A Christmas Carol: Scrooge in Bethlehem
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie.
Above they deep and dreamless sleep,
The silent stars go by.
Yet in the dark streets shineth
The everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
(while music is playing)
Reader 1: O little town of Bethlehem, out of you
will come the savior of ancient prophecy,
Reader 2: And He will bring peace to all people.
(Micah 5: 2-5)
O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us we pray.
Cast out our sing and enter in
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell.
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel.
Narrator 1: Journey with us to a night long ago in
the little town of Bethlehem. Join us as we enter a
dark room in the Bethlehem Inn. Here sits Ebenezer
Scrooge, the Innkeeper, counting his money.
On the First Night of Christmas
On the first night of Christmas sat Ebenezer
Scrooge
Alone in the Bethlehem Inn.
He was counting his money, poor Ebenezer
Scrooge
Alone in the Bethlehem Inn.
He had mountains of gold, joy to behold.
Buckets of silver, shining like glitter.
Poor, poor, Scrooge.
On that Christmas night, what a fright
Ebenezer Scrooge
All alone in the Bethlehem Inn.
Narrator 2: As Scrooge continued counting, his
devoted front desk clerk, Bob Cratchit, entered the
room.
Scrooge: Cratchit! Don’t bother me while I’m
counting my money! And SO MUCH money today,
with all of those poor country folk in town for the
Roman census! I’m charging them a king’s ransom,
and every room is full!
Cratchit: Uh, y-y-yes, Mr. Scrooge! But we have a
special couple at the front desk! Their names are
Mary and Joseph, and they have traveled all the way
from Nazareth. Mary is expecting a baby any day
now! May I share my family’s room with them?
Scrooge: The Dickens you say! Bah! Humbug!
Throw them into the street!
Narrator 1: On that first Christmas night, Scrooge
sat alone in the Bethlehem Inn, without a friend in
the world. He loved no one. He worshipped only his
money. The rich innkeeper Scrooge was a poor, lost
soul, sitting alone in his dark room.
Good Clerk Cratchit
(once music starts)
Reader 3: The people who stumble in darkness will
see a great light.
Reader 4: The day is coming when God will
humble every proud person who worships gold and
silver.
Reader 5: And, in that day, a man will cast away
his treasures and worship God alone.
Reader 6: Come, let us walk in the light of the
Lord.
Good Clerk Cratchit looked around
On that Christmas evening.
But there were no rooms to spare,
And the night was freezing!
Then he called his wife to him,
And their poor son Tiny Tim,
Help me make a room for them,
On that Christmas evening.
Narrator 2: Cratchit and his family led Mary and
Joseph to the stable behind the inn. They made
Mary as comfortable as possible, with the gentle
animals nearby for warmth.
Mary, Joseph, Cratchits too,
Off they went together,
To the stable snug and warm,
Safe from winter weather.
Listen people to this take,
Wealth or rank possessing,
You who now will bless the poor,
Shall yourselves find blessing.
Narrator 1: Tired and hungry, the Cratchits
returned to their room. As Mrs. Cratchit rocked
Tiny Tim on her lap, she sang her crippled son to
sleep with an ancient lullaby.
Lully, Lullay
Lully Lullay, my little Tiny Tim,
Sleep now lully, lullay.
My tiny child, so meek, so mild,
Sleep now lully, lullay.
Reader 7: One day the wolf and the lamb will live
together in peace.
Reader 8: And a little child will lead them.
Lully, lullay, my little Tiny Tim,
Sleep now lully, lullay.
Narrator 2: As Tiny Tim slept in the warmth of his
mother’s arms, Scrooge slept in the bitter cold of his
dark room in the Bethlehem Inn. Wrapped tightly in
his fist was a sterling silver coin. When the clock
chimed one o’clock in the morning, a heavenly
angel appeared, filling the room with light.
(Bells Toll the First Hour)
Angel: Scrooge! Ebenezer Scrooge!
Scrooge: Who’s there?!
Angel: I am an agngel, sent from God.
Scrooge: Well you scared the Dickens out of me!
What do you want?
Angel: Gaze with me upon your past, Ebenezer.
Once you were a happy young man, engaged to
marry a young woman. You dreamed of starting a
family.
Scrooge: Stop! I don’t want to remember!
Angel: LOOK, Ebenezer! Remember happier
times!
Scrooge: I had such great plans for us! Of course,
we could not marry until I had saved enough money
to buy a large house and fill it with fine furniture. I
worked so hard that I had no time for her.
Finally, she accused me of loving money more than
I loved her! She broke our engagement. Later, she
married another man… OH! STOP, Angel! I cannot
bear to remember it!
Angel: Ebenezer, open your heart to happiness, or
you will be forced to live in darkness FOREVER!
Scrooge: GO AWAY!
Narrator 2: As the angel left, the room became
dark once more. Scrooge shivered and pulled his
blanket over his head. Holding tightly to his silver
coin, he fell asleep and dreamed of happier times.
God Rest You Merry, Mister Scrooge
God rest you merry Mister Scrooge
Let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ our Savior
Was born upon this day.
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray,
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy.
Reader 9: Unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is
given. And the government will be upon His
shoulder.
Reader 10: And His name will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace.
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Hark the herald, Angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled.
Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem,
Hark the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King.
Narrator 1: When the clock chimed two o’clock,
an angel appeared once again, flling Scrooges’s
room with light.
Bells Toll the Second Hour
Angel 2: Wake up Ebenezer! Gaze with me in the
present!
Scrooge: Leave me alone! I’m having a Dickens of
a time trying to sleep tonight!
Angel 2: Tonight a Child has been born, right here
in Bethlehem! He is the Savior of the world!
Scrooge: The Savior of the world is BABY? Bah!
Humbug!
Angel 2: Ebenezer, go to your stable. You will find
the Child there, lying in a manger. The Cratchits are
already there. HURRY Ebenezer!
Scrooge: Angel, don’t leave me! What did you say?
The Savior of the world is in my stable? Bah!
Humbug!
Narrator 2: After the angel left, Scrooge tried to
sleep again in his dark room. He tossed and turned,
with his silver coin wrapped tightly in his fist.
Narrator 2: Tiny Tim bent to give his most
precious possession, his crutch, to Jesus. Placing it
carefully beside the manger, he slowly stood. As he
stood, his parents cried with joy, because Tiny Tim
stood straight, cured of his crippling disease.
Bells Toll the Third Hour
Once in Royal David City
Once in royal David’s city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed.
Where a mother laid her baby,
In a manger for His bed.
Mary was the mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child,
Past Three O’Clock
Past three o’clock,
On a cold and frosty morning.
Past three o’clock,
Good morning Christians all.
He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all.
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall.
With the poor and meek and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.
Reader 11: In the countryside nearby, there were
shepherds, keeping watch over their sheep.
Reader 12: Suddenly a great light filled the night
sky. An angel appeared before them, announcing
the good news of the Savior’s birth.
Reader 13: When the angel left them, the
shepherds said “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this
thing God has made known to us”.
Reader 14: They hurried to the stable, where they
found Mary and Joseph, and the baby Jesus, lying in
the manger.
What Can I give Him?
(as music Starts) Narrator 1: As the Shepherds
gathered in the stable, Tiny Tim hobbled to the
manger. Using his crutch for support, he knelt
before Jesus and prayed.
What can I give Him?
Poor as I am.
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb.
If I were a Wiseman,
I would do my part.
What can I give Him?
Give to Him my heart.
Give to Him my heart.
Born is a baby,
Gentle as may be,
Son of man and son of God,
The Father eternal.
Past three o’clock,
On a cold and frosty morning,
Past three o’clock
Good morning Christians,
Good morning Christians all.
Narrator 1: When the clocked chimed three
o’clock, an angel appeared, once again flooding
Scrooge’s room with light.
Angel 3: Wake up and be saved Ebenezer!
Scrooge: What the Dickens is it THIS time?
Angel 3: The child who is born tonight is the Son of
God, the Light of our Salvation. Gaze with me into
His future.
As a young child, Jesus will learn to be a carpenter,
like his earthly father, Joseph. He will study at the
temple and amaze the priests with His wisdom. As a
young man, He will become a great preacher. He
will feed the hungry, cure the sick, heal the
crippled, and give hope to the hopeless.
But Ebenezer, one day Jesus too will know
darkness. One day, He will be crucified unto death.
Scrooge: Angel, how can this be? He is the Son of
God!
Angel 3: One of His best friends will betray Him.
Judas will sell Jesus for a silver coin, Ebenezer--Just like the one you hold in your hand!
Scrooge: STOP! I am Judas! I have sold my soul
for a silver coin!
Give me another chance Angel! From now on, I
promise to be God’s faithful servant. I will minister
to all people, the poor and rich alike!
Narrator 2: The heavenly lighjt continued to glow
as the angel left Ebenezer’s room. Leaping from his
bed, Scrooge grabbed his cloak and hurried to the
stable.
Scrooge: I must tell Cratchit right away what has
happened tonight! I have never been so happy!
Let’s see….I must make sure the baby is warm, and
get baskets of food for his family, and….Yes, that’s
it! We shall have a Dickens of a party! We shall
celebrate the birth of Jesus today and always!
Narrator 1: Jesus was born for our salvation. His
gift to us is the gift of new life for all, the poor and
the rich, the faithful and the sinners.
Narrator 2: And, on that night long ago in
Bethlehem, the Innkeeper Scrooge found new life.
He increased Cratchit’s salary and became a second
father to Tiny Tim. A friend to all people Scrooge
was a happy man at last, and he glowed with the
spirit of Christmas every day of his life.
Narrator 1: May the spirit of Christmas shine in us,
this day and always.
And may God bless us, everyone!
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Hail the heaven born Prince of Peace
Hail the Son of righteousness.
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild, He lays His glory by,
Born that we no more may dies.
Born to raise us from the earth,
Born to give us second birth,
Hark the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King!