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Merry Christmas?

missyoursler — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:46:05 CDT

Merry Christmas?

Written by Missy Oursler

Setting: Christmas Eve, close to closing, store checkout lane.

Characters: these were the names of the students who first performed the skit. It was written for them. It is ok to change names to fit needs.

Adrian – Cashier, strong believer
Joe and Jordan – Sackers working with Adrian
Customers – display variety of worldly beliefs about Christmas - Janelle, Melody, Melissa, Angela, Leeana they can be changed to male characters, if needed
Isaac – Shoplifter
Joel – Security Guard – can be on stage until escorting Isaac off, if desired.

Adrian: Hey Joe! Are you ready for Christmas?

Joe: If I’m not, then I’m in trouble!

Adrian: Yeah, I guess so! Pretty crazy to be out tonight. (turning to customer who has run up to his register) Did you find everything you need?

Janelle: Yes, finally! I have been to 15 stores today; just to find this exact CD for my best friend.

Adrian mumbles price and Janelle pays.

Janelle: I am so excited! She has wanted one for forever and I get to make her wish come true!

Adrian: It’s fun to get that exact present for a friend, isn’t it?

Janelle: Definitely! I love granting wishes for Christmas, that’s what Christmas is all about, after all!

Adrian: Well… I guess it could be. I always get my wish. Merry Christmas.

Janelle: Yeah, right!

Joe: Weeeeellllll, that was fun!

Adrian: You know, Christmas wishes shouldn’t be about more things. (to next customer) Merry Christmas, did you find everything?

Melody: Well, I certainly hope so! (to Melissa) Let’s double check. I got this for Robin.

Melissa: And this is for Josh and Joel.

Melody: And this is for Moriah.

Melissa: You could actually divide that in three and give one to Moriah, and one to Heather and one to Angela!

Melody: Oh!!! Good idea. I hadn’t even thought of them, and you know how it is:

Together: The more you give, the more you get! (laughing)

Adrian mumbles the price and Melody pays. Joe offers to help them out.

Melody: I love getting presents, that’s what Christmas is, the Season of Receiving.

Melissa: Absolutely!

Adrian: Yeah, well, Merry Christmas.

Jordan: Well, that was enlightening.

Adrian: Yeah right. My mom and I would have a sad Christmas if that were true.

Jordan: Why?

Adrian: We usually buy gifts for the Angel Tree or Toys for Tots instead of each other. We just feel like we get enough stuff throughout the year.

Jordan: Really, so what do you open on Christmas morning?

Adrian: Oh, what it was, who it went to, that kind of thing. (turning to the next customer) Merry Christmas. Are you ready to check out?

Angela: Sure! (starts singing while Adrian works) Joy to the world, all the boys and girls, joy to the fishies in the deep blue sea, Joy to you and me*.

Adrian mumbles price and Angela pays.

Angela: Well, enough joy for others. I’m off to find my own JOY!!! Merry Christmas.

Jordan: What do you suppose that meant?

Adrian: Maybe she was buying herself a present?

Jordan: Yeah, maybe. Ya think?

Adrian: It makes me sad to see people focus on things for Christmas and not people.

Jordan: Yeah I know what you mean.

Isaac runs past followed by Joel, alarm sounds, Joel catches Isaac.

Joel: Where are you headed in such a hurry? (looking through Isaacs pockets)

Isaac: Oh, rushing to all the stores to get those last minute goodies.

Joel: Maybe you should have made time to stop by the cashier on your way out? An iPod, hm?

Isaac: Aw man, that was my best Christmas present yet. Now what am I gonna to get from Santa?

Joel: Maybe the police will have some suggestions for you.

Isaac mumbles some more about not ever having anything, and Joel escorts him to the back of the store.

Adrian: That is so sad. That kid doesn’t even realize how much trouble he is in. I wish he could see Christmas for what it really is. (turning to a new customer) Merry Christmas, did you find everything?

Leeana: Yep! Let me just check my naughty and nice list. I think I have everyone covered. (pulls out list and goes through names and gifts)

Jordan: Naughty and Nice list, what are you talking about?

Leeana: You know, He’s making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty and nice. Only the nice ones get gifts. I only buy for my friends who haven’t made me angry right before Christmas. Sure cuts down on the shopping time.

Adrian: That’s kind of sad don’t you think. What if you already have a gift for your friend and then they make you angry.

Leeana: Oh, then I just return the gift. But I usually wait until the day before Christmas, so that rarely happens.

Adrian mumbles price Leeana pays. Leeana leaves.

Adrian: Wow, now I’ve seen everything. You know Christmas isn’t about getting things.

Jordan: Yeah, you said that before, but I don’t really get what you mean. I thought it was about gifts.

Adrian: No, it’s about the Greatest Gift.

Jordan: Isn’t that still about things?

Adrian: No, see, the Greatest Gift wasn’t a something, it’s Someone. Someone God gave to us, so that we could have hope, peace, and joy. That’s what Christmas is, it’s about the Gift from God that makes us better people, easier to like, more generous. That type of thing.

Jordan: You mean the baby in the manger, that thing, right?

Adrian: That’s part of it. The baby in the manger was just the beginning. Christ was born and that’s what we celebrate at Christmas, but He also died and rose again, and when we trust in Him, then we can have hope, and peace, and joy. All year, not just at Christmas. (turning to next customer) Merry Christmas. Are you ready to check out?

* From the song Joy to the World by Hoyt Axton

I Press On

missyoursler — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:44:37 CDT

Press On

Written by Missy Oursler

If you want to be affective in the present you have to put the past behind you – successes and failures. The journey is not done, we cannot sit and dwell on what has been, we must continue to move toward what will be.
Pastor Bruce Cargile

“Forgetting what is behind and striving toward what is ahead, I press on.” As a mother I must daily press on.

Today, as I sat rocking Samuel, he looked up and smiled at me – his eyes only for me as I was the center of his world. I press on…

Today Andi and Josh went tearing through the house, crying and shouting threats. I press on…

Today Josh snuggled down beside me and gave me sweet kisses and hugs. I so enjoy our quiet moments together when all else fades away. I press on…

Today Andi went to school on her own – you see she has grown so much. I press on…

Today Josh wanted to run and wrestle at every turn, wanting things in his time. I press on…

Today Samuel woke up at 3:15 in the morning; nothing could make him happy. I press on…

Today Andi helped Josh to do his ABC’s. She love to play and is so patient with him. I press on…

Today Andi and Josh tore up my room in their play. I press on…

Today Josh slowly and carefully wrote his name and used scissors for the first time. I press on…

Today Samuel laughed great belly laughs for his daddy. I press on…

Today Andi was baptized by my father as a symbol of her new life. I press on…

I press on because tomorrow Samuel will be crawling and will have no time for me. I press on because tomorrow Josh will be in school and I will not be as much of an influence in his life. I press on because tomorrow Andi will be dating and driving. I press on because tomorrow they need to decide for themselves, they need to make their own way. I press on because our time here is short. I press on so they might reach the goal.

“Forgetting what is behind and striving for what is ahead, I press on.”

Video Loop Sources?

MattSt — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 12:04:26 CDT

I just discovered a great resource for backgrounds, video loops, etc., stuff that I haven't see used a lot, yet...
istockphoto.com, provides free weekly photos and videos for those who join, and you can tap into a pretty good archive of material, too. I'm teaching a series using gardening as a theme, and so I searched the video archive for gardening, and came up with several good jumpback type loops to use...

This may be old news to everyone else. I'm just beginning to emerge from the dark ages...

Videos and Multimedia

MattSt — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 12:02:54 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Jeremiah 1:1-3: Born for Bad News

mtullos — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 10:30:01 CDT

Matt Tullos

The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

Jeremiah, perhaps the most courageous of all Prophets, from a family of holy men is commissioned to give the nation of Israel, tough words. This would be similar to a man saying that God had switched his alliance from the United States to a country like Iran. I couldn't even imagine the tension as he spoke. He's the ultimate bearer of bad news. A word from God about how awful things really are, is rarely greeted with adulation during good times. For the most, on the surface, these were good times. Josiah was in power. He had cleaned out the temple and even found a copy of the Torah. (Can you imagine going into a church having to search every nook and cranny for a copy of the Bible?) Josiah's grandfather, Manasseh represents the low-point in the Jewish history of kings. Morally and spiritually, he was trouble with a capital "T". Sacrificing to false God's in the temple, he executed supporters of his fathers. In short, he delivered hell to the front door of the temple and then ushered it into the Holy of Holies.

I can't even imagine how this grieved God. It must have been like a child starting a methlab in your master suite. In the end, the king repented but it was just a faint holy time out. Then Amnon, his son, continued the family tradition of idol worship, sex selling, and power tripping.

But things turned with Josiah's reign and in comes Jeremiah with more bad news from Jehovah God at a time when there seemed to be a strong sense of civility.
I can relate. Can you? You've been through a season of hardship, difficulty, spiritual warfare and wounding. And just before you can catch your breath you hear the dreaded words- "It's not over" And this is the beginning of a book of sorrow, dashed dreams and torturous consequence but it the midst of all this junk there is hope. Hope hat comes from the Father. Hope that imbedded in the muck... Hope that we all receive.

Incredible Churches

mtullos — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:34:14 CDT

Matt Tullos

You can download the powerpoint presentation from the semon on June 11th at Bluegrass Baptist Church, Hendersonville Tennessee. Hopefully notes will soon follow.

Worship Through the Scriptures

shane@nailscars — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 21:12:59 CDT

by Shane Yancey

General Info:

This is designed to be presented “Reader’s Theater” style.
The scripture references are there for informational purposes only. Do not read them.
All scripture taken from the NIV Bible.
Included at the bottom of this page is a link for a PowerPoint presentation of these verses.
Project each verse on the screen as they are being read.

One: ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. (1 Chronicles 16:29)

Two: You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. (Nehemiah 9:6)

One: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. (Psalm 29:2)

Two: Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; (Psalm 95:6)

One: Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. (Psalm 96:9)

Two: Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. (Psalm 99:5)

One: Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. (Psalm 99:9)

Two: Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. (Psalm 100:2)

One: The Lord will be awesome to them the nations on every shore will worship him, every one in its own land. (Zephaniah 2:11)

Two: Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (John 4:23)

One: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)

Two: Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, (Hebrews 12:28)

One: Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

Two: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." (Revelation 4:8)

Both: Come! Let us worship the Lord!

Download PowerPoint Presentation (File Size 2.2 MB)

Flesh

mtullos — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:17:00 CDT

We look upon the enemy of our souls as a conquered foe, so he is, but only to God, not to us.
Oswald Chambers

Everyone is as God has made him, and oftentimes a great deal worse.
Miquel de Cervantes

Writers

mtullos — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 08:21:53 CDT

An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.

Charles de Montesquieu

Kingdom

mtullos — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:20:39 CDT

The church has failed to follow her appointed pathway of separation, holiness, heavenliness and testimony to an absent but coming Christ; she has turned aside from that purpose to the work of civilizing the world, building magnificent temples, and acquiring earthly power and wealth, and, in this way, has ceased to follow in the footsteps of Him who had not where to lay His head.

C. I. Scofield

Compassion

mtullos — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:14:48 CDT

Peace of heart that is won by refusing to bear the common yoke of human sympathy is a peace unworthy of a Christian. To seek tranquility by stopping our ears to the cries of human pain is to make ourselves not Christian but a kind of degenerate stoic having no relation either to stoicism or Christianity.

A.W.Tozer

Generosity

mtullos — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:10:42 CDT

You are forgiven for your happiness and your successes only if you generously consent to share them.
William Blake

The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.

Corrie Ten Boom

As for ourselves, yes, we must be meek, bear injustice, malice, rash judgment. We must turn the other cheek, give up our cloak, go a second mile.

Dorothy Day

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”

John Wesley

Create Your Own Psalm

shane@nailscars — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:11:28 CDT

by Shane Yancey

Psalm 98:1 says sing to the Lord a new song. Many times in our worship times we are reciting the words that others have written. This activity encourages participants to come up with praise in their own words. It also invites people to go beyond just the first word that comes to mind and to really think about the God that we praise.

Pass out the "psalm" printed below or download the .pdf version attached to the bottom of the page. Instruct your group to fill out the psalm with their own words. Encourage them to go beyond just church words. Play some soft music while they are writing. Give them 3 or 4 minutes to complete the activity. Once they have finished tell them to find a partner and share their psalms. (for smaller group settings have the participants share their psalm with the whole group)

Create Your Own Psalm

I will praise You, O God, for You are _______ and __________ and __________________

___________ is the Lord and worthy of Praise!

The Lord my God has __________________
____________________________________

He has shown his love to me by ____________
______________________________ and by
____________________________________

His works declare that he is _______________

I will praise the Lord because to me He is ____________ and _________ and ________ and __________ and ________ and _______!

Nintendo Gospel

shane@nailscars — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:47:36 CDT

by Shane Yancey

Biblical Basis: Jeremiah 29:11; 1 Peter 2:21

Possible Points: God can give us instruction, either one at a time, or all at one time. But until we give Him the controls, we will never be successful. He knows all the pitfalls, all the troubles, all the coins, and all the joys, because He wrote the game. He knows the outcome. Give your controller over to God. He's waiting to lead you.

Characters:
Kid: around 10 years old, can be played by someone of any age
Expert: The idea is that the expert is God, but you don't have to have God play the part

Setting: Actors are sitting side by side on chairs facing the audience. Kid is holding a video game controller. It is important that the Expert remain kind towards the kid throughout the entire sketch.

Kid: O.K. now, be sure to tell me where are the hidden stuff is, and warn me if I'm going to get killed, O.K.

Expert: Sure, but I don't think this will work, here let me guide you.

Kid: No! I want to do it, you keep your hands off and just tell me what's coming up. (Kid starts playing, background music starts. Kid makes elaborate movements with the joystick that move his entire body. Through the Experts following line Kid gets more and more frustrated)

Expert: No wait, you missed a coin back there. Stops go back, slowly all right jump. No, you missed it. O.K. right there it's a free man, jump get it. You almost had it. Etc. No jump on the block to the right.

Kid: Are you sure cause Billy said to go under the block.

Expert: Of course I'm sure. Wait! Look-out! Oh, you died.

Kid: I know I died, I think I can tell I died.

Expert: Now don't get upset, I tried to tell you it wouldn't work.

Kid: Of course it won't work, you're waiting to long to tell me what's next.

Expert: Well, I have to wait until you get there, You won't know what I am talking about if I tell you before hand.

Kid: I think I can handle it. Why don't you just give me all of it at once?

Expert: Nah, I think you should let me guide you.

Kid: I don't want you to play my game, why don't you play your own game so I can see how it is done.

Expert: I did that already remember.

Kid: Well I didn't see it.

Expert: I gave you a manual based on that game. It is full of eyewitness accounts of people who watched me play.

Kid: I don't like to read, won't you just tell me everything in advance.

Expert: O.K. are you ready?

Kid: You bet I'm ready!

Expert: (This section should be played for humor and said as fast as you can.)Here goes: walks forward exactly fourteen steps, then jump up this reveals a hidden block. Jump on this block being careful not to hit the squirrel walking by. From here jump up slightly to the right, to revel the first stork. Chase the stork, but don't forget to jump over the flaming fence of death. Then hit the ninth block on the upper level, but don't hit the eighth or the tenth, because this will drop an jalgite on your head. Climb over the yellow block under the blue one break the purple one. Watch out for the mighty gork that will be following you. When you get to the maze, turn left, right, up, left, down, right, right, left, left, down, up, left, right, down, left, right down. Jump the turtle, then turn to down-left, then you get to the gramplite. To kill the gramplite jump on his libythian.

Kid: Wait a minute, what is a libythian?

Expert: It's a small round thing sticking out from his matacon.

Kid: Oh.

Expert: then you hop on the purple happernathy, and you've completed stage one.

Kid: all that for stage one?

Expert: Stage two is even longer, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Well, are you going to play or not?

Kid: I guess I'm going to play.

Expert: Let me play for you, please.

Kid: No. I can do it. (tries to play and dies almost immediately.) I still died.

Expert: I'm sorry

Kid: No, you’re not, you're happy. Go on, say I told you so.

Expert: I did tell you that your way was destined to fail, but I'm not happy you failed. I care about you. Let me have the controller.

Kid: Well, how do I know that you know what you are doing?

Expert: I designed and built the game. Besides, I told you I've played before.

Kid: Well, O.K. I guess. (hands Expert the controller, who calmly begins playing. Kid looks on and quietly shows his excitement until the sketch ends.)

Worship

mtullos — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:48:32 CDT

Worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped.

Jack Hayford

The whole person, with all his senses, with both mind and body, needs to be involved in genuine worship.

Jerry Kerns -

Song Writing

mtullos — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:42:18 CDT

I wish that worship songwriters would choose to write more songs that focus on the character of God and teachings of Jesus and what we should be like in this life, in addition to the thousands and thousands of songs about the cross and the substitutionary atonement. If we only view worship through the atonement, we don’t focus Jesus’ teaching on this life and on being a kingdom-minded disciple.

Dan Kimball

clothing

mtullos — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:11:55 CDT

I began thinking about ties, and where did they come from? Why do we wear them? I remember reading somewhere that in American history suit and ties originally were discouraged from being worn in the church. The reason was that only wealthy people could afford suit and ties, and it showed a subtle discrimination against the people who couldn't afford them - so in churches they discouraged people from wearing suit and ties originally. Now in some churches, the pastors and leaders wear suits and ties and it seen as not being respectable if you don't dress up.

More....

Dan Kimball

Church Planting

mtullos — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 09:48:23 CDT

Not to boast, but we have stayed on our mission and gone from nothing to 3600 in the nation's least churched city. Meanwhile, the gay pastors are on their mission, the Republican pastors are on their moral mission, the Charismaniacs are on their prosperity mission, and the list goes on forever. What I'm finding is that if I stay on my mission, eventually a platform gets big enough that you kind of just have permission to do your thing and others respect you even if they don't like you.

Sure, some pastors and churches are angry that I'm not putting my weight behind their mission, but in the end, I won't stand before them for judgment and they won't stand before me, so I just let it go and keep pushing ahead until I see Jesus and He can separate sheep and goats and hand out rewards to the faithful. In the meantime, I refuse to get off my ladder, but keep my sword close by, and if a wolf shows up in my flock, then I draw my sword, but not until then.

Mark Driscoll

View From...

alenaf — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 22:41:15 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

welcome to the wordspring wiki!

mtullos — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:20:39 CDT

In the coming days you'll find lots of free resources for worship, preaching, drama and ministry. Thanks for coming by! Want to contribute? Just let me know and I'll set up a contributor login for you.

To check out what's new on the site today check out this link.

WordSpring Creative is currently a project of Matt Tullos. To learn more about Matt go to Tullos.org