In a minute I’m going to tell you a story from the Bible, but before I do, I’d like us to think for a bit about your school and all the things that happen in it.
It’s got lots of different rooms in it, for different things.
What happens in the hall?
What happens in Miss Smith’s office?
… the staffroom?
…your classroom? (classroom for learning, it is the children’s home base in school)
Just imagine one day if you came in to school and Badgers class discovered that Miss Smith had taken over their classroom, thrown out all their stuff and turned it into an office for herself because she decided she needed more space…
Badgers might ask her,”what are we going to do, where are we going to learn?”
“You’ll just have to find yourselves a space wherever you can! You could do your lessons out in the playground…”
“But it’s raining!”
“Well, you’ll all have to bring umbrellas then!”
What would you think if that happened?
I don’t think Miss Smith would ever really do that, but I want you to remember it as I tell you this story…
Jesus had come to Jerusalem.
A lot of people were very excited to see him. He had come into the city riding on a donkey, and that made people even more excited. They thought he was going to be a king. It might seem strange to us to think of a king riding on a donkey, but it didn’t to the Jewish people.
A great king from their history King Solomon, had come into the city when they began to rule riding on a donkey*. The prophets had promised that one day God would send the nation another king as great as Solomon. How would they know when he had arrived? He would come riding on a donkey.
So when Jesus came into Jerusalem they thought this was it. Their great new king. No wonder they were excited. They thought he would fight a great battle against the Roman army and set them free…
But Jesus headed straight for the Temple in Jerusalem. Perhaps he was going to pray before he started the battle?
Everyone followed.
They went into the Temple after Jesus. He just stood there, and looked around.
The Temple in Jerusalem had lots of different spaces in it, just like this school. (Put up OHP of Temple from www.eBibleTeacher.com).
In the middle was the holiest place. Only the people who worked in the Temple could go there. Then there was a place where Jewish men, the men who lived in that country could go to worship. Then there was a place where Jewish women could go .
Outside that was space where anyone from anywhere could go. Foreigners who had come from far away who wanted to pray could go there. IT was their space, the only space they had in the Temple.
Jesus came into that space, where there should have been room for all these foreigners to pray, but what did he see? It had been turned into a market place. There were people selling animals, people changing money, tables everywhere, noise and bustle. It had been completely taken over, not by the foreigners it was for, but by the people who worked in the Temple, as a place to make money. There was no room for prayer anymore.
It was just like if Miss Smith had taken over Badger’s classroom and left them nowhere to learn, no space for themselves.
Jesus was furious. “This is supposed to be a place for people to pray. Foreigners haven’t got anywhere else they can go. You have stolen their space from them to make yourselves richer. That’s not fair, and it’s not what God wants!”
And Jesus began to pick up the tables where the people were selling things and tip them over. There was money rolling all over the floor. There were animals running around. It was mayhem!
This wasn’t what people had expected their king to do! He was meant to be attacking their enemies, but instead he was telling them off!
What kind of king was this…?
In the days that followed, most of the people who had been so pleased to see him changed their mind, and by the end of the week, they had had Jesus arrested and killed. But that’s another story, which I know we will be hearing about over the next week, and in church when you come for your Easter service…
When we thought about Miss Smith taking over Badger’s classroom we could see it wasn’t right. I’m sure we would all tell her so. I’m sure she wouldn’t do it anyway!. The story of Jesus in the Temple reminds us of how important it is make space for other people, to make them feel welcome.
Let’s be silent for a minute to think about that story.
Prayer: that we will welcome others and make space for them.
*1 Kings 1.33 (it is actually a mule, which is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, but the idea is the same.)
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Jonah – KS 1 &2 – Encouraging responsibility – SEAL theme “good to be me”
It is important as you prepare to tell this story that there was never any serious suggestion made by those who originally compiled the Bible that this story actually happened. It is told in the form of a folk-tale, and is similar to other ancient folk-tales.
Need: Cardboard signposts to Ninevah and to Tarshish
This is a story which the ancient people of the Bible told. They didn’t think it had really happened, but it was a good story which helped them to think about important things.
There was once a very powerful nation called Assyria. They had a huge army of strong soldiers with all the latest weapons. No one else stood a chance against them. They were cruel too, treating those they captured badly. Everyone was scared of them.
In the nation of Israel there was a prophet called Jonah – a man who listened to God. One day when Jonah was praying he heard God speaking to him.
“Jonah – I have a job for you.”
“Yes, God, what is it?”
“I want you to go to the city of Ninevah, the capital city of Assyria, right in the middle of their nation, and tell them that I want them to change their ways, to stop being cruel to others.”
(put up signpost to Ninevah)
Jonah was TERRIFIED. He wouldn’t last two minutes in Ninevah with all those cruel Assyrians about. They’d never listen to him. And even if they did, he didn’t think it was fair. Why should they get a second chance? Why didn’t God just destroy them anyway? Everyone would feel safer then.
But Jonah didn’t say anything.
He just got up and packed a bag. He went down to the harbour, where all the boats were and started asking where people were going to.
“We’re off to Tarshish”, said one group of sailors.
Put up sign to Tarshish facing in the opposite direction to the sign to Ninevah
“That’ll do,” thought Jonah…Is Jonah going the right way, the way God asked him to? (let children tell you that it is the opposite direction.)
But off they went to Tarshish. Jonah thought he could run away from Ninevah, and run away from God. But he was wrong.
In the night a great storm blew up. The boat was tossed about. The waves got higher and higher. (Invite children to make “waves” with their hands, if you are sure you can stop the ensuing riot when you need to…) The sailors were sure they would all be drowned. In those days people often thought that God made storms happen, and the sailors wondered who might have done something to make him send this storm.
It wasn’t one of them, but then they remembered their passenger, Jonah. He admitted that he was running away from God. “The only way to save yourselves is to throw me overboard,” said Jonah. They didn’t want to, but Jonah insisted, so that’s what the sailors did, and as soon as they did, the storm stopped.
Jonah began to sink in the water. This is the end, he thought. But God had other ideas. Deep down in the water below Jonah was a big fish. God sent the fish to where Jonah was and he opened his mouth wide and with one gulp, swallowed him. Down went Jonah into the fish’s tummy.
And there he stayed for three days, thinking about what had happened. Jonah saw that he should have done what God wanted, and he prayed to God to help him.
The fish kept on swimming till it came to the land, where it opened wide its mouth again and spat Jonah out.
Now Jonah went in the right direction, straight to Ninevah. He still wasn’t very happy about it though. He didn’t like the Assyrian Ninevites, and he didn’t think God should like them either. He walked into the city, though, and began telling them God’s message. “God is going to destroy your city! You wait and see!” (He wasn’t very nice about it!). He didn’t think they would take any notice of what he said. But he was wrong. Every one of them stopped what they were doing, started thinking, and felt really sorry for being mean to people. Even the king of the Assyrians heard the message, and he was really sorry for being a cruel king. He ordered all his people - and even their donkeys and cows – to fast (to stop eating for a while) to show how sorry they were.
And God forgave them.
Jonah might have been happy about this. After all, wasn’t it a good thing that God had forgiven them and that they had changed their ways?
But Jonah was furious.
“You’re just soft, God! They don’t deserve to be forgiven. They are mean, nasty people, who have done mean, nasty things. You should punish them.”
And Jonah went into a big, big sulk.
He sat in the desert, with the sun beating down on him, feeling sorry for himself and cross with God.
God thought, “How can I show Jonah that he is wrong to feel angry with me for forgiving the people of Ninevah?”
God had an idea.
During the night he made a plant grow up beside Jonah. In the morning there it was, shading him from the sun. Jonah loved his plant. It was his new best friend.
But the next night God sent a worm along which munched through the plant. In the morning it was all eaten up. All Jonah’s lovely shade was gone. He was really upset about the plant dying.
And God said to him, “Jonah, you are really sad about the plant dying. It was special to you. But you didn’t care at all about the people of Ninevah – men, women and children – who were special to me. They are my children, just as you are…”
And the story ends there, with Jonah sitting in the desert thinking about what God said to him.
We’re going to sit still and think now, just like he did. Sometimes its hard to love and care for people we don’t like, who might have done something mean to us, but God asks us to help them, just like he would.
Need: Cardboard signposts to Ninevah and to Tarshish
This is a story which the ancient people of the Bible told. They didn’t think it had really happened, but it was a good story which helped them to think about important things.
There was once a very powerful nation called Assyria. They had a huge army of strong soldiers with all the latest weapons. No one else stood a chance against them. They were cruel too, treating those they captured badly. Everyone was scared of them.
In the nation of Israel there was a prophet called Jonah – a man who listened to God. One day when Jonah was praying he heard God speaking to him.
“Jonah – I have a job for you.”
“Yes, God, what is it?”
“I want you to go to the city of Ninevah, the capital city of Assyria, right in the middle of their nation, and tell them that I want them to change their ways, to stop being cruel to others.”
(put up signpost to Ninevah)
Jonah was TERRIFIED. He wouldn’t last two minutes in Ninevah with all those cruel Assyrians about. They’d never listen to him. And even if they did, he didn’t think it was fair. Why should they get a second chance? Why didn’t God just destroy them anyway? Everyone would feel safer then.
But Jonah didn’t say anything.
He just got up and packed a bag. He went down to the harbour, where all the boats were and started asking where people were going to.
“We’re off to Tarshish”, said one group of sailors.
Put up sign to Tarshish facing in the opposite direction to the sign to Ninevah
“That’ll do,” thought Jonah…Is Jonah going the right way, the way God asked him to? (let children tell you that it is the opposite direction.)
But off they went to Tarshish. Jonah thought he could run away from Ninevah, and run away from God. But he was wrong.
In the night a great storm blew up. The boat was tossed about. The waves got higher and higher. (Invite children to make “waves” with their hands, if you are sure you can stop the ensuing riot when you need to…) The sailors were sure they would all be drowned. In those days people often thought that God made storms happen, and the sailors wondered who might have done something to make him send this storm.
It wasn’t one of them, but then they remembered their passenger, Jonah. He admitted that he was running away from God. “The only way to save yourselves is to throw me overboard,” said Jonah. They didn’t want to, but Jonah insisted, so that’s what the sailors did, and as soon as they did, the storm stopped.
Jonah began to sink in the water. This is the end, he thought. But God had other ideas. Deep down in the water below Jonah was a big fish. God sent the fish to where Jonah was and he opened his mouth wide and with one gulp, swallowed him. Down went Jonah into the fish’s tummy.
And there he stayed for three days, thinking about what had happened. Jonah saw that he should have done what God wanted, and he prayed to God to help him.
The fish kept on swimming till it came to the land, where it opened wide its mouth again and spat Jonah out.
Now Jonah went in the right direction, straight to Ninevah. He still wasn’t very happy about it though. He didn’t like the Assyrian Ninevites, and he didn’t think God should like them either. He walked into the city, though, and began telling them God’s message. “God is going to destroy your city! You wait and see!” (He wasn’t very nice about it!). He didn’t think they would take any notice of what he said. But he was wrong. Every one of them stopped what they were doing, started thinking, and felt really sorry for being mean to people. Even the king of the Assyrians heard the message, and he was really sorry for being a cruel king. He ordered all his people - and even their donkeys and cows – to fast (to stop eating for a while) to show how sorry they were.
And God forgave them.
Jonah might have been happy about this. After all, wasn’t it a good thing that God had forgiven them and that they had changed their ways?
But Jonah was furious.
“You’re just soft, God! They don’t deserve to be forgiven. They are mean, nasty people, who have done mean, nasty things. You should punish them.”
And Jonah went into a big, big sulk.
He sat in the desert, with the sun beating down on him, feeling sorry for himself and cross with God.
God thought, “How can I show Jonah that he is wrong to feel angry with me for forgiving the people of Ninevah?”
God had an idea.
During the night he made a plant grow up beside Jonah. In the morning there it was, shading him from the sun. Jonah loved his plant. It was his new best friend.
But the next night God sent a worm along which munched through the plant. In the morning it was all eaten up. All Jonah’s lovely shade was gone. He was really upset about the plant dying.
And God said to him, “Jonah, you are really sad about the plant dying. It was special to you. But you didn’t care at all about the people of Ninevah – men, women and children – who were special to me. They are my children, just as you are…”
And the story ends there, with Jonah sitting in the desert thinking about what God said to him.
We’re going to sit still and think now, just like he did. Sometimes its hard to love and care for people we don’t like, who might have done something mean to us, but God asks us to help them, just like he would.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Gideon, the reluctant hero – Going for Goals – recognising our acheivements/self-esteem KS 1 & 2
I was going to tell the story of Moses and the Burning Bush at this assembly, but the headteacher told me she'd just done it, so this seemed a reasonable alternative to fit with the theme. I have left out the episode where Gideon hewed down his father's statue of Baal, partly because it made the story rather longer and more complicated than I would have time for (or the children patience for) but also because it is a bit hard to justify hewing down other people's Gods in a school committed (rightly IMHO) to respecting all faiths!
The story lends itself to hamming up, and the script below is only really an outline.
Gideon - Judges 6.11ff
The people of Israel were in trouble. They were being attacked by another tribe of people, the Midianites. The Midianites kept on coming down from the hills, stealing their crops and killing their animals. The people had nothing to eat. They were getting really hungry, and they thought it was the end for them. Who would help them?
One man in Israel at least had managed to gather a harvest. His name was Gideon. He wasn’t very big. He wasn’t very strong. He wasn’t very brave. In fact he was trying as hard as he could to make sure he stayed hidden, so the Midianites wouldn’t find him and the small amount of food he had. He was working away quietly at storing the food away in an outbuilding on his farm, when all of a sudden he noticed that someone was watching him. He was really scared. Was it a Midianite?
But then the stranger spoke up. He wasn’t a Midianite, he was an angel from God. “Hail, Gideon! Mighty Warrior! God is with you”
Mighty warrior? Thought Gideon, looking behind him to see if there was someone else the angel was talking to. He wasn’t a mighty warrior, and he didn’t want to be one either.
“There must be some mistake. I’m not a mighty warrior. God must have meant you to go to someone else…”
“No – it was definitely you. You are going to lead your people in battle against the Midianites.!”
“Um – would it be all right if I asked you to prove that you are from God?”
The angel told Gideon to fetch some food and put it on a stone. Then he just touched it with the stick he was carrying and it burst into flames…”
“Wow!” Said Gideon. “Now I believe you, even if I still don’t think I’m a mighty warrior.”
The next day Gideon started to feel a bit braver, but he still didn’t feel brave enough to fight the Midianites.
A little time later, things had got even worse with the Midianites. They had joined forces with another nation and they all gathered together in the valley not far from where Gideon lived. Now there were twice as many of them, and they were twice as frightening. Gideon hadn’t forgotten what the angel had told him. Could he do something against these armies? He didn’t think so, but he started just talking to a few people about it – “we’ve got to do something,” he said - and before he knew quite how it had happened, everyone was looking to him to give them a lead.
Gideon tried to look as if he knew what he was doing. But really he didn’t at all. He wasn’t a leader. He wasn’t a soldier. He’d never done this before.
So Gideon prayed. “Lord, I don’t really think I’m the person to lead our armies. I’ll do it, but only if you are really sure you want me to. Could you give me a sign to tell me it really is me you want.” Gideon got a sheepskin and he laid it on the ground.
“If I really am the one you want, in the morning, could you make the sheepskin all wet in the morning, but the ground around it all dry?”
He went to sleep, and in the morning, guess what? The sheepskin was wet and the ground around it was dry.
Gideon was amazed. But… He was still frightened.
So that night he prayed again.
“God, thank you for that miracle last night, but I just wanted to check it wasn’t just a coincidence, or a little cloud that just rained there or something, so if you really, really mean it could you tonight make the sheepkin dry and the goround around it wet instead…? “
He went to sleep, and in the morning, the sheepskin was dry and the ground was wet.
Ok, God, I give in. At least I’ll have lots of soldiers fighting with me. Have you seen how many people have come to join my army? There must be twenty thousand!
“Ah yes, said God to Gideon. There are a lot of them. In fact, it seems to me there are far too many. I am with you, and you are a mighty warrior – we don’t need all those soldiers. Go out and tell them that any of them who don’t really want to fight can go home…”
“Is he crazy?” thought Gideon, but he did it, and lots of the men went home. Now there were only ten thousand.
“There” he said to God. “Is that better.”
“No” there are still too many, said God – send some more away.” So Gideon sent away a whole lot more. There were only three hundred left, and that didn’t look nearly enough to Gideon. How were they going to defeat the Midianites with that lot?
God told Gideon to go down to the enemy camp that night and listen. So he crept down when it got dark, and hid outside one of the tent. As he crouched there he heard one of the soldiers say to the other, “I’ve just had the strangest dream – I dreamt a great round barley cake came rolling into the camp and flattened all the tents. What do you think that meant?”
“That’s easy,” said the other soldier. It was about Gideon – the great warrior – coming down to attack us!”
Gideon realised that not only did God think he was the right person to lead the attack, and his own soldiers, but even the enemy thought he was a mighty warrior! So he decided he would do what God asked him.
He went back up the hill to his soldiers and he gave each of them a pottery jar and a trumpet. He sent them out to surround the enemy camp. When he gave the signal each soldier broke his jar and blew his trumpet. Can you imagine the noise of three hundred jars breaking and three hundred trumpets blasting away? It was a terrible noise!
The enemy soldiers all woke up. “Gideon is attacking!” they shouted, and ran out of their tents. But in the darkness they couldn’t see who was who and they began attacking each other. Those who could just ran away. When morning came, the Midianite army was defeated.
And Gideon had learned that he really was the leader God had wanted.
Sometimes we all feel like Gideon. We think we can’t do what we’ve been asked to. Sometimes other people believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. When we feel like that we can remember Gideon who could do far more than he thought!
The story lends itself to hamming up, and the script below is only really an outline.
Gideon - Judges 6.11ff
The people of Israel were in trouble. They were being attacked by another tribe of people, the Midianites. The Midianites kept on coming down from the hills, stealing their crops and killing their animals. The people had nothing to eat. They were getting really hungry, and they thought it was the end for them. Who would help them?
One man in Israel at least had managed to gather a harvest. His name was Gideon. He wasn’t very big. He wasn’t very strong. He wasn’t very brave. In fact he was trying as hard as he could to make sure he stayed hidden, so the Midianites wouldn’t find him and the small amount of food he had. He was working away quietly at storing the food away in an outbuilding on his farm, when all of a sudden he noticed that someone was watching him. He was really scared. Was it a Midianite?
But then the stranger spoke up. He wasn’t a Midianite, he was an angel from God. “Hail, Gideon! Mighty Warrior! God is with you”
Mighty warrior? Thought Gideon, looking behind him to see if there was someone else the angel was talking to. He wasn’t a mighty warrior, and he didn’t want to be one either.
“There must be some mistake. I’m not a mighty warrior. God must have meant you to go to someone else…”
“No – it was definitely you. You are going to lead your people in battle against the Midianites.!”
“Um – would it be all right if I asked you to prove that you are from God?”
The angel told Gideon to fetch some food and put it on a stone. Then he just touched it with the stick he was carrying and it burst into flames…”
“Wow!” Said Gideon. “Now I believe you, even if I still don’t think I’m a mighty warrior.”
The next day Gideon started to feel a bit braver, but he still didn’t feel brave enough to fight the Midianites.
A little time later, things had got even worse with the Midianites. They had joined forces with another nation and they all gathered together in the valley not far from where Gideon lived. Now there were twice as many of them, and they were twice as frightening. Gideon hadn’t forgotten what the angel had told him. Could he do something against these armies? He didn’t think so, but he started just talking to a few people about it – “we’ve got to do something,” he said - and before he knew quite how it had happened, everyone was looking to him to give them a lead.
Gideon tried to look as if he knew what he was doing. But really he didn’t at all. He wasn’t a leader. He wasn’t a soldier. He’d never done this before.
So Gideon prayed. “Lord, I don’t really think I’m the person to lead our armies. I’ll do it, but only if you are really sure you want me to. Could you give me a sign to tell me it really is me you want.” Gideon got a sheepskin and he laid it on the ground.
“If I really am the one you want, in the morning, could you make the sheepskin all wet in the morning, but the ground around it all dry?”
He went to sleep, and in the morning, guess what? The sheepskin was wet and the ground around it was dry.
Gideon was amazed. But… He was still frightened.
So that night he prayed again.
“God, thank you for that miracle last night, but I just wanted to check it wasn’t just a coincidence, or a little cloud that just rained there or something, so if you really, really mean it could you tonight make the sheepkin dry and the goround around it wet instead…? “
He went to sleep, and in the morning, the sheepskin was dry and the ground was wet.
Ok, God, I give in. At least I’ll have lots of soldiers fighting with me. Have you seen how many people have come to join my army? There must be twenty thousand!
“Ah yes, said God to Gideon. There are a lot of them. In fact, it seems to me there are far too many. I am with you, and you are a mighty warrior – we don’t need all those soldiers. Go out and tell them that any of them who don’t really want to fight can go home…”
“Is he crazy?” thought Gideon, but he did it, and lots of the men went home. Now there were only ten thousand.
“There” he said to God. “Is that better.”
“No” there are still too many, said God – send some more away.” So Gideon sent away a whole lot more. There were only three hundred left, and that didn’t look nearly enough to Gideon. How were they going to defeat the Midianites with that lot?
God told Gideon to go down to the enemy camp that night and listen. So he crept down when it got dark, and hid outside one of the tent. As he crouched there he heard one of the soldiers say to the other, “I’ve just had the strangest dream – I dreamt a great round barley cake came rolling into the camp and flattened all the tents. What do you think that meant?”
“That’s easy,” said the other soldier. It was about Gideon – the great warrior – coming down to attack us!”
Gideon realised that not only did God think he was the right person to lead the attack, and his own soldiers, but even the enemy thought he was a mighty warrior! So he decided he would do what God asked him.
He went back up the hill to his soldiers and he gave each of them a pottery jar and a trumpet. He sent them out to surround the enemy camp. When he gave the signal each soldier broke his jar and blew his trumpet. Can you imagine the noise of three hundred jars breaking and three hundred trumpets blasting away? It was a terrible noise!
The enemy soldiers all woke up. “Gideon is attacking!” they shouted, and ran out of their tents. But in the darkness they couldn’t see who was who and they began attacking each other. Those who could just ran away. When morning came, the Midianite army was defeated.
And Gideon had learned that he really was the leader God had wanted.
Sometimes we all feel like Gideon. We think we can’t do what we’ve been asked to. Sometimes other people believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. When we feel like that we can remember Gideon who could do far more than he thought!
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Candlemas assembly – KS 1 & 2 – Going for goals/ persistence
Take: Jam jar lanterns – one per class - with OHP pictures of Candlemas story stuck to them – the more colourful the better - including the words “Shine as a light in the world.” Battery power tea lights (or real ones).
We are just getting ready in church to mark a special time in the year. It’s called Candlemas, and it’s the very end of Christmas. Christmas probably feels a long way off by now, but we’ve been celebrating it in church, thinking about what it means all through January. If you’ve been in church you’ll see we still have our Crib up (Show photo)
But this weekend we come to the end of Christmas, and we tell a special story to think about that.
It’s a story which happened about six weeks after Jesus was born – we are now about six weeks from Christmas Day. It’s a story about two very old people, called Simeon and Anna. They spent all their time in the Temple in Jerusalem, the place where everyone gathered to pray. But they didn’t just come once a week or once a month, they were there every day. Anna even slept in the Temple. They were waiting. Waiting and waiting. What were they waiting for? They were waiting for God to come and help their people.
They looked around them and saw that people were unhappy. Roman soldiers had marched into their land and they had to do what the soldiers told them to. Often the soldiers were cruel.
Simeon and Anna saw that people often made each other unhappy too. They treated each other badly, as if they didn’t matter, especially people who were ill, or poor. It wasn’t right, and Simeon and Anna did what they could to help people, but they knew that they couldn’t do it on their own. They needed God’s help. People believed that God would send a special helper – they called him the Messiah – but when would he come, and what would he look like.
All day, every day, Simeon and Anna watched and prayed. They looked at all the people who came to the Temple, but none of them was the one.
Then one day, a little family – a man and a woman carrying a baby – came into the Temple. The baby was about six weeks old. It was baby Jesus, with Joseph and Mary. They had come to the Temple to say thank you to God for Jesus. All families did that. And when they came they brought something to offer – two pigeons. Here’s a picture of them. You can see Joseph carrying the pigeons. They felt very small – the Temple was HUGE, and it was crowded. No one would notice them. But someone did. Simeon and Anna. Something told them that this little baby was the one they had been waiting for. They pushed through the crowds towards them.
Simeon took the baby in his arms and said. “This is the one I have been waiting for. Now I can die happy, because I have seen that God is coming to help our people, and people all over the world. He will be like a bright light shining for everyone.” Anna told everyone around that this child would be very special when he grew up, someone would help them to live right.
Mary and Joseph didn’t know what to make of it at all, but they remembered Simeon and Anna and what they had said as Jesus grew up, and thought about it.
Candlemas is a time when we remember Simeon and Anna too. They had to wait and watch, to be patient and keep going, not giving up, so that they could see Jesus. Sometimes we have to do that too. It is easy to give up when things are difficult. But Simeon and Anna trusted that help would come, and that helped them to keep going.
Prayer: give out jam jar lanterns to one representative of each class. As they stand at the front, pray for people who might be feeling helpless, all in the dark, and ask for help to keep going. Let the children take the jam jar lanterns back to their classes.
We are just getting ready in church to mark a special time in the year. It’s called Candlemas, and it’s the very end of Christmas. Christmas probably feels a long way off by now, but we’ve been celebrating it in church, thinking about what it means all through January. If you’ve been in church you’ll see we still have our Crib up (Show photo)
But this weekend we come to the end of Christmas, and we tell a special story to think about that.
It’s a story which happened about six weeks after Jesus was born – we are now about six weeks from Christmas Day. It’s a story about two very old people, called Simeon and Anna. They spent all their time in the Temple in Jerusalem, the place where everyone gathered to pray. But they didn’t just come once a week or once a month, they were there every day. Anna even slept in the Temple. They were waiting. Waiting and waiting. What were they waiting for? They were waiting for God to come and help their people.
They looked around them and saw that people were unhappy. Roman soldiers had marched into their land and they had to do what the soldiers told them to. Often the soldiers were cruel.
Simeon and Anna saw that people often made each other unhappy too. They treated each other badly, as if they didn’t matter, especially people who were ill, or poor. It wasn’t right, and Simeon and Anna did what they could to help people, but they knew that they couldn’t do it on their own. They needed God’s help. People believed that God would send a special helper – they called him the Messiah – but when would he come, and what would he look like.
All day, every day, Simeon and Anna watched and prayed. They looked at all the people who came to the Temple, but none of them was the one.
Then one day, a little family – a man and a woman carrying a baby – came into the Temple. The baby was about six weeks old. It was baby Jesus, with Joseph and Mary. They had come to the Temple to say thank you to God for Jesus. All families did that. And when they came they brought something to offer – two pigeons. Here’s a picture of them. You can see Joseph carrying the pigeons. They felt very small – the Temple was HUGE, and it was crowded. No one would notice them. But someone did. Simeon and Anna. Something told them that this little baby was the one they had been waiting for. They pushed through the crowds towards them.
Simeon took the baby in his arms and said. “This is the one I have been waiting for. Now I can die happy, because I have seen that God is coming to help our people, and people all over the world. He will be like a bright light shining for everyone.” Anna told everyone around that this child would be very special when he grew up, someone would help them to live right.
Mary and Joseph didn’t know what to make of it at all, but they remembered Simeon and Anna and what they had said as Jesus grew up, and thought about it.
Candlemas is a time when we remember Simeon and Anna too. They had to wait and watch, to be patient and keep going, not giving up, so that they could see Jesus. Sometimes we have to do that too. It is easy to give up when things are difficult. But Simeon and Anna trusted that help would come, and that helped them to keep going.
Prayer: give out jam jar lanterns to one representative of each class. As they stand at the front, pray for people who might be feeling helpless, all in the dark, and ask for help to keep going. Let the children take the jam jar lanterns back to their classes.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Advent, John the Baptist, Forgiveness, Getting ready for Christmas KS 1 & 2
- This morning, when your mum or dad or whoever brings you to school said to you – it’s time to go to school – were you ready to go?
- Did any of your mums or dads have to say “come on, hurry up… we’ll be late!”?
- What did you have to do to get ready to come to school? (waking up, dressing, eating breakfast, finding book bag, lunch etc.)
Going to school isn’t just a matter of going out of the house – otherwise you’d all be here in your pyjamas. There are things you have to do to get ready to come to school, things you have to do to get ready for all sorts of things.
- What might you need to do to get ready to play football/ go swimming/ do some cooking/ put on a school play?
There’s someone in the Bible who told people to get ready – not for school or cooking or football, though.
His name was John and he lived at the time of Jesus. He lived at a time when the people in his land were very unhappy. Roman soldiers were occupying the land and telling them what to do. They wanted to be free. Even if they could get the Romans out, though, life would be very hard for some of them. If you were rich it was all right, but if you were poor then no one seemed to care about you, no one wanted to listen to you. People longed for God to help them, for something to happen that would make their lives better, for the world to change, but they didn’t know how that could happen..
John was a prophet – someone who listened to God and told people what God wanted to say to them. One day, John started to say to them, “God is sending someone to you to help you – it’s a new start for you if you want it, but you’ve got to get ready for him.”
“How can we get ready?” they asked.
“You want him to make the world a fairer place –you need to learn to live fairly yourselves, so you can help him, because it takes practice to do the right things. If you’ve got more than you need and someone else has less, you need to share. If you have been a bully, you need to learn to treat people with respect instead. God’s giving us a new start, but we’ve got to be ready for it.”
Some of the people he talked to thought that sounded much too difficult. They were used to their lives the way they were. They wanted things to be different, but they didn’t really want to change.
Others though, decided that they did want to be ready. So to show that, John took them out to the River Jordan and dipped them under the water – he baptised them – as a sign that their old lives and their old ways of doing things were washed away. And when Jesus came along, telling people about God’s love for them and how they should love one another, they were ready to follow him.
During Advent we are looking forward to Christmas time – counting down. Show Advent calendars, candles, Jesse tree). We are excited about Christmas presents and Christmas trees and decorations, so we are getting ready for all that.
But Christians are also thinking about being ready to do the things Jesus tells us to, trying to make the world fair, loving other people.
Advent for Christians is a special thinking time. In church the stole I wear is the thinking colour – purple – and that’s the colour we have on the altar. You’ll see it when you come for your school service in church. In Advent, as we count down towards Christmas, we pray for and we think about the ways we need to change, to become better people. We think about things we have done that we are sorry about and ask for God’s help so we will be ready to follow Jesus and do the kind of things he did.
Pray – think quietly about something we’ve done that we are sorry about. Think about people in the world who are unhappy. Ask God to help us to be ready to do things to make the world fair.
Friday, 20 November 2009
Naboth's Vineyard. Bullying / Christ the King / Using power wisely KS 1&2
Naboth’s vineyard
1 Kings 21 (Barnabus schools bible 171)
There was once a king and queen called King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. They were very rich and owned lots of land and houses. But King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were also very greedy. And they thought being king and queen meant they could have whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it. They would clap their hands and their servants would come running – “yes, your majesties, no, your majesties, anything you want, your majesties…”
One day Ahab looked out of one of the windows of the palace and saw a vineyard just beyond the palace walls. The grape vines in the vineyard were growing well. It was good soil, and so convenient. Ahab thought to himself. “I would like that piece of ground for myself. It would make a lovely garden for me. Think of the tasty vegetables I could grow there…And if I want it, I should have it!”
So Ahab clapped his hands. The servants came running in. Find out who owns that vineyard, he said. The servants went and found out. He was a man named Naboth, and his family had farmed that piece of land for many generations.
The king went straight to Naboth’s house. “Naboth, - give me your vineyard!” he said. But Naboth said that he wouldn’t – it had been in his family for many years and he wanted to pass it on to his children. “ I’ll pay you well for it!” said the king. But Naboth wouldn’t sell. “I’ll buy you a better vineyard!” But Naboth loved his vineyard – he didn’t want to give it up, and it provided well for his family.
King Ahab was furious. He stormed out of Naboth’s house and went straight home. He went into his room, slammed the door and lay down on his bed and sulked…He wouldn’t eat anything or talk to anyone. He just couldn’t understand it! He was king, after all!
Eventually Queen Jezebel came to see what the matter was. Ahab explained. “Now then, dear. We are king and queen. We aren’t going to let a little nobody like Naboth stop us having what we want, are we? You just leave it to me – I’ll get you that vineyard.”
So Jezebel thought up a plan. She summoned lots of people to a great gathering, including Naboth, but she paid a couple of people to come to the gathering to to make trouble for Naboth. When everyone was gathered there, they stood up and started accusing him of all sorts of things he hadn’t done, terrible things. The rest of the people believed them, and they carried Naboth off and killed him and threw his family off their land.
When Jezebel heard her plan had worked she went straight to King Ahab. “Naboth is dead, and all he owns is yours now! I told you I’d get you your vineyard!”
Ahab was really pleased.and went straight off to look at his new land.
But as he strolled around thinking about the things he would grow there, really pleased with himself, he saw someone coming towards him. It was Elijah, the prophet. Elijah had been praying that day and as he prayed he heard God’s voice telling him what had happened. Go to Naboth’s vineyard, said God, and tell him what I think of the way he has treated Naboth…”
You may be pleased with yourself, Ahab, but God isn’t pleased with you and Jezebel. You bullied Naboth and had him killed just so you could have another garden. Well, God says that because of the way you have behaved, he will take the kingdom from your family. All you have will be given to others too!
Ahab suddenly realised what he and Jezebel had done, and he felt terribly, terribly sorry. God decided to give him another chance. But in the end he didn’t change his ways, and everything happened just Elijah had said – he and Jezebel lost everything.
• What do you think of Ahab and Jezebel?
• They had lots of power, but instead of using it to help they used it to get more things for themselves.
• We might not be kings and queens but we all have power to make other people happy or sad. We can use it to bully them or to help them.
• If linking with Christ the King: Jesus said to his followers that we should use our power to help others. Sometimes we call Jesus our King, but he isn’t a king like Ahab, but one who wants to help us.
Pray for kings and queens and leaders, and for all of us that we will use our power to help.
1 Kings 21 (Barnabus schools bible 171)
There was once a king and queen called King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. They were very rich and owned lots of land and houses. But King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were also very greedy. And they thought being king and queen meant they could have whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it. They would clap their hands and their servants would come running – “yes, your majesties, no, your majesties, anything you want, your majesties…”
One day Ahab looked out of one of the windows of the palace and saw a vineyard just beyond the palace walls. The grape vines in the vineyard were growing well. It was good soil, and so convenient. Ahab thought to himself. “I would like that piece of ground for myself. It would make a lovely garden for me. Think of the tasty vegetables I could grow there…And if I want it, I should have it!”
So Ahab clapped his hands. The servants came running in. Find out who owns that vineyard, he said. The servants went and found out. He was a man named Naboth, and his family had farmed that piece of land for many generations.
The king went straight to Naboth’s house. “Naboth, - give me your vineyard!” he said. But Naboth said that he wouldn’t – it had been in his family for many years and he wanted to pass it on to his children. “ I’ll pay you well for it!” said the king. But Naboth wouldn’t sell. “I’ll buy you a better vineyard!” But Naboth loved his vineyard – he didn’t want to give it up, and it provided well for his family.
King Ahab was furious. He stormed out of Naboth’s house and went straight home. He went into his room, slammed the door and lay down on his bed and sulked…He wouldn’t eat anything or talk to anyone. He just couldn’t understand it! He was king, after all!
Eventually Queen Jezebel came to see what the matter was. Ahab explained. “Now then, dear. We are king and queen. We aren’t going to let a little nobody like Naboth stop us having what we want, are we? You just leave it to me – I’ll get you that vineyard.”
So Jezebel thought up a plan. She summoned lots of people to a great gathering, including Naboth, but she paid a couple of people to come to the gathering to to make trouble for Naboth. When everyone was gathered there, they stood up and started accusing him of all sorts of things he hadn’t done, terrible things. The rest of the people believed them, and they carried Naboth off and killed him and threw his family off their land.
When Jezebel heard her plan had worked she went straight to King Ahab. “Naboth is dead, and all he owns is yours now! I told you I’d get you your vineyard!”
Ahab was really pleased.and went straight off to look at his new land.
But as he strolled around thinking about the things he would grow there, really pleased with himself, he saw someone coming towards him. It was Elijah, the prophet. Elijah had been praying that day and as he prayed he heard God’s voice telling him what had happened. Go to Naboth’s vineyard, said God, and tell him what I think of the way he has treated Naboth…”
You may be pleased with yourself, Ahab, but God isn’t pleased with you and Jezebel. You bullied Naboth and had him killed just so you could have another garden. Well, God says that because of the way you have behaved, he will take the kingdom from your family. All you have will be given to others too!
Ahab suddenly realised what he and Jezebel had done, and he felt terribly, terribly sorry. God decided to give him another chance. But in the end he didn’t change his ways, and everything happened just Elijah had said – he and Jezebel lost everything.
• What do you think of Ahab and Jezebel?
• They had lots of power, but instead of using it to help they used it to get more things for themselves.
• We might not be kings and queens but we all have power to make other people happy or sad. We can use it to bully them or to help them.
• If linking with Christ the King: Jesus said to his followers that we should use our power to help others. Sometimes we call Jesus our King, but he isn’t a king like Ahab, but one who wants to help us.
Pray for kings and queens and leaders, and for all of us that we will use our power to help.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Bartimaeus - listening and showing we are listening - KS1 &2
Bartimaeus – Listening 08/10/2009
Shut your eyes and listen – what can you hear?
(sounds, inside and out, gather responses)
What can you tell me about the things you heard (e.g.was the bird you heard singing inside the hall, or outside – near or far away?)
We can tell a lot by listening.
Ask for volunteers - 3 or 4 children – stationed around the hall. Tell them you want them to clap twice if you point to them. Other children close eyes – tell the children that when they hear one of the children clapping they are to point, without opening eyes, to where the sound came from. Then can open eyes to see if everyone agrees. Repeat a few times.
We are good at listening. Can tell a lot from the sounds around us.
Tell story of Bartimaeus. Mark 10.41-52
Bartimaeus was blind. Difficult at the time of Jesus – no one to help him. Had to ask others for money to live on. Bartimaeus was very good at listening though – knew the sounds around him. He couldn’t see, but there was a lot he could tell about the world around him by listening, just like we did just now
Ask children to close eyes.
Bartimaeus could hear all sorts of sounds around him. Dogs barking, people coming and going, knew people by their voices.
One day could hear from their voices that they were excited. Kept hearing name – Jesus – Jesus is coming. Bartimaeus had heard that name before. Jesus – healer and helper.
Bartimaeus wanted to meet Jesus, but didn’t know where he was. Called out. Crowd told him to shut up. Didn’t want to listen to him. Bartimaeus kept calling out – “help me, Jesus!”
Then Bartimaeus heard a voice calling out “Tell him to come here.” Someone helped Bartimaeus get up and he went towards the voice he’d heard. Jesus said “What do you want me to do?” “Make me see again” – And Jesus did.
Bartimaeus opened his eyes.
Ask children to open their eyes.
And there was Jesus in front of him. Bartimaeus was very happy that Jesus had listened to him.
Bartimaeus was a good listener – Jesus was also a good listener. He listened to Bartimaeus when everyone else wanted him to shut up, and he did what Bartimaeus wanted, helped him and healed him.
PRAYER
Begin prayer with quiet.
Help us to listen to each other, and to show we are listening by helping each other.
Shut your eyes and listen – what can you hear?
(sounds, inside and out, gather responses)
What can you tell me about the things you heard (e.g.was the bird you heard singing inside the hall, or outside – near or far away?)
We can tell a lot by listening.
Ask for volunteers - 3 or 4 children – stationed around the hall. Tell them you want them to clap twice if you point to them. Other children close eyes – tell the children that when they hear one of the children clapping they are to point, without opening eyes, to where the sound came from. Then can open eyes to see if everyone agrees. Repeat a few times.
We are good at listening. Can tell a lot from the sounds around us.
Tell story of Bartimaeus. Mark 10.41-52
Bartimaeus was blind. Difficult at the time of Jesus – no one to help him. Had to ask others for money to live on. Bartimaeus was very good at listening though – knew the sounds around him. He couldn’t see, but there was a lot he could tell about the world around him by listening, just like we did just now
Ask children to close eyes.
Bartimaeus could hear all sorts of sounds around him. Dogs barking, people coming and going, knew people by their voices.
One day could hear from their voices that they were excited. Kept hearing name – Jesus – Jesus is coming. Bartimaeus had heard that name before. Jesus – healer and helper.
Bartimaeus wanted to meet Jesus, but didn’t know where he was. Called out. Crowd told him to shut up. Didn’t want to listen to him. Bartimaeus kept calling out – “help me, Jesus!”
Then Bartimaeus heard a voice calling out “Tell him to come here.” Someone helped Bartimaeus get up and he went towards the voice he’d heard. Jesus said “What do you want me to do?” “Make me see again” – And Jesus did.
Bartimaeus opened his eyes.
Ask children to open their eyes.
And there was Jesus in front of him. Bartimaeus was very happy that Jesus had listened to him.
Bartimaeus was a good listener – Jesus was also a good listener. He listened to Bartimaeus when everyone else wanted him to shut up, and he did what Bartimaeus wanted, helped him and healed him.
PRAYER
Begin prayer with quiet.
Help us to listen to each other, and to show we are listening by helping each other.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)