Category Archives: Sin

June 24, 2012 · 5:53 am

Sin Shop (QUICK DRAMA)


Time

5 minutes
Audience

Children, Youth, Adults

 

Description

This quick drama makes the point that the wages of sin are death but that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Materials

  • Table to set Sin Shop items on with their labels
  • Tape to put labels near Sin Shop items
  • Items for your Sin Shop – items labeled (labels are available in the file mentioned below, but feel free to “upgrade” the sins depending on your audience) with various sins.  For example:
    • Lying to Parents
    • Cheating on Math Test
    • Disrespecting Parents
    • Thinking Bad Thoughts
    • Taking Your Brother’s Gameboy
    • Using a Bad Word
    • Little White Lie
  • Basket for shopping
  • Sign for store: “Lou’s Sin Shop” (available in the file mentioned below)
  • Sign that says, “The cost of sin is death” in large letters and “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” in tiny letters.  (If death is a difficult concept for your audience, you can use the sign that says, “The cost of sin is separation from God.”  (You can find these signs and the labels for your sin shop items at www.teachingthem.com on the Lesson and Material Downloads page in a file called, “Sin Shop – Props.”)
  • Small slip of paper with writing on it that can act as a receipt.  Should say, “Paid in Full” on it in large letters.  (An example is provided in the file mentioned above.)
  • Optionally – costumes for your actors – apron for Lou Cipher, the storeowner, and a register or calculator.

 

Preparation

  • Set up the table and the props with their labels to make them look like a counter at a store.
  • Practice the skit, and memorize the lines.

Procedure

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

[PETEY enters Lou’s Sin Shop with a shopping basket.]

PETEY: “Wow!  A sin shop!  Awesome!  I’ve been wanting some of these!”

[PETEY looks through the shelves and selects several items for his basket.]

PETEY: “I’ll take one of these and one of these….oh, and I’ve got to have one of these!”

 

[PETEY goes to register to pay.]

PETEY: “Okay, that will do it.  How much do I owe you?”

[LOU calculates on his register or calculator as he says the following line.]

LOU: “Disrespecting Your Parents…..Taking Your Brother’s Gameboy….Using a Bad Word….Thinking Bad Thoughts…(Be careful with that one.  It’s powerful.)….All together, that’ll be exactly….DEATH.  Paper or plastic?” (Substitute “separation from God” if you prefer.)

PETEY: “Huh? I’m sorry.  It sounded like you said, “death.”  Did you mean “deal”…you’re going to give me a deal?” (Alternative: “Huh? I’m sorry.  It sounded like you said, ‘separation from God.’  I just want to know how much I owe you.”)

LOU: “Nope, I meant DEATH….listen, I’m already giving you a deal.  You don’t have to die physically today.  You can put down a little spiritual death and pay the rest later.” (Alternative: “That IS what I said.  Your total is separation from God.”)

PETEY: “Spiritual death?  What do you mean?”  (Alternative: “Separation from God?  What do you mean?”)

LOU: “Between you and God.  This stuff poisons your relationship with Him.  It won’t kill it off completely, but it makes it plenty sick.  So, paper or plastic?”

PETEY: “Uh, well, I guess I better put some stuff back.  Take this and this off.  How much do I owe you now?”

 

LOU: “Total’s still DEATH.” (Alternative: “separation from God.”)

PETEY: “Wait!  That’s not fair!  I took some stuff away.  How can you charge the same price?  Okay, all I want is this Little White Lie.  Ring that up.”

LOU: “Read the sign, will you, [Points to sign.] It clearly says, ‘The cost of sin is death.  Romans 6:23.’  That means little sins and big sins.  They are all the same price.  So what’s it gonna be?”  (Alternative: “separation from God.”)

PETEY: “I’ll tell you what it’s going to be!  I’m going to put in a complaint!  Your name is ‘Lou.’  Is that as in, ‘Lou-ser?’”

LOU: “Full name is Lou Cipher.  You can complain all you want.  Management knows what I’m doing, and I’ve got their approval.  Hey, look at me when I’m talking to you.”

[PETEY has noticed a receipt on the counter.]

PETEY: “Hey, what’s this?  You didn’t tell me about this.  It’s a receipt for all my sins, and it says it’s paid!  I don’t have to pay you!”

LOU: “Oh, great, another one of those!  Yeah, Management’s got a policy of paying for the sins of anybody that wants to apply the last part of the sign.”

PETEY: “What last part of the sign?  I didn’t see anything.”

LOU: “Well, you don’t expect me to advertise something like that, do you? It’s in the small print.”  [Points out small print on sign.]

 

PETEY: [Reading]  “’The cost of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’  Huh.  Well, I’m going to accept Management’s generosity.  And you can keep those sins I picked out; I’m done shopping!”  [Exits]  (Alternative: “separation from God.”)

 

LOU: [Chasing after PETEY]  “Hey, wait!  I’ve got some stuff in the back you might want to take a look at…”  [Exits]

 

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June 13, 2012 · 12:10 pm

Gift of Eternal Life (OBJ LESSON)


Time

10-15 minutes
Description

This object lesson teaches that Jesus purchased a gift for everyone who has ever lived or ever will live.  It was the gift of eternal life.  But even though He paid a tremendous price for it, He still allows us to choose whether or not we will receive it.

 

Audience

  • Children, Youth, Adults

 

Scriptures

  • Romans 3:23
  • Romans 6:23

 

Materials

  • Small gift bags for each person.  (They should be nicely decorated, and each gift should have someone’s name on it.  For children, I recommend some snacks and maybe a few small toys or giveaway items.  For youth and adults, you might want to buy something a little more substantial or symbolically meaningful.)
  • A sheet or table cloth to cover the gift bags.
  • Signs for “SIN,” “GOD,” “US” with a string looped across the top so that volunteers can wear them around their necks.
  • A large cross made from cardboard or some other material.  (4 ft tall or so)
  • Bible

 

Preparation

  • Arrange the gift bags at the back of the room, and cover them so that you can reveal them later.
  • Have your other props somewhere accessible to the front of the room.
  • Practice the script.

 

Procedure

Use the following script and instructions (or modify to suit your needs):

  • “The Bible tells us that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’” (Romans 3:23)
  • “The word, ‘sin,’ in the language that Jesus spoke (Aramaic) was an archery term.”
  • “It was what the scorekeeper yelled when an arrow missed the target.”
  • “He would shout, ‘SIN!’ to give feedback to the archer, because he was often too far away from the target to see if he hit it or not.”
  • “’Sin’ means ‘to miss the mark’ – to miss the goal.”
  • “When we sin, we are missing the target that God has set for us.”
  • “That target is holiness – to be like God by being morally and spiritually excellent.”
  • “The place where the arrow landed was called ‘evil.’”
  • “Evil is the opposite of holiness.”
  • “If you have ever lied, cheated, stole something, hurt someone on purpose, disrespected your parents, said something mean, pretended to be something that you were not, refused to forgive someone…you have sinned.”
  • “You’ve missed the mark, the target, of holiness.”
  • “Your arrow has landed in evil.”
  • “The Bible says we have all done it, and because we have sinned, our arrow falls short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
  • “And there is a penalty for missing the mark.”
  • “Romans 6:23 tells us that the ‘wages of sin is death.’”
  • “Wages are what you earn for your work.”
  • “So what you earn for the work of sin is death.”
  • “This verse is talking about two kinds of death.
  • “First, unless Jesus comes again before it happens, we will all die someday.”
  • “Second, sin brings death to our relationship with God – it separates us from Him.”
  • “Our God is so holy that He can’t have sinfulness in His presence.”
  • “He is 100% holy, and His holiness is so pure it would destroy sinfulness and evil in His presence.”
  • “For that reason, our sin separates us from God.” (Ask for three volunteers to come up to the front.  Hand one the sign that says, “SIN.”  Hand another the sign that says, “GOD.”  Hand the third the sign that says, “US.”  Have them put the signs around their necks.)
  • “It used to look like this.” (Put the volunteer with the “US” sign and the volunteer with the “GOD” sign together.)
  • “God and human beings were together in the Garden of Eden.”
  • “Adam and Eve were in God’s presence, and they had a wonderful, meaningful relationship with Him.”
  • “But then Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God had told them not to do.”
  • “This was sin.  They fell short of the glory of God.”
  • “That sin separated Adam and Eve from God.” (Put the “SIN” volunteer between the “GOD” and “US” volunteers, and have her push them away from each other with her arms.)
  • “SIN created a giant chasm (or never-ending pit) between US and GOD, and no human being could cross it to the other side.”
  • “Of course, God still loved Adam and Eve, but He had to send them out of the Garden.”
  • “They could no longer be in His presence.”
  • “Since that day, we have all been separated from God because of sin.”
  • “But God wasn’t surprised when Adam and Eve sinned.”
  • “He knew the exact moment that it would happen….and He already had a plan!!” (Ask volunteer to read all of Romans 6:23.)
  • “The wages of sin is death – we earned it, we deserve it…BUT….the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!”
  • “God had a plan – He’s given us a gift!”
  • “And it’s a pretty awesome gift – eternal life!”
  • “We earned death, but He gave us life as a gift.”
  • “We can live forever with Jesus!”
  • “But how did this happen?  Sin was separating us from God.” (Point to your volunteers.)
  • “Jesus came to earth as a baby and lived a perfect life without ever sinning.”
  • “None of his arrows missed the mark.”
  • “Everyone made a bull’s-eye in the center of holiness.”
  • “But just like God’s holiness can destroy evil, evil does it’s best to destroy holiness.”
  • “There were people in authority who didn’t like Jesus at all, and they convinced the Roman governor to crucify Jesus, which means that they nailed his body to a cross to kill him.”
  • “Satan thought that he had destroyed holiness by nailing Jesus to the cross, but he didn’t understand God’s plan.”
  • “Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead.  He defeated death for all of us who believe in Him.”
  • “By dying on the cross, Jesus paid our sin debt, what we earned for sinning.”
  • “He knew that we could never pay our debt by ourselves, so He did it for us.”
  • “This is a little like if you were a criminal and went before the judge to be sentenced to death for your crimes but were saved when someone in the courtroom jumped up and said they would take your punishment for you.”
  • “So Jesus paid the price, He died, but because He is God, He was able to defeat death and come back to life!”
  • “And here’s the coolest part!  That cross that God’s enemies used to punish Jesus actually became a bridge that connects US back to GOD over the giant chasm of SIN.” (Ask for another volunteer, and hand her the cross.  Have him stand in front of SIN and push her back while he uses the cross to connect GOD and US.)
  • “Now, even though the chasm of our SIN is still there, the cross bridges over the top of it to connect US to GOD so that we can come into His presence again.”
  • “I told you God had a plan!” (Thank your volunteers and let them have a seat.)
  • “Here’s something else you should know.  God doesn’t make anyone go across that bridge.”
  • “He let’s you choose.”
  • “You can stay on the other side of SIN if you want.”
  • “He does that because He loves you enough to give you a choice.”
  • “He won’t make you come into His presence, because He didn’t create robots; He created human beings, and He wants a relationship with us.”
  • “You can’t have a relationship with a robot.”
  • “Romans 6:23 says that this is a gift – ‘The wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’”
  • “A gift is something that is free.  You can’t do anything to earn it, and you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to.”
  • “But I’m going to tell you….you SHOULD want to!”
  • “If you accept this gift from God, you get eternal life with Jesus in heaven!”
  • “That’s the most incredible gift anyone will ever give you.”
  • “Let’s think of it another way.”
  • “What if I told you that I had prepared a gift for you, and that I had it ready for you at the back of the room?”
  • “And what if I told you that the gift is really great and has YOUR name on it?  It’s not for anyone else.  It’s just for you!”
  • “Would you walk out the door after this lesson and just leave that gift laying there?”
  • “No one else can take it, because it was purchased just for you.”
  • “If you don’t take it, it will be wasted, and I’ll be sad, because I really wanted to bless you with it.”
  • “Would you just leave it there?” (Listen for responses.)
  • “Right!  Neither would I.  If someone loves me enough to buy me a gift, I’m going to accept it!”
  • “So to help you remember that the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, I really do have a gift with your name on it at the back of the room!!”
  • “It’s free.  You don’t have to do anything to earn it.  And you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to….but I hope you will!”
  • “Please accept this gift from me as a reminder of God’s incredible love for you and of the gift that Jesus bought for you when He died on the cross.”  (Allow them to receive their gift.)

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March 28, 2012 · 4:49 pm

Hearing Impaired (QUICK DRAMA)


SCENE:       Sam enters, wearing several things that cover up his ears.  Start with cotton balls in the ear.  Then add a hat that comes down over the ears.  Finally, put on earmuffs or headphones. Label each thing with a sign that says, “SIN.”. (For the cotton balls, you might just want to tape a piece of paper or poster board with the word on each one over his ears so that the audience will be able to read the signs.) God is located somewhere unseen, but where He can be clearly heard by the audience. You might want to use a microphone.

SAM:            (Looking distraught) God? Where are you?  Why won’t you speak to me?

GOD:            I’m right here, Sam.  I’m always with you.  I will never leave you nor forsake you.

SAM:            (Obviously not hearing God, Sam keeps looking stressed.) God, I’m in trouble!  I need you now!  Please speak to me!

GOD:            Sam, you can’t hear me, because you aren’t doing what I told you to do.  Your sin is blocking you from hearing my voice.

SAM:            Please, God! Help me!  Say SOMETHING!  ANYTHING!

(Amy enters, carrying her Bible.)

AMY:            Sam, I’m not sure why, but I feel like God gave me this Scripture to share with you. (Opens her Bible and reads). “Everyone who is committed to truth hears my voice.” (John 18:37) I’m sorry if that doesn’t make sense, but I felt like it was important for me to share it with you. You can hold onto my Bible if you like. I’ll get it back from you later.

(Amy exits without her Bible.)

SAM:            (Reading the Scripture again.) “Everyone who is committed to truth hears my voice.” Is that why I can’t hear you, God?  Is it because I’m not committed to Your truth? (Pauses, looking toward heaven.)

GOD:            Yes, Sam.  Now you are getting it.  Try getting rid of some of that sin in your life.

SAM:            Alright, God. I know I shouldn’t be doing this. (Removes earmuffs or headphones) I’m going to make a commitment for Your truth.

GOD:            Much better, Sam!  Doesn’t that feel great!

SAM:            Whoa!  God, I think I know what You want me to do!  (Removes hat)

GOD:            YES!  Terrific!

SAM:            Oh, Wow!  I’ve never heard You so clearly before!  I’m getting rid of all this junk that’s been keeping me from hearing You!  (Removes cotton balls from ears)

GOD:            Sam, I’m so pleased!  You’ve done well!  And don’t worry about that problem you’re having. I’ve got that covered.

SAM:            Thank you, Lord!  I’m not worried anymore. I know you’ve been with me this entire time, and I trust you to get me through this. Thanks for helping me to hear You. (Smiles toward heaven)  I’ve got to keep my spiritual ears cleaned out! (Exits)

 

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January 22, 2012 · 4:18 pm

Garbage Collector (QUICK DRAMA)


DESCRIPTION

This short drama highlights our tendency to not trust God with the garbage in our lives.  Often, prayer is a last resort after we have tried in every way to fix the problem ourselves.  God is waiting for us to bring all our garbage to Him.  He’s not shocked by the stuff we’ve been carrying around, and it doesn’t make Him love us any less.

 

PREPARATION

  • Use a thick marker to write the following words (each word in large, bold letters and each word on a separate sheet of paper): SIN, SHAME, HURT, PAIN, ANGER, BITTERNESS, UNFORGIVENESS, DISAPPOINTMENT, FEAR, REGRET, BETRAYAL, DISHONESTY, ADDICTION, LUST, ENVY, PRIDE, JEALOUSY, HATRED, GREED, SELFISHNESS, PREJUDICE, RACISM, THEFT, UNFAITHFULNESS, MEANNESS (Feel free to use other words that better suit your audience.)
  • Crumple up all the sheets of paper.
  • Assemble a costume for the person playing Jesus (white robe, sash or shawl, beard, etc.)

  

SCENE:  Jo/e enters from the side or back of the room, harried and unsuccessfully trying to hold onto armfuls of crumpled sheets of paper.  Each time she/he drops one, she/he stoops to pick it up before continuing toward the stage.  Dressed recognizably in a white robe and having a beard – Enters casually following Jo/e, watching her/him curiously as they both move to the stage.

 

Jesus –      “Hey, Jo/e, watcha got there?”

 

Jo/e –        (Clearly uncomfortable and trying to hide the crumpled paper from Jesus) “Oh, hi, Jesus.  I’m not sure what you are referring to. I don’t have anything.”

 

(As she/he is talking, several of the crumpled papers fall to the ground.  Jo/e hurriedly tries to pick them up, but Jesus stoops and picks one up before Jo/e can get to it.)

 

Jesus –      (Uncrumpling the paper and holding it inconspicuously in a way so that the audience can see what is written on it or reading it aloud) “Jo/e, this is garbage.  Why are you carrying this around?”

 

Jo/e –        (Trying to take the paper back from Jesus) “Oh, Jesus, don’t worry about that.  I’ve got that taken care of.” (Drops more papers in attempt to get the one Jesus is holding.)

 

Jesus –      (Keeping the first paper out of Jo/e’s reach and picking up another one from the ground, opens it and reads it aloud.) “Jo/e, this one, too?  Don’t you know that you can give this stuff to me? ”

 

Jo/e –        (Trying unsuccessfully to get papers back from Jesus but dropping more each time.) “Jesus, please let me have those back!  They’re mine, and I’m handling them.”

 

Jesus –      (Picking up another paper and reading it aloud.) “Oh, Jo/e!  This is too much for you to carry!  All this garbage is making your life a mess!”

 

Jo/e –        “Jesus, I really don’t want you to see those. And I’m doing fine with them, really!  I’ve had them for a long time.”

 

Jesus –      “I know you have, Jo/e.  I’ve been waiting for you to bring them to me, but you’re stubborn, and you’ve been holding on to them for far too long. Your garbage is starting to stink, Jo/e, and you can’t hide it any longer.  Let me take it away for you.”

 

Jo/e –        (Clutching the papers) “But I don’t know how!  It’s part of me, and I’m afraid of letting it go.”

 

Jesus –      “I’m not asking you to let go of all of it at once. We can start small. How about we start with this one? (Gestures with one of the papers He has collected.) Can I keep it?”

 

Jo/e –        (Looking pained and indecisive for a moment before relenting) “Oh, okay! Keep it!  But just that one!” (Reaches over, grabs the other two pieces of paper from Jesus, crumples them back up and replaces them in the pile in her/his arms.)

 

Jesus –      (Smiling) “Okay, Jo/e, it’s a start…and a good one.  Let’s talk about where this came from and how to keep it from controlling your life.” (Turns and begins walking toward the exit.)

 

Jo/e –        (Stooping to pick up any dropped pieces of paper before following Jesus out of the room.) “Hey, you know, Jesus…I feel a little better already.  I may have another one in here somewhere that I’m ready to give you.”

 

Jesus –      (Before exiting with Jo/e following) “Excellent, Jo/e!  From now on, I want you to consider me your personal garbage collector.  I do pickups anytime, day or night.”

 

EXIT


END SCENE

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