The Friend at Midnight

Scripture Reference: Luke 11:5-13

The lesson about the persistence in prayer.

Cast:
FRIEND – a persistent friend with no sense of time
NEIGHBOR – the neighbor who is just trying to get some shut eye

Props:
Pots, pans, and/or anything else to make lots of noise.
Frozen pizza box

FRIEND: HEY! ARE YOU AWAKE?!


NEIGHBOR: (crashing sounds) What?!?


FRIEND: I SAID, “ARE YOU AWAKE?”


NEIGHBOR: Well, I am now. What time is it?


FRIEND: MIDNIGHT.


NEIGHBOR: Please keep it down. Everyone is asleep.


FRIEND: (stage whisper) Sorry.


NEIGHBOR: What on earth to you want?


FRIEND: I just picked my friend up at the airport, and all they fed him on the plane was a little bag of pretzels. He's starving, and all I have in my fridge is a bottle of flat Coke and half a loaf of moldy bread.


NEIGHBOR: Why are you telling me all of this?


FRIEND: Well, I was wondering if you might have a frozen pizza you could spare?


NEIGHBOR: A FROZEN PIZZA! Shhhh! What do I look like? A fast food place?


FRIEND: Well, no, but he’s really hungry.


NEIGHBOR: Look, it’s the middle of the night, the house is locked up, and the kids are finally asleep – which is no easy task. I am not going to go traipsing through the house TO GET YOU A PIZZA! Shhhh! Come back in the morning.


FRIEND: But he’s hungry now. C’mon, be a pal. All I’m asking for is one lousy little pizza. I’d even take one with pineapple on it – but no anchovies. Hairy fish on pizza is gross. Yuck! C’mon, buddy.


NEIGHBOR: I am not your pal. I am not your buddy. I am not your friend! I CAN’T EVEN HEAR YOU! (Putting fingers in ears) LA-LA-LA-LA. Shhhh!


FRIEND: Just walk down to the kitchen, pull a pizza out of the freezer, and toss it out the window, then you can go back to bed. No biggie.


NEIGHBOR: Have you no shame? You just won’t give up. Will you? Fine, let me get your pizza. (Disappear from the window. Start crashing and shushing. Without coming back to the window, toss the pizza box out of the window. Then start crashing and shushing again.)


FRIEND: THANKS! Oops! Shhhh! (stage whisper) Thanks. (Looking at box) Anchovies?! Some people just don’t think about other people’s feelings.

The Good Samaritan

Scripture Reference: Luke 10:30-37


 The story of the Good Samaritan updated for children.


Cast:
VICTIM – ordinary boy (or girl) who has been set upon by bullies


Costume:
Modern dress. Clothes are torn and bloodied to show signs of a struggle. Should also be bandaged.


(The VICTIM stumbles into room bandaged and moaning. This can be done while a teacher or other person is talking, interrupting the class.)


VICTIM: Oh, it hurts so much. I was on my way here this morning, when I was jumped by these big kids. These bullies stole my offering and beat the tar out of me. (waving off assistance) I’ll be fine. It only hurts when I laugh. Ha ha – oh! (miming hits and kicks) They hit me and kicked me and spit on me and called me names. I thought I was going to die. Then they just left me there by the road.


I don’t know how long I had been lying there when I saw Biff. Biff is the minister's son. He's always busy doing something around church. I called out to him to help me. He said he was really busy, and maybe he could help me on his way back. But there may not be any me by the time he gets back!


A few minutes later I saw Holly. She's in the choir and has the most beautiful singing voice. I was in the Christmas play with her last year. She's so nice. She once said 'hi' to me. I just knew she would help me. I called out to her, but she got this look of disgust on her face. I know I was all bloody and bruised – but how rude! When I asked her for help, she looked at me like I'd asked her to eat kitty litter. She said something about her new dress and her nails, then she just crossed over to the other side of the street.


What was I going to do? I was feeling weak. I think I even saw part of my life flash before my eyes, and I didn’t like the ending. I kept thinking, “Don’t go into the light.”


I lay there for what felt like hours when I saw Lewis. Not Lewis! He is the biggest nerd in the school. No one likes Lewis. He is SO strange! He goes to some weirdo church. He always wears dress pants, and they don’t even come down to his ankles. And he carries this Star Wars lunch box (rolls eyes). Everyone is always so mean to him. I’ve never said anything mean to him – in fact, I usually try to avoid eye contact with him – but I have laughed when others have made fun of him. I didn’t even bother to call out to him. Everyone is always so mean to him, why would he be nice to anyone else. When he saw me, he ran right over – man, he even runs like a dork – and got down on one knee and asked how I was. Boy, do I feel bad now. I told him what happened. He opened his Star Wars lunch box and gave me a drink from his R2D2 Thermos. He used the water from the Thermos and his handkerchief to clean my wounds. He had some Band-Aids in his lunch box and put them on me. He said he had to be somewhere but that the school nurse lived right around the corner. He took me there, so she could finish bandaging me up and make sure I was okay. He said he would be back later to check on me.


He was so nice to me. Why?!? I’ve never been nice to him. I’ve never even spoken to him. He has every reason in the world to be mad at everyone in school and could have – and maybe should have – just left me there like Biff and Holly did, but he didn’t.


Anyway, I think I want to catch up to Lewis. I think I can learn a lot from Lewis about what it means to be a good neighbor.

Mirror, Mirror

Scripture Reference: James 1:22-25

A lesson about listening and doing.

Cast:

CHARLIE – a mindful puppet

GEORGE – a forgetful puppet

NARRATOR

Props:

a mirror (or something shiny to represent a mirror) on the side of the stage

(The stage is empty except for the mirror when CHARLIE enters and starts walking n the direction of the mirror. He is messy and disheveled; maybe a sock or sucker stuck to his back.)

CHARLIE: (singing)  I've got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart / Where? / Down in my heart / Where? / Down in my heart / I got the…  (catches sight of himself in the mirror) Oh, goodness. I'm a mess. I can't believe I left the house like this. I've got to back home and get cleaned up. (leaves the stage)

(The stage is empty except for the mirror when GEORGE enters and starts walking n the direction of the mirror. He is messy and disheveled; maybe a sock or sucker stuck to his back.)

GEORGE: (singing)  Hey, hey, good lookin' / Whatcha got cookin'? / How's about cookin' somethin' up with me? / Hey, sweet baby…  (catches sight of himself in the mirror) Oh, my. I'm messier than a monkey's birthday. I need to go comb my hair. (he starts to leave then pauses) Now, where was I going? (thinks for a minute) Oh, yeah. (turns around and starts singing again)  Hey, hey, good lookin' / Whatcha got cookin'?…  (sees himself in the mirror again) Oh, dear. Look at me. I'm messier than a soup sandwich. I need to go comb my hair. (he starts to leave then pauses) Now, where was I going? (thinks for a minute) Oh, yeah. (turns around and starts singing again)  Hey, hey, good lookin' / Whatcha got cookin'?…  (sees himself in the mirror again) Oh, lands. I'm messier than a molting Wookie. I need to go comb my hair.

CHARLIE: (returns cleaned up and quietly watches GEORGE)

GEORGE: (he starts to leave then pauses) Now, where was I going? (thinks for a minute) Oh, yeah. (turns around and starts singing again)  Hey, hey, good lookin' / Whatcha got cookin'?…  (sees himself in the mirror again) Oh, my stars. I'm messier than a teenager's bedroom. I need to comb my hair. (he starts to leave then pauses) Now, where was I going? (thinks for a minute) Oh, yeah. (turns around and starts singing again)  Hey, hey, good lookin' / Whatcha got cookin'?…  (sees himself in the mirror again) Oh, my word. I'm messier than a pig eating a sloppy Joe. I need to comb my hair. (he starts to leave then pauses) Now, where was I going?

CHARLIE: George, what are you doing?

GEORGE: I was just trying to remember. I think I was going to… going to… going to… sing!  Hey, hey, good lookin'… 

CHARLIE: What about the mirror? I thought you were going to comb your hair.

GEORGE: Why what's wrong with my hair? What mirror?

CHARLIE: That mirror over there. (walks GEORGE to the mirror)

GEORGE: (at the mirror) Oh, my goodness. I'm messier than a birds nest. I need to comb my hair.

CHARLIE: Exactly.

GEORGE: How did I not know about this?

CHARLIE: (leading GEORGE offstage) Let's get you cleaned up, and I'll explain everything.

GEORGE: Thanks, Charlie. Bless you.

NARRATOR: James 1:22-25 – Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect Law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does. (NIV)