Scripture Reference: Genesis 32:22-32
A lesson in struggle and blessing.
Cast:
OZZIE – a mischievous little monster
MR. MIKE – the teacher who sets him straight
Props:
none
(OZZIE enters while MR. MIKE is on stage.)
OZZIE: (enters excited) Oh, Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! Mr. Mike! I am so excited to tell you the good news!
MR. MIKE: The good news about what?
OZZIE: Alfonso Pasquale.
MR. MIKE: Oh, the bully we talked about last week. Is he still picking on you?
OZZIE: That's what I wanna tell you about. I've praying everyday, and he kept picking on me. I kept talking to God and talking to God. I used the peach preserves, just like you told me, Mr. Mike.
MR. MIKE: Not peach preserves – perseverance. That's when we keep trying even when things get tough.
OZZIE: That's what I said – peach preserves.
MR. MIKE: So what happened?
OZZIE: Well, I kept on praying. Then a couple of days ago someone told a lie about Alfonso Pasquale. The teacher believed the lie and was going to send him away to a special school for a very long time. At first, I thought that sounded great, because he wouldn't be able to pick on me.
MR. MIKE: So is he gone?
OZZIE: That's the weird part. I've been talking to God so much lately, it was like I could hear His voice telling me that I had to tell the truth even if it meant Alfonso Pasquale would still be around to pick on me. So I told the teacher the truth. And guess what, Mr. Mike, guess what.
MR. MIKE: Now you two are friends.
OZZIE: Oh, no, no, no, no,. no. He's still a big bully.
MR. MIKE: Then what's the good news?
OZZIE: My teacher was so impressed with my honesty that she put me on the Safety Patrol. I get to wear a really sweet sash and a whistle. Alfonso Pasquale won't be messing with me any more, and if he messes with anyone else, I'll blow my whistle.
MR. MIKE: That's great, Ozzie. You held on tight to God's promise, and He blessed you in the end. You just never know how He's going to do it.
OZZIE: That's right. It's not my whistle that protects me, it's my God. And that's why I'm still going to pray for Alfonso Pasquale.
MR. MIKE: Good for you, Ozzie.
OZZIE: And a toasted English muffin for those peach preserves. (disappears)
MR. MIKE: Ozzie!
Scripture Reference: Genesis 29
A lesson in perseverance.
Cast:
OZZIE – a mischievous little monster
MR. MATT – the teacher who sets him straight
Props:
none
(OZZIE enters while MR. MATT is on stage.)
OZZIE: (appears and screams) AAAAHH!!! (disappears with a thud)
MR. MATT: Ozzie?!? Are you all right?
OZZIE: (reappearing, says weakly) Ooooh. I can't take it any more.
MR. MATT: You can't take what any more?
OZZIE: (building momentum) There is this bully at school name Alfonso Pasquale, and he keeps picking on me. Every time he sees me he says I look like a big fuzzy lime or he honks my nose. He makes fun of the way I talk, and he says I act all crazy. Do I act all crazy, Mr. Matt?
MR. MATT: Well… So what have you been doing about it?
OZZIE: I've tried being nice to him. I've tried ignoring him. I've tried telling on him. I've tried everything, and nothing helps. What's a cute little green monster suppose to do?
MR. MATT: Have you prayed?
OZZIE: What a good idea. I could pray that he falls into a really deep hole…
MR. MATT: No…
OZZIE: Or that he turns pink with orange polka dots…
MR. MATT: No, Ozzie. Don't pray that bad things will happen to the poor fellow.
OZZIE: I should pray for good things to happen to him?
MR. MATT: You could, but I was thinking you cold pray to God for perseverance.
OZZIE: I love peach perseverance, especially on a toasted English muffin, but how will that help?
MR. MATT: That's preservers. Perseverance is when we keep trying even when things get tough. When it is no longer humanly – or monsterly – possible to continue in our own strength, we can pray to God to be our strength.
OZZIE: It's like God and I are double-teaming Alfonso Pasquale.
MR. MATT: Right. You don’t have to face him alone.
OZZIE: What a great idea. I'm going to pray now for perseverance.
MR. MATT: Good for you.
OZZIE: And a toasted English muffin. (disappears)
MR. MATT: Ozzie!
Scripture Reference: Genesis 25:19-34, 27:1-28:9
A lesson in the value of God's blessing.
Cast:
D.B. – a good albeit not very bright bunny
MISS REBECCA – the teacher who sets him straight
Props:
none
(MISS REBECCA is on stage.)
D.B.: (enters and stares at the ground) Come on! Come on! Come on!
MISS REBECCA: What is the matter, D.B.?
D.B.: It is my new special jelly beans. They do not want to grow.
MISS REBECCA: Oh, sweetie, you can't plant jelly beans and get a beanstalk.
D.B.: Of course not. Jelly beans do not grow into a beanstalk.
MISS REBECCA: Well, I'm glad you know that.
D.B.: That is just a fairy tale.
MISS REBECCA: That's right.
D.B.: I would not be so foolish as to think that these are magic jelly beans that would grow a beanstalk that I could climb into the clouds.
MISS REBECCA: I'm sorry I doubted you, D.B.
D.B.: How silly! Jelly beans only grow into jelly bean bushes.
MISS REBECCA: Jelly beans don't come from a bush.
D.B.: A vine?
MISS REBECCA: I'm afraid not.
D.B.: Are they legumes?
MISS REBECCA: (chuckling) No, they aren't legumes. Jelly beans are candy and are made in a candy factory.
D.B.: (downtrodden) Oh.
MISS REBECCA: (concerned) I hope you didn't pay a lot of money for those jelly beans.
D.B.: Oh, no. I did not pay any money.
MISS REBECCA: That's good.
D.B.: (embarrassed) I traded my Star Wars cards for them.
MISS REBECCA: Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry.
D.B.: I guess that was not such a great trade. Was it?
MISS REBECCA: No, it wasn't. You traded something that was very valuable to you for something that wasn't worth much. You wound up with a handful of jelly beans that you could eat in just a few minutes.
D.B.: I should have valued what I had more. Do you think I could trade them back?
MISS REBECCA: You can try, but you planted them in the ground. I don't know that anyone wants jelly beans covered with dirt.
D.B.: I am going to try anyway, but I am going to be more careful in the future.
MISS REBECCA: Good for you, D.B.
D.B.: Bye, Miss Rebecca.
MISS REBECCA: Bye, D.B.
