Gary Neal Hansen

Theology. It's good for you.

  • About
    • Speaking
    • Contact
    • Home
  • Books
    • Love Your Bible
    • Christmas Play
    • Kneeling with Giants
    • Review Crew
  • Library
    • Join
    • Login
  • Blog
  • Lenten Prayer Class log in
    • Lenten Prayer Class Info
    • Class Info: Your First Sermon
      • Your 1st Sermon — Course Login
    • “Pray Like a Reformer” Class Info
      • Pray Like a Reformer Login
    • Advent Lectio Divina Class Info!
      • Lectio Divina Class Log In
  • Christmas Play
  • Love Your Bible
  • Kneeling with Giants
You are here: Home / Archives for Church Year

Director’s Journal: Including the Children

November 24, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Including the Children

My pastor scheduled a short third rehearsal: just 45 minutes before an all-church event. That’s three quarters of an hour for two complicated jobs. 1. Re-block what Didn’t Work The first job was to re-block things that were troublesome last week. Sticking with my original plan might preserve my pride, but only temporarily. Better to just admit where it hadn’t […]

Filed Under: Bible, Church Year, Worship Tagged With: Christmas Play, Director's journal, Including the Children, re-blocking

Director’s Journal: Blocking

November 18, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Blocking

There was one aspect of directing my play that filled me with dread: blocking. It’s also the aspect that filled me most with excitement. Blocking “Blocking” is what you do in the second rehearsal–the first few rehearsals in a longer play. You work through the script, line by line, and teach the actors where they […]

Filed Under: Bible, Church Year, Worship Tagged With: Adapting a play to a church, Blocking, Director's journal, How to direct a play

Director’s Journal: Getting Ready

November 11, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

So I wrote this Christmas Play, and of course I gave a copy to my pastor. Who knows?” I thought. “They always do a play in Advent. Maybe they will think it is fun to produce the world premier!” They said yes! Woo hoo! I should know by this time that this amounted to volunteering […]

Filed Under: Bible, Church Year, Worship Tagged With: Christmas pageant, Christmas Play, Directing a Play, Director's journal, Nativity play

Join my “Review Crew” and help launch my new Christmas Play!

October 21, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

I’m about to publish a Christmas play. (I call it “Christmas Play.” Pretty catchy, eh?) I am totally psyched about this project. It is designed for production in churches. It focuses squarely on the real Christmas story, weaving the biblical text of every Gospel passage about the coming of Christ into one story. I’d love to […]

Filed Under: books, Church Year, Reviews, Worship Tagged With: Christmas Play, Launch Team, Review Crew

Anything for Jesus: St. Simeon Stylites

September 1, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen 7 Comments

Simeon Stylites. Anything for Jesus

I’ve always known in my bones that we should celebrate New Year’s Day on September 1. New pencils. Empty notebooks. Fresh eager faces. New classes to take or to teach. That is when it all starts for me. I’m now very happy to discover that the Orthodox Church had the same idea centuries ago. September […]

Filed Under: Church Year, Saints Tagged With: Anything for Jesus, Simeon Stylites, St. Simeon the Stylite

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • …
  • 39
  • Next Page »

AWESOME children’s sermons? Absolutely! Here’s how.

I'd love to send you my free Children's Sermon Cheat Sheet! You'll learn eight solid strategies to engage with kids on the Gospel.

Subscribe and I'll send it to you -- plus all my new children's sermons will come to you in my almost-weekly newsletter.

Theology. It’s good for you.

I'm a Church historian by trade. My writing, speaking, and teaching explores the Christian past to equip today's disciples. Join me here for regular posts on the best of theology, spirituality, community, and ministry. read more…

Recent Posts

  • A Children’s Sermon on John 13:31-35 — A New Commandment
  • A Children’s Sermon on John 10:22-30 — The Good Shepherd
  • A Children’s Sermon on John 21:1-19 — Easter 3
  • A Children’s Sermon on Luke 24:1-12 — Easter!
  • A Children’s Sermon on Luke 19:28-40

Search the site

Need a new way to engage with the Bible?

Subscribe to my newsletter and I'll send you a free ebook copy of Love Your Bible: Finding Your Way to the Presence of God with a 12th Century Monk. It's a modern introduction to a classic spiritual discipline that brings prayer and Bible study together.

It's manageable. It's fun. And it's free, along with my (almost)weekly newsletter that brings you every new article and announcement.

Archives

Let’s connect on social media…

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Search the site

  • Community for Mission
  • Letters to a Young Pastor
  • Christianity as a Second Language
  • Role Models for Discipleship

© 2025 garynealhansen.com · Rainmaker Platform