Church Skits & Plays
A Christmas monologueThe Innkeeper Remembers1 actor · 5 min

Christmas · 1 actor · 5 minutes · One adult, best an older one

The Innkeeper Remembers

Forty years after the first Christmas, the innkeeper of Bethlehem welcomes travelers in out of the cold and tells them about the worst night of his life. A reflective five-minute monologue for a man or a woman.

$8USD, tax included
  • Instant PDF download, yours to keep
  • Performance rights for your whole church
  • 30-day refund if it doesn’t fit your church
Running time5 minutes
Cast1 role · One adult, best an older one
PrepMemorized, or read from the ledger the script fits inside; then only the last few lines need to be learned.
Best forChristmas Eve service, Sunday service in Advent, candlelight service
ScriptureLuke 2:7; Matthew 25:35; Colossians 2:14 (KJV)
ThemeThe real “no room” wasn’t in the inn. It was in me.
FormatPrintable PDF

About the skit

“Because there was no room for them in the inn.” One sentence, and it’s about his inn. The innkeeper wasn’t cruel. He was busy: the whole world had come home to be counted, and he hadn’t sat down in four days.

He tells it plainly, with a little humor at the start: the knock at the door, what he said, what he saw, and what he heard about that child thirty years later. The monologue turns quietly, twice, and ends at the door, with a chair kept for whoever knocks.

One actor, a stool, an empty chair and a ledger. It’s strongest memorized, but the script fits inside the ledger for a reader. About five minutes, with room for a carol or a candle-lighting after.

Read the first page

(Lights up, warm and low. The INNKEEPER sits on the stool, an old ledger in their lap. An empty chair stands beside the door. The INNKEEPER looks up, as if travelers have just come in.)

INNKEEPER: Come in, come in. Sit. There's room. (a small laugh) There's always room now. That's new. Forty years ago, I'd have told you to try down the street.

INNKEEPER: You've heard about me, I bet. Well. Not me, exactly. My inn. They tell the story of that night everywhere now, and my inn is in it. One sentence. (Luke 2:7) "Because there was no room for them in the inn." (a beat) That's my inn.

INNKEEPER: I want you to know I wasn't cruel. I was busy. That week, the whole world came home to Bethlehem to be counted. Every bed was full. People slept on the roof. Somebody's uncle slept in the storeroom with the onions. I hadn't sat down in four days. I made more money that week than in the whole year before it.

The script continues in the full PDF.

Characters

  • The Innkeeper, now old; kind, a little wry and honest; works for a man or a woman

Props

  • A wooden stool
  • An empty wooden chair by the “door”
  • An old ledger
  • Optional: a lantern
  • A simple robe and head covering, or plain dark clothes

What you get

  • The full script with stage directions
  • Cast list, props list and simple staging notes
  • Four discussion questions for a small group, youth group or Sunday school class
  • Performance rights for your church: perform it as often as you like and print copies for your cast

Performance rights

One purchase covers one church or ministry. Perform it as many times as you like, make copies for everyone in the cast and crew, adapt the lines and include it in your livestream. Please don’t resell the script or share the file publicly. Read the full license.

More for your Christmas program

Questions

Can I change the names or lines?

Yes. Change names and genders, trim lines for time or adapt a joke for your church. The script is yours to fit to your people.

Can we record and stream the performance?

Yes. You can include it in your livestream and post the recording on your church’s own channels.

How do I get the file after I buy?

Right after checkout you get a download link on the confirmation page and by email. It works for up to 20 downloads, and each copy is marked with your order so it stays licensed to your church.

Who is the seller on my receipt?

Payments are processed by Link, Stripe’s checkout, which acts as the reseller. Your card statement shows LINK.COM* CHURCHSKITS. Questions about the script itself come to us at hello@churchskits.org.

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