What's An Ark? God's Safe Plan

This play calls for 3 songs which can be pretty easily located through any distributor of Christian music. We do not have permission to distribute the songs but if you have difficulty locating any of them, you can substitute from songs your group already knows. A substitution for the Arkey, Arkey song should be fun and fast moving. Our God is an Awesome God was written by Rich Mullens. You could substitute a song that expresses God's love and care for His people. There are several songs based on John 3:16 - any of them would be fine here.

• Narrator
• Voice of God
• Noah - he spends much of the play on his knees so prompt sheets can be used for most of his lines
• Mrs Noah
• Animals (actors designated as monkeys, frogs, etc)
• Audience "plants" (several people in the audience who will refuse to get on the ark) - This example has 2

NAR : God told Noah that he was very angry with his people. For a long time they had been doing very bad things. They thought about bad things all the time and they did bad things all the time. They hurt each other and they messed up God's world. So God told Noah that he was going to send a great flood to get rid of all the bad people and bad things. God wanted his earth to start all over again.

Scene 1 - Noah's bedroom

Noah walks in

NOAH : Well God it's me, Noah? What do you want me to do today?

Noah goes to bed

GOD : Noah Noah

NOAH : Who was that?

GOD : Noah it's me God!

NOAH : I knew that the whole time!

GOD : Noah

NOAH : Ok Ok

GOD : Noah I want you to build me an ark.

NAR : For those of you who do not know what an ark is. It is a really really big boat.

NOAH : God what's an ark?

GOD : Didn't you listen to the narrater?

NOAH : Yes but

NAR : For those of you who do not know what an ark is. It is a really really big boat.

NOAH : What is it for?

GOD : I'm sending a huge flood it will last for 40 days and 40 nights. You and your family are going to live in this ark along with the animals so it needs to be really big. I need it to be 300 cubits long and 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high

NOAH : What???

GOD : As big as 20 college basket ball courts

NOAH : Oh ok I'll get right on it.

Noah walks off stage

NAR : Noah built, and built, and built

Noah walks back on stage and gets down on his knees to pray

NOAH: God, this is Noah again. Are you sure this is going to work?

GOD: Noah, it is my plan to save my creation. It will work. Remember, I'm God.

NOAH: Well, God, people are laughing at me and my wife says we've spent entirely too much on gopher bark. Could we use something less expensive? And I've looked over that list of animals. I'm pretty sure some of them are enemies.

GOD: Noah, I'm God, you are not.

NOAH: Oh, yes, now I remember.

Noah walks off stage

NAR: And Noah built, and built and built.

Noah and Mrs Noah walk onstage. If help is needed with the words, let them carry something appropriate. For example, Noah could have blue prints and Mrs Noah could have a clip board.

MRS NOAH: Noah, dear, don't you think we should try to save all our friends and neighbors?

NOAH: God's already warned them again and again but it won't hurt to try one more time. Look, (points to actors in audience) there's Ammon and Abbie. We can ask them.

They walk to Ammon and Abbie in the audience, grab their hands and begin to plead with them.

NOAH: Come with us. God is going to send rain and flood the earth. Come into the ark with us.

MRS NOAH: Yes, come into the ark with us and save your lives.

AMMON; Ark? What's an ark?

ABBIE: Yes, and what is rain? I think you two have been out in the sun too long! It's baking your minds!

AMMON: Baked, nothing. Their minds are soft boiled. Ha, ha, ha.

ABBIE: Oh yes, ha, ha. Soft boiled Noah and his half baked wife. Ha, ha, ha.

AMMON: Go away. You two are really strange.

Noah and Mrs Noah walk away from the audience area. If Abbie and Ammon are going to be animals also, they can slip out as the main characters walk off stage.

NOAH: They won't listen. Don't they want to belong to God?

MRS NOAH: I know, dear. But at least we tried.

Noah and Mrs Noah walk offstage

NAR: And Noah built, and built and built. And finally it was done.

Noah walks in carrying his hammer. Lays it down and dusts off his hands to show he is finished.

GOD: Noah, you and your family need to get inside the ark now. Take 7 of each kind of animal on this first list and 2 of each kind of animal on the second list. Hurry now, it won't be long.

NOAH: God, are you really sure about this?

GOD: Noah, who is God?

NOAH: You are.

GOD: And Noah, who is not God?

NOAH: OK, I'm getting right on it. I load seven of each animal on list one. I load two of each animal on list two. Then the people get in. I got it! I'm on my way. Mrs. Noah walks in and over to Noah. She is carrying a list.

MRS NOAH: Noah, I've got to talk to you. Have you really thought about the animals you have on this list?

NOAH: It's not my list, it's God's.

MRS NOAH: You've got lions and anteope. You know the lions will eat the antelope. And, Noah, you've got skunks on this list. What are we going to do when the elephant scares the skunk? We need to go over this list and take off some names.

NOAH: Who is in charge of this project?

MRS NOAH: God?

NOAH: Yes, God, and it is His list, not mine. It's His job to deal with antelopes and skunks and tree frogs. It's our job to follow his instructions.

MRS NOAH: You are right. He's God and we are not God!

NOAH: Yes, and I like it that way. I don't want to be God. His job is hard. Mine is a lot easier. I just do what He tells me to.

MRS NOAH: Well, what are we waiting for? You go find the rabbits and I'll go round up the kids!

They walk off stage

NAR: So Noah and his family went into the ark along with the animals. God sealed the door so they would be safe inside. Then came the rains.

They walk back on stage. If setting are being used, you may want to show the inside of the ark

MRS NOAH: Noah, have you noticed that it is raining AGAIN today?

NOAH: Yes dear, and have you noticed that the lions have not eaten the antelope and the skunk is perfectly happy here?

MRS NOAH: Now that you mention it, I guess God is doing a good job at His job. Maybe I'd better go see about my job. The elephants feed trough is getting low again.

They walk out

NAR: And it rained for forty days and the water was so deep that the ark was lifted way up above the highest mountains. While the water washed away every bad person and bad thing, the ark floated on the water over the earth. Noah and his family and the animals were safe inside.

The animals and MRS NOAH come onstage and begin to party. They hop around and sing.

NOAH: Whoah! What is going on here?

MRS NOAH: Come join us. It's a barn dance - well, I guess it's an ark dance. Anyway, we're celebrating because God has been really, really, really good to us.

NOAH: Absolutely right! This calls for some music. Everybody join in!

PLAY & SING WITH Arky, Arky song. Animals can move through the audience trying to get everyone to sing along.

Go offstage singing the end of the song and dancing

NAR: Sometimes the ark floated on the water and sometimes it rocked along! I hope nobody gets seasick from all that rocking.

Noah & Mrs Noah walk on. Noah is carrying a dark colored bird.

MRS NOAH: What are you doing with that parrot?

NOAH: It's a raven. I'm trying to open this window so I can let it out.

MRS NOAH: Here, let me help you. Was the raven bad?

NOAH: No, why do you ask?

MRS NOAH: Well if he was not bad, why are you sending him out there to die?

NOAH: The water is going down! Look, over there is a mountain top. We're going to send out birds to see if they can find a place to make a nest.

Noah pretends to release the bird out the window. They walk off stage.

NAR: The raven flew to and fro across the water. When Noah sent out the first dove, it came back because there was still too much water. A week later, he sent the dove out again.

Mrs Noah walks on stirring something in a bowl as if she is cooking.

NOAH runs in grabs Mrs Noah and swings her around shouting "Hooray, hooray!"

MRS NOAH: Well, I never! what is going on?

NOAH: The dove, the dove!

MRS NOAH: What about the dove? Has it learned to peel potatoes? I could use some help here, you know.

NOAH: Sorry! I forgot I was supposed to help. The dove came back with a branch from an olive tree! The water is going down.

MRS NOAH: Hooray! Why didn't you say so in the first place. Let's go tell the lions!

They quickly go off stage.

NAR: And when the water was dried up, God again spoke to Noah.

GOD: Noah. Noah.

NOAH: I'm listening, God.

GOD: Noah, go out of the ark, you and your wife and your son's wives with you. Let the animals out of the ark. It's time to begin again.

NAR: And Noah built an altar to the lord and worshiped at the altar.

GOD: I will never again curse the ground because of people. Even if people are very evil in their hearts and even if they begin to be evil when they are very young, I will never again destroy every living thing.

NAR: So God blessed Noah and his family. He told them to have children who would fill up the earth with people. God gave the rainbow as a sign of his promise not to destroy the earth with another flood.

MRS NOAH: So, Noah, what is going to happen if people become very evil again? God promised not to wash the earth with another flood. What will He do next time?

NOAH: I don't know what He will do but I'm sure He has a plan. Remember, planning is His job. Our job is to follow His plan.

Everyone on stage to sing.

Sing "Our God is an Awesome God"

NAR: We know that people did become evil again and we know about God's plan to destroy the evil in our hearts. When we follow His plan, we are forever free from the power of evil. Let's say John 3:16 & 17 together.

ALL: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world, through Him, might be saved.

Sing "For God So Loved The World"