Any good applications for hippy hop rabbits out there?

So I don't look too dumb, I meant Hippy Hop!

This is a lesson I wrote several years ago for a lecture.

God Loves Whom Best?
John 3:16 & Mark 12:29-31

Reference: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish and have eternal life.”
Mark 12:29-31 “The most important one (commandment) answered Jesus, “is this: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second of these is this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Needed: Hippity Hop Rabbits.

Set-up: Set trick as normal and be familiar with the operation of it.

LESSON:
(Start with the typical Hippity Hip Rabbit routine. One black rabbit on one side and one white rabbit on the other. Have fun changing them back and forth before you produce the red and green rabbits, but use the patter below.)

These rabbits are jumping back and forth and confusing us all. Which one of the rabbits is your favorite? Let’s vote on it. (Have them vote by raising their hands.) Which one do you think God likes better? What if these really weren’t rabbits but people and I had rabbits here to represent all the people and races of the world of the world. Which person do you think God would like best? The answer of course is He loves us all equally. When he looks down on us from heaven, he sees us all as his children.

(Pull the covers off the rabbits and show the green and red rabbits. Point to the red rabbit.) He loves us all so much that he sent his Son to die and shed his blood for us so our sins can be forgiven. (Point to the green rabbit.) He wants us all to have a new life in Jesus and go with him into heaven forever.

Now if God would do that for all of us, how should we treat each other? Jesus we must first love God with our whole heart and soul. He then said we must, “love our neighbors as ourselves.” God has shown us by example how to love and treat everyone. So before you say anything, or feel anything against someone else just because of the color of their skin or because they are different, remember what God did for us and how great his love is for us all.


Rick Lenski

Most routines for Hippity Hop Rabbits are based on the fact that you are suckering the audience, but this one is slightly more baffling and just as impressive at the end. Also, I would recommend to either repaint the boxes or cover them with contact paper or vinyl sign material to get rid of the usual “magic hat” stenciling. Making them the same color tends to add to the mystery. My set ends with red and yellow rabbits...so play with the meaning of your ending colors to fit your story.
Admittedly, you may need to read this while playing with the rabbits for it to make sense...I did when I was writing it.

GOSPEL ROUTINE
(begin with the rabbits covered with the black gimmick over the yellow rabbit facing forward and the white side toward you to your left and the white gimmick over the red rabbit facing forward and the black rabbit facing you to your right)

In the Bible it says in John 3:19 that, “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” To illustrate this I have a couple of rabbits to show you. One loved Jesus and the other did not. In other words…(Remove right cover to reveal white rabbit)…one loved the light and… (Remove left cover to reveal black rabbit)…one loved the darkness. Now the rabbit who liked the darkness…(Cover black rabbit)…tended to do things he shouldn’t do when others weren’t looking. The one who loved Jesus really wanted to reach out to all the rabbits that loved the darkness, so he did what he could.(Cover white rabbit)
He turned…(Turn right container half a turn)…to the Bible to seek wisdom. The rabbit that love the darkness turned…(Turn left container half a turn)…to worldly friends for advice. The rabbit that loved Jesus went around…(Turn right container half a turn)…sharing with everyone he met about Jesus hoping to turn…(Turn left container half a turn)…them from the world and get their eyes on Jesus. But no matter how much he tried to turn…(Turn right container half a turn)…them on to Jesus…some just wouldn’t turn…(Turn left container half a turn)…from their evil ways.
When he would try to come and see them and share…(Lift left cover from rabbit to reveal white rabbit)…they would never…(Lift right cover from rabbit to reveal black rabbit)…stick around very long.
But the rabbit who loved Jesus wouldn’t give up. He went into his house…(Take cover from the right and cover the rabbit on the left)…and prayed and prayed for all of his…(Take the cover on the left and cover the rabbit on the right)…unsaved neighbors. He prayed that they would come around…(Turn right container half a turn)
…and see the truth. He then went around…(Turn left container half a turn)
…and around…(Turn right container half a turn)…to all of his neighbor’s houses to share the gospel, but sadly…(Lift up the cover on the right to show black rabbit and recover)...he found rejection at house…(Lift up the cover on the left to show black rabbit and recover)…after house. But the rabbit that loved Jesus wouldn’t turn tail…(Turn right container half a turn) …and run away from sharing…he kept right on praying for his neighbors over…(Turn left container half a turn)…and over…
(Turn left container half a turn again)…and over…(Turn left container half a turn again)…and over again. And one day his prayers paid off. Someone’s heart was ready to receive God. And our rabbit who loved Jesus…(Lift off right cover to reveal a white rabbit)…prayed with this neighbor and…(Lift off left cover to reveal a white rabbit)…now there were two believers in the neighborhood. But our story doesn’t stop there. Now together they started sharing…(Cover both rabbits)…to neighbors going around…(Turn left container half a turn)…and around…(Turn right container half a turn)…and around…(Turn left container half a turn)…sharing the gospel. And some would listen and receive…(Lift left cover and steal away gimmick to reveal the white rabbit)…Jesus into their hearts. Like it says in Psalm 6:4 “Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.” However some…(Lift right cover and steal away gimmick to reveal black rabbit)…simply would not. In Psalm 125:5 it talks about those who won’t turn to God. The psalmist wrote, “But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers.” You see no matter how much the may hear the gospel, their hearts seem to get harder and harder.
Jesus came and died for…(Put hand on the top of each rabbit)…every bunny…um… I mean everybody. But I guess in this story every bunny seems to apply. Some choose to turn to Him. Some choose not to turn from their ways. Those that do are covered by his love…(Turn white rabbit around to reveal the red rabbit)…and some I guess are…as they say in the South…(Turn black rabbit around to reveal the yellow rabbit)…are just Yellow… which means afraid. Afraid of what their friends are going to think. Afraid they are going to miss out on some fun. Afraid to admit they are sinners. And I’m afraid that means they won’t go to Heaven.
How about you? Have you turned your life around and given it to Jesus? Maybe it is time.

At this point you could give an invitation.

In the script above, don’t say red means blood…you don’t want them thinking bloody rabbit. Also if your colors are reversed on the rabbits, yellow on back of the white and red on the back of the black…change the script to talk about one going to the streets of gold some day (yellow) and one going the other place (red).

Kif "Wilde" Anderson

Wow! Excellent routine, Kif!