TAPE-PAUL (Acts 22:11): The brilliance of the light has blinded me! TAPE-PAUL: (Romans 8:22) The whole creation is groaning. The whole creation is groaning. TAPE-JACOB ALLEN: (Acts 7:57) At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at Stephen, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. TAPE-MARYL MCNALLY: Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. TAPE-JACOB ALLEN: While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, TAPE-ARAM MONISOFF: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. TAPE-JACOB ALLEN: He fell on his knees. TAPE-ARAM MONISOFF: Lord, do not hold this sin against them. TAPE-JACOB ALLEN: When he had said this, he fell asleep. PAUL: And I was there, giving approval to his death. I guarded the clothes of his killers. I guarded the clothes of his killers. TAPE MARYL MCNALLY: On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. TAPE-STEPHEN’S FRIEND: You were my hope Stephen…My only joy…Someday he’ll understand. PAUL: But I began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, I dragged off men and women and put them in prison. TAPE-PAUL (Future): We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men! (Flash) TAPE-BRENDAN MARSHALL-RASHID: (Acts 9:4) Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? PAUL: Who are you, Lord? TAPE-BRENDAN MARSHALL-RASHID: I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. PAUL: (Romans 8:22) The brilliance of the light has blinded me. (Sound) TAPE-BRENDAN MARSHALL-RASHID: This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. I will show him how much he must suffer …(trails off) TAPE-GOD: (overlay) I will reveal to him the joy of pure faith, the struggle of life, and the meaning of love. PAUL: . . . and scales fell from my eyes. (receiving light…) PAUL: I am one abnormally born. TAPE-FRED GAINES: Faith. PAUL: I will be poured out like a drink offering. TAPE-FRED GAINES: Life. PAUL: (1 Corinthians 9: 22) I will become all things to all people. TAPE-FRED GAINES: Love. PAUL: I will delight in weakness. TAPE-FRED GAINES: Love. PAUL: (Acts 20:24) I will consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race. If only I may feel the depth of his love. TAPE-PAUL, BRENDAN, JACOB, ARAM, EMMA, MARYL: (layered, beneath Paul’s statements above) Dragged to the edge of the city to be stoned. Escaped over the city wall in a basket. Prison, flogged more severely, exposed to death again and again. Five times the forty lashes minus one. Three times with rods, once stoned, a night and day in the open sea, three times shipwrecked, constantly on the move, in danger from rivers, riots, bandits, my own countrymen, city, at sea. Toiled without sleep; known hunger and thirst; cold and naked. (Space) TAPE-PAUL, ARAM, BRENDAN: Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? PAUL: And I do not inwardly burn? TAPE-MARYL MCNALLY: (Acts 14:29) The crowd stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, leaving him for dead. Groaning. TAPE-ARAM MONISOFF: (replayed from earlier) Lord do not hold this sin against them. TAPE-STEPHEN’S FRIEND/PAUL: (replayed from earlier) Someday he’ll understand… TAPE-ARAM MONISOFF: Who guards his killer’s clothes? TAPE-JACOB ALLEN: (Act 14 and Gal 6:17) But he got up and went back into the city. . . bearing on his body the marks of Jesus.

Scene Two – My Name Means Little PAUL: My name is Paul. My name means little. Though I am small in the shadow of my Lord, he has called me to great things. PAUL-TAPE AND LIVE: I am a Roman. I am a Greek. I am a Jew. And I was a persecutor. PAUL: For much of my life I was blind. I could see with my eyes, but my mind was blocked with my zeal for the Law and my hatred of the followers of Christ. I was feared by many and respected by great men of great cities. I was powerful, and I was called Saul. Now my name is Paul. My name means little. Though I am small in the shadow of my Lord, He has called me to great things. I killed many men. And now many men seek to kill me. As the Lord longs to shield us in His wings, so I long to call them all into the Light, to save them from death. Not death from mortal enemies, but death. Death that comes at the hands of the angels of darkness. This is my Great Commission. This is my race. This is my prayer. My name is Paul. My name means little. Though I am small in the shadow of my Lord, He has called me to be more than myself. (Transition) TAPE-PAUL: The brilliance of the light has blinded me. TAPE-BRENDAN MARSHALL-RASHID: Immediately something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again.

PAUL: (1 Cor 4:1) As one abnormally born. Entrusted with the secret things. I run the race. Every ligament. Every ligament. Every sinew in every being. TAPE-PAUL: (1 cor 9:19) A slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. . . To the weak I become weak, to win the weak. All things to all men, so by all possible means I might save some. TAPE-EMMA SWEET: (Acts 19:12) Even the handkerchiefs and aprons that touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. PAUL: (2 Corinthians 7) Make room for us in your hearts; God told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern, for this my joy knows no bounds. PAUL-Live and Tape: (2 cor 4:17) But we have this treasure in jars of clay and we (phil. 2) shine like stars in the universe. PAUL: (Acts 17:22) Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walk around and look carefully at your objects of worship, I even see an altar with this inscription: To an unknown God. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. PAUL-LIVE: (5:3) Christ died for our sins…he was buried and raised on the third day, all according to Scripture. Then he appeared to Peter, to the Twelve, to five hundred of the brothers at the same time, to James, to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. PAUL: (Gal 6:17) As one abnormally born. I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. I bear on my soul the marks of the Spirit. PAUL- LIVE AND TAPE: I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. I bear on my soul the marks of the Spirit… PAUL-TAPE: As one abnormally born. Entrusted with the secret things. I run the race. Every ligament. PAUL – LIVE and TAPE: How beautiful are your feet my love. How beautiful, how beautiful. How beautiful are your feet my love. How beautiful. You have eyes on your heart. You have eyes on your heart… Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift: That brilliant light.

TAPE-PAUL: (Gal. 2:20) I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. PAUL: (Eph. 3:16) Through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, then, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you. They are your glory. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. Scene Two - Prayer TAPE-ANGEL: I pray. . . TAPE-PAUL: By him, we cry, “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15) TAPE-CHILD (Niece Marissa): Daddy, daddy! TAPE-FATHER: What is it, my Child? Come, let me hold you, Little One. Tell me, what is it you wish to ask? Come to me, my precious child. TAPE-ANGEL: that he may strengthen you PAUL: If God is for us, who can be against us? (Roman 8:31) TAPE-CHILD: I’m scared, Daddy. TAPE-FATHER: Do not be afraid dear Child. I AM here. Nothing can hurt you; nothing can take you away from me, my dear, sweet Child. I am here. TAPE: that you may grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ PAUL: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall famine or nakedness or danger or sword (Romans 8:35) TAPE (Child): Daddy, do you love me? TAPE (Father): Yes, Child, I have always loved you. TAPE: that you may know this love that surpasses knowledge. PAUL: He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, graciously give us all things. The fragrance of life. (Romans 8:32) TAPE-CHILD: How much do you love me, Daddy? TAPE-FATHER: I love you more than you will ever understand. TAPE: that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. PAUL: (Romans 8:38-39) Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. TAPE-CHILD: Will you love me for always? TAPE-FATHER: I will, my child. I will love you for always and forever. My love for you fills the universe. Never forget that my dear Child. TAPE-CHILD: Daddy? TAPE-FATHER: Yes? TAPE-CHILD: I love you, too. TAPE-FATHER: I know. PAUL: Lord I pray for Humility. Father of mine I pray for generosity. Open my heart. Hold my hand as I walk through this world. I did not come to you with eloquence or superior wisdom but in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. Not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom but on God’s power. Lord I pray for Humility. Father of mine I pray for generosity. Open my heart. Hold my hand as I walk through this world.

TAPE-STREET PERFORMER: (2 Cor 2:15) For we are to God the aroma of Christ, Among the blind and the brilliantly blinded…To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. PAUL (2 Corinthians 12:7ff): I was given a thorn in my flesh. Three times have I pleaded with the Lord to remove it, that I may be a better man, but he has denied me this request. Every man has his thorn. TAPE: EMMA SWEET: My family is gone. ARAM MONISOFF: My health suffers. CHARLIE CHRISTENSON: I am shy. EMMA SWEET: Weak. ANNELIESE DEDIEMAR: Alone. PAUL: I cannot escape my sin. CHARLIE CHRISTENSON: My guilt. EMILY ZEMPEL: My pain. PAUL, ANNE, EMMA, CHARLIE, BRENDAN, ARAM, EMILY (multiple voices layered): I am tormented. Tormented. Why? Why? Why? TAPE-FRED GAINES: My grace is sufficient for you. Paul (live): What is my thorn? TAPE-PARIS BROWN: Why would the Lord allow Satan to hurt a man who moved every ligament with love for his Savior? TAPE-ARAM: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do bad things happen. TAPE-ANNELIESE DEDIEMAR: Why do horrible things happen? TAPE-CHARLIE CHRISTENSON: Unbearable, painful things? TAPE-ANNELIESE DEDIEMAR: Why does God allow some to be born healthy, and others to carry a burden? TAPE-EMMA SWEET: Why do some treat their holy temples with disdain and live long on this earth, while other bodies die young? CHARLIE CHRISTENSON: Why me? EMILY ZEMPEL: Why him? BRENDAN MARSHALL-RASHID: Why her? JACOB ALLEN: Why them? EMMA, MARYL, ARAM: (layered) Why Lord? Why? TAPE-FRED GAINES: My grace is sufficient for you. TAPE-MARYL MCNALLY: Was it a weak spirit? TAPE-BRENDAN MARSHALL-RASHID: Was it a sin? TAPE-ARAM MONISOFF: Why, though I struggle to stay in the Light, do I fall into darkness? (Add Paul) Why am I so weak? TAPE-PARIS BROWN: Why do I fail, my Lord? TAPE-ANNELIESE DEDIEMAR: Why? PAUL: (Romans 8:15, 18-19) I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, I do. I know that nothing good lives in me. For I have the desire, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. I am weak. TAPE-FRED GAINES: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (Silence) TAPE-FRED GAINES: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Paul: (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) Therefore I boast all the more gladly: For I delight in weakness, In insult, In hardship, In persecution, For when I am weak, then I am strong. . . .and in my frailty, the power of God is made more evident, so for this I suffer gladly! TAPE-STREET PERFORMER: In flesh resides the thorn, but in the soul resides sufficient Grace. TAPE-MARIE MIKELS: No matter how deep the pit, God’s grace is deeper. TAPE-RANDALL MCNEILL: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. PAUL: My grace is sufficient for you

EMILY CLARE ZEMPEL: But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-5, Ephesians 4:16, Romans 8:22, Romans 10:15, Isaiah 52:7 PAUL: How beautiful are your feet my love. How beautiful. How beautiful. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. (Romans 10:15, Isaiah 52:7) PAUL: (1 cor 13:1-5) And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal. If I can fathom all mysteries, if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing, nothing. PAUL: Love is not self-seeking. Love is not self-seeking. The whole creation is groaning (Romans 8:22), Love is not self-seeking. PAUL: in love, every supporting ligament. (Ephesians 4:16) Every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up in love Every supporting ligament. I know your every supporting ligament. And I know you shine like a star in the universe. (Phillipians 2:15) And I know that darkness best draws men to the light. And I know that you are the lovely seal upon my heart. (Song of Songs 8:6)

PAUL: Paul, an apostle of our hope. To Timothy my true son in the faith. (1 Timothy 1:15) Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience… TAPE-EMILY ZEMPEL: (3:16) Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh Justified in the Spirit Seen of angels PAUL: You are seen of angels, Timothy. Preached among the nations Believed on in the world Received up into glory PAUL: Timothy, Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. . . And stop drinking only water. Use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. PAUL: (2 Thessalonians 3:17) I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. (6:20) Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. . . Grace be with you.

PAUL: I make tents for a living. PAUL: So no one will accuse me of evangelizing for profit. PAUL: I make tents PAUL: for a living. PAUL: I do not peddle the Word. I make tents. I make weak tents. …for the wise man. (1 cor 1:19) Where is he? Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? In his tent? TAPE-JESUS: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. The foolish things of the world to shame the wise; the weak to shame the strong. PAUL: And he put them all in weak tents and there they groan. . . The whole creation. . . as in the pains of childbirth. And we groan inwardly as we wait for our adoption. We groan for adoption. I groan as one abnormally born.

APE-PAUL (1 cor 4:3) I care very little if I am judged. (1 Cor 6:12) “Everything is permissible”—but not everything beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but I will not be mastered— TAPE-JACOB ALLEN: (Acts 26:24) Festus shouts, “You are out of your mind, Paul!” “Your great learning is driving you insane.” TAPE-PAUL: “Everything is permissible” but I will not be mastered by anything! TAPE-PAUL: (Phil 3:12) so I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I have not yet taken hold of it. TAPE-PAUL: (Acts 20:31) Be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each you night and day with tears! TAPE-PAUL:(1 Thes. 5:19) Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. TAPE-PARIS BROWN: (Romans 16:18) By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people. TAPE-MARYL MCNALLY:(Eph 6:12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. TAPE-PAUL: (Gal 3:13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, TAPE-PAUL:(Gal. 4:12-16) I plead with you brothers, become like me, for I became like you. What has happened to all your joy? If you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? TAPE-EMMA SWEET:(Gal 5:7) You were running a good race. TAPE-ANNELIESE DEDIEMAR: Who cut in on you? TAPE-CHARLIE CHRISTENSON: (Gal 3:1)Who has bewitched you? TAPE-PAUL: (Gal 5:15) You bite and devour each other. You bite and devour each other and serve your own appetite. TAPE- BRENDAN MARSHALL-RASHID: Where are we without God? TAPE-ARAM MONISOFF: The most powerful man will one day be dust. TAPE-MARYL MCNALLY: The highest mountain beneath the torrent ocean. TAPE-ARAM, MARYL: The highest mountain beneath the torrent ocean. TAPE-ARAM, MARYL, BRENDAN: The highest mountain beneath the torrent ocean. PAUL: (1 Corinthians 4:8ff) Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of a procession like men condemned to die in the arena…like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me, for this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus. Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip… or in love and with a gentle spirit?

APE-ANNE (Paul’s “Grandmother”/Lois): And these three remain… faith, hope, and love. TAPE-EMILY (Paul “Mother”/Eunice): but the greatest of these is love. TAPE-PAUL: (recalling from earlier) : and Scales fell from my eyes.

Paul: (2 Corinthians 2:1-4) So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? I wrote you as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

(Throughout this scene “The day is almost here” is spoken in various languages on tape) TAPE-PAUL: The night is nearly over; the day is almost here! TAPE-PARIS BROWN: The day is almost here! TAPE-PAUL: Christ’s love compels us. TAPE-PAUL: Stand firm! They only attack your bodies! TAPE-PAUL: (Romans 11) Run the race as a wild olive shoot. Every ligament. TAPE-DIFFERENT VOICE: The day is almost here! TAPE-PAUL: Offer your bodies as living sacrifices .. TAPE-PAUL: And die daily. TAPE-PAUL: (Romans 13:11) Wake up from your slumber; our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. PAUL-LIVE: The night is nearly over; the day is almost here! TAPE-PAUL: (2 Corinthians 4:16) Do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. TAPE-PAUL: So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. TAPE-PAUL: (1 cor 15:51-52) A mystery, all changed, a flash, a twinkling of an eye, the last trumpet. TAPE-EMMA SWEET: If the battle ends and your heart is still beating, it is because you have lost. If the battle ends because you have breathed your last, then you have won the race! TAPE-PAUL (Romans 14:7) None of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. TAPE-PAUL: The day is almost here when the present sufferings will end and we will see the Lord Jesus face to face. (“Suffering excerpts” from earlier in the show) PAUL: Soon I will be poured out, soon the night will end.

PAUL: Paul, an ambassador in chains (Ephes. 6:16). To Timothy, my dear son: (1:3) I thank God as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, Timothy, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. (2:8) Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Here is a trustworthy saying: TAPE-EMILY ZEMPEL: (2:11) (text on video) If we died with him, we will also live with him; If we endure We will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will disown us, If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. PAUL: Timothy, In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away. PAUL: I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. PAUL: (7) I have finished the race. PAUL: (4:9) Do your best to come to me quickly, Timothy. At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. PAUL: (21) Do your best, Timothy, to get here before winter. The Lord be with your spirit. Scene Four – Poured out PAUL: I am being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. The day is here. TAPE: (Excerpts) I’m scared Daddy…My name is Paul, my name means “Little”…I killed many men and now many men seek to kill me… And I was there giving approval to his death… Lord do not hold this sin against them… I guarded the clothes of his killer…Who guards his killers’s clothes? PAUL: Who will guard my killer’s clothes? The day is here so who guards my killer’s clothes? PAUL: (Romans 8:22) When we do not know what to pray for, the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. TAPE:(More excerpts) The whole creation is groaning…The whole creation is groaning... My name means little… the brilliance of the light is blinding me… PAUL: The Brilliance of the light is blinding me…The Brilliance of the light is Blinding me… PAUL: (Romans 8:22) When we do not know what to pray for, the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express… I do not know what to pray for… TAPE-GOD: My grace is sufficient for you.

PAUL: I pray, I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.