Step back in time with me as I walk through a Living Nativity…
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Gen 2:15
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?
Gen 3:1
The Prophet’s foretold of the Savior’s birth.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel
Isa 7:14
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
Micah 5:2
An angel appears to Mary
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.
Luke 1:30
An Angel appears to Joseph
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:20
Angels appear to shepherds
An angel of the Lord appeared to them (the shepherds), and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Multitude of the heavenly host
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Bethlehem
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
Hurrying to Bethlehem in search of the Babe, the shepherds find the merchants busy in the streets with those arriving for the Census.
The shepherd’s speak with an inn-keeper…
‘The angels told us we would find the Christ child here… have you seen…’
‘Angels?!? Crazy shepherds! My Inn is full! Check, perhaps, in the stable.’
there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:7
Lying in a manger
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Wise me from the east
a few years later… following the star…
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1
King Herod
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied
The Magi visit the Messiah
Joseph
The Magi visit the Messiah
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh
Matthew 9-11 Jesus as an adult
Jesus as an adult
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Luke 18:6
Jesus displays His power over nature
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
Mark 4:39
Jesus displays His power over death
Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
John 11:43
The Cross
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
The Tomb
Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 19:41
So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
Matthew 27:66 “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’
Luke 24:5-7
The Ascension
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Acts 1:9
They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:11
Living Nativity
Fellowship Community Church Living Nativity, Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, continues every year. Click link for more information, dates and times.
All scenes except the Creation scene are outside.
This live nativity was something else and is such a great thing to do at Christmas when we celebrate our Savior's birth. I have been to a live nativity before, but not on such a grand scale. It was soooo cold in Utah that it was a bit hard to enjoy with my young ones. Glad I went though. Joni
Wow that was quite a tour! Thanks for sharing that wonderful depiction with us.
What a gorgeous nativity scene. Thank you for sharing this with us.
How awesome. That must be amazing to see
How beautiful and well done. I'm so thankful for our Savior and his mission here on earth. It is His birth that we celebrate and your post is a lovely remembrance of His life and love for all.
Love this post! What a wonderful gift to their community!
WOW! That is amazing. A lot of hard work was put into that. Thanks for sharing.
hugs,
tara
Very impressive! I'd love to see a performance of this kind. Thank you for taking all those photos and for participating this week. I truly enjoyed it and those wisemen! Perfect casting!
Thanks for sharing, I was just recently saved & am enoying the new feel of this holiday season! I have purpose now.
What a spectacular extravaganza! It must take a lot of volunteer time to do this every year. What a gift to the community.
What a wonderful living Nativity, truly amazing!
wow they did a fantastic job!! that must be the best one I have ever seen ~Thanks for sharing all those pictures Love Heather
Wonderful pictures. Thank you! This it a grand post! Cathy
The most amazing Living Nativity I have ever seen. Thank you so much for the beautiful photo images and commentary.