Gods Perfect Plan

God’s perfect plan of creation provided all humans could ever long for.

But man’s sin lost him the right to enjoy the bounty God had provided. God tried through the Garden of Eden, Noah and the flood, Moses in the wilderness, to lead man back to Him. But nothing was successful; man still went his sinful way.

So God devised His perfect, painful plan: to send His own Son to earth, to be a perfect sacrifice for sin. In this 9-scene drama, we visit Nazareth, the Upper Room, Gethsemane, and the tomb to see just how far God has gone to win back the gem of His creation, which He made in His own image.

Written as an Easter presentation but could be for any time, including dinner theatre.

Cast:

34+

• Narrator
• VOG (Voice of God) - offstage
• Gabriel the angel
• Adam
• Eve
• Serpent
• Noah
• Moses
• Mary
• Joseph
• Zechariah
• Elizabeth
• (6) Friends and family of Mary & Joseph
• Jesus
• (12) Disciples
• Thief 1
• Thief 2
• Mary (sister of Lazarus)
• Martha (sister of Lazarus)
• Centurion
• Plus any number of extras for the crowd

NOTE: Many of these roles could be combined.

Bible Reference:

Genesis, Exodus, and the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Set:

Very little is necessary, but can be made as elaborate as desired.

• Scene I – Garden of Eden: Meadow backdrop
• Scene VIII – Upper Room / Tomb: A large table, also an open tomb (optional)

Lighting:

Spotlights to isolate sections of the stage.

Sound:

Wireless mics, if available.

Songs:

• In the Beginning was the Word
  Copyright © 1999 Elton Smith and Larry Holder
  Some lyrics written by DramaShare
• He is There for You
  Copyright © 2008 Peter Gringhuis and Larry Holder
• I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked
• Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?
• Christ the Lord is Risen Today by Charles Wesley

SFX (Sound Effects):

• Garden of Eden scenes
• Various visuals as indicated in the script

Costumes:

Traditional, as appropriate.

Props:

• Large book and chair for the narrator
• Apples for the Garden of Eden
• Gift for the Nazareth scene
• Table, food, and drink, basin, and towels for the Upper Room

Special Instructions:

None.

Time: Approximately 120 minutes.

Sample of Script:

Scene I – In the Beginning: Garden of Eden

The narrator comes on stage under a tight spotlight, carrying a large book, and reads.

Narrator:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.

Soft lights up on stage left where angel Gabriel is standing.

VOG: Gabriel!

Gabriel falls to his face.

VOG: Gabriel, answer me!

Gabriel, frightened, slowly gets to his knees, looking down.

Gabriel: Yes, Yahweh.

VOG: Look upward, Gabriel; I would show you My plan.

Gabriel hesitatingly looks upward.

Gabriel: Your plan, Yahweh?

VOG:
I shall create the heaven and the earth—all you see, and all you don’t see.

SFX: A projected image of boiling blackness on the screen.

VOG:
Earth is now a sea of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. My Spirit longs for creating order out of chaos, a plan for the future, for all time.

SFX: A beam of light gradually expands from the center of the blackness.

VOG:
And so I declare that there will be... "Light!"

Intense light appears in the center of the blackness.

VOG:
That light is good.
And now we will separate light from dark.
We name the light... Day,
And we name the dark... Night.

Sky and fluffy white clouds gradually expand from the center.

VOG:
Sky! In the middle of the waters; separate water from water!

Narrator:
And God made sky. He separated the water under sky from the water above sky.
And there it was...

VOG:
We will name the sky... the Heavens.

While the sky shows, land with a lake gradually moves up from the bottom of the screen until sky and land are equal.

VOG:
Separate! Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place; Land, appear!

Narrator:
And there it was, the land and the water.

VOG:
We will name the land... Earth. And we will name the pooled water... Ocean.
And it is all good.

Gabriel: Very good indeed, mighty Yahweh!

SFX: Scene with grass, trees, lake, and sky.

VOG:
Earth, green up! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants, every sort of fruit-bearing tree.

Narrator:
And there it was. Earth produced green seed-bearing plants, all varieties, and fruit-bearing trees of all sorts. God saw that it was good.

VOG:
Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven's sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years. Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth.

Narrator:
And there it was. God made two big lights, the larger to take charge of Day,

SFX: Screen fades to full dark, gradually showing the night sky with moon and stars.

Narrator:
The smaller to be in charge of Night; and He made the stars.

VOG:
I will place the Light in the heavenly sky to light up Earth and oversee Day and Night, to separate light and dark. It is... good.

Gabriel: Amazingly good, oh Mighty Yahweh!

SFX: Screen shows mighty ocean with whales, fish, and sky above filled with birds.

VOG:
Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life! Birds, fly through the sky over Earth! We will create the huge whales, all the swarm of life in the waters, and every kind and species of flying birds.

Gabriel: It is good, Oh Mighty Maker of all creation!

VOG:
We bless you all! Now prosper! Reproduce! Fill the Ocean! And you birds, reproduce on Earth!

SFX: Various scenes of animals roaming.

VOG:
Earth, now generate life! Generate every sort and kind: cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.

Narrator:
And there it was: wild animals of every kind, cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.

Narrator:
And so God created human beings;
He created them godlike,
Reflecting God's own nature.
He created them male and female.
And God blessed them...

VOG:
Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
For every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.
I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth,
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
Given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
Everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.

Narrator:
And there it was.
God looked over everything He had made;
It was so good... so very good!

SFX: Lights up 25% on center stage where the backdrop shows a meadow scene. Adam is laying unnoticed on the ground.

Narrator:
And so God had triumphed in creating the heavens and the earth.
And He had placed on Earth, in control of all...
The jewel of His creation...
Man!
God formed Man out of dirt from the ground
And blew into his nostrils the breath of life.
The Man came alive—a living soul!
Then God planted a garden in Eden.
He put the Man He had just made in it.

Adam rises, walks around, admiring all.

Narrator:
God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground,
Trees beautiful to look at and good to eat.
The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden,
Also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.

VOG:
Adam, you may eat from any tree in the garden,
Except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.
You must not eat from it or you will die!

Adam nods his head in understanding.

VOG:
It is not good for the Man to be alone;
I will make a helper for you... a companion.

Lights out at center stage.

Narrator:
So God put Adam into a deep sleep.
As Adam slept, God removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh.
God then used the rib that He had taken from Adam to make Woman.
And God presented her to Adam.

Lights up at center stage. Eve walks on stage.

Adam:
Bone of my bone,
Flesh of my flesh!
Name her Woman,
For she was made from Man.

Adam and Eve walk hand in hand, enjoying all around them.

Narrator:
And the two lived together happily in the Garden of Eden,
Enjoying life, amid abundance.

Adam leaves the stage. The Serpent comes on stage.

Narrator:
Among all the animals which God had created, none was more clever than the serpent.

Serpent (to Eve):
Do you really believe God told Adam not to eat from any tree in the garden?

Eve:
Not at all. Of course, we can eat from the trees in the garden.
It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said,
“Don't eat from it or you'll die.”

Serpent (laughs mockingly):
Foolish woman! You won't die.
The reason God told Adam that is God knows that the moment you eat from that tree,
You'll see what's really going on.
You'll be just like God, knowing everything.

Eve (eyes the tree):
Well, the tree does look good, and it would be good to know everything!

The serpent hands Eve the apple. She hesitates, then takes a bite, smiles, and eats the apple.

Adam comes on stage, sees Eve eating the apple. The serpent tries to hide.

Adam:
Eve! You know God warned us not to eat from that tree!

Eve:
But the serpent told me there was no reason not to eat... and the apple was... delicious.
Just look at me... I am fine. I didn’t die!

Serpent:
Listen to your wife, the wife whom God gave you!
(hands Adam an apple)
Take, eat!

Adam and Eve are enjoying the apple. The serpent chuckles behind their backs.
They “hear” something and react in fear.

Adam:
It is God walking in the garden... quickly... hide!

The serpent, Adam, and Eve try to hide.

VOG:
Adam... Eve... Where are you?

Adam:
I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid.

VOG (angry):
You ate from the tree which I forbade you!

Adam (afraid):
It was the fault of the woman You gave me as a companion!
It was she who gave me the fruit from the tree. She told me to eat, and, yes, I ate it.

VOG (to Eve):
What is this evil thing that you've done?

Eve:
Please, it wasn’t my fault.
It was the serpent who insisted that I eat the fruit.

VOG (to the serpent):
For this terrible thing you have done, you will forever be cursed,
Cursed to slink on your belly
And eat dirt all your life.
And you, woman!
For spoiling our relationship,
I'll multiply your pains in childbirth;
You'll give birth to your babies in pain.
And you, Man!
Because you listened to your wife and not to God,
And you ate from the tree
That I commanded you not to eat from,
The very ground is cursed because of you;
Therefore, getting food from the ground
Will be as painful for you as having babies is for your wife.
You shall work in pain all your life long.
The ground that you till will sprout thorns and weeds.
You will be forced to get your food the hard way,
Planting and tilling and harvesting,
Sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk,
Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried.
You started out as dirt; you'll end up dirt.

Narrator:
So God expelled all of them from the Garden of Eden
And sent them to work the ground,
The same dirt from which God had made them.
God’s anger burned that His creation would reject His perfect plan...
But more, His heart sorrowed!

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