Flookburgh School

This morning Sarah and I went down to Flookburgh School for the assembly.  It was really great to see all the children again.  To start us off we sang So Many Ways to Praise the Lord then Sarah invited some children out to the front to help in the assembly - 2 boys and a girl came out.  Sarah handed a plate to the girl and then asked one of the boys to use a tube of toothpaste to draw on the plate which they did.  She then asked the other boy to add some more to the plate picture except I gave the tube a big squeeze so that loads of toothpaste came out making a right mess on the plate.  Sarah then asked the girl holding the plate if she could help to get the toothpaste back into the tube which she couldn't of course.  As the children sat down Sarah asked them which is the part of the body that can do the most harm - hands went up with suggestions from your fist, to hand, teeth, nails etc Sarah then look to me and said Mark will explain.  So I stood in front of the children with my tongue out, I paused for a moment as the children realised what I was doing before I started to explain why.  I pointed out that we can say things to people that can really hurt them and like the toothpaste on the plate we can mess things up in a big way and also like the toothpaste once it is out it can't be taken back - at this point I turned to Sarah and shouted 'your horrible you...' then I said now I've said it I can't take that back any more.  I then read from James 3:5 which in the Message Bible says this...It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it... I asked if they had seen the damage the fires had caused in Canada last week which started with a small spark.  I then encouraged the children to think about what they use their tongue for and think about how they speak, I gave some examples of praise they might give to each other as well as other people at school.  Sarah then introduced our next song which was Shine and explained that God wants us to shine out for him.  after the song she closed the assemble with a prayer.

Broughton School

This morning I went to do the assembly at Broughton School.  I started with the song So Many Ways to Praise the Lord.  After the song I asked for two helpers and two girls came out to the front (first hands up)  I gave one a plate and the other a tube of toothpaste and asked her to use it to draw on the plate which she did.  I showed the school what she had drawn and encouraged her to draw some more but this time I held the tube and gave it a big squeeze so that loads of toothpaste came out making rather a mess.  I got them to swap places and asked if they could now put the toothpaste back into the tube - which they couldn't of course.  I used this idea to talk about how we speak, sometimes good things come out of our mouths but sadly bad things come out too and like the toothpaste once it has been said you can't take it back in again.  I gave a few examples of nasty things people may say.  I then displayed a verse from James which says... It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it... the Message version explains it better.  I asked if anyone had seen the fires a few weeks ago in Canada and how they destroyed so much of the forest.  Our tongue can be like that when we use it in the wrong way.  I also linked it to using God's name as a swear word too and displayed Exodus 20:7 about using God's name in vain.  After this we sang Shine and I explained that this is what God wants us to do shine for him.  After the song I noticed that the theme for assemblies this half term was on courage and they had displayed some people who stood up for what the believed in so I made a link here to by saying these people used their tongue to speak out for good.  I then said a prayer to end the assembly.

St Peters School

This morning I went to St Peters school for the assembly. I started the assembly by singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord then I asked for two helpers, I gave on a plate and the other a tube of toothpaste.  I asked the one with the toothpaste to draw a pattern on the plate using the toothpaste - I got a slightly funny look from them but they did it.  I tipped the plate up to show the rest of the school only to be told it was upside down!!  The girl then continued to draw on the plate but I helped a gave the tube a big squeeze a loads came out onto the plate and made a right mess.  I then asked them to swap over and asked the boy if he could get the toothpaste back into the tube - he tried and tired we even tipped the plate a bit but no it couldn't be done.  I asked the two to sit down while I explained why they had done that little exercise.  I told the children that it is easy to squeeze out the toothpaste but very hard to get it back into the tube and it is a bit like that with what we say - all too easily can we say things but once it has been said we can't take the words back again - I then shouted at the teacher that was with me in the assembly much to the shock of the children, she lowered her head and put her lip out (played along very well) a child even went to comfort her.  I explained that I can't now take what I said back and it upset the teacher. (at the end of the assembly I did explain that the teacher was just playing a long with what I was doing and I didn't really shout and mean what I said)  I read a verse from James 3:5 from the Message version of the bible which sums up what I was saying very well it was this...It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it... I also linked it with one of the 10 commandments about using the name of God as a swear word Exodus 20:7  at this point a little boy put his hand up and was saying that using God's name was wrong so I asked him his name and said if everyone used it to swear how would he feel - sad he said and upset - it reinforced the idea.  After this we sang Shine and then I said a short prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Low Furness School

Yesterday I (Sarah) went to Low Furness School to do assembly on my own as Mark was away for the day renewing his first aid certificate.  Feeling slightly lost without my right hand man and after saying “Good Morning Low Furness” they promptly chorused back “Good Morning Mark and Sarah” (which made me laugh) we started the assembly by singing So Many Ways We Can Praise The Lord.  I was helped to lead the singing and actions by our daughter Martha. Such a blessing to have her in school to help and thankful that she has the courage to do it. Not sure I would have at the age of 9.  I then asked for two volunteers to come out to help me. I asked one to hold the plate whilst the other one squeezed toothpaste out of its tube onto it. When they had finished I asked them how easy it was to which, of course, they replied “very easy”.  I them asked them to put it back in the tube which of course they couldn’t.  I used this analogy to go on and talk about how easy it is for something to slip out of our mouths and impossible to put back in. How they all had a powerful weapon on them that could wound and hurt people deeply.  How harsh words that are said can hurt and upset people and that yes we can say sorry but perhaps we should think about what we’re saying before we say it.  I read - It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it...   James 3:5-6 Msg  As the topic of the assembly was ‘Respect and Reverence for God’ I then read – ‘Do not misuse my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.  Exodus 20:7 NIV  and went on to talk about not using our tongues to swear and blaspheme, which I explained was using Gods precious name as a swear word.  To end our assembly, we sang ‘Shine from the inside out’ explaining that when the Holy Spirit is living within us we can shine out love, joy, kindness etc to people around us.  After praying for the school and asking for God to bless all the children and staff they were dismissed out to break.

Pennington School

This afternoon Sarah and I have been to Pennington School for the assembly.  It was good to see all the children again.  We started the assembly with singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord.  Sarah invited two people to come to the front she gave one a plate and the other a tube of toothpaste.  She asked the one with the toothpaste to squeeze it out onto the plate which they did.  Then she asked the one holding the plate to put it back into the tube - they tried but couldn't of course.  I then started to talk to the children about how we are a bit like the toothpaste when we open our mouths because what comes out is not good and once it is out we can't take it back again.  I explained that the tongue might be small but can do a lot of harm and damage if used in the wrong way.  I then read James 3:5 from the Message Bible which talks about it like this.  It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it... James 3:5-6 I then encouraged the children to use their mouths and tongue to say good uplifting things to each other, words of praise about how they look, what they do, how well they work or run etc.  Sarah then did a short recap before introducing our last song Shine.  After the song Sarah closed with a prayer.

Penny Bridge Academy

This morning Sarah and I went a long to Penny Bridge Academy for the assembly.  We started by singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord.  Then Sarah invited two people to come to the front she gave one a plate and the other a tube of toothpaste.  She asked the one with the toothpaste to squeeze it out onto the plate which they did.  Then she asked the one holding the plate to put it back into the tube - they tried but couldn't of course.  I then started to talk to the children about how we are a bit like the toothpaste when we open our mouths because what comes out is not good and once it is out we can't take it back again.  I explained that the tongue might be small but can do a lot of harm and damage if used in the wrong way.  I then read James 3:5 from the Message Bible which talks about it like this.  It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it... James 3:5-6 I then encouraged the children to use their mouths and tongue to say good uplifting things to each other, words of praise about how they look, what they do, how well they work or run etc.  Sarah then did a short recap before introducing our last song Shine.  After the song Sarah closed with a prayer.

Lindale School

This morning Sarah and I went down to Lindale School for the assembly.  We started by singing a new song with them Great Great Brill Brill, we did point out that the word wicked in the song is street talk for cool.  After the song Sarah read the story of the lost son as this linked to the theme the school had set about relationships, friendships, falling out, making up and saying sorry.  As Sarah read the story I displayed pictures on the screen showing that part of the story.  After the story I explained a little about it and how the young son had come to his senses and decided to return home and say sorry for what he had done.  I also pointed out that all of us do things wrong from time to time and we should say sorry for it other wise the hurt we felt at the time and the hurt other people feel builds up and it then becomes even harder to say sorry.  I explained that this story is a parable and parables are earthly stories that have a heavenly meaning, and the dad in the story is God who wants us to turn to him and say sorry for the things we have done that are wrong.  Sarah continued by asking who finds it easy to say sorry - or do we just say it and not mean it.  To finish our assembly we sang May the God of Hope and then Sarah closed with a prayer.

Croftlands Infant School

This morning I went to Croftlands Infant School to do the assembly.  It was great to see all the children again.  We started with Be Happy then I did our assembly about Respect showing the video clip from Finding Nemo.  I didn't ask the children at first if they knew what respect was I just showed the clip.  Then I asked what it was that Nemo didn't show towards his dad the answer respect came back.  So I asked then what it was that Nemo had or hadn't done - listened to his dad, did his own thing were some of the answers that came back.  I then went on to talk about Moses and the 10 commandments and in particular the one about showing respect to parents - I displayed the verse and then explained what it means for us today like how we should show respect to not just our parents but everyone.  When we do this we.... from the inside out - Shine came the shout from the children.  After singing Shine I said a short prayer.

Croftlands Junior School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Croftlands Juniors.  To start off the assembly we sang Inright Outright as it reflects back to Easter as one of the lines says Jesus cared for me when he died on Calvary.  This was used because we wanted to tell the children what happened next - Pentecost.  I read the account of Pentecost from a Big Ministries book, then explained to the children a little more about it.  I also pointed out that it was on this day that the church really started as people got to hear about Jesus and what he had done as the Holy Spirit empowered them and so the news spread from place to place and that is how we here in England got to hear about it hundreds of years ago.  After this Sarah introduced the next sing pointing out that in the story the disciples had been praising God so we sang So many ways to praise the Lord.  Then Sarah finished with a prayer.

BX OT5 Croftlands Juniors

This morning I did the last Bible Explorer lesson at Croftlands Junior School.  All the year 5 children sat and waited as I recapped some of the hand signs from the previous week and explained what it all meant - which would then lead us into the lesson for today.  We started with the prophets speaking out and then the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to the Assyrian army.  Next we moved on to the fall of Judah at the hands of the Babylonian army , not forgetting though that they had taken over the Assyrians before hand.  Then we looked at the story of Daniel as he stood up for God and was put in a den of lions.  Next came the Persians and the people of Judah started to make their return to Jerusalem as first recorded in the book of Ezra - then the story of Esther who saved her people the Jews from death.  Ezra then taught the people before the walls are rebuilt under the guidance of Nehemiah.  We end with silence before we welcome Christ and the start of the New Testament.  All the children enjoyed the stories as well as joining in with the hand signs as well as getting dress up as some of the characters in the stories.

BX OT5 St Peters

This afternoon I did the last Old Testament Bible Explorer lesson for the children at St Peters.  I was all about the exile of the Jews and included the story of Daniel and Esther.  The children as always enjoyed joining in with the stories, the hand signs and in asking questions about what I was saying.  When I had finished the children asked if that was it... they wanted me to continue next week telling them the stories.  A great group of children who always responded with a positive attitude towards all of the stories.

Our Lady's School

This morning I was at Our Lady's School doing the assembly.  To start off we sang Inright Outright as this was getting the children to think again about the events of Easter.  After the song I asked if anyone knew what type of year we were in with regard to the Christian calendar - Pentecost came the answer.  I then explained the reason why we had sung the song to remind us of Easter then I used a Big Ministries book to tell the story of the events on the day of Pentecost.  When I had finished I explained about some of the things in the story and how following that event Peter had stood up and told loads of people about Jesus and that has continued throughout the centuries until here in England, Cumbria in fact in the town of Dalton we got to hear about it too.  The story said that the disciples had spent their time giving praise to God I explained that there are many ways to praise God - cue for a song So Many Ways to Praise the Lord.  After the song I closed the assembly with a prayer.

Burligton School

This morning I went to Burlington School to do the assembly.  I started by singing Inright Outright with the children as this was going to link in a way to what I was going to talk about.  After the song I explained that the song talks about Jesus cares for me when he died on Calvary - which is what we thought about at Easter.  The story I was telling them was about Pentecost which is 50 days after Easter Sunday and as it is Pentecost on Sunday I thought a recap of the story would be good.  After telling the story using a Big Ministries Book I explained a few things about it like how Jesus had made a promise about the Holy Spirit, how the disciples had to wait, how they had seen Jesus go back up into heaven (which is 40 days after Easter Sunday)  Now it all happened, the disciples received the Holy Spirit and Peter stands up a talks to thousands of people about who Jesus was and they join the disciples.  The holy Spirit gave the disciples what they needed to do God's work, I encouraged the children with the idea that we do at times need to wait for things but also God can give us whatever we might need to deal with situations as they arise like he did with Peter.  After this we sang So Many Ways and I closed with a prayer.  I was asked at the end about the Holy Spirit and God and are they the same.  I explained briefly about the Trinity but then asked the person to think about water, Ice and steam - God is like the rock solid ice, Jesus like the water that flows as he moved on the earth and his love flows and the Holy Spirit is like the steam which we can't always see but we know is there.  Three things but the same.

St Peters School

This morning I was at St Peters School doing the assembly.  I started by singing Inright Outright with the children as this was going to link in a way to what I was going to talk about.  After the song I explained that the song talks about Jesus cares for me when he died on Calvary - which is what we thought about at Easter.  The story I was telling them was about Pentecost which is 50 days after Easter Sunday and as it is Pentecost on Sunday I thought a recap of the story would be good.  After telling the story using a Big Ministries Book I explained a few things about it like how Jesus had made a promise about the Holy Spirit, how the disciples had to wait, how they had seen Jesus go back up into heaven (which is 40 days after Easter Sunday)  Now it all happened, the disciples received the Holy Spirit and Peter stands up a talks to thousands of people about who Jesus was and they join the disciples.  The holy Spirit gave the disciples what they needed to do God's work, I encouraged the children with the idea that we do at times need to wait for things but also God can give us whatever we might need to deal with situations as they arise like he did with Peter.  After this we sang So Many Ways and I closed with a prayer.

Low Furness School

This morning I was at Low Furness school for the assembly.  The theme was Respect for Sacred Objects.  So to start off the assembly we sang So Many Ways to Praise the Lord then I started to talk about things that I hold dear to me like my collection of Bibles.  I showed a few of them to the children explaining as I did that they are just books like any other book but it is what's inside them that make them special to me - it is God's word on paper.  I displayed a bible verse from 2Timothy - Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. 2 Timothy 3:16.  I explained that scripture is the words in the Bible and mentioned that the Jews have it on scrolls and they are so special to them that they don't even touch the words with their fingers as they read them, they use a pointer called a Yad.  I also displayed the verse - Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.  Psalm 119:105 and explained that we can use the Bible to guide us like we would use a torch on a dark night.  I also said that at times we can read the Bible and read a story we have read before and nothing but then sometime later read it again and WOW! something jumps off the page and God speaks to us.  God inspired many people to write the Bible by telling them what to put down the 2 Timothy verse tells us that.  I said God can Do Anything cue for a song.  After the song I said a prayer to close.

Church Walk School

This morning I went to church Walk Primary School for the assembly.  It was great to see all the children again, several of them were quite excited when they saw me setting up.  After singing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger I did the assembly we have done in several schools now on Respect.  I showed the video clip of Nemo being disrespectful towards his dad.  When the clip had finished I asked the children what it was that Nemo had not done and a little boy from the Reception class put his hand up and said - he didn't listen to his dad and didn't show him respect - perfect answer.  I went on to talk about how in the bible there are people that show respect to God and other people and sadly there are stories of people that don't.  I reminded the children that Nemo had to face the consequences of his actions in that he was caught and put in a fish tank.  I also told them about Moses getting the 10 Commandments and how they are all about respect 4 about respect for God and 6 respect for others.  One of them says respect your father and mother, so that you will live a long time in the land I'm giving you Exodus 20:12.  I explained what the verse means to us today and how we should respect everyone.  To finish we sang Shine then I said a short prayer.

BX OT4 Croftlands Juniors

This morning I was at Croftlands Juniors for the 4 Bible Explorer lesson with the year 5 children.  It was an action packed time covering the first kings of Israel as well as the Samuel story to kick it all off.  The lessons gives the children a brief outline of what happen during this part of the bible, I mainly focus on the high points with a few low points.  It all ends when the country divides following the death of Solomon into Israel in the north and Judah in the south.  I point out the number of kings each country has over the next 400 year period and the fact that not one king in Israel follows God while only 8 in the south follow God.  Next week we finish our time with the exile and return.

BX OT4 St Peters

This afternoon I was at St Peters for the fourth Bible Explorer lesson of the Old Testament.  It was the time of the first kings of Israel.  The stories started with Samuel and on to cover Saul, David and Solomon.  I talked about the highs and some of the lows of each of the kings reigns before the big low of the kingdom dividing after the death of Solomon.  Next week we look at the exile of both kingdoms Israel first and Judah second, then the return of Judah.  We'll also cover the story of Queen Esther.

Lindal and Marton School

Yesterday Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Lindal and Marton School.  Yesterday being the 4th of May, the school decided to have a Star Wars Day - so a lot of the children had dressed up as characters from Star Wars.  As we introduced ourselves Sarah said she had never done an assembly to Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and Stormtroopers.  To start off we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then we introduced the theme - Respect.  Sarah talked briefly about it before introducing the film clip from Finding Nemo.  The clip showed Nemo swimming out into open water to touch a boat despite his father telling him not to do it but Nemo continues to swim and then touches the boat.  Sarah asked the children what it was that Nemo wasn't doing - showing respect came the answer, she also asked what happen next in the film - Nemo was caught in a net and put into a fish tank.  I then explained that in the Bible there a lots of stories of people that showed respect for each other as well as for God, and there are stories were people didn't have respect at all and they like Nemo had to face up to the consequences of their actions.  There is one story in the Bible of a man who was asked by God to lead the people and to help him God provided him with some guidelines or rules - commandments.  His name was Moses and God gave him the 10 commandments to help the people to live a long and happy life.  Four of the commandments are about showing respect towards God and six about respecting people.  There is one that says Respect your father and mother, so that you may live a long time in the land I'm giving you Exodus 20:12 I displayed this on the screen and then explained what the last part meant to the people Moses was leading and what it can mean to us today.  I also explained that we should respect everyone we meet.  Sarah then said that when we do that we can Shine out God's love - cue for a song.  After the song Sarah closed the assembly with a short prayer.