Pod the Alien Sketch : ‘Forgive’

Standard introduction and entrance (Compere talking is interrupted by spaceship landing sound effects, I think I can hear a spaceship landing, lets look at the outside security camera. Overlay external photo of school with spaceship slide, landing. OHP off. Look here he is, it’s our friend Pod the Spaceman, arriving from another world. Spaceman enters)

Hello.
Hello Pod, how are you today?
Oh, I’m feeling… bad
Oh dear why is that
I don’t know, I just feel awful inside.
Are you ill, have you eaten something bad?
No… (soulfully) I’ve done something bad
Oh I see, you’re feeling guilty
Guilty? What’s that? Is it bad? Will my hair drop out or my feet go all scabby? Will I live? Tell me, please
I’m no doctor, but I think you’ll live. But guilt does sort of eat away at you inside, doesn’t it
Oh yes, it makes me wish that I hadn’t done the bad thing.
Are yes, I was almost forgetting; what exactly is this bad thing that you’ve done?
You remember that I was here two weeks ago?
Yes, you were learning how we can make God happy, weren’t you.
That’s right, but just as I was going I said that I would see you all next week, even though I knew that I wouldn’t be able to come the next week
Oh yes, your right, you weren’t here last week, were you. But why did you lie to us?
Well I knew that I couldn’t come, but I so wanted to please you all, so I said that I would be back next week. But I wish I hadn’t. I feel awful now
Well I expect you feel a little better just by telling us
A bit
You know that you’re not the only one that does bad things
Really?
Yes, we all do bad things sometimes
Oh, great!
No. That’s not the way to make it better. You see that God hates it when we do bad things. In fact he hates it so much that He doesn’t let anyone know Him who’s done anything bad.
Oh, no that’s awful. but wait, if God won’t have anything to do with people who do wrong, and you all do things wrong sometimes, why are you here singing songs and telling him how wonderful He is. He won’t be listening, will he? This is awful
Don’t worry Pod, there’s some thing that you don’t know. The thing that cures that dreadful guilty feeling is forgiveness.
Forgiveness, what’s that?
Forgiveness, is what God give us to make the wrongs disappear. It’s like they never happened. In fact, God who knows everything, actually chooses to forget them.
Well that’s all very nice, but you can’t have people just walking round doing a wrong thing, and then making like it never happened. That’s not right. They need to be taught a lesson, they need to be punished!
And that’s right too. Someone has been punished already for all the wrong things that have ever been done.
(Gasp) Everyone’s wrong things?
Yes, everyone’s. He’s someone who has enough love to take the punishment for everyone
Wait, you must mean Jesus. Is that why Jesus let himself be killed on a cross. Was that the punishment?
Well done Pod. That’s right. All we have to do is say sorry, and ask Jesus to come and live in our heart, and God will forget all about the things we’ve done wrong.
Wow, that’s fantastic: I’ve learnt something really important on this visit, that because Jesus has taken the punishment for the wrong things that everyone has done, anyone can be forgiven and be close to God. Brilliant! Good-bye now, I’ll see you again soon.

Standard exit (leaves. Spaceship takes off on OHP overlay to accompanying sound effects through PA.)

© M Day 23-Feb-1998