Church Skits & Plays
A readers’ theater for the Easter seasonTwo Fires6 actors · 7 min

Easter · 6 actors · 7 minutes · Adults and older teens

Two Fires

Peter denies Jesus three times beside a courtyard fire, and days later, beside a fire of coals on the shore, the risen Lord asks him three times, “lovest thou me?” A readers’ theater in the words of Luke and John for the Easter season, with one line for the whole congregation.

$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 time7 minutes
Cast6 roles · Adults and older teens
PrepRead from music stands, with one rehearsal of about 30 minutes. Only Peter learns his lines: 31 words, all Scripture.
Best forThe Sunday after Easter or any Sunday in the Easter season, an Easter evening service, a Holy Week evening service, before a sermon on John 21 or on Peter
ScriptureLuke 22:54–62; John 21:1–17, 19 (KJV)
ThemePeter denied Jesus three times beside a fire. After He rose, Jesus met Peter beside another fire, asked him three times, “lovest thou me?”, and gave him His sheep to feed.
FormatPrintable PDF

About the skit

It begins in the high priest’s courtyard on the night Jesus was arrested. Three readers stand around Peter the way people stand around a fire, and one after another they say what they’ve noticed, starting with “This man was also with him.” Three times Peter turns to face them and says no. One sharp sound stands for the rooster, and “the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.”

Then the reading goes home to Galilee: a night of catching nothing, a Voice from the shore, Peter throwing himself into the sea, and a second fire with fish and bread on it. There the risen Lord asks His question three times, and the three readers who stood around the first fire have a part in it. Apart from a few plain sentences from the Narrator, it is all Scripture, from Luke 22 and John 21.

It fits the Sunday after Easter, an Easter evening service, a Holy Week evening or a sermon on John 21. Six readers, one rehearsal of about 30 minutes and no fire to build; the Voice is an adult man, heard from out of sight. The staging notes cover how the two halves mirror each other, how Peter cues the congregation’s line, and making the rooster sound without getting a laugh.

Read the first page

(The five READERS walk in and take their places. The VOICE is already in place, out of sight. Before the folders open, the NARRATOR speaks to the congregation.)

NARRATOR: Before we begin, there's one line in this reading for you. It's in your bulletin (or: It's up on the screen). When Peter answers the Lord, answer with him: "Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee." Peter will turn to you when it's time. Let's say it together once.

CONGREGATION: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.

NARRATOR: Thank you. Watch Peter.

(The READERS open their folders together.)

NARRATOR: This is a story with two fires in it. The first was in a courtyard in Jerusalem, on the night Jesus was arrested. "Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them."

(PETER holds his hands out a little, as if to the fire.)

NARRATOR: "But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said,"

THE MAID: (staring at PETER, then saying it to the others) "This man was also with him."

NARRATOR: "And he denied him, saying,"

PETER: (turning to her) "Woman, I know him not."

NARRATOR: "And after a little while another saw him, and said,"

THE SECOND MAN: "Thou art also of them."

NARRATOR: "And Peter said,"

PETER: (turning to him) "Man, I am not."

(A pause: an hour goes by.)

NARRATOR: "And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying,"

THE THIRD MAN: "Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean."

NARRATOR: "And Peter said,"

PETER: (turning sharply to him, over his shoulder) "Man, I know not what thou sayest."

The script continues in the full PDF.

Characters

  • Narrator, reads most of the Gospel text and makes the one sound for the rooster; the biggest part
  • Peter, played by a man; says only the words the Gospels give him, 31 in all
  • The Maid, a servant girl in the high priest’s house, later one of Peter’s friends in the boat
  • The Second Man, “another” who recognizes Peter by the fire
  • The Third Man, an hour later, sure of himself: “he is a Galilaean”
  • The Voice, the risen Lord, heard and never seen; an adult man reading only His words from John 21
  • The Congregation, answers with Peter three times, from the bulletin or the screen

Props

  • Five music stands with plain black folders
  • A script for the Voice, offstage
  • A hand drum, woodblock or heavy book for the rooster
  • The congregation’s line in the bulletin or on the screen

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 Easter 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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