THE STORYTELLER'S BIBLE
Act VII - Acts and the Pauline Epistles
Script by Bob Allen
For four voices

Scene 10

2   3   4    1

VOICE ONE:             The men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.

VOICE TWO:            They are disobeying the decrees of Caesar.

VOICE THREE:        These men claim that there is another king, King Jesus.

VOICE FOUR:          Away with them.  They don’t deserve to live.  Drive them out of Thessalonica.

VOICE ONE:             Someone has said that everywhere the Apostle Paul went he started either a riot or a revival.

VOICE TWO:            In Thessalonica he started both.

VOICE THREE:        A brief, but amazing ministry in the city resulted in the rapid establishment and growth of a thriving church.

VOICE FOUR:          Paul’s ministry ended abruptly when a mob set the city in an uproar, stirring up the crowds and the city authorities against the new church.

VOICE ONE:             (CROSS LEFT AND SIT)  Paul and Silas left under cover of darkness and traveled to Berea to establish the church there.

VOICE TWO:            (SIT)  The believers who remained in Thessalonica inherited the hatred that had been directed against Paul, and the new church learned from the very beginning how to face persecution and suffering for the cause of Christ.

VOICE THREE:        (SIT)  To encourage them in the face of persecution, Paul’s letters to Thessalonica focused on the second coming of Christ—the fact that He would soon return to claim His bride, the church.

VOICE FOUR:          (SIT)  The church in Thessalonica had received the Word in the midst of great tribulation.

VOICE ONE:             Following Christ meant giving up personal comfort.

VOICE TWO:            A new convert often faced ostracism from his family.

VOICE THREE:        The loss of a job.

VOICE FOUR:          Becoming an outcast from society.

VOICE ONE:             In Thessalonica it also meant arrests and beatings and fines.

VOICE TWO:            From these the believers learned to “wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

VOICE THREE:        Paul’s quick departure from Thessalonica opened him to the charge of cowardice.

VOICE FOUR:          Why didn’t he stay to answer the charges made against him?

VOICE ONE:             Why did he leave the new converts to face the consequences of his actions while he fled to Berea?

VOICE TWO:            His accusers also claimed that Paul’s itinerant preaching made him rich.

VOICE THREE:        They said he was traveling around because of the offerings people gave him.

VOICE FOUR:          From Paul’s defense against these personal attacks the church remembered his gentleness among them and fond affection for them.

VOICE ONE:             They understood that the persecution he had personally faced made it impossible for him to be in the ministry for pecuniary gain.

VOICE TWO:            They learned that Paul wanted to return to Thessalonica, but had been hindered by Satan himself.

VOICE THREE:        And they discovered that when Christ returned they would be the joy and rejoicing of Paul’s heart “in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming.”

VOICE FOUR:          Because Paul could not return to Thessalonica without bringing even greater persecution upon the church, he had sent Timothy to minister to them. 

VOICE ONE:             The report from Timothy upon his return encouraged the heart of Paul.

VOICE TWO:            It made him want to return to their city even more so that he could help “establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”

VOICE THREE:        To become unblameable in holiness the new believers needed to practice moral purity.

VOICE FOUR:          They needed to act in love toward those within the church.

VOICE ONE:             And those outside.

VOICE TWO:            Transformation by Christ into a life of holiness today would prepare them for the return of the Lord, when those who were “alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

VOICE THREE:        The second coming of Christ was not just a pie-in-the-sky, by-and-by, doctrine for the believers in Thessalonica.

VOICE FOUR:          It was to change the very way they lived their lives.

VOICE ONE:             They were to appreciate church leaders and esteem them highly.

VOICE TWO:            They were to live at peace with fellow church members.

VOICE THREE:        Providing loving admonition to those who were unruly.

VOICE FOUR:          Comforting those who needed encouragement.

VOICE ONE:             Holding up those who were weak.

VOICE TWO:            Demostrating patience toward all.

VOICE THREE:        Christ’s return also changed their relationship toward God.

VOICE FOUR:          They learned to rejoice in tribulation.

VOICE ONE:             Pray continually.

VOICE TWO:            Give thanks in the midst of every occasion.

VOICE THREE:        And respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

VOICE FOUR:          After all—it was God, the God of peace who was sanctifying them entirely.

VOICE ONE:             It was God, the Holy Spirit, who had called them and would bring His calling to pass.

VOICE TWO:            It was God, the Son of the Father, who was preserving their spirit, soul and body complete, without blame at His coming.

ALL:                           Jesus was coming again!

VOICE THREE:        The first letter from Paul to the church at Thessalonica proved to be a great encouragement, but it also raised some questions.

VOICE FOUR:          What would happen to those people who were right now persecuting the church?

VOICE ONE:             Was it possible that the return of the Lord had already taken place and they had missed it?

VOICE TWO:            If Jesus was coming back, why couldn’t they just quit their jobs and sit on a hillside waiting for Him to come?

VOICE THREE:        So Paul wrote the church a second letter.

VOICE FOUR:          The second coming of Christ would have a two-fold result.

VOICE ONE:             Those who trusted Christ would be rewarded for their faith.

VOICE TWO:            Those who denied Christ and persecuted the saints would face the righteous judgment of God.

VOICE THREE:        It was not possible that they had missed the second coming because two great events needed to take place before the Day of the Lord would come.

VOICE FOUR:          The falling away—or apostasy.

VOICE ONE:             The revelation of the man of sin.

VOICE TWO:            And why couldn’t they just sit on a hillside and wait for Christ’s return?

VOICE THREE:        They could if they wanted to, but the church wasn’t responsible to feed them.

VOICE FOUR:          If they chose not to work, then they were choosing not to eat either.

VOICE ONE:             Christ’s return did not condone a lazy, undisciplined lifestyle.

VOICE TWO:            Each believer was to work and earn his own bread.

VOICE THREE:        They were not to grow weary in doing well.

VOICE FOUR:          They were to live according to the God of peace in every circumstance.

ALL:                           Jesus was coming again!