Sunrise Surprise

Leaders (pastors) are preparing to lead their congregation in an Easter Sunday morning service.

But they haven’t heard the news: Jesus has arisen from the grave.
Suddenly Mary, (mother of Jesus), and John, (the apostle), rush into the church to tell the news. Obviously, the leaders can’t believe their ears.

Useful for Easter Sunday, Easter Sunrise service or at any time of year.

DramaShare custom wrote this script for Nancy Anderson of Westoak Woods Baptist Church in Texas, who said:
Thank you for this wonderful script.  Our worship director thinks it's perfect, just as I do.  We plan to do it at our Easter Sunrise service.

Cast:  4

• Pastor1 (P1)
• Pastor2 (P2)
• Mary, mother of Jesus
• John, apostle
  • (The church who ordered this custom script wanted 2 pastors to be the narrators)

Bible Reference:    John 20:1-10

Set:   bare

Lighting:  standard

Sound: wireless mics if available

Song: none

SFX: none

Costumes:

• Mary & John would likely, (although not necessarily), be traditionally dressed

Props:     none

Special Instructions:   none

Time:  7

Sample of Script:

(Two individuals stand on stage, speaking solemnly.)

P1: I have never felt so defeated.

P2: No idea why we are here... I mean, why bother?

P1: I really thought he was the one.

P2: Just one more disappointment! I guess we always knew—too good to be true.

P1: The people here are waiting to hear news... What are we to say?

P2: We can’t lie to them; they need to know the truth.

P1: You know something? At this point, I don’t know what is truth... or if truth really exists anymore.

P2: You know, I really, really did believe... I really thought he was the one.

P1: We should have known by now. After all the years of high expectations, one false hope after another, followed by the bitter truth.

P2: Thing is... it just seemed so real this time! He was, I don’t know, just so... real!

P1: I think the part that bothers me the most is... it’s our job to let everyone know the bitter truth.

P2: I guess, but... could we be mistaken? Could Friday’s events be just a... a bad dream?

P1: It’s been two days. Even the worst dreams don’t last two days... And besides, you saw it, I saw it, we saw it with our own eyes.

P2: Regardless, we are here. They expect... something.

P1: At times like these, I think we need to keep things kind of... normal.

P2: Normal? Has there been anything normal in the last week?

P1: Well, we can’t just stand here; they deserve... something.

P2: You always open with a song.

P1: Yes, I planned for this morning we sing “Emmanuel.”

P2: Ok, let’s do that then.

P1: “Emmanuel?”... “God with us?”

P2: Wait, maybe not a good choice... But we can’t just stand here; the people expect... something.

P1: Something?... Any ideas?

P2: Well, if not a song, then... what else do you do?... Wait... What about a prayer?... That is what the people would expect, after all.

(P1 moves downstage, assumes a prayerful look.)

P1: Dear God, we thank you that...

(Pauses, thinking.)

Want to see how the story unfolds? DramaShare members get this complete script— and access to our entire library—free! Not a member? You can still grab this individual script and bring it to life.