LOVE IN ACTION:

1 CORINTHIANS 13

Narrator 1: Hear now the reading of scripture, selected verses from First Corinthians, chapter 13.

Narrator 2: If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Narrator 3: Love is patient.

Narrator 4: Love is kind.

Narrator 5: Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.

Narrator 1: It does not insist on its own way.

Narrator 2: It is not irritable or resentful.

Narrator 3: It does all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Narrators 1-5: Love never ends.

Narrator 2: But as for prophecies, they will come to and end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

Narrator 5: And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;

Narrators 1-5: And the greatest of these is love.

Narrator 2: Here ends the reading of scripture.

Narrator 1: Love is this; love is that…what does it all really mean?

Narrator 2: What do you mean, “What does it mean?”

Narrator 1: Just what I said. What does it mean?

Narrator 4: Well I think it means that love is the most important thing. No matter how wonderful you are, or what kind of wonderful things you do, if you don’t have love in your heart it doesn’t mean a thing.

Narrator 3: I think I understand. Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a very rich man.

Narrator 1: Oh, I am so rich!!! Being rich is great. I can spend lots of money!

Narrator 3: But people really didn’t like the rich man very much because he was very bossy.

Narrator 1: Hey, you, I’m very rich! Go and fetch me a candy bar, I’m hungry.

Narrator 3: Pretty soon, the rich man realized people didn’t like him very much and it made him sad. So he got a brilliant idea. He figured if he gave away lots of money and built a new hospital in town then everyone would like him.

Narrator 1: I’ll build a great big hospital, and I’ll name it after me. I’ll call it “The Very Rich Man Hospital”, and then everyone will know that I’m wonderful and they’ll like me! I’m so wonderful, I’m so wonderful!

Narrator 5: Did it work?

Narrator 3: Not really. People really liked the hospital. But it didn’t make them like the very rich man more, mostly because he was still bossy.

Narrator 1: Hey, you, fetch me a candy bar. I’m hungry.

Narrator 2: But the person that the very rich man was ordering around was a volunteer at the hospital who was on her way to play with the children in the children’s ward. She loved children.

Narrator 4: Sorry, but I’ve got to be in the children’s ward soon. I’m putting on a puppet show for the sick children. I love children!

Narrator 2: She was very patient and kind.

Narrator 5: Oh, like in the scripture when it says, “Love is patient and kind and never rude.”

Narrator 2: Exactly.

Narrator 3: The rich man was mad and said…

Narrator 1: Hey, don’t you know who I am? I built this hospital! I’m very important!

Narrator 2: And the patient and kind person said…

Narrator 4: How wonderful. It must be great to be rich and help people with your money. It must be a nice feeling to know how much you have helped.

Narrator 1: Nice feeling? I did it so that people would look at me and think I was wonderful. But I don’t think it’s working.

Narrator 3: So the rich person left. Even though he had done a wonderful thing and helped so many people, he didn’t have love in his heart.

Narrator 5: I guess it’s like the scripture said, “…love is not boastful or arrogant or rude and doesn’t insist on it’s own way.” Did the rich person ever change?

Narrator 3: I don’t know, I hope so.

Narrator 5: What happened to the person who was volunteering because she loved children?

Narrator 2: She went off to the children’s ward to do her work.

Narrator 5: Did she get rich and famous because she helped?

Narrator 2: No, in fact most people didn’t even know she did all the work she did. But God knew.

Narrator 1: That was a good story. I think I understand now.

Narrator 4: And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. The end.

Deepening Faith: Youth Ministry Resources and Some Miscellaneous Advice

Rev. Lizann Bassham, Front Porch Spirit Press