Sharing the gospel through ventriloquism, illusion, and clowning

Image by FlamingText.com

This presentation uses a magic prop called "Stiff Rope" and a Change Bag. I purchased both of these for $10.00 total. I also used a 3 or 4" porcelain angel, a package of play money double-stick-taped together, a 3 or 4" model of a church, a 3" porcelain nativity scene, and a 3" figure of Jesus (all purchased for $30.00). I attached a loop of string to the angel, money, church and Jesus. I found royalty-free pictures of the earth and of the sky and used these to represent "Temporary Life on Earth" and "Eternal Life in Heaven". I laminated these along with the lettering and taped them to bookends to stand up. I used a ventriloquist stand set to the tallest position and placed the "heaven" sign on it. The other sign was placed on a table the same distance away as the length of rope. The following is the script and actions (in parentheses).
Good morning/evening, _______________. Today's object lesson is called How To Get To Heaven. I'm sure all of you enjoy coming here to sing/worship/learn about Jesus. But there are some people in the world who don't know about Jesus. Here is one way I could tell them about Jesus.
(Stretch out the rope from the higher-placed sign of "heaven" and the lower-placed sign of "earth".) I'm going to use a piece of rope to represent a link between "Temporary Life On Earth" and "Eternal Life In Heaven". Some people think that since God is a loving God, if they are good enough, He will let them into heaven. (Show angel and hook onto rope about 4" from end and hold onto it with your hand.) So, will being good like an angel get you to heaven?
(Drop end of rope) No.
(Repeat process with money and church.) Some people think that if they give lots of money to church or to groups that help people, that God will reward them by letting them into heaven. So, can you get to heaven by giving away money? No.
Some people think that if they go to church, this will get them closer to God, and this may be true. But does going to church get you to heaven? No.
You see, ever since Adam and Eve sinned and disobeyed God, they broke the link between a Holy God who is perfect and us who are imperfect. But God had a plan. (Produce nativity scene from behind heaven sign. Extend rope in stiff position from "earth" sign to "heaven" sign and use other hand to move nativity scene down on top of the rope.) He reached down to us by sending His only Son, Jesus, to earth to live a sinless life. He came as a baby born to Joseph and Mary. (Show empty change bag by looking through it, zip it up and place scene into bag.) The years went by and Jesus was a boy, a young man and then an adult. (Produce Jesus figure from bag.) For three years He showed the world that He came to give life -- a meaningful life on earth if they accepted Him and a future life in heaven with Him. He died on a cross and rose to life to provide a link to God the Father. (Hook figure onto the rope about 4" from the end and hold with your hand.) So, the question is: Will trusting in Jesus get you to heaven? (Put stiff rope in "stiff" position and take away one hand.) Yes.
Jesus Himself said in John 14:6: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man comes to the Father, but by Me.
(I finished by keeping rope stiff and placing on the higher-placed heaven stand/table with Jesus figure, saying the following and then taking away my hand to let rope go limp.) So, let's pray for people who don't know the way to heaven, but more than that, let's tell them the good news. Thank you for letting me share.

V: Hello, everyone. I'm _____________ and this is (figure's name).
F: Hey, everyone!
V: (Figure's name), what do you want to talk about?
F: Let's talk about ten minutes.
V: No, I mean subject.
F: Subject to what?
V: Like, where do you live?
F: I live with my daddy.
V: Where does your daddy live?
F: With my mommy.
V: Where does your mommy live?
F: With my daddy.
V: Where do your mommy and daddy live?
F: Together.
V: (Name of figure)!
F: What?
V: Are you trying to make me look silly?
F: No, didn't God do that?
V: I just want you to help me out.
F: Okay. Tell me how you got in and I'll help you out.
V: I mean, I just wanted to know where you live. Where is your house located?
F: At the corner of Hickory and Dickory.
V: Hickory and Dickory? Where's that?
F: Down by the dock.
V: Oh, I get it: Hickory, dickory, dock...
F: The mouse ran up the clock. The mouse got a shock. He fell like a rock. It was an electric clock.
V: Hey!
F: What?
V: I didn't know we had nursery rhymes in our routine.
F: We do now.
V: If you're going to say rhymes, say 'em right.
F: Was that right?
V: No.
F: Hickory, dickory, dock. Two mice ran up the clock.
V: Two mice?
F: The clock struck one...and the other one got away.
V: That's not right either.
F: How about Mary had a little lamb.
V: Can you say it?
F: Sure. Mary had a little lamb. Her little lamb had fleas.
V: Fleas? No, it didn't have fleas.
F: Sure, it had fleas as white as snow.
V: That was fleece that was as white as snow.
F: That's what I said.
V: No, you said "fleas." It was fleece. Fleece is the lamb's coat.
F: Coat? Oh, the lamb had a coat and the coat had fleas?
V: No! Say it after me. Mary had a little lamb.
F: Mary had a little lamb.
V: Its fleece was white as snow.
F: And everywhere that Mary went she took her car.
V: Ohhhh! Do you know "There was an Old Lady"?
F: Yes.
V: Well, say it.
F: It.
V: No...there was an old lady. What comes after "an old lady"?
F: An old man?
V: (Roll eyes.) There was an old lady who lived in a shoe.
F: A shoe? Are you kiddin'?
V: No, she lived in a old shoe.
F: Why?
V: I guess she was poor.
F: Did she have any kids?
V: Yes, she had so many children, she didn't know what to do...
F: What are you lookin' at me for. I don't know either.
V: She had so many children...
F: In the shoe?
V: Yes, in the shoe.
F: What a STINKIN' place to raise kids!
V: Do you know Little Miss Muffet?
F: Oh yeah. Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet. What's next?
V: Along came a spider and sat down beside her...
F: And she SQUASHED IT!
V: You changed it.
F: I spiced it up some.
V: Okay, how about this one: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men...
F: Had scrambled eggs for breakfast, again.
V: Why do you keep changing it, (Figure's name).
F: Is change bad?
V: Well, not so much in nursery rhymes, but changes in our lives tend to upset us. We just need to trust in God and He'll get us through any situation. And you know what?
F: What?
V: There one's thing that never changes. That's God's love for us. In Psalms it tells us to "Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever." He loved us so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to give His life so we could have eternal life in heaven when we repent and ask Him to come in.
F: He's always with us, huh?
V: To the end.
F: Is this the end?
V: The end of our time here. Say goodbye.
F: Goodbye!

After coming back from the Fellowship of Christian Magicians Convention in July of 2007, my wife, Dana, and I decide to add clown characterizations to our ways to portray a gospel message. We went online and purchased two inexpensive clown costumes and clown shoes. We named our characters Penelope and Poindexter. I thought it would be easier for line memorization if we kept our sentences to two words. Also, I wanted to use a little "magic" in the skit. The result was "Trust Christ."
Eventually I would like to video the skit so others can see it. For now the description of the skit is like this:
Poindexter enters with a backpack, removes a coloring book and starts to look at the cover. Penelope enters, asks what he has. Poindexter flips pages to show inside of coloring book. Penelope asks if he has colors. He removes a box and she proceeds to make the crayons disappear from the box. Poindexter looks and finds a paint palette which Penelope grabs and make the "colors" vanish. Next he removes a box of finger paints and she "magically" makes the colors go onto the pages of the coloring book. He thanks her quizzically. She then finds a colorful hand vacuum cleaner and vacuums the outside of the book and when he flips the pages, they are completely blank. He says, "Oh, no!" She indicates that she might vacuum him into the vacuum cleaner and starts to chase him. In the process they knock over the dry ease board with the words: GROCERY LIST
Peanut Butter
Bananas
Rutabagas
Apple Pie
Poindexter picks up the board to shield himself from the "magic paint" that might come out of the vacuum. She makes a throwing motion to put the drawings back into the coloring book and ends up throwing too high onto the dry ease board. When he turns the board toward the audience, it says TRUST CHRIST in colorful letters on a smattering-of-colors background. They both say together "Trust Christ" and indicate that they both do. When Poindexter realizes that the Grocery List is covered up, he is sad. Then Penelope notices that the words came through to the back of the board which has the words in a mirror image. He is happy that they now have their grocery list and a message to show the world. Merrily they go off together to grocery shop and to share the message that everyone should trust Christ as their Saviour and Lord.

This is a more detailed explanation of the clown skit "Trust Christ." The magic props used are available from many online/catalog sources:
1. Magic Coloring Book (approx. cost $6.00)
2. Vanishing Crayons (approx. cost $5.00)
3. Magic Palette (approx. cost $5.00)
The following props can be purchased at a local retailer:
4. Finger Paints (approx. cost $5.00)
5. (Toy) Hand Vacuum (approx. cost $10.00)
6. Dry Ease Board (approx. cost $10.00)
7. A small file-holding stand (approx. cost $4.00)
8. A piece of foam in the shape of a three-sided frame (to go around "painting").This piece is laid on a table (folding table) to conceal the "Trust Christ painting" and also to protect the dry ease board when it falls.
The "painting," Trust Christ, was created by first painting four sections of color onto thick poster/art board. The lettering is in black paint, darker than the background. (approx. cost $6.00)
To make the GROCERY LIST, write the lettering on the front of the dry ease board and then put clear tape on each word. The ink will adhere to the tape. Carefully place another layer on the side that has the ink to seal it. Flip letters to the reverse image and adhere them to the back of the dry ease board. Then write the letters back onto the front to approximate the first version. (approx. cost $4.00)
The dialogue and stage directions are as follows:
(Poindexter enters with backpack, pulls out a coloring book. Penelope enters.)
Penelope: Hi (ya), Poindexter.
Poindexter: Hi, Penelope.
Penelope: Whatcha got?
Poindexter: Coloring book. (Flips through book.)
Penelope: Got crayons?
Poindexter: Sure do. (Pulls crayons from bag.)
Penelope: May I? (She takes crayons as she says this.)
Poindexter: May not. (Tries to take back.)
Penelope: (Spins around/crayons vanish.) No crayons...
Poindexter What? Where?
Penelope: Gone bye-bye.
Poindexter: Oh, well. (Pulls out palette. While looking for brush, Penelope takes away.)
Penelope: Look, colors.
Poindexter: (Finds brush and tries to grab.) Hey, hey!
Penelope: (Spins around/colors vanish.) Gone bye-bye.
Poindexter: (Pulls out finger paints.) Can't have.
Penelope: Just touch. (Touches each bottle.)
Poindexter: (Flips pages and all are colored in.) Thank you???
Penelope: (Pulls out vacuum/turns on near coloring book, then off.) Now look.
Poindexter: (Flips pages and all are blank.) Oh, no!!!
Penelope: You next. (She starts to chase him.)
Poindexter: (Knocks over board and picks up.) Quit it!
Penelope: I'll fix. (Opens vacuum and makes motion to throw paint toward coloring book on floor.)
Poindexter: Please don't. (Covers body with board.)
Penelope: (Makes throwing motion.) Got ya!
Poindexter: Did not.
Penelope: (Pointing to board.) Wow! Pretty!
Poindexter: (Looks at painting upside down.) What's this?
Penelope: Turn around. (Turns to face audience.)
Together: Trust Christ.
Poindexter: I do.
Penelope: Me, too.
Poindexter: Grocery list?
Penelope: (Points to back of board.) Went through.
Poindexter: Peanut butter.
Penelope: Bananas, Rutabagas.
Together: Apple pie.
Poindexter: Ready, Penelope?
Penelope: Ready, Poindexter.
(They stroll out arm in arm, board under one arm.)

This is the second in a series of clown skits that includes the use of props that can be purchased at magic shops or online magic sites. Basically, I purchased a milk pitcher, an everfilling glass, a comedy funnel, and an appearing wand (painted entirely black) to represent a fishing pole. I made an oversize book with a cardboard box folded over, with a poster board cover saying CHEMISTRY. Inside the book I used extra large print: "H2O: All living forms need water" and then some print describing this in detail. Also, a homemade confetti bucket was made which could have water poured in and confetti poured out. Inside the bucket I taped a Ziploc baggie on the side and a Bible verse made out of post-it notes and fishing line. I hand printed two letters (or space) on each post-it note of John 4:14 which says, "Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." Each post-it note was folded and taped onto the fishing line side by side and the fishing line was secured to the other side of the bucket. Finally, I painted "Gone Fishin'" on a large piece of plywood to which was attached a string to hang it up.
With clown music playing in the background, Poindexter enters with the Chemistry Book, showing it to the audience. Penelope enters with her bucket and asks what Poindexter has. He tells her and shows the inside. She sees the pitcher of water and tries to pour water into the glass from 12 inches away. Poindexter picks up the funnel to catch the water to funnel it into the glass. The water level in the pitcher changes, but none is seen flowing into the funnel or the glass. When Poindexter looks under the funnel, water pours onto his face. Penelope then tries to pour water from the pitcher to the glass again. Knowing not to use the funnel, Poindexter lifts the glass closer to the pitcher, but again, no water is seen flowing to the glass. The water in the glass rises and Poindexter scratches his head, but then he pours the water into Penelope's bucket. She asks if he needs water and chases him threatening him with the contents of the bucket. When she throws the bucket's contents, the message comes out. Poindexter picks up the end and the verse is read aloud (by a volunteer). After confirming belief, the wand (fishing pole) appears and is attached to the fishing line. When they realize they have a fishing pole and line, they hang sign and depart happily.

This section includes the dialogue and stage directions for this clown skit. As in the other skit, "Trust Christ", each clown's speaking part consists on only two words.
Poindexter: (Enters with Chemistry book)
Penelope: (Enters with bucket) Whatcha got?
Poindexter: Chemistry book.
Penelope: Wuzit say?
Poindexter: (Shows inside) ...need water.
Penelope: (Sees pitcher, sets down bucket and proceeds to tilt pitcher) May I?
Poindexter: (Grabbing funnel) Be careful.
Penelope: (Proceeds to "pour" water -- colored with food coloring so it can be seen)
Poindexter: (Noticing that water level in pitcher has changed; looks under funnel releasing toothpick holding in the water -- splashing on his face)
Penelope: (Pointing to his face) Got water?
Poindexter: That alot.
Penelope: (Makes pouring motion to glass while Poindexter adjusts water in the glass per the trick's instructions)
Penelope: (Points to glass) Got water!
Poindexter: Thanks alot? (He then pours water from the glass into the bucket, sealing in water)
Penelope: Need water? (Starts chasing Poindexter threatening him with the bucket; stops and throws the confetti message)
Poindexter: (Picks up end of message to show) Asked in!
Penelope: Me too! (Notices that Poindexter has something) What's that?
Poindexter: (Makes pole appear) Fishing pole. (Then notices Penelope has other end of fishing line) What's that?
Penelope: Fishing line.
Poindexter: (Hangs gone fishing sign) Ready, Penelope?
Penelope: (Picks ups letters of sign and puts in bucket) Ready, Poindexter.
(They leave arm in arm with Penelope carrying the bucket.)

This routine was written to be used by a ventriloquist with a puppet that has a hand feature. I used a bear puppet ($39.95), a clear plastic bowl to catch the water, yellow food coloring added to water, and a mini-lota bowl ($4.95).

Mr. Jim: Today I brought my new friend, Gentle Bear, to illustrate a story from the Bible. Gentle Bear, can you say hello to everyone?
Gentle Bear: Yes I can. May I?
Mr. Jim: Yes you may.
Gentle Bear: Hello, everyone.
Mr. Jim: Good. I see you're holding something.
Gentle Bear: Yes, Mr. Jim. You asked me to hold this.
Mr. Jim: Yes, very good. Today's story illustrates what Luke 6:38 tells everyone to do. Gentle Bear, do you remember this verse?
Gentle Bear: Yes, I do. It says, Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
Mr. Jim: You see, in Bible times, when a buyer at the marketplace bought grain, the grain was poured out, shaken down and then filled to overflowing so that he received the full amount purchased. That is like what a generous person will receive. He who gives freely will receive in abundance.
Gentle Bear: I seem to remember a story in the Bible about a "human lady" who trusts in God.
Mr. Jim: Yes, there are many. In 1st Kings, there is a story about a prophet named Elijah. God told Elijah to go and stay in a town called Zarapheth where he was to meet a widow and her son.
Gentle Bear: So Elijah was going to this place to hibernate?
Mr. Jim: No, not exactly. It was at this time that God had withheld rain in the land and when Elijah arrived, this woman was gathering sticks to make a fire to cook their last meal before starving.
Gentle Bear: What did Elijah say to the lady?
Mr. Jim: He asked her to use her last bit of oil and grain to make HIM a meal instead of using it for herself.
Gentle Bear: Why would Elijah say this? Wasn't he a nice person?
Mr. Jim: Yes, he was. But he knew that if she would give him food first, God would meet their needs.
Gentle Bear: In other words, if she would pour out her oil (make first pour from lota bowl) . . . mmmm looks like honey . . . the God would bless her?
Mr. Jim: Yes, He would. She was a woman of amazing faith because she believed Elijah. She did as he asked. She used up all she had left for him, rather than keeping it for herself and her son.
Gentle Bear: (make 2nd pour from lota bowl) God provided just like this. Then what happened?
Mr. Jim: Just like the jug in your hand is pouring more even after emptied, the widow's jug poured more, also.
Gentle Bear: (3rd pour) There's even more!
Mr. Jim: Yes, you can imagine what an incredible thing this was! Every time she picked up her jug, more oil would pour out!
Gentle Bear: (4th pour) So, you're saying that day in and day out, God met her needs?
Mr. Jim: That's right. And even today we can take this lesson to heart. When we trust in God and surrender totally by repenting of our sins, God saves us for all eternity.
Gentle Bear: (5th pour) More blessings!
Mr. Jim: Amen, Gentle Bear. Thanks for helping me today.
Gentle Bear: You're welcome, Mr. Jim.
Mr. Jim: Can you, I mean, may you say goodbye to all the people/children?
Gentle Bear: Yes I may. Goodbye!