Larry: <shaking and mumbling to himself like he is worried about something>

Bob: Hi Larry!

Larry: <stuttering> H-H-H-Hiii B-B-Bob.

Bob: Larry, what is wrong with you. You look very scared.

Larry: It’s B-b-bubba. He is going to beat me up after school tomorrow!

Bob: Why do you think that?

Larry: Because he told me I was dead-meat because I didn’t give him my ice-cream today.

Bob: Larry, I know what you need to do.

Larry: What should I do Bob?

Bob: You should pray to be brave and ask God to help you to say the right thing to Bubba when you see him.

Larry: B-b-but I’m too scared!!

Bob: It’s OK Larry. Sometimes we all get scared. But God tells us to trust Him and to be brave.

Larry: OK. I’ll try. Dear God, I know you want me to be brave because you will protect me. Also, I don’t know what to say to Bubba, so please give me the words when I see him. I pray in Jesus’ name – Amen!

Bob: Larry, if you trust in the Lord, he will help you. I’m sure of it! Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.

Larry: Bye.

<Puppets exit>

Bubba: Oh.. There you are. Come here so I can give you a beaten.

Larry: Bubba, I have something to say to you.

Bubba: What do you have to say?

Larry: I know you are older and stronger than me and I don’t care if you beat me up. God loves me so much it does not matter what anybody else does to me.

Bubba: You mean, you are not scared of me?

Larry: Not any more. I was afraid, but I prayed and now I have faith God will help me.

Bubba: Wow Larry, I like you attitude! Can you teach me how to think like you?

Larry: Sure Bubba. First I want to tell you that God loves you very much and wants to be your friend.

Bubba: But I’ve been a bad boy. I have picked on a lot of little kids.

Larry: That’s OK Bubba. God can change your heart. Would you like to come to church with me tomorrow so you can start learning about God?

Bubba: Sure Larry. Let’s shake on it.

< Puppets go to shake and Joey comes up and kisses Bubba in the face.. he says yuck etc..>

<Puppets exit>

Skit - Pray for your friends
< Scene 1 - Mo and Larry, then Bob later >

Mo - <looking around> Muffin, Muffin where are you?

Larry - Mo, what are you doing? I have a Muffin at home if you really want one.

Mo - I'm looking for my dog Muffin. I can't find him and I am starting to get worried.

Larry - Where have you looked for him?

Mo - I looked in my yard and at his friends Ruffy's yard. I looked at the school yard in case he came there to look for me. I even checked with my alien friends in space!

Larry - Boy, it sounds like you may have lost him forever.

Mo - (crying) Oh no! I can't be without Muffin. wAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh - what am I going to do?

Larry - I know, we should ask Bob.

Mo - Bob! Bob! We need you!

(Bob comes up)
Bob - Is someone calling me?

Larry - Mo can't find Muffin and he is so worried.

Mo - (crying) I'm so scared! What should I do?

Bob - Mo, I know how you feel. Sometimes I feel afraid.

Larry - Is there anything we can do?

Bob - Yes. Jesus says when two or three people start praying together, He is there with them. There are three of us so we should pray!

Mo - Dear Lord, please help us to find Muffin. He means so much to me!

Larry - And Lord, please help Mo to believe you will help us find Muffin so he will feel better.

Bob - Amen!

< puppets exit >

<Scene 2 - Mo and Bob>

Bob - So Mo, how are you?

Mo - Well, I have been feeling better, but I still have not found Muffin.

Bob - Sometimes God makes us wait for Him to answer our prayers.

Mo - It is so hard to wait.

<Muffin barking sound>.. ruff, ruff.

Bob - Do you hear what I hear?

Mo - That is Muffin’s bark. I would recognize it anywhere!

< Muffin comes up and licks Mo in the face >

Bob - Where have you been Muffin?

Muffin - ruff, ruff, ruff

Mo - You ate too many Muffins and got a tummy ache and went to sleep under the couch?!?

Muffin – ruff

Bob - But we were calling you? Why couldn't you hear us?

Muffin - ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff.

Mo - You were listening to your iPOD and couldn't hear us?

Muffin - ruff.

Bob - Muffin, you really scared us. Why did you come now?

Muffin - ruff, ruff.

Mo - Your tummy feels better now? Wow, I bet it happened because we prayed to find you Muffin!

Muffin - ruff!

Mo - I'm so glad to have you back and I'm so glad that God answered our prayer.

Bob - God is sooo good! Now I know I can trust him next time I get scared.

Mo - me too!

<puppets exit>

Skit – Pray Often

Scene 1: Bubba and Gracie

Bubba: Hey Gracie, I’ve been thinking.

Gracie: Bubba, I didn’t know you knew how to think…when did you learn to do that?

Bubba: Ha-Ha, very funny Gracie.

Gracie – Of course I was just kidding you. You are a great thinker Bubba! So what were you thinking about?

Bubba – Well, sometimes when I try to talk to the grown ups around me they tell me they are to busy to talk right then.

Gracie: Too busy? ( pause )… What does that mean?

Bubba – It means they are doing something at that time and can’t talk to me. Anyway, if a grown up gets busy, God must get really, really busy since he has so many people praying to Him.

Gracie – Wow Bubba. You sure are smart. I bet it’s a good idea to only pray once and to not say too much so God can have time to listen to the next person that is praying.

Bubba – Yep, I’m sure that will make God happy. From now on that is what I’m going to do.

Gracie – Me too. Thanks for teaching me about prayer Bubba. I’ll see you later.

Bubba – Bye.

<puppets exit>

Scene 2 – Gracie and Maia

Gracie – Hi Maia, Bubba taught me something really important today.

Maia – What did he teach you?

Gracie – He taught me that God is really busy and has so many people praying to him that you should only pray once a day. Also, you should not say too much. This way God has time to listen to other people that want to pray.

Maia – Gracie, that is not true! God has amazing powers that let him hear everybody praying at one time. Plus he is like a daddy that loves his children and wants to hear us talk to him all the time.

Gracie: Hmm. Now I don’t know what to believe. Bubba made sense when he told me to only pray once and now you make sense when you tell me to pray a lot. How do I know who is telling the truth?

Maia – Gracie, don’t listen to me. You just need to find out what the Bible says. It always tells the truth.

Gracie – Hey, I remember that in the Bible, a man named Daniel that was very close to God prayed three times a day. That means that you are right and Bubba is wrong.

Maia – Wow, you found out the truth by checking the Bible. Great job Gracie!

Gracie: Thanks Maia! Now let’s go tell Bubba the truth about praying!

Maia – Let’s go… q the music!

[have someone sing James Bond theme]

<Puppets exit>