Discover Worship is honored to offer more than 200 Dennis Allen songs and collections to our members. For this project, we’ve selected eight of our favorite Dennis Allen songs and woven them into a fresh yet straightforward presentation of the miracle of Christmas. This relatively easy 30-minute musical works in worship settings ranging from light traditional to light contemporary. It includes three familiar carols and short, conversational narration.
Here’s the quick rundown:
The musical opens with the upbeat and majestic “Hear the Sounds of Christmas w/Angels We Have Heard on High,” which includes the option of involving your children’s choir.
The narration (which can be handled by single or multiple speakers) invites us to set aside the sounds of commerciality and sentimentality and tune our hearts to the glorious sounds of that night in Bethlehem.
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” follows. Although this is not the traditional carol, this mid-tempo original, overflowing with scripture, sets the stage for Christ’s birth.
The narration continues with Isaiah’s prophecy about the miraculous birth of a son who will be known as “God With Us,” leading into a beautiful setting of these verses in the poignant song “Emmanuel.”
The narration resumes by celebrating the fact that God’s promises to Adam and Eve, Abraham, David, and Israel were fulfilled that night in Bethlehem. Isaiah’s “Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace” passage is cited, leading into an upbeat medley of “Born this Night w/Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”
The narration transitions to New Testament passages, saying that God’s Son took on flesh – not to be our model or our martyr – but to be our Savior. The sounds of the angels proclaiming this good news to the shepherds is embodied in “Glory to God,” an up-tempo yet stately arrangement accompanied only by piano.
The narrator says, “That Christmas night, the sounds of heaven pierced the dreadful silence of our sin and shame, proclaiming God’s favor and forgiveness to all who would listen,” segueing into a lush and moving arrangement of the beloved carol “What Child Is This?”
This song is immediately followed by “What A Wondrous Gift,” a song that asks us to listen and reflect on the enormity of God’s love expressed through the Christ child. This song is the emotional centerpiece of the musical, so it would be appropriate here for your pastor to step to the platform and share a Christmas sermon. Or, your choir could simply proceed with the narration that proclaims:
...the One born in that Bethlehem manger
Would later die on a cross outside of Jerusalem.
For though the Sounds of Christmas
Can bring us joy and wonder;
God uses them to bring us to our knees
In worship and celebration!
This easy Christmas musical concludes with the upbeat finale “Come Let’s Celebrate Jesus,” an invitation to move beyond simply observing the season to worshiping the person of Christ.
We invite you to take the time to preview the entire musical as well as review the complete sheet music. If you’re not a member, you’ll need a free account to do this.
Discover Worship offers more than two dozen Christmas musicals, mini-musicals, and suites that are fully downloadable for one low annual price to our Unlimited Members. If you’re not currently a subscriber, click here for pricing.
--Check out these other Discover Worship blogs about Christmas Musicals for Church Choirs:
- 10 Blended Christmas Musicals Your Folks Will Love!
- A Cappella Christmas Suite
- An Advent Service of Candles & Carols
- Christ Has Come: An Advent Celebration
- Christmas in July: 12 Things to Do Now to Make December More Successful!
- Come and Worship: A Contemporary Christmas Carol Sing-Along
- Come Let Us Adore Him
- Sing We Now Of Christmas: A Festival of Carols
