Easter Lesson 2010

CF Easter Script April 3 & 4, 2010

Easter 2010 Large GroupEaster 2010 Large Group

Virtue: Friendship—spending time with someone you trust and enjoy. Memory Verse: “A friend loves at all times. He is there to help when trouble comes.” Proverbs 17:17, NIrVBible Story: Jesus & Peter • Matthew 26:31-56, 69-75; 27:32-56, 57-28:10, Luke 22:31-38, 54-62, 23:44-24:12, John 13:31-38, 18:15-27, 19:16-20:9Bottom Line: A true friend will love you no matter what.

TEACHING (25 Minutes)TEACHING (25 Minutes)

Raise lights on two kids playing on opposite sides of the stage on their DSIs. As they are playing, it

becomes obvious that they are playing each other.

TYLERYes! Grab it!

DANNYNoooo! You can’t take that! It’s mine.

TYLERIt’s a game. I grab that one, and ….if I jump over here and climb this vine. Yes! I got that one too.

DANNYNo fair!

Danny stands up and slams his DSI shut, throws it down on the couch or beanbag and walks over to Tyler. Danny attempts to grab the DSI out of

Tyler’s hands, but Tyler manages to get away from him. The two scramble around the stage

through the next set of lines.

TYLERHey! That’s Mine!

DANNYYou’re not playing by the rules. You’re a cheater. Give that to me!

TYLERWhat gives? Dude, it’s a game!

DANNYYou’re supposed to be my friend, but all you ever do is cheat. You cheat on DSI, you cheat on baseball, and you cheat me out of my cookies at lunch. Some friend you are.

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TYLERI do not! I never do that stuff.

Tyler manages to get his DSI into his pocket, and in the next breath, grab Danny’s from where it fell. He holds it out of Danny’s reach as they

dance around the stage.

DANNYGive that to me! It’s mine! You have no right!

TYLERHa! Life’s not fair, is it? Can’t catch me!

Right about that time the STORYTELLER enters. After taking note of the situation, STORYTELLER

reaches over and grabs the DSI out of Tyler’s hand.

TYLERHey! No fair.

STORYTELLERWell, why don’t you give me the other DSI as well?

TYLERWhat other one? I only see one DSI here …

STORYTELLERTyler. I know you have Danny’s DSI in your pocket, now hand it over.

TYLEROK. Whatever.

STORYTELLERWould the two of you come over here and explain to me just what is going on?

DANNYHe stole my DSI. That’s what’s going on. You should send him home! Call his parents. He stole it right out of my hands.

TYLERDid not! You called me a cheater. You’re the cheater. You … you …

STORYTELLER(Interrupts before Tyler calls anyone a name.) OK, I think I get the picture. You started fighting over Super Mario Brothers, didn’t you?

DANNYWell, yeah. Kinda.

TYLERKinda? I don’t ever want to play DSI with him ever again.

DANNYWell, I don’t ever want to do anything with him ever again.

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STORYTELLERReally, that’s enough fighting. I get that you two are angry with each other. But I think it’s a little extreme that you never want to do anything with each other ever again.

TYLEROr see each other.

STORYTELLERI think you guys are going to regret that choice.

DANNYNuh-uh!

STORYTELLERBut wait a minute … Aren’t you two best friends?

TYLERNo!

STORYTELLERYes you are. You guys are true friends. You’re always doing stuff together.

DANNYMaybe in like, Kindergarten. But we sure aren’t anymore. Not after this.

STORYTELLERHmmm. This seems like such an easy problem to solve. You got in a little fight. All you have to do now is say you’re sorry and forgive each other. Then you can be friends again. No big deal.

DANNYNo way! There is no way I’m ever going to forgive him!

TYLERI guess we agree on one thing!

Both boys stomp off stage in different directions leaving the STORYTELLER on stage alone.

STORYTELLER(Sighs) Such an easy problem to solve … It reminds me of something.

SFX: Lower Lights

Have an intro clip …. (Thinking Star Wars-ish, In a Galaxy Far, Far away.) There will be three of these clips with “voiceovers” to intro the transition between the modern script and the Bible story.

VOICEOVERTwo thousand years ago, a group of twelve friends gathered in a room for the last time. They had no idea that their best friend was going to be taken away from them on this very night.

SFX – Lights up –

Storyteller stands by a table with a meal set up on it.

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STORYTELLER (Section One)Jesus had gathered his disciples for one last meal, although the disciples didn’t really know it was going to be the last one. As they gathered to celebrate, Jesus started to prepare them for what was to come.

Remember, Jesus disciples were his helpers. They had been with him for three long years, traveling and working right beside him. He had taught them so much, and every one of them loved Jesus more than they ever thought they could. So it was a huge surprise when Jesus told his closest friends that one of them was going to betray him before the night was over.

I think Peter was the disciple who was the loudest and craziest. He was willing to do and say things that no one else ever would. And sure enough, Peter spoke up when all the others were wondering who would betray Jesus. Peter told Jesus that he would never deny him and he would stay with him through everything. But Jesus knew Peter better than he knew himself. Jesus told Peter that he would deny even knowing Jesus three times before the rooster crowed the next morning.

Even though Peter didn’t believe that, Jesus was right. After Jesus had been arrested and hauled off by roman soldiers to the temple, Peter hung out in the courtyard. Three different times people saw Peter and thought they knew him as one of Jesus’ friends. Each time, Peter denied that he was friends with Jesus. Sure enough, right after the third time Peter heard a rooster crowing.

When Peter realized what he had done, he was devastated! He had done exactly what Jesus said he would do … denied knowing his true friend, the best one he’d ever had. That’s when Peter started to cry.

SFX: Lower Lights

Storyteller Exits and Danny Comes back on stage. He is sitting by himself playing his

DSI.

DANNY(Frustrated with his game, he puts it down and gets up.) This game is made to play by myself. I just don’t understand why it’s so boring. I guess not being able to play against Tyler is a little bit harder than I thought. We really have hung out for a long time, since we were on the little kid’s soccer team. We were in the same class in both first and second grades. And now we’re always together at recess. We’re in the same small group, and our families always have lunch together after church.

Oh well. I guess that’s all over. I know that I’m the one who is right here! Everyone knows you don’t just forgive people. Whatever. [Insert Storytellers Name here] just doesn’t know what s/he’s talking about. At school, people are always in fights with their friends, and no one ever talks about forgiving or saying “I’m sorry.” Whatever.

I guess I’ll just keep playing my game. By myself.

Danny sits back down and plays his game. He gets bored again quickly, then gets up and exits.

Storyteller enters.

SFX: Lower Lights

VOICEOVER

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A lot of people didn’t believe that Jesus was God’s Son. He was put on trial before Pilate, but Pilate didn’t want to make the choice to punish Jesus. He asked the crowd what he should do. “King of the Jews” was what they shouted to make fun of Jesus. “Crucify Him,” they called out! No one was willing to stand up for Jesus. No one was going to be his friend.

SFX: Lights Up

Storyteller stands next to a cross.

STORYTELLER (Section Two)It didn’t take long for the decision to be made to punish Jesus. He had not done anything wrong, but the people decided that he was going to have to be hung on a cross. Imagine being one of his friends and watching your friend being wrongly accused. Imagine being Peter and watching Jesus be punished even though he was innocent. What would you have felt like, especially when you knew you had just denied the best friend you could ever have?

But Jesus accepted the punishment. He really didn’t have to. He could have chosen not to die on the cross. But Jesus made a choice. His choice was to accept the punishment that everyone else deserved. He died on that cross, and then he was buried in a tomb. That’s how a true friend shows love, no matter what.

SFX: Lower Lights

Storyteller Exit. Enter Tyler talking on a cell phone.

SFX: Lights Up

TYLERNo dad, I really don’t want to call Danny. Why? Well we got in a fight. Over our DSI. I don’t know … he threw his down and I stole it. No, I suppose that wasn’t the best choice. I don’t care! He’s not my friend anymore. I get to choose if he’s my friend, and I choose that he’s not. Yeah, I do remember all the fun we had in baseball last summer. And the trip when he came with us to Disney, I guess that was fun. Sorry Dad. I don’t want to invite him to my birthday party. I’d rather not have any friends at all. OK, Dad. Later.

(Tyler hangs up the phone.) This might be a really lonely birthday.

SFX: Lower Lights

Tyler Exits. Storyteller enters.

VOICEOVERFor three days Jesus’ friends were so sad. Their best friend had died. His friends took care of Jesus, as was the custom. He was placed in a tomb and a large rock was rolled in front, with soldiers standing guard.

STORYTELLER (Section Three)This is the best part of the story! Three days after Jesus died on the cross, some ladies were headed out to the tomb to visit Jesus’ body. When they arrived at the tomb, they noticed that the big rock that protected the opening had been rolled away. That was strange. The rock was really too big to move. There were also supposed to be guards, but they were gone. Instead there was an angel who told them Jesus wasn’t in the tomb anymore.

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The ladies ran to tell the disciples that Jesus wasn’t in His tomb. As soon as he heard, Peter took off running. Sure enough, when he arrived he saw that Jesus wasn’t there. There were strips of cloth Jesus wore folded neatly and laying where Jesus had been. It took a while for Peter and the other disciples to realize what had happened with Jesus – that he had come back to life!

Coming back to life was exactly what had happened with Jesus! He spent time with lots of different people before he headed up to heaven, including his disciples. Jesus gave his disciples the job of making sure everyone knew that He was God’s Son. Soon people began to understand that Jesus had chosen to die to take the punishment for everyone else’s sins. They understood that Jesus was the one true friend who would love them no matter what.

Enter Tyler and Danny from opposite sides of the stage. They are both acting sad and depressed,

but still stay distant from each other. They should still be angry with each other.

STORYTELLEROh, there you two are. I wondered where you had gone.

TYLERHi [Storyteller].

STORYTELLERYou two aren’t still fighting, are you?

DANNYNo.

TYLERWe’re just not talking to each other.

STORYTELLEROh, that’s even worse! You two are going to be a lot happier if you choose to forgive each other. The way Jesus forgave Peter.

DANNYThat wasn’t in the story you just told. Besides, I don’t see how Jesus could have forgiven Peter. The way you made it sound, Peter was a horrible friend. He pretended not to know Jesus, when Jesus needed him the most.

STORYTELLERThat’s pretty much what happened. But in the end, Jesus did forgive Peter. Jesus is a true friend – he showed love to Peter no matter what Peter had done. He also gave him an important job of building the Church.

TYLERReally? How could he trust him to do that job?

STORYTELLERHmm. That’s a story we’ll learn more about in a few weeks. The important thing is to understand that Jesus actually did the same thing for Peter as he has done for each one of us. Let me show you something to help you understand.

Bring on stage a large clear container filled with water. You will also need an eyedropper, iodine,

and bleach. Store the iodine in a container

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marked “SIN” and the bleach in a container marked “JESUS”.

STORYTELLERSee this water? It’s clean and clear and pure. Really, it’s beautiful. That is a picture of each one of us before we made the choice to sin. Remember a sin is anything we do where we disobey God. The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (NIV)

SFX: Romans 3:23 Bible Verse GraphicAdd a few drops of the iodine to the water, and as

you talk continue adding the iodine to the water.STORYTELLERWe have all messed up and disobeyed God. (add iodine). This means our lives are stained by sin. Maybe we disobeyed our parents (add iodine). Or maybe we told a lie (add iodine). Maybe we got in a fight with our sister (add iodine). Or maybe we won’t forgive our friends when we fight (add iodine). Some of these may seem like little things, but they still leave a mark! All of these little things add up to one big thing! That big thing is that we choose to disobey God (add large amount of iodine).

DANNYWow, that’s a mess.

STORYTELLERSure is. Now, tell me how we clean this up?

TYLERUmm … I don’t think you can. Whatever that stuff is you put in, it’s not coming out.

STORYTELLERWell, it’s not coming out on it’s own. Fortunately God knew in advance that we were going to have a problem with sin in our lives. He knew that no matter how hard we tried; we were still going to mess up. God also knew that without his help, that sin was just going to stay there. So because He loves us, He sent us a way to get rid of all this sin.

DANNYIt’s Jesus, isn’t it? Just like you said earlier, Jesus came and died on the cross and took the punishment for our sins.

STORYTELLERYes, that’s exactly it. In John 3:16 the Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (NIV)

SFX: John 3:16 Bible Verse Graphic

See, Jesus loves us enough to save us. However, he doesn’t get rid of the sin automatically. We actually have to make a choice to believe in Him and ask His forgiveness. If we choose to ask Jesus to be the one who saves us, he will. Once we ask him to be our savior, all this mess can go away … (add the bleach to the water, which will make the iodine disappear) … just like that. And then, Jesus will be our friend forever!

TYLERForever? I don’t think I can be perfect forever. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to mess up again.

STORYTELLERMe too! I mess up all the time. Jesus wants us to do our best to make wise choices; however once he’s in charge of our lives he’ll forgive us over and over again if we ask.

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TYLERHe’s a pretty forgiving guy. Sounds like he might be the best friend I could ever have. I think I want him to be my friend.

STORYTELLERJesus is a true friend, because he’s going to love you no matter what.

SFX: Bottom Line Graphic

STORYTELLERI think the two of you might need to follow Jesus’ example with each other. You can’t love Jesus and hate your other friends. It doesn’t work that way. Jesus wants you to treat other people the way you want to be treated. With that in mind, how do you think you two could solve your problem?

DANNY(Big sigh) Tyler, I’m uh, well sorta, really sorry we got in a fight.

TYLERYeah, me too. Maybe you could still come to my birthday party next week.

DANNYTotally! Are we still watching Star Wars and dressing like Yoda?

TYLERYou’re Yoda. I’m Obi-Wan.

STORYTELLERThat’s more like it. I’m really proud of you guys. It takes courage to forgive each other. You may even get in more fights sometime, but now you understand about forgiveness.

DANNYCome on Tyler, let’s go find our DSI’s and finish our Mario Brothers Tournament.

WRAP UPWRAP UPSFX: LOWER LIGHTS FOR WRAP UPSFX: MUSIC

SFX: John 3:16 Bible Verse Graphic

STORYTELLER: (Opening Bible) “The Bible says this: ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son’ (John 3:16a, NIrV). Did you catch that? God loved us SO much he GAVE his only Son, Jesus, for us. That’s a pretty big deal! The only reason that God did that is because of how much He loves us. Talk about a true friend! All we have to do is receive this gift of Jesus. We do that by asking Him to be our Leader, Forgiver, and Friend.

Since we now know that God did his part, and Jesus has done his part, we want you to think about doing your part and asking Jesus to be your true friend.

To remind you of this, we’re going to give each of you one of these bracelets (Hold up bracelet.) It’s says, “TRUE FRIENDS.” When you wear this, think about who your true friends are. And remember that Jesus is the perfect example of a true friend.

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SFX: Journey Class Slide

JOURNEY CLASS PROMO:If you are interested in finding out more about what part is, we want you and your parents to go to the Journey class. You can sign up before you leave today! We have forms for you and your parents. The Journey Class happens every month, but the next class is next week! Don’t miss it.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

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Easter Lesson 2010