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PENTECOST: A PLAY ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH Based on Acts 2 CHARACTERS: NARRATOR
1 NARRATOR
2 NARRATOR
3 HOLY
SPIRIT (several kids) PETER MARY JOHN MEDE ARAB EGYPTIAN SKEPTIC CROWD
(includes the Mede, the Arab, the Egyptian and
the Skeptic) The
disciples are in an upper room with a window looking down on the crowd below.
The Narrators enter from the side.
NARRATOR 1:
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples returned to Jerusalem.
When they entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they
were staying. All the disciples
were there; Peter, Mary Magdalene, John, Joanna, James, Mary the Mother of John,
Andrew, Mary the mother of Jesus, Andrew and all the other disciples as well as
Jesus’ brothers and sisters. NARRATOR 2:
It was the Jewish festival of Pentecost. Pentecost
was when the Jews celebrated God’s giving to Moses and the children of Israel
the Ten Commandments while they were traveling in the desert after they had left
Egypt.
Peter
and Mary come to the window and look out. NARRATOR 3:
Jesus’ disciples were still afraid that the Romans would find them and arrest
them, so they were full of fear. MARY:
You know, Peter, I really miss Jesus. I was so sad when he died, and so happy
when he rose from the dead, but now that he has ascended up into heaven, I miss
him. PETER:
Me too, Mary. But he promised he would send someone to help us. Do you remember
what he said? John
comes and joins them at the window. JOHN:
I remember. It wasn’t a
“someone”, it was “the Comforter”, the Holy Spirit.
I wish he or she would get here. I
could use some comfort. Those
people down there scare me. They’re
still trying to arrest us for following Jesus. Suddenly
there is a sound like a mighty wind, and something that looks like tongues of
fire (red crepe paper or flowing red cloth) appear and rest on Peter, Mary and
John. NARRATOR 1:
Suddenly from heaven, there was the sound of rushing wind. It filled the entire
house where the disciples were sitting. Divided tongues, like fire, appeared
among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. NARRATOR 2:
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking to one another. PETER:
I feel different. MARY:
I don’t feel so afraid anymore. JOHN:
Me neither. PETER:
I feel like telling the world about Jesus! MARY
AND JOHN:
Me too. NARRATOR 3:
They opened the window and looked down into the street.
There were people from many nations in the courtyard. MARY:
Cool! This must be what Jesus told us about.
I still miss him, but now I feel like going out and telling the whole
world about him! (She yells down to the people in the street below) Hey, hey you down there, God is wonderful!
God is powerful! God is great! And Jesus came to show us the way… PETER:
I’m not afraid, the Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus, has made me courageous!
I want to tell all of you about Jesus. MARY:
Jesus was killed and he rose from the dead! We don’t have to be afraid of death anymore, we will be
with God when we die! JOHN:
Jesus was a wonderful teacher and told us to love each other and showed
us that God loves everyone! NARRATOR 1:
The people below were amazed because each person from each different country
heard them speaking in their own native language. MEDE:
What is that you are saying? You
are speaking in my language! ARAB:
No they are speaking in my language! EGYPTIAN:
Are you crazy, they are all speaking Egyptian! SKEPTIC:
No, they are crazy, it sounds to me like they have all been drinking wine
and are drunk! PETER:
People of Judea and from all different countries, we are not drunk.
No, we are doing what the prophet Joel spoke of.
He said:
God declares, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
And your young men and women shall see visions,
And your old women and men will dream dreams.
And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord
Shall be saved! MEDE:
What are you talking about? PETER:
I want to tell all of you about Jesus, about how he lived and taught
people. MARY:
He helped me so much and I loved him very much.
He cared for everyone, old people, children, Jews, even people who
weren’t Jewish. JOHN:
He was amazing. He said that
the poor people were as important as the rich people were. MARY:
That’s right. He treated
women as if they were as important as men. PETER:
The Romans crucified him, but he rose from the dead and has sent God’s
Holy Spirit to guide us and give us strength. MARY:
It’s true. I thought Jesus was dead so I went to care for his body, but
when I got there the tomb was empty and he appeared to me. JOHN:
Yes, and now the Holy Spirit has helped us to not be afraid!
I feel so creative that I think I’ll go write down all the things I can
remember about what Jesus did and taught us! PETER:
If you believe in Jesus, all of your sins will be forgiven and we can
baptize you in his name! God’s
promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, for
everyone whom the Lord our God calls! CROWD: That’s amazing! Wow! This Jesus sounds great; what should we do
to follow him? PETER: Be sorry for anything you’ve ever done wrong to hurt someone or
something else, and come and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that God
will forgive you. Then you’ll
receive the Holy Spirit. This is a
promise for you and your children and people all over the world. NARRATOR 2:
So they all went down to the river and Peter and Mary and John and the rest of
the disciples baptized them all. NARRATOR 3:
On that day, over three thousand people were baptized.
After that, the followers of Jesus devoted themselves to prayer. NARRATOR 1:
They shared everything they had with each other; food, homes, clothes, and all
of their possessions. NARRATOR 2:
Everyday, more and more people came to be baptized and to add to the group of
believers. NARRATOR 3:
They had glad hearts and generous spirits, praising God and having goodwill for
all people. Deepening Faith: Youth Ministry Resources and Some Miscellaneous Advice Rev. Lizann Bassham, Front Porch Spirit Press Copyright © 2001 |
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