Lining up to perform outside the auditorium at Middle School 51. (December 2019)

Dear friends - Merry Christmas!

This Sunday was emotional for me. It would have been Christmas Play Sunday. We would have asked the kids to come in their most festive PJs, regretted giving them all jingle bells, and invited them to stand on stage and sing their hearts out. I missed it so much. As we sat on the couch watching the kids service Benjamin said “I want to go to church with friends instead of watching, it’s more fun!” I so agree buddy, so much more fun.

Convincing the kiddos to give it all they’ve got. (December 2019)

Last year on that Sunday, I shared why I thought it was so important for us to hear the Christmas Story from kids. It is because hope is easy for kids most of the time. Believing in something as wild as God coming as a baby because He loves us so, isn’t hard for them to accept. Jesus encouarges us to be child like. Not necessarily to be silly or naive, but to cling to what is foundational and try to let the years of hurt and disappointment fall away.

The big moment, captured. (December 2019)

We teach the preschoolers three truths over and over again: God Made Me, God Loves Me, and Jesus wants to be my friend forever. We start with these three phrases because they are true and they matter the most. Over the years as the kids learn more they don’t become less true or even more nuanced. They are still just true. The truth doesn’t change, we change. We get hurt, we sin, we have shame. These things change us and make it harder and harder to hope in the Christmas Miracle. But we can simply believe this Christmas that God Made us, God Loves Us and Jesus wants to be with forever.

So below you can watch each of these Christmas plays as told for and by our incredible kids at Trinity Grace. The simple truths are still true for you, my friends. Merry Christmas. God loves you so much.

Elisa Booker
Pastor of Children and Families