Wednesday, December 14, 2016

A talk for Advent

For KS1/2. You will need a rope for the timeline, pegs and 5 pieces of paper which say on them: Abraham and Sarah, Prophets, John the Baptist, Mary and Jesus, Second coming. Also, if you are able to do so, a way of showing John Lewis advert of boy waiting. 

What do we wait for?

-          Birthday
-          bus
-          holidays
-          birth of baby brother or sister
-          Christmas


How do we wait for Christmas?
-          Advent calendar
-          Buy presents
-          Decorating
-          Cards
-          Special meals
-          Carol services

Christians use Advent as a time to remember that we are waiting.
-          Not just waiting for Christmas when we remember Jesus was born
-          But waiting for another event

Set up timeline

Long before Castles and the Romans (but not before the dinosaurs)

1.      God gave a promise. He said to Abraham that he would become the father of God’s special people. He told him that from you will come someone who will be God’s ruler. He will rescue us from sin and death. He will help us live by God’s rules and make everything right, fair, good.

The problem was that the people forgot the promise. They ignored God. They grew lazy.

2.      So God sent the prophets. And the prophets said. Don’t forget the promise. Don’t ignore God. Don’t get lazy

3.      God sent John the Baptist. He was the last of the prophets. And he told people that the promise was about to come true. So he said to people: WAKE UP. Get ready. Remember the promise. Serve and obey God. Say sorry

4.      Mary: the mother of Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus was the ruler who the promise was all about. He is God’s ruler. He defeated sin He destroyed death. He helps those who wish to live by God’s rules.

5.      And one day Christians believe that Jesus will return. Not as a baby, but as God’s King. And then he will make everything good, right and fair.

So we wait. And we call this time of year: Advent. Advent comes from the Latin ‘Adventus’, and means ‘coming’. We wait for the time when Jesus will come a second time.

How do you think Christians might get ready for when they believe Jesus will come again?

·         Pray
·         Remember promises
·         Not ignore God

·         See if we have grown lazy 



Monday, March 21, 2016

The power of words to pierce or to heal

Ask children to squeeze out some toothpaste onto a kitchen towel. Ask them to put it back in. They can't!

It is the same with words.
Once they have been said, they cannot be put back.

Words are really important.
There is the old saying, 'Sticks and stones can break my bones but words they cannot hurt me'.
Who thinks that is true?










As someone said, a scar on your heart hurts more than a scar on your wrist.


Or, in the words of Proverbs 12.18, 'Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing'.

So we need to be careful with words, particularly if we are good or quick with words.



It is very easy
- to make a joke about someone
- to call them a name
- to spread a rumour about somebody
- to bad mouth, threaten, humiliate

It is as if the other person is this, and we do this:
hold a piece of paper, and then in silence tear it up into shreds

Touch your tongue! James in the bible tells us that the tongue is like a spark. It is very small, but it can set a forest on fire.


Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing 

To bring healing, we need to learn to 'speak the truth in love'.
That doesn't mean we cannot challenge. Sometimes if we love someone, and if we want to build them up, we need to challenge them: to say 'you could do better'. I'm sure it is what many of your teachers say to you!
But it is so important to speak words that build up rather than tear down: like thank you, you're good at that, well done, I like the way you did that, you are a star!


Be careful with your words.
My granny gave me two pieces of advice.
1. If you haven't got anything good to say about someone, don't say anything.
2. Count to 10 before you speak, especially if you are angry or hurting.
And that is just as true before you post something on facebook, instagram or upload a video to youtube.

Because once it is out, you cannot put it back in.
Once words are said, they can only be forgiven.


Saturday, February 13, 2016

One direction. The problem when we want to go our own way.

An assembly based on Philippians 2.3
(you do not need anything, although it might be helpful to have a power point/image of Philippians 2.3)

Invite about 7 of the older children to come to the front. Ask them to hold hands and form a line. Tell them that they must not let go of the next persons hand. 

Tell the school that you are going to do an experiment. You are going to ask 4 of the children at the front to walk in one direction and three to walk in the other direction. Ask them what will happen. Will the 4 drag the 3, or will the chain break? Where do you think the chain will break?

Usually, when this happens, the chain does break. 

In the bible there is a letter written by Paul. He mentions two women: Euodia and Syntyche. They want to go in opposite directions, and that other people had to decide whether they were with Euodia or Syntyche.

And when that happens:
1. There is a split. And splits multiply. Everybody ends up doing their own thing. There is a telling line in the book of Judges: 'In those days there was no king in Israel and everybody did what they wanted'
2. Splits are painful. Ask the child where the split occurred whether that was true. Did it hurt a bit?
3. It gets lonely
4. You are not as strong on your own
Invite the children to join hands again, but this time tell them to all go in one direction apart from one at the end. They are dragged along by the others 

It is so much better if you pull in one direction. That is true if you are a boy band, a business, a team, class, house, school, family or group of friends. 
Paul in the same letter gives some great advice: 'Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others'.

There is an old story told by the monks. There are two men carrying a long plank of wood. They need to go through a door. The problem is that the man at one end is not prepared to let the man at the other end go first. Why should he? But the man at the other end is not prepared to let the other man go first. Why should he? 
That door is the door to heaven, and because of their pride, ambition and conceit they can never go through. 
What it needs to get through the door is for one of them to humble himself and say to the other, 'It's OK. You can go first'.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Who is the greatest?

An assembly based on Mark 9.33-37​
(You will need a crown, T-towel, and something that can serve as a set of steps)

Who has arguments? What do you argue about?

12 followers of Jesus were walking on the road. They were having an argument. Jesus asks them: What are you arguing about? 

They are a bit embarrassed because they are arguing about which of them was the greatest.

I'm greatest because my daddy is more important than your daddy
I'm greatest because I'm biggest, strongest, prettiest, best at reading, fastest. I've got more friends.
Better behaved than you; cooler than you. My X box is better than your X box. My minecraft world has more treasure places than yours.
I go to Westgate school - best school in the world.
I'm year 6.

[Have something that can act as steps - and invite children to stand on different steps. We want to be on the top step. Place a crown on the child at the top].

Why do we want to be the greatest?
We think that people will notice us, they will think we are special or important. 

Jesus said, 'I'll tell you what the greatest people are like'
They are people who are not trying to go up the steps. They are willing to come down the steps and serve others.

They are the people who help tidy up at the end of the day (not in the 'look at me everybody: I'm staying behind to tidy up' kind of way, but in a quiet, unassuming way), who speak to new child or person who nobody else talks to. They are the Yr 6 child who helps someone in Yr 1.

Jesus says that the greatest is the person who welcomes the person who everybody else thinks is the least significant

Symbol of greatness: not a crown but a T-towel.