom, so my Daddy quietly went in to turn on the stereo to begin playing Christmas carols so when we all woke up we would have carols playing and then they would continue through the present festival…My youngest sister lived in an apartment near by and had gotten up really early so she would be there when the children woke up and went in to see the gifts…Just as my YDS opened the front door, the stereo came on full blast…Daddy couldn’t see in the dark room and had thought he had turned it really low…It was The Little Drummer Boy that blasted my Nana out of sleep just as my sister entered the front door…I has heard her car pull up and had also gotten up just in time to see my Nana jump straight up in the couch bed…Later she said she thought Jesus had come…*: )

  3. Technically wasn’t Joel being facetious? Sarcasm normally contains some ironic connotation…

  4. Joel,

    It’s the missing winkie…some…not all…of us in the elder generation are past the age of imagination. Winkies…very important…*; )

  6. Of course…I not sure that the little drummer boy ending with a candle set bonfire would be what Jesus would like for His pre-birthday bash… Yeah…the more I think about it…leave the candles at home…Hmmm???? WWJL

  8. Hi Paul,

    My problem with the song is mostly two parts. First is the line “the ox and lamb kept time”, implying that there was some sort of supernatural assistance behind the drummer boy’s gift. And secondly having (baby) Jesus smile at him when he was done playing, implying that his gift earned his acceptance and favor with the Lord.

    I’m sure that I’m reading too much into the message of the song, but the song is usually presented as having deep spiritual and emotional significance. And at this time of the year when the blurring of the line between what is true and what is sentiment is constantly increasing, I feel we must keep on guard and insure that those in our care know the truth as God would have it.

    That being said, I feel that given the proper handling, the song could be used as an effective object lesson in order to present the Word of God.

    In Christ,
    Paul

  9. I recognize that Little Drummer Boy is anecdotal, that what is described in the song never happened. In that sense it could be characterized as “fanciful.”

    As for “theologically unsound,” I’m not so sure. What exactly is theologically unsound about a poor boy offering to play his drum for the newborn Savior in place of a tangible gift? If you are arguing that he is playing his drum in order to earn the favor of the Savior (i.e., salvation), I think you have to read way into it to reach that conclusion.

    Even Jesus commended Mary for “doing what she could.” Then he instructed the disciples to get off her back.

  11. I think that if you want to show your congregation the most theologically unsound and fanciful Christmas song ever written about the birth of our Lord, then The Little Drummer Boy would be perfect.

  13. Open with the above…..Sing a long carols in the middle…use hymnals…Close with this…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okhG0ShtNJs&eurl=http://morphed2fly.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas

    Unless there aren’t many children…skip the candles, but that would be nice with the closing just before everyone leaves they could pass the light of the candle around… again I don’t know what the make up of your group is so personally, lots of kids…no candles…however you could dim the lights play the Follow me Home and have like candle lighters at the alter…that would be nice…*: )

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