Coniston Primary School

This morning I went over to Coniston Primary School for the assembly.  It was great to see all the children again.  We started with God's Love is Bigger than a Burger which had a few children saying yesss as I announced it - think they like that one.  After the song I asked who has a friend - loads of hands went up.  I then explained that I was going to tell a story which has Jesus in it instead of a story Jesus told.  I told them the account of Jesus healing the lame man from Mark 2:1-12 using my square to cross prop as an aid to telling the story - I could bend and move it into different shapes as the story moved on.  After the story I asked the children what makes a good friend and got a few hands up and whatever they said I used to explain what being a friend is all about and encourage them to look out for their friends as well as each other, that way we can Shine from the inside out - cue song.  After the song I finished with a prayer.

St Pauls School

This afternoon Sarah and I went to do the assembly at St Pauls School in Barrow.  Their Christian value for this half term is hope and it fitted in very well with the story I was going to tell.  Sarah started the assembly by asking the children if they had friends - loads of hands went up.  In introducing the story to the children she explained that sometimes we read about stories Jesus told- which she asked if anyone knew what they what were called - parables came the answer and other times we have stories were Jesus does something today's story was one of them and it had four friends in it.  I then told the children the story of the man that Jesus healed in Mark 2:1-12.  The man was lame so couldn't walk so four friends carried him to Jesus - thinking about him he had no hope of ever doing anything because in the time of Jesus people like that had to beg for food and things.  The friends took him to the house and cut a hole in the roof and lowered him down to the feet of Jesus.  When Jesus saw him he healed him and the man got up and ran down the street his hope was restored.  To tell the story I used my square to cross prop and turned and bent it into various shapes for the different parts of the story.  Sarah then asked the children what makes a good friend and she expanded and explained whatever the children told her as she finished off the explanation she link into the song Shine.  After the song Sarah finished the assembly with a prayer.

Pennington School

This afternoon Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Pennington School.  Sarah started the assembly by asking the children who had a friend loads of hands went up.  She then said that the talk I was going to do was about friendship which just happened to be this half terms Christian value. Sarah also pointed out that in the Bible Jesus sometimes told stories which we call parables but today the story was one that Jesus was involved in.  I then told the story of the lame man who was carried by  4 friends on his bed to see Jesus from Mark 2:1-12.  I used my square to cross prop to help tell the story as I reshaped it into various shapes as the story moved on.  Sarah then asked the children about what makes a good friend and each answer she got she expanded on and explained to the children how they could be good friends. One child said it was koinonia which is Christian friendship.  To finish off we sang Shine again linking in to friendship.  Sarah then said a short prayer.

Newton School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Newton School.  Sarah started the assembly by asking about friends (not the TV show) and friendship groups as this linked into what I was going to tell a story about.  Sarah also pointed out that in the Bible Jesus sometimes told stories which we call parables but today the story was one that Jesus was involved in.  I then told the story of the lame man who was carried by  4 friends on his bed to see Jesus from Mark 2:1-12.  I used my square to cross prop to help tell the story as I reshaped it into various shapes as the story moved on.  Sarah then asked the children about what makes a good friend and each answer she got she expanded on and explained to the children how they could be good friends.  To finish off we sang Shine again linking in to friendship.  Sarah then said a short prayer.

Flookburgh School

This morning Sarah and I went to Flookburgh School to take the assembly.  We sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger to start the assembly off.  Then Sarah started by asking the children about friends which was to link into what I was going to talk about.  She also pointed out that sometimes we read stories about Jesus and what he did in the Bible and at other times we read stories Jesus told - today was a story about Jesus and what he did.  I then retold the story of the lame man from Mark 2:1-12 who was helped by four of his friends, who took him to see Jesus and he healed him.  As a visual aid I used my square to cross prop and moved it into various shapes as I told the story - getting some laughs along the way.  Sarah then expanded on what the friends did by asking the children what makes a good friend.  To finish off we sang Shine before Sarah said a short prayer.

Croftlands Infant School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Croftlands Infant School.  It was lovely to see all the children again.  To start off we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then Sarah introduced the theme for the day which was friendship, she also pointed out that in the Bible some of the events about Jesus were real events and sometimes he told stories.  Today was a real event.  I then retold the story from Mark 2:1-12 about Jesus healing a man that was lame.  To help me I used my square to cross prop and moved it into different shapes and positions to tell the story - which caused the children to laugh at times.  Once the story was over Sarah talked to the children and asked them what makes a good friend- the children responded with loads of great answers.  We then sang Shine before Sarah finished with a prayer.

Croftlands Junior School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Croftlands Junior School.  It was great to see all the children again.  Sarah started the assembly by reminding the children that sometimes Jesus told stories - parables, then said that today the story we had for them was an event that actually happened.  I then used my square to cross prop, bending it into different shapes as I told the account of Jesus healing the lame man found in Mark 2:1-12.  The man was healed by Jesus and went out from the house running.  Sarah picked up on the idea that the man had 4 very good friends so asked the children what makes a good friend.  Sarah asked each child as they put their hand up and commented on what they said, we had things like showing kindness, helping someone out, trusting people.  Sarah linked what the children said into the song Shine.  After the song she finished with a prayer.

Burlington School

This morning Sarah and I went to Burlington School to do the assembly.  It was great to see all the children and staff again.  We started the assembly with God's Love is Bigger than a Burger after which Sarah asked the children about friends, this was a link into the story I was going to tell.  Sarah did point out that in the New Testament when we hear about Jesus there are times when Jesus told a story, she asked what they were called - parable came the answer but there are also stories like todays which were actual events.  It was about 4 special friends.  I then used my square to cross prop to tell the account from Mark 2:1-12 of Jesus healing a lame man.  I shaped the prop into various shapes as I retold the story, we had a house, a door, a window, a bed, steps etc.  After the story Sarah asked the children what makes a good friend.  She responded to the answers the children gave.  Then she made a link into our last song Shine. After the song Sarah finished with a prayer.

Low Furness School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Low Furness School.  The theme for this half term is friendship, so after saying good morning and singing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger, Sarah asked the children if they had any friends - loads of hands went up.  She then make a link into the story for today pointing out that Jesus told stories but this is something that actually happened.  I then used my square to cross prop to retell the story of the lame man being healed which is in Mark 2:1-12 it is the one were four friends of the man carry him to Jesus then lower him down through a hole the cut in the roof.  As a result of the loved they showed to their friend and because they had faith Jesus healed the man.  Sarah talked then about what it is that makes a good friend, the children put their hands up and said what they felt was a good friend.  To finish off we sang Shine then Sarah closed with a prayer.

Penny Bridge Academy

This afternoon Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Penny Bridge Academy.  Sarah started by asking the children if they had any friends as this linked into the story I was going to tell them.  She also pointed out that in the stories we read about Jesus sometimes the events were real events and other times he told parables.  I then retold the story of the lame man that was lowered through the roof and to help me I used my square to cross prop.  I explained that Jesus healed the man when he saw the love and faith his friends showed to him.  Sarah then finished off by talking about what good friends do and what makes a good friend then she linked to the song Shine.  After the song Sarah finished with a prayer.

Crosthwaite School

This afternoon Sarah and I went over to Crosthwaite School for the assembly.  To start off we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger, then Sarah asked the children if they had any friends as this linked into todays Bible story.  Sarah also pointed out that in the New Testament there are some stories which Jesus told and we call them parables but the story today was a real event.  I then used my square to cross prop to retell the story from Mark 2:1-12 were four friends lower their lame friend through a hole they cut in the roof.  I pointed out that Jesus healed the man because he could see the love that the friends had for the man as well as having great faith in Jesus.  Sarah then concluded by asking the children what makes a good friend and what kind of things should we do for our friends.  This linked with our final song Shine.  After the song Sarah finished with a prayer.

Church Walk Primary School

This morning Sarah and I were at Church Walk Primary School taking the assembly.  After singing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger I told the children a story about friendship.  I used my square to cross prop to retell the account of Jesus healing the lame man that was lowered through the room by his friends Mark 2:1-12.  The prop can be moved and shaped as you tell the story.  Jesus healed the man because of the faith he showed as well as the faith shown by the friends and not forgetting the love they showed too.  After the story I spoke a little about friends and friendships.  Sarah then finished off and led us into our second song Shine.  She then finished with a prayer.