You will need several different candles with a central lit candle
Introduce your different candles: red, purple, white, painted - tall/thin, more rounded, small and stubby, smelly.
All different, but all candles and all made to burn and give off light.
A bit like us! All different, but people and all made by God for a purpose:
- to be light in the world
- to be stars
(not celebrities - but to shine for truth, love, kindness, mercy, service)
The problem is that we don't: we're like these candles. They look good, but something is missing!
How do we begin to shine?
- Perhaps we need to think right. Please think these candles alight - think harder.
Often people think if they just make a bigger effort, work harder, then they'll be able to shine.
- Perhaps we need to come close to the light (move candles close to central lit candle). Doesn't work!
Often people think that if they go to church, or come to a church school, they'll start to shine.
There is only one way.
The Christingle tells us that Jesus came from God into our world, 2000 years ago, to be the light of the world, the true light. He is the Truth; he is absolute Love.
The only way for us to shine is if the light comes to each one of us and we personally receive it. We need to allow him to set us on fire for himself.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
You don't need to say sorry!
(for KS1 and KS2)
Sorry can be an easy word to say
Sorry can be an easy word to say
I have 3 boys. There are times when they fight with each other. We tell them 'Say sorry'. They say 'Sorry', but you know that they are not sorry. They are only saying it because we've told them to. In fact they are quite pleased that they hit the other and what they're really sorry about is that they didn't hit them harder.
Sorry can also be a very hard word to say.
Friends know that.
There are some people who say to their friends, 'You can only be my friend if you say sorry'
But it is not always true. What is important is not necessarily what you say, but what you feel.
I'd like to tell you the story of two people who were friends
Jesus had invited Peter to come and be his friend. Peter has said Yes
Peter tells Jesus that he will never ever let him down. 'I will never let you down'
But Peter does let Jesus down badly
Jesus was in trouble - big trouble, serious trouble. In fact the biggest trouble you could be in. They had arrested him and were going to kill him - not for anything he had done wrong. They were just trying to get him.
Peter followed Jesus: someone says to him, 'You were with Jesus'.
Peter - because he is frightened - says No. Not just once but three times. And Jesus hears
Peter is crushed
He feels horrible about himself
He didn't do what he said he would do
He worries what Jesus will think of him
And then Jesus is then killed. Peter thinks that he will never have the chance to put it right.
But 3 days later, because Jesus is the Son of God, he rose from the dead.
Now what would you do if you were Jesus?
Would you ditch Peter? After all he ditched you.
Would you say, 'Peter you can only be my friend if you say sorry?'
Peter never says sorry - Peter shows that he is sorry
When he does it, he actually goes away and because he feels so bad about himself he cries
And when he is told that Jesus is alive, he is one of the first to run to see if it is true
And when Jesus appears, Peter jumps out of a fishing boat to get to Jesus
Jesus doesn't ditch Peter
He doesn't say to Peter: 'You can only be my friend if you say sorry'.
That might be just a bit too hard for Peter to say, at this point.
Jesus knows that Peter is sorry - and so all he asks Peter is, 'Will you still be my friend?' He asks him that question three times.
If your friend lets you down, and actually you know that they feel bad about what they have done
- don't ditch them
- don't even say to them, 'You can only be my friend IF you say sorry'. Good friends don't do that.
Instead go to them and ask, 'Would you still be my friend'?
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Giving
An assembly for KS2
You will need £1 in pennies
Ask for 5 volunteers (choose one from the oldest class, one of the smallest in the school and several from other classes). Invite them to the front
Today I would like to talk about money and giving.
I have here £1 in pennies (pour them out).
Ask children what would happen if I said that whoever could get these could keep these.
Ask children who would get them
The thing is, in our world, that is exactly what happens. The big and the strong get the wealth and it is the poor and the weak who suffer.
If this £1 represents the worlds wealth, how much do the richest 10% of the world's population own? 85p. How much do the poorest 50% of the worlds population own? 1%
To be in the top 10% you need to have about £40,000 in assets. If your parents own their own house then you are certainly in the top 10% of the richest people in the world.
Money usually goes to people who already have money.
Why? Because it is the richest and the strongest who get it.
You could say that that is right. Survival of the fittest and all that.
But it is not the way that God made us. It destroys us:
1. If the big one pushes the little one out of the way - and they are so big they can do it without getting into trouble - it hurts the little one and leaves the little one with nothing. But it makes the big one think that little ones do not matter. They think that what they have belongs to them by right, that they deserve it, that they are better or more clever or stronger than than everybody else. They become hard and cold.
Jesus said, 'What advantage is it to gain all the wealth in the world and to lose your soul?'
God made us to be people who care about others who have nothing.
So don't try to grab hold of the money for yourself. Could I ask you to share it out between the 5 of you.
2. Money that we grab gets a grip on us.
Imagine someone is trying to take away your 20p. Hold onto it. Grip it.
But look at their faces - all knotted up and stressed up
And people create bigger banks, build stronger front doors, install larger locks. we go around suspicious or fearful of other people. We say, 'They want my stuff'.
You think that you are gripping on to your money. But in fact your money is gripping on to you.
Jesus said there is a very simple way to solve the problem. Don't try to grip on to you money. GIVE the money.
On one occasion a very rich young man came to Jesus and said, "What must I do to gain eternal life". Jesus looked at him and saw that his money had got a grip on him. He said, 'Sell what you have, give to the poor, and then come and be one of my disciples following me on the road'.
He wasn't able to do that - and he missed out on being one of the first followers of Jesus.
We were made to give. When we are ready to give we are open and relaxed. Even if someone nicks it, well it is a shame, but it came from God in the first place and we were going to give it anyway.
To your volunteers: so could you share out the 20p that you have in your hand. Give it to these year 5's
Don't let money control you.
Can I suggest one very simple thing you can do - it is much easier to do when you are young. Many Christians tithe - that is they give 10% of what they get to the church or to some charity or to people in need. It is a good thing to do. So if you are given £1 pocket money, right at the beginning you put aside 10p and that will be money that you give to your church or to some appeal that your school is doing. Later, if you are given £10, you put aside £1. And when you start to work and earn money, you do the same thing. You give 10% of what you get away. It is something that many Christians - and people of other faiths - do.
It is the way to make sure that we do not end up hard and cold
It is the way to make sure that money does not control us.
And it is the way to begin to learn that we really were made not to grab, not to grip, but to give.
You will need £1 in pennies
Ask for 5 volunteers (choose one from the oldest class, one of the smallest in the school and several from other classes). Invite them to the front
Today I would like to talk about money and giving.
I have here £1 in pennies (pour them out).
Ask children what would happen if I said that whoever could get these could keep these.
Ask children who would get them
The thing is, in our world, that is exactly what happens. The big and the strong get the wealth and it is the poor and the weak who suffer.
If this £1 represents the worlds wealth, how much do the richest 10% of the world's population own? 85p. How much do the poorest 50% of the worlds population own? 1%
To be in the top 10% you need to have about £40,000 in assets. If your parents own their own house then you are certainly in the top 10% of the richest people in the world.
Money usually goes to people who already have money.
Why? Because it is the richest and the strongest who get it.
You could say that that is right. Survival of the fittest and all that.
But it is not the way that God made us. It destroys us:
1. If the big one pushes the little one out of the way - and they are so big they can do it without getting into trouble - it hurts the little one and leaves the little one with nothing. But it makes the big one think that little ones do not matter. They think that what they have belongs to them by right, that they deserve it, that they are better or more clever or stronger than than everybody else. They become hard and cold.
Jesus said, 'What advantage is it to gain all the wealth in the world and to lose your soul?'
God made us to be people who care about others who have nothing.
So don't try to grab hold of the money for yourself. Could I ask you to share it out between the 5 of you.
2. Money that we grab gets a grip on us.
Imagine someone is trying to take away your 20p. Hold onto it. Grip it.
But look at their faces - all knotted up and stressed up
And people create bigger banks, build stronger front doors, install larger locks. we go around suspicious or fearful of other people. We say, 'They want my stuff'.
You think that you are gripping on to your money. But in fact your money is gripping on to you.
Jesus said there is a very simple way to solve the problem. Don't try to grip on to you money. GIVE the money.
On one occasion a very rich young man came to Jesus and said, "What must I do to gain eternal life". Jesus looked at him and saw that his money had got a grip on him. He said, 'Sell what you have, give to the poor, and then come and be one of my disciples following me on the road'.
He wasn't able to do that - and he missed out on being one of the first followers of Jesus.
We were made to give. When we are ready to give we are open and relaxed. Even if someone nicks it, well it is a shame, but it came from God in the first place and we were going to give it anyway.
To your volunteers: so could you share out the 20p that you have in your hand. Give it to these year 5's
Don't let money control you.
Can I suggest one very simple thing you can do - it is much easier to do when you are young. Many Christians tithe - that is they give 10% of what they get to the church or to some charity or to people in need. It is a good thing to do. So if you are given £1 pocket money, right at the beginning you put aside 10p and that will be money that you give to your church or to some appeal that your school is doing. Later, if you are given £10, you put aside £1. And when you start to work and earn money, you do the same thing. You give 10% of what you get away. It is something that many Christians - and people of other faiths - do.
It is the way to make sure that we do not end up hard and cold
It is the way to make sure that money does not control us.
And it is the way to begin to learn that we really were made not to grab, not to grip, but to give.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Happiness and bubbles
For KS2
You will need some bubbles to blow
What makes you happy?
Blow bubbles (or get a child to blow bubbles)
Happiness is like bubbles.
1. It is beautiful and desirable.
We all want to be happy.
Happiness is connected to what we desire:
Sometimes we need to be unhappy in order to be happy! Think of athlete getting up at 5:30 on the morning to swim for 2 hours. Are they happy? But they are doing it for the greater happiness of being chosen for the Olympic team, and of winning a medal.
The desire for happiness is what drives us.
2. If we try to catch happiness, we will lose it.
The best way to gain happiness is to give it.
This is the secret of happiness. If you are thinking 'why am I so unhappy', can I suggest that you try something? Try to work out how you can make someone else happy. Do something kind for them; give; stand up for a friend even if it means you get hurt; help out at home.
Jesus said that if we want to gain our life, we need to first learn to lose it.
Don't be the person who tries to catch the bubbles, but who makes the bubbles.
3. Happiness is here for a moment and then gone.
We enjoy it and then it is gone
But wouldn't it be great if there was a bubble which never burst, a happiness which lasts for ever?
The problem is that the things we desire are things that will not last: a nice taste in the tummy, money, an experience. But what if we desire something that will last for ever?
That is why Jesus said, 'truly happy are those who hunger and thirst for the things of God'. They will never be let down.
You will need some bubbles to blow
What makes you happy?
Blow bubbles (or get a child to blow bubbles)
Happiness is like bubbles.
1. It is beautiful and desirable.
We all want to be happy.
Happiness is connected to what we desire:
Sometimes we need to be unhappy in order to be happy! Think of athlete getting up at 5:30 on the morning to swim for 2 hours. Are they happy? But they are doing it for the greater happiness of being chosen for the Olympic team, and of winning a medal.
The desire for happiness is what drives us.
2. If we try to catch happiness, we will lose it.
The best way to gain happiness is to give it.
This is the secret of happiness. If you are thinking 'why am I so unhappy', can I suggest that you try something? Try to work out how you can make someone else happy. Do something kind for them; give; stand up for a friend even if it means you get hurt; help out at home.
Jesus said that if we want to gain our life, we need to first learn to lose it.
Don't be the person who tries to catch the bubbles, but who makes the bubbles.
3. Happiness is here for a moment and then gone.
We enjoy it and then it is gone
But wouldn't it be great if there was a bubble which never burst, a happiness which lasts for ever?
The problem is that the things we desire are things that will not last: a nice taste in the tummy, money, an experience. But what if we desire something that will last for ever?
That is why Jesus said, 'truly happy are those who hunger and thirst for the things of God'. They will never be let down.
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