PUPPET SCRIPTS WINTER 2013-2014 Sunday, December 1, 2013 Leaper Says: The Bible story today is about a prophet (a person who speaks for God) who tells what is going to happen in the future. Isaiah says someone very special is coming. I m going to be a prophet, too; and you guess whom I m talking about? 1. I predict that we will celebrate this person s birthday on December 25. Who is it? (Jesus) 2. I predict that this person will be born as a little baby, and his parents will be named Mary and Joseph. Who is it? (Jesus) 3. I predict that shepherds will visit baby Jesus. Who is it? (Jesus) 4. I predict that a large star will appear in the sky when he is born. Who is this person? (Jesus) 5. We know that this person is the Son of God. Who is it? (Jesus) Leaper Says: If you guessed Jesus every time, then you are right. We will celebrate Jesus birthday in a few weeks. Jesus earthly parents names were Mary and Joseph. The shepherds did visit Jesus, and a large star appeared in the sky when he was born. We know that Jesus is the Son of God. We will hear many of the Bible stories about the birth of Jesus this month. The stories are all very exciting as we get ready to celebrate Jesus birth, so remember to come every week. Let s pray: PRAY: Dear God, help us to remember the real reason we celebrate this season. Thank you for Jesus. Help us to follow Jesus and love him all our lives. Amen. Sunday, December 8, 2013 Leaper Says: I have a message for you come closer so you can hear me whisper it to you Christmas is coming! When you hear that message, what do you think about? (Let the children respond.) When you hear the word Christmas, you probably think about all sorts of things, but what you SHOULD think about is that a small baby named Jesus was born 2013 years ago. His mother, Mary, was told by an that she was going to have a baby. (angel) Next week, we will talk about the message the angel delivered to Joseph, so don t miss next week; and this week, every time you hear a bell ring, remember the message the angel gave to Mary,
Nothing is impossible for God. What was the message? (Nothing is impossible for God, and Jesus would be born.) Let s PRAY: Dear God, thank you for good people like Mary who was told that she was going to have a very special baby Your Son, Jesus. Amen. Sunday, December 15, 2013 Leaper Says: Last week, we heard a Bible story about a young woman named Mary who was visited by an angel who told her that she would have a baby named Jesus. Who do you think the angel will visit this week? (Joseph) Do you know the name of the town that Jesus was born in? (Bethlehem) Do you know who came to visit Jesus when he was born? (shepherds) Who also visited Jesus later by following a bright star in the sky? (the three wise men) Was Jesus born in a hospital or a stable? (stable) You already know a lot of the Bible stories about the birth of Jesus. Come back and visit us next week, and we will tell you even more! PRAY: Thank you, dear God, for your Son, Jesus. Help us to love him and follow him just like the wise men followed his star. Amen. Sunday, December 22, 2013 Have Leaper Say: Today s Bible story is one of the best ones ever told! Let s act it out. We need someone to be Mary, someone to be Joseph, a baby doll, two people to be the shepherds, and two people to be the angels. Joseph and Mary had to walk to Bethlehem to be counted. (Have May and Joseph walk a few steps and stop.) Mary was going to have a baby. While they were in Bethlehem, Mary had a baby. (Put the baby doll in Mary s arms.) Jesus was the baby s name, and Mary and Joseph wrapped him in blankets and kept him warm. Meanwhile, out in the fields, some shepherds were watching their sheep. (Have the shepherds put the sides of their hands against their eyebrows as if looking for sheep.) Angels came and appeared before them. (Have the two angels stand in front of the shepherds.) The shepherds were very scared. (Have the shepherds look scared and shake.) The angels said, Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors. There is a baby born in Bethlehem who is Christ the Lord. The shepherds looked at each other and said, Let s go to Bethlehem! (Have the shepherds walk over to where Mary and Joseph are.) The shepherds saw little Jesus sleeping. The shepherds returned to their homes praising God for all they had seen. (Have the shepherds walk across the room, saying, Praise God! Praise God!
Sunday, December 29, 2013 Have Leaper Say: We just finished waiting for a special day, what day was that? (Christmas Day) In our Bible story today, two people named Simeon and Anna waited a long time, too. Who were they waiting for? (Jesus) Simeon and Anna were waiting for the most special gift of all Jesus. Jesus is a good gift that God has given us. Jesus teaches us how to live. Jesus keeps us from making mistakes. Jesus teaches us about God. We will learn Bible stories about Jesus healing people, and helping people change their lives. Here is a song that we can sing together that tells us that Jesus taught about God. I ll sing a line of the song, and then you sing a line of the song: (Sing this song to the tune of Are You Sleeping? ) Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me. Yes, he does. Yes, he does. (Repeat) Jesus taught us about, Jesus taught us about his father, his father. (Repeat) Remember this week that you might have to wait for something good to happen, just like Simeon and Anna waited a long time for Jesus; but in the end, they received the best gift of all Jesus. PRAY: Dear God, thank you for your son, Jesus. Help us to be patient when we need to wait for you to answer us. Amen. Sunday, January 5, 2014 Leaper Says: We have all just celebrated the birth of baby Jesus, but today we celebrate the visit of the wise men. The wise men visited Jesus in his house with Mary, his mother, when Jesus was about 2 years old. Let s play Follow the light. I ll shine a flashlight around the room, and you follow it. While you follow the light, I ll tell today s Bible story. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Herod was the king. During this time, some wise men from the east went to Jerusalem and asked King Herod, Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. This made King Herod very worried. King Herod brought together the chief priests and asked them, Where will be this baby be born who will be the king of the Jews? They told him, He will be born in Bethlehem. Herod called for the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. King Herod said, Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too. The wise men listened to the king and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were thrilled and excited to see the star.
When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road. (Matthew 2:1-12) This Bible story reminds us of how special Jesus was even wise men from other countries went to worship Jesus. We know it is because Jesus is the Son of God. PRAY: Dear God, thank you for your Son, Jesus, who came to this earth to help us live better lives and to know and love you. Amen. Sunday, January 12, 2014 Leaper Says: One time when I was a little tadpole, I swam away from my mother. I didn t mean to, but I thought I heard a voice calling me. I was scared, but my mother was even more scared. She said, Leaper, didn t you know that I would be looking for you? I said, I thought I heard a voice calling me. Have you ever been lost? In today s Bible story, Jesus gets lost, he stayed in Jerusalem after his parents had started heading back to Nazareth. I m going to retell this Bible story, and everyone I pause, you say: Jesus! Every year, and his parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When was 12-years-old, they went to Jerusalem. When the Passover Festival was over, Mary and Joseph started traveling back home to Nazareth. Mary and Joseph soon discovered that was not with them! Mary and Joseph thought that maybe was with some of their family and friends, but was not with anyone. Mary and Joseph went back to Jerusalem to look for. After three days, Mary and Joseph finally found in the Temple in Jerusalem. was sitting with the teachers and the elders and listening and learning from them. was even asking the elders and the teachers some questions. Everyone was amazed at how much knew about God! But mother asked, Didn t you know that we would be worried about you? said, Why were you looking for me? Didn t you know that I would be in God s house? Jesus understood, even when he was young, that he would be telling the world about God. Let s pray: Dear God, thank you for your Son, Jesus. Help us to follow him more closely. Amen. Sunday, January 19, 2014 Leaper Says: I love today s Bible story because it takes place in water, and everyone knows I love water! I love to splash around and jump and leap in water! In today s Bible story, you are going to pretend that you are a frog, just like me. Every time we hear Jesus name mentioned, you are going to
hop. Hop for me right now. Good you are a good group of hoppers. Let s begin: Everyone went to the Jordan River where John was baptizing people. John wore clothes made out of camel s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. John ate locusts and wild honey. John kept telling people, There is someone coming who is stronger that I. John was talking about Jesus. (Hop) John said, I will baptize you with water, but Jesus (Hop) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Jesus (Hop) also went to John to be baptized. John baptized Jesus (Hop) in the Jordan River. While Jesus (Hop) was coming up out of the water after being baptized, he saw a dove coming from Heaven, and it flew down and rested on Jesus (Hop.) A voice from Heaven said, This is my Son, whom I dearly love; in You I find happiness. That is a good Bible story. It helps us know that Jesus (Hop) is God s own Son. PRAY: Dear God, thank you for Jesus, your Son. Help us to love Jesus and follow him. Amen. Sunday, January 26, 2014 Leaper Says: In today s Bible story, Jesus went to the synagogue (church) in a town close to his hometown. Jesus stood up in the synagogue and read from the Scriptures about himself. What Jesus read told the people who he was. I ll say a line of what Jesus read, and you repeat it after me. When we are finished, you will know why Jesus came to earth. God is with me. (God is with me.) God has sent me. (God has sent me.) I will bring good news to the poor. (I will bring good news to the poor.) I will help people see God more clearly. (I will help people see God more clearly.) I will bring freedom to people. (I will bring freedom to people.) I will show people that God loves them. (I will show people that God loves them.) PRAY: Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus to us. Jesus teaches us that we are always free to love and serve you no matter where we are. Thank you for loving us. Amen. Sunday, February 2, 2014 Leaper Says: In today s Bible story, Jesus and his friends go fishing; and they catch a lot of fish! Then Jesus tells them that from now on they will be fishing for people. What do you think Jesus meant by that? I like to live the way Jesus teaches me to live, but how do I fish for people? Do you think Jesus is telling his friends to teach people about him? Do you think Jesus is telling his friends
to invite people to follow him? If that is what Jesus meant, then I can fish for people; and so can you. Right now, in your mind, I want you to think of one person that you can talk to about Jesus. Then, stand up, and pretend to cast your fishing line onto that person. When you catch that person, PRAY: Dear God, give me the courage to talk to about your Son, Jesus. Amen. God will be with you and will give you the courage to talk about Jesus, just like God gave Jesus friends the courage to talk about Jesus to others. Sunday, February 9, 2014 Leaper Says: In today s Bible story, Jesus healed Peter s mother-in-law. Peter was one of Jesus disciples. Why do you think Jesus healed Peter s mother-in-law? Jesus healed her because Jesus loved Peter and his mother-inlaw. Jesus healed many people in the Bible. Jesus healed people because he loved them. Jesus still loves us today. Let s sing Jesus Loves Me together: Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so, little ones to him belong; they are weak, but he is strong. The Bible tells me so. Jesus loves me! This I know, as he loved so long ago, taking children on his knee, saying, Let them come to me. The Bible tells me so. WORDS: St. 1 Anna B. Warner, 1860; St. 2 David Rutherford McGuire PRAY: Dear God, help us to love others just like Jesus loves us. Amen. Sunday, February 16, 2014 Leaper Says: Today s Bible story comes from a time when Jesus was up on a mountain teaching people. I always picture a lot of people sitting around Jesus, including children, listening to Jesus and maybe even having a picnic lunch. The people loved to hear what Jesus said. We call some of Jesus teachings, the Beatitudes. See if you can finish my sentences: HAPPY are people who are sad, because God will help them be. (Happy) Happy are people who are KIND to others, because others will be to them. (Kind)
Happy are people who are GOOD to others, because others will be to them. (Good) Happy are people who try to make PEACE with others, because they will find. (Peace) Happy are people who LOVE me, because God will them. (Love) We know the way to be truly happy it is to love and follow Jesus. Let s pray: PRAY: Dear God, thank you for your Son, Jesus, who taught us how to be happy. Amen. Sunday, February 23, 2014 Have Leaper SAY: Today s Bible story is about a time when Jesus calmed a raging storm on the sea. Have you ever been in a boat and been scared because a terrible storm came up and rocked the boat back and forth? I m going to tell you this Bible story, and you do what I tell you to do. One day, Jesus and his friends got into a boat and decided to sail across the lake. (Invite the children to rock back and forth.) Jesus was very tired from talking to all the people who followed him around, listening to him. Jesus went to sleep. (Invite the children to lay the sides of their heads on their hands and close their eyes.) Suddenly, a windstorm struck the lake, and the boat started sinking! (Invite the children to blow like the wind.) Jesus friends were scared. (Invite the children to start shaking.) Jesus friends woke up Jesus because they were so scared! (Pretend to shake someone awake. Have the children cry, Master, Master, we are going to drown!) Jesus woke up and cried out, Wind, be still! (Encourage the children to yell out: Wind, be still!) The wind and the sea obeyed Jesus, and everything calmed down. Then Jesus looked at his friends and asked, Don t you have any faith? Jesus friends could not believe the miracle they had just seen. They said to one another, Who is this man? The wind and the sea obey him! (Break up the last sentence and invite the children to say the it with you: Who is this man? And The wind and the sea obey him!)