This is a fun idea for a gift exchange. Everyone sits or stands in a large circle holding his or her gift. As they listen to the story they pass the gifts to the right when they hear the word "right" and to the left when they hear the word "left". At the end of the story each person gets to keep the gift he or she is holding. (You do not have to read the last line of "The Christmas Story" if it will give guests their own gifts.)This game could be used with different variations of play. The game could be played at each table with one door prize per table passed right and left around the table. If your door prize is something fragile, such as a plant, table centerpiece, or something else hard to pass back and forth, you can pass a ball or balloon around the table and tell the winners that they could take the gifts, or centerpieces home with them for their prizes. For children or active guests, you could have a large circle of chairs, with one to three winning chairs (depending on the number of door prizes) of a different sort. The guests could sit in the chairs and move right and left around the circle. At the end of the story those sitting in the winning chairs would win the prizes. For the stories on this page, it would be good to have a winning chair for at least every dozen or so people so everyone gets a chance to sit in the winning chair.Right Left Game ... “To The Right Hand, Or To The Left”... Genesis 24:49
In The Beginning
With References From Genesis 1 - 3
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) It's right there in the Bible, the very first verse. God made light, and the firmament, and right there under the firmament He made the land and plants. Then God made the sun, moon and stars and put them right up there in the heavens, where they still are today. God made the fish right there in the waters, and He made the birds that soared right through the sky. God made the animals and then He made a man. He named him Adam and sent all the animals to Adam so he could find the right name for each one. But, something just wasn't right, there was not a helper and companion found among all the animals. So God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and took one of his ribs, we don't know if it was from his left side, or from his right side, we just know God took one of his ribs and made a woman. Adam named her Eve and they lived in the Garden of Eden. God gave them everything they needed right there in the Garden. As far as they could see to the left, and to the right, everything was perfect in their beautiful garden, and everything was just right. Nothing was left out. They had fresh water, running right through the garden and all the food they could want. They could pick the fruit right off the trees, and the vegetables right off the plants. But God told them they were not to eat from the tree right in the middle of the garden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. One day, Eve was standing right there at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the serpent went right up to her and told her it would be ok if she ate some of the fruit. Eve saw right off that it was good for food, and that it looked "pleasant to the eyes" and it would make her wise, so she picked the fruit right off the tree and ate the forbidden fruit. She didn't want Adam to be left out so she gave him some of the fruit, too, and their eyes were open. They knew they had not done the right thing. They knew they had sinned against God and they tried to hide themselves in the garden. But, God could see right through their excuses. God made them clothes from animals, and drove them from the garden. Angelic Cherubims were left at the garden to guard the Tree of Life. As Adam and Eve left their beautiful home, the Garden of Eden, I'm sure they were sorry many times over as they worked hard against the heat and rough ground to raise their food. Sin had taken them away from everything that was good and right, and left them cursed with a hard life. The Christmas Story -
With References From Luke 2:1-20
In his own mind, Caesar Augustus ruled the world, but there were stories that the Jewish people looked for their own King. He decided he must find the right way to declare his power over the people so he made a decree to tax his kingdom. Right away the people packed their things for travel and began their long journeys to the town of their forefathers. Joseph and Mary packed their needed belongings and left the city of Nazareth to go to Bethlehem, "(because he was of the house and lineage of David)." Joseph was a carpenter and perhaps he had made a crib for the new Baby, but it was left behind. Perhaps Mary had blankets and clothes for the Baby, but they too, were left behind. All the comforts of home were left behind as they left Nazareth and began their long journey. Travel was difficult because Mary did not have much time left before the baby would be born. Soon, the other travelers made their way around them and left them struggling along the paths. By the time they reached Bethlehem, there were no rooms left for them in the inn, but someone found some room left in a stable. While they were there, the right time came for the Baby to be born. Mary wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him right there in the manger. The precious Lamb of God, was born right there among the sheep. Right at that moment, some shepherds were "abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Right then there was a multitude of angels praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Right away the shepherds left their place in the fields and went right to Bethlehem to see the Babe lying in the manger. After they had seen Him, they left, praising God and telling everyone they met about the things they had seen and heard. Hundreds of years before, right there in the little book of Micah (5:2), it was foretold that the ruler of Israel would be born in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth. At just the right time, God used the right person, Caesar Augustus, to get them to the right place, the little town of Bethlehem. God can also put the right people in our paths, and the right things in our lives, to get us to the right place at the right time, when we follow His Word and trust in Him. Right now, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!