Jesus' Draft Pick (A Skit for Youth)

Scenario: It’s Jesus’ pick in the NBA Draft.  Instead of choosing one of the biggest, strongest, fastest players, Jesus drafts someone extremely unlikely.   (For a fun satire of Jesus as an NBA player, check it out in The Onion.)  

Main Point: Jesus sees great potential where others see nothing.

Characters:

• Jesus - General manager and coach of the Chicago Bulls (or other NBA franchise).
• Commissioner - NBA Commissioner, dressed in a suit and tie.
• Mick Mickelson - Sports Reporter dressed sloppily with pen and notepad, maybe a tape recorder. (This character should be either very small or rather rotund)

Commissioner:  Congratulations to the Houston Rockets for their exceptional choice of the 6 foot 10 forward from UCLA, Jerome Montablo.  Next up for the 21st pick in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft, we have Jesus making the choice for the Chicago Bulls.

[Jesus joins the Commissioner at the podium.]

Commissioner:  Jesus, welcome to the NBA.  Let me tell you, we are all excited to see your first draft pick as General Manager and Head Coach.  After your exceptional career as an athlete yourself, the world is waiting and watching to see if you can transfer that success to young players.

Jesus:  Thank you Commissioner.  I’m glad to be here.  I’ve had my eye on this young player for quite some time.  I think he has tremendous potential.  Of course, like all rookies, he has a ways to grow, but I think he will eventually accomplish even more than me.

The Call of Grace (Ephesians 3:1-13)

Ladies, imagine that the CEO of Chanell International called you and asked you to be their global beauty representative.  They want you to go all around the world talking to people about beauty and demonstrating beauty principles.

Naturally, you might be surprised.  You would immediately start thinking of all of your faults and weaknesses.  I’m too thick or too thin.  I have too many wrinkles or too many zits.  This part is too big, and this part is too small.

But the Chanell CEO was ready for this.  “First of all,” she says,  “that’s the point.  You are a normal woman.  We are starting an Every Woman Campaign - sending out the message that every woman is beautiful.  No matter your skin type or body shape, every woman is beautiful just as she is.  We deeply believe this, and we want you to help us get the message out.   Secondly, we won’t leave you like we find you.  We’ll connect you with our top nutritionists, fitness coaches, skin experts, and stylists.  After a few months with us, your inner beauty will begin to shine outwardly where everyone can see it.”

How does that sound ladies?  A little intimidating, but pretty exciting right?!

OK, men, I know eye shadow and facials doesn’t really get you excited - at least I hope not.  But how about this?  Imagine that the General Manager of Manchester United called you and made a similar offer: “Hey man, this is your lucky day.  Man-U has chosen you to be our global fitness representative.  We know that people all over the developed world are really putting on weight, and we want to do something about it.  Sports and athleticism are not limited to a few guys with exceptional DNA.  We believe that every human being alive has a natural sports star inside, and we want to prove it through you.  We want you to be our the global face and body of our Every Man Campaign.  You’ll even get to play with Man-U in a few Premier League games.”

Seeing with your Heart (1 Samuel 16)

Shaquile O’Neil felt like an outsider and a freak for most of his childhood.

Thomas Edison daydreamed so much in school that his first teacher called him addled (or air-headed) and said he could never learn.

  

Benjamin Franklin failed math twice.  After that his father took him out of school and put him to work in the family candle shop at age 10.

  

Albert Einstein was so slow in learning to speak that his parents went to a doctor to see if his brain was OK.  As a teenager, he was so rebellious that one of his teachers said he would never amount to much.  Then, Einstein failed his university entrance exam and had to go to trade school instead.

The small become great.  The fool becomes the genius.  The ugly duckling becomes the swan.  Cinderella becomes the princess.  Even though we have heard these stories a thousand times in a thousand ways, we still hear each story with awe and wonder.  Even though we know from history that people surprise us, we are still surprised.  Even though we know from experience that outward appearances can be deceiving, we are still deceived.  

Again and again, we return to one profound truth which is so easy to forget: “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them” (1 Samuel 16:7).  Reality is different from what we see.  Let’s go now to the story that explains this life-shaping truth: 1 Samuel 16:1-13.

Escaping Our Excuses - Exodus 4

First read Exodus 4:1-17.

    We’ve all used excuses a time or two, and sometimes they’ve even been true.  This week I scoured the internet to find some of the worst excuses of all time.  These are the top ten excuses people gave for missing work or school.
10. I'm still drunk from last night.
9. I am stuck in the blood pressure machine at the pharmacy.
8. I tried to dye my hair blonde, but it came out green!
7. I won't be able to come to work next week.  We’re trying for a baby, and the doctor     says next week is the best chance.
6. The train had a flat tire.
5. My boyfriend has a 111 degree temperature (44 celsius). 
4. I can’t come to school today because my brain is full.
3. Please excuse Henry for being late. He was stuck in the bathroom without any toilet     paper.
2.  [This one is the runner-up for being crazy but true.]  Her cat was bleeding all over the     place.  An abscess in it’s belly exploded.  But the vet really helped out and wrote     her an official excuse: “Please excuse Sheryl for being late to work today. Her cat     had a hole in it.”
1. [This one gets the grand prize for the follow-up plan.]  I was playing fetch with my     dog, and the ball took a bad hop and broke a window.  When I went to check out     the damage, I stepped on a big piece of glass and cut my foot really bad, so I     can’t work today.  ...  The trick to making this excuse stick -- he put a pebble in     my shoe for the next couple of work days to remind him to walk gingerly due to     his "stitches."

    We all have excuses.  Some are better than others, but we all have them.  Sometimes we use them to get out of work.  Sometimes we use them to make up for our failures.  Sometimes we use them to avoid God. 
    Here’s the thing about our excuses.  We think they are going to get us what we want.  But in reality, our excuses just form traps to keep us in our selfishness, irresponsibility, or unhealthy lifestyles.  If we want to really be free, we have to escape our excuses.  Our excuses keep us stuck in the status quo, but God calls us into the adventures of the unknown future.