OVERFLOWING WITH THANKFULNESS A Skit for Junior High Sunday National Youth Sunday November 1, 2009 Skit page 1 The concept of sand and rocks has been adapted from a demonstration by Charles Tayler of the Goshen City (IN) Church of the Brethren. Cast Members (nickname for Gabriel) - wears a halo (short for fer) wears horns (horns can be purchased around Halloween Setting A card table with three chairs around it in center of stage Paper and pencils on table Other Props Three clear plastic cups filled with sand and three empty ones Three plastic bags, each containing five rocks which will fill a cup,, & enter and slouch down in the chairs. All speak with very little enthusiasm. Junior High Sunday is coming soon. Yeah, maybe we should do some planning for it. We till have lots of time. What's the theme anyway? I don t know. It's in here somewhere. Hunt through the papers. Here it is: Overflowing with Thankfulness Yeah, right. You can tell a bunch of adults chose that topic. They don't have homework. enters and stands on one side of the table. You have the right idea. Don't let adults tell you to be thankful when you have nothing to be thankful for. Who are you? 1
My name is. I'm your special friend and am here to help. Great! You can help us get out of planning and leading this worship enters (carrying the cups with and rocks) sand stands on the other side of the table. Think about what you are doing here. I should have known you would show up! Who are you? I'm. I came to help you with your worship planning. Do we really have to do this? You do know that planning and leading worship is a wonderful privilege, don't you? Doesn't that sound just like what adults tell you? Next we'll hear how worship is something to be thankful for, what do you think we should do for Junior High worship? Before you plan a worship experience about thankfulness, perhaps you could make a list of God's gifts to you and why you are thankful for them. What kinds of gifts? Stuff, be thankful that God gives you lots of stuff, and there's even more out there just waiting for you. Right! Stuff, lots of stuff. Write on paper. Think about that for a minute. Are God's gifts for everyone? Yes Then why do some people have so many things while others don t even have enough to eat? 2
Erase. OK. If not stuff, then what? Good looks! We should be thankful that we're all handsome or beautiful. That can't be right or I wouldn't get big zits on my nose. Why is this so hard? Maybe because of priorities. Give each youth a paper cup full of sand. Pretend this cup is your life. The sand represents all the things you fill it with. What do you do with your time each week? School and homework! Piano lessons, hanging out with friends, shopping, and swim team, (or list other activities) Playing sports, watching sports, searching the Web, and eating, (or list other activities) Wait a minute., are you trying to tell us something by using sand for this? Very good! When did Jesus talk about sand? The foolish man built his house on it. In your lists of activities I did not hear about worship, or prayer, or time alone with God, or studying the Bible, or talking about your faith with your families and friends. Without those things as priorities all your other involvements become like sand, an unstable foundation on which to build your life. So, worship, prayer, time alone with God, Bible study, and faith sharing are rocks, right? You're catching on. Those rocks help us build our lives on Christ, the true Rock. Give each person a bag of rocks. These rocks represent worship, prayer, time alone with God, Bible study, and faith sharing. See how they fit into your life. Take the rocks from the bags and try to put them in the cups. Say variations of They don't fit. There's no room for them. 3
Let's try it another way. Give each an empty paper cup. The cup still represents your life. Suppose you put the spiritual disciplines in first. Place rocks in cups and say variations of Hey, they fit. It works this way. But hey, kids, that leaves out all the stuff you like to do. Is that right,? Does God ask us to give up everything else we like to do? Pour sand into the cup with the rocks. You may be surprised how much will still fit. Pour sand over the rocks, gently shaking it down until the cups are full. I never thought I would have time to do fun things if I had to do all that spiritual stuff. So you're telling us that we need to put God things first in our lives and fit the other things around those. A lot of the other things do fit but what about the rest? My guess is that your faith experiences will become so exciting that you will choose to leave out some of the things you did before and you won't even miss them. This experiment has been fun but what does it have to do with thankfulness? I know. When we take time to build our lives on Christ we will be able to recognize the gifts God gives us and become so full of gratitude that it overflows. Terrific! Aren't they doing some excellent thinking,? Yeah, yeah! I'm going to find some other people to help. (Exit) Let's work on this some more after we find something to eat. Come on. (Others agree and all exit) Lorele Yager Churubusco, IN 4
National Youth Sunday November 1, 2009 PRAYER LITANY To follow Skit Overflowing with Thankfulness Preparation Distribute paper cups (no styrofoam or plastic, please) to the congregation as they enter the sanctuary. Introduction You are encouraged to hold your cup in your hand during the prayer litany, and you are invited to sing "Fill My Cup, Lord" several times during the litany. The pianist will play a chord signaling when to begin singing. We will sing a cappella. Fill My Cup, Lord Holy Lord God, our lives are filled with activities that keep us so busy that we sometimes do not notice that we feel empty. Christ our Rock, society urges us to build on shifting sand. Deepen our desire to have worship, prayer, bible study, time alone with you, and faith sharing as our top priorities every day. Empowering Spirit, we ask for the ability to recognize and receive your gifts that fill us to overflowing with thanksgiving. : Amen. Lorele Yager Churubusco, IN 5