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

Scene 9

(READERS # 1 AND # 4 TURN BACKS TO THE AUDIENCE

                                                1                                  4

                                                               2    3

VOICE THREE:        What are you reading, dear?

VOICE TWO:            It’s another letter from that teacher in Jerusalem.  I don’t know how we got on his mailing list, but he certainly has some interesting articles.

VOICE THREE:        That’s for sure.  What has he come up with this time?

VOICE TWO:            Listen!  “Then I approached the throne room of God, guarded by seven angels with keys to seven doors.  Prepared by the mysteries which had previously been revealed to me I bowed at the feet of each angel, presented to him the sacrificial gifts I had prepared and obtained through them the access to God I had been seeking.”

VOICE THREE:        That doesn’t sound like the way to God Paul has been preaching.  His letter said that we were not to be led astray by those who worship angels and tell about visions they have seen.

VOICE TWO:            But this teacher says he has secret knowledge that hasn’t been revealed to everyone.

VOICE THREE:        Paul says that God’s mystery is Jesus Christ, and that He has been revealed to everyone.

VOICE TWO:            It says here that Christ could not be both human and divine so something else needs to be added to the work of Christ. 

VOICE THREE:        Something else, like what?

VOICE TWO:            Like all the legalistic rules revealed in these secret books the teacher wants us to buy.  He says it will be a great investment in our eternity.

VOICE THREE:        More likely it would be a great investment in his burgeoning bank account.  Paul says that we can be made complete in Christ, that in Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  And everything Christ did for us is free.

VOICE TWO:            Oh well, it’s too late for us anyway.

VOICE THREE:        What do you mean?

VOICE TWO:            The teacher says that no one should get married.  He says that the body is sinful and only the spirit is holy, so marriage is also sinful.

VOICE THREE:        Paul says that God created the material world including the body.  He says that the home is the perfect place to demonstrate the character of Christ—the compassion, kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness and love that we have been enabled to wear because He is living within.

VOICE TWO:            This letter says that we have to deny the material needs of the body and live in strict asceticism.  He wants us to eat only bread and vegetables and he has a special recipe book we are to follow in the preparation of those.

VOICE THREE:        Wrong again.  Paul says that such rules lead to pride because they make a person appear to be spiritual, but actually they do nothing to overcome a person’s sinful nature.  Only the life of Christ within can transform the heart.

VOICE TWO:            So what do you think we should do with this letter from the mystic teacher in Jerusalem?

VOICE THREE:        Well, we have a nice fire started in the fireplace. 

VOICE TWO:            And what should we do with Paul’s letter to the Colossians?

VOICE THREE:        I think we ought to do just what it says to do.  Read it among all of the believers.  Then take it over to Laodicea and read it for the church there and read the letter Paul wrote to Laodicea.   It is obvious to me that Paul has given to us the Word of God.

VOICE TWO:            So you don’t want to order any secret books?

VOICE THREE:        No, I want us to become complete in Christ so that whatsoever we do in word or deed we will do in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

VOICE TWO:            What are you reading, dear?

VOICE THREE:        The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

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

Scene 8

                                    (READERS # 2 AND # 3 TURN BACKS TO THE AUDIENCE)

2                                 3

1    4

VOICE ONE:             Welcome to Philippi.  This ancient city, built by the father of Alexander the Great, has hosted such notable visitors as Mark Antony and Octavian, who here defeated two of Julius Caesar’s assassins, Brutus and Cassius.

VOICE FOUR:          And Paul?

VOICE ONE:             No, Paul was not one of Caesar’s assassins.

VOICE FOUR:          Notable visitors.  Didn’t Paul ever stop here?

VOICE ONE:             What if he did?  Cities aren’t remembered because of preachers, they are remembered because of politicians.

VOICE FOUR:          But did any of them write a history of Philippi?

VOICE ONE:             Why would they?  They only came to visit.

VOICE FOUR:          But there is such a writing, isn’t there?  Written about the people in the town who started a church during Paul’s visit?

VOICE ONE:             Enough questions.  This way to the ruins of the Roman military colony.

VOICE FOUR:          And the prison?

VOICE ONE:             How did you know there was a prison?

VOICE FOUR:          Paul.  That’s where the Philippian jailor got saved.

VOICE ONE:             You seem to know an awful lot about Philippi for never having visited here before.

VOICE FOUR:          Just the people.  The jailor, and Lydia the seller of purple, and a fortune-teller who used to follow Paul through the streets.

VOICE ONE:             What happened to her?

VOICE FOUR:          She turned to salvation in Christ and became part of the Philippian church.  That’s why Paul was thrown into prison.

VOICE ONE:             Where he led the jailor to the Lord?

VOICE FOUR:          Right!  Those kinds of things were always happening to Paul.  That’s why he wrote, “Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death.”

VOICE ONE:             Quite a motto.  Apparently that worked for Paul, but what about these people in Philippi?  I can’t imagine that a Roman jailor, a Jewish saleslady and a Greek fortune-teller would have much in common.

VOICE FOUR:          They didn’t!  Except for Christ, that is.  They had Him in common, and they became cross-bearers just like Him.

VOICE ONE:             You mean they were to get themselves crucified?

VOICE FOUR:          No!  They were to crucify themselves.

VOICE ONE:             You’ll have to explain that one.

VOICE FOUR:          Well, Christ went to the cross for the good of others rather than Himself.

VOICE ONE:             I can see that.

VOICE FOUR:          And they learned to have the same attitude—not looking on their own personal interests, but also looking out for the interests of others.  They learned to have the same love for one another that Jesus had for them.

VOICE ONE:             That must have been quite a church.

VOICE FOUR:          They certainly were.  Selfless, humble and compassionate.  The mind of Christ.  Paul says that they not only cared for one another, they were the first church who supported him in his missionary journeys.  

VOICE ONE:             Journeys?  You mean Paul went to other cities? 

VOICE FOUR:          He certainly did.  He went from Jerusalem all the way over to Spain.  And he wrote lots of letters.  Let me tell you about them.

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

Scene 7

4

3  2  1

ALL:                            To the praise of His glory!

VOICE FOUR:            God the Father planned salvation for the church.

VOICE THREE:          Because He loved us.

VOICE TWO:             To make us holy.

VOICE ONE:              To adopt us as His own children.

ALL:                            To the praise of His glory!

VOICE THREE:          The Son of the Father purchased salvation for the church.

VOICE TWO:             Providing redemption through His blood.

VOICE ONE:              Securing our forgiveness.

VOICE FOUR:            Revealing Himself as our Savior.

ALL:                            To the praise of His glory!

VOICE TWO:             The Holy Spirit protects the salvation of the church.

VOICE THREE:          By marking us with His seal.

VOICE FOUR:            Providing Himself as the down payment on our completed transaction with God.

VOICE ONE:              By dwelling within us as our Promise from God.

ALL:                            To the praise of His glory!

VOICE THREE:          The church is the temple of God.

VOICE FOUR:            Founded on the apostles and prophets.

VOICE ONE:              Built by the saints of all ages.

VOICE TWO:             Jesus Christ—the chief cornerstone.

VOICE THREE:          A place for God to dwell.

VOICE FOUR:            The church is the mystery of the ages.

VOICE ONE:              Unknown in times past.

VOICE TWO:             Uniting Gentiles and Jews into one body.

VOICE THREE:          Revealing the wisdom of God to all.

ALL:                            To the praise of His glory!

VOICE ONE:              The church is the bride of Christ.

VOICE TWO:             Beloved of the bridegroom

VOICE THREE:          Presented in glory without spot or wrinkle.

VOICE FOUR:            Nourished and cherished without diminution or termination.

ALL:                            To the praise of His glory!

VOICE TWO:             The church is the army of Christ.

VOICE THREE:          Arrayed against spiritual wickedness.

VOICE FOUR:            Armed with the panoply of God.

VOICE ONE:              Attacking with the sword of the Spirit.

ALL:                            That we should be to the praise of His glory!

THE STORYTELLER'S BIBLE
Act VII - Acts and the Pauline Epistles, Scene 6
Script by Bob Allen
For four voices.

Scene 6

1  2                              3  4

VOICES ONE/TWO:             Law?

VOICES THREE/FOUR:      Grace?

VOICE TWO:            Saved by grace?

VOICE ONE:             Saved by the law?

VOICE FOUR:          Kept by grace?

VOICE TWO:            Kept by the law?

ALL:                           Galatians!

VOICE TWO:            The Jerusalem Council had clarified the matter, Jews and Gentiles were both saved by the grace of God.

VOICE THREE:        Not of works.

VOICE FOUR:          Not by keeping the law.  Paul had called the law “a yoke which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear.”

VOICE ONE:             But that didn’t keep the legalists from following Paul around on his missionary journeys, setting up shop as soon as he had left town, and preaching another gospel.

VOICE THREE:        Law plus grace for salvation.  Christ saves us, but only if we are already keeping the law.

VOICE FOUR:          O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?

VOICE ONE:             Salvation by grace came to Abraham four hundred and thirty years before the law was even written.

VOICE TWO:            Christ came to redeem those who were under the law.

VOICE THREE:        It was for liberty that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

VOICE FOUR:          Law plus grace for sanctification.  After accepting Christ you must live in accordance with legalistic rules.

VOICE ONE:             If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

VOICE TWO:            Not immorality—

VOICE THREE:        But love!

VOICE FOUR:          Not sensuality—

VOICE ONE:             But joy!

VOICE TWO:            Not hatred—

VOICE THREE:        But peace!

VOICE FOUR:          Not strife—

VOICE ONE:             But longsuffering!

VOICE TWO:            Not jealousy—

VOICE THREE:        But gentleness!

VOICE FOUR:          Not murders—

VOICE ONE:             But goodness!

VOICE TWO:            Not heresies—

VOICE THREE:        But faith!

VOICE FOUR:          Not anger—

VOICE ONE:             But meekness!

VOICE TWO:            Not carousings—

VOICE THREE:        But temperance!

VOICE FOUR/ONE:             Not the works of the flesh!

VOICE THREE/TWO:          But the fruit of the Spirit!

VOICE FOUR:          Crucified with Christ.

VOICE ONE:             Dead to sin.

VOICE THREE:        Alive in Christ.

VOICE TWO:            Made righteous by faith!

VOICE FOUR:          Saved by the law?

VOICE ONE:             Saved by grace!

VOICE TWO:            Kept by the law?

VOICE THREE:        Kept by grace!

ALL:                           Galatians!