The Search For Jesus

The Search For Jesus: A Christmas Musical Presentation

Compiled From First Presidency Christmas Messages

by: Misty Liu

Reader 1:

The entire Christian world now moves into the happiest season of the year. There is a magic in Christmas. Hearts are opened to a new measure of kindness. Love speaks with increased power. Tensions are eased. The generous instincts that lie within all of us are given added expression.

Reader 2:

While there are those for whom Christmas is difficult-those who have lost loved ones and for whom there is now a poignant loneliness, who may wonder at the need for Christmas-even to these, there comes the assurance of future glad reunions made possible only because of the sacrifice of the Son of God, whose birth we commemorate at this season.

SONG: Still, Still, Still [Choir]

Reader 3:

We need Christmas because every December, millions of people open the Bible to Luke's account of one of the greatest events in history and we hear again what the shepherd heard: For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

The world was never the same again after the angel spoke these words. How could it be? For generations, mankind in the Old and New Worlds anxiously sough the fulfillment of prophecies uttered by righteous men inspired of Almighty God. In the Book of Mormon, Jacob reports:

We knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming. (Jacob 4:4)

SONG: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel [Male Quartet]

Reader 1:

And so the premortal God, the God of the whole earth, the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-the Lawgiver, the God of Israel, the promised Messiah-was born a babe in Bethlehem.

SONG: A King Is Born [Soprano or Tenor Solo] Lex de Azevedo

Reader 2:

With the birth of the babe of Bethlehem, there emerged a great endowment-a power stronger than weapons, a wealth more lasting than the coins of Caesar. The child was to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the promised Messiah-even Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Reader 3:

The shepherds were personally invited to undertake a search for the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. They did not concern themselves with the security of their possessions-they did not procrastinate their search for Jesus. The record affirms that they said to one another:

Let us now go even unto Bethlehem. . .And they came with haste. [Luke 2:15-15]

Reader 1:

Wise men journeyed from the East to Jerusalem, saying "Where is He that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen His star in the Esat and are come to worship Him. . . .And when they saw the star they were filled with exceeding great joy."

SONG: In A Stable [Soprano or Tenor Solo] From the New Era, December issue

Reader 2:

Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick, He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life.

SONG: A Long Time Ago [First 2 verses, then music only during reading] Alto or Bass Solo

Reader 3:

What was the reaction to His message of mercy? His words of wisdom, his lessons of life? There were a precious few who appreciated Him. They bathed His feet. They learned His word. They followed His example.

Reader 1:

Then there were the many who denied Him. When asked by Pilate, "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?" they cried "Let Him be crucified!" They mocked Him. They reviled him. They spat upon Him. They crucified Him.

SONG: A Long Time Ago [3^rd Verse] From: Messengers of Light, Volume 1

Reader 2:

Can we in part appreciate the suffering of God the Eternal Father as His only begotten Son in the flesh was placed on the cross and crucified/ All of us love the account of Abraham and Isaac found in the Holy Bible. Abraham, in obedience to God's command, was to take his son Isaac and present him as an offering. Can you imagine the heaviness of his heart? Surely pain must have racked his body and tortured his mind as he bound Isaac and took the knife to slay his son. How glorious was the pronouncement, and with what wondered welcome did it come: "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." [Genesis 2:2-12]

Reader 3:

As God witnessed the suffering of Jesus, His Only Begotten Son in the flesh, and beheld His agony, there was no voice from heaven to spare the life of His Son. There was no other way.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." [John 3:16]

Reader 2:

And imagine the Master's mother; unable to help her own son, watching as they nailed Him to a cross and pierced His side. Unable to save her son, yet unable to save herself without His sacrifice.

SONG: A Mother's Prayer: Woman's Solo, From "My Beloved Christ" by Vickey Pahnke and Randy Kartchner

Reader 2:

President Gordon B. Hinckley said:

I have seen statues and paintings of great men and women of history, many hundreds of them. But great and important as are all of these heroes of the past, none can compare with the victory of the lonely, pain racked figure on Calvary's cross, who triumphed over death and brought the gift of eternal life to all mankind.

Reader 3:

What does He ask of us in return? What can we give Him in this season of gift giving? Down through the generations of time, the message has been the same. To Peter by the shores of beautiful Galilee, he said, "Follow me." To Philip of old came the call, "Follow me." To the Levite who sat at receipt of customs came the instructions, "Follow me." And to you and to me, if we but listen, shall come that same beckoning invitation, "Follow me."

SONG: To Be Like Him: Tenor Solo From: My Beloved Christ

Reader 1:

In the New Testament of Our Lord, John describes a journey by those who would worship:

"And there were certain men among them that came up to worship at the feast. . . .The same came therefore to Philip and desired him saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.

Little children say, "Tell me the stories of Jesus." They seek after Jesus and so it ever has been. No search is so universal. No undertaking so richly rewarding. No purpose so divine.

Reader 2:

We must seek Jesus. We must prepare time for Him in our lives and room for Him in our hearts. Do we get a pang of conscience when we remember, "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn,"? No room. No room. Ever has it been.

Reader 3:

In A Christmas Carol, Jacob Marley asks:

"Why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with my eyes turned down, and never raised them to that blessed star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?"

And when we raise our heads and follow that star, and truly find Him, will we be prepared as were the wise men of old, to provide gifts from our many treasures? They presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are not the gifts Jesus asks of us. From the treasure of our hearts, Jesus asks that we give of ourselves.

Reader 1:

The woman was old and ragged and gray
And bent with the chill of the winter's day.
The street was wet with a recent snow,
And the woman's feet were aged and slow.
She stood at the crossing and waited long,
Alone, uncared for, amid the throng
Of human beings who passed her by
Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eye.
Down the street, with laughter and shout,
Glad in the freedom of "school let out"
Came the boys like a flock of sheep,
Hailing the snow piled white and deep. . .
[One] paused beside her and whispered low,
"I'll help you cross, if you wish to go. . .
She's somebody's mother, boys, you know,
For all she's aged and poor and slow,
And I hope some fellow will lend a hand,
To help my mother, you understand,
If ever she's poor and old and gray,
When her own dear boy is far away,"
And "somebody's mother" bowed low her head
In her home that night, and the prayer she said,
Was, "God, be kind to the noble boy,
Who is somebody's son and pride and joy."

SONG: My Hands by: Lex De Azevedo

Reader 2:

And now, my beloved brothers and sisters, what must we do this Christmas season and always? Why, we must do the same as the Wise Men of old. They sought out the Christ and found Him. And so must we. Those who are wise still seek him today.

Reader 3:

"And now I, Moroni, bid farewell. . . .And. . .I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophet s and apostles have written." [Ether 12:38, 41]

SONG: The Man With Many Names: Michael McLean, From The Garden

Reader 1:

We must become acquainted with him who declared, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world." [3 Nephi 11:10] This is the Jesus whom we seek. This is our brother whom we love. This is Christ the Lord, whom we serve. We testify that He lives, for we speak as ones who have found Him.

SONG: Silent Night: Choir

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