Church Skits & Plays
A Good Friday monologueThe Wooden Lamb1 actor · 5–6 min

Easter · 1 actor · 5–6 minutes · One adult woman, old enough to have a son of about thirty

The Wooden Lamb

On the evening of the crucifixion, the mother of the thief who asked Jesus to remember him tells what she saw from far off and what a woman from Galilee heard up close. A tender Good Friday monologue for one woman, built on Luke 23:39–43.

$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 time5–6 minutes
Cast1 role · One adult woman, old enough to have a son of about thirty
PrepMemorized, with one or two rehearsals. Or read it from a lectern and learn only the last 55 words by heart.
Best forGood Friday service, Tenebrae, a women’s gathering in Holy Week
ScriptureLuke 23:32–33, 39–43, 49 (KJV)
ThemeOn the cross, Jesus promised paradise to a man with a whole life of wrongs behind him, in answer to one plea: “Lord, remember me.”
FormatPrintable PDF

About the skit

“You saw my Asa for one afternoon. I’ve known him thirty years.” It’s Friday evening, just before sundown, and his mother holds the wooden lamb his father carved for him when he was four. She remembers the fastest boy in the village, the hard years after his father died, and the word for what he became, which she won’t say. That morning she followed him out through the gate and stood far back, with strangers.

Afterward, a woman who came with the teacher from Galilee finds her and tells her what her son said on the cross, and the answer he got, in the words of Luke 23:39–43. For thirty years his mother went after him. Tonight she finds out he did something she never has.

It fits a Good Friday service, Tenebrae or a women’s gathering in Holy Week. One actor, a small wooden lamb and a cloth; she can memorize it, or read from a lectern and learn only the last lines. The staging notes cover why she never says “thief,” the invented name Asa, and a word about families in your church with a son or daughter in prison, estranged or lost to addiction.

Read the first page

(THE MOTHER walks slowly to the front, holding the wooden lamb in both hands. She stops, and looks out at the congregation for a moment before she speaks.)

MOTHER: You saw my Asa for one afternoon. (beat) I've known him thirty years.

(She looks down at the lamb.)

MOTHER: His father carved this for him the winter he turned four. He slept with it every night until he was seven. Then he hid it under his mat so the other boys wouldn't laugh at him. And he still slept with it.

MOTHER: He was the fastest boy in the village. First up every tree. You could hear him laughing all the way from the well.

MOTHER: His father died when he was twelve. Something in him went hard after that. By sixteen there were things in our house that we had never bought. By twenty, men were knocking on my door at night asking for him, and the neighbors barred their gates when he walked by.

MOTHER: There's a word for what he became. You've heard it. (beat) I won't say it. Not tonight.

The script continues in the full PDF.

Characters

  • The Mother, a widow from a village near Jerusalem; proud, worn out and still fierce about her son, Asa

Props

  • A small wooden lamb about the size of her hand
  • A dish towel or plain scarf to wrap it in
  • Optional: a lectern for her pages

What you get

  • The full script with stage directions
  • Cast list, props list and simple staging notes
  • Three 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.

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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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