By Melinda Cousins
This 15-20 minute drama aims to tell the basic storyline of the whole Bible, using two Narrators and four main actors who mime their parts.
The two narrators can read from a script if need be. They should be able to quickly bounce off each other and keep the flow going, but also be responsive to what is happening on stage between them. To some degree N1 is the 'straight' man to N2's attempts at comedy. The four main actors, who mime their parts, need to be creative and willing to 'ad lib' their acting to express what is going on. They also need to be able to keep up with a fairly quick pace! Finally, there are two props people, who we had sit below the front of the stage to hand/throw various props to the mimes. These two also get involved in various parts where 'human' props are needed. Each mime has a series of name tags. We used a series of pieces of paper with two holes and a piece of string through them, so that the name tag hung around the person's neck, and they could rip off each name tag in turn. With all the props flying back and forth, and nametags being ripped off and thrown on the floor, the stage gets fairly messy ... but that's half the fun!
| Narrator 1 (N1): Narrator 2 (N2): |
Mime 1 (M1): Mime 2 (M2): Mime 3 (M3): Mime 4 (M4): |
Props 1 (P1): Props 2 (P2): |
|
Star Wars theme music |
Chocolate frogs |
| M1: Blank Adam Blank Abram Abraham Joseph Blank Pharaoh Joshua Blank Samson Goliath Hezekiah Elisha Blank Ezekiel Ezra Jesus |
M2: Blank Eve Blank Sarah Blank Deborah David Jezebel Amos Blank Daniel Nehemiah Blank Peter Simon Peter |
M3: |
M4: Blank Jacob Israel Blank God's people Blank Eglon Delilah Solomon Elijah God's people Zechariah Malachi Mary Blank Andrew Judas John |
[Scene: N1 & N2 on opposite sides of stage, standing, with microphones. M1, M2 & P1 front left of stage, M3, M4 & P2 front right of stage. All lights are off.]
[Spot lights on N1 & N2 go on]
N1: Good evening!
N2: We WERE going to call this drama ...The Greatest Story Ever Told"...
N1: ...but legal reasons prevented us from doing so.
N2: I believe that name was taken by Hollywood quite a few years ago ...
N1: SO ... instead, we would like to present to you ...
N2 [Deep breath]: How-to-tell-the-story-of-the-entire-Bible-from-go-to-woe-in-under-fifteen-minutes-flat.
N1: A long, long time ago...
N2: ...in a galaxy far, far away ...
[Star Wars theme music starts, fades out as N1 speaks]
N1: [reprimanding N1] Actually, it was before there even WERE galaxies, or solar systems or planets or stars or even a universe.
N2: [crestfallen] Oh.
N1: A long, long time ago...
N2: ...when there were no galaxies or universes ...
N1: ...there was...
N2: ...God.
[Ppt Slide: ...GOD appears on screen. When Ms are required to act concerning God they use screen to represent Him, e.g. turning their back on it]
[All lights on]
[M1, M2, M3 & M4 line up across front of stage]
N1: And God was...
N2: ...holy... [M1 acts out]
N1: ...loving... [M2 acts out]
N2: ...wise... [M3 acts out]
N1: ...omnipotent... [M4 acts out]
N2: [aside] that means able to do anything at all he wanted....
N1: ...and good. [All 4 Ms act out]
N2: BUT ...
N1: ...God was alone.
[Lights off]
N2: He had nobody to love Him...
N1: ...and nobody for Him to love.
N2: So God decided...
N1: ...to create...
N2: ...the sky... [Lights on]
N1: ...and the earth... [P1 throws blow up world globe to M1]
N2: ...and the sun, moon and stars... [P1 throws cardboard stars to M2]
N1: ...and trees and oceans and plants... [P2 throws flowers & plants to M3]
N2: ...and all kinds of animals and birds and fish.[P2 throws stuffed animals to M4]
N1: And every thing God had made was good. [All Ms BIG SMILE]
N2: But not quite good enough ...
N1: ...So God created...
N2: ...Adam and Eve. [M1 & M2 reveal name tags and act out following]
N1: And when God saw them...
N2: ...He said they were VERY good.
N1: And God gave Adam ...
N2: ...and Eve ...
N1: ...the responsibility ...
N2: ...of looking after everything else ...
N1: ...that He had made. [M1 & M2 pick up 'creation' from stage floor]
N2: And God told them ...
N1: ... they could eat anything ...
N2: ...from all the trees He had made.
N1: Except for one.
N2: And wouldn't you know it,
N1: ...the ONE thing God said ...
N2: ... they couldn't do...
N1: ... they did. [M2 takes apple, eats and passes to M1]
N2: And then things just went from bad to worse. [Lights out]
N1: Once people had decided to do their own thing...
N2: ... and not listen to God...
N1: ...who made them...
N2: ...it was all downhill from there.
[Lights on, M1 & M2 go to blank name tags]
N1: And so God chose a man ...
N2: ...called Noah... [M3 reveals name tag and acts out following]
N1: ...to tell them... [M1, M2 & M4 act as people being told]
N2: ...that if they didn't shape up...
N1: ...He would send a flood.
N2: And of course ...
N1: ...the people ...
N2: ...didn't listen.
N1: So God sent ...
N2: ...a flood... [P1 hands M2 umbrella, P2 hands M4 umbrella, during following M1, M2 & M4 variously try to swim, duck and eventually drown]
N1: ...and it rained... [P1 & P2 fire water pistols at M1, M2 & M4]
N2: ...and rained...
N1: ...and poured...
N2: ...and poured...
N1: ...for forty days...
N2: ...and forty nights.
N1: And when it was all over ...
N2: ...the only people left ...
N1: ...were Noah & His family.
N2: And a whole bunch of animals. [M3 picks up some animals]
N1: Because God had saved them...
N2: ...in an ark.
N1: But as time went on...
N2: ...Noah's children... [M1 stands up]
N1: ...and their children ... [M2 stands up]
N2: ...and their children's children... [M4 stands up]
N1: ...forgot about what God had done...
N2: ...and even that God was there at all.
N1: So God chose a man ...
N2: ... named Abraham. [M1 reveals nametag 'Abram', taps N1 on shoulder]
N1: Actually, his name was Abram ...
N2: ...but God changed it to Abraham... [M1 reveals nametag 'Abraham']
N1: ...and promised Him a son.
N2: But when Abraham's wife heard this... [M2 reveals nametag 'Sarah' and acts out]
N1: ...she laughed and laughed...
N2: ...because she was really really really REALLY old.
N1: But God sent Abraham a son...
N2: ...called Isaac... [M3 appears from behind M1 & M2 and reveals nametag]
N1: ...and God promised Abraham ...
N2: ... that his descendants ...
N1: ...would be as numerous as the stars in the sky...
N2: [aside] ...that's a whole lot of people.
N1: And that they would be ...
N2: ...God's special people...
N1: ...and show the world...
N2: ...who God is.
[M2 goes to blank nametag]
N1: Isaac had a son called Jacob... [M4 appears from behind M3 and reveals nametag 'Jacob']
N2: ...but God changed HIS name to Israel. [M4 reveals nametag 'Israel', M3 goes to blank nametag]
N1: And Israel had twelve sons... [M2 & M3 step forward to act out]
N2: ...including a young upstart named Joseph... [M1 reveals nametag]
N1: ...whose brothers didn't like him very much...
N2: ...and so they sold him to some passing camel traders... [M2 & M3 throw M1 across stage]
N1: ...and Joseph ended up in Egypt...
N2: ...as a slave.
N1: But God blessed Joseph...
N2: ...and eventually ...
N1: ...he became ...
N2: ...the second highest ruler in all of Egypt. ...
N1: And the rest of his family came to visit him... [M2, M3 & M4 come to M1]
N2: ...because they had no food where they were...
N1: ...and so all their family lived in Egypt...
N2: ...for around 400 years.
[M1 & M4 go to blank nametags]
N1: Over time...
N2: ...the rulers of Egypt ...
N1: ...forgot all about Joseph...
N2: ...and God's chosen people ...
N1: ...became...
N2: ...slaves... [M2 & M4 act out following]
N1: ...and had to make bricks ...
N2: ...without straw.
N1: And so God chose a man...
N2: ...called Moses... [M3 reveals nametag]
N1: ...and asked him to lead God's people... [M4 reveals nametag 'God's people']
N2: ...out of Egypt. [M3 leads M4 across stage]
N1: But the ruler of Egypt... [M1 reveals nametag 'Pharaoh', pulls M3 back]
N2: ...wouldn't let them go.
N1: So God sent lots of plagues...
N2: ...to help him change his mind.
[During following, P1 & P2 throw red crepe paper, chocolate frogs, lollies etc at M1 & M2]
N1: Blood...
N2: ...frogs...
N1: ...gnats...
N2: ...flies...
N1: ...boils...
N2: ...hail...
N1: ...locusts...
N2: ...darkness...
[Lights off, during following M1 & M2 are heard moaning & crying]
N1: ...and finally,
N2: ...God sent an angel of death ...
N1: ...to strike down the firstborn son ...
N2: ...of every family in Egypt...
N1: ...because their ruler wouldn't listen to God...
N2: ...and let God's people go free.
[Lights on]
N1: But God's people and their sons were saved...
N2: ...and they left Egypt once and for all.
N1: So Moses led God's people... [M3 leads M4, act out following]
N2: ...out into the wilderness...
N1: ...and God spoke to Moses...
N2: ...from a mountaintop...
N1: ...and gave him the 10 commandments... [P2 throws cardboard 'stone' tablets to M3]
N2: ...and a whole bunch of other laws as well...
N1: ...to show them how they should live...
N2: ...as God's chosen people.
N1: And God led them to some land...
N2: ...which he had promised to give them...
N1: ...but the people were afraid...
N2: ...because people stronger than them lived there...
N1: ...and because they didn't trust God...
N2: ...they had to wander around in the desert...
N1: ...for forty years...
N2: ...when it should have only taken them 11 days to get where they wanted to go.
N1: After forty years...
N2: ...of walking around in circles...
N1: ...God chose a man...
N2: named Joshua [M1 reveals nametag, M3 goes to blank nametag]
N1: ...to lead the people into the promised land. [M2, M3 & M4 follow M1]
N2: And this time they trusted God...
N1: ...and God gave them the land...
N2: ...in amazing ways...
N1: ...like when they marched around the city of Jericho... [P1 & P2 run onto stage, stand together arms outstretched and touching to form 'city', Ms run around P1 & P2]
N2: ...for six days...
N1: ...and then seven times...
N2: ...on the seventh day...
N1: ...and then they shouted really loud... [Ms shout]
N2: [aside] ...they must have felt a bit silly...
N1: ...and the walls of the city ...
N2: ...came tumbling down! [P1 & P2 fall to ground and then leave stage]
N1: And so God's people settled into the land... [M1 & M2 act out]
N2: ...He had given them...
N1: ...and things went okay...
N2: ...for a while.
N1: But soon the generation ...
N2: ...who had seen God's work...
N1: ...died out. ... [M1 & M2 die, M1 goes to blank nametag]
N2: ...and their children forgot about God. [M3 & M4 act out]
N1: So God sent an enemy army against them...
N2: ...to remind them that they needed His help...
N1: ...and the people cried out to God ...
N2: ...to save them.
N1: And He did...
N2: ...save them.
N1: But pretty soon...
N2: ...the whole thing happened all over again.
N1: That generation died out... [M3 & M4 die]
N2: ...their children forgot about God..., [M1 & M2 act out]
N1: ...God sent an enemy against them...
N2: ...the people cried out to God...
N1: ...and He raised up a leader...
N2: ...called a judge...
N1: ...to save them.
N2: Some of the judges were a bit strange.
N1: But God still used them...
N2: ...like Ehud, who was left handed... [M3 reveals nametag 'Ehud', P1 throws M3 a sword]
N1: ...who killed the king of Moab... [M4 reveals nametag 'Eglon' act out following]
N2: a very fat guy called Eglon, whose rolls of fat covered up the sword after Ehud stuck it in his body...
N1: ...and Deborah... [M2 reveals nametag]
N2: ...whose friend put a tent peg through the enemy king's temple...
N1: ...and Samson... [M1 reveals nametag 'Samson', M4 'Delilah', act out]
N2: ...who let his girlfriend cut off his hair and make him weak...
N1: ...and Gideon... [M3 reveals nametag, acts]
N2: ...who tested God by asking him to do some miracles with a sheepskin fleece and the rain.
N1: And so it went on...
N2: ...for quite a few years...
N1: ...until the people decided ...
N2: ...that they didn't like having God...
N1: ...as their king.
N2: And they wanted to be like all the other countries around them...
N1: ...who had kings of their own.
N2: And so God ...
N1: ...let them have a king... [M3 reveals nametag, looks impressive, P1 places crown on M3's head]
N2: ...called Saul ...
N1: ...who was tall and strong ...
N2: ...and pretty impressive all round.
N1: But Saul disobeyed God...
N2: ...and so God chose ...
N1: ...another King... [M2 reveals nametag]
N2: ...called David ...
N1: ...who was young and skinny ...
N2: ...and didn't look like anything special at all.
N1: But God was with David...
N2: ...and he killed...
N1: ...a huge giant... [M1 reveals nametag]
N2: ...called Goliath ...
N1: ...with a tiny little ...
N2: ...slingshot. [M1 falls dead and knocks over M3 as well]
N1: And when Saul died... [M2 takes crown from M3 and puts on own head]
N2: ...David became King of Israel ...
N1: ...and did lots of good things...
N2: ...and quite a few bad things too ... adultery, murder, just to name a few.
N1: But God used David ...
N2: ...and God promised David ...
N1: ...that if he followed God...
N2: ...his descendants would reign over God's people ...
N1: ...forever.
N2: And when David died...
N1: ...his son Solomon became king. [M4 reveals nametag, takes crown]
N2: And God told Solomon he could ask for ANYTHING he wanted...
N1: ...and so Solomon asked for wisdom...
N2: ...and because that was such a smart thing to ask for, God gave him lots of money and power and success as well.
N1: So God's people enjoyed the good life...
N2: ...for a while...
N1: ...until Solomon died... [As M4 falls, throws crown off stage towards P2]
N2: ...and his son and another guy started fighting over the kingdom... [P1 takes sword & P2 picks up sword from stage, both run on stage and have a quick sword fight, run off]
N1: ...which ended up getting split into two...
N2: [aside] ...one half calling itself Israel and the other half calling itself Judah.
N1: For the next few hundred years ...
N2: ...different kings ...
N1: ... came ...
N2: ...and went.
N1: Some were good...
N2: ...like Hezekiah, who God miraculously healed. [M1 reveals nametag, rises]
N1: And some were bad...
N2: ...like Ahab & his wife Jezebel who killed anyone who worshiped God... [M3 & M2 reveal nametags]
N1: ...and led God's people ...
N2: ...astray.
N1: And so God chose some other men...
N2: ...called prophets...
N1: ...to go and remind God's people who He was...
N2: ...and how He wanted them to live.
N1: Men like Elijah... [M4 reveals nametag]
N2: ...who didn't die but got taken up into heaven by God in a flaming chariot...
N1: ...and Elisha... [M1 reveals nametag]
N2: [puzzled] ...who made the head of an axe float...
N1: ...and Amos... [M2 reveals nametag]
N2: ...a simple farmer who preached fire and brimstone...
N1: ...and Jonah... [M3 reveals nametag]
N2: ...who ran away from God, got swallowed by a whale, changed his mind, did what God asked, told people to turn to God, and then got angry at God for saving them! [P2 comes on in Big Fish costume to play role of whale]
N1: Anyway, God sent lots of different prophets...
N2: ...to tell the people to turn back to God ...
N1: ...and follow Him...
N2: ...and to promise them that in the future...
N1: ...He would send someone really special...
N2: ...called the Messiah...
N1: ...to rescue them from their sins...
N2: ...and show them more of what God is really like.
[M1, M2 & M3 go to blank nametags]
N1: But God's people didn't listen... [M4 reveals nametag 'God's people']
N2: ...and so finally...
N1: ...God sent another nation to come... [M1, M2 & M3 come on and carry M4 across stage]
N2: ...and defeat His people...
N1: ... and they were carried off into exile.
N2: [aside] Which means they had to leave the land God had given them and they were taken as captives to the country of the people who had defeated them.
N1: But even there...
N2: ...God didn't forget them.
N1: He sent other prophets...
N2: ...to speak His word...
N1: ...and encourage the people.
N2: [puzzled] Like Ezekiel, who lay on his left side for 390 days and shaved his hair off... [M1 reveals nametag and acts]
N1: ...to symbolize what God was saying to the people at the time...
N2: ...and Daniel, who survived being thrown into a lion's den and his friends who walked around in a blazing furnace for a few hours... [M2 reveals nametag and acts out, P1 throws stuffed lions to M2]
N1: ...to show people how powerful God was...
N2: ...and that He was still with them...
N1: ...even in a foreign land.
N2: And so after a few years,
N1: ...God's people began to settle down... [M4 lies down and relaxes]
N2: ...where they were...
N1: ...and get comfortable again...
N2: ...even though they weren't where God wanted them to be.
N1: One day...
N2: ... the people who had defeated Israel...
N1: ...were themselves defeated ...
N2: ... by a more powerful kingdom.
N1: And the ruler of this kingdom... [M3 reveals nametag]
N2: ...called Cyrus...
N1: ...decided to let God's people ...
N2: ...go back ...
N1: ...to their own land.
N2: What a nice guy!
N1: But lots of the people didn't want to go...
N2: ...because they were comfortable where they were. [M4 refuses to move]
N1: But a priest named Ezra and a governor named Nehemiah... [M1 & M2 reveal nametags]
N2: [aside] ...whose stories are heaps earlier in the order of our Bibles than they should be because this is where they really fit...
N1: ...led the group of God's people back to their own land. [M1 & M2 pick M4 up, walk across stage and begin building]
N2: The land God had promised them...
N1: ...and they began to rebuild ...
N2: ...starting first with their own houses, naturally.
N1: So God sent a prophet...
N2: ...called Haggai... [M3 reveals nametag]
N1: ...to remind them to work on God's house as well ...
N2: ...which they did.
N1: And God sent some other prophets... [M4 rushes over, ripping off name tags 'Zechariah' and 'Malachi' in quick succession]
N2: ...like Zechariah and Malachi...
N1: ...to encourage them to keep trusting Him.
N2: And then...
N1: ...for four hundred years...
[All Ms freeze. Few seconds of silence; N 1 & N2 look up at ceiling]
N2: ...there was silence.
[M2 goes to blank nametag]
N1: Until one day...
N2: ...a VERY special day...
N1: ...God decided not to send another prophet...
N2: ...or a priest...
N1: ...or even a king.
N2: But instead He sent...
N1: ...His Son... [M1 reveals nametag]
N2: ...called Jesus ...
N1: ...to speak God's Word ...
N2: ... in a way that no one else ever could, not even [name of pastor].
N1: But before we get to that ... [N1 pushes M1 aside]
N2: ...an angel appeared... [P2 throws M2 halo]
N1: ...to a young girl... [M4 reveals nametag]
N2: ...called Mary...
N1: ...and told her she was going to have a baby...
N2: ...which was all very nice...
N1: ...except that...
N2: ...she was a virgin.
N1: But the angel told her that her child ...
N2: ...would be born of the Holy Spirit.
N1: God's Son, Emmanuel!
N2: Which means God with us.
N1: And that's exactly ...
N2: ...what happened.
N1: Mary had a baby...
N2: ...called Jesus...
N1: ...and shepherds... [P1 runs on carrying staff, P2 wearing crown, bow down, then leave]
N2: ...and wise men...
N1: ...came to worship Him...
N2: ...and angels sang.
N1: But the ruler of the land wanted to kill Him...
N2: ...so Mary & Joseph and Jesus had to run away ...
N1: ... to Egypt...
N2: ...of all places...
N1: ...to hide out for a few years...
N2: ...until it was safe to come back.
[M4 goes to blank nametag]
N1: Jesus grew up... [M1 comes back to centre stage]
N2: ...as babies tend to do...
N1: ...and when he was thirty years old...
N2: ...or thereabouts...
N1: ...another man... [M3 reveals nametag]
N2: ...called John...
N1: ...began preaching repentance...
N2: ...saying that the Kingdom of God was near...
N1: ...and that He was not the promised Messiah...
N2: ...but that the Messiah was coming very soon. [M1 begins tapping M3 on shoulder, M3 ignores until line ...He came ]
N1: And sure enough...
N2: ...very soon in fact...
N1: ...He came.
N2: Well, He was already there, but He revealed who He was for the first time.
N1: And Jesus walked around Galilee...
N2: ... teaching...
N1: ...and preaching...
N2: ...and healing people... [M2 & M4 meet Jesus & get healed/raised]
N1: ...and casting out demons...
N2: ...and raising dead people...
N1: ...to show everyone who He really was...
N2: ...God's Son
N1: And He called some other men...
N2: ...to follow Him...
N1: ...and be His disciples.
N2: [trying to remember all] There was Peter, James, Andrew, Simon, Judas ... [Nametags quickly revealed by M2, M3, M4, M2 & M3]
N1: Anyway, twelve in all.
N2: Yeah.
N1: But some of the things Jesus spoke about...
N2: ...got some people a bit upset...
N1: ...especially one group of Jewish leaders... [P1 & P2 rush on and look disapprovingly at M1]
N2: ...called the Pharisees...
N1: ...who Jesus called legalistic...
N2: ...because they worried more about doing everything little thing right than about love, compassion and truth.
N1: And so the Pharisees plotted against Jesus... [P1 & P2 huddle together, then move to M3 and whisper, then leave stage]
N2: ...because He was always on about love and compassion and truth...
N1: ...and they convinced one of Jesus' disciples...
N2: ...called Judas Iscariot... [M3 steps forward]
N1: ...not to be confused with another of Jesus' disciples... [M4 reveals nametag, looks sad]
N2: ...who was just called Judas but has got some bad press just for having the same name as the other guy...
N1: ...who agreed to betray Jesus...
N2: ...and hand Him over ...
N1: ...to be killed.
N2: But Jesus knew what was going on...
N1: ...and He had a plan...
N2: ...God's original plan in fact...
N1: ...which included being killed ...
N2: ...but for a different reason.
N1: And so on the night before He was betrayed...
N2: ...Jesus met with His disciples... [M1 gathers M2, M3 & M4 together]
N1: ...and told them that He was going to die...
N2: ...FOR THEM!
N1: And then He took them outside ...
N2: ... into a garden ...
N1: ...to pray...
N2: ...but His disciples fell asleep.
N1: And the soldiers came and arrested Jesus... [P1 & P2 rush on and escort M1 away arms behind back, then nail his arms to cross when N2 says ...crucified ]
N2: ...and brought Him to trial...
N1: ...but they couldn't find anything to charge Him with...
N2: ...because He had never done anything wrong...
N1: ...but they decided to hand Him over to the people anyway...
N2: ...who demanded that He be crucified...
N1: ...and so God's Son hung on a cross...
[Lights out]
N2: ...and the sky went dark for three hours...
N1: ...to signify that something incredible was happening.
N2: Because little did the people watching know that this was all part of God's plan...
N1: ...and that by allowing His Son to die...
N2: ...who had never done anything wrong...
N1: ...God placed upon Him the sins of the world.
N2: [aside] That's all the sins of all the people of all times in the whole wide world...
N1: ...and took the punishment for them...
N2: [amazed] ...and for me
N1: After Jesus died His disciples were pretty upset ...
N2: ...not to mention afraid for their own lives ...
N1: ...so they hid.
N2: But...
N1: ...they had forgotten something...
N2: ...that Jesus had already told them. ...
N1: That on the third day...
N2: ...after He was killed...
N1: ...He would rise...
N2: ...from the dead.
N1: And He did ...
[Centre lights only on, M1 appears. M3 goes to blank nametag]
N2: ...rise from the dead.
N1: And Jesus appeared to His disciples... [M2 & M4 greet M1]
N2: ...not to mention 500 other people...
N1: ...so they knew that He had conquered death...
N2: ...and they REALLY knew that He was God's Son.
N1: And Jesus told them that He would send them His Spirit...
N2: ...to give them power...
N1: ...so that they would be His witnesses...
N2: ...and tell everybody else about Him.
N1: After He said this...
N2: ...Jesus disappeared... {M1 walks away from others]
N1: ...and was taken up ...
N2: ...into heaven...
N1: ...where He sat down ...
N2: ...next to God. [M1 climbs up next to screen and sits down]
N1: Then some angels appeared...
[All lights on]
N2: ...and told the disciples not to freak out...
N1: ...because Jesus would come back again...
N2: ...just as He had said He would.
N1: A few days later...
N2: ...at a time called Pentecost...
N1: ...Jesus' disciples were hanging around ... [M2, M3 & M4 act out]
N2: ...when all of a sudden...
N1: ...fire came from heaven...
N2: ...and the Holy Spirit came upon them...
N1: ...and they began to talk in strange languages...
N2: ...and preach the good news of what Jesus had done...
N1: ...to all kinds of people...
N2: ...from all kinds of places.
N1: And thousands of people were saved...
N2: ...and became followers of Jesus...
N1: ...and started the church...
N2: ...which was God's chosen way of reaching out to the world with the good news about Jesus.
N1: One of the disciples... [M2 reveals nametag and acts out following]
N2: ...called Peter...
N1: ...who had denied Jesus before His death...
N2: ...and was basically pretty good at putting His foot in His mouth up until this point...
N1: ...became an amazing preacher...
N2: ...who God used to reach thousands of people.
N1: And one day God gave Peter a vision...
N2: [puzzled] ...of pigs in a blanket ... [P1 throws stuffed pig to M2]
N1: ...which symbolised the fact that God wanted to reach out to the WHOLE world ...
N2: ...and not just His chosen people Israel.
N1: And so Peter went and preached to others...
N2: ...who weren't Jews.
N1: But there was one Jew...
N2: ...called Saul... [M3 reveals nametag 'Saul' and acts out following]
N1: ...who wasn't very happy about any of this...
N2: ...so unhappy in fact...
N1: ...that he went around persecuting the church... [M3 drives M2 off stage]
N2: ...and killing people who followed Jesus.
N1: Until one day...
N2: ...when Saul was just minding his own business as he walked to Damascus...
N1: ...he met the risen Lord Jesus... [M1 stands up, M3 looks up and sees M1]
N2: ...who COMPLETELY changed his life...
N1: ...and he became a preacher of the good news...
N2: ...and changed his name to Paul... [M3 reveals nametag 'Paul' and acts out following]
N1: ...and travelled all around the world...
N2: ...telling people about Jesus...
N1: ...and starting churches...
N2: ...and writing letters to some of these churches...
N1: ...in Galatia...
N2: ...and Philippi...
N1: ...and Corinth...
N2: ...and Thessalonica...
N1: ...telling them how to live...
N2: ...now that they were followers of Jesus.
N1: And in the end Paul was put in prison...
N2: ...for being a follower of Jesus...
N1: ...and lots of the other disciples...
N2: ...were killed for what they believed in.
N1: While all this was going on, another disciple...
N2: ...called John... [M4 reveals nametag and acts out following]
N1: ...who was also going around preaching the good news about Jesus...
N2: ...became the leader of the churches.
N1: And he became known as the Elder...
N2: ...because He was really really old...
N1: ...and he wrote some letters to some churches...
N2: ...telling them how to live as followers of Jesus...
N1: ...and he got himself into a bit of trouble too...
N2: ... for telling people about Jesus...
N1:v and so he was sent to live on an island...
N2: ...called Patmos ...
N1: ...in the middle of nowhere...
N2: ...so he couldn't tell anyone else about Jesus.
N1: But while he was there he had an amazing vision ...
N2: ...called ...Revelation ...
N1: ...in which God told him what would happen in the future...
N2: ...when Jesus comes back...
N1: ...and promised him...
N2: ...that it would be soon.
[Some lights off, spots only on N1 & N2]
[Ms line up across front of stage]
N1: And so...
N2: ...my friends...
N1: ...that is our version...
N2: ...of the story...
N1: ...the GREATEST story ...
N2: ...or the-entire-Bible-from-go-to-woe-in-under-fifteen-minutes-flat.
N1: You may think we have skipped a few bits...
N2: ...or overlooked a couple of people...
N1: ...and that may be so...
N2: ...undoubtedly.
N1: So what we would suggest...
N2: ... is that you...
N1: ...read it...
N2: ...for yourselves...
N1: ...because in the end...
[Ms pick up Bibles and hold out in front of them]
N2: ...this book...
N1: ...is...
N1 & N2: ...The Greatest Story Ever Told!
...................................
© 1999 Melinda Cousins, all rights reserved.
This script may be used without royalty payment, provided no charge is made
for entrance to the performance. In return, the author would like to be told
of any performance. She may be contacted at melinda.cousins@bigpond.com