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001. Angels Announce Jesus’ Birth

ZwPI8cfkAngels Announce Jesus’ Birth
About 5 minutes, from Luke 2:1-20

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not perform.)
    Cheery
    Grouchy
    Angel
    Mary
    Prompter     Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
    Echoes        Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Grouchy         

Hey, Cheery, It’s boring tending these dumb sheep all night!
Nothing interesting ever happens.

Cheery

I guess you’d be happier, Grouchy, if wolves came and bit you.
Look. A lantern is still glowing down there in Bethlehem.

Prompter & Echoes

The city of David!

Grouchy

Keep awake, Cheery. It’ll be a long, long night.
It’s clear now, but it’ll probably rain on us soon.

Cheery

Look, Grouchy, up there! (Point up)
Look! In the sky! What’s that bright light?

Grouchy

Oooh! I’ve never seen a light so intense.
It’s blinding me! Hide! Quick!

Cheery

It’s getting closer. Hey! Look out! Who’s that?
He’s blazing with light! Run!

Prompter & Echoes

Help!

Angel

Do not fear!

Grouchy

He says not to fear! What does he expect?
He’s an alien from outer space!
He could zap us in an instant!

Angel

That is not why I came… this time.
I am God’s messenger, with very good news.
Go into town. You’ll find a newborn baby wrapped in rags
and lying in an animal’s feeding trough.
He will be your savior.

Prompter & Echoes

Our savior!

Cheery

Look, Grouchy! Now there’s a whole army of angels!
They’re singing! The harmony is beautiful!
Oh, it’s so powerful! It’s frightening, yet comforting!

Angel

Glory to God in the highest!
Peace on earth to all men!

Prompter & Echoes

Peace on earth!

Cheery

Hurry, Grouchy. Let us go to Bethlehem.
We’ll find the baby and worship him.

Grouchy

Wait! I’m out of breath.
Oh, here’s a shack with a lantern still lit.
But how could our deliverer be born in a barn?

Prompter & Echoes

Amazing!

Cheery

Here is his mother. Hello, young lady.

Mary

What do you gentlemen want here?
We were here first.

Cheery

Angels sent us to see your child, ma’am.
They said he would be our Savior.

Mary

Angels? Did angels tell you about my son?
Oh, forgive my weeping! It’s from so much joy!
I will always treasure in my heart what you said.

Grouchy

Ma’am, why are you and your child out here
with these smelly animals?

Prompter & Echoes

It stinks!

Mary

There was no room in the Inn. Bethlehem is crowded this week.
We Jews have come from many towns to register for the Roman tax. We came all the way from Nazareth to register.

Cheery

Then you were born here in Bethlehem, the city of David.

Mary

Yes. My husband Joseph and I are descendants of King David. Have you shepherds registered for the tax?

Grouchy

I’m not going to. I’ll escape the Romans’ attention.
I hate those brutal invaders!

Mary

Careful! You’ll get in serious trouble!
This tax is an edict of Emperor Caesar Augustus.

Cheery

I wonder. How will this tiny baby save us, as the angels said?

Grouchy

He’ll grow up strong, and bash those greedy Romans!
We won’t have to pay their fiendish taxes anymore!

Cheery

I thought the Messiah was to free Israel,
but the angels said he’d bless all people. Strange!

Mary

All people? Really?

Cheery

Grouchy, let’s go tell all our friends the good news.
Just think! A savior who will bring peace to all people!

Prompter & Echoes

Peace on earth!

Cheery

Now everyone, let us discuss this.
How would you have felt,
had you been with us shepherds that night?
Mention some things that would have filled you
with fear, wonder or joy.

002. John Baptizes Jesus, and the Three that Are One Take Part

ZwPI8cfkJohn Baptizes Jesus, and the Three that Are One Take Part

About 5 minutes, from Matthew 3

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)

John the Baptist
Voice
(of Jesus)
Pharisee
Prompter
                    Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes
                       Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

John the Baptist

I am John the Baptizer.
The prophet Isaiah foretold what I’d do out here by the Jordan River:
I am “A voice crying in the desert.”

Prompter & Echoes

Prepare the way of the Lord!

Pharisee

Look at all those people hiking out to the Jordan River!
We Pharisees had better find out what’s going on.
That fanatic, John, is baptizing them.

John the Baptist

Oh, look! Many are coming to me from Jerusalem and Judea.
They confess their sins and I baptize them.
Oh, oh! Here come those religious Pharisees and Sadducees.
We may see a bit of hostility!

Pharisee

We Pharisees came for you to baptize us, John,
because we live holy lives.

John the Baptist

Listen, you must repent first. Turn from your sins,
because the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Pharisee

Who are you to tell us Pharisees to repent?
What kind of a prophet are you? Look at you!
Wearing camel’s skins, and living like a wild man,
eating grasshoppers and wild honey!

John the Baptist

You vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
If you want me to baptize you,
then bear fruit that shows your repentance.

Pharisee

We have no need to repent, John. Abraham is our father!

Prompter & Echoes

Blessed Father Abraham!

John the Baptist

God can raise up children of Abraham from these stones!
The axe is applied to the trees;
those that bear no fruit are cut down and thrown into the fire.

Pharisee

Are you threatening us? Just what do you mean?

John the Baptist

I baptize with water to show repentance,
but he who comes after me is greater than I.
I am not fit to untie his sandals;
He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire!

Prompter & Echoes

What kind of fire?

John the Baptist

The Messiah is holding his winnowing fan;
he’ll blow the worthless chaff from the wheat on his threshing floor;
and gather his wheat into the barn,
but he will burn up the chaff with fire that you cannot put out.

Pharisee

Just who is that Messiah that will do all this?
You, John?

John the Baptist

No. Turn around and see who is coming. Look!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Prompter & Echoes

Lamb of God!

Pharisee

What is all this about?
Why do you call that man the Lamb of God?

John the Baptist

Listen to him.

Voice

I have come to you, John, for you to baptize me.

John the Baptist

Lord! This is backwards!
My baptism is for bad people who confess their wrongs and repent.
You are righteous. I need to be baptized by you!
Why do you come to me?

Voice

Permit it for now; it is fitting for us, in order to fulfill all that is right.

John the Baptist

I do as Jesus said. I baptize him.
When he comes up out of the water, the heavens open!
(
Look up)
Oh! The Spirit of God is descending on him like a dove!
I hear a voice from heaven. Listen! It announces,
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Prompter & Echoes

Beloved son of God!

003. The Devil Tempts the Lord Jesus Christ in Three Diabolical Ways

ZwPI8cfkThe Devil Tempts the Lord Jesus Christ in Three Diabolical Ways

About 2 minutes, from Matt. 4:1-11

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to

Voice (of Jesus)      
Devil
Prompter.                 Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes.                     Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Voice.

The Holy Spirit led me out here to fast and pray for forty days.
Now I am very hungry. Oh! Here comes my adversary;
the one who disguises himself as an angel of light.
Ezekiel said he was perfect in beauty when he came to Eve
in the Garden of Eden! He is a master deceiver.

Prompter & Echoes.

Father of lies!

Devil .

Listen to me.
If you are the Son of God,
then tell these stones to become bread.

Voice .

It is written, “Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Devil .

Come now to Jerusalem the holy city, to the top of the great temple.
Ah! Here we are. Now, if you are the Son of God,
then throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will command His angels concerning you,
and on their hands they will bear You up,
so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.”

Voice .

It is also written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Prompter & Echoes.

Do not test God!

Devil .

Come with me to this high mountain.
You know I am the ruler of this world.
Look! See all the world’s kingdoms and their glory.
All this I will give you. Just fall down and worship me.

Voice.

It is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God,
and serve Him only.”

Prompter & Echoes .

Worship God alone!

Voice .

Satan leaves Me, for a while.
I am weak, but angels come to strengthen Me.
I begin to proclaim the good news to all who have ears to hear.
“Repent and believe.”

Prompter & Echoes .

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

 

004. Jesus Creates Wine to Bless a Marriage, His First Miracle

ZwPI8cfkJesus Creates Wine to Bless a Marriage, His First Miracle

About 4 minutes, from John 2:1-12

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
Headwaiter
Servant
Mary
Voice
(of Jesus)
Prompter
           Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes
              Anyone who wants to take part. Echoes need no script.

Headwaiter

I am the headwaiter that is responsible for this grand wedding feast.
Servant, is everything is ready? The guests have arrived.

Servant

Yes, sir. We have prepared everything well.

Headwaiter

I hope so. The bridegroom invited Jesus, his mother and His disciples.

Servant

This must be the grandest celebration ever held in Cana of Galilee.

Prompter & Echoes

A lavish party!

Headwaiter

Look. Everyone is eating and drinking a lot!

Mary

I am so glad the bridegroom invited us!
Mr. Headwaiter, you are providing a wonderful banquet!

Headwaiter

Yes. The bridegroom is a generous host.

Mary

Oh! That servant looks worried. I wonder what is wrong.
Friend, can I help you?

Servant

More people have come than we servants had expected,
and the wine has run out. What a disaster!

Mary

Oh no!

Servant

The bridegroom will be furious.

Prompter & Echoes

How embarrassing!

Headwaiter

What? No wine? This shames all of us, especially the bridegroom.
What is a wedding party without wine?

Prompter & Echoes

More wine!

Mary

You will need a lot more wine. I will speak to my son Jesus.
He might know what to do.
(To Voice) Son, the wine has run out.

Voice

Dear woman, what has that to do with me?
My hour has not yet come.

Servant

What did Jesus mean?
Why did He not do what his mother Mary asked?

Mary

Go to Jesus yourself, directly, and do whatever he says.

Headwaiter

Servants, do what Mary told you. Go to Jesus.
She is not a mediator between Jesus and us.

Servant

Jesus, we have run out of wine.

Voice

Fill those six huge stone pots over there with water.

Headwaiter

But who wants to drink water at a wedding feast?

Mary

Do as Jesus said.

Servant

We have filled the pots up to the brim with water.
(Pretend to pour water from a jug.) Hey! Look at it!
The water has turned red! Let me taste it!
(Pretend to dip out some and taste it.) It is wine! Wow!

Prompter & Echoes

The very best!

Mary

Take some to the Headwaiter.

Headwaiter

Well now! This is excellent wine! The best ever!
I must congratulate the bridegroom.

Servant

Here he comes now.

Headwaiter

Sir, others serve the good wine first,
and when the people have drunk freely,
then they bring out the poorer wine;
but you have kept the good wine until now.
Well done! God has blessed your marriage!

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus’ first miracle!

 

 

005. Jesus Forgives a Paralytic’s Sins Because of his Friends’ Faith

About 3 minutes, from Mark 21-12

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
Levi
Voice
(of Jesus)
Scholar
Prompter
         Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes
             Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Levi

I am Levi, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples.
We are in Capernaum now.

Prompter & Echoes

By the beautiful Sea of Galilee.

Levi

Oh, hello sir. I’m a bit surprised that you’ve come to hear Jesus;
you scholars normally oppose his teaching.

Scholar

I’m investigating it. Just look at this mob rushing to hear Him!

Prompter & Echoes

Hurry! Hurry!

Levi

Look! Four men are bringing a paralytic on a mat!
The door is too crowded to get in. They’re climbing up on the roof!

Scholar

(Look up) Hey! Stop tearing up the roof!
(Shield your face from falling debris) Debris is falling on us! Quit that!

Prompter & Echoes

What is going on?

Levi

They made a hole! They’re lowering the paralytic in front of Jesus. Wow! That’s an unspoken prayer of faith.

Prompter & Echoes

Audacious faith!

Scholar

You up there! Stop disturbing our meeting! Pull that guy back up!

Levi

Jesus is looking with compassion on the paralytic. Listen!

Voice

Son, your sins are forgiven.

Scholar

What? This deluded rabbi is blaspheming!
Only God can forgive sins.

Voice

Why do you question these things?
Which is easier to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven’;
or, ‘Get up, and pick up your mat and walk?”

Scholar

Oh, any fool could simply tell a sinner his sins are forgiven!

Voice

I will prove to you that I, the Son of Man, have power to forgive sins. My paralyzed friend, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.

Levi

The paraplegic is getting up! He’s picking up his mat!

Prompter & Echoes

He is walking!

Scholar

I have never seen anything like it.
Jesus really can forgive sins, after all!

Prompter & Echoes

Amazing grace!

​

006. A Bedtime Prayer Turns into a Surprising Conversation

The Lord’s Prayer, about 5 minutes, from Matthew 6:9-13

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
Oscar
           Line up chairs to represent a bed
Voice
            Keep off to one side, speak loudly and slowly.
Prompter
      Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes
          Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script

Oscar

(Stand and stretch) Time for bed. It’s been a long day.
(
Start to lie down on the chairs)

Prompter & Echoes

You forgot something!

Oscar

Oh! My bedtime prayer.
(
Sit up and fold your hands in an attitude of prayer)
Our Father…

Voice

(Interrupt. Speak loudly and slowly) Yes?

Oscar

(Jerk your head around looking for the speaker, then shrug)
Our Father…

Voice

(Interrupt) Yes, my son? What did you want to say to me?

Oscar

(Look around again, scratch your head) Who is that?

Prompter & Echoes

Who spoke?

Voice

To whom were you speaking?

Oscar

No one. I was just saying my prayers.

Voice

Then to whom were you saying your prayers?

Oscar

To our Heavenly Father.
Oh! Ah… Oh, no!
Ah… Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name…

Voice

(Interrupt) Do you know what the word “hallowed” means?

Oscar

Ah… no. It’s what they taught me to pray.

Voice

It means to respect me above all,
and enter my presence devoutly, with fear.

Oscar

Well, I have plenty of fear right now.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Voice

(Interrupt) Do you know what a kingdom really is?

Oscar

Yeah… We gotta obey a king’s commands.

Prompter & Echoes

Or he will zap us!

Voice

My Son Jesus is your King, and you will obey his commands. Continue.

Oscar

Right. Give us today, our daily bread…

Voice

(Interrupt) I already gave that to you.
Do you not have other needs?

Oscar

Yes. I need a job.
I also need your help to tell my friends about Jesus.

Voice

Then, ask me for that, as a child would.

Prompter & Echoes

Simply ask!

Oscar

Dear Father, I need a job, and power to testify for Jesus.
Ah…
And forgive us our debts...
Um…
Forgive us our debts… Ah…

Voice

(Allow a pause) Finish the sentence.

Oscar

(Mumble rapidly and softly)
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Voice

(Interrupt) I did not hear you.
Repeat it more clearly, my son.

Oscar

I am afraid to. I know what you will say. Well… Okay.
Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors,
and lead us…

Voice

Wait! Have you forgiven your friend Alex?

Oscar

I will. Someday…
Well…
Okay. I forgive him now!
And I will ask his forgiveness tomorrow.
Ah…
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

Voice

(Interrupt) Why do you ask for protection from the evil one?

Oscar

Because without your power and pardon,
I cannot resist Satan’s false lures.
For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.

Prompter & Echoes

Amen!

​

006A. Jesus Tells how to Build our Spiritual Foundation

Jesus Tells how to Build our Spiritual Foundation

About 2 minutes, from Matt. 7: 24-29

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive a sacred event, not to perform)

   Peter
   Wise man
   Sand man
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Prompter              Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.

Echoes                 Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

 

Peter

I’m Peter. We’re sitting around Jesus on top of this mountain.
Listen to how our Lord concludes his Sermon on the Mount.

Voice

He who hears and obeys my words is like a wise man
who builds his house on the rock.

 

Prompter & Echoes

Watch him build!

 

Wise man

(Pretend to build, pounding nails.)
I am building on the rock, as Jesus said.

 

Voice

Rain falls, floods come, and winds slam against that house.
Hear the winds howl.

 

Prompter & Echoes

(Howl)

 

Voice

But the house stays solid; the wise man built it on the rock.

 

Prompter & Echoes

Our one solid foundation!

 

Voice

However, everyone who hears my words and fails to obey me
is like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand.

 

Sand man

(Pretend to build) Aha! It’s easier to build my house on this soft sand.

 

Voice

A storm comes, the winds howl and slam against that house.

 

Prompter & Echoes

Bang! Bang!

 

Voice

Rain falls and floods come.

 

Wise man

(Sprinkle drops of water on Sand Man) Down you go!

 

Sand man

My house! It’s collapsing! (Fall down)

 

Wise man

Both of us builders hear Jesus’ words.
One obeys them; the other does not.
Jesus is the rock; our part to build on it is to obey his commands.

 

Prompter & Echoes

To obey is the only way!

 

Wise man

Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commands.”

 

Sand man

I thought Bible teaching was the foundation.

 

Peter

We’ve all learned that our one foundation is Christ,
and our part in building on it is simply to obey Jesus.
Learning God’s Word is one of the essentials that we build
on this rock foundation by obeying our Lord Jesus;
for all eternity we will be learning more and more about God.

 

Prompter & Echoes

Forever and ever!

 

 

007. Jesus Calms a Storm, Proving His Power over Nature

About 2 minutes, from Matt. 8: 18-27

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
John
Voice (of Jesus)
Peter
Prompter         Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes            Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.


John

Peter, look at this huge crowd here by the Sea of Galilee.
It is smothering Jesus!

Peter

He is going to do something about that, John. Listen!

Voice

Peter and John, bring your boat.
We will go to the other side of the sea.

John

All twelve of us disciples get into the boat with Jesus.

Prompter & Echoes

Row men, Row!

Peter

Look, John! An ugly storm is coming our way!

Prompter & Echoes

It’s getting closer!

John

Pull on those oars!

Prompter & Echoes

Row harder!

John

Peter, listen to the wind!

Prompter & Echoes

(Howl)

Peter

Row harder! The storm is upon us!

Prompter & Echoes

Faster!

Peter

Look! The waves are swamping the boat!
We’re
going to drown! Help!

John

Peter, look at Jesus! He sleeping in the stern!

Prompter & Echoes

Asleep!

Peter

I rush to Jesus and waken him.
“Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”

Voice

Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?

John

Jesus stands and rebukes the winds and the sea.
Now it is perfectly calm!

Peter

What kind of a man is this, that even wind and sea obey him?

Prompter & Echoes

Even nature obeys him!

 

008. The Lord Jesus Forgives a Wayward Samaritan Lady

About 5 minutes, from John 4.3 -42

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
Peter
Voice (of Jesus)
Lady
Prompter          
Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes             
Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Peter

I am Peter, and my feet are aching. Jesus sets a fast pace!
We are traveling near Sychar in Samaria.
Hey, fellows, let’s go buy some bread.

Prompter & Echoes

We are all hungry!

Voice

You men go. I will stay here at the well and rest.

Peter

Come, guys. (Walk to one side)

Lady

  (Walk toward Voice, pretending to hold a water pot on your head.)

Voice

Ma’am, please give me a drink.

Lady

Well, now! How is it that you, a Jew, ask me for a drink?
You snobbish Jews do not have any dealings with us Samaritans.

Voice

If you knew the gift of God,
and who it is that asked for a drink,
you would have asked him,
and he would have given you living water.

Lady

Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep.
So where will you get that ‘living’ water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob?
He dug this well, and his sons and cattle drank from it.

Voice

Everyone who drinks this water will thirst again,
but whoever drinks of the water that I give shall never thirst.
It will become in him a well of living water springing up,
giving eternal life.

Prompter & Echoes

Living water!

Lady

Sir, give this water to me, so I will not thirst
and have to come all this way to draw from this well.

Voice

Go, call your husband and come back.

Lady

I have no husband.

Voice

Correct. You have had five husbands,
and the one you are with now is not yours.

Lady

Oh! I see that you are a prophet!

Prompter & Echoes

A prophet!

Lady

Our fathers worshiped in this mountain,
but you Jews worship only in Jerusalem.

Voice

Lady, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father
neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
Soon true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for such people the Father seeks to worship him.
God is spirit, and those who worship him
must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Lady

I know that Messiah is coming.
He will declare all things to us.

Voice

He who is speaking to you is he.

Lady

Oooh!

Prompter & Echoes

Christ the Messiah!

Peter

Look fellows. Amazing!
Jesus is talking with that Samaritan woman.
I wonder why. Oh! She left her water pot!
She’s hurrying into the city.

Lady

Neighbors! Come see a man who told me the things I have done!
He must be the Messiah!

Prompter & Echoes

Let’s go see him!

Peter

Rabbi, we brought you this food. Eat.
(
Pretend to hold out food to him)

Voice

I have food to eat that you do not know about.

Peter

Hey, fellows, no one brought him anything to eat.
What does he mean?

Voice

My food is to do the will of him who sent me,
and to do h
is work.
Do not say, “In four months the harvest will come.”
Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see the fields,
white and ready to reap.

Peter

He means those Samaritans that are rushing toward us,
but they are our enemies! Oh! Now Jesus is talking with them.
He is friendly with them! Amazing!

Lady

They tell me they no longer believe
only because of what I said;
 they have heard for themselves.
Now they know that this man is the Savior of the world.

Prompter & Echoes

He gives the water of life!

 

009. The Lord Jesus Christ says “Eat my Flesh and Live Forever”

 

About 4 minutes, from John 6: 24-63

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Peter
   Grasper
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Prompter      Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes         Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Peter

I am Peter. We disciples have arrived in Capernaum with Jesus
after fed thousands of hungry people in the wilderness.
Imagine! Oh, look! Crowds are thronging him!
Hear them shout.

 

Prompter &Echoes

More bread!

 

Voice

You seek me because you ate the loaves and they filled you.
Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that gives eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.

 

Grasper

Work? Okay. What can we do to work the works of God?

 

Voice

This is the work of God: believe in him whom he has sent.

 

Grasper

Then give us a sign, so we can believe you.
Our fathers ate manna in the desert;
Moses gave them bread from heaven.
Do for us what Moses did for them.

 

Voice

It was not Moses who gave bread from heaven, but my Father.
He gives true bread from heaven that gives life to the world.

 

Grasper

Yes, yes, Lord! Give it to us!

 

Prompter & Echoes

Bread! Now!

 

Voice

I am the bread of life that came down from heaven.
He who comes to me will not hunger.
All who believe in the Son will have eternal life.

 

Grasper

Well, who do you think you are! Ha!
Did you hear what he said, folks?
Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph?
We know his mom, dad and brothers.
So how can He say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?

 

Voice

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
I am the living bread; eat it and you will live forever.
This bread is my flesh.

 

Prompter &Echoes

He says to eat His flesh!

 

Voice

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him up on the last day.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me,
and I in him.

 

Grasper

Whoa! That is too much!
I have heard enough! He is blaspheming.
I am not following that guy anymore. Let’s leave.

 

Peter

Look, Lord Jesus, they’re all leaving! Your words offended them.
They all left you, except a few of us disciples.
Your words were very hard.

 

Voice

Does this make you stumble, Peter?
What if you see the Son of Man rising to where he was before?
The Spirit is who gives life; the flesh profits nothing;
the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
You do not want to go away also, do you?

 

Peter

Oh, no, Lord! Never! To whom could we go?
You have the words of eternal life.

 

Prompter &Echoes

Only you, Lord!

 

  

 

010. Jesus Likens Hearers to Four Kinds of Soil

​ ZwPI8cfkJesus Likens Hearers to Four Kinds of Soil

About 2 minutes, from Matthew 13: 3-9, 18-23

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Planter
   Prompter      Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes         Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Voice

Hear what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.
A sower goes to plant grain.

Planter

Why lug this heavy seed any farther?
I will sow them here by the road.
Pretend to scatter seeds.)
Now, what do you think happens to these seeds?

Prompter & Echoes

Tweet! Tweet!
Pretend to flap your wings, pick up seeds and eat them.)

Voice

Birds snatch up the seed! Some hear God’s Word
but fail to grasp it;
the evil one snatches it away before it takes root in their hearts.

.Planter

Thieving birds! I’ll sow the seed among these rocks,
where the birds `won’t see it. (Pretend to scatter seed.)

Voice

The seed springs up at once, as it has no depth of soil.

Planter

Hey! Something’s wrong!

Prompter & Echoes

Drying up!
(Stretch arms out like branches of a plant and look up.
Then wither, dropping slowly to the ground
).

Planter

The sun dries the plants in the rocky soil; they lack root and wither.

Voice

The rocky soil is those who hear God’s Word
and receive it with joy,
but they have no firm root in themselves.
When trouble or persecution comes because of God’s Word,
they fall away. He who has ears, let him hear.

Planter

I’ll sow the seed here in the shade of these plants.
They have thorns, but they’ll shield the hot sun.
(Pretend to scatter seed.) What’s happening?

Voice

The thorn bushes choke the new plants out.

Prompter & Echoes

Strangled! (Grip your throat and fall.)

Voice

The thorny soil is like those who hear God’s Word,
but worries of the world and the treachery of riches choke it.
The seed yields no fruit.

Planter

I’ve been lazy. I’ll sow the seed far from the road and those birds,
where it’s neither rocky nor weedy. (Pretend to sow).
See how the seed grows!

Prompter & Echoes

(Stand straight and lift your hands toward heaven)
A huge harvest!

Voice

The good soil is like one who hears God’s Word, grasps it and bears fruit, thirty, sixty or a hundredfold. He who has ears, let him hear.

​

011. A Samaritan Shows Practical Love to an Ailing Enemy

 

ZwPI8cfkA Samaritan Shows Practical Love to an Ailing Enemy
About 2 minutes, from Luke 10 25-37

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Traveler
   Prompter
              Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes
                  Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

 

 

 

Traveler

I am going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
Oh, no! Robbers! They are attacking me!

Prompter & Echoes

Help!

Traveler

They beat me with clubs, and I fall!
They take my clothes and all I have!
They leave me half-dead and bleeding.

Prompter & Echoes

Bleeding!

Traveler

Oh! Here comes a priest, a man of God.
Surely, he will help me.

Prompter & Echoes

Help! Have mercy!

Traveler

The priest stops and looks at me.
Then he passes by on the other side.

Prompter & Echoes

There is no hope!

Traveler

Here comes a Levite, a servant of God. Good! He will help me.
Oh, no! He also passes me by. Oh! I am growing weaker.

Prompter & Echoes

Weaker and weaker!

Traveler

I see a Samaritan coming with a donkey.
He is an enemy of us Jews. He won’t help me.

Prompter & Echoes

  (Groan)

Traveler

But the Samaritan stops, looks at my injuries,
and begins to help me!

Prompter & Echoes

Compassion!

Traveler

He bandages my wounds, pours oil and wine on them,
and puts me on his donkey.
We go to an inn and the Samaritan continues to take care of me.
He even leaves money with the innkeeper
to take care of me after he leaves.

Prompter & Echoes

The love that Jesus demands!

012. The Lord Frees a Lady from Twelve Years of Suffering

 

ZwPI8cfkThe Lord Frees a Lady from Twelve Years of Suffering

About 5 minutes, from a reading by Paula Gamble, based on Mark 5: 21-43

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Mrs. Griever
   Mrs. Grumble
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Jairus
   Prompter.     Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes.        Children and adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

 

Mrs. Griever

Look, Mrs. Grumble. Our rabbi Jairus is racing after that crowd!

Mrs. Grumble

He is chasing after that rebel rabbi from Nazareth.
I dare say! Look how our rabbi is carrying on! Disgraceful!
Listen to him.

Jairus

Master! My little daughter is dying!
Come lay your hands on her!

Prompter & Echoes

Quickly!

Mrs. Griever

Look at Jairus fling himself down on this rocky road,
scraping his knees!

Mrs. Grumble

It is not proper conduct for a learned synagogue leader!
Groveling before that infamous, wandering rabbi!
Shame!

Mrs. Griever

Isn’t Jesus a prophet or something?

Mrs. Grumble

Oh, he is something all right! He hangs out with drunken tax collectors!
Why does Jairus fuss so over a mere 12-year-old girl?

Mrs. Griever

Twelve years? The girl was born the same year my sickness started.
My dreadful flow of blood has been going on since then.

Mrs. Grumble

Well! Then you are unclean by our Law!
(
Step away) Get away from me!

Mrs. Griever

Twelve years not sleeping with my husband, unable to bear children,
unable to cook lest I infect my family! No hugs from my children.

Prompter & Echoes

Twelve years!

Mrs. Grumble

Now I know why you never chat with the ladies at the well;
you’d pollute the entire town.

Mrs. Griever

I am so lonely! Bitter at times,
but it won’t help to spread it around griping.
I gave all I had to doctors; but they made me worse.
I heard that Jesus heals the sick.

Mrs. Grumble

They say he touched a leper! Touched the filthy beggar, mind you!
No respectable Rabbi would ever touch a leper,
making himself unclean!

Mrs. Griever

But the leper became clean and joined his family again.
I heard that Jesus once cured a man’s shriveled hand.

Mrs. Grumble

Well, he did that on the Sabbath day,
so it had to be by Satan’s power.

Mrs. Griever

Oh, no! How can you say such a thing?
It is beautiful the way Jairus cares for his daughter!
I wish someone cared for me. I have no hope.
I heard that people merely touched Jesus and got healing.
Maybe I can sneak through this throng to touch his robe;
I dare not touch him; I would make him unclean, but I must!

Prompter & Echoes

Just touch his robe.

Mrs. Griever

I hope no one notices me! It is hard to move through this crowd.
There! I did it. I touched the hem of his robe!

Jairus

Why have you stopped, Master? Why look around?
My daughter is dying.

Mrs. Griever

What is happening? Oh! Dried up? My hemorrhage is dry.
I felt it dry up! Dry and whole, in an instant!

Voice

Who touched my robe?

Mrs. Grumble

How can he ask who toughed his clothes?
Many are pressing against him!

Mrs. Griever

How did he feel me touch the fringe of his robe?
I am in trouble now! Oh, my knees are shaking!
Please walk on, Jesus! Go heal Jairus’ little girl. Please, just go on!
Do not let them know that an unclean woman touched you!
You would not dare lay hands on the girl if they knew I defiled you!

Voice

Power went out from me. Who touched me?

Mrs. Griever

He is waiting; I must go to him. More shame and cruel words!
I go forward on my knees as Jairus did.
I fall at his feet, weeping. Lord! I confess!
I touched you! I defiled you!

Jairus

You did what? You touched Jesus? You meddler!
My daughter is dying, and you interrupt us!

Mrs. Griever

The crowd is silent, shocked. I wait for Jesus to scold me.

Voice

Daughter, your faith has healed your affliction.

Mrs. Griever

What? What did he say? No condemnation?
Before this leering, jeering mob that ostracized me,
Jesus says I am whole!

Voice

Rise.

Prompter & Echoes

Go in peace!

Mrs. Griever

Peace! No one has spoken so kindly to me.
Why… I feel young again! Jesus has restored me to my community.

Jairus

Oh! It’s no use now, teacher.
They have come to tell me my daughter has died.

Prompter & Echoes

Too late!

Mrs. Griever

(Groan) Oh, no! Jesus stopped for me and did not get to her in time.

Voice

Do not fear, Jairus. Just trust me.

Prompter & Echoes

Trust him!

Mrs. Griever

Jairus, trust Jesus! He healed me after twelve years of living death.
He can bring your little girl back. He must be the promised Messiah!

Prompter & Echoes.

Our blessed Messiah!

013. Jesus Feeds Five Thousand with a Boy’s Small Gift

ZwPI8cfkJesus Feeds Five Thousand with a Boy’s Small Gift
About 5 minutes, from John 6:1-15

Practice ahead of time the brief scene when the girl eyes the boy’s bread.

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive a sacred event, not to perform)
   Father                Stand about five paces from the boy
   Boy                   Has, or pretends to have, bread in a pocket.
   Girl                   Also stand about five paces from the boy, until you walk toward him.
  Voice (of Jesus)
  Prompter            Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
  Echoes               Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Father

Look, daughter.
This huge crowd has followed Jesus all the way out here
to the far side of the Sea of Galilee!

Prompter & Echoes

Wow!

Girl

Daddy, hear what everyone is saying. They’re hungry!

Prompter & Echoes

We are famished!

Girl

(Pull at Father’s sleeve and beg loudly.)
Daddy, I’m starved, too! Please, Daddy! I’m hungry.
Oh, look! That boy brought food.

Father

Quiet! I’m trying to hear what Jesus is saying.

Boy

Ha! I was smart enough to bring five loaves and two fish.
(
Take, or pretend to take, bread from a pocket, and look at it.)
Mmmm.

Prompter & Echoes

Yum! Yum!

Girl

(Walk toward the boy, eyeing the bread.)

Boy

(Turn, see the girl, hide the bread quickly where she can’t see it.
When she walks away, lift the bread again and look at it.
)

 

Girl

(Walk away, then turn abruptly and go back.)
What you got in your hand? (Reach for it)

Boy

(Jerk your body around to turn your back to the girl.) Go away!

Girl

(Walk away) Greedy little pig!

Prompter & Echoes

Selfish!

Boy

(When girl walks away, lift bread to your mouth and look at it.) Yum!

Girl

 (Turn and eye the bread.) Hey!

Boy

(When the girl turns to see, quickly hide the bread again.)

Girl & Boy

(Repeat the above scene twice:
Boy lifts the bread, and Girl turns to see it,
Boy lowers the bread, and Girl turns away
.)

Girl

(Pull father’s sleeve) I’m hungry! Everyone is!
Let’s go get something, daddy.

Prompter & Echoes

We are all hungry!

Father

Hush! Listen to Jesus.

Voice

Give and it will be given to you.

Prompter & Echoes

What does Jesus mean?

Voice

Give to all who ask of you!

Boy

Oh, oh! I am afraid I know what he means.
I heard you, Jesus. I guess I maybe was just a tiny bit selfish.
Well, yes, I was definitely selfish.
Okay, I was terribly selfish.
(
Go to the girl and hold bread out to her.)

Girl

(Take the bread)
Oh! Thank you! (Look at Father.) My dad is hungry, too!

Father

You are very kind, young man.
But we are not the only ones who are hungry.
All these people are starving, too.
(
Gesture toward those who are listening)

Boy

I only brought five barley loaves and two fish.

Father

Give them to Jesus, aon, and see what he does with them.

Prompter & Echoes

He feeds 5000 people!

014. Jesus Tells Peter How Many Times to Forgive

ZwPI8cfkJesus Tells Peter How Many Times to Forgive

About 5 minutes, from Matt 18; John 18

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Peter
   Voice (of Jesus)
   King
   Rich slave
   Prompter        Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes           Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script

Peter

How will I ever forget that shameful night when I denied Jesus?
Now he has risen from the dead.
How I yearn for him to forgive me!

Prompter & Echoes

Peter is miserable!

Peter

What made me realize how despicably I had behaved?
Not a scolding by a judge. Not a sermon. Not Scripture.
It was not even words. It was a bird! A stupid bird! A rooster!

Prompter & Echoes

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Peter

Jesus warned me that I would deny him before the rooster crowed,
and I did. So I have given up hope.
I return to my fishing boat and take the other disciples
out on the Sea of Galilee.

Prompter & Echoes

Hopeless!

Peter

We fish all night and catch nothing.
We row back to shore, and there is Jesus, waiting!
I fear what he will say to me. But there is no rebuke;
he does not shame me, even though I’d denied him!

Prompter & Echoes

Three times!

Peter

Jesus simply asks if I love him ̶ three times!
After each time he tells me the same thing.

Prompter & Echoes

Feed my sheep.

Peter

Oh, how those blessed words of assurance echo in my soul!

Prompter & Echoes

Wonderful forgiveness!

Peter

Once I asked Jesus how often shall my brother sin against me
and I forgive him. “Up to seven times?”

Voice

Not up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Prompter & Echoes

490 times!

Peter

Jesus then explained this with a parable.

Voice

The kingdom of heaven is like a king
who wished to settle accounts with his slaves,
some of whom were very wealthy.

King

Slave, you have grown rich in my service.
Now, my accountant says you owe me a huge sum of money.
Pay me. Now!

Rich slave

But I do not have the money to repay you, master.

King

Very well. You will be sold, along with your wife,
children, and all that you own, to make repayment.

Rich slave

Mercy! Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.

Prompter & Echoes

Have mercy!

King

Well, I do feel a bit of compassion. I forgive your debt. Go in peace.

Voice

But that slave goes out and finds a fellow slave
who owes him a much smaller amount of money,
and he seizes the poor man and begins to choke him.

Rich slave

Pay back what you owe.

Prompter & Echoes

Pay me!

Peter

The poor debtor falls at the feet of the rich slave
and beseeches him for mercy.
He begs the man to have patience,
and promises to repay his debt.

Rich slave

Get up off the ground and pay me now!

Voice

The wealthy slave has the poor slave thrown into prison
until he pays back all that he owed.
The poor man’s fellow slaves hear what happened;
they are grieved, and report it to the king.

King

Now, this makes me angry. Captain, summon that wicked slave!

Peter

That slave looks pleased with himself, as he comes before the king.

King

You wicked hypocrite!
I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave,
in the same way that I had mercy on you?

Voice

The king hands him over to be tortured until he pays all that he owes. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you,
if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.

Peter

Oh, what an admonition to forgive!

Prompter & Echoes

A stern warning!

015. Our Lord Jesus is Transformed on a Mountain Top

​ ZwPI8cfkOur Lord Jesus is Transformed on a Mountain Top

About 2 minutes, from Matt. 17

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Peter
   James
   Voice of Jesus
   Prompter          Shouts a brief phrase and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes             All who want to take part repeat Prompter’s words. Echoes need no script.

Voice of Jesus

Come with me, Peter, James and John, up this mountain

Peter

Well, James, now we are at the top. What will Jesus do up here?

James

Oh, look! His face is shining!

Prompter & Echoes

Like the sun!

Peter

His garments are glowing, as white as light!

James

Oh, look! Two men are talking with Jesus!
They are Moses and Elijah!

Peter

Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will make three tents,
one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

James

Quiet, Peter!
A voice is coming from the bright cloud overshadowing us.

Peter

It was the voice of God! He said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.
Listen to him!”

Prompter & Echoes

Heed what he says!

Peter

I fall facedown, terrified!
Then I feel a hand raising me.

Voice of Jesus

Get up.

Prompter & Echoes

Do not be afraid!

James

Wow! Look Peter, no one is here now except Jesus.

Voice of Jesus

Come, let us go back down the mountain.
Tell the vision to no one, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.

Prompter & Echoes

He will rise from the dead!

​

015A. Jesus Equips Harvesters to Announce His Kingdom

ZwPI8cfkJesus Equips Harvesters to Announce His Kingdom
About 5 minutes, from Luke 10

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is simply to relive sacred events, not to perform) 

Faithful  Fretter 

 

Prompter

Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.

Echoes

Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

`Faithful

Hello. My name is Faithful. 

Jesus sent us disciples in pairs to Israel’s towns to announce His Kingdom. Oh! Here comes my coworker, Mr. Fretter.

Fretter

Mr. Faithful, I am leaving now, while the weather is good. Goodbye!

Faithful

Wait, Fretter! Jesus told us to go in pairs. We must go together.

Fretter

Okay, grab your raincoat; it might storm.  Better take extra socks, too.

Faithful

Not so fast! Jesus said not to take extra clothes. 

Prompter & Echoes No extra baggage!

Faithful

You are in too much of a hurry. 

Jesus said to pray first for harvesters.

Fretter

Yeah, and we’ll need God’s help to face those wolves, too.  Jesus said we would be like lambs among wolves. 

What kind of wolves did He mean?

Faithful

We will soon find out.

Fretter

Wait, Faithful. 

I will fill these bags with dried fish and bread, and get some money.

Faithful

No, Fretter! Jesus said to let our hosts feed us.

Prompter & Echoes God will supply our needs.

Fretter 

Oh, that is right. 

Faithful

We start out.

On the way, friends beg us to stay with them and play games.

Fretter

Faithful, let us spend a day or two with my friends here. 

My aunt lives nearby. 

She serves her visitors delicious kosher food.

Faithful

No! Jesus said not to greet people on the way.  Let us not allow anyone to sidetrack us. 

We can stop by your aunt’s place on our way back.

Prompter & Echoes Keep focused.

 

Jesus equips harvesters to announce His kingdom. Page 2

 

 

Faithful

We travel on. 

Look, Fretter, here is the town that Jesus sent us to.

Fretter

Finally! Let us go sing in the town square and attract a crowd.

Faithful

No. Jesus said to find persons of peace. 

We are to stay with them, and eat what they give us.  He meant persons who will help us meet their friends,  so we can tell them about Jesus. 

Prompter & Echoes Persons of peace!

Fretter

Well, I hope our peace person can cook. I am starved. 

What if the food isn’t kosher? 

These villagers have weird customs. 

Faithful

Jesus said to eat whatever they give us. 

Let us stop worrying about our own needs. 

We are to pray for the sick in Jesus’ name and announce His Kingdom.

Fretter

Oh, that is right, but what if we do not find a hospitable person of peace?

Faithful

Then we go elsewhere; Jesus said to shake the dust from our feet;  leave those who do not receive Him.

Prompter & Echoes Shake the dust!

Fretter

That guy is building a fence around his house.  Maybe he is a man of peace.

Faithful 

Oh, no! He turned his dog loose to chase us away! 

Fretter

Now, after two more people reject us, we find a family of peace. 

Faithful 

Thank God! We stay in their home, announce that God’s Kingdom is near, and heal sick folk in Jesus’ name.

Fretter

Now we have returned to Jesus, and I tell Him joyfully,  “Lord, we cast tormenting devils out of people. 

That was exciting! Evil spirits yielded to the authority of Your Name.”

Faithful 

Jesus is not impressed. He tells us not to rejoice because demons are subject to us, but to rejoice because our names are written in heaven.

Prompter & Echoes Rejoice!

015A. Jesus Foretells Events both Frightful and Hopeful

ZwPI8cfkJesus Foretells Events both Frightful and Hopeful

About 4 minutes, from Luke 21: 5-36

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is simply to relive sacred events, not to perform)

   Peter
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Prompter             Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it. 

   Echoes                Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Peter

I’m Peter. Jesus is taking us disciples up on the Mount of Olives
where we admire the beauty of the holy city of Jerusalem.
Look, Lord! See how enormous and glorious the great temple is!

Prompter & Echoes

Magnificent!

Peter

Look at those immense walls! 
No enemy will ever get past them!

Voice

Wrong, Peter. 
The day is coming when there’ll not be left one stone upon another.

Peter

What? How could that be? 
Rabbi, when will such destruction happen? 
What will be the sign when these things are about to take place, and when will you establish your eternal Kingdom?

Voice

Let no one mislead you; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He.’ When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified. These things must take place first; the end does not follow immediately. Nation will rise against nation; there will be wars and rumors of wars. There will be great earthquakes, plagues and famines, also terrors and great signs from heaven.

Prompter & Echoes

Dear God, spare us!

Voice

Your enemies will arrest and persecute you. 
They’ll imprison you and take you before governors because of Me. 
This will give you opportunity to testify on my behalf. 
Do not prepare a defense beforehand; I’ll give you answers
and wisdom that your opponents cannot refute.

Peter

It sounds so dire! 
Surely, Lord, you’ll establish your rule on earth first, to avoid that.

Voice

Not now. You’ll be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends. They’ll kill some of you, and you’ll be hated by all because of My name. Yet, not a hair of your head will perish.

Peter

I can’t imagine such a huge temple being totally destroyed.  When will it happen?

Voice

When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then her destruction is near.  Those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and of those in the city must leave.

Prompter & Echoes

How terrifying!

Voice

Woe to those who are pregnant or are nursing babies in those days; there’ll be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people.  They’ll fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive into all the nations; Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by Gentiles until their time is fulfilled.
The Holy City that we are looking at now is doomed!

Prompter & Echoes

Doomed!

Peter

And then? Will you return to rule over all the earth?

Voice

Not yet. There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay, perplexity at the roaring of the sea and waves, men fainting from fear, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 

Prompter & Echoes

Power and glory!

Voice

When you see these things begin to take place, take courage.  Your redemption is drawing near.

Prompter & Echoes

Lord, give us courage

016. Lord Jesus Tells of a Father’s Grace and a Son’s Disgrace


ZwPI8cfkLord Jesus Tells of a Father’s Grace and a Son’s Disgrace

About 5 minutes, from Luke 15: 11-32

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Son
   Father
   Older brother
   Bargirl
   Prompter           Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
    Echoes              Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Son

Dad, give me my share of the estate. It’s my inheritance.

Father

Your inheritance! I’m not dead yet!

Son

But I want to enjoy it now, dad.

Father

Very well, son. Here is your portion of the family wealth.

Son

Goodbye. You will not be seeing me. I am going far away.

Prompter & Echoes

Sad!

Son

Now, here I am where I can live just as I want.

Bargirl

Hi, handsome! I like a man who enjoys sharing his wealth.
Buy me a drink.

Son

Why not? Call your friends over, and we will all celebrate.

Prompter & Echoes

Watch out!

Son

Well, I live extravagantly for a few years. Then…

Prompter & Echoes

His money runs out!

Bargirl

What? Now you beg me for a drink? You’ve got things backward!
You’ve squandered all your coins, sonny. Foolish boy! Get lost!

Son

Please don’t make fun of me. Now I have nothing.
Do you know anyone who might offer me a job?

Bargirl

There is a famine now. Everyone is looking for a job!

Son

But I am desperate! I will do any kind of work.

Prompter & Echoes

Anything!

Bargirl

See that drunk stumbling away from the bar? Ask him when he’s sober. He raises pigs, thousands of the filthy things.
He hires drifters like you. Wait! You look Jewish.
Jews and pigs do not get along.

Son

Pigs! Oh, no! I can’t! But I have to!
Sir! May I have a word with you?

Prompter & Echoes

He goes to the hogs!

Son

Here I am, feeding these filthy pigs, and I am still hungry!
I wish I could eat these pods that I give to the hogs.
They eat better than I do!

Prompter & Echoes

Months go by.

Son

My dad's hired hands have lots of bread but I am wasting away
with hunger! It’s time that I came to my senses.

Prompter & Echoes

Finally!

Bargirl

That Jewish boy is leaving town. I wonder where he is going.

Son

I will return to my father. But how can I face him?
What can I tell him?

Prompter & Echoes

The truth!

Father

It has been so long now since my son left! So very long!
It breaks my heart!
 (Shield your eyes with your hand, looking far off.)
Daily I scan the horizon, hoping to see him coming down the road.
Dear God, hear my prayer!

Prompter & Echoes

Bring him home!

Father

Oh! Is that my son I see, coming down the road? Is it…?
Yes! It is he!

Prompter & Echoes

He has come back!

Son

To my surprise, my father runs, weeping,
embraces me and kisses me!

Prompter & Echoes

Mercy and grace!

Son

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

Father

Come. Servant, bring out the best robe and put it on him, quickly.
Put our family ring on his hand and sandals on his feet!
Bring the calf that we have fattened, and kill it.
We will feast and celebrate! My son was dead and now lives again;
he was lost and has been found.

Older brother

I come in from the field and hear music. They are dancing!
What is going on? What’s that?
They killed the fattened calf to celebrate my brother’s return!
I will not go in! I won’t! I won’t!

Prompter & Echoes

He won’t share the joy!

Father

Come, son. I have received your younger brother back,
safe and sound. Come join the celebration.

Older brother

(Wave a clenched fist in the air.)
No, father, I won’t go in! How could you?
Look! For years, I have served you and obeyed your every command;
yet you never gave me even a goat, to celebrate with my pals.
Now this son of yours comes, who wasted your wealth with prostitutes,
and you kill the fattened calf for him!

Father

Oh, son! You have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
But we must celebrate with joy, for your brother was lost
and has been found. He was dead; now he is now alive!

Prompter & Echoes

He is alive!

​

017. Jesus Heals a Blind Man on the Sabbath, Causing an Uproar

4: Jesus Heals a Blind Man on the Sabbath, Causing an Uproar

About 5 minutes, from John 9

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   John
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Blind man
   Pharisee
   Prompter      Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes         Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

John

Master, this man has been blind from birth.
Who sinned, this man or his parents,
to cause him to be born blind?

Voice

It is not because anyone sinned, John.
Neither this man nor his parents.
It was to let the power of God be displayed!”

John

Jesus astonishes every one by what he does next.
He spits on the ground, makes clay
and applies it to the man’s eyes!

Voice

Go wash in the pool of Siloam.

John

The pool of Siloam is filled from an underground channel;
it is Jerusalem’s water supply.
The man goes and returns, having washed.
Oh, look!

Prompter & Echoes

He can see!

Pharisee

Then he is not the same man that was blind.
You do not fool us Pharisees!
He just looks like the blind man.

Blind man

Yes, I am he who was blind.

Pharisee

So how did you come to see?
What happened?

Blind man

A man called Jesus did it.
He put clay on my eyes and told me to go wash.

Pharisee

Aha! That Nazarene Jesus did this on the Sabbath.
He worked on the holy day of rest!
He violated God’s law, so he is a sinner!

Prompter & Echoes

Oh, no!

John

But how could an evil sinner do such a miracle?

Pharisee

Anyone who labors on the Sabbath is a sinner, isn’t he?
You there, who say you were healed,
what do you say about that man Jesus?

Blind man

He is a prophet.

Pharisee

Aren’t these your parents who accompany you?
Pardon me, sir. Is this man your son that was born blind?
How does he now see?

John

They reply that the man is their son
and he was blind from birth,
but they do not know how he was healed.
They tell the Pharisees to ask their son, since he is of age.

Pharisee

You are dodging our question.

John

The parents fear the Jews.
If anyone says Jesus is Messiah,
they throw him out of the synagogue.
They’ll have no place to worship.

Pharisee

You who were blind, give glory to God.
The man whom you say healed you is a sinner.

Blind man

I don’t know if he is a sinner or not;
but one thing I know: I was blind, but now I see.

Pharisee

How did that man Jesus open your eyes?

Blind man

I already told you! Do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?
God does not hear sinners;
He could do nothing if He were not from God!

Prompter & Echoes

He is from God!

Pharisee

Who are you to teach us?

John

The Pharisees become angry
and throw the man out of the synagogue.
Jesus hears about it, finds the man, and asks him a question.

Voice

Now that you can see, do you believe in the Son of Man?

Blind man

The Son of Man? Who is he, Lord?
Tell me, so I may believe in him.

Voice

You have seen him; he is the one who is talking with you.

Blind man

Lord, I believe!

Prompter & Echoes

Joyful faith!

Voice

I came into this world to put men to the test,
so that those who do not see may see,
and that those who see may become blind.

Pharisee

We are not blind too, are we?

Voice

Were you blind, you would have no sin;
since say you see, your sin remains.

John

Wow! It is dangerous to be a religious know-it-all.

Prompter & Echoes

Lord, remove our spiritual pride!

​

018. Jesus Rebukes People who Replace God Laws with their own Rules

​

ZwPI8cfkJesus Rebukes People who Replace God Laws with their own Rules

From Matt. 15: 1-20

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Peter
   Abby
   Pharisee
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Prompter             Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes                Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Peter

(Groan.) Lord, we’ve walked a long time, and we’re hungry.

Prompter & Echoes

Very hungry!

Voice

Look, Peter. This field has ripe grain.
Moses said not to harvest the corners of one’s field,
so that hungry travelers could glean from them.

Prompter & Echoes

Eat a bit of grain!

Abby

Hello, mister! You’re eating grain from my father’s field.
I’m glad that you don’t have to go hungry.
My name is Abby. What is your name?

Peter

I’m Peter. We’ve walked a long ways,
and we appreciate this bit of food.

Prompter & Echoes

Crunch, crunch!

Abby

Oh, look! Those men have been watching you, and are coming.
Wow, they look angry!

Pharisee

Aha! You ate with unwashed hands!
Who is that law breaker that you are following?

Peter

He is Jesus of Nazareth. You Pharisees should follow him, too.
Come join us. Let me introduce you to him.

Pharisee

Stay there! Do not come near me.
We Pharisees do not associate with such as you.
I’ve heard about that Nazarene: he violates our sacred Law!

Peter

Oh, really? What law has he broken?

Pharisee

He lets you eat without ceremonially washing your hands.
You are doing it now!

Abby

Oh, oh! You are defiled, Peter. I‘m sorry.

Prompter & Echoes

Defiled!

Voice

Pharisee, you disobey God’s command and follow your own tradition.
Your rules about washing came from men, not from God.
You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
“They honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

Abby

Look. Those Pharisees are holding their hands over their ears,
but they still hear what Jesus is saying.

Voice

Listen. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles a person,
but what proceeds out of the mouth, this is what defiles a person.

Peter

Lord, the Pharisees were offended by that statement.

Voice

Never mind; they are blind guides of the blind.

Peter

Please explain to us what you said about what defiles a man.

Voice

What goes into the mouth passes into the stomach
and is eliminated;
but what leaves the mouth comes from the heart
and defiles a person.
From the heart come evil ideas, murders, adulteries,
thefts and lies.
These defile a person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not.

Prompter & Echoes

Our own thoughts defile us!

Peter

Lord, purify our hearts!

​

019. Jesus’ Kindness Leads Greedy Zacheus to Repent

​

ZwPI8cfkJesus’ Kindness Leads Greedy Zacheus to Repent

About 2 minutes, from Luke 19: 1-10

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Zacheus
   Observer
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Prompter           Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes              Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Observer

Look! Isn’t that Jesus of Nazareth? He’s coming into Jericho.
Come. Let’s see what that famous rabbi is doing here.

Prompter & Echoes

A crowd quickly gathers.

Observer

Oh! Here comes Zacheus; the richest guy in town,
and the shortest.
Why does such a sneaky, stingy sinner want to see a holy prophet?

Prompter & Echoes

Sneaky and stingy!

Zacheus

I can’t see Jesus! Too many people! I’m too short!

Observer

That’s just as well, Zacheus. You have no place with Jesus!
You’re boss of the tax collectors that serve the Roman invaders.
You cheat us. You charge us more than what we owe.

Zacheus

Yeah? Prove it!
I can’t see Jesus because of this crowd around him.
I’ll run ahead and climb that sycamore tree
to watch as He passes below.

Prompter & Echoes

He climbs up!

Zacheus

Oh, oh! Jesus has stopped below me. He’s looking up!
He sees me!

Voice

Zacheus, hurry and come down.
Today I must stay at your house.

Zacheus

Who, me? You sure you got the right man? Amazing!
Okay, I’m coming.

Observer

Why does Jesus bother with that little cheater?
How can a truly holy person associate with such a scoundrel!

Prompter & Echoes

Lowlife!

Observer

Well! He has done it!
Jesus is the guest of a foul, treasonous sinner! Ha!

Zacheus

Lord Jesus, half of my possessions I will give to the poor,
and if I have defrauded anyone of anything,
I will give back four times as much.

Voice

Today salvation has come to this house,
because the Son of Man comes to seek and save
those who were lost.

Prompter & Echoes

Angels are rejoicing in glory!

​

020. The Lord Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead

​

ZwPI8cfkThe Lord Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead
About 5 minutes, from John 11

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Martha
   Mary
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Thomas
   Prompter            Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes               Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Mary

Martha, why hasn’t Jesus come?

Prompter & Echoes

It’s an emergency!

Martha

I don’t know, Mary. We sent word to him days ago
that our brother Lazarus was seriously ill.

Prompter & Echoes

Why hasn’t Jesus come to Bethany?

Thomas

Meanwhile, we disciples of Jesus also wonder why he delays.
Martha and her sister Mary had sent him word several days ago,
that their brother Lazarus was dying. They are close friends,
but Jesus has done nothing about it. Hear what he tells us.

Voice

I love Lazarus and his sisters very much.
This sickness is not to end in death; it will glorify God.

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus waits two days longer!

Voice

I am going to Judea, to Bethany, to awaken Lazarus out of his sleep.

Thomas

Lord, if he has fallen asleep, then he will recover.

Voice

Lazarus is dead.

Prompter & Echoes

Oh no!

Thomas

Rabbi, Jewish leaders tried to stone you the last time
you went to Judea. Are you going there again?

Voice

I must go.

Thomas

  (Groan) Then let us go, too, and die with him!

Prompter & Echoes

We will die with him!

Voice

Come with me.

Thomas

It’s a long, sad journey to Bethany.
The closer we get, the more dread I feel.

Mary

Martha, I’m surprised that so many Jews have come to console us
after our brother Lazarus’ death.

Martha

Oh, Mary, look! Jesus is coming! I’m going out to meet him.

Prompter & Echoes

See Martha run!

Martha

Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Voice

Martha, your brother will rise again.

Martha

I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.

Voice

He who believes in me will live even if he dies.
I am the resurrection and the life.

Prompter & Echoes

Resurrection and life!

Martha

Oh! Jesus sees Mary and the Jews weeping, and he is deeply troubled.

Voice

Where have you laid Lazarus?

Martha

In a tomb, Lord; it’s a small cave. Come.

Thomas

Look. Now Jesus is weeping!

Prompter & Echoes

Weeping!

Voice

Remove the stone.

Martha

But Lord, by now there’ll be a stench;
he’s been dead for four days.

Voice

I told you, Martha, that if you believe,
you will see the glory of God.
(
Shout loudly) Lazarus, come forth!

Martha

My brother comes forth bound hand and foot with wrappings!

Voice

Unbind him.

Thomas

Look! He’s come back to life!

Prompter & Echoes

He’s alive!

​

020A. Jesus our Triumphant King Rides a Donkey into Jerusalem

ZwPI8cfkJesus our Triumphant King Rides a Donkey into Jerusalem
Palm Sunday Celebration, about 5 minutes, from Luke 19:28-44

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
  Thomas
  Peter
  Voice (of Jesus)
  Pharisee
  Prompter            Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
  Echoes               Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Thomas

Peter, I warned Jesus that we’d all die if we went into Jerusalem.

Peter

But here we are, Thomas,
descending this Mount of Olives into the city,
where the religious leaders intend to kill him.

Thomas

And us, too, probably.

Prompter & Echoes

It won’t be long now.

Peter

Jesus knows that he’s stepping into their trap.
I guess that’s why he let Mary anoint him
for his burial with that priceless perfume.

Thomas

The aroma of that costly nard still lingers on him.
We’re getting close. I’m scared, Peter.

Peter

I am, too, Thomas.
It gets more dangerous with every step we take!

Prompter & Echoes

It’s too risky!

Thomas

Jesus has stopped here on the Mount of Olives.
Has he changed his mind?

Peter

He won’t turn back, Thomas. Listen to him.

Voice

Go to that village; you will find a donkey tied,
and a colt that no one has ridden. Untie them and bring them here.
If anyone asks why you’re untying them, tell them I need them.

Peter

We go and find them just as Jesus had told us.
The donkey greets us.

Prompter & Echoes

Hee haw!

Peter

We release the donkey and colt, and the owner comes running.
He shouts, “Why are you untying them?”

Thomas

The Lord needs them, sir.
I don’t know why he prefers a donkey to a horse,
to enter the city of Kings.

Peter

The prophet Zachariah predicted it, Thomas.

Thomas

We bring the colt to Jesus, and throw our coats on it.
Jesus sits on it, and rides down the Mount of Olives.

Prompter & Echoes

Clip clop, clip clop!

Thomas

We are close to Jerusalem now. What will happen?
Oh, oh! Here comes trouble. Those Pharisees are furious.

Pharisee

That deceiver’s disciples are running to greet him.
Look at the misguided rabble wave palm branches and shout. Disgraceful!

Thomas

His disciples are spreading their coats on the road
to make a path for the King of Kings!

Prompter & Echoes

Glory to God in the highest!

Peter

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!

Prompter & Echoes

Our savior and king!

Pharisee

This is too much! I’ll tell that brazen Nazarene to stop this scandal.
You there, riding on that jackass – rebuke your disciples!

Voice

I tell you, if they become silent, the stones will cry out!

Prompter & Echoes

Hosanna!

Thomas

Jesus rides on, and stops to look sorrowfully down on Jerusalem.

Prompter & Echoes

He is weeping!

Voice

Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
If you’d only known, you could have won peace this day!

Prompter & Echoes

God’s peace is hidden from you!

Peter

How sad!

Voice

Your enemies will barricade you on every side.
They will level you to the ground and your children within you;
they will not leave one stone upon another.

Thomas

Oh no! Did you hear that, Peter?

Peter

Yes. He foretold the ruin of this great city!

Voice

Jerusalem, you did not recognize the time
of God’s coming to you.

Prompter & Echoes

Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem!

Peter

For months Jesus has been announcing his Kingdom,
getting ever closer to Jerusalem where his journey would end.
Now we have arrived.

Prompter & Echoes

His time has come!

021. Jesus Parts “Sheep” from “Goats” that Lack Practical Love

Jesus Parts “Sheep” from “Goats” that Lack Practical Love
About 7 minutes, from Matt. 25: 31-46, adapted from
The Guest by Leon Tolstoy.

Participants
  You do not need to memorize your lines.
  However, you should look at your lines ahead of time to know your actions.

     Cobbler
     Skeptic
     Shoeless
     Widow
     Jobless
     Prompter    Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
      Echoes       All who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Cobbler

(Stand and pretend to wipe a window, facing the people.)
What smudges!
I haven’t cleaned this window since my wife died, years ago.

Skeptic

(Approach Cobbler from the side)
Cobbler, you’re finally tidying up your messy shoe shop!
You must be expecting a visit from Russia’s grand Tsar.

Cobbler

Someone even more important than the Tsar!
The Lord is coming to visit me before sundown.
I had a dream, and it was real!

Skeptic

(Laugh)
Oh my! So you’re a saint now! Let me kiss your ring!
I’d better go. Your eminent guest would not appreciate
having a faithless reprobate like me hanging around!
(
Step away, laughing)

Shoeless

(Approach Cobbler from one side)
Cobbler, I need work.
Look. I’m barefoot; my shoes wore out, and it’s cold.

Prompter & Echoes

Below freezing!

Cobbler

I do too little business to hire help. Don’t bother me.

Shoeless

(Turn)
Ouch!
(
Hop, holding one foot) I stepped on a nail!

Cobbler

Oh, here! Take these shoes.
(
Pretend to hand him shoes)
I probably never will sell them anyway.

Shoeless

(Pretend to slip shoes on, and limp toward the door.)
Ouch!

Prompter & Echoes

They hurt!

Cobbler

You moron! You put them on the wrong feet! Now go.

Shoeless

(Pretend to change shoes.)
Ahh! That’s better.
(
Step away)

Jobless

(Approach Cobbler from one side)
Cobbler, Cossacks commandeered my carthorse;
now I have no work. I’m hungry! Can you spare me a bite?

Prompter & Echoes

He’s hungry!

Cobbler

Oh, take my lunch; it’s on that shelf by the door.
I’m too nervous to eat it anyway.

Jobless

May the saints bless you, citizen.
(
Pretend to pick up a bag and step away.)

Widow

(Approach Cobbler from one side)
Sir, my clothes are worn, and I need work.
I’m a widow. Can I clean up your shop?

Cobbler

No, but you can have my departed wife’s coat.
It’s hanging there by the door.
Take it on your way out.

Widow

Oh, thank you, kind sir!
(
Step away)

Prompter & Echoes

Gracious!

Skeptic

(Approach)
The sun has set, Cobbler.
Did you enjoy your visit with your grand guest?
Did the Lord anoint you as Archbishop?
 (Laugh derisively.)
Maybe he brought you a message from your departed wife!

Cobbler

Out! Out!
(
Shake a fist at skeptic, cover your face and groan.)

Skeptic

I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! That was thoughtless of me.
Oh, let me cheer you up! Did you do good business today?

Cobbler

Business was terrible. I gave everything away!
A barefoot beggar came, and I gave him shoes to get rid of him.
A guy came begging for work, and I gave him my lunch.
A widow came and I gave her my departed wife’s coat.
Yeah, I had a great day all right!

Skeptic

What did you say?
(
Shake Cobbler’s shoulder and shout)
Cobbler! What did you say?
He came! He came, Cobbler! Listen to me!

Prompter & Echoes

He came!

Cobbler

Oh, yeah!
With thousands of angels and trumpets, in clouds of glory!

Skeptic

Listen!
My mom told me long ago what Jesus our judge would say
to the faithful gathered on his right hand in Glory:
“Enter, blessed ones. For I was hungry, and you fed me.
I was thirsty and you gave me drink;
I was naked, and you clothed me.”
(Lay a hand on Cobbler’s shoulder.)
“Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these,
you did it to me.”

Cobbler

Jesus said that? He actually said that?
Then… Then… Oh, dear God!
(
Fall to your knees.)

Skeptic

(Shout)
Then he tells those on his left,
“
Depart from me, accursed ones into eternal punishment,
for I was hungry, and you gave me nothing,
thirsty, and you gave me no drink, naked,
and you did not clothe me.”

Prompter & Echoes

Shame!

Skeptic

Oh, Lord, you have come!
You have come to us both.
(
Embrace Cobbler.)

Prompter & Echoes

Lord, we will serve you this way!

 

 

022. Our Lord Jesus Drives Greedy Merchants from God’s Holy Temple

ZwPI8cfkOur Lord Jesus Drives Greedy Merchants from God’s Holy Temple
About 2 minutes, from Luke 19: 45-48

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
  Pharisee
  Moneychanger
  Voice (of Jesus)
  Prompter       Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
  Echoes          Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script

Moneychanger

Look!
That troublemaker dares to enter our grand and most holy temple.
See how he glares at the merchants!

Pharisee

He is a threat to us Pharisees, too.
He tries to change our sacred ways.

Prompter & Echoes

Dangerous!

Moneychanger

Now he’s eying the animals that they sell to sacrifice;
he looks angry.
Oh! Now he sees us moneychangers count our coins.
Look! He’s coming over.

Pharisee

That merchant’s really angry at something the Nazarene said!
Listen!

Moneychanger

So you’re that rebel from Galilee.
Hey! What are you doing?

Prompter & Echoes

Look out!

Moneychanger

Ow! Stop swinging that whip that you made out of cords!
Stop that! Oh, he turned over my table!
My coins are rolling all over the floor!

Voice

(Speak forcefully)
It is written, “My house shall be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a robbers’ lair!”

Prompter & Echoes

A den of thieves!

Pharisee

Now look at how all the people gather around that Nazarene!
They do not give us learned Pharisees that much attention.

Moneychanger

It’s shameful how the crowds follow that revolutionary around.

Pharisee

The ignorant fools! His actions are alarming.
We have to stop him! Come; Pharisees and Sadducees.
We must join forces and destroy that man, Jesus of Nazareth.

Prompter & Echoes

They plan to kill him!

Moneychanger

We keep trying to find a way to slay the man, but it is difficult,
because so many people keep hanging on every word he says.
But just wait! We will find a way – we have to!

Prompter & Echoes

And so they do!

023. Jesus’ Agonizing Prayer in Gethsemane

​ ZwPI8cfkJesus’ Agonizing Prayer in Gethsemane

About 5 minutes, from Matt. 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 18

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
Peter
Voice (
of Jesus)
    
Prompter    Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes
         Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Peter

I’m the apostle Peter. For me, this is a very, very fearful night!

Prompter & Echoes

Terrifying!

Peter

Jesus is leading us to a secluded spot
up on the Mount of Olives.
King David also passed through this same Kidron valley
shedding tears, when his son Absalom and close friends
betrayed him.
Like David, Jesus has also looked down from here
on the great city with a heart filled with deep sorrow.

Prompter & Echoes

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!

Peter

The last rays of sunset caress the city’s roofs.
We come to the Garden of Gethsemane,
and Jesus sighs heavily.

Voice

Peter, James, and John, come with me,
deeper into this garden.

Peter

Like the Garden of Eden, it is the place of terrible testing.

Voice

My soul grieves to the point of death!
Watch while I pray,
and pray that you will not fall into temptation.

Prompter & Echoes

Watch and pray!

Peter

Jesus goes a stone’s throw beyond and falls face down,
distressed and horrified.

`Voice

Abba! Father! If it is possible, let this hour pass me by.
Abba! Father! All things are possible for you;
remove this cup from me.
Yet not what I will, but what you will.

Peter

Jesus returns to find us asleep;
sorrow swallows up his tormented soul.

Voice

Peter, could you not keep watch for an hour?

Prompter & Echoes

The most crucial hour ever!

Peter

Had I watched, I’d have seen flaming torches
leaving the city walls.
But I slept! I slept while the bravest man who ever lived
wrestled with a terrible choice. The atoning blood of every
Passover lamb and every bull sacrificed
since Adam becomes effective
only if Jesus agrees to bear the sins of all humanity.

Voice

Watch, Peter. The hour is near.

Peter

Again, Jesus goes and prays the same agonizing words.
He comes back and – can you believe it?
He again finds us sleeping!
Oh what shame! ur eyes are so heavy! But that is no excuse.
Jesus prays a third time, and returns.
Oh no! Not again! We are snoring!

Voice

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Peter

Had we been awake, we’d have seen the flickering torches
snaking their way across the Kidron Valley and up the mountainside, tracing our steps.

Prompter & Echoes

Closer and closer!

Peter

I did not yet grasp the terrible gravity
of this moment’s verdict!
Every shameful act and thought, yours and mine,
is in the venom that the serpent’s accusing fangs
will soon inject into Messiah’s veins while he hangs,
 tortured, on the blood-soaked cross.

Voice

Calvary’s cruel cross!

Peter

Sin’s filth will penetrate, searing,
scalding the soul of the son of God.
The full, excruciating, lethal dose, the essence of the sins
of all humanity, as foretold ages before!
Oh, the horror of this night!
But I slept!

Prompter & Echoes

Such anguish!

Voice

Peter, you still rest? Enough! This is the hour of darkness.
The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Get up!

Prompter & Echoes

The traitor is coming!

Peter

We join the other disciples and look down the slope.
Torches! Many, many torches, coming closer and closer!
Oh, they have weapons! My stomach knots in fear.
Hear the angry mob and vengeful priests scream with fury.

Prompter & Echoes

Where’s that rebel?

Peter

Look! Judas is leading the officers of the chief priests.
How can Judas do this? He is one of Messiah’s chosen twelve!
Judas is walking right up to Jesus! Oh! He is kissing Jesus!
Is it a signal? Now Jesus is speaking to the soldiers.

Voice

Whom do you seek?

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus of Nazareth.”

Voice

I AM.

Peter

  “I Am!” Moses heard that Name at the burning bush
when God revealed His eternal identity!
The soldiers fall back!
I draw my sword and strike off the ear
of the High Priest’s servant.

Voice

Put up your sword, Peter.

Peter

Jesus surrenders himself to them!
We disciples all flee, abandoning the Son of God.
Jesus has sealed his own fate, to save us from our sins.
He will suffer the depths of God’s wrath
and judgment in our place.

Prompter & Echoes

For our salvation!

​

024. Jesus’ Phony Trial before the Chief Priests

ZwPI8cfkJesus’ Phony Trial before the Chief Priests
About 5 minutes, from John 18:14 ─ 19:16

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Peter
   Girl
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Accuser
   Pilate
   Prompter ….Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes
            Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Peter

It’s chilly tonight! (Pretend to warm your hands by a fire.)

Girl

(Point at Peter) Hey, you there, warming your hands.
You’re one of that rebel’s disciples!
Why are you here, hanging out in the High Priest’s court?

Peter

I’m not one of that man’s disciples!

Prompter & Echoes

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Accuser

I just heard a rooster crow. It’s an early bird!

Peter

They’re holding the false trial at night, which is illegal.
Now the High Priest is questioning Jesus about His teaching.
Hear him reply.

Voice

I’ve spoken openly in synagogues and the temple;
I’ve said nothing in secret. So why do you question me?
Question those who have heard what I spoke.

Peter

Oh! That officer struck Jesus’ face and asked him,
“Is that how you answer the high priest?”

Accuser

Hey you! (Point at Peter.) You’re a follower of that imposter.
You cut my cousin’s ear off, when we arrested the Nazarene
in Gethsemane.

Peter

I do not know that man, I tell you!

Prompter & Echoes

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Peter

Oh, no! No! Jesus told me I’d deny him,
and the rooster would crow.

Girl

Hey, that guy rushed out of the court weeping bitterly.

Accuser

Our trial is over; we have found the Nazarene guilty of blasphemy.
Now the Roman governor Pilate will try him. He’s speaking now.

Pilate

What accusation do you Jews bring against this Man?

Accuser

If he were not an evildoer, we would not have brought him to you.
He claims to be King of the Jews, Governor Pilate.

Pilate

Then take him and judge him according to your own law.

Accuser

We have judged him,
but our law does not permit us to put a felon to death.

Pilate

(Face Voice.)
You, whom some call King of the Jews, are you a king?

Voice

My kingdom is not of this world,
or my servants would fight to defend me.
You say correctly that I am a king.
For this I was born, to testify to the truth.

Prompter & Echoes

What is truth?

Pilate

I find no guilt in this man.
You Jews have a custom that I release someone
at your Passover feast.
Do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews,
or should I release the insurrectionist Barabbas?

Peter

They cry out for Barabbas!

Prompter & Echoes

Cruel injustice!

Peter

Look. The soldiers are whipping Jesus cruelly.
Blood is all over the stone floor.
They made a crown of thorns and pressed it onto his head;
they put a purple robe on him and whipped his face with a rod.
How can they? Hear them mock him!

Prompter & Echoes

Hail, King of the Jews!

Pilate

Hear me. I find no guilt in this man. Look how they’ve beaten him!

Accuser

Crucify Him!

Pilate

Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt worthy of death.

Accuser

By our Law he must die because he claims to be the Son of God.

Pilate

Son of God? Oh, what have I gotten myself into?
Jesus, where are you from?
Why do you not answer me?
I have authority to free you, or to crucify you.

Voice

You would have no authority over me,
unless it had been given you from above;
for this reason he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.

Accuser

(Shout angrily and shake a fist in the air.)
If you free him, you are no friend of Caesar!
Anyone pretending to be king defies the Emperor!

Peter

Look. Pilate appears shaken.
Would this ironfisted Roman ruler let the people decide this?
Unheard of!

Prompter & Echoes

Democracy!

Peter

Look! Pilate brought out a basin of water in front of the Jews.

Pilate

I wash my hands of this affair. Do as you wish to this man.

Accuser

Yes! Yes! Let His blood be on us and on our children!

Prompter & Echoes

How fateful those terrible words!

025. Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ

ZwPI8cfk@biblestoryskits.comCrucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ
About 5 minutes, from Matt. 27:31-54 and Mark 15 20-39

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
  
Centurion
   Soldier
   Scoffer
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Prompter
        Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes
             Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Centurion

I’m the Roman centurion in charge of our unit in Jerusalem.
Accusers are saying absurd things about that man Jesus.
I’ve heard that he’s a good man.
Even Governor Pilate has found no reason to execute him.

Prompter & Echoes

He keeps silent!

Centurion

Strange!
Hey, you soldiers there, stop making fun of Jesus.

Soldier

Yes sir.
Look. Governor Pilate is begging the man to defend himself,
but he doesn’t; it is as though the Nazarene wants to die!

Scoffer

(Laugh fiendishly)
We have stirred up the people,
so Governor Pilate fears they will stage a violent riot,
if he doesn’t crucify that blaspheming rabbi.

Prompter & Echoes

Evil schemers!

Soldier

Oh! Pilate is washing his hands in front of the crowd!
He’s letting the hateful, crazed mob have its way!

Centurion

This means I will have to give the order to carry out the grisly task.
I find my soldiers lashing the Nazarene cruelly, and I stop them.

Soldier

We soldiers lead the man him out toward a hill called Calvary.
That band of scoffers follows us, jeering at him.
Women are weeping. No wonder! Look at him!

Prompter & Echoes

Beaten and bleeding!

Soldier

He’s stumbling as he lugs that cross up this skull-shaped hill.

Centurion

Especially after you soldiers lashed him so!
Look how his back bleeds!
I am not enjoying this. He’s lost so much blood!

Soldier

Hey you foreigner there. Carry the cross for the man.

Centurion

Well, here we are. Soldier, here are the spikes.
Nail him to the cross, and put up Pilate’s sign,
THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Soldier

We also crucify two other criminals;
 one of them keeps taunting Jesus.
I offer him wine mixed with bitter gall to deaden His pain,
but after tasting it, he refuses to drink it.
We soldiers sit and watch.

Centurion

Hours drag by.
Jesus is writhing in agony, and those insolent men mock him.
Listen to them!

Scoffer

You there, if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Soldier

Oh, listen! He’s praying for us! Imagine that!
For us! After all the pain that we caused him!

Voice

Forgive them, Father. They do not know what they are doing!

Prompter & Echoes

Such loving forgiveness!

Centurion

That dying thief begged Jesus to remember him
when he enters his Kingdom.
Now he Jesus is answering him.

Voice

Today you will be with me in Paradise.

Centurion

Amazing! Who is he? What is he?

Scoffer

Ha! You said you’d destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days!
Well, save yourself! You trusted in God; let him rescue you!

Soldier

Look! I won His cloak! We soldiers gambled for it,
and I threw the winning lot!

Centurion

Listen, men. This is wrong! All wrong!

Prompter & Echoes

Angry lightning flashes!

Soldier

Sir, look! The rainwater is carrying away the blood.
So much blood! It seems as though it will cover the whole earth!

Scoffer

Look at him! He saved others; he cannot save himself.
(
Laugh fiendishly)
He is King of Israel; let him come down from the cross.
Then we will believe him!

Voice

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani!

Scoffer

He’s calling for Elijah. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save Him.

Centurion

I know what he said in Hebrew,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Voice

It is finished!

Prompter & Echoes

Finished!

Centurion

This is no ordinary man!

Voice

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Centurion

Amazing! He simply gave up His life!

Soldier

Oh, the earth is shaking violently!

Prompter & Echoes

Rumble! Rumble!

Centurion

Listen!
Even from here I heard the massive veil in the temple ripping
from top to bottom, opening the way into God’s presence.

Scoffer

What’s happening? Total darkness has come upon us!
The sun quit shining during the daytime!

Centurion

What have we done?
 Surely, this man is the Son of God!

Prompter & Echoes

He has died for us all!

026. Jesus Restores God’s Image in a Dying Criminal

Jesus Restores God’s Image in a Dying Criminal

About 5 minutes, from Luke 23

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
Penitent felon
Godless felon
Voice (of Jesus)
Prompter
                   Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes
                       Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Penitent felon

Well, this is the end! We can’t escape now.
We’re on our way to a horrible death!

Prompter & Echoes

Crucifixion!

Godless felon

Look at this sadistic crowd! I‘d like to wring their necks!
See them gloat and enjoy this painful parade,
watching us pack these crosses out to that hill called Golgotha;
they want to see us suffer in agony!

Penitent felon

Not all of them. Those women are weeping.
They’re following that other guy carrying his cross.
Listen to what he’s saying to them.

`Voice

Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me.
Weep for yourselves and for your children.
The days are coming when they will say,
“Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore,
and the breasts that never nursed.”

Penitent felon

Now he is staggering under His cross.
His back is bleeding, his face, too. No wonder he is so weak!

Godless felon

Everyone is watching him. He must be someone important.
He must have tried to assassinate King Herod,
the way they treat him.

Penitent felon

Look, another man is now carrying his cross.

Godless felon

Those women speak with a Galilean accent.
Listen to them weep and wail over that man!

Penitent felon

He doesn’t curse his executioners as we do. Strange!

Godless felon

Well, we’ve arrived. Oh, no!
That soldier has huge iron spikes! Please, no!

Prompter & Echoes

Crucifixion!

Penitent felon

No, not that heavy sledgehammer!

Prompter & Echoes

Thud! Thud!

Godless felon

No! Oh, the pain! No!

Prompter & Echoes

They are hanging on the crosses.

Godless felon

How can that man hanging between us keep silent
in all his agony?

Penitent felon

He does not look like a criminal.
We do. Years of violence and hate have lined our faces.
We rage with fury and curse, but he says nothing!

Godless felon

You there, Jesus,
those priests say you claimed to be the Messiah.
They challenge you to come down from the cross
and save yourself. So do it, and save us, too!

Penitent felon

I cannot stand this pain!
How does this man take it without complaining?
Jesus! How can you resist cursing those who torture you?
Who are you?

Voice

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.

Prompter & Echoes

Forgive them!

Godless felon

Hey, are you crazy?
You ask God to forgive these men who torture us!
I heard about you; you deceive folks to think you do miracles.
If so, then, save yourself and us!

Penitent felon

He called God His Father. Imagine that!
He begs God to forgive his executioners and accusers.
In his pain, he tells one of his followers to care for his mother.
He absorbs so much abuse, yet he only cares for others!
Somehow ─ I feel it in my soul ─ I think he cares for us, too.

Godless felon

Nonsense!

Penitent felon

I have never known anyone so loving, so godly.

Godless felon

You there. They call you King! And Messiah. So free us!
Ha! A fine Messiah you are! You cannot even save yourself!

Penitent felon

Hey! How can you speak to this good man that way?
Don’t you fear God, since you’re under the same condemnation?
You and I are suffering justly, getting what we deserve for our crimes; but this man has done nothing wrong. Oh, the pain!

Prompter & Echoes

Anguish!

Godless felon

(Groan loudly.)
His followers deserted him, the crowd despises him,
the soldiers mock him, and the rulers hate him!
He must be an extremely bad and dangerous criminal.

Penitent felon

Don’t say that! Am I the only one who sees that he’s is godly?
No, those women weep for him, and a few men are grieving.
Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom!

Voice

I assure you; today you shall surely be with me in paradise.

Godless felon

The sky’s growing completely dark but it is not night!
The earth is shaking! The women are screaming!
What has happened?

Prompter & Echoes

Mankind has been redeemed!

 

027. Jesus’ Sabbath Day of Burial Divides all Human History

ZwPI8cfkJesus’ Sabbath Day of Burial Divides all Human History
About 4 minutes, from Matt. 27:57-66

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Joseph (of Arimathea)
   Pilate
   Centurion
   Prompter         Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes            Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Joseph

Governor Pilate, may I take the Galilean’s body from the cross?
I will embalm it, wrap it in linen, and lay it in my new tomb
that I hewed out of rock.

Pilate

Yes, Joseph of Arimathea, as soon as I make sure he’s dead.
Centurion, see if the Nazarene has died;
I hope you can find your way in this weird darkness;
it covered the whole land when they crucified that man.

Centurion

Yes, Governor. It is more than the absence of light.
I think God is casting complete shade over a terrible crime!

Prompter & Echoes

God is hiding his face!

Pilate

Joseph, the Centurion has affirmed that the Galilean has died.
You may take the body.

Joseph

Thank you, sir. This is the saddest day of my life.

Pilate

Centurion, secure that grave.
The priests claim that the Nazarene said he’d rise again
after three days, They fear his disciples will steal him away,
and say he rose from the dead.
Take soldiers and guard the grave for three days.

Centurion

Very well, Governor Pilate. Nobody will meddle with that grave.

Joseph

Soldiers roll a huge stone against the tomb’s entrance, and guard it.
Mary Magdalene is watching, and other women come to mourn;
they are sitting by the tomb, weeping.

Prompter & Echoes

Beloved Jesus is dead.

Joseph

Nighttime comes and passes. It is the seventh day, the Sabbath.
Jesus’ body lies, lifeless, in the devil's hands,
deep in Satan’s dark realm of death.
The Old Dragon gleefully imprisons
his captives in death’s gloomy darkness!

Prompter & Echoes

Satan clings to his captives!

Joseph

This seventh day of Sabbath rest divides all history.
Jesus’ body lies in perfect rest and repose in death.
God has ruled his people with the law of condemnation
that he gave through Moses,
but after this day of Sabbath rest,
God will write His law in our hearts,
as Jeremiah foretold hundreds of years ago.

Prompter & Echoes

Even Jerusalem lies in silence!

Pilate

We Romans don’t pay that much attention to Sabbath days.
Now the first day of the week has come.
I am relieved that the whole issue of that Galilean is finally over!
Ah! It is the last we will hear of that man Jesus.

Joseph

But on this third day the sun rises, and Jesus’ Sabbath rest is over.
Satan’s chains cannot hold his captive.
His power has been in his accusations,
but they cannot touch this sinless man.
Jesus rises from the dead, and frees death’s captives
along with himself.

Prompter & echoes

A totally new beginning!

Joseph

This first day of the week marks the beginning of the New Covenant
foretold by Jeremiah: God would write His law in our hearts.

Prompter & Echoes

The Covenant of Grace!

Joseph

The seventh day looked back to the old creation and God’s rest.
This first day looks forward to the new creation of our risen Lord! During the intervening day of rest,
Jesus kept the Sabbath to perfection!

Prompter & Echoes

The old has ended; the new is here!

Centurion

As Centurion, I was to see that no one stole the Galilean’s body.
My soldiers told me they slept, and His disciples took the body.

Prompter & Echoes

Not true!

Centurion

I was told not to punish those soldiers, and some money changed hands. I know that he rose from the dead. When I saw how he died,
I knew that he was the Son of God.

Prompter & Echoes

Risen Son of God!

028. Jesus Rises from the Dead, as Seen by Angels

ZwPI8cfkJesus Rises from the Dead, as Seen by Angels
About 5 minutes, from Matthew 28:1-10

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not perform)
Angel
Grieving woman
    
Prompter                  Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes
                    Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script

Angel

God sends me from heaven to Jesus’ grave.
It is early on the first day of the week, and the earth shakes.

Prompter & Echoes

Earthquake!

Angel

I roll away the Roman soldiers’ heavy stone and sit upon it.
The Roman guards shake for fear and become like dead men.
Now they have fled, and a few women come weeping.

Grieving woman

Oh, look! An angel in shining white clothes!
Bright as lightning!

Prompter & Echoes

He is terrifying!

Grieving woman

The angel has rolled the stone away! He is powerful!
Oh, he sees us! Help!

Angel

Do not fear. You seek your Lord whom men have slain.
He is risen, just as he had said. Come see where he was lain.

Grieving woman

We go in and look.

Prompter & Echoes

The tomb is empty!

Angel

Go quickly, tell Jesus’ disciples that he has risen from the dead.
He goes before them into Galilee;
there they will meet him on a mountain.

Grieving woman

We go, and Jesus meets us; we hold his feet and worship him.
We are afraid.

Voice

Do not fear. Go and tell my brothers to go and meet me in Galilee.

Angel

Jesus appears to many after that, before he ascends to glory.
He has forgiven men their sins and given them eternal life.

Prompter & Echoes

Infinite grace!

Angel

In Eden God told the man that all who sin must die,
but then the father of all lies told Eve,
“You surely will not die!”

Prompter & Echoes

The first lie ever spoken on earth!

Angel

Satan knows that men must die if they disobey God.
They have to die, because it is God’s law,
and the lying fiend makes use of it!

Prompter & Echoes

The wages of sin is death.

Angel

Now we angels understand what Jesus Christ has done!
Through his death, he has cancelled Satan’s power over death.
He has freed believers from Adam’s curse and the fear of death.

Prompter & Echoes

The devil’s slaves are freed!

Prompter & Echoes

We live forever!

Grieving woman

Now, the third day of Jesus’ death has dawned,
and the greatest miracle of all time has happened!

Angel

The Lord, who lay resting in death’s repose
on the Sabbath day now lives!

Grieving woman

We ladies run to tell the disciples the wonderful news.
He has risen!

Prompter & Echoes

Death is defeated!

029. Jesus Appears to Many after Rising from Death

ZwPI8cfkJesus Appears to Many after Rising from Death
About 8 minutes, from all Gospels & Acts

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Mary Magdalene
   Angel
   Voice (of Jesus)
   Peter
   Cleopas       
   Prompter      Shouts a brief phrase and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes         All who want to take part repeat Prompter’s words. Echoes need no script.

 

 

Mary Magdalene

I am Mary Magdalene.
On the first day of the week after Jesus died,
I come early to His tomb.
A surprise awaits me; the big rock no longer covers the entrance.
I look inside. Oh! Help! Angels!

Angel

Do not be afraid. Why do you weep?

Mary Magdalene

They took away my Lord.
Oh, there is the gardener; he will tell me where he put Jesus.
Sir, If you moved him, tell me where, and I will take him away.

Voice

Mary!

Mary Magdalene

Rabboni!

Prompter & Echoes

Master!

Voice

Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
Go to my brothers,
and tell them I ascend to my Father and your Father.

Mary Magdalene

I do as Jesus says. I, and other women who had come, run to tell
the disciples that Jesus has risen, but they do not believe us.
Meanwhile, Jesus appears to two others on the road to Emmaus.

Voice

Friends, what is this you are talking about?
Why are you so sad?

Cleopas

Are you unaware of what has happened here in these days?
Jesus the Nazarene was a mighty prophet,
but our rulers crucified him.

Voice

O foolish men and slow of heart to believe what the prophets have spoken! Hear what the Scriptures say about the Christ
in Moses and the prophets.

Prompter & Echoes

The Old Testament speaks of Jesus!

Cleopas

We arrive in Emmaus.
Friend, it is almost night; come stay with us.
Please, do us the honor of breaking the bread for us.
Oh look! It is the Lord! He has opened our eyes!
Now he has gone! No wonder our hearts burned in us
while he explained God’s Word!

Peter

I am Peter.
We disciples are hiding behind locked doors in Jerusalem.
Oh look! It’s Jesus!

Voice

Peace be to you.

Prompter & Echoes

It’s his spirit!

Voice

Why are you frightened? See my hands and feet. Touch me.
A spirit has no flesh and bones as you see I have.
Have you anything to eat?

Peter

Here is some fish. Look! He is eating it!
Now he opens our minds to see how he has fulfilled the Law,
the prophets and the Psalms.

Voice

It is written that the Christ would die and rise from the dead
the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins
would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations.
You are witnesses of these things.
As the Father has sent me, I also send you.
Receive the Holy Spirit; if you forgive the sins of any,
their sins will be forgiven them,

Prompter & Echoes

Forgive in Jesus name!

Peter

Thomas was not with us when Jesus appeared last week.
He said he’d not believe it
unless he saw the nail holes in Jesus’ hands,
and put his hand into Jesus’ pierced side.

Prompter & Echoes

He would not believe!

Voice

Peace be with you! Thomas,
See my hands; put your hand into my side.

Peter

Thomas cries out, “Lord and my God!”

Voice

You saw and believed.
Blessed are they who do not see, and yet believe.

Prompter & Echoes

Blessed faith!

Mary Magdalene

Peter has gone fishing in the Sea of Galilee,
and the others joined him.

Peter

We’ve caught nothing all night.
Now it’s morning; let’s go to shore.

Prompter & Echoes

No fish!

Peter

We’re almost to the shore.
Oh, look! Someone is waiting.

Voice

Children, cast the net to the right and you will find a catch.

Peter

We do so, and cannot haul in the net because of so many fish.
John recognizes the Lord, and I jump out and swim to the shore.
Ashore, they find a fire kindled and fish placed on it, and bread.

Voice

Come. Have breakfast.
Bring some of the fish that you caught.

Peter

Oh, Jesus is going to scold me for denying him!

Voice

Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

Peter

Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.

Voice

Tend my lambs.
Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter

Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.

Voice

Shepherd my sheep.
Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter

Oh, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.

Voice

Tend my sheep.

Prompter & Echoes

Three times Jesus asks him!

Mary Magdalene

Later, they meet on a mountain in Galilee.

Voice

All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I commanded you. Look, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.

Mary Magdalene

And again, Jesus appears to his disciples in Jerusalem.

Voice

Wait here for what the Father has promised.
You will soon be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Peter

Lord, will you now restore the kingdom to Israel?

Voice

It is not for you to know the times that the Father has fixed.
Look, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you;
stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
Now, come walk with me up the Mount of Olives.

Mary Magdalene

In Bethany, Jesus raises his hands to bless them.
They hear his final orders for all believers.

Voice

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea,
in Samaria, and in the remotest parts of the earth.

Peter

He is rising! A cloud has received him out of our sight!
Oh! Angels!

Angel

Galileans, why stand looking into the sky?
Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven,
will come the same way as you saw him go.

Prompter & Echoes

He will return the same way!

029A. Our Lord Gives His Great Commission and Ascends to Glory

ZwPI8cfkOur Lord Gives His Great Commission and Ascends to Glory
About 5 minutes, from Luke 24:44-53, Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:1-11

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
  Andrew
  Voice (of Jesus)
  Peter
  Prompter                Shout a brief line, and Echoes repeat it.
  Echoes                   Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Andrew

I am Andrew, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples.
Peter, it has been 40 days since Jesus rose from the dead.

Peter

Yes. Now he has gathered us on the Mount of Olives
to give final instructions. Listen.

Voice

Wait in Jerusalem for the Father’s promise;
you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Peter

Lord, will you now restore the kingdom to Israel?

Voice

It is not for you to know the times that the Father has set.
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,
and the ends of the earth.

Prompter & Echoes

To all peoples!

Voice

I have received all authority in heaven and earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I commanded you;
and look, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.

Peter

  (Point up) Andrew! Look!
Jesus is going up in the air! Up and up!

Andrew

Oh! A cloud received him out of our sight.

Prompter & Echoes

He ascended on high!

Peter

Look, Andrew!
Two men in blazingly white clothing are coming down from heaven!
Oh, we are in for it!

Andrew

They say not to fear, Peter.

Peter

Listen!
They say that Jesus will return the same way
that we saw him go up into heaven.
They were angels!

Prompter & Echoes

God’s messengers!

Peter

Jesus now sits at the Father’s right hand,
where he intercedes for us.

Andrew

And he will soon send the Holy Spirit to dwell in us forever,
and empower us to be his witnesses.

Peter

His Great Commission is to make disciples of all peoples on earth
by having them obey his commands;
he has been given all authority in heaven and earth.

Prompter & Echoes

King of Kings!

Peter

Well, Andrew, the Holy Spirit now has come,
and we’re obeying Jesus’ Great Commission as he commanded
with all authority in heaven and earth.
Hear what his disciples are saying:

 

Our Lord’s total authority makes him our head.
     He commanded to baptize and break sacred bread.

He proclaimed these commands for his own to obey,
     which means every group of believers today.

But a hundred strict voices wherever we go
     Disregard these commands by telling us NO!

“You’re too new, not ordained, you lack knowledge,” they say.
     And point to man’s rules, pushing Scripture away.

Fellow servant of Christ, will men’s human decrees
     Cause your group to delay and its passion to freeze?

Will you crown Christ as King? There is only one way.
     Just shout YES! when you’re asked if it's Christ you’ll obey!

 

030. Jesus Reveals What the Old Testament says about Him on the road to Emmaus

ZwPI8cfkJesus Reveals What the Old Testament says about Him on the road to Emmaus
A detailed review based on Luke 24, about 12 minutes

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Cleopas
   Mary (of Bethany)
   Lazarus
   Prompter            Shouts a brief phrase, and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes               All who want to take part repeat Prompter’s words; Echoes need no script.

Lazarus

Cleopas, welcome to our home here in Bethany.
Jesus joined you and your companion on the road to Emmaus,
after he had risen from the dead, some time ago.
Tell my sister Mary and me about that.

Cleopas

With joy, Lazarus. At first, we did not recognize Jesus,
but our hearts burned within us when he told how Moses,
the Psalms and the prophets spoke of him.

Prompter & Echoes

The entire Old Testament!

Cleopas

In the beginning God said in Genesis,
“Let us make man in our image.” Notice the word “us.”
Our one God is three Persons. Jesus, along with God the Father
and God the Holy Spirit, created our world.

Lazarus

Tell me, Cleopas, did Eden’s Tree of Life point to Jesus,
who is the Vine of which we are branches?

Cleopas

Yes, Lazarus. Scripture also calls Christ the Final Adam,
a comparison by contrast.

Mary

Adam’s disobedience brought death to all;
Christ’s obedience brings life to all believers.
Right, Lazarus?

Lazarus

Yes, Mary. God told the serpent that tempted Eve
that he would wound the heel of the seed of the woman,
but the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.

Mary

Jesus was the only man born of a virgin; he was the seed of the woman,
and the rest of that prophecy came true at the cross.

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus, the serpent slayer!

Cleopas

Adam and Eve tried to hide their shame with fig leaves,
but only the blood of an innocent victim covers sin,
so God clothed them in animal skins, entailing shed blood.
This red thread of blood sacrifice runs throughout
the Old Testament.

Mary

God rejected Cain’s offering of grain, Cleopas,
because it had no blood;
but God was pleased with Abel’s offering from his flock.
Cain burned with envy against his brother Abel, and murdered him.

Cleopas

Yes. Later, Noah’s ark, like Jesus’ resurrection body,
gave refuge to the faithful;
we will rise in Christ as part of his eternal Body,
which is our ark; it will carry us to glory.

Mary

Later, God promised Abraham to bless all nations
through a descendant. Jesus is God’s blessing.

Prompter & Echoes

For all peoples!

Lazarus

God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son and heir Isaac
whom Abraham loved dearly, but at the last moment
God provided a sheep as a substitute,
just as Jesus the Lamb of God died in our place.

Cleopas

Isaac also pictured Jesus; his bride Rebecca came from afar by faith,
just as the Holy Spirit brings those who are far off to Christ.

Mary

Isaac’s son Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord,
to get his blessing. Was it Jesus that he wrestled with, Cleopas?

Cleopas

Yes, Mary.
In Hebrew Angel of the Lord means Messenger of the Lord.
Among the three Persons who are God, only the Son has the role
of taking on flesh, not the Father nor the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the Angel of the Lord, when identified as God
and not a mere angel, was God’s supreme messenger Jesus.

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus, the living Word of God!

Lazarus

So it was Christ who spoke to Hagar, Moses and others,
and whom Gideon saw working wonders.
He also protected Daniel’s friends from the flames.

Cleopas

Jesus said all the Scriptures spoke of him, Lazarus,
so we are only scratching the surface.
Before Jacob died, he prophesied that the everlasting ruler
of God’s people would come from the tribe of Judah.

Prompter & Echoes

That was Jesus!

Cleopas

Jacob’s son Joseph pictured Christ in many ways:
loved above all others by his father, rejected by his brothers,
falsely accused and condemned although innocent,
raised from a dungeon to sit at the sovereign’s right hand,
interceded for his brothers
and provided what they needed to live.

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus, our provider!

Lazarus

Did Moses picture Christ in several ways also, Cleopas?

Cleopas

Yes, Lazarus.
Moses was Christ’s major counterpart in the Old Testament;
Moses did many things under the earthly covenant of Law
that paralleled Jesus’ works under the heavenly covenant of grace.

Mary

God spared baby Moses, as he did baby Jesus,
when an evil king gave orders to kill the babies.

Cleopas

Yes, and Moses left a position of power and wealth
to join his own people, although they were slaves.
Moses was zealous for justice, a caring shepherd,
and God’s spokesman to establish his covenant.

Lazarus

The Covenant of Law came by Moses;
the Covenant of Grace comes by Jesus.
Moses said another prophet like him would arrive,
whom God’s people would heed.

Mary

Also, Moses’ first miracle was to turn water to blood, a curse.
But Jesus’ first miracle was to turn water to wine, a blessing.

Cleopas

The faithful smeared the Passover Lamb’s blood by their doors,
so the death Angel would pass over when he saw the blood.
He killed the firstborn sons throughout Egypt
where there was no blood.

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus, our life-saving Passover lamb!

Mary

Then Moses led God’s people out of slavery and death into freedom,
just as Christ leads us out of sin and death into freedom and life!

Lazarus

A pillar of fire by night and of cloud by day led God’s people to safety; Jesus is our guiding light, showing our only way to eternal freedom.

Prompter & Echoes

Light of the World!

Mary

God had both Moses and Christ give a form of life-saving bread.
Moses gave manna from heaven for the starving Israelites,
Christ gives his own flesh for believers.

Cleopas

Moses lifted up a serpent on a pole in the desert.
Those whom snakes had bitten saw it and God healed them.
Jesus became sin for us and hung from a cross for us to see
and have our sin cleansed. We all need his healing,
as the old serpent has bitten all of us.

Mary

Moses also interceded for his people
when they deserved death, Cleopas.

Cleopas

Yes. The tabernacle and its furnishings,
sacrifices and ceremonies all pointed to Jesus.
It would take hours to describe them.

Lazarus

Yom Kippur, the annual Day of Atonement,
pictures Jesus, our High Priest in several ways.
Israel’s High Priest took sacrificial blood
into God’s presence in the Most Holy Place
to atone for the sins of the people;
this foretold how Jesus would ascend to God on high,
to intercede for sinners, having shed his blood for us.

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus, our perfect High Priest!

Cleopas

The golden Ark of the Covenant in the most Most Holy Place
pictured Jesus. It held God’s Law in its heart,
the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments.
That Ark of the Covenant was the Old Testament’s “Emmanuel,”
which means God with us. The glory of God shone visibly over it,
just as Jesus dwells among men now, and shines in our hearts.

Lazarus

The Philistines believed the ark was the God of Israel.
They gloated when they captured it and put it Dagon’s temple.
Dagon the fish god symbolized Satan;
Dagon’s statue could not keep the ark in Dagon’s den.
On the third day Dagon fell and his head broke off,
just as Jesus rose on the third day, breaking Satan’s power.

Cleopas

Yes. God plagued the Philistines,
and they sent the ark away on a cart;
it had no driver, but God led them back to the ark’s home.

Mary

The fish that God made to swallow Jonah
could not hold him in its belly.
It was like the Philistine god Dagon:
on the third day, it vomited Jonah up alive.
This all foresaw Jesus dying and rising on the third day.

Cleopas

The exploits of Joshua the conqueror, and of Israel’s judges,
prefigured Jesus’ work, such as Gideon’s strength through weakness, Samuel’s discernment,
and Samson defeating God’s enemies by his own death.

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus, God’s warrior!

Lazarus

Later, did some Old Testament kings picture Christ, Cleopas?

Cleopas

Yes Lazarus, especially David.
People often called Jesus “son of David.”
Both were born in Bethlehem; both were God’s anointed,
and both slew a giant. Jesus’ giant was the mighty archangel Satan,
who had fallen from heaven.

Lazarus

David and Jesus were both falsely treated as criminals;
friends turned against them, both loved God’s house passionately;
both brought peace, unity, justice and safety from enemies’ attacks.

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus, King of Kings!

Mary

David’s Psalms foretold his crucifixion vividly,
and also his resurrection.

Cleopas

For sure, Mary!
Also, God empowered both Elijah and Elisha
to do marvels that Jesus would do in a similar but greater way:
healing lepers, raising the dead, providing food miraculously
and resisting tyrants.

Lazarus

Isaiah foretold in detail Jesus’ willing death in the place of us sinners.

Mary

Jeremiah wept over Jerusalem, as Jesus did.

Cleopas

Ezekiel foresaw a Prince, a son of David, who would make
an everlasting covenant of peace with God’s people,
dwell among them, and be their God.

Lazarus

Daniel foretold the time of Messiah’s coming,
and that he would be cut off for the sake of his people.

Mary

Job knew he would see his Redeemer someday.
My heart’s greatest desire is to see Jesus face to face in glory.

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus, heaven’s greatest joy!

031. Jesus Destroys Satan and Creates a New Heaven and Earth

ZwPI8cfkJesus Destroys Satan and Creates a New Heaven and Earth
About 5 minutes, from Rev. 1; 11; 12 & 21

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   John
   Mary        A girl or lady who can run fast, if you do the optional part with a  dragon.
   Michael    (archangel)
   Prompter  Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes     Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Note:
The section marked Optional, about the dragon chasing Mary,
 may be a bit too playful for some adults, but children will love it.

 

 

Mary

I am Mary, Jesus’ mother.
  Let’s go join the apostle John on the island of Patmos
when Christ took him up in the spirit to see visions of the future.

Prompter & Echoes

Grand events in heaven!

John

I see Jesus! His head and hair are white as wool, like snow;
his eyes are like flames of fire. I fall at his feet like a dead man.

Prompter & Echoes

Terrifying!

Michael

Do not fear, John. Listen to what Jesus is saying:
“I am the first and the last, I am the living One; I was dead,
and now I am alive evermore; I have the keys of death.”

Prompter & Echoes

He conquers death!

John

Oh! Who is this mighty one who speaks to me?

Michael

Do not fear, John. I am the Archangel Michael.
Write what you see, as the Lord said.

John

Words cannot express it, but I will try.
It recounts fateful events on earth, as seen from heaven.

Mary

Get ready for a rough ride!

Prompter & Echoes

Brace yourselves!

John

Lightning flashes, thunder roars, and earthquakes shake the earth.

Prompter & Echoes

Crash!

John

A lady appears in heaven, clothed with the sun.
She wears a crown of twelve stars; and is with child.
She cries out painfully in labor, about to give birth.
An enormous, frightening red dragon comes.

Mary

Help!

Prompter & Echoes

Watch out!

John

His tail sweeps away a third of the stars of heaven;
they fall to the earth, demon agents of the dragon.
The dragon faces the lady who is about to give birth,
ready to devour her child. She gives birth to a son,
who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron;
her child ascends up to God and to his throne.

Michael

The dragon chases the child’s mother, who also signifies Israel.

Mary

Help! Help!

OPTIONAL

 

     Prompter & Echoes

Form the Dragon: Prompter is the dragon’s head;
Echoes form the dragon’s tail, a single file line behind Prompter,
Echoes hold onto the person in front of them.
The dragon chases Mary, but never quite catches her.

     Mary

Run ahead of the dragon, zigzagging.
Keep stopping to let the dragon almost catch you,
and then run again.
Do this until you have run all around the room.

     Michael

Face the dragon’s head; pretend to swing a sword at it.

Prompter & Echoes

Fall down! (Fall)

Michael

You ancient, evil Dragon! You are finished!

John

Archangel Michael and his angels wage war against the dragon
and his fallen angels. Those demons fight furiously,
but God’s army throws them out of heaven.

John

The great dragon falls.
He is the old serpent who is the devil and Satan,
who deceives the world. He is flung down to the earth,
and his demonic fallen angels with him.

Michael

It’s the war of the ages,
Satan’s fallen angels against God’s holy angels!
God’s angels defeat the dragon in heavenly places,
just as Jesus defeated him on earth.

Prompter & Echoes

The greatest war of all is over!

John

A great voice in heaven thunders.

Michael

  (Loudly) Salvation, power, and the reign of Christ have come,
for our brothers’ accuser has been cast down,
he who accuses them before God day and night.

John

I see a new heaven and earth!
The first heaven and earth have passed away!

Michael

God will dwell among men, and they shall be his people,
and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
there will no longer be any death, weeping, or pain.
These all have passed away, forever.

John

The one sitting on the throne speaks;
I will never forget his final words. He cries,
“Look, I am making all things new.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
I give freely to all who thirst from the spring of the water of life.”

Prompter & Echoes

Live forever in heaven!

[PEXCERPT]Go on a wild ride! Join the apostle John as he is caught up in the spirit into heaven to see future events, both wonderful and terrifying, as recorded in the Book of Revelation.[/PEXCERPT]

Jesus’ Agonizing Prayer in Gethsemane

ZwPI8cfkJesus’ Agonizing Prayer in Gethsemane

About 5 minutes, from Matt. 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 18

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to perform)
   Peter
   Voice (of Jesus)

   Prompter      Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
   Echoes
           Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Peter

I’m the apostle Peter. For me, this is a very, very fearful night!

Prompter & Echoes

Terrifying!

Peter

Jesus is leading us to a secluded spot
up on the Mount of Olives.
King David also passed through this same Kidron valley
shedding tears, when his son Absalom and close friends
betrayed him.
Like David, Jesus has also looked down from here
on the great city with a heart filled with deep sorrow.

Prompter & Echoes

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!

Peter

The last rays of sunset caress the city’s roofs.
We come to the Garden of Gethsemane,
and Jesus sighs heavily.

Voice

Peter, James, and John, come with me,
deeper into this garden.

Peter

Like the Garden of Eden, it is the place of terrible testing.

Voice

My soul grieves to the point of death!
Watch while I pray,
and pray that you will not fall into temptation.

Prompter & Echoes

Watch and pray!

Peter

Jesus goes a stone’s throw beyond and falls face down,
distressed and horrified.

`Voice

Abba! Father! If it is possible, let this hour pass me by.
Abba! Father! All things are possible for you;
remove this cup from me.
Yet not what I will, but what you will.

Peter

Jesus returns to find us asleep;
sorrow swallows up his tormented soul.

Voice

Peter, could you not keep watch for an hour?

Prompter & Echoes

The most crucial hour ever!

Peter

Had I watched, I’d have seen flaming torches
leaving the city walls.
But I slept! I slept while the bravest man who ever lived
wrestled with a terrible choice. The atoning blood of every
Passover lamb and every bull sacrificed
since Adam becomes effective
only if Jesus agrees to bear the sins of all humanity.

Voice

Watch, Peter. The hour is near.

Peter

Again, Jesus goes and prays the same agonizing words.
He comes back and – can you believe it?
He again finds us sleeping!
Oh what shame! Our eyes are so heavy! But that is no excuse.
Jesus prays a third time, and returns.
Oh no! Not again! We are snoring!

Voice

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Peter

Had we been awake, we’d have seen the flickering torches
snaking their way across the Kidron Valley and up the mountainside, tracing our steps.

Prompter & Echoes

Closer and closer!

Peter

I did not yet grasp the terrible gravity
of this moment’s verdict!
Every shameful act and thought, yours and mine,
is in the venom that the serpent’s accusing fangs
will soon inject into Messiah’s veins while he hangs,
 tortured, on the blood-soaked cross.

Voice

Calvary’s cruel cross!

Peter

Sin’s filth will penetrate, searing,
scalding the soul of the son of God.
The full, excruciating, lethal dose, the essence of the sins
of all humanity, as foretold ages before!
Oh, the horror of this night!
But I slept!

Prompter & Echoes

Such anguish!

Voice

Peter, you still rest? Enough! This is the hour of darkness.
The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Get up!

Prompter & Echoes

The traitor is coming!

Peter

We join the other disciples and look down the slope.
Torches! Many, many torches, coming closer and closer!
Oh, they have weapons! My stomach knots in fear.
Hear the angry mob and vengeful priests scream with fury.

Prompter & Echoes

Where’s that rebel?

Peter

Look! Judas is leading the officers of the chief priests.
How can Judas do this? He is one of Messiah’s chosen twelve!
Judas is walking right up to Jesus! Oh! He is kissing Jesus!
Is it a signal? Now Jesus is speaking to the soldiers.

Voice

Whom do you seek?

Prompter & Echoes

Jesus of Nazareth.”

Voice

I AM.

Peter

“I Am!” Moses heard that Name at the burning bush
when God revealed His eternal identity!
The soldiers fall back!
I draw my sword and strike off the ear
of the High Priest’s servant.

Voice

Put up your sword, Peter.

Peter

Jesus surrenders himself to them!
We disciples all flee, abandoning the Son of God.
Jesus has sealed his own fate, to save us from our sins.
He will suffer the depths of God’s wrath
and judgment in our place.

Prompter & Echoes

For our salvation!

The Devil Tempts the Lord Jesus Christ in Three Diabolical Ways

ZwPI8cfkThe Devil Tempts the Lord Jesus Christ in Three Diabolical Ways

About 2 minutes, from Matt. 4:1-11

Participants (No need to memorize lines; the aim is to relive sacred events, not to

Voice (of Jesus)      
Devil
Prompter
.                 Shout a brief line and Echoes repeat it.
Echoes
.                     Children and all adults who want to take part. Echoes need no script.

Voice.

The Holy Spirit led me out here to fast and pray for forty days.
Now I am very hungry. Oh! Here comes my adversary;
the one who disguises himself as an angel of light.
Ezekiel said he was perfect in beauty when he came to Eve
in the Garden of Eden! He is a master deceiver.

Prompter & Echoes.

Father of lies!

Devil .

Listen to me.
If you are the Son of God,
then tell these stones to become bread.

Voice .

It is written, “Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Devil .

Come now to Jerusalem the holy city, to the top of the great temple.
Ah! Here we are. Now, if you are the Son of God,
then throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will command His angels concerning you,
and on their hands they will bear You up,
so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.”

Voice .

It is also written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Prompter & Echoes.

Do not test God!

Devil .

Come with me to this high mountain.
You know I am the ruler of this world.
Look! See all the world’s kingdoms and their glory.
All this I will give you. Just fall down and worship me.

Voice.

It is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God,
and serve Him only.”

Prompter & Echoes .

Worship God alone!

Voice .

Satan leaves Me, for a while.
I am weak, but angels come to strengthen Me.
I begin to proclaim the good news to all who have ears to hear.
“Repent and believe.”

Prompter & Echoes .

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!