Croftlands Junior School

This morning I went to Croftlands Junior School for the first assembly of 2016 - Yes I can't believe it either.  After singing God can do Anything I told the story of Peter walking on the water from a Bob Hartman book.  It has words for the children to respond to which help them to remember the story as well as adding a bit of fun to it.  The theme was on trust and I then talked about Peter trusting Jesus in that he stepped out of his boat, something which he was so familiar with as he was a fisherman.  Sometimes we get called to step out of the familiar and into something that we are unsure about.  Walking on water was just something I don't - no can't do - and Peter knew this But! he trusted Jesus and he - walked on water.  As long as his eye was on Jesus things went well but when he took his eye off Jesus he started to sink but then Jesus was on hand to help him back into the boat.  I encouraged the children to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus and God and to trust in them, because as he sang to start off God can do Anything.  To finish we sang Shine then I closed with a prayer.

BX OT1 Broughton School

This afternoon I have been over to Broughton School to start Old Testament Bible Explorer.  I had the year 5 and 6 children and they sat and listened to the first lesson and willingly joined in the hand signs and key words.  They also joined in the stories as I dressed up some one as Joseph and as some others play the parts of the brothers.  They looked with interest at the different bibles I had taken in too as well as the Hebrew scroll of the first five books of the bible.  Next week we shall be looking at the story of Moses and the exodus.

Leven Valley School

This morning Sarah and I went down to Leven Valley School for the assembly.  We started off the assembly with singing Be Happy - Sarah had talked to the children about what a beautiful day it was and it makes you feel happy.  After the song I retold the story of Peter walking on the water to Jesus and keeping his eye fixed on him but then when he took his eye off him he started to sink.  I used a Bob Hartman book to tell the story and each line repeated three times and the last word was a key word for the children to respond to.  After the story Sarah talked with the children about trust and how Peter was OK as long as he kept his eye on Jesus but when he looked around him at what he was doing and where he was - on the water then he started to sink.  She encouraged the children to keep their eye on Jesus and to trust him as when we do we can Shine out God's love - cue song - Shine.  After the song Sarah closed the assembly with a prayer.

Our Lady's School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Our Lady's School.  To start off the assembly we sang Be Happy we linked this song with the beautiful day that we had today and on which to be happy.  After the song I retold the story of Peter walking to Jesus on the water.  To do so I used the Bob Hartman version one which repeats each line three times and has a key word at the end for the children to respond to.  Sarah explained after the story that Peter was doing OK waling on the water as long as he kept his eye on Jesus but as soon as he looked around him and took his eye of the Lord he started to sink.  She reminded the children that if we keep our eye on Jesus and trust him always then we will be on the right path and be able to Shine from the inside out - cue song.  After the song Sarah closed the assembly with a prayer.

St Peters School

This morning I went to St Peters School to take the assembly.  After singing Be Happy I retold the story of Jesus walking on the water towards Peter and his friends in the fishing boat.  The story was a Bob Hartman one in which each line is repeated 3 times with a key word at the end of each line for the children to respond to which adds an element of fun to the story.  After the story I talked about two things the fact that Peter trusted Jesus enough to get out of the boat and that as long as he kept his eye on Jesus he was OK, but then when he did take his eye of Jesus and started to sink Jesus was on hand to raise him up showing his love for Peter.  After the story we sang Shine and I closed the assembly with a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Crosthwaite School

This afternoon I went over to Crosthwaite School for the assembly.  It was great to see all the children and staff again and the drive over was stunning too, it really made me feel happy so to start off the assembly we sang Be Happy.  After the assembly I introduced the theme which reflects the time of year we are currently in - I first of all displayed the word Lent on the screen then asked what time of year it was, I got a few different answers including Lent and also Spring so I then linked the two saying that Lent is an Old English word meaning Spring.  I then explained that it is the 40 days that come before Easter, and explained that Easter is the time when we think about Jesus on the cross.  I also explained that a number of Christians give things up for Lent some give up food while others give up other things. But in the Christian Church Lent is the time we think about Jesus in the wilderness at the very start of his work - that is before the miracles and his teaching.  I displayed some pictures as I talked about what happen during that time and about how Satan tried to tempt him.  I then talked about how we can sometimes be tempted to doing and saying things we shouldn't and I encouraged the children to do as Jesus did and say NO! - I got the children to shout it as I put my hand up.  To finish the assembly we sang Shine because I reminded them that if we don't give in to temptations and we say NO! then we can Shine from the Inside out.  After the song I said a prayer to close.

Low Furness School

This morning I went to Low Furness School for the assembly.  The theme was trust.  After singing Be Happy I went on to tell the story of Peter walking on the water using a Bob Hartman version of the story.  The story was retold by repeating each sentence twice more and with a key word for the children to repeat and do an action to.  So we had a quick run through of the actions and responses require and I started the story.  The idea is that you read the first line then using a different voice or change of expression you read the second and third lines.  The children responded to it very well and I got a few laughs along the way.  I pointed out though at the end that Peter had trusted Jesus when he got out of the boat and that he kept his eye on him, but once Peter spotted the waves and felt the wind and took his eye of the Lord then he started to sink.  Jesus was there on hand to pull him up and get him into the boat.  The lesson was simple in that we sometimes face difficult things in life and we should put all or trust in Jesus and keep focused on him and not do as Peter did and loose focus and allow the things around us to affect us.  Because if we stay focused on Jesus then we can Shine from the inside out - cue song.  After the song I ended the assembly with a short prayer.

Pennington School

This afternoon I went to Pennington School for the assembly.  It was great to see all the children again.  To start off we sang Be Happy then I introduced the theme for the assembly which was Lent.  I had looked up the word Lent and in old English it simply means Spring.  But for Christians it is the 40 days before Easter which starts after pancake day.  I reminded the children of this to start off, I also reminded them that at Christmas we think about the birth of Jesus and at Easter we think about the death of Jesus and during the time of Lent we think about the start of his work here on earth.  That work started after he was baptised and went off into the desert where Satan tempted him after his 40 days and nights.  I displayed pictures of each one of the temptations as I recalled the story.  I then talked about when we are tempted - like eating too many sweet things like cakes and chocolate.  But we can also be tempted by what we hear and be tempted to say the wrong things.  But if we do as Jesus did and say NO pushing the temptation away then we can Shine from the inside out.  Which was our final song.  After the song I said a short prayer to finish off the assembly.

Penny Bridge Academy

This morning I went to Penny Bridge Academy for the assembly.  It was great to see all the children again.  To start off we sang Be Happy then I introduced the theme for the assembly which was Lent.  I had looked up the word Lent and in old English it simply means Spring.  But for Christians it is the 40 days before Easter which starts after pancake day.  I reminded the children of this to start off, I also reminded them that at Christmas we think about the birth of Jesus and at Easter we think about the death of Jesus and during the time of Lent we think about the start of his work here on earth.  That work started after he was baptised and went off into the desert where Satan tempted him after his 40 days and nights.  I displayed pictures of each one of the temptations as I recalled the story.  I then talked about when we are tempted - like eating too many sweet things like cakes and chocolate.  But we can also be tempted by what we hear and be tempted to say the wrong things.  But if we do as Jesus did and say NO pushing the temptation away then we can Shine from the inside out.  Which was our final song.  After the song I said a short prayer to finish off the assembly.

Burlington School

This morning Sarah and I drove over to Burlington School for the assembly.  We started off by singing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then we talked about Pancakes and what people did yesterday with their pancakes.  Then Sarah asked if they knew the other name for the day - Shrove Tuesday.  She also asked if they knew what it means - I displayed a slide giving the meaning which is about forgiveness.  I then went on to talk about what this time of year is in the Christian calendar Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. I explained what Lent is and that people give things up, it is the time of year when we remember Jesus in the desert for 40 days and nights before he is tempted by the devil.  Sarah then repeated something I had said about giving things up and encouraged the children not to give something up but to do the opposite and start something - like helping out at home, tidying their bedrooms etc.  To finish we sang I Love You before Sarah closed with a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.

St Peters School

This morning Sarah and I did the assembly at St Peters School.  We started off by singing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then we talked about Pancakes and what people did yesterday with their pancakes.  Then Sarah asked if they knew the other name for the day - Shrove Tuesday.  She also asked if they knew what it means - I displayed a slide giving the meaning which is about forgiveness.  I then went on to talk about what this time of year is in the Christian calendar Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. I explained what Lent is and that people give things up, it is the time of year when we remember Jesus in the desert for 40 days and nights before he is tempted by the devil.  Sarah then repeated something I had said about giving things up and encouraged the children not to give something up but to do the opposite and start something - like helping out at home, tidying their bedrooms etc.  To finish we sang I Love You before Sarah closed with a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Low Furness School

This morning Sarah and I went to Low Furness School to do the assembly.  After singing Creator God Sarah asked what day it is today - pancake day came a warm shout from the children.  We then did a pancake flipping contest with a child from each year group.  We gave them a frying pan and a pancake and counted how many flips they could do in 15 seconds.  We then explained the idea behind pancake day or Shrove Tuesday - it is about forgiveness and tomorrow is Ash Wednesday which is the start of Lent.  Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter and it a time when Christians think about Jesus in the desert before he is tempted by the devil.  I displayed pictures to reflect this part of the talk.  It is also a time when people give up things, hence the pancake came about because people would remove certain food stuffs from the house ready for Lent - the pancake was born.  after the talk we sang the Chicken Dance song then Sarah closed the assembly with a prayer.

BX OT5 Burlington School

Today was the final lesson of Bible Explorer at Burlington School.  We completed the Old Testament with the stories of the exile and Daniel finishing with Esther.  The children got involved today more that previous weeks as there was lots of different characters to get dress up as from kings to lions.  At the end of the lesson we went through all the hand signs from beginning to end.  I then told the children that there are lots of ways that they can read the Bible for themselves and there are even apps they can download too.

Lindal and Marton School

This morning Sarah and I went to Lindal and Marton School, this is a new school for us.  To start with the headteacher introduced us to the school then we demonstrated the actions to God Can Do Anything.  After the song I read the story of Jesus calling Peter and Andrew, I used the Big Ministries Book 2 for the main story idea but added bits into it as we went along.  The children needed to make a response on certain key words when I said them.  After the story Sarah explained to the children that we are all special to God and that God can use us like he used Peter and Andrew to do things for him.  After this we demonstrated the actions to Touch a Finger.  Sarah ended the assembly with a short prayer.

Church Walk Primary School

This morning I went along to Church Walk Primary School for the assembly.  It was our first visit of this year.  It was great to see all the children and staff again it seems such a long time since we had seen them.  I started the assembly with God Can Do Anything and then told the story of Jesus calling Peter and Andrew.  I used the Big Ministries Book 2 to help with the story using some of their suggested responses for the children, although I did ad lib the story and add in some responses of my own.  At the end of it I pointed out that Peter and Andrew were fishermen and that Jesus picked them to be his followers - but fishermen would have been dirty, smelly, grubby and not well educated yet Jesus selected them to be disciples - followers of him.  Jesus is still picking people today and it doesn't matter what we look like or how old or young we are or if we have no money or loads of money - we can still be used by God to do his work - in fact we are all special to God no matter what shape or size we are cue for song Touch a Finger.  The song is about being special to God.  after the song we said a prayer and I reminded the children that although they are only young God can still use them because God Can Do Anything.