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.

Going against the flow - being different

(Key stage 2 and 3)
Christmas Fayre. Everyone is going one way. You are going other way. It is hard.


Dinghy at beach. The tide is going out. You paddle hard. If not, the air sea rescue ambulance will come and you will look a bit of an idiot. You went with the tide.

Sometimes we need to make a stand and go against the flow.

You go to the cinema with friends and your mother said you must be back at seven but the film ends and your friends say let's go round to someone's house. You have a decision to make. Do you go with the flow or do you say, "sorry. I've got to go home".

There is a story in the Bible about the King called Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar was ruler of the Babylonian Empire. Story of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego (my shack, your shack and the bungalow).

It's very hard to be different, especially if you're going to be fried alive if you are different.

But God was so important for shaped rack, Meshack and Abednego that they were going to make a stand – even if it meant they were thrown into the fiery furnace.

Story of Father Kyrill: We met Father Kyrill in the theological college in St Petersburg, when my wife and I were living there for two years. He was the spiritual father of the seminary. He had been battered and smashed by life. He had been sentenced to 10 years of hard labour (on three different occasions) in Soviet labour camps, simply for responding to the love of God in a society which said that God did not exist. He could have become so hard and bitter. But he wasn’t. Despite the suffering, he had begun to love, to forgive and to give, and his face was literally radiant.

Dead fish float with the current; living fish swim against it.

Harvest assembly

An assembly that can be used for KS1,2 and 3, with adaptation

You will need the letters HARVEST written on different cards.

At the beginning of the assembly, invite 7 children to the front to hold the cards (jumbled up), and ask the other children to tell you what word they can make from it.

As you speak, ask the children with the letters to spell the words, and for those whose letters are not being used, to stand to one side.

God has given us a beautiful and abundant EARTH.
There is actually enough food for everyone to EAT
God provides for us in many ways. He gives us the products to make clothes (ask what items of clothing can be made from the word HARVEST: HAT or VEST)

But something is wrong. While we HAVE so much; indeed we have so much that a great deal ends up as TRASH, VAST numbers of people in the REST of the world STARVE.

(You may wish to add some statistics: eg. one third of the world is overfed, one third underfed, and one third seriously malnourished)

God gave us a good EARTH, with enough for all people, if the resources were used wisely
God also gave us a HEART, to love him - who has given us the earth - and to love other people.

But we don't. We put ourselves first.

So here is a simple test. Imagine you found a £10 note in the street. There is nobody around. There is no point taking it to the police station. What would you do with it? Be honest.

Who would keep it?
Who would keep it and possibly invite some friends to Shake-away or Macdonalds?
Who would give most of it away, when they heard of someone in need?

We did nothing to deserve that £10. It was pure chance. But most of us would keep it for ourselves.

That is the same situation that we find ourselves in. We did nothing to be born into a relatively wealthy society. We might give away a little, but most of the time we keep our resources for ourselves.

So how do we change?
We will not change by simply having someone like me telling you that you have to change.

It begins when there are real TEARS - when we realise just how selfish we are.
We recognise that we need someone to SAVE us - because we cannot change ourselves
We need someone who loves us and who can give us a new HEART - so that we begin to love.
Because it is when we love that we will freely choose to SHARE

Parable of talents

KS1/2

Based on Luke 19:11-27

There is the story of a Master

(bring child to front as master, and have them stand on chair)

Who had three servants: Hobble, Dobble and Nobble

(bring three other children to front)

Hobble was called hobble, because he hobbled. Dobble was called Dobble because he dobbled (?), and Nobble was called nobble because he nobbled.

The Master was going away, so he called his/her three servants (Master calls)

And he gave them each £1 (actually the story says about £6000, but you can only have £1), and he told them to do business, so that when he came back they could give him the money with interest.

Hobble loved going to the theatre. So he thought, 'Great'. And he put on a production of a new play that he wrote. It was called, 'Willy Wonka and the tall giraffe'.

Dobble loved inventing things. So he thought, 'Great'. He invented a thing: an aeroplane that flew backwards

Nobble loved watching TV and playing on the Wii. So he thought, 'Oh No. If I've got to make money I've got to do something. And if I've got to do something, I can't watch TV or play on the Wii all day'. So he thought and he had a great idea. He got a spade, dug a hole in the garden, burid the money, returned to the lounge, turned on the TV and sat down.

Some time later the master returned. He/She called her servants

(Master calls servants)

'What have you done with my money?'

Hobble came forward. 'We put on a fantastic production. The crowds loved it, especially when Willy Wonka rescued the monkey from the alien space craft by climbing up the giraffes neck. You gave me £1. I can give you £10 back'.

The Master was delighted. He/She said, 'Well done. You can keep that money'

Dobble came forward. 'It was a great design. Slight problem. We forgot to put the cockpit in the back of the plane, so the pilot can only fly using mirrors all the time. But we had a buyer. UDA. It's an Australian company: Upside Down Airlines. We made £5'

The Master was delighted. He/She said, 'Well done. You can keep that money'

Nobble came forward. He knew what he was going to say. 'Master, Master, I was afraid. I know that you are hard. Alan Sugar has got nothing on you. Well I had lots of ideas. I thought I could set up an umbrella shop, but then I thought that it might not rain - and the money would be lost. I thought that I could dig for oil, but then I thought there might not be oil there - and the money would be lost. I thought I could use it to go on a course, but then I thought that I might not get a job afterwards.

So I had a brilliant idea. I dug a hole and kept your money safe. Here it is!'

The master was not happy. Not at all. He/She was very angry. 'I am hard. You know that. You know that I want you to use what I give you. You weren't afraid. You were lazy. Take the money from Nobble and give it to Hobble. He has shown that he can make the best use of it'.

The assembly concludes with you asking the children what the point of the story is. They will almost certainly talk about using your abilities. But the main point for Christians is that one day we will be accountable to God for what he has given us. Jesus is the master who has gone away, but one day he will come back again.

Getting the balance right

KS 3/4

Equipment: Game of Jenga (preferably outdoor Jenga)

(at the beginning, have two children silently playing a game of Jenga. They must not make it fall until you ask them to do so at the very end)

Story of Ruth Lawrence. At age 11 she entered Oxford university and at age 13 she graduated with a starred first class degree (a sort of level 562 at SATS. Problem was that she had lived, breathed, eaten maths.

Since then Oxford have a minimum age of admission, however brainy someone might be.

Why? Because they recognise the need to have balance in your life. Someone who does maths every minute of every day until they are 13 is not going to be a very rounded person.

We need balance:

eg. dieting/eating; talking/listening; watching tv, playing on the Wii/going outside; fitness/rest; spending/saving/giving; sport/studies; being on our own/being with other people; work/play; acting/praying

Big in-phrase at the moment: the work/life balance.

We need balance between body/mind

Having said that, if you wish to become really good at something you need to give it more time and more commitment then you would give to something else: music, football, ballet dancer, gymnast, academic (but perhaps just for a few years).

It is really difficult knowing when to get the balance, how to get the balance, and keep the balance.

Life really can be a bit like a game of Jenga - we need wisdom to know what to do next.

We need wisdom for living

Christians believe that the bible helps:

Psalm 119:9, "How can those who are young keep their way pure? By living according to your word"

Psalm 111:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding"

And Jesus says that he is the cornerstone on which we should build our lives.

(talk with children playing Jenga and ask them which is the cornerstone)

If I trust in Jesus,

• I pray to him and he does guide me and does give wisdom
• I read his book and it does give great guidance
• If the thing I really want to happen doesn't happen (I don't become a professional footballer; I don't become a chief executive), it is not the end of the world
• If it all crashes around you (Jenga tower falls) - it doesn't matter: you can still rebuild on the cornerstone.

Unconditional love

KS 3/4
Based on John 3:16
No props, although could use song 'For God so loved the world' by John Hardwick
http://www.johnhardwick.org.uk/media/sheetmusic/For%20God%20So%20Loved%20The%20World.pdf
Also useful to have text of John 3:16

It is exam time. I wonder what motivates you?

Some of your parents may have said to you: 'We'll give you £100 if you get an A star!'
It is a conditional gift. If you are good enough, we'll reward you.

That may be right for you, but I have to say that I am grateful that God is not like that.

God does not say to us, 'If you are a good person then I will give you eternal life'.
We may try our hardest - but we just end up putting pressure on ourselves and making the lives of others unbearable. We either think we have succeeded or become proud; or we think we have failed, and feel condemned

Fortunately God is not like that. God offers an unconditional gift.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

We don't need to prove ourselves worthy. We simply need to receive.

When it is not good to be me.

Key stage 1/2
No props
Luke 18:9-14

It is good to be me. Each of us is unique, with very special gifts

But there are times when it does not feel good to be me (eg. when mum and dad split up, when there are arguments, when people do bad stuff to me [and then blamed me], when I do bad stuff to other people). Child who said, 'There are two mes: good me, and bad me. I hate the bad me'.

What do we do when it does not feel good to be me?

Jesus tells story of two people who go to church to pray (cf Luke 18.9-14) (You can bring out two children to the front to act out the two people).
The first says: 'God, I thank you that I am so fantastic, so great. I thank you that I am not like him'. The second falls to his knees and says: 'God have mercy on me a sinner'. In other words he is saying, 'God it is not good to be me. I am in a mess. People do bad to me and I do bad to people. Please help me'.
Whose prayer does Jesus say that God hears?

He hears the prayer of the person who cries out for help. The other person is not praying to God but to himself

So when it does not feel good to be me, can I suggest that we do two things:
1. We pray: we say, 'God, it does not feel good to be me - because of what happens, because of the bad other people do to me, and because of the bad I do to others. Please help me'
2. Talk to someone about why it does not feel good to be you: a parent, a teacher, a friend. It is important to do this - even if someone has told you not to. It is much easier to talk to someone else once we have talked to God.

Remember that you are unique and special, and that God made you and loves you. He wants us to come to him, and when we come to him and say, 'God help me, because at the moment it does not seem good to be me', he will help us.