Part I and Part II -- could be performed together, or Part I can set up first part of sermon on how God uses drama to teach or prophesy (sermon would begin, and then pause for Part II), and actors would come back out to perform second drama.
PART 1 -- THE BIRTH PANGS
A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. John 16:21
(WOMAN, very pregnant, sitting on table, waiting)
WOMAN:
(talking to baby/belly) Well, little guy, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous. Yeah, okay, I'm a little nervous. (giggles) Okay, so I'm a lot nervous. This is scary.
I mean, sure, I've read EVERYTHING there is to read about your great day; but it's all still soooo mysterious! And it doesn't help that you're so late! TWO WEEKS, already! Enough is enough.
Please, little guy, let's get this show on the road! I can't wait to see your face! Don't delay your coming, any longer!
DOCTOR:
(entering) Well, hello again, Martha. So good to see you.
WOMAN:
(sighing) It's "MARY," doctor.
DOCTOR:
(pausing, confused) It is? (looks behind himself, thinking someone is there) Mary?
WOMAN:
NO, doctor. I'M Mary!
DOCTOR:
Oh! Yes! Of course. Mary. So nice to meet you! (looking through her file as she rolls her eyes, they've obviously met before)
WOMAN:
Nice to meet you, Doctor . . . AGAIN!
DOCTOR:
Hmmm, let's see. Okay, let's just check and see how this throat condition is coming along... (shines flashlight upon her lips, waiting for her to open up -- she sits still with mouth shut)
WOMAN:
(with the patience of a saint) Doctor, my throat is fine -- we're here about the baby. (she grabs his hand and shines the light upon her belly) He's late. Way overdue. TWO WEEKS OVERDUE.
DOCTOR:
Certainly. (he shines flashlight on her mouth, then on her belly, back and forth) Not your throat. The baby. Yes. (snaps off light and puts his head near her belly, listening) Hmmmm. (knocks on her belly and listens again) Yes. Definitely a baby. And by the size and disposition of your belly, I would say the little fellow is a trifle overdue.
WOMAN:
THANK YOU, doctor! That's why I'm here. I'm a little nervous about the whole thing. I mean, what if we've been wrong all this time.
We keep doing the checks, and we keep hoping and praying, but NO BABY. It seems like this is going to go on forever. What if there's not even a baby?
DOCTOR:
Oh, oh yes, definitely. There is a baby. (toying with stethoscope) Trust me. I'm the expert here. (glances at stethoscope in his hands, thinks it's a snake, is startled, and drops it) Er-um, uh, now what were we talking about?
WOMAN:
The baby. How late he is.
DOCTOR:
Certainly. We are given signs about this sort of thing. (lifting up large Bible) In the Big Manual, the Doctor's Best Friend. Mind if I share a few key medical texts with you?
WOMAN:
(deadpan, exasperated, about at the end of her proverbial rope) Doctor. That. Is. The. Bible.
DOCTOR:
(looking closely at Bible) Why yes. I do believe it is. The Bible. The Big Manual.
WOMAN:
(in all seriousness) Doctor? Are you a nutcase?
DOCTOR:
Oh! Certainly. Now let me read a few key texts here, what say? Did you know that your particular condition is used as an illustration? Incredible, isn't it?
WOMAN:
(growing uncomfortable, rubbing belly, maybe something is going on in there) Really?
DOCTOR:
In Matthew 24:8, talking about the end of the world, you know, all the famines and pestilences and wars and rumors of wars? The KJV calls these things "the beginning of sorrows." But the Greek word for "sorrows" actually is "pangs" -- birth pains. Isn't that just incredible? So the Bible says all these terrible things are the "beginnings of the BIRTH PANGS." And it means, most accurately, SEVERE BIRTH PAINS.
WOMAN:
(feeling odd, breathing heavier, glancing at her watch) Just incredible. (something is up)
DOCTOR:
So we have an illustration of the end times, the Last Days, the Tribulation, if you will. And Jesus is comparing the world to a woman in labor. And if we flip over here to John 16:21 -- by the way, did you know that John was a doctor?
WOMAN:
(having serious contractions) I think you mean "LUKE," doctor. (closes her eyes and does quick Lamaze-technique breathing, quietly HEE-HEE-HOOOOO!)
DOCTOR:
(flipping to verse in Bible) Oh, yes, you might be correct. Okay listen to Jesus speaking to His disciples: (Luke 16:21) (reads verse) (woman's contraction continues throughout reading, finally subsides)
WOMAN:
(exhausted) Doctor? I think it's time...
DOCTOR:
Well, Martha! I think that is the Great Physician's point! Jesus is telling us here to use pregnancy as a template for the last stages of the world! Just think about it! As the pregnancy nears completion, you get into labor, the contractions get stronger, and stronger...
(WOMAN's eyes get huge, she glances at her watch as next contraction begins, obviously much stronger, MUCH closer together)
WOMAN:
Doctor! Please, I think...
DOCTOR:
Now just hold on, Martha, let's not jump to any conclusions.
WOMAN:
Mary, doctor, MARY!
DOCTOR:
Yes, of course, I'm married. Now compare that scenario of contractions to the state of the world! Earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes -- it's obvious that the world has gone into labor! And that we are in the very last stages of that labor!
WOMAN:
(eyes clenched shut, breathing hard) I know! I know! Labor -- I'm in labor! I'm IN labor!
DOCTOR:
Why yes, good parallel, Mary! Your condition, overdue as it is, is so similar to the state of the world. You figure in crime, that Saddam Hussein fellow, and what's it called? You know, that little latino child who's making all the fuss with the weather?
WOMAN:
(opening her eyes, taking a break from the pain, speaking calmly) El Niño, doctor. (returns to her labor pains, groaning now)
DOCTOR:
You are so right! But the good news, as Jesus said, after all the pain, the agonizing -- the groaning -- just like the noises you are making, Martha!! Romans 8:22 says that the whole of creation groans in birth pangs! We are in the very last days, and the Bible has given us such an incredible, vivid, dramatic blueprint! And Jesus says that after the delivery, all pain will be fogotten! And how did He describe it?
WOMAN:
(contraction ended, exhausted, but trying to be helpful) You just read it: she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world...
DOCTOR:
Amen, Martha! And that man that is born into the world -- the world in such terrible labor pains -- THAT MAN IS JESUS! Isn't that wonderful, Martha? We are on the verge of the great 2nd Coming of Jesus -- to end all the pain, all the suffering -- to give us complete JOY!
WOMAN:
Amen, doctor. But I think I'm about to give birth to a child, to end all my suffering. And after spending so much time with you, I NEED that joy . . . now get moving, doctor!
DOCTOR:
(checking watch) Whoa, I suppose you're right. Let's get you down to the gift shop, pronto!
WOMAN:
Look, call me Martha if you have to, but I think we better skip the gift shop and you had better get me straight to the delivery room!
(He aides her in rising and helps her struggle to the delivery room)
PART 2 -- THE STRANGE DREAM STATUE
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. Daniel 2:31
(KING, writing in a ledger, very angry -- is joined by DAN, if a woman, DANIELLE)
KING:
So, Dan, I have given you the necessary time. All my wise guys couldn't live up to their job titles. Every one of them wimped out. Now, can you give me the goods -- can you show me the money?
DAN:
I believe so, your Highness.
KING:
You DO know the rules to this game, don't you Dan? Your fate, and the fate of all my wise guys -- it's in your hands, Danny-boy. If you can tell me my dream, and what it means, I'll be a happy boy.
But if you DON'T tell me what I wanna know -- I'm gonna push all of you through a giant VEGEMATIC. Comprendo, Danny-boy?
DAN:
Si, Sire, but Sire, I'm not a vegetable.
KING:
Good point. But if you don't start spitting out revelations, and very soon, YOU WILL BE A VEGGIE, ripe for your own Veggie Tale.
DAN:
Got it, your highness. Now let me tell you, Sire, that what you ask, nobody -- no human, anyway -- can do. Only the Almighty God, the One True God, can provide this wisdom. And I thank Him, greatly, that He HAS showed me your dream, and interpreted it for me.
First of all, Sire, let me tell you -- your dream was a real doozy. I have jotted down a few notes here, let's see...
KING:
Take your time, Dan. I don't want to apply any pressure. But keep in mind the VEGEMATIC.
DAN:
Okay. First off, you dreamed of a GREAT STATUE...
(STATUE appears and stands imperiously, with arms folded over chest, actor with conical hat on head and conical beard attached to chin)
KING:
(looking at statue, impressed) Whoa! This is too cool . . . go on, go on! I only wish I had some popcorn!
DAN:
And the statue is great, and very, very UGLY.
STATUE:
(looks insulted, turns its head and scowls at Dan)
DAN:
Oh wait, I'm sorry, (checking through notes) It seems I have translated the Aramaic poorly. The statue looks "Great and TERRIBLE."
STATUE:
(looks mollified, lifts its nose in the air, and returns to its imperious posture)
DAN:
The head represents your kingdom, great king. A head made of purest gold.
(STATUE moves its head slowly back and forth as "golden head" is discussed)
KING:
(beaming) Gold? Why yes, of course! Gold. I LIKE this dream, Danny-boy, and I must say, I LIKE you too...
DAN:
Hold onto your hat, Sire. Because the arms and shoulders and chest, made of SILVER, represent the kingdom -- a kingdom not so great as yours, Sire --
KING:
As great as mine? No way! You got THAT right, Danny.
DAN:
It represents the kingdom that will take over the top-dog spot from you.
(STATUE moves its shoulders, and flexes its biceps, beats upon chest like Tarzan while "silver breast" is discussed)
KING:
(frowning) You say this silver portion represents a kingdom that replaces MINE? Whoa, I'm not sure I LIKE this dream, Danny-boy, so much, and I must say, I'm not sure I like YOU, so much anymore either...
DAN:
Sorry, Sire. But keep in mind, God is providing this wisdom, and not any human being type guys. You want the TRUTH, don't you?
KING:
I get the drift. Get on with it.
DAN:
The hips and waist, made of bronze, represent the next kingdom to take over.
(STATUE places hands on hips as "bronze hips" are discussed)
DAN:
And the legs, made out of iron, represent a fierce kingdom that smashes everything it strides over.
(as "legs of iron" are discussed, STATUE bends, places hands on knees, and wobbles legs back and forth, making knees cornily pass through each other)
DAN:
(watching statue, getting perturbed) That's enough animation from the STATUE! Okay, finally, the feet represent a mixed kingdom, not quite as strong as the legs of iron. The feet are made out of clay and iron.
(STATUE marches in place as "feet of clay and iron" are discussed)
DAN:
And finally, Sire. (he produces a football, which he tosses up and down as he talks) You saw a great rock, a HUMUNGOUS ROCK, one that has nothing to do with us human-being type guys. And you know what this HUMUNGOUS ROCK does to that terrible statue?
(STATUE looks terrified, begins to tremble and shake as Daniel continues to toss football)
KING:
I have a feeling this is the exciting part! Oh boy, but my memory is still gummed up. So what happens next?
DAN:
This rock represents the Kingdom of God. And it smashes the statue...
(STATUE looks terrified, and cowers down, covering its face)
(Daniel heaves the football -- it smashes the STATUE on the feet)
(The STATUE grabs its sore foot, hops about in pain for a second or two, and then sways and falls over -- is dead)
DAN:
So that's the dream, Sire, and the story. God has revealed to you the future, so that you might know He is all powerful, and knows all.
KING:
Wow, that was awesome!
DAN:
I agree. And you know, we can sense the Almighty Yahweh's power and ultimate control in this dream, but the people who are really going to be impressed are the guys in the future. The people living in the time represented by the "clay-and-iron" tootsies.
Because they are going to be able to look back and see how true God's word is! They will be able to trace, right in their history books, which kingdom takes over from which kingdom! God spells out, from this kingdom until the end of the world, exactly how things will work out.
They'll be able to see that the Golden Head is Babylon...
KING:
(proudly) That's ME... PURE GOLD. I can dig it.
DAN:
-- and that the Silver Chest and Arms is Medo-Persia...
KING:
Ug! The Persians! I KNEW I shouldn't have sold them those advanced chariot plans!
DAN:
-- and the Bronze Hips is Greece...
KING:
Good NIGHT! We fry our DOUGHNUTS in grease!
DAN:
and that the awesome Iron Legs is Rome . . . any smart comments, your Majesty?
KING:
(thinking) Uh, give me a moment . . . yeah! (very proud of himself) They can just keep on "ROAMIN'!" (laughs proudly to himself, delighted by his cute pun)
DAN:
(repulsed, but maintaining his respect) -- and finally that the Mixed-Feet is a long period where no kingdom rules the entire world! It is a different kind of kingdom, one that mixes the iron of Rome with a new, and common element.
KING:
Fascinating, Dan! Thanks so much for sharing all that info about the kingdoms that will succeed me, but something tells me that I'm not going to remember the names...
DAN:
Well, your highness, (mock punches the king in the chin) just buck up little camper! God has spoken to you, and revealed many things.
KING:
Don't I know! And I'll tell ya, if this wasn't just a skit representing Biblical truths, I'd fall at your feet right now, Danny-boy, just like this poor statue! (statue gets up and joins them) (they begin to exit) I mean, I'm REALLY floored. I'm so happy, Danny, and ya know? I got the greatest job for you, and a whole bunch of other neato things too! You're gonna love 'em. You're not afraid of cats, are you, Dan?
DAN:
(swallowing) Cats, Sire? Well, I do have this little allergy...
__________________________________________
Completely free Christian scripts, sketches, mimes.
Always a parable. Storytelling making the difference.
Soldier On. You were created on purpose.
You were created with a purpose, a mission.
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