Christmas Musicals for Church
Issue link: http://read.jwpepper.com/i/674806
2 65/2075 & 76L-2 Foreword Light is a prominent theme throughout scripture. The things of God, goodness, and eternal life are generally associated with light. In contrast, the things of Satan, evil, and death are associated with darkness. As God's chosen people, Israel awaited the promised Messiah. Enslaved in Egyptian bondage, they held to the faint glimmer of hope that one day their Savior would come and release them from their captivity. And so in God's perfect timing He did come: Jesus, the light of the world. The Morning Star did rise, a Star that still shines in the darkest of nights for people then and for us now. The Christmas story is one of hope, one of redemption, and one of fulfilled promises from God. As Isaiah said, The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2) This message, though, is not limited to a chosen nation of people we observe in the Old Testament. It is not an exclusive invitation given only to a small band of disciples devoted to a humble teacher from Nazareth. And it is not a "members only" event for first century persons who were eye witnesses to amazing healings and miracles. This is a message for each of us at any stage of life's journey: the child or teenager who finds himself in a home unexpectedly abandoned by a parent; the young mother who finds her life's dreams shattered with news of a major health crisis; the middle-aged man whose successful career has been unexpectedly derailed with a job termination; the elderly woman who struggles with the emptiness of living out her remaining years without a beloved spouse. It is for these people – and all of us – that the message of Christ, the Light of lights, needs to be heard. Each of us has experienced our own days, perhaps extended seasons, of darkness. But Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. (John 8:12) This is the promise of Christmas! As you partner with me and others in the presentation of this musical, I pray that you will find hope in its message and encouragement in the unconditional love of God. Hold fast to the promise that even in the darkest of nights, the Morning Star will rise! Arise, shine for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1) —Lloyd Larson Production Notes Morning Star 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. 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. For Preview Only