A Play on Sundays

By C. Arturo Ariel and Carina J. Goschin

God blesses each of us with gifts and opportunities, and he encourages us to use these blessings for the glory of his kingdom. He has written out our stories before we were even born, and although what we want isnt always the same as what God wants for us, the stories of our lives are filled with opportunities to serve God and be the person he wants us to be.
In A Play on Sundays, author, storyteller, and playwright C. Arturo Ariel shares three lighthearted dramatic plays that are centered on faith in God and Jesus Christ. Inspired by his time as a Sunday school teacher, these faith-based plays are fun to read and act out for children, parents, and adults of all ages. And while each play is focused on unique topics like inspiration, family, and salvation from sin, all three come together to weave an engaging, full story of faith and trust in God.
God is always at the center of our lives, even when we arent sure. God always blesses us with talents and opportunities, even when we dont know our purpose. But with faith we can find God working through us and discover our purpose, and then we can act out the story of our lives, serving God and bringing honor to his name.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973635819

C. Arturo Ariel

C. Arturo Ariel discovered his God-given gift for storytelling while he served as a Sunday school teacher, and he uses his background in writing, acting, and dance choreography to bring God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit into peoples lives in ways theyll never expect. He enjoys writing characters from different ethnicities and with different backgrounds and voices and currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

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Copyright © 2018 C. Arturo Ariel.

Illustrated by: Carina J. Goschin

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-3582-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3583-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3581-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018909250

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/06/2018

Contents

Introduction

INSPIRED

Inspired to Write

Inspired to Act

Inspired to Sing

Inspired to Play

HONOR THY FATHER

Acts 1: Noah’s Stand

Act 2: Noah’s Battle

Act 3: God Triumphant

THE THREE BLIND SHEEP

The Lamb of God

The Impatient Lamb

The Book of Jerry

Vacation in Bethlehem

Introduction

After my father left my mother with four kids to raise on her own, my mother found God; so did we, and God was good to us. He is still good to us. For about two years or maybe a little more, we went to Friday night Bible study, and on Sundays my mother went to church, and my brothers and I went to Sunday school. I vaguely remember those days, but I know that without them, my family and I wouldn’t be where we are today.

My mom had all four of us doing everything; we played soccer, ice hockey, and basketball. We performed in youth theater performances, we took Armenian dance lessons, and obviously we went to school. A typical week for us consisted of school and then a myriad of after-school activities; after all, if we were doing dance and theater performances, we needed to rehearse, and we needed to practice for soccer and hockey. Saturdays and Sundays were jam- packed with five a.m. hockey practices, soccer games on Saturday, and trips to hockey games on Sunday. Something had to give, and that was church and Sunday school. Even though we didn’t have time to go to church, my mom made it a priority for us to pray together in the car on the way to school, before games, and when we were heading home after the many activities we were done with. God was with us at all times; our family suburban—filled with hockey gear, soccer gear, dance clothing, costumes, book bags, and other stuff—was like a mobile home, a mobile bedroom, and a mobile church. The way my mother led our prayers in the car directly influenced the way I pray today. It was an amazing time.

Superheroes have been prevalent in my life since I was four or five. My mom made superhero capes for my brothers and me. We would run around the house with Spider-Man, Batman, Robin, and Superman capes. When we got old enough to read, we were reading comic books. My brothers and I would pretend we were the X-men, Batman, and the Joker. You name it—we acted it out. So when it was time to pick a major in college, in the back of my head I knew I wanted to do something that would prepare me to write comic books, so I decided to major in theater arts, with a focus on acting. After all, I was comfortable being on stage because of Armenian dance and youth theater; plus, developing a character as a writer or an actor goes hand in hand. Last but not least, I wasn’t in the mood to do the creative writing major at my college, because it had too many poetry classes. At that point in my life, I didn’t think poetry would help me in my comic book career.

After graduating from college, I decided to work with my grandfather at his shoe repair store; after all, my grandfather had helped put me through college, so the least I could do was help him out and learn the family business. I still never lost hope of writing, so in the evenings I took screen writing, comic book writing, and animation writing courses at UCLA extension. The classes helped a lot; they helped shape my storytelling abilities, which would come in handy for all my future endeavors.

By the time I was twenty-seven years old, I had been in my first long-term relationship, which didn’t work out. I had written my first screenplay; I had written a one-act play; I was teaching, dancing, and choreographing for a nonprofit Armenian dance company; and I had found God. I found Him in Costco, where the paperback books are sold. I saw the cover for one of the Left Behind series books and thought it was cool. So I started reading those books, and they opened every creative channel in my soul. I had never seen God, Jesus, and faith as creative entities; I just saw them as religion. I hesitate to use the word religion, because