A Family Life Christmas

The Shoemaker’s Gift

Russian novelist Count Leo Tolstoy, known for masterpieces such as “War and Peace” wrote a number of short stories also.  One of his most endearing stories is one that has been given many names.  Shoemaker Martin embodies the message of the season that the greatest gift is the one that’s given from the heart.  It’s a heartwarming story of how everyone can use the gift that God has given them to encourage others.

The Shepherd’s Prayer

A young man, orphaned as a baby, sets off to discover the truth about the circumstances of his birth, the fate of his parents, and his heritage.  Having been raised in a culture where bloodlines mean everything, he seems forever condemned to live as an outsider on the fringes of society until he discovers his true heritage.  His only clue is a cryptic message on a lambskin blanket about a child born in a stable in Bethlehem.  Who is this mysterious child?  And what could such a child have to do with his own birth and destiny?  The answers will change his life forever…and maybe yours.  This exciting radio drama is based on the book by Richard Barry and adapted for radio by Dave Arnold, Executive Producer of Adventures in Odyssey.  Take a journey to Bethlehem and experience the birth and life of Jesus Christ in a fresh and thought-provoking way.

Christmas By Injunction

A short story from Focus on the Family Radio Theaters’, “Traveling Home for Christmas”, Christmas by Injunction by famous short story writer O. Henry, tells of a prospector who comes into some money and decides to play Santa for his home town.  You’ll be warmed by the kindness of one individual as he seeks to bring Christmas to the children.

Holding Heaven

Taken from Jerry Jenkins’ book, Holding Heaven focuses on two conversations, 30 years apart, between the most celebrated person in history, Jesus, and his earthly father, Joseph. In the first, the father tells the son the details of his birth. God has invaded earth in the most unlikely place and under the most unusual of circumstances. In the second, the son tells the father – now on his deathbed – what is to come. Miracles will turn many from darkness to light. Yet how painful for the father to learn what the enemy will do with the very raw materials with which he has fashioned his living.

To Seek the Child

Once again Family Life is bringing back this Moody Broadcasting production that has been a staple in our Christmas programming for a number of years.  It’s a dramatic story of Manassa, a Roman centurion, who is confronted with the reality of the birth of the Messiah.  He is torn between two worlds as he is asked to prove his allegiance to the king by killing all the babies born in the past two years while at the same time realizing that the baby Jesus is indeed the Messiah.