Wake Up Sleepy Shepherds

Thank you for joining me up here to help me tell the story of Christmas. You have been doing a great job with your bells so far.  Hopefully, you can keep helping me, because we have an important job to do.  We have some shepherds to wake up! Does anyone know what animals shepherds take care of?  (sheep!) I will need you to ring your bells to wake up the shepherds (ring your bells!) Let’s practice one more time (ring your bells!) Great job!

Now, let me explain, why we have some sleepy shepherds to wake up (ring your bells!) A long time ago, about two thousand years ago, in a place around the world in Bethlehem.  There was a family, who was getting some most unusual news.  You see, the mother was finding out that she was going to have a baby!  Have any of you every been a baby before?

She was surprised.  Her news came from Gabriel the angel! Gabriel told her that her baby would be named Jesus and he would save the world! What incredible news!  The kind of incredible news that you might wake up sleepy shepherds for (ring your bells!)

Now, Mary, the mother was getting married to Joseph.  The angel also told this news to Joseph.  Joseph was also very surprised! Mary and Joseph travelled from their home town to Bethlehem to sign up as everyone had to do. Since everyone was travelling, there were not a lot of places to stay, not even for sleepy shepherds (ring your bells!)

Mary and Joseph searched everywhere for just one room to stay in.But there was no room for them to stay.  No room for them in the Inn.  Not even room for sleepy shepherds (ring your bells)

But the baby was coming!  So, Mary and Joseph found a place in the stable with the animals.

There in the stable, the baby, Jesus was born. When Jesus was born, the angels wanted to tell everyone.  So, first they went to tell the shepherds.  Do you remember what animal that shepherd take care of?  (sheep) When the angels found the shepherds, they were sleeping.

Can you show me what sleeping shepherds look like?  (snore) That is what the angels found.  Sleeping shepherds.  So, I told you that we would have a job to do – we, along with those angels, have to wake up the shepherds!

WAKE UP, SLEEPY SHEPHERDS!  (ring your bells!) They wanted to wake up the shepherds, because there was good news to share.

WAKE UP, SLEEPY SHEPHERDS!  (ring your bells!) Jesus Christ is born!  Jesus, who will rescue the world, is born! Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in manger.

Quick, wake up, sleepy shepherds (ring your bells!) and go see baby Jesus! So, the shepherds took all of those sheep and went to stable to find the baby.

They found Mary, the mother, and Joseph, and the baby, Jesus, lying in a manger.  They worshipped the baby.  Then, they back to the fields. Along the way, they woke up every shepherd who was asleep.

WAKE UP, SLEEPY SHEPHERDS!  (ring your bells!) Good news, Jesus is born!  Jesus is born to rescue us.  Wake everyone up and tell them the good news!