Christmas Musicals for Church
Issue link: http://read.jwpepper.com/i/1248105
Foreword Bethlehem seemed an unlikely destination for the fulfillment of God's promise to send a Messiah. Bethlehem? Why would anyone – especially the Creator of the universe – choose that little remote village? Nothing good came from there! There was nothing distinctive or glamorous about this common town. But as Scripture records, the road to Bethlehem was the road that ultimately led to God! Mary and Joseph took that road. The shepherds and the Magi did as well. And now we have been invited to take that journey; to experience in fresh and powerful ways the eternal hope that lies waiting for us in the form of a newborn Baby. The prophet Isaiah challenged those anticipating the promised arrival of Jesus that they should …prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3) As you sing and play this music, be reminded that God can take a modest place like Bethlehem and turn it into an integral part of a glorious story. God can take common shepherds or devoted star-gazers and turn them into lead players in the greatest drama of human history. God can take you and me and transform our lives and eternal destiny; not because of a dusty road leading to a tiny village, but because of the newborn King born in a manger in that village at the end of the road. So take the journey one more time. Embrace its message of joy and love. Experience once again the fulfillment of God's promise: Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: He is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11) —Lloyd Larson Production Notes The Road to Bethlehem is flexibly conceived for Advent and/or Christmas programming. Each individual anthem may be presented during the weeks leading up to Christmas, or the entire cantata may be performed as a whole in a single worship experience, depending on programming needs. Small and large choirs alike will find the choral writing appealing and versatile. Accompaniment options ranging from piano only to full orchestra with CD accompaniment or live instruments ensures maximum flexibility for your unique programming needs. From the Publisher Some of the cover-art images and graphics from this work are available as free downloads. We hope that you can use them to assist in the making of your bulletins, posters, flyers, website and email announcements, and in any other way that's within your organization and in conjunction with performances of this work. To access these files, please visit www.lorenz.com/downloads and navigate to the desired folder. PC users should right click and choose "Save Target As…" and Macintosh users should click and hold the link, then choose "Save Target As…" We have provided standard file formats that should be usable in most page layout or word processing software. Due to the vast number of differences in computer system setups, we are unable to provide technical support for downloadable images/graphics by either phone or email. 65/2110&11L-2 2 For Preview Only