The Gift

Book by Janet Preus
Music by Ed Kee and T.W. Hale

Based on O. Henry's classic short story "The Gift Of The Magi", this story of sacrificial love at Christmas has been expanded into a delightfully entertaining hour-long Broadway-style musical. Set in the early 1900's, this moving story is told with tenderness and humor, yet makes a powerful statement about love, commitment and sacrifice. The songs are character-driven and flow naturally out of the dialog and stage action in true musical theater style. The music is memorable and engaging, and written specifically to be performed by good amateur singers.

The theme of this story is sacrificial love, which is a perfect parallel to God's sacrificial gift to us in giving his Son, Jesus. While the story itself is slightly embellished for story development, it follows O. Henry's original text and therefore provides an evening of wholesome, family-oriented entertainment for your unchurched guests. The parallel between the story and God's sacrificial gift, Jesus, is provided for you in written form, and may be printed on the back of the program or may be used by the pastor to "wrap-up" the evening by planting a spiritual "seed". The program is about an hour long and is perfect for dinner-theater outreach to your community.

The Ministry Concept Behind the Gift

Throughout Jesus' ministry, he used stories (parables) to convey the deep truths of God. Stories of everyday events and every day life are common to all people and as such, are easily understood. Stories engage our senses, our emotions and even our own recollections of similar events. They entertain us as well. As we begin to accept the premise of a story, we lower our defenses and our unbelief and are drawn into the lives of the characters around which the story is built.

O. Henry's classic short story , "The Gift of the Magi" is not a religious one by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a beautiful story of sacrificial love between a husband and wife, which is set on Christmas Eve at the turn of the 20th century. Its powerful irony touches the heart with the tenderness of a love that is willing to sacrifice its greatest possession for the sake of someone else. It is a parallel (parable, if you will) of the kind of love God has for each one of us. It is the perfect springboard to relate to your audience the ultimate sacrificial love that was shown by God in sending His Son, Jesus, to earth to die in our place, so that we might enjoy God's love forever. God willingly gave up His most precious possession in order to show us how much He loves us. This is where the principle of THE GIFT becomes personal to each and every audience member. It's the realization that God loves me that much.

Christmas is a time when we are able to reach many unsaved people through our musical programs. Many will rarely, if ever, darken the doors of the church any other time of year. At the most, we usually hope for an opportunity to at least plant a seed of the gospel in their hearts. This is the perfect opportunity to do so without "bible-thumping" or using "church-speak" that they do not readily understand. We can soften their hearts through a tender story, then gently let them know that they too, are loved in the very same way they have just seen portrayed on stage. If Jesus was able to convey God's truth through parables, why can't we do the same - with the same effect? THE GIFT is the perfect outreach tool for your church to gently and effectively share the good news of Jesus Christ this Christmas.

Licensing Information:

LICENSING

To Perform this musical, you must first request a performance license from ChurchMusicals, Inc. Click below to request a license. The Preview CD and Demonstration DVD may be purchased prior to requesting a license.

Submit License Request Online!

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