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

Scene 12

3

1   2   4

VOICE THREE:          Timothy was just a young boy when Paul first met him on a visit to the city of Lystra.  The son of a Gentile father and a Jewish mother, Timothy was already known throughout that city for his strong faith. 

VOICE TWO:             He had been taught the Word of God from his earliest years by his Grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.  This heritage and his call from God to the ministry prepared Timothy to become a gifted leader in the early church.

VOICE ONE:              Paul’s final letter to Timothy was written from a prison in Rome.  Knowing his days upon earth were few, the apostle sought to encourage his young protégé and remind him of the many tasks which lay before him in service for God.

VOICE FOUR:            (CROSS DOWN LEFT)  A teacher in God’s academy.

VOICE THREE:          Teach others, Timothy.  Teach them so well that they will teach the next generation, and the next, and the next—

VOICE FOUR:            A soldier in God’s army.

VOICE ONE:              Dedicated!  Committed!  Willing to endure hardship in order to please the One who had enlisted him.

VOICE FOUR:            An athlete on God’s team.

VOICE TWO:             Disciplined!  In shape!  Striving to win the prize for the glory and honor of his Coach.

VOICE FOUR:            A farmer in God’s vineyard.

VOICE THREE:          Reaping the rewards of the life and time he has invested in preparing the soil for God’s harvest.

VOICE FOUR:            One of God’s wounded.

VOICE ONE:              Suffering like Christ so that others might obtain eternal glory.  Enduring persecution, knowing that he would reign with God.

VOICE FOUR:            A seeker of the knowledge of God.

VOICE TWO:             Unashamedly dedicating his life to the mastery of accurately handling the Word of truth.

VOICE FOUR:            A slave to the cause of Christ.

VOICE THREE:          “Kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged.”

VOICE FOUR:            A preacher of the Word.

VOICE ONE:              Constant!  Impassioned!  Patient!  Fulfilling his ministry as an evangelist of the Good News.

VOICE FOUR:            A lover of Christ’s soon appearing!

VOICE TWO:             Like his mentor Paul—Fighting the good fight!   Finishing the course!  Keeping the faith!

VOICE THREE:          Paul’s second letter to Timothy reveals a lonely man, abandoned by his friends, longing for a warm cloak, missing his books and parchments and wanting to see his son in the faith one more time.

VOICE ONE:              We don’t know if Paul ever saw Timothy again.  But we know that on the pages of this letter Timothy saw Paul and rejoiced with him in the confidence that God would bring him safely to His heavenly kingdom.

VOICE FOUR:            To Him be the glory forever and ever.

ALL:                            Amen!

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

Scene 11

3

2   1   4

VOICE THREE:        Paul

VOICE ONE:             To Timothy

VOICE TWO:            A son in the faith.

VOICE FOUR:          How to behave in the house of God

VOICE THREE:        The church of the living God

VOICE ONE:             The pillar and ground of the truth.

VOICE TWO:            Pay no attention to myth—

VOICE FOUR:          Teach the Word of God.

VOICE THREE:        Don’t drift into shipwreck—

VOICE ONE:             Fight the good fight of faith.

VOICE TWO:            React to authority without wrath—

VOICE THREE:        Holding up all men in prayer.

VOICE FOUR:          Don’t be known for expensive clothing—

VOICE ONE:             Adorn yourselves with good works.

VOICE THREE:        Pastors must not be belligerent—

VOICE TWO:            But temperate, prudent and gentle.

VOICE FOUR:          Not addicted to self-gain—

VOICE THREE:        But free from the love of money.

VOICE ONE:             Don’t call a new convert to your pulpit—

VOICE TWO:            But one who has established a good reputation.

VOICE FOUR:          Deacons should not be double-tongued—

VOICE THREE:        But tested men of dignity.

VOICE TWO:            Their wives must not be malicious gossips—

VOICE ONE:             They should be self-controlled and faithful.

VOICE TWO:            Don’t forbid marriage.

VOICE THREE:        Everything created by God is good.

VOICE ONE:             Exercise bodily for some profit.

VOICE FOUR:          Exercise spiritually for eternal profit.

VOICE TWO:            Offer no one a reason to despise your youthfulness.

VOICE THREE:        Be an example of the believers.

VOICE ONE:             Don’t neglect your spiritual gifts—

VOICE FOUR:          Use everything God has given you.

VOICE THREE:        Stop your tongue before rebuking your elders.

VOICE TWO:            Appeal to them kindly as to a father or mother.

VOICE FOUR:          Benevolence should not promote idleness—

VOICE THREE:        Let each family take care of its own.

VOICE ONE:             Accusations against elders must be carefully examined—

VOICE TWO:            Those who continue in sin should be rebuked publicly.

VOICE FOUR:          Workers must not take advantage of Christian bosses—

VOICE THREE:        Each must treat the other as a brother in Christ.

VOICE ONE:             Avoid those who generate constant friction—

VOICE TWO:            Sound doctrine will conform us to godliness.

VOICE FOUR:          Flee from the love of money—

VOICE THREE:        Pursue righteousness, faith and gentleness.

VOICE ONE:             Tell those who are rich not to grow conceited—

VOICE TWO:            Their greatest riches are stored up in God.

VOICE FOUR:          O Timothy—guard what has been entrusted to you!

ALL:                           Great is the mystery of godliness!

VOICE FOUR:          God was manifest in the flesh!

VOICE THREE:        Justified in the Spirit!

VOICE TWO:            Seen of angels!

VOICE ONE:             Preached unto the Gentiles!

VOICE FOUR:          Believed on in the world!

ALL:                           Received up into glory!

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!