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The ROCK Players present…Complain, Complain, Complain!

Based on Numbers 11:1-30

©2009 Allee Wengert (www.alcames.org). Conditions for use: (1) If you use all or parts of this script in any form, please consider sending a suggested $25 donation check made out to “The ROCK” to the following address: Ascension Lutheran Church, 615 Kellogg, Ames, IA 50010. Reference the script title in the memo on the check. (2) Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. (3) You may reproduce this script for internal use, but all copies must contain this copyright statement.

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Brady BunchBrady BunchGreg:Greg: TobyTobyPeter:Peter: ChandlerChandlerBobby:Bobby: SamSamMarcia:Marcia: LaurenLaurenJan:Jan: AnneeAnneeCindy:Cindy: SandraSandraMichael:Michael: MichaelMichaelCarol:Carol: AlleeAlleeAlice:Alice: NateNate

PeanutsPeanutsCharlie Brown:Charlie Brown: MattMattSchroeder:Schroeder: RyanRyanPig Pen:Pig Pen: ZachZachSally:Sally: AnneeAnneeLinus:Linus: JoeJoeShermy:Shermy: OliverOliverFranklin:Franklin: JohannesJohannes

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Setting:Setting: Parody of “The Parody of “The Brady Bunch” TV show and Brady Bunch” TV show and “Peanuts” comic strip. Greg is “Peanuts” comic strip. Greg is watching TV.watching TV.

Greg:Greg: Peter! Bobby! Hurry Peter! Bobby! Hurry up! The game is gonna start!up! The game is gonna start!

(Peter and Bobby enter. Peter (Peter and Bobby enter. Peter takes the last seat closest to takes the last seat closest to the TV.)the TV.)

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Bobby:Bobby: Man, this stinks! Man, this stinks! How come you always get to How come you always get to sit in that chair Peter? Now I sit in that chair Peter? Now I can’t see.can’t see.

Peter:Peter: Oh, grow up Bobby. Oh, grow up Bobby.

Bobby:Bobby: I can’t see anything. I can’t see anything. I’m hungry. This chair isn’t I’m hungry. This chair isn’t comfortable. I’m bored.comfortable. I’m bored.

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(Girls enter, Marcia walks over (Girls enter, Marcia walks over and turns the TV channel.)and turns the TV channel.)

Greg:Greg: Hey! You can’t do that!Hey! You can’t do that!

Marcia:Marcia: I just did.I just did.

Peter:Peter: Turn it back! We’re Turn it back! We’re missing the game!missing the game!

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Cindy:Cindy: But Charlie Brown is But Charlie Brown is on!on!

Greg: Greg: So what! You can watch So what! You can watch it tomorrow.it tomorrow.

Bobby:Bobby: Well, I still can’t see Well, I still can’t see anything.anything.

Peter:Peter: You’re not missing You’re not missing much.much.

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Jan:Jan: Marcia always gets to Marcia always gets to pick what we watch. I never pick what we watch. I never get to. I want to watch Happy get to. I want to watch Happy Days! Marcia! Marcia! Marcia! Days! Marcia! Marcia! Marcia! (Storms out).(Storms out).

Marcia:Marcia: Ssshh! It’s starting!Ssshh! It’s starting!

(Peanuts music, Charlie Brown (Peanuts music, Charlie Brown is pacing around holding a is pacing around holding a baseball bat.)baseball bat.)

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Schroeder:Schroeder: What’s wrong What’s wrong Charlie Brown?Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown:Charlie Brown: I just don’t I just don’t see how we can win. We have see how we can win. We have no strategy or talent.no strategy or talent.

Schroeder:Schroeder: I agree. But I agree. But even worse-I can’t find my even worse-I can’t find my glove!glove!

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Franklin:Franklin: It’s raining…or at It’s raining…or at least it might rain.I don’t want least it might rain.I don’t want to play in the rain!to play in the rain!

Pig Pen:Pig Pen: Charlie Brown, I Charlie Brown, I can’t wear this uniform.can’t wear this uniform.

Charlie Brown:Charlie Brown: Good grief. Good grief. Why not?Why not?

Pig Pen:Pig Pen: Because its green.Because its green.

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Shermy:Shermy: And…?And…?

Pig Pen:Pig Pen: Green just doesn’t Green just doesn’t look very good on me.look very good on me.

Shermy:Shermy: Pig Pen! You’ve Pig Pen! You’ve been wearing the same shirt been wearing the same shirt for years! For all you know for years! For all you know that shirt used to be green!that shirt used to be green!

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Charlie Brown:Charlie Brown: Good grief! Good grief! Why do we even go down to Why do we even go down to the field? We never win. We the field? We never win. We don’t even have fun. Why do don’t even have fun. Why do we have to play like the Ames we have to play like the Ames High Football Team?High Football Team?

Sally: Sally: Why hello big brother! Why hello big brother! Are you ready to lose?Are you ready to lose?

Charlie Brown:Charlie Brown: Aaahhhh!!!Aaahhhh!!!

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Linus:Linus: Hello Charlie Brown! Hello Charlie Brown! What’s bothering you today?What’s bothering you today?

Charlie Brown: Charlie Brown: We have a 0-We have a 0-10 record, Schroeder can’t find 10 record, Schroeder can’t find his glove, green doesn’t look his glove, green doesn’t look good on Pig Pen, we have no good on Pig Pen, we have no strategy, my little sister strategy, my little sister doesn’t think we can win and doesn’t think we can win and my shoes are too small!my shoes are too small!

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Linus:Linus: Charlie Brown! When Charlie Brown! When did you become such a did you become such a complainer?complainer?

(Switches back to the Brady (Switches back to the Brady kids)kids)

Greg:Greg: Alright, that’s enough. Alright, that’s enough. I’m watching the game now!I’m watching the game now!

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Cindy:Cindy: No! It’s not over yet!No! It’s not over yet!

Peter:Peter: Too bad! Too bad!

Bobby:Bobby: I wouldn’t know. I I wouldn’t know. I can’t see anything.can’t see anything.

(Alice enters)(Alice enters)

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Alice:Alice: What’s with all the What’s with all the yelling??yelling??

Greg: Greg: We were here first, We were here first, then the girls came and then the girls came and changed the channel.changed the channel.

Peter:Peter: We don’t know the We don’t know the score of the game, the girls score of the game, the girls are being loud, we’re out of are being loud, we’re out of chips, and Bobby won’t be chips, and Bobby won’t be quiet!quiet!

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Alice:Alice: Sounds like a nice Sounds like a nice bonding experience. I’ll get bonding experience. I’ll get back to work.back to work.

Greg:Greg: Alice! Tell the girls they Alice! Tell the girls they can watch TV after the game.can watch TV after the game.

Marcia:Marcia: Tell the boys they Tell the boys they can watch the game highlights can watch the game highlights after our show.after our show.

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Alice:Alice: How about I just tell How about I just tell your parents you guys will your parents you guys will stop fighting about the TV stop fighting about the TV when pigs start flying?when pigs start flying?

(Mike and Carol enter)(Mike and Carol enter)

Mike:Mike: What in the world is What in the world is going on?going on?

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(Greg and Marcia speaking at (Greg and Marcia speaking at the same time, then Peter and the same time, then Peter and Jan join in)Jan join in)

Greg:Greg: The girls won’t leave us The girls won’t leave us alone! We were here first!alone! We were here first!

Marcia:Marcia: The boys don’t The boys don’t know how to share! They know how to share! They always get the TV!always get the TV!

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Peter:Peter: The game is only on The game is only on once a week and we’re once a week and we’re missing it!missing it!

Jan: Jan: Marcia always gets Marcia always gets what she wants! It’s not fair! what she wants! It’s not fair!

Cindy:Cindy: I just wanted to watch I just wanted to watch Charlie Brown.Charlie Brown.

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Bobby:Bobby: (Very loudly, over (Very loudly, over everyone else.)everyone else.) Well I can’t Well I can’t see!!!!!see!!!!!

Mike:Mike: Enough! Enough! Kids Enough! Enough! Kids stop yelling right now!stop yelling right now!

Carol: Carol: My goodness, when did My goodness, when did you all become such you all become such complainers?complainers?

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Greg:Greg: Since the girls always Since the girls always get their way.get their way.

Marcia:Marcia: Since the boys can’t Since the boys can’t share.share.

Mike:Mike: Don’t even start. All Don’t even start. All this over a silly TV show? this over a silly TV show? Don’t you realize how petty Don’t you realize how petty this is? You should be happy this is? You should be happy that you even have a TV!that you even have a TV!

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Carol: Carol: You should be happy You should be happy that you have a home, food, that you have a home, food, and a family that loves you.and a family that loves you.

Mike:Mike: Remember the Remember the Israelites? Even though God Israelites? Even though God protected them, freed them protected them, freed them from slavery, and provided from slavery, and provided them with manna every day, them with manna every day, they still found things to they still found things to complain about.complain about.

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Peter:Peter: Like what?Like what?

Carol: Carol: Well, the manna wasn’t Well, the manna wasn’t good enough; they wanted good enough; they wanted meat. They wanted to return meat. They wanted to return to Egypt.to Egypt.

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Jan:Jan: So God went to all that So God went to all that work of helping them escape work of helping them escape and made sure they were safe and made sure they were safe and they still weren’t happy? and they still weren’t happy? That must’ve made God mad.That must’ve made God mad.

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Alice:Alice: It did! I was just It did! I was just reading up on that story last reading up on that story last night. In Numbers chapter 11 night. In Numbers chapter 11 it says, “Now the people it says, “Now the people complained about their complained about their hardships in the hearing of the hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. them his anger was aroused. (Cont’d)(Cont’d)

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Alice: (Cont’d)Alice: (Cont’d) Then fire from Then fire from the LORD burned among them the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down.”fire died down.”

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Greg:Greg: Hmm, so that must be Hmm, so that must be how you feel sometimes. You how you feel sometimes. You do all this stuff for us, but we do all this stuff for us, but we still find something to still find something to complain about.complain about.

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Mike: Mike: Well the story goes on. Well the story goes on. God tells Moses to gather the God tells Moses to gather the elders of the camp so that he elders of the camp so that he can talk to them. He promises can talk to them. He promises to give the Israelites meat to to give the Israelites meat to eat for a month. So much of it eat for a month. So much of it that they will be sick of it.that they will be sick of it.

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Carol:Carol: It also says, “But Moses It also says, “But Moses said, "Here I am among six said, "Here I am among six hundred thousand men on hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, 'I will give foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole them meat to eat for a whole month!' Would they have month!' Would they have enough if flocks and herds enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? were slaughtered for them? (Cont’d)(Cont’d)

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Carol: (Cont’d)Carol: (Cont’d) Would they Would they have enough if all the fish in have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for the sea were caught for them?" The LORD answered them?" The LORD answered Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too short? You will now see short? You will now see whether or not what I say will whether or not what I say will come true for you."come true for you."

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Marcia:Marcia: So God was using So God was using the meat to show his love for the meat to show his love for the Israelites even though the Israelites even though they were being complainers?they were being complainers?

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Mike:Mike: Exactly. We should Exactly. We should praise and thank the Lord for praise and thank the Lord for all of the blessings he has all of the blessings he has poured out on us instead of poured out on us instead of complaining. Agreed?complaining. Agreed?

All:All: Agreed!Agreed!