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[Get two boys to be your actors. You are going to be a central figure directing the two boys in helping you dramatize this story. There are two considerations to go into picking your volunteers. 1. Both will be picked up quickly. You don't want to tell either one of the boys you plan on doing so (thus, their expression will be genuine and not acting), so you need boys light enough to be picked up quickly by you, and stout enough that this is not too traumatic an experience for them. The last thing you need to do is stop the skit to soothe a crying lad. 2. The boy who is shot will be head down and tail up for more than a few minutes. The position is not comfortable. Take the boys aside and give them only the vaguest idea of what is needed. Mostly, they will listen to you and take their cues from you. One will be Tom, who is shot and spends time on his head, and the other is Dwayne, who does the shooting.] [Position Tom before the class and Dwayne, at the back or side of the class.] One day, Tom, who was 15, and Dwayne, who was 16, were out hunting and had come to a pond. Dwayne decided to scare Tom by shooting the water before Tom but the bullet ricocheted off of the water and hit Tom. [Look towards "Dwayne" and tell him he needs to shoot his cousin.] [Before "Tom" has a chance to fall over on his own, grab him under the arms quickly and fling him high and then gently position him on his head with his tail up and his legs braced. He was hopefully started at flying through the air, but the pre-talk has him ready to get into position.] When the bullet hit Tom in the head it FLUNG him up into the air, flipping him over, and landed him on his head. This looked just hilarious to his cousin. [To "Dwayne", you should be laughing over there.] After several seconds it began to dawn on his cousin that Tom didn't flip because he was started, but because something else had happened. He had KILLED HIS COUSIN. [Come running around now, visibly upset and crying.] The cousin sat down and just started to pray. He didn't touch his cousin, but just prayed. [Fall to your knees here, (about 5' from Tom), facing the class, and start praying.] [Turn as to go back to Tom, but stop and note Dwayne's prayers are pathetic, so return to give the fledging actor encouragement] This is not how he prayed. [Start to get loud.] How do you think he would pray? Why you have just MURDERED YOUR COUSIN. [Get louder]. Why, they are going to put you on the electric chair, your Dad is going to kill you, your Mom is going to ground you until you are 30. They are going to put you in solitary confinement for the rest of your life, which isn't long because they are going to hang you. On top of all this, ALL your cousins hate you now because you just ruined hunting for all of them. [To the class] When the whole world is against you, who you going to call? "God" (hopefully, they won't say Ghost Busters) So pray lad, pray like you have never prayed before, because your life has come to an end! [Now turn back to "Tom" and help him up.] Here you are, bleeding to death, and your cousin doesn't even attempt to doctor you or help you or anything. All he is doing is praying for God to help HIM! You need to go over, put your hand on his shoulder, and tell him "Cousin, I could be bleeding to death, and you would have just let me be." [At the moment "Tom" puts the hand on the shoulder grab "Dwayne" from under the arm pits and fling him up and away and scream.] "Aiiiiii!!!" Were you scared? Not as much as the cousin really was. He just murdered his cousin, is sure his life is over, and something reaches out and grabs him. Almost had a double murder here. [smile, you are moving into the transition phase] [With a lad standing on both sides, continue the transition] What makes this event most outstanding there was no fear of death or concern about the outcome on Tom's part. This is not to suggest Tom was particularly brave. Had the question been formed as to pain or suffering he would have been as scared as the next person. But, from his head down position and blood all about, the question was not "Am I hurt", but "Am I going to die". And since the question was phrased this way, the answer was sure and resolute. To the question, "Am I going to die", the answer was, "No, I have been called for a purpose, and this has not happened. If I am paralyzed or maimed by this, then it must be in keeping with God's purpose. If I am to die, then it must be the dying itself which will trigger whatever God wishes. If this was not suppose to happen, then God will make it right so I can still do whatever he wants me to do later on." Tom then decided, based upon this reasoning, since his life was not in danger, he would just be still, as much as it was hurting his neck to do so, in order to teach his cousin a lesson. All this thinking occurred in the short minute his cousin was still jumping up and down and laughing.
Why do you suppose Tom was able to think this way at such a critical time?
You see, from before Tom could remember, maybe when he was two or certainly three years old, his Mom used to pray with him and all his brothers and sisters each night. They'd been praying the same prayers every night for some 12 years. Their prayers would go something like this....
Now, of the two sets of prayers, whose prayer do you think God cared to hear most? The selfish prayers of the cousin, or Tom? [The kids will recognize the right answer. If you have someone serving communion, this is the time to give them their cue.] Very well, then. For communion today, please think about your own walk. Is it right with God? Have you some things in your life you need to be reconciled with God about. Please take the time to confess your sins with God and determine to change your ways. Then say a prayer some what like Tom and all his brothers and sisters prayed, asking God to use their life in special and powerful ways. After this, then come up and share communion with us. The rest of you should continue to sit and consider if there are any limits on what you would give back to God and what those limits might be. |