(from last time)
At the top of the hill, they were right behind the donkey! Shane looked over his shoulder and yelled, “We will catch him now!” Right in front of them was the edge of a cliff, and the donkey turned left! Shane did not see the cliff because he was looking over his shoulder. Shelly screamed, “Look out!” The bicycle/time machine went over the edge of the cliff and plunged toward the valley below. The Professor said, “Ooops!” Just before they crashed into the ground below, Shane shifted the bicycle/time machine into high gear.
Then it happened… The bicycle began bouncing like a toad in a washing machine! There was a blinding flash of light and a loud noise like a turtle singing! Suddenly the cliff and the valley disappeared and….
They ran into a donkey! The donkey was being led by a man, and a woman was riding it. The donkey, man & woman got knocked off the road by the bicycle/time machine, and they went sliding and tumbling down a very steep hill! The Professor said, “Ooops!” They stopped the bicycle/time machine and looked down the hill, but because the hill was so steep, and it was getting dark, they could see what happened to the donkey, man and woman. Just then Shane noticed a sign at the side of the road, he said, “Look at this sign, it has an arrow on it and says, ‘This way to Bethlehem’.” Shelly said, “Oh no! we just knocked Mary and Joseph down the hill with their donkey! And Mary is about to have the baby Jesus tonight!” The Professor said, “Ooops!” Shane said, “We have to go and help them right away, there is no time to lose!”
The Professor, Shane and Shelley jumped back on the bicycle/time machine, and without hesitation went straight down that steep hill! They went faster and faster and bounced higher and higher over rocks and boulders. Shane and Shelly were screaming like they were on the steepest roller coaster in the world. At the bottom of the hill, they ran into the donkey again! The donkey went flying and landed in a pond with a tremendous splash! The Professor said, “Ooops!” The man jumped up and yelled at the Professor, “Why do you keep running into my donkey? Is this your idea of a good time? Are you out of your mind? What is wrong with your brain? Did you forget to eat breakfast?” The man kept asking questions so fast that the Professor did not even have time to say, “Ooops!” Shelly interrupted and said, “We’re so sorry Joseph, we didn’t mean to knock you down the hill. We know that your wife is going to have the baby Jesus tonight! Let us help you get to Bethlehem and make a nice bed for Mary in the stable, so she can have the baby!” The man interrupted Shelly, “Why do you call me Joseph? Why do you think we are going to have a baby tonight? Why would we name the baby Jesus? Why would we stay in the stable? Why would we want to have a baby in a messy, smelly, stable?” The woman interrupted the man, “Do I look like I am going to have a baby? Is this your idea of a joke? I’ve worked hard to lose 30 pounds; do you think I look fat? Why are you calling me Mary? Why would I ever name a baby Jesus?”
Just then everyone was interrupted by a loud splashing noise! The donkey came charging out of the pond, and he did not look happy at all! He was running full speed right toward the Professor, Shane, and Shelly! Shane yelled, “Let’s get out of here! This is not Joseph and Mary! We ran into the wrong people!” The Professor said, “Ooops!”
The Professor, Shane and Shelly jumped on the bicycle/time machine and began frantically pedaling up another hill with the donkey in hot pursuit! As they were riding, Shelley reached down and turned the crank, so that they could escape from this place as soon as they shifted gears. They just barely kept ahead of the donkey until they got to the top of the hill, then they picked up speed and left the donkey behind! Shane said, “We got out of that problem.” Just then they went around a curve, and… hit a flock of sheep! The Professor flew off the front of the bicycle/time machine and landed in the middle of the flock, right on top of the biggest sheep! He had long horns! The Professor said, “Ooops!” The sheep said, “Baaa”, and looked angry! The Professor took a good look at that angry sheep and said, “Ooops!” The sheep looked even angrier and said, “Baaa!” The Professor began shaking with fear and said for a third time, “Ooops!” The sheep got ready to attack and said for the third time, “Baaaaa!” Just then they got interrupted by an angry shepherd! He rushed through the flock with his shepherd’s rod raised in the air, ready to attack! The shepherd screamed, “How dare you bother Bob, my favorite sheep! I should beat some sense into you!” The shepherd jumped forward to attack with his rod, Bob the sheep lowered his horns and began to charge…. then it happened!
There was a bright and blinding light! The shepherd screamed and fell face down onto the ground! The flock of sheep scattered! Bob, the sheep, knocked Professor Ooops down and hid under him! The Professor said, “Ooops!”
An awesome angel appeared in the light and said, “Don’t be afraid! I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, laying in a manger. Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.’” (Luke 2:10-14)
In an instant, the bright light and the angels disappeared. As they were getting up off the ground, the shepherds said, “Can you believe what just happened? We need to go and see this!” One of the young shepherds asked, “The angel said that the baby would be in the City of David, where is that?” The oldest shepherd answered, “The City of David is just another name for the city of Bethlehem, and Bethlehem is just over those hills!” The young shepherd had another question, “Why did the angel say that the baby would be in a manger?” The old shepherd said, “I don’t know. Maybe there are so many travelers staying in Bethlehem tonight that there was no room at the inn for them.” The young shepherd got excited and said, “Then they must be in that big stable behind the inn. That would be the only place near the inn that has a manger!” The old shepherd said, “Good thinking! Let’s hurry and go look in that stable and see if the baby that is to be our Savior is in a manger there!” The shepherds ran toward Bethlehem, and the sheep followed. The Professor, Shane and Shelly got on the bicycle/time machine and followed behind.
When they got into Bethlehem, the shepherds went right to the big stable behind the inn. They paused a moment before they went in, and the Professor, Shane and Shelly came right up behind the shepherds. The shepherds said, “It will probably be crowded in the stable, let’s leave our sheep outside! So, they made the sheep lie down outside the stable. Bob, the sheep, knocked down the Professor, and he fell backwards right into a mud puddle! The Professor said, “Ooops!” Then Bob, the sheep, sat down on the Professor.
Shane and Shelly went into the stable with the shepherds and they saw Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus laying in the manger. They all knew that they were looking at the promised Savior, the Son of God, so they all knelt with their faces to the ground. While the shepherds told Mary and Joseph all about the visit by the angels, Shelly whispered to Shane, “Mary looks so different now that she has had baby Jesus, she is so young, she is only a little older than us, she is just a teenager!” Shane answered, “She doesn’t look like the pictures people have painted, her hair is all messed up, her face is red like she has been crying, and she looks so tired!” Shelly answered, “Having a baby is hard work, even when the baby is Jesus!”
It is true that the stable was smelly and dirty, Mary was exhausted after having the baby, but she wanted to hear about the angels and the Shepherds. It did not look like the pictures we have seen of the stable, it was much more special! The shepherds stayed for awhile worshiping the baby and they were just amazed that God would choose them to see this very special thing. But then baby Jesus began to cry! Mary smiled and said, “I think he is hungry” The shepherds said goodbye, and quietly left the stable.
When they got outside, the shepherds began to sing and dance and celebrate. They told everyone who would listen about the baby Jesus, the Savior, the Son of God. Bob, the sheep, got up off the Professor and joined in the celebration. Shelly said, “Lets ride the bicycle out of town and wait until morning, then come back and see Jesus again.” The Professor agreed, “Yes, let’s do that. We can visit after the Shepherds and Bob, the sheep, have left. I have not even gotten to see the baby yet.” As they picked up speed, they heard small galloping hoofs behind them. It was Bob, the sheep, chasing them! He caught up to the bicycle/time machine and jumped at the Professor! He missed the Professor, but one of his horns hit the shifting lever, and pushed it into high gear! The Professor said, “Ooops!”
Then it happened… The bicycle began bouncing like a toad in a washing machine! There was a blinding flash of light and a loud noise like a turtle singing! Suddenly Bethlehem disappeared and….
Application:
- Read the Christmas story in the Bible in the book of Luke chapter 2.
- Close your eyes and imagine what it must have been like to have been there.
- What feelings do you think the shepherds had when they saw the baby Jesus?
- Pray and thank God for sending His Son as a baby (that is why we celebrate Christmas). If Jesus had not been born as a baby, then he would not have grown up to die on the cross for our sins and then rise from the dead. If it was not for the baby Jesus, then we would not have a chance to have our sins forgiven and become children of God with the sure hope of heaven after this life is over!
HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!