Category Archives: Stories from the Bible

God’s special messengers – Amos

Topic

Amos

Aim

To help children understand that selfishness can seriously damage your health!

Things you’ll need

  • Blu-tack
  • 3 sheets of A1 paper
  • A length of wallpaper
  • A spirit level
  • A length of string with weight attached to make a plumb-line
  • A stick of coloured chalk
  • A few marker pens

Bible base

Amos 7:7,8

Preparation

Before the assembly begins, use Blu-tack to attach the A1 sheets of paper to a wall (so that they are visible to everyone), so that you make one large work surface. Also attach Blu-tack to the back of the piece of wallpaper ready for use during the assembly.

Content

1 Hold up the spirit level and ask the children if they know what it is and what it’s used for.

2 Ask the children what would happen if we didn’t build things level. Ask for two helpers. Tell them that you want them to check that the spirit level is working properly. Send them together to different parts of the hall/room you are meeting in, to inspect the window frames, door frames, shelves etc and check whether they are level. Get them to inspect four items. Have one child check two items, with the other reporting back to you. Then swap round and check two more items.

3 Explain that before the spirit level was invented, builders would use a length of string with a heavy weight attached to one end to give them a straight line. Show the children your plumb-line. Ask if anyone knows what it’s called.

4 Demonstrate its use in the following way:

a) chalk heavily along the length of the string;

b) ask someone to hold the end of the string against the sheets of paper attached to the wall;

c) when the weight has stopped moving, hold it still against the paper and ask a volunteer to ‘ping’ along the length of the line, so that you finish with a straight chalk line printed onto the paper.

Remove the plumb-line.

5 Ask for a few volunteers who think that they can draw a straight line free hand on the paper. Give them each a marker pen and ask them to draw a vertical or horizontal line (drawing over the chalk line doesn’t count!). Ask the rest of the children to judge which is the straightest line. Check their choice with the plumb-line or spirit level. Give a round of applause to the person who gets nearest to straight.

6 Use the chalk line (if it’s still there) or draw a new vertical line as a guide for hanging the sheet of wallpaper. Explain that you are going to put up this piece of wallpaper using the line you’ve drawn to make sure that it goes up straight. Line up your paper, then press it onto the wall.

7 Explain that if you continued to paper along this wall, all the pieces of wallpaper would be straight, just because of that one line. (Don’t mention papering around corners!)

8 Tell the children about Amos, one of God’s special messengers, and his message from God about a plumb-line.

Nearly 3,000 years ago, the prophet Amos had a sad job of work to do for God. As a prophet, he had to give messages to people about how God wanted them to live and what he wanted them to be like. Sometimes this was very difficult to do.

9 At this point read, or ask someone else to read, Amos 7:7,8. Then continue telling the children about Amos:

God showed Amos a plumb-line, just like we used, to show that the wall that had been built was straight. God was saying through Amos that it was as if he was measuring his special people, the Jews, against a plumb-line.

Remind the children that a plumb-line helps you get things right and see when things aren’t quite right. Ask the children for their ideas about why God would compare his people to a plumb-line.

10 Explain that the Bible says that God had given his people a way of living which was the very best for them, and they had agreed to live that way. Ask the children to imagine that the plumb-line represents that way of living. Now move the piece of wallpaper so that it’s crooked, and say that the piece of wallpaper represents the people.

11 Pointing to the crooked wallpaper, ask the children who (or what) has moved. (Answer: the wallpaper.) Or – in the case of God and his people – the people had moved away from the straight line. They had decided to do things their own way and had chosen to ignore God. They were no longer on the level. Their ways were not straight! They were moving away from God. God knew this and told Amos to show the people this picture of the plumb-line to help them understand what they were doing and how sad it made God.

Application

A Christian viewpoint

  1. The Bible says that God’s people had promised to obey him and live the way he said. Like most of us, they thought they knew what was best and decided to ignore God’s rules for living. Through his messenger Amos, God said that there would be very serious consequences for everyone who carried on breaking their promises to him, doing things that hurt him and other people.
  2. It’s the same for people today. God has given us good rules for living. If we ignore them and insist on living our own way, we hurt ourselves and other people.

For everyone

Compare the plumb-line to the rules of the road. The Highway Code says you must stop when the lights are red. Some road-users take a risk and ‘jump’ a red traffic light, hoping that they will get away with breaking the rule. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. Accidents happen because people choose to disobey the signals (or rules). Or you might get caught on camera and then be prosecuted by the courts. These things happen because people choose to break the rules, which are there to protect everyone. Explain how the plumb-line is a bit like those rules.

Response

  1. Ask the children to look at the crooked piece of wallpaper – which should still be on the wall. Ask them to follow the line of the paper from top to bottom.
  2. Now ask them to think for a few moments about what their school (home, local community, country etc) would be like if we all chose to ignore the rules.
  3. Straighten the wallpaper and ask them to think again about the difference it makes when we try to live life ‘on the level’.

 

God’s special messengers – Jeremiah

Topic

Jeremiah

Aim

To challenge children to stop and think about whether something is good, rather than just being carried along by the enthusiasm of others for whatever is new.

Things you’ll need

  • Bold, clear adverts for new products (eg latest fashions, sportswear, toys or games, pop groups/songs etc), or a selection of new, ‘latest’ products to show.
  • A simple signpost, made out of card, pointing in two directions with a space to add the word ‘good’ during the assembly.
  • Words from Jeremiah 6:16, Youth Bible, Nelson Word copied onto a large sheet of paper, and rolled up like a scroll

Bible base

Jeremiah 6:16

Content

1 Show the adverts for, or examples of, a variety of the ‘latest’, ‘new’ things, which are also popular. Invite the children to comment on the various items. Ask why they think the things are ‘good’. Do they like them/want them because ‘everyone’ likes/has them?

2 Talk about being in a crowd when everyone is going in one direction and how hard it is to go the opposite way. Then show the signpost. Talk about coming to a crossroads where you have to stop and choose which way to go.

3 Talk to the children about Jeremiah, using the following idea, adapting the style and vocabulary to suit the particular situation:

Over two and a half thousand years ago a man called Jeremiah was living in the country we now call Israel. We can read about him in the Bible. He was a prophet– one of God’s special messengers. He listened very carefully to God and then told the people what God had said.

Long before Jeremiah was born, God had given the people some very good instructions about how to live. He had told them about what was really important in life– loving God and caring for each other. But by Jeremiah’s time they had forgotten all about God’s rules. They were greedy, always wanting more things. They told lies. They didn’t care about helping poor people. They certainly didn’t love God. God’s rules were ‘old’. They were rushing through life towards something ‘new’.

One day, God told Jeremiah to give the people this message.

Ask the children to listen carefully. Then read the Jeremiah’s message from the scroll (Jeremiah 6:16).

This is what the Lord says:

‘Stand where the roads cross and look.

Ask where the old way is,

where the good way is, and walk on it.

If you do, you will find rest for yourselves.’

4 Show the children the signpost again. Remind them that the message told the people to do several things. Ask the children what these things were. Talk about each as the children respond, explaining as appropriate. The instructions were to:

  • stand still and look (comment that if we’re always rushing from one thing to the next, we’ll never have time to think about what we’re doing);
  • ask where the ‘old way’ is;
  • ask where the ‘good way’ is.(write ‘good’ on the signpost);
  • walk on it.

5 Ask the children if they remember what the promise was at the end of the message (‘…you will find rest for yourselves’). Explain that the word ‘rest’ here doesn’t mean resting your body. It means being peaceful inside yourself– being at peace with God.

Application

A Christian viewpoint

Even though Jeremiah’s message was given thousands of years ago, Christians believe it is still important today to take his message from God seriously. They believe that God’s way is the best way. The Bible is a book full of instructions about how to live God’s way, the good way. Christians believe that Jesus gave us an example of how to do that. For Christians, Jeremiah’s message from God reminds them to stop and take time to read the Bible to find out what God says ‘the good way’ is– and then to follow it!

For everyone

For all of us, it is good to stop sometimes and think about what we are doing, to think about what ‘the good way’ is, and then to go that way.

Response

Ask the children to look at the signpost and think about what they have been doing recently. Have they been walking along ‘the good way’? In a few moments of quiet, ask the children to think about whether there is something in their lives they need to change.

 

God’s special messengers – Isaiah

Topic

Isaiah

Aim

To help pupils see the difference between appearing to do good and actually doing good.

Things you’ll need

Bible Base

Isaiah 58:1-9a

Preparation

Before the assembly, scatter the pieces of paper around at the front so that it makes a mess. Place some of the paper on top of things (the piano, window-sill etc) so the pupils will notice it.

Content

1 Ask for a volunteer to come and clear up all the rubbish and say that you will help. Give him/her the rubbish sack. As your volunteer starts clearing up, tell the rest of the pupils what a kind person you are and how you are going to help (but don’t!). Go on about how nice and helpful you are and how you can’t wait to help clear up. Pause after a while and ask the volunteer if a brush would make it easier to collect up the rubbish. Give him/her the paint brush. As the volunteer finishes clearing up, carry on telling the pupils how helpful you are. Just as your volunteer finishes, say that you’re now ready to help. Then thank your volunteer for all their work.

2 Ask the children who they think was the most helpful: you or your volunteer. Argue your case by saying that you said you were helpful, and you even gave the volunteer a brush to help.

3 Make the point that it’s quite easy to appear to be doing good – working when the teacher is looking, not running down the corridor when you’re being watched. Sometimes, though, people seem to be doing good, when really they’re not.

4 Tell the children that in the Bible we read about one of God’s messengers (prophets) called Isaiah. God had seen that people thought they were being good, when really they weren’t. God knew what was going on and he sent Isaiah to tell them. Tell the story, using pictures if possible.

The people of Israel were worshipping God every day. They would pray to God and promise to keep God’s laws. They even had special festivals when they fasted and prayed, but God never seemed to answer their prayers so they started to complain.

It was then that God sent Isaiah with a message. God wasn’t pleased with them, because even though they were worshipping God, fasting and looking as if they were being good, they were actually being horrible to each other. They were fighting, arguing and bullying people. They looked as if they were doing what was right and good, but in fact, they weren’t. God told them that real worship would mean caring for each other, sharing their food with the hungry and looking after people who were homeless and hungry. God told them that if they did that, he would always be with them to protect them.

Application

A Christian viewpoint

Christians believe that the Bible teaches God still wants people to worship him today, and to care for those in need. It’s no good people saying they will do what God wants, and then not doing it. The Bible says that being a Christian means loving God and caring for others.

For everyone

Whoever we are, it’s easy to look as if we are a caring person. Talking about caring for others is easy. The real challenge is to do it: to be friends with someone at school who has no friends; to share your crisps with someone who hasn’t got any; to be the kind of person who doesn’t just say you care, but actually does.

Response

Ask the pupils to think of a time when they have pretended to do good, but haven’t really. Now ask them to think of any ways in which they can do good things for others today and during the week.

End with a prayer saying sorry for the times they’ve not really done the right thing, and asking for God’s help to care for others during the day.

 

God’s special messengers – Samuel

Topic

Samuel

Aim

To help children understand that Christians believe God cares about who we are, not just what we look like.

Things you’ll need

  • Some objects with unexpected things inside, for example:

– 1 or 2 food cartons/boxes which will be familiar to the children. Replace the contents with something the children won’t like;

– a tasty looking apple. Make a hole in the bottom of the apple with a knitting needle. Squeeze a little ink from an ink cartridge into the hole and let it soak in. Turn the apple up the right way on a paper towel to allow any excess ink to drain away.

  • Pictures of a chrysalis and a butterfly
  • Pictures of different kinds of people

Bible base

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Content

1 Show the items you have prepared and talk about the way they look on the outside– their ‘outward appearance’. Reveal what is on the inside (open the packets/cut the apple in half). Show the pictures of the chrysalis, keeping the butterfly covered, and then reveal the picture of the butterfly. Make the point that in each case we couldn’t tell by looking at the outside what was going to be on the inside. We often make the mistake of judging people by what they look like on the outside.

2 Tell the story of Samuel using 1 Samuel 16:1-13.

Samuel was a prophet– one of God’s special messengers In the land where Samuel lived they needed a new king. They needed a good king who would lead the people wisely and look after them well. But how would they know who to choose?

Samuel listened very carefully to God. God told him, ‘I am sending you to Jesse who lives in Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.’ So Samuel went to Bethlehem and invited Jesse and his sons to come and see him.

When the sons arrived, the first son Samuel saw was Eliab. Eliab was tall and handsome. ‘Surely this is the one God has chosen to be king,’ Samuel said to himself. Samuel listened to God again. God told Samuel, ‘Don’t look at how handsome Eliab is. Don’t look at how tall he is. ‘I haven’t chosen him. God doesn’t see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but God looks at the heart.’

One by one, seven of Jesse’s sons came to Samuel.

‘No,’ said Samuel, ‘No…no…no…no…no…no… God hasn’t chosen any of these sons. Are these all the sons you have?’ he asked Jesse.

‘I have one more son,’ said Jesse. ‘David. My youngest. He’s out looking after the sheep.’

‘Send for him,’ said Samuel.

So Jesse sent for David. He was a fine boy, tanned and handsome. Samuel listened to God. God told him, ‘Yes. This is the one.’ And there in front of all his older brothers, Samuel poured some special oil on David to show that he was the one that God had chosen to be king, not because he was handsome, but because God knew the kind of person David was. He loved God and wanted to do the things which pleased God. He was brave and he was kind. He worked hard looking after the sheep and God knew that he would be a wise king and look after the people well too.

Application

A Christian viewpoint

Christians believe that God knows what we are really like. It’s not what we look like on the outside that is most important to him– he looks at our ‘hearts’. He knows the kind and unkind thoughts we have. He sees the things we do, even when we think no-one has noticed.

For everyone

Display the pictures of different people (young/old; male/female; different ethnic backgrounds). Talk about the pictures, pointing out that we can’t tell what a person is like just by looking at them. What’s important is not the outside of a person (their clothes or good looks), but what a person is like on the inside.

Response

In a short time of quiet, ask the children to think about themselves:

  • What do you look like on the outside?
  • What are you like on the ‘inside’?
  • What kind of person are you?
  • Think of something good about yourself.
  • Is there anything not so good that you know you could change?

 

 

Nicodemus

Topic

Nicodemus

Aim

  • To help children learn that Christians believe they can know God because of the Holy Spirit.
  • To help them begin to understand what Christians believe about the Holy Spirit.

Things you’ll need

  • An electric fan
  • Some tissue paper

Bible Base

John 3:1-8

Content

1 Turn on the fan. Comment that it makes the air move rather like the wind. Ask the children if we can see the wind. Talk about the affects of the wind (eg leaves moving on the trees.) Hold the paper in front of the fan to demonstrate.

2 Ask for two volunteers who are good at running. Ask the children which of the two volunteers they think can run on the spot for the longest. Just as they are about to start, tell one of them that he/she must hold his breath! Give a commentary on them as they are running. Stop them after a few moments if they both keep going. Thank and congratulate both participants. Ask the one who had to hold his breath what difference it made.

3 Tell the children about the Greek word pneuma. Explain that it means three different things: wind, breath and spirit. Refer back to the two illustrations about wind and breath. Introduce the story of Nicodemus:

Nicodemus was a teacher– a very important teacher. He didn’t only teach children, he taught adults as well. His job was to teach people about God. He was an extremely important Jewish leader. Everybody respected Nicodemus. He knew all about God’s rules and what the people must do…and what they mustn’t do. Good old Nicodemus!

Then Nicodemus heard about Jesus. Everyone was talking about him. Nicodemus was curious: ‘I must go and find out about this man,’ he thought to himself. But he didn’t want anyone to know this, because he was supposed to be the teacher. So he started hanging around where Jesus was, pretending to be just passing by, but really, listening carefully to what Jesus said…and watching what Jesus was doing – miracles! Blind people could see, deaf people could hear, people with all kinds of illnesses were being made well. ‘There’s something very special about this man,’ thought Nicodemus. ‘No-one could do these miracles without God’s help. I’d like to have a chat with him.’

The trouble was that Jesus wasn’t very popular with lots of the other teachers. After all, Jesus hadn’t been to university and he was only a carpenter’s son. What gave him the right to teach people about God? The other teachers also didn’t like him because crowds of people followed Jesus everywhere he went. They all wanted to hear what Jesus was teaching, and that meant they weren’t listening to them any more.

‘I can’t go and see Jesus during the day,’ thought Nicodemus. ‘I’ll go and see him at night when no one else is around.’ So, one night Nicodemus went secretly to see Jesus. He knew that Jesus had something he hadn’t got and he wanted to know what it was.

Jesus told Nicodemus that anyone who really wants to know God needs to have the Spirit of God in him.

4 Explain that Christians often call God’s Spirit ‘the Holy Spirit’ and believe that they can know God because his Spirit is with them. Ask the children if they can remember what the Greek work pneuma means. (Answer: wind, breath, spirit).

5 Talk about how God’s Spirit is like wind and breath. Ask the children why the running competition was so difficult for one of them? (Answer: Because he didn’t have any breath in him!)

Application

A Christian viewpoint

Christians believe that in order to live a life that pleases God, you need to have God’s breath or Spirit in you. Without his help it’s too hard, like trying to run without breathing.

For everyone

Anyone can ask God to help them to do what’s right.

Response

  1. Turn on the fan and allow the breeze to blow over the children. Ask them to think about the wind. Even though we can’t see it, we can feel it. Talk about how, in some ways, God being with us is like that.
  2. Think about breath that enables us to live and walk and run. Think about God being like the wind or like breath.
  3. Allow a few moments of silence, and tell the children that they may want to use the time to ask God to help them to live a life that pleases him.

 

Forgiveness – Parable of the lost son

Bible base:

Luke 15:11-32

Teaching objectives:

To show that Christians believe that God’s forgiveness is available to anyone who is truly sorry for the wrong things they have done.

You will need:

  • Big storybook visual aid.
  • The following words written in sections on separate large pieces of paper or on acetate: IN TRO DUCT ION; CIR CUM STA NCES; UND ERST AND ING; MUL TIPLI CAT ION; SOR RY.
  • A newspaper.
  • A card with the following words written on it for a pupil to read out: ‘I was wrong to leave you and spend all my money. I don’t deserve to be your son any more. Can I be your servant?’

Optional:

  • Simple costumes for characters (two sons and father, eg a baseball cap for younger son, a woolly hat for older son and a flat cap for father).

The story in this outline is an improvised drama of the Bible story involving pupils acting out the parts. It is essential that you are very familiar with the story in advance to enable you to relax and help the pupils in their improvisation. It is great fun, however, and pupils generally enjoy it and perform well!

Introductory activity:

Show the assembly each of the difficult words in a mixed-up order. Can anyone work out what the word is? (If the school you are in has a long name, you could add it to the list.)

  • IN TRO DUCT ION
  • CIR CUM STA NCES
  • UND ERST AND ING
  • MUL TIPLI CAT ION
  • SOR RY

The last word was much easier, but actually, while ‘sorry’ is not a hard word to say, it is very hard to really mean it.

Jesus told a story about saying sorry and what happens when we say sorry to God. Open the storybook visual aid if you are using it for this section.

Once upon a time there was a man. (Choose a pupil to be the father and give him his costume.) This man had a farm (ask pupils to make animal noises) and on that farm he also had two sons (choose two other pupils, preferably one older and one younger pupil and give them costumes).

Now, the father loved his sons very much (if they will, get the ‘father’ to put his arm round his ‘sons’ shoulders) and enjoyed having them around the farm with him. The father had worked very hard to build up his farm (mime digging). The older son was a hard worker too (digging) and worked out in the fields from when he woke up in the morning until he went to bed at night. The younger son, however, preferred to stay inside. In fact, not only did he prefer to stay inside, he preferred to stay in bed all day. When he woke up (mime waking up), he liked to go straight back to sleep (snore). Meanwhile, his brother and his dad did all the work (digging).

One day, however, as he lay in bed, avoiding all work, he had an idea (ask the pupil to pretend to have an idea by looking suddenly very alert.) His father, he knew, was a very wealthy man, as he had worked so hard all his life (check that the older son and father are still digging). When he died, his two sons would get all his money. So, why didn’t he go to his father now and ask him for the money? There was no point waiting until his father died – he might be too old to enjoy it by then!

So, off he went to find his dad – who was digging – to ask him for his share of the money. The younger son should go to his dad, put out his hands and ask for his money. What do you think his father said? Ask the pupils what they think.

Perhaps it’s hard to believe, but his father said yes! He gave him the money and so, the next day, the younger son packed his bags and set off on an adventure! He had never had so much money in his life! He was very excited! Ask the pupil to look very excited.

Eventually he came to a country far from home where the weather was good and the people were friendly and life was cheap, so he settled down to some serious spending! Ask the pupil to mime throwing money around.

As you can imagine, the man found it very easy to find friends when he was throwing his money around. Choose some more pupils to come to the front as his friends. All they had to do was put out their hands (mime) and he would give them as much money as they wanted. He was very popular!

Meanwhile, back at home, while his older brother worked in the fields (mime digging) his father would sometimes stop and think about his younger son. He would look out along the road, hoping to see him coming home (ask the pupil to mime shielding his eyes to look out into the distance).

One day, when the younger son was out with all his new friends, not thinking about his old dad at all, he suddenly realised that he had no money left – his pockets were completely empty (mime). And now that he had no money left, his new friends were not so interested in him any more and off they went to find someone else to be their friend. Ask the other pupils to sit at the side for the rest of the story. They had only liked him because he gave them money. The younger son was very sad (mime.)

For the first time in his life he was going to have to do some work! So, he looked in the paper to see what job he could do (give the pupil a newspaper). He didn’t want to do anything too hard or messy, but the only thing that he could find, after much searching, was the most disgusting job he could think of: feeding pigs.

Yuck! It was such a smelly job that he had to hold his nose with one hand while feeding the pigs with the other (mime). He got paid almost nothing and gradually the younger son got weaker and weaker, and more and more hungry, until he sat down and cried (mime).

What was he doing? He started to think of home where, as we all know, his brother and his father were working (mime digging) and felt very sad. Why had he run away and wasted all his money? Even his dad’s servants had a better life than he had now.

But he was scared to go home. What would his dad say? Would he be cross? He didn’t deserve to be taken back by his father.

But then, he had an idea (mime having an idea again). What if he went back and asked his dad to take him on as a servant? Then he would be back at home, near his dad and his brother, and he wouldn’t be as hungry and miserable as he was now.

So, he picked himself up (mime), dusted himself down (mime) and set off on the long journey home (mime).

Meanwhile, back at home, can you guess what was happening? His brother was digging (mime) and his dad was doing some digging (mime) while also looking out along the road (mime), in the hope that his younger son might eventually come back.

The younger son walked and walked and walked (mime) until he thought he could walk no more! Just as he was getting too tired and hungry and weak to go on, he suddenly spotted something on the horizon. It was his home! He was so excited that, even though he was so tired, he jumped for joy (mime)! He was nervous about seeing his dad, but he had his lines ready. He’d been practising it the whole way home! Give the pupil the card to read out. When he saw his dad he would say:

(Pupil reads) ‘I was wrong to leave you and spend all my money. I don’t deserve to be your son any more. Can I be your servant?’

Back at the farm, his dad too had caught sight of something exciting. Father should be shielding his eyes and looking into the distance. As he looked down the road, he thought he saw his son in the distance! And as the person got closer, he knew for sure that it was his son! He too jumped for joy (mime) and ran out to meet his son (mime).

When they met, his father gave him a huge hug! (It is unlikely that the pupils will act this out!) The son told his father what he had been practising all the way home:

Pupil should repeat the words on the card:

‘I was wrong to leave you and spend all my money. I don’t deserve to be your son any more. Can I be your servant?’

But his father loved him so much that he was delighted to have him back as his son! He ordered his servants to prepare a huge party and get the best clothes for his younger son and invited everyone to come and join the celebration. The father and younger son should start pretending to dance!

The older son, meanwhile, was still out in the fields, digging (mime), and when he heard the party, he was very cross. He had worked for his father for years and yet when his little brother came home, having wasted everything, he got a party! He was raging (mime)!

But his father went out to him and asked him to come in and join the party. Father should go over to the older son and invite him to the party.

The man had two sons, and he loved them both. One of them had always been there, and everything the father had was his, but he had to celebrate when the son he had lost came home again!

Thank the pupils for their help and ask them to take their seats again.

The younger son knew that he had been stupid and had given up all that he had at home to go off and do his own thing. He had to be ready to go back and say sorry. But the father loved him so much that he was just pleased to have him back. He didn’t want to punish him – he wanted to celebrate!

In the Bible Jesus said that this story was a picture of what God thinks about us. He said that God is like the father and loves us so much that he wants to forgive us when we come to him to say sorry for the things we do that are wrong.

As we said at the beginning, sorry is a very hard thing to say, both to God and to other people. But Christians believe that we don’t need to be scared of saying sorry to God because he loves us and will forgive us.

Optional prayer time:

Thank God that he will forgive us when we say sorry to him.

Power over nature – calming the storm

Bible base:

Luke 8:22-25

Teaching objectives:

To show that the Bible says Jesus had power to control nature.

You will need:

Ten A4 pieces of paper each with a letter of the word IMPOSSIBLE written on it.

Introductory activity:

Nature Quiz. Show the pupils each letter in turn and give them the corresponding clue. The letters make up the word ‘IMPOSSIBLE’. When a pupil gives you the right answer, call them to the front to hold up the appropriate letter.

  • P A black and white bird which cannot fly and lives at the South Pole (penguin)
  • I A large floating piece of frozen water near the North or South Pole (iceberg)
  • M It shines brightly at night (moon)
  • O Round juicy fruit with a thick brightly coloured skin (orange)
  • S Ball of fire in the sky that gives us light (sun)
  • L A big cat with a furry mane (lion)
  • S Creature that spins a web (spider)
  • I Small six-legged creature (insect)
  • E Another name for the world (earth)
  • B Feathered creature (bird)

What do the letters spell? Unscramble them to find out. (IMPOSSIBLE)

Take the letters from the pupils and display them at the front to be referred to later. Ask the pupils to take their seats again.

Each of these things is amazing – it would be impossible for us to make any of them ourselves. We can alter our world or damage it through pollution and misuse, but we can never really control it.

Tell the story of Jesus calming the storm from Luke 8:22-25, as outlined below. Encourage pupil participation when they hear the following prompts, asking them to stop when you give them the signal:

  • ‘asleep’ snore
  • ‘boat’ sway from side to side
  • ‘afraid’ scream
  • ‘wind’ blow
  • ‘storm’ divide assembly into four groups to make the following sounds:
  • ‘whoosh!’, ‘swish’, tapping floor with fingers, clapping

One day, after Jesus had been talking to large crowds of people, he suggested to the disciples that they take a boat out and cross over to the other side of the lake. Now, the disciples thought this was a great idea. The people had been around for ages and they were really quite tired and glad of an excuse to get away for a bit. So, they all got into the boat and set off across the lake. The further out from shore they got, the more the boat swayed, and before they knew it, Jesus had fallen sound asleep.

Soon the disciples too began to get a bit drowsy. But before they could fall asleep, they noticed a small cloud in the distance. Soon the small cloud became a huge black cloud and the wind began to blow. The wind got stronger and stronger, the waves grew higher and higher and the disciples grew more and more afraid. Suddenly, they were in the middle of a huge storm and they were all afraid for their lives!

All, that is, except Jesus. Throughout it all, as the wind blew and the boat lurched from side to side and the storm raged, Jesus was still asleep! What were they to do? Jesus was supposed to be their leader- he had done so many amazing things – and now they were all going to drown while he slept!

Quickly, they woke him up shouting, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’ You may wish to get the assembly to shout these words out.

When Jesus looked at the sea and saw the huge storm that had blown up, he told it to stop – and it did! Signal for them to stop abruptly.

‘Where is your faith?’ Jesus asked them. Jesus wanted his disciples to trust him. And when the disciples saw that the wind had died down, they were amazed and asked themselves who exactly this man could be, that even nature obeyed Him!

All the things we talked about at the beginning of the assembly are amazing parts of the natural world that it would be impossible for us to control. Yet the Bible teaches that Jesus had power even over nature!

Optional prayer time:

Lead the pupils in the following prayer, encouraging them to keep looking to the front and shouting out ‘impossible!’ when you point to it.

‘Lord Jesus, thank you that nothing is impossible for you. Thank you that you have power over nature, power over illness, power over everything! When we think that something is impossible, help us to come to you and ask you for help. With your help, nothing is impossible!’

As an alternative to praying, say the following statement about Christian belief, encouraging the pupils to shout out ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ with you:

Christians believe that nothing is IMPOSSIBLE for God. They believe that he has power over nature, power over illness, power over everything! Sometimes we come across things in life that we think are IMPOSSIBLE – Christians believe that God can help us, even with these IMPOSSIBLE things.

 

Power over sin – healing the paralysed man

Bible base:

Luke 5:17-26

Teaching objectives:

To show that the Bible says Jesus had exceptional power to forgive the things that we do wrong. This backed up His claim to be the Son of God.

You will need:

  • A stereo that does not work (if that is hard to find, detach the wiring in the plug, but leave the plug attached to the flex.
  • A jacket with the words ‘I can’t walk’ attached with safety pins to the outside and ‘I have done things that are wrong’, ‘I have bad attitudes’ and ‘I am not perfect’ safety-pinned to the inside.

Introductory activity:

Show the stereo to the pupils and tell them that you are going to play some great music to them (you could get quite excited about this!). Make sure that the stereo is not plugged in and that this is visible to the assembly. Also, make sure that there is no CD in the player. Make a big show of pressing play and then pretend to be confused because nothing happens. Can they spot what is wrong?

Once they have spotted that it is not plugged in and you have fixed this, press play again and wait for the music. Can anyone guess what’s wrong this time? Open the CD player to check that the CD is in correctly, but of course, the CD is not there.

Put a CD in the player and again build up to pressing ‘play’ and waiting for the music. What is wrong this time? The CD player is plugged in, the CD is in, but it still will not play.

The CD player is broken inside. Although it looks fine on the outside, and although all the obvious problems are now fixed, there is still a bigger problem inside.

Today’s story from the Bible is about a man who had two problems, one obvious and one hidden inside.

Choose a volunteer to come to the front and dress them in the jacket with the words ‘I can’t walk’ visible to the assembly. Ask them to sit on a seat at the front.

Everyone who walked past this man as he sat in the street knew what the problem was, because it was obvious. Everyone could see that he couldn’t walk. This problem was on the outside.

But, just like the stereo, this man also had problem inside, although he may not have realised exactly what this problem was. Actually, this is a problem that we all have.

Although this man could not walk and run about with his friends, he did have some very special friends who cared for him and spent time with him. These friends wanted to do anything they could to help their friend to walk again. They knew that Jesus had helped lots of people, and so they took their friend to him.

They had to try really hard to get to Jesus. He was so popular that the house where He was staying was packed with people. They actually had to go up on the roof and lower their friend down on his mat to Jesus. I wonder what they thought Jesus would say? He had healed lots of people simply by saying something. Would he just say ‘Get up’, or would he touch the man’s feet and say ‘be healed’?

Jesus actually said a very strange thing! He said:

‘My friend, your sins are forgiven.’

Sin means anything we have done or said or thought that makes us less than perfect. Ask the members of staff in the assembly if anyone in the room is perfect. No one is perfect. We have all done some of the wrong things the Bible calls ‘sin’.

So, when Jesus said that the man’s sins were forgiven, he meant that all the things he had done or said or thought in the past that were less than perfect were forgotten about by God!

Some people were very cross! Who did Jesus think he was? How could he say that he forgave him for everything he had ever done wrong? They believed only God could do that.

The answer is in the hidden problem that this man had inside. Just like the stereo which was not plugged in, there was something very obvious wrong with the man – he could not walk. But what was wrong inside was more serious. Ask the volunteer to open the jacket to reveal the words written inside – ‘I have done things that are wrong’, ‘I have bad attitudes’, ‘I am not perfect’.

These were the problems that Jesus was dealing with first, because they were more serious than the problem which everyone else could see.

Once Jesus had forgiven the man, he did tell him to pick up his mat and walk home. And that is exactly what the man did! The man went home healed, not just on the outside, but on the inside too.

As you are saying this, take the jacket from the pupil and ask them to return to their seat.Put the jacket on yourself. Take the sign from the outside.

As a Christian, I believe that the problems that I have on the outside may be different to those of the man in the story, but the problem on the inside is the same for everyone. Christians believe that Jesus can deal with all the other problems in our life too, but the main thing he wants to deal with first is the problem on the inside. What is that problem? It’s the fact that we aren’t perfect and have done and said things that are wrong – what the Bible calls ‘sin’. Christians believe that God wants to forgive us, just as Jesus forgave the man in today’s story.

Optional prayer time:

Give thanks that God wants to deal with the wrong things in our life and to forgive us.

Woman with perfume – what did Mary think?

Bible base:

Luke 7:36-50

Teaching objectives:

To show that the Bible says that Jesus does not judge by appearances but accepts anyone who genuinely comes to him because they love him.

You will need:

  • The following objects wrapped up separately to look like gifts:
  1. A bar of chocolate
  2. A large box with some rubbish in it
  3. A sweet
  • A piece of wrapping paper with a £5 note inside, scrunched up into a ball.
  • Two acetates or posters with the words, ‘What did Mary think?’ and ‘What do you think?’
  • Another large cardboard box covered in expensive-looking paper
  • A small matchbox with two pieces of paper inside saying: ‘Mary wept at Jesus’ feet’, ‘Mary poured perfume at Jesus’ feet’
  • The following phrases written on separate pieces of card: ‘Simon invited Jesus for dinner’, ‘Simon was religious’, ‘Simon did good things’, ‘Simon was well-liked’

Introductory activity:

Choose a volunteer to come to the front and show them the three parcels and the piece of wrapping paper. You may wish to say that they are presents left over from your birthday or from Christmas if doing the assembly in January.

Explain that they can have one of the four items. Allow them to pick them up and rattle or squeeze them, but not open them. As they are doing that, ask the rest of the assembly which one they would choose. Ask the volunteer for their decision.

When they have opened their chosen present, reveal the contents of the other three (if they have not picked the bar of chocolate, it might be nice to give it to them at the end to thank them for their help, if the head teacher agrees).

Most of us judged these presents by their appearance. Not many people would choose an old piece of paper instead of the big box or a bar of chocolate, but actually, it was not what it seemed on the outside. It was actually something special.

Today’s story in the Bible is about someone who did not seem very special, but who had something very special to offer to Jesus. In today’s story, Jesus met two people.

The first person he met was called Simon, and he was very rich and important.

Show the pupils the large expensive –looking box.

Let’s imagine that this box represents all the good things Simon has ever done. Clearly he was quite a good person!

Start to stick the cards about Simon on the box while you explain what sort of a person he was.

Simon was a religious man. He was a Pharisee, which meant that he was quite an important person. He had invited Jesus for dinner. He did good things and was well-liked by the people. Sounds like a pretty good guy!

However, while Jesus was at his house for dinner, someone else arrived. The Bible isn’t clear about what her name was, but some people think she was called Mary, so that’s what we will call her.

Show the matchbox to the assembly.

Let’s imagine that the matchbox represents all the good things Mary has done. It doesn’t look very impressive!

People described her as a ‘sinful woman’, meaning that she did a lot of things that were wrong.

She couldn’t offer Jesus a nice meal. People didn’t think she was a very nice person.

But Mary did offer Jesus something very special.

Open the matchbox. Take out and read the two pieces of paper inside (“Mary wept at Jesus’ feet’, ‘Mary poured perfume at Jesus’ feet’).

That sounds a bit strange to us, but in those days it would have been a sign of great respect and love, and would have been a welcome treat for hot, tired feet!

When Simon saw what was happening, he was very surprised. “If Jesus were really sent from God, he would know what sort of a woman this is and he wouldn’t let her touch him,” thought Simon.

Jesus, however, did not tell the woman to go away. It did not seem like she had much to offer, but Jesus did not just look on the outside. He was interested in what was really in a person’s heart. He knew that Mary was weeping and pouring perfume on his feet because she loved him. He showed that he loved her by accepting her gift.

Display the acetate or poster, ‘What did Mary think?’

Mary thought that Jesus was someone special, and although she didn’t have much to offer, she wanted Jesus to know she loved him.

Display the acetate or poster, ‘What do you think?’

What would have thought if you had been there? Would you have thought that what Mary did was strange?

Optional prayer time:

Give thanks that Jesus does not judge by appearances, but came to earth to show his love to all people.

Simon Peter – what did the fisherman think?

Bible base:

Luke 5:1-11

Teaching objectives:

To show that the Bible says that Jesus accepts people who are keen to follow him, no matter what they are like.

You will need:

Props for introductory activity:

  • Chef – apron, mixing bowl, a few small packets of baking products, a spoon
  • Nursery teacher – story book, paints and brushes
  • Driving instructor – car keys, a map
  • Cue cards with the following information:
  1. You really want to be a chef! You do not know how to cook. You have never cooked or worn an apron before. Put on the apron upside down and put all the packets in the bowl without opening them.
  2. You really want to be a nursery teacher! You cannot read and you hate getting messy. Open the book upside down and refuse to touch the paints.
  3. You really want to be a driving instructor! You have never driven (you are too young!). You do not know what the car keys are for, and you think a map is a funny picture.
  • Acetates or posters with the words, ‘What did the fisherman think?’ and ‘What do you think?’

Introductory activity:

Ask a member of staff to help you choose three pupils in advance with some dramatic ability and explain that you are going to interview each one of them for a different job. Tell them that they should pretend to be really keen to do the job. Explain that the interview will involve them being given some objects relating to that job, but they should pretend to have no idea what to do with them. Reassure them that they only have to answer your questions and give them the cue cards.

Today we are going to have some job interviews in the assembly. Ask the enthusiastic job hunters to come forward.

Pupil one wants to be a chef. Instead of an interview, we will give them a practical test.

Do you want to be a chef? Do you really want to be a chef?

Give them the apron and ask them to put it on.

Have you ever worn an apron before?

Give them the bowl, spoon and food packets.

Have you ever cooked before?

I know you are really keen to get the job but you really need to get some more experience before you can be a chef.

Pupil two wants to be a nursery teacher.

Do you want to be a nursery teacher? Do you really want to be a nursery teacher?

Give them the book and ask them to read a story to the assembly.

Have you ever read a book before?

Give them the paints.

Do you know how to paint?

I know you are really keen to be a nursery teacher, but you need to be able to read to teach young children! And you certainly will have to be happy to get messy!

Pupil three wants to be a driving instructor.

Do you want to be a driving instructor? Do you really want to be a driving instructor?

Give them the keys.

Do you know what these are?

Give them the map.

Do you know what this is? Have you ever driven before? What age are you?

I know you really want to be a driving instructor, but you have to be able to drive first, and you need to be a lot older.

Thank the pupils for their help and ask them to take their seats again.

To get any job, you need to have the right skills. It is not enough to be really keen to do a job – you need to be qualified. However, there is one job where you don’t need special skills. You just need to be keen.

We are going to hear about someone today who had a job he was very well-qualified to do. The Bible tells us that this man was a fisherman and his name was Simon Peter. He was a very good fisherman and was happy doing his job until one day he met Jesus and everything changed.

Display the acetate or poster, ‘What did the fisherman think?’

Simon was a fisherman in a very hot country, which meant that he went out fishing at night when it was cooler and the fish came up to the surface. One morning, after a hard night when they had caught nothing, Simon Peter and his friends were cleaning their nets. They saw Jesus on the shore, teaching a huge crowd of people. They had seen Jesus before and had heard some of the things he was saying, and so, as they worked, they listened to his amazing stories about God.

Soon, though, the crowd was so huge that lots of people could not hear what he was saying. Jesus came and asked Simon Peter if he would take him out a little way on to the water in his boat. Once he was out on the water, people would see him better, and as his voice carried over the water, they would hear him better too. Simon Peter and his friends were tired, but they didn’t like to say no, so they agreed and pushed out from the shore.

After a while, when Jesus had finished talking to the crowd, he told Simon Peter and his friends to take the boat out again into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Now, Jesus may well have been a great teacher who knew lots about God, but Simon Peter was the fisherman, and he knew that in the middle of the day, when the sun was hot, they would never catch any fish. But, because it was Jesus who told him to do it, he decided he would, even although he had just finished cleaning all the nets. There was something about this man Jesus – he seemed to know what he was talking about!

So out they went, down went the nets and everyone waited. And waited. Suddenly, there was a huge tug on the nets, and it felt as if the whole boat might tip over! There were so many fish that Simon Peter and his friends needed to call some other fishermen from another boat to come and help them to pull the nets aboard.

What was Simon Peter’s reaction? He was amazed and knew then that Jesus was someone totally different from anyone he had ever met before. He fell at his feet, asking him to go away, not because he didn’t like him, but because he did not feel that he was good enough to be with someone like Jesus!

But Jesus did not go away. In fact, Jesus called him to be his follower. Simon Peter had shown the qualification he needed to start his new ‘job’ as a follower of Jesus! He really wanted to be Jesus’ follower, but he needed to recognise how different from Jesus he was and how he needed Jesus’ help to become more like Jesus.

Display the acetate or poster, ‘What do you think?’

What would you have thought if you had been there? Would you have felt that Jesus was too amazing for you to be around?

Christians believe that the qualifications are still the same for people to becomeJesus’ followers.  They simply need to realise that they are not good enough to be Jesus’ followers, but if they are keen to follow him, he will still accept them and help them.

Optional prayer time:

Give thanks that Jesus is not expecting us to be perfect people, but he wants us to be honest people. Thank him that we can all meet his qualifications to be his follower, if we want to and if we admit that we are not good enough.