We're Off!

WE'RE OFF!
by Rev. Wayne C. Deloach

Cast:

NARRATOR
DAD - played by a teenager

MOM - played by a teenager

BILLY - played by an adult

KELLY - played by an adult

Props Needed: 4 chairs at center stage to represent a car. 2 chairs for the front seat and 2 chairs for the back seat.

General Directions: Throughout the skit Dad pretends to be driving the car. The family is on their way to church on Sunday morning. The Mom and Dad are played by teenagers and Billy and Kelly are played by adults.

NARRATOR: Let's face it. Going to church Sunday after Sunday can sometimes seem like quite a chore. Just one more thing to do in a very busy week. But there are some very good reasons for going to church and for doing so on a regular basis. Let's see what this family thinks about this as we listen in on their conversation while they drive to church on a typical Sunday morning.

(the 4 actors enter and settle into their "car" by pretending to shut doors and hook up seat belts)

DAD: Ok. We're off. We'll be at church in just a few minutes.

MOM: Are you kids buckled in back there? You have to be buckled in before we can go.

BILLY: Yeah, we're buckled in. But why do we have to go anyway? Church is soooooo boring.

MOM: Now, you know very well why we have to go. I signed up to bring the bars for the coffee time today. So, just relax and enjoy it.

KELLY: Enjoy it? (with sarcasm) Yeah, right. You say the same thing every time we ask.

MOM: And I mean it, too. Going to church is good for you. It helps to develop character.

BILLY: Oh, yeah? Is that why so many people at church are characters? Like that one guy who sleeps through the sermon every single week! Did you hear him snoring last Sunday?

KELLY: Yeah, wasn't that funny? I wanted to sneak over there and kill that fly that kept landing on his nose. (both children giggle at this)

DAD: Now, kids, don't make fun of that man. He's old and has been going to church every Sunday for a long time so he's probably heard every song and sermon a million times.Why, he could probably recite the whole service in his sleep.

BILLY: Yeah, and that's exactly what he seems to be doing every Sunday, too! I hope I never get that old.

KELLY: Me, too. Can you imagine what it must be like to be in your 40's? That's old.

MOM: Say, now, your father and I are in our 40's and we don't feel so old, do we dear?

DAD: No, mother, we don't. Anyway, there are lots of good reasons for going to church every Sunday and not just because your mother signed up to bring bars either. We go to church because we know that God loves us and cares about us and going to church gives us the time we need to say thanks to God for all that he's done for us.

MOM: That's right, children. For me it's really important to have that time on Sunday because the rest of the week is just so busy that it's easy to forget all that God has done for us.

BILLY: I know, Mom, but can't we just stay home and say thanks to God? What would be wrong with that?

MOM: Well, nothing's wrong with that, dear, of course, but it's also important for us to say thanks to God with all the other people who come to church. After all, the church is like a family and if the family never gets together, it won't be a family for very long. It's just like when our whole family gets together to celebrate your birthday. How would you like it if Grandma and Grandpa and your Aunts and Uncles and cousins all just stayed home and wished you a happy birthday from there? That wouldn't be much fun now, would it?

BILLY: No, I guess not.

KELLY: Besides I kind of like going to Sunday School. We have the neatest teacher.

BILLY: (teasing in a sing song voice) You like Mr. Blomberg. You like Mr. Blomberg.

KELLY: No, I don't!

BILLY: Yes, you do! You like Mr. Blomberg.

KELLY: Tell him to stop, Mom.

MOM: Now, children, that's enough. I don't want your father to have to stop this car!

DAD: No, and I don't want to stop it either. We're going to be late as it is.Why does it take you all so long to get ready in the morning anyway? Sunday after Sunday we're breezing in the door just as Pastor Wayne and Intern Brian are walking down the aisle. Just once I'd like to get there early enough to get a seat in the back with Oscar and Dorothy instead of up there in the front with the acolyte.

MOM: Now, dear, don't go getting yourself all worked up. You know we do the best we can. It's just that it takes some of us longer to get the finishing touches just right. (she checks herself in the car's mirror)

BILLY: Kelly spent a whole hour in the bathroom this morning.

KELLY: Did not.

BILLY: Did too.

KELLY: Well, I just wanted to look my best.

BILLY: (teasing again) Yeah, for Mr. Blomberg.

KELLY: Mom, tell him to stop!

BILLY: (sing song voice again) You like Mr. Blomberg. You like Mr. Blomberg.

DAD: Ok, Billy, that's enough. I've noticed you're spending more time in the bathroom nowadays, too. And your hair doesn't even look like you combed it. Is that the new style? (shaking his head in disgust) I guess it's a good thing what they say about God loving us just the way we are.

MOM: Yes, that is a good thing. And that's another good reason for going to church every Sunday, too. It's easy for all of us to forget that God loves us just the way we are when all during the rest of the week we spend so much time and effort trying to be what other people want us to be and doing what other people want us to do. But God loves us just like we are and we need to hear that message over and over again. Are you listening back there, children? God loves you just as you are.

BILLY: Yeah, and in her case that's good because nobody else is going to.

KELLY: Oh, yeah?

BILLY: Yeah.

KELLY: Well, at least my hair looks like it was combed.

BILLY: Yeah, and I'm sure Mr. Blomberg is going to notice it right away.

DAD: Ok, ok, here we are and not a moment too soon. Come on now. If we hurry we might just be able to beat the pastor down the aisle. Oh, no. There they go. (puts his hands to his head and drops his head down) The story of my life.

NARRATOR: Poor Dad. He may never beat Pastor Wayne and Intern Brian down the aisle on a Sunday morning. But all of us know that that isn't really the thing that matters the most anyway. What matters is that the family is there and is there together with all the others who are a part of Christ's body, the church. And, as the members of the church gather together for worship and song and prayer, each of them is reminded that God loves them just as they are and cares about them and their lives. They are reminded as they come together that God has called each of them into his eternal family and that God's love for them and caring about them is never going to end. And that's exactly the kind of a message that every person needs to hear.