Crosthwaite School

This afternoon Sarah and I have been over to Crosthwaite School for the assembly.  We decided as the theme today to do miracles.  So we started the assembly with So Many Ways to Praise the Lord then I performed my Naaman magic trick as I retold the story from 2 Kings 5.  The end result is that Naaman was healed.  I explain that what I had done is a magic trick but what really happen was another thing that also began with the letter M.  Sarah then explained to the children that the M was a miracle and she talked a bit about different miracles that happened in both the New and Old Testaments, she also asked the children to name some too.  This led to her talking about modern miracles like the football player that collapsed on the playing field and his heart stopped for nearly an hour.  We concluded that God can do anything which was a cue to our final song.  Following that Sarah said a short prayer.

Croftlands Infants

This afternoon I was at Croftlands Infant school.  I had taken down the video projector and screen so that all the children could watch the Pixar video clip.  As always there was lots of laughing as the clip is funny then as I explained in to the children in terms of how the birds had behaved they listened.  I introduced the bible verse Love one another as I have loved you and explained that when we look out for someone, or care about someone or when we a kind to someone or gentle then we are showing love to them.  To conclude this part I encouraged them to think about how they form groups when they work or play and try to include all those that want to join in.  We then sang Shine before I closed with a prayer.

Croftlands Juniors

This morning I went along to Croftlands Juniors.  As we have done in lots of schools recently we watched the Pixar mini clip about the birds.  Only part of the school were in as the rest go swimming on Tuesdays.  As has been the case in most schools the children found the clip to be funny - that's because it is.  But when I go through the screen shots showing some of the birds and ask the question which bird they might be the laughing stops as they realise the point of the assembly.  Then when I bring in the verse from John 13:34 where Jesus says Love one another as I have loved you and talk about what that means in that we should treat people as we would like to be treated that is showing kindness, care, being gentle.  I encouraged the children to be accepting of everyone and whenever they are in a group be open to allow other people in.  Then by doing this we can shine from the inside out which was the song we then sang together.  I closed with a prayer and although the year 6 class was out I prayed for them as the SAT test are coming up soon.

Broughton School

This afternoon I have been over to Broughton School for their assembly.  It was a fantastic drive particularly in the sunshine.  Part of the school was involved in something else so there wasn't as many children as normal.  I once again showed the Pixar clip to the children and yes there was a bit of laughter from the younger ones but as I started to go through what had happened with the still screen shots that laughter had stopped as the children reflected on which type of bird they might be.  I quickly got to the Love one another as I have loved you part from John 13:34 and explained the point of the assembly.  How we should look out for each other and care for people and be kind and show love even to the people that might be a bit different because at the end of the day we are all different.  This led to us singing Shine from the inside out.  I closed with a prayer.

Pennington School

Following the assembly at Church Walk School I drove up to Pennington for their assembly.  I played the same Pixar video clip and got much the same reaction from the children.  Then at the end of the clip I asked who had enjoyed it and who found it funny, the younger children put their hands up while the older ones didn't.  I then showed the still images from the movie and asked them to think about which bird they might be again the younger ones laughed or spoke out as I went through the pictures.  I rounded off the assembly by talking about ways we can be kind, show care, demonstrate love to those around us just as Jesus said in John 13:34 Love one another as I have loved you.  The song we sang was Shine as it encourages us to 'Shine from the inside out...' I then closed with a prayer.

Church Walk School

Our first assembly of the day was at Church Walk school.  I went on my own as Sarah is off on a school trip.  I started by showing the Pixar video clip of Bird on a Wire which amused the children until I showed them the still screen shots of the clip and explained what was happening this got a slightly different reaction.  I followed the talk by getting everyone to sing Shine as the words express what we all should do and that is 'shine from the inside out'.  To close I then said a prayer.

OT BX1 Croftlands Juniors

This afternoon I was with the year 5 classes at Croftlands, we did Bible Explorer in the hall as there were 52 children and it would be a little tight in a classroom.  As it was the first lesson I took some time to explain a bit about what we would be doing each week then went on to talk about the Bible before looking at Genesis 1:1.  The story of creation is covered in a matter of minutes with a magic trick I developed to cover the 7 days.  Then came the Adam and Eve story which leads to the fall and then on into Noah followed by a quick look at the tower of Babel.  Moving on then to talk about Abraham and his family as we going through the generations to Joseph.  Next week we pick up the rest of the Joseph story and then look at Moses.  The children responded well to the talk as they listened and laughed and joined in with the hand signs.

Ignite

Had a fab night tonight with the kids from Ignite.  We had 10 tonight with 2 new children and several others away or busy.  We looked at the Great Commission from Matthew tonight and talked about how a little thing can have a big impact.  We did a really silly quiz (Scripture Union idea) with really daft questions like how many hot air balloons could you fill with the air we breathe out in just one year - answer two, also how much water we waste while brushing our teeth if we don't turn the tap off - answer 5840 litres.  There was a question about how many acres of pizza Americans eat each day and one about bodily wind which I won't mention.  The point was that we might not think it a lot but little steps, little things can have a huge impact.  We also calculated that if every child at Ignite tonight talked to another person about Ignite over the next year and then they did the same over the year after and so on and so on then in ten years time we would have 10,240 people in Ignite.  I mentioned by the same method that if there was only one Christian in the world today and that person talked for a whole year to someone else and they became a Christian and then the two did the same again and so on and so on then in 32years time the whole world would be Christian!!! try it for yourself.  We then offered a challenge to the children and gave them a sand timer which we got last week from the Bible Society at Spring Harvest and the idea is that they take one minute a day to pray for the work of the Society who have a mission called the Big Mission - Every Child Has A Right To Encounter The Bible.  We ended our evening praying for each other as well as people that we know who are unwell.

OT BX1 St Peters

This afternoon I have been over to St Peters for the first Bible Explorer lesson.  The children really got excited as we started off looking into the Old Testament.  There were a number of laughs too as the stories unfolded throughout the hour long lesson.  Some children joined in as I explained some stories in an interactive way and some even helped me move on my slides on the computer.  At the end I had a couple of willing lads who helped me pack up and take my stuff downstairs.  Next week Moses...

Leven Valley School

This morning I went down to Leven Valley School for the first assembly of this summer term.  I started with Shine as that is part of what I wanted to talk about with the children.  I then showed the Pixar video clip For the Birds and afterwards displayed a number of screen shots from the movie and asked the children to think about which bird they might be.  There were ones that talked about each other, bullied, wanted to be left alone, were different in looks, mocked and made fun of others etc.  I then displayed the John 13:34 verse Love one another as I have loved you and asked the children to think about that when ever they are with their friends and think about how they talk to them and interact with them.  We are so loved as people and we should show love and respect back to others.  We finished with singing Wonderful Lord as I reminded the children that God looks after, cares for and loves us so much.

Our Lady's

This morning I was at Our Lady's in Dalton for the first assembly of this new term.  I decided to start off by singing Shine then I showed the Pixar short of the birds on the wire.  After much laughing from the children I then displayed some still images from the clip and asked which bird the children consider themselves as.  There are a number of different ones, the long legged one that is very different, the one that wants to be alone, the ones that complain, the show offs, the bullies etc.  I followed this by displaying John 13:34 'love one another as I have loved you' Jesus tells his disciples.  I then encouraged the children to do just that - to care for and treat other people as they would like to be treated and cared for in other words to love one another as Jesus loves us - although I didn't use the word love.  To close I decided to sing Wonderful Lord as it reminds us that God cares for and looks after us.

St Peters

This morning Sarah and I went over to St Peters for an Easter assembly.  After singing Inright Outright I started to share the Easter story starting at the Last Supper then at various points in the story children came out to express the feelings of a number of key people in the story.  We had Pilate, Peter, the thief and Mary mother of Jesus.  I had also taken a crown of thorns as well as a large nail to show the children.  I finished the story of Easter Morning with the empty tomb then I talked about this Easter and how the eggs we will be getting represent new life as well the large hollow eggs can be a representation of the empty tomb.  When I had finished the story we sang an Easter song He's Alive.  Sarah closed the assembly with a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Easter Experience Church Walk

Today I have been involved with the outside Easter Experience that Church walk school put on for their children as well as 25+ children from Croftlands Infants.  The event took place in the grassed play area at the school.  There were 4 stations for the children to go to, the first one was the Garden of Gethsemane, here they reflected on the time Jesus was in the garden before his arrest and held a small stone and thought about people that are wrongly accused of things. They then moved into the Courtyard of the Chief Priest were there was a fire blazing here they heard the story of Peter when he denied Jesus 3 times. They then took a stick and thought about times when they hadn't been kind or nice to someone as they held the stick 3 bible verses were read about sin and how God forgives us of sin if we ask him.  They then took the stick and handed it to the adult who placed it in the fire.  From here they moved to Golgotha were they looked at and reflected about Jesus on the cross, here they made a cross on the floor using natural things like twigs, leaves etc.  The last station was the Garden Tomb here they heard the story of Jesus rising from the dead on Easter Sunday morning and as he rose brought new life.  The children were given a handful of wild flower seeds to scatter on the rough ground as a symbol of new life.  It was a great day everyone enjoyed the experience and will have got something from it.  Pray for all the children from both schools who came along today that over the Easter holidays they may reflect on the true and real meaning of Easter.

Low Furness School

This morning Sarah went to do Low Furness School assembly on her own as I was at Church Walk School doing Easter Experience.  The assembly started by the children singing Inright Outright. Sarah then went on to talk about the Easter story and at the correct points had 4 children portraying the characters of Mary, Peter, Pilate and the thief on the cross telling of the experience from their view point. She also had a crown of thorns as well as a large nail and asked the children to imagine what it must have been like to have these pushed into their bodies. After this they sang a song called  He's alive which is quiet lively and talks about Easter.  Then she said a prayer with them to close the assembly.

Penny Bridge School

Yesterday afternoon we went over to Penny Bridge school for the assembly.  It was our first Easter assembly.  We displayed a series of power point slides to remind the children what Easter is all about then Sarah asked 4 children to come out and read an account from 4 different people connected with the story.  There was Peter, Pilate, the thief on the cross next to Jesus and Mary his mother.  after this we sang Inright Outright it says Jesus cared for me when he died on Calvary.  Following this we said a prayer with the children.