Friday 30 March 2012

St Peters Ireleth

This afternoon we got asked to go and take part of the final assembly at St Peters. It was full of parents as well as children. We sang Our God is a Great Big God before Sarah gave out the 12 Resurrection Eggs. I started with number 1 and went through all the eggs asking the children what the object was and how it was part of the Easter story. Some were getting Easter and Christmas a little mixed up though. Some thought the donkey in egg 1 was there because Mary and Joseph rode on one when Jesus was born. Then we had the three silver coins which they thought represented the wise men's gifts instead of the 30 silver pieces Judas was given. As we went though the eggs the children gave us the answers until we got to the last egg which was empty. I did try to trick the girl holding it by asking what she had done with it and then asked Sarah what she had done with it - but by now the children had worked out what was happening and shouted out that it was the empty tomb. I then summarised the points before telling the children why we have Easter eggs.

Thursday 29 March 2012

Windermere Juniors

There was a bit of confusion in the air today at Windermere Juniors. We sang a song and then Sarah went to start the story - but I thought I heard her say she needed some green palms to wave and a goat. Now the palms was very easy to find as I have some green gloves but the goat - the nearest thing I found was a sheep. So the story started and I gave out a green glove to some of the children on the front row and told them to wait for the part of the story when Sarah said to wave them. I then lifted out a costume sheep head and explained that it is like a goat and if you squint a bit could look like one. Here is the confusion bit Sarah didn't want hands/palms to wave but palm leaves! and it wasn't a goat/sheep she wanted but a coat!! Oops I told Sarah that I didn't know of any bible stories where goats and hands were used. Sarah then went on to explain the story of Palm Sunday with me butting in now and again to add something. The story ended with Sarah talking about Jesus on the cross at this point I showed the picture of the cross from Experience Easter then went on to Easter Sunday morning when I showed the empty tomb. I then took over and explained about why Easter is so important and why we have Easter eggs.

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Experience Easter

This morning we were at Low Furness School doing the Experience Easter with the Key Stage 2 children. We went into school last night to set up the 6 stations in rooms around the school. Then this morning we gathered to go through the stations with the children. We were help my members of Urswick Church. We had the Palm Sunday station in the entrance hall, here children thought about their hopes and dreams, in the Rainbow room we set up washing station so the children could get a sense of Jesus the Servant King, in the year 3/4 classroom we had the last supper Remember Me station here the children heard about the last supper and took bread and some red juice as a symbol of what Jesus was doing, the music/quiet room was set out as a garden dimly lit to reflect night-time here the children reflected on times they felt Alone and made models with clay, in the year 5/6 classroom we had a cross and at the foot of it were smaller ones made of newspaper that said WAR - HOMELESSNESS - POOR - ILLNESS - MONEY etc here the children were encouraged to write a prayer then they took hold of a red ribbon that was hanging from a nail in the cross the children could if they wanted to say their prayer. Finally the children came into the hall and sat in front of an open tomb here they heard the final part of the story of Easter and could if they wanted to look into the empty tomb. I asked the children questions here about what they had experienced before giving each child a small chocolate egg and reminding them why we have eggs at Easter.

Monday 26 March 2012

Pennington School

Today we took Gary along to Pennington School. As it is getting close to Easter and the children are thinking about Easter in school as well as going to Experience Easter up at Pennington Parish Church we did Palm Sunday. Gary came along to try and help and so he presented Sarah with a glove - when asked what it was for he said that I had heard it was Palm Sunday when people waved so he thought of hands because hands have palms and hands also wave! He then presented Sarah with another one and Sarah asked why two he replied one for each hand, Gary then got another one out and said do you know what you can do with this one? Sarah said wave it! No Gary replied you could wear it if you get cold while waving the others, Gary got another one out and said do you know what you could use this one for Sarah said wear it or wave it! No Gary said give it to someone else to wear. By this time the children were laughing at Gary. Sarah told Gary that he misunderstood what palm Sunday was all about she said a bit like the people in Jesus' day. Sarah went on to tell the children about Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem on a donkey while the people waved palm leaves - this was the symbol for a king. However by Friday he was dead and on the Sunday he had risen. She said that Jesus is the King of Kings and Gary asked why we had Easter eggs then. So Sarah explained about the eggs mean new life and if we allow Jesus to be King of us then we can have new life.

Saturday 24 March 2012

What a Messy Day

Just sitting down with my feet up - well down really as I wouldn't be able to type. Had a great time at Messy Church at Ulverston Methodists this afternoon. A number of good activities happening around the building and lots of families came as well. I was able to get along side some of the people and do a magic trick or two and lots of high 5's too. At 4pm we all gathered in the chapel and I led some singing before doing the Resurrection Eggs with the children and as they are so small I had photographed them and projected them on the screen. Once the children realised what the object was they knew were it fitted into the Easter story.
We had a really enjoyable time thanks to Mike Little for asking us along to help. Praise God a good day.

Wednesday 21 March 2012

St Peters Ireleth

This morning I was at St Peters with Scruff the Dog. I introduced Scruff to the children but when he came up he had a bright green/yellow glove in his mouth. Now because of this he couldn't talk until I removed it. When I asked him why he had a glove he whispered into my ear that he didn't just have one he had loads and brought them out to show the children. I was a little confused now as to why he had so many gloves. Scruff told me that he thought I had said we were going to be talking about Palm Sunday and about waving!! So he thought about hands because they wave and also have palms... Well I told Scruff that he was mistaken so he decided to sulk, which the children found so funny so I decided to tell him the real Palm Sunday story. About how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as a king and the people all cheered and waved palm branches - but they had too misunderstood what Jesus was doing because they wanted a mighty king to rule them and throw out the Romans but Jesus came to die on a cross for us and for our sins. Which is something the children shouted out to me during the talk. To finish we sang Inright Outright because it has the line Jesus cares for me because he died on Calvary.

Monday 19 March 2012

Penny Bridge School

This afternoon we were out at Penny Bridge School taking the assembly. What a joy it is to hear the children calling our names as they see us setting up for the assembly. We sang 'Be Happy' before Sarah told the feeding the 5000 story from the Big Ministries Bible Story Book 2. As you expect it was not a straight forward story - oh no - the children had a actions to do when they heard certain words. The children joined in with great enthusiasm as well as the staff. The story is a great miracle but we wanted to draw out another point as well which was that Jesus was at the time spending quality time with his disciples following the death of John the Baptist. Maybe they had a few questions to ask Jesus the gospel narrative doesn't cover that. But we told the children that Jesus talked to and heal the sick people even though he himself was probably a bit down and very tired he still showed the crowd compassion and then went onto feed them all. I told the children that we too should be like that - willing to go that extra mile to help people out even when we are tired and had a hard day, because by doing that we are doing what Jesus did and would want us to do. This led us nicely into 'Shine' then Sarah closed with a short prayer.

Friday 16 March 2012

Parish Coffee and Chat Plus

Sarah and I have had a very pleasant time down at the Parish Church in Ulverston at their Coffee and Chat Plus. We had been invited to talk about our Ministry and then enjoyed soup in the parish rooms. I talked a little about my journey into the work we are currently doing and Sarah gave a demonstration of the type of assembly we might do in a school. I then concluded the session with a short message of encouragement about stepping out in faith. This was followed by a homemade bowl of soup over at the parish centre. A very enjoyable time.

Leven Valley School

Yesterday Sarah and I went out once again to the little school of Leven Valley. The assembly is always just before lunch so we have about half an hour. We used the Big Ministries Bible Story Book 2 and told the story of the feeding of the 5000. As with a lot of these types of stories there are key words which the children need to respond to. Sometimes it is an action and other times shouting something out. The children enjoyed joining in with the story particularly as I add in a few actions of my own along the way. After Sarah had finished telling the story I spoke to the children about it. It is Yes a great miracle I told the children but we also need to consider what Jesus was doing before the event. He was spending time alone with his disciples following the death of his cousin John the Baptist. Perhaps the last thing he really wanted was a large crowd of people. But to Jesus this didn't matter as he servant hearted as always healed the sick and told stories to the crowd. It went on for the whole day, hence it got late and they had no food and therefore the miracle took place. I encouraged the children to show compassion like this as Jesus had done, in that Jesus was probably tired following a long day and yet still he help the people. So I told the children to help others out like Jesus did even when they don't feel like it or are tired because that is what Jesus did and still wants us to do today.

Tuesday 13 March 2012

Crosthwaite CE School

This afternoon we took the very beautiful trip over the tops to Crosthwaite School. This was only our second visit to the school which is the smallest school we go into. We didn't have the video projector or computer with us but we still managed to teach them Inright Outright before settling them down to hear the feeding the 5000 story from the Big Ministries book. These stories are great for getting the children involved with the story, as they have to respond to certain trigger words. The children did it very well and really enjoyed the story. Afterwards I talked a little about the miracle and about how Jesus had before healed the sick and talked to the crowd when he saw them. He had compassion for the people which resulted in them being fed as well as healed and listen to a good few stories. I encouraged the children to try to be like that, going the extra mile even when we don't feel like it, or reaching out to someone in need even though we ourselves might not feel like it or are tired. We then sang Shine and finished with a prayer.

Low Furness School

This morning we went into Low Furness school to take the assembly the theme was miracles. We decided to use the Big Ministries book of bible stories as it has interactive stories so the children can join in and make a response to certain words. So whenever the word small was mentioned the children had to close their finger and thumb together and leave a very tiny gap, on hearing the word big they put their arms out, but when noisy was said they had to make some noise, when the story said about being hungry they had to rub their tummy and look hungry, the story had bread in it so the children pretended to cut bread and lastly there were some fish so the children had to open and close their mouths like fish. In case you haven't guess it the story was feeding the 5000. But the point we drew from it was yes it was a miracle but also Jesus showed compassion and kindness to the people. He may have been tired having talked all day and he himself might have been hungry but he went the extra mile and healed the sick and told more stories and then fed them. We encouraged the children to follow his example and to go the extra mile and show compassion to those around us that are in need.

Sunday 11 March 2012

Bible Explorer at Croftlands Community Church

I have possibly broken a few rules today so I'll say sorry to Walk Thru the Bible for that but I had the chance today to talk to our church about Bible Explorer. Many people in our Church know about the work of Jester for Jesus Ministries and there are a few other churches around that have asked us to talk to them about it too. Today I was down to preach, and the theme was open. So I thought about it and during last week I have booked 3 BX's for the summer term and as we publish all our dates and events so that people can support us in prayer I decided to talk about Bible Explorer and what it is. I thought the best way would be for the church to see and experience some of the hand signs too, I was not really intending it to be a lesson but it ended up that way as Sarah stayed at home with Grace this morning as they are both feeling a little under the weather. This meant no Sunday School - my plans quickly for the day made more sense so the children stayed in church and I did a half hour talk with hand signs, actions and actors, magic tricks, visual aids, sound effects etc of lesson 1 from the BX programme. It went down like ... ice cream on a hot summers day. Some of the older ladies of the church want the next part of the story next month and are going to ask the elders. Everyone joined in from the youngest to the oldest at over 90! I ended with a plug for the work of Walk Thru the Bible both here at away as well as plugging G.P. Taylors book YHWH. I also asked the church to support me in prayer for this very vital ministry into schools.

Thursday 8 March 2012

Our Lady's Dalton

This morning we took the assembly at Our Lady's in Dalton. The children were very excited to see us as we sang Inright Outright to begin with. Then using the Big Ministries Book Sarah told the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. But in the story are several words which the children needed to respond to with actions. So whenever small was mentioned the children had to put their finger and thumb very close to each other, whenever big was said they had to put their arms out wide, when the word noisy came up they had to make some noise, if the word hungry was said they rubbed their tummies and looked hungry, when Sarah said fish they needed to open and close their mouths like fish and when bread was said they pretended to cut bread. The children performed brilliantly as they listened to the story. At the end I explained a little about the story to the children - yes it was a miracle but Jesus had wanted to be alone with his disciples following the death of John the Baptist. When the large crowd followed him he show them compassion as he healed the sick and greeted those who wanted to meet him and told them stories until it was too late to send them home and then the miracle happened. I encouraged the children to be like Jesus and go that extra mile to help those that need it and to do it even when we are tired. We sang Be Happy and closed with a prayer.

Wednesday 7 March 2012

St Peters

This morning we went to St Peters at Ireleth. It is always a joy to go to this little school and today especially as it didn't rain!! We sang Be Happy to begin with then Sarah went on to tell them the feeding of the 5000 story from the Big Ministries book, while I along with the children tried to do some actions to key words that were read out. The children responded very well despite the fact they were following me who missed some of the key words. After the story I explained to the children that Jesus did what he did despite feeling tired and even a little sad following the death of John the Baptist his cousin. He helped the crowd by healing the sick and telling stories and the miracle was the feeding the 5000. And we should be like Jesus I told the children be willing to help others out even when we feel tired and perhaps at times sad. The word we use to describe it is showing compassion which I said was for the older ones to understand. We finished the assembly with Great Great Brill Brill which we haven't done there before.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Croftlands Infants School

This story today was taken from the Big Ministries Book 2. The story of Jesus feeding the 5000. Sarah read the story as it was in the book while I did the actions in response to the trigger words with the children. The words were BIG so the children put their arms out, SMALL so they put their fingers together, NOISY so Sarah had picked a few year 2 children to make a noise, HUNGRY the children rubbed their tummies, BREAD they slice bread with their hands and FISH they made fish actions with their mouths. The children enjoyed joining in with the actions then at the end I talked to the children about how Jesus was a little sad at the time, and did want a bit of time with his close friends but when the crowd came he talked to them and healed some of them and even fed them. I encouraged the children to be like Jesus; for example when those at home ask them to do something like tidy their room after school and they might be tired they should do their best to do it because that is what Jesus had done in the story. It was a bit of a difficult idea to get across to the infants without using words like Jesus had compassion on the crowd etc.

Croftlands Junior School

This story today was taken from the Big Ministries Book 2. The story of Jesus feeding the 5000. The point was made though that although it is a miracle Jesus had compassion for the people and told them stories as well as healed the sick before he went on to feed them. The children were encouraged to respond to some trigger words during the story which they did really well. At the end of the story which Sarah told so I could interact with the children I summer up what Jesus had done and explained that although he was possibly a bit tired in human terms and a bit sad after hearing about the death of John the Baptist he still reached out to people and did what he did. The lesson for us therefore is that we too should go the extra mile as he did to help out people whenever they need it.

Pennington School

We visited Pennington School again yesterday and took the assembly. We started the assembly with a song then Sarah asked someone to help her out front. We had two different kinds of seat; one was a bean bay the other a solid chair. Sarah asked them to pick one to sit on, so they picked the soft bean bag and not the chair. Sarah asked them to try the chair out to discover how strong it was. Meanwhile I tried out the bean bag and fell off it and couldn't get back up. Sarah then told the wise and foolish builder story from the Lion Storyteller bible and I showed some pictures. Sarah concluded the talk by saying that in life we sometimes need to decide what we choose like the two builders and we need to set our lives on something solid. Finished with a prayer.