the puppets participated in the sermon yesterday. We try and use that mode of communicating on an annual basis in worship, although the puppets make regular appearances during Sunday School throughout the year. We are fortunate to have a talented, creative script writer and willing, talented puppeteers!
It seemed to go well. We advertise in advance that the puppets will be participating in the sermon, so we probably had some extra kids in worship and a few others who opted out of worship because they don't like puppets.
The sound system accommodated all the "extra" mics in use so all the puppets could be heard (thanks Lou and Gary). I think it worked rather well.
Characters: Andy: Bible Billy (and a “friend” puppet)
Ron: Burrito Donkey (and a “friend” puppet)
Kirsten: Derby Lamb, Woman
Leigh: Salty the Pirate, Shepherd, Shifty Alligator (also broom)
(As Richard begins, Bible Billy, Burrito Donkey, & Salty the Pirate)
Richard: We now turn to God’s Word, reading in Luke….
Bible Billy: (clears throat) Excuse me, Richard.
Richard: Yes?
Billy: I do believe you are forgetting something.
Richard: I’m forgetting something?
Burrito: (HeeHaws) You’re forgetting the Time with Young Disciples!
Richard: No, we’re not having the Time with Young Disciples.
Burrito: But that’s my favorite part of worship!
Salty: Aye! I love having the Time with young Disciples just before my nap time…I mean
sermon time!
Bible Billy: If you’re not going to have the Time with Young Disciples, then I think we ought
to re-enact the bible story today. I bet the young disciples will like that a whole lot better than
just listening to you read the story.
Salty: The adults will probably like it better, too!
Richard: Can you re-enact Luke Chapter 15, verses 1-10?
All Puppets: Can we ever! You bet. (etc.)
Bible Billy: Here we go. Luke, chapter 15, verses 1-10. Now hear – and see – what the spirit is
teaching us today. Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to
him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes
sinners and eats with them.” So, he told them this parable:
(Billy disappears. Shepherd appears in theater and a lot of soft “baa-ing” is heard from inside
the theater.)
Shepherd
Shepherd: Well, hello there! I am a shepherd and I have 100 sheep in my care. I was just
counting them to make sure they are all here…97 – 98 – 99. (agitated) Oh no! There are only 99
sheep! One of my precious sheep has wandered off! I must find her!
(Baa-ing fades as Shepherd searches for his lost sheep. Shepherd pokes around the theater.
After a short amount of time, Derby Lamb appears baa-ing) in the opposite corner of the theater
from the Shepherd.)
Shepherd: (happily moving toward Derby) There you are! I was so worried! (Hugs Derby
ecstatically and then yells out to Friends who appear from all areas of the theater. Billy also
appears.) Friends! I’ve found her! Come and rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.
Billy: Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
(All characters exit except Woman: with coins in her hand.)
Woman: (humming a little happy tune) Let’s see now. I have 10 silver coins – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
– 6 – 7 – 8 – 9…OH NO! I am missing a coin! Where could it have gone? I have to look for it!
(Woman disappears below theater and lot of thumping of front curtain starts – A broom pops up
and down above the theater and woman is heard speaking about “finding my lost coin”. After a
time, the thumping stops and Woman reappears rejoicing and holding the coin.)
Woman: I FOUND IT! Friends! Look! (Characters appear from all parts of theater.) I have
found my lost coin! Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost!”
(Woman and Friends – except for Billy – disappear below the theater.)
Billy: Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who
repents. This is the Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
(Billy departs. Transition to Sermon.)
Richard: two parables Jesus told….
Bible Billy: Pardon me, Richard, but I understand you and Dr. Patterson are preaching on the
parables this summer.
Richard: We sure are – and thank you for helping share the scripture lesson today.
Bible Billy: It was our pleasure. But I’m wondering - have you been telling the parables the
correct way? You know, I am a Bible Re-enactor. Which means I love to tell the stories from
the Good Book over and over and over again.
Richard: Sounds kind of like preaching…
Billy: Oh, no. I’m no preacher. Just a Biblical Thespian. In fact, I’ve spent a good bit of time
telling the parables. And that is why I was wondering about YOUR telling of the parables.
Richard: MY telling of the parables? What are you saying, Billy?
Billy: I was simply asking if you’re telling the parables the RIGHT way. Believe me – there’s a
lot of wrong ways to tell the parables!
Richard: I’m not quite following you. Do you mean that people sometimes interpret the
scripture incorrectly?
Billy: Well now, don’t confuse me with a theologian! I’m just a humble Bible Re-enactor. I
simply meant that the parables can be confusing and sometimes we can miss the point. Take the
parable of the lost sheep… (Derby appears suddenly)
Derby: Did someone say “sheep”?
Billy: Hello Derby! I was just explaining to Richard that sometimes the parables don’t come out
the way we want them to. Do you remember the time we were re-enacting the Parable of the
Lost Sheep and the sheep we had hired actually got lost? He just sheep ran off, and we never
found him.
Derby: (laugh/baa-ing) Oh my goodness! How could I forget! I think he showed up the next day
wondering why no one found him.
Richard: The Lost sheep that actually stayed lost. That does not sound quite like the parable
Jesus told.
Billy: Richard, that’s what I meant when I asked if you tell the parables correctly. Sometimes
they have a way of not coming out the way they were intended!
Richard: I can’t say that anything quite like that has happened to me, but then again, I’m just a
simple preacher, not a Bible Re-enactor. So, what do you think the message of the Parable of
the Lost Sheep really is.
Derby: The message? Well – I’m not sure. It must have something to do with all those sheep.
You know, sheep are very popular in the Bible!
Richard: There are many stories that involve sheep.
Billy: The Lord is my Shepherd!
Derby: Shepherds and sheep at the nativity.
Billy: David was a shepherd boy.
Derby: The Parable of the Sheep and Goats.
Richard: The Prophet Ezekiel even spoke about sheep and shepherd.
Derby: Wait a minute – those aren’t stories just about sheep. The shepherds are also
mentioned. (Gasps – disappointed) Is the shepherd more important than the sheep?!?
Billy: Now there’s an interesting question! Have I been missing the point of the parables in my
re-enactments? I’ve always focused on the lost sheep!
Derby: Me, too. Because I actually have been a lost sheep.
Richard: Really. How did that happen?
Derby: Well, I guess I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, and suddenly I was all
alone!
Richard: That sounds like how the Gospel of Matthew describes what happened to the lost
sheep in the parable - the sheep just wandered away. But, in the Gospel of Luke, it sounds more
like the shepherd somehow lost the sheep.
Derby: Either way, it’s scary to be alone! So many strange sounds. So many sounds that made
me think something was going to get me!
Richard: Being lost and alone can be scary.
Derby: That’s why I like to act out this parable. When the shepherd finds the lost sheep it
reminds me how great it felt when my shepherd found me when I was lost. He threw me across
his shoulders and carried me back to the rest of the sheep. I almost slipped off because he was
so excited he kept jumping up and down!
Richard: Sounds like he had a lot to celebrate.
Billy: (abruptly) Oh my goodness! I hate to cut this conversation short, but look at the time! We
need to take a break!
Richard: A break? But we’re just getting around to talking about what the parables are all
about!
Billy: I’m sorry Richard, but the Bible Re-enactor’s Union has strict rules about breaks. You
wouldn’t want us to miss our break!
Derby: Yeah, but don’t worry – we’ll be right baaaa-ck!
(Billy and Derby disappear.)
Richard: (incredulous) What? Wait! The sermon’s not over!
(Shifty suddenly appears.)
Shifty: Sheep, sheep, sheep! You didn’t want to spend the whole sermon talking about sheep,
anyway! Let’s get on with the other parable!
Richard: Who are you and where did you come from?
Shifty: I’m Shifty. Remember me? I live here.
Richard: You live here at St. Andrew?
Shifty: Of course! Every church has an alligator in the crawl space. But never mind that! Get on
with the next parable! The one WITHOUT sheep!
Richard: You mean the story about the woman and the lost coin? That’s found in the Gospel of
Luke right after the story of the lost sheep.
Shifty: That’s the one!
Richard: I bet you like the Parable of the lost coin because the woman acts a lot like God acts!
Shifty: She acts like God? Huh? I never thought about it that way. I just like it when she loses
her coin! (Laughs – Richard looks accusingly at Shifty.) What? Stop looking at me like that!
One little coin couldn’t make that much difference to that lady! She still had 9 more! Who cares
about one little coin?
Richard: We don’t really know how much money the woman had, but one of ten coins probably
meant the coin was worth enough that it mattered to her.
(Billy suddenly reappears and interjects.)
Bible Billy: I can tell you that the lost coin was a drachma!
Shifty: A what?
Bible Billy: A drachma. Any Bible Re-Enactor knows that a drachma was a silver coin back in
ancient times. Its value was about a day’s wage for a day laborer. Now, I need to get back to my
break! (disappears)
Shifty: Huh? That does sound like a lot of money for the woman. I guess she did care about
one little coin. How did she lose the coin, anyway?
Richard: We don’t know how she lost it. All Jesus tells us is that she lost it and went to a lot of
work to find it.
Shifty: I had to help my grandmother find an earring once. We turned on all the lights and
looked everywhere for it.
Richard: I’m learning all kinds of things about our church! We not only have alligators in our
crawl space, but lights there, too! Sounds like your grandmother wanted to find that earring as
badly as that woman wanted to find her lost coin.
Shifty: Oh yeah. I was ready to give up lots of times, but Grandma wouldn’t give up. She kept
saying: “Shifty, keep looking! We have to find that earring!” So, I kept looking. In every little
crack in that crawl space. And there are a lot of cracks in the crawl space!
Richard: Did you find the earring?
Shifty: We sure did. And then my grandmother was so excited, she called all her friends over to
celebrate.
Richard: That’s what the woman who lost her coin did. She rejoiced with all her friends.
Derby: (reappearing) I’m baaaa-ck! What are we talking about?
Billy: I think we’re getting close to figuring out the point of these parables!
Derby: How exciting! So…what is the point?
Richard: I think it is about rejoicing when someone or something that is lost gets found.
Derby: I know I was rejoicing when the shepherd found me when I was lost.
Billy: And the shepherd was rejoicing, too.
Shifty: I know my grandmother was really excited when she found her earring.
Bible Billy: Just like the woman who found her coin and invited her friends and neighbor over
to celebrate.
Shifty: That’s a lot of celebrating just for finding some old coin and one sheep – no offense
Derby.
Richard: Maybe that’s the point of the stories Jesus tells.
Shifty: That we should have lots of parties?
Billy: Not just to have parties, but the reason for the parties. The parables make it clear that the
shepherd and the woman rejoice because something lost has been found.
Shifty: Maybe when someone is lost and then found, it makes God want to celebrate?
Derby: Maybe God gets excited when someone who is lost gets found?
Billy: Well, who among us is lost?
Richard: I don’t know. But I bet God is looking for them.
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