BX OT5 Croftlands

On Friday I was at Croftlands Junior School for the final lesson of Old Testament Bible Explorer.  I had missed last week as the school had an event on during the day, so I needed to start with a big recap of the previous weeks, as well as going over the hand signs.  The children soon got back into the process as we heard about the fall of Israel followed by the fall of Judah which led to the exile for 70 years.  The story of Esther which is one of my favourite stories was told as well.  We managed to complete all the lesson and do all the hand signs and the children really enjoyed the whole thing.

Leven Valley School - Pentecost assembly water, sponge, story.

I went to Leven Valley on my own this morning and once again did the assembly on Pentecost.  Having asked the children about last Sunday I told the story of Pentecost and afterwards explained what happened to the children to help them understand it a little better.  I did the Holy Spirit explanation with the sponge as I have done before.  To end we sang Shine followed by a prayer then Great Big God.

Croftlands Juniors - a birthday, a sponge - must be Pentecost

I started the assembly at Croftlands Juniors as I have started each one this week by asking the question 'what special day was last Sunday in the church or Christian year?'  A hand went up straight away and the answer came back the church's birthday, then another hand Pentecost.  Which I thought was great.  This led me to talk a little about birthdays etc before doing the Pentecost assembly as we have been doing it all week.  As with all the assemblies this week I ended with Shine before saying a prayer.

St Peters - Pentecost talk

I went to St Peters on my own today as Sarah's wheelchair has yet again been taken away for repair.  I our Pentecost assembly.  The first part which is the story from Bob Hartman I did a few weeks ago as part of the Bible Explorer New Testament.  The second part with the sponge was new to all the children, but it helped to explain the Holy Spirit to the children.  Following the talk and illustration we sang Shine and I said a final prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Low Furness School - a messy picture, some water, a sponge - Pentecost??

Today I went to Low Furness School.  The theme for the assembly was Pentecost.  We didn't start with a song as the story was a bit longer than normal.  I told the story of Pentecost using an idea from Bob Hartman, then explained what the Holy Spirit was using a sponge and a bucket of water and a messy picture.  The idea was that the dry sponge couldn't clean it but a wet sponge can because the water enables the sponge to do the job it was intended to do rather like the Holy Spirit in us enables us to do what God intended us to do which is to tell the world about him.  After the talk we sang Shine and then I prayed to end the assembly.

Penny Bridge School - pentecost

Today Sarah and I went over to Penny Bridge school to take the assembly.  We decided not to sing to start as the talk was going to be a little longer.  As it was Pentecost on Sunday our theme was on that.  I just did a brief explanation about Pentecost being a Jewish Festival but for us as Christians it is the birthday of the church.  To help tell the story of the first Pentecost I used a Bob Hartman story from one of his books.  The children could make a response with actions during the chorus of the poem.  After this I did explain some parts of it and talked about the Holy Spirit then Sarah asked me what that was and what did it do.  To explain I had a picture covered in blue paint and a dry sponge, when I tried to clean the picture nothing happened, however when I put the sponge in water it look no different but now it could easily clean the picture.  The point was the Holy Spirit enables us to do what God intended us to do which is spread the good news, just like the water helps the sponge to clean the picture.  Sarah then said when we do that we Shine from the inside out which was a cue for a song.  I closed the assembly in prayer.

Pennington School - the Holy Spirit, some water and a sponge?

This morning we went to Pennington School and did a talk in the assembly about Pentecost.  Before we started Sarah asked if anyone knew what in the Christian/church calendar Sunday was.  A few people put up their hands and the answer came out Pentecost.  I then told the story of Pentecost using a Bob Hartman version from his book Telling the Bible.  I followed this with a little explanation but mentioned several times the Holy Spirit - which Sarah then asked me about.  I then took a picture which was covered in blue paint and a sponge.  I explained that I couldn't clean the picture with the sponge - why?  Well I needed something else - water.  I put the sponge into a bucket of water and held it up - now it looked no different to before but I could then use it to clean the picture.  What was the difference it was the water inside it.  I explained that the Holy spirit is like that we don't look any different but it enables us to do the job God intended us to do which is tell other people about him.  Sarah then said that when we do that we Shine from the inside out which was the cue for the song.  I concluded by saying a prayer.

Messy Church

This afternoon it has been Messy Church down at the Methodist Church in Ulverston.  The theme was all about the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  The children had a great time making flame pictures by blowing paint, kite making, cake decorating (birthday cake).  The little talk was about the celebration of Pentecost and how it is the birthday of the church I put up some bunting and started to explain what Pentecost was - the Holy Spirit coming down with a great wind and fire etc. then Mike interrupted me by asking what the Holy Spirit was, did.  So I asked him to come to the front and gave him a picture that was covered in paint, I also gave him a dry sponge.  I asked him to clean the picture while I went to get a bucket with water - he couldn't clean the picture so I took the sponge and put it in the water, when I lifted it out it didn't look any different than before put now it could be used to clean the picture - why because the water within it helped to do it.  Now I said that is like the Holy Spirit in us it helps us to do the job we were meant to do for Jesus. We might not look any different but we are inside.  Following this we sang Shine from the inside out so the world will see that You live in me.  We have a fab time today.

St Peters - BX NT5

Today was the last lesson of the Bible Explorer New Testament at St Peters.  The children were great and remembered all the previous weeks hand signs, as well as some of the many places and people we have talked about over the last 4 weeks.  This afternoons stories were all about Paul and about how he took the gospel message to many more people.  We focused on some of the places he went to and talked about what happened there like beating stoned and then beaten in the public square before landing in prison - only to be singing Praise's To God at midnight and an earthquake setting him free.  The children help out in some of the stories by acting out parts for the Jerusalem council members when Paul was talking to them about all things Jewish after he had been talking to the Gentiles.  The ending of it - well has it ever stopped because we say Expansion has the church stopped expanding?  No I don't think so - these stories are just the beginning.  So Praise God that schools are still open to His word and that they will stay open as we help to expand His Kingdom further.

Crosthwaite School - Scruff the Dog

This afternoon I went along to Crosthwaite school for the assembly as Sarah was at the school council at Low Furness.  To start we sang Be Happy and then I introduced the children to Scruff the Dog.  Some of the children had seen him before but some hadn't.  He came out of the bag look rather cool in his dark shades and acting up a bit too.  When asked about the shades he cooling said because he was cool.  Eventually we managed to get the truth out of him because although he thought he was cool they were in fact a pink pair of shades - which are not cool on a boy dog.  He told us he was trying to hide as he was a little embarrassed because he had chased the postman down the path - which I said was OK in a game but Scruff had chased him and took a fancy to his leg also.  I sent Scruff away to think about what he had done and asked the children what he should do.  They all said he should say sorry.  I went onto say that we should always say sorry whenever we hurt or upset people because that's what God wants us to do.  We then sang Great Big God followed by a prayer.

Croftlands Infants - some shades and a dog

This afternoon Scruff and I went to Croftlands Infants school.  After singing Be Happy Scruff came out wearing his dark shades, which the children found funny.  I asked Scruff several times why he was wearing them and he kept on saying to look cool or chill man I'm cool etc.  Eventually I managed to get him to tell me that he was trying to hid because he had done something wrong and now he was so embarrassed.  I asked about what he had done and he had chased the postman and use his leg as a bone.  Which the children found funny but I sent him away to think on what he had done.  When he had gone I talked to the children about what he should do and the response was for him to say sorry.  I told the children that we should do just that ourselves whenever we do something wrong.  To finish we sang Inright Outright and I said a prayer.

Ulverston Infants - Why Scruff wore shades

This morning we went to Ulverston Infants Church walk for the assembly.  We took along Scruff the Dog and after singing Great Big God he came out with a pair of shades on looking cool.  I asked him what was with the shades and his reply was that wanted to look cool for everyone.  I questioned him a bit more and discovered that he had really put them on so he couldn't been seen or recognised as he was embarrassed.  This led to me asking him why and he told me he had done something wrong - chased the postman and bit his leg.  With that Sarah suggested that he went away to think about what it was he had done.  Sarah continued to talk with the children and asked about what they thought he should do - they all said he should say sorry.  Sarah also told the children that when we do things wrong we should always say sorry and that God delights in us when we do because he loves us so much.  Following the talk we sang Be Happy and I finished with a prayer.

BX OT4 at Croftlands Juniors

This afternoon I have been at Croftlands Juniors once again doing Bible Explorer.  Lesson 4 which tells the story of the first king of Israel King Saul who was asked for by the people and anointed by Samuel.  He was followed by King David and then by King Solomon.  This was the time when Israel was a united kingdom however it didn't last that long just 120 years then the kingdom divided into north and south Israel and Judah.  Next week we will be looking at the exile and one of my favourite stories Esther.

BX NT4 at St Peters

This afternoon I have been once again at St Peters for the fourth lesson of New Testament Bible Explorer.  This is the story after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  It covers him going back into heaven, the coming of the Holy Spirit and the start of the church spreading out through Philips preaching, the conversion of Paul and Peter taking the message to the Gentiles.  The children responded well to the stories and the hand signs and were always keen to put their hands up to come out and take part in the story.  The last lesson next week when we will be looking at the journeys Paul makes into Europe.

Our Lady's - relationships - Jacob and Esau

This morning I went to Our Lady's.  To start with we sang So Many Ways to Praise the Lord.  I then introduced the theme which was about relationships and to help me I was telling the story of Jacob and Esau.  I did explain as I was telling the story that God had told Jacob's mother Rebecca that he was going to be the chosen one and that he would rule over his older brother.  The story was adapted from the Lion Storyteller Bible and I added in some hand signs for Jacob and Esau.  I needed to explain that Esau only really cared about himself while Jacob cared for other people.  I asked the children what was better to be like Esau or to be like Jacob.  Following the story we sang Be Happy and I finished the assembly with a prayer.

Low Furness School - Experience Pentecost Day

This blog is a little later was hoping to have some pics!  The day happened yesterday Wednesday.  We had a great time at the school, we had set up 6 stations around the inside of the school building and the children all visited each station for about 10mins.  We had a Waiting Station were they reflected about having to wait and be patient for something to happen, there was the Receiving Station where the children heard about how the Holy Spirit came down the children then wrote or drew a prayer on a bunting flag, then there was a Telling Station where the children lit a candle using the flame from just 1 candle this demonstrated how the word spread, then there was a Sharing Station where the children heard about the church is not so much the building but the people and they bring with them all kinds of gifts music, money, teaching etc, next the children went to a Doing Station here they heard the story of Peter and John healing the lame man by the temple gates and finally the Growing Station here there was a world globe and the children could look at other churches from around the world and be reminded of how the church grew. At the end all the children came back together as we finish the morning off.  I asked them who didn't know what Pentecost was before they had come to school and nearly ever hand went up then I asked who knows what it is now and nearly every hand went down which I thought was great. So all in all a fantastic day and a big thank you to everyone that helped out.

Low Furness School - Relationships

The theme given for the assembly was relationships.  There are lots of examples in the bible of relationships but both Sarah and I came up with the same one Jacob and Esau.  After singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord I used the Lion Storyteller bible to tell the story of Jacob and Esau.  I explained that they were brothers - twins even and that one was all hairy and the other smooth skinned.  I also explained that Esau didn't care much about family were Jacob did and although what Jacob did seemed to be wrong God's favour was on him and he went on to be called Israel and father 12 sons which became the 12 tribes.  Following the story and the little talk I said that we shouldn't be like Esau who only thought of himself but we should be like Jacob who put others first.  After this we sang Be Happy and then Sarah prayed with the children.

Millom Fun Day

Today we have been over to Millom for the churches in Millom funday.  I had planned three magic shows during the afternoon and managed to do all three 12:45, 1:45 and 2:45.  I had a mix of tricks with me for each show and didn't repeat any of them.  Each show had a gospel message in it and as each show played out the gospel message was longer.  I did a couple of new tricks too and even one that I had made which went down really well as it was linked to a bible story.  I had a great time and I hope that everyone else did too.

BX OT 3 Croftlands Junior School

Had a great time yesterday afternoon at Croftlands Juniors.  This week we were in the hall which was great as there was so much more room to move about.  The children loved the stories and laughed at the Gideon story when the Israelites attacked and they woke up and attacked each other.  They also responded well to the hand signs.  Next week we start to look at the Kings Saul, David and Solomon as well as the life of Samuel.  Great lesson - well I enjoyed it anyway.

BX NT3 at St Peters

This afternoon I have been over at St Peters for the third lesson of Bible Explorer.  I had a great time and so did the children.  We looked at the lost parables and I told the story of the lost coin, we did the story of Zacchaeus and the raising of Lazarus.  Which led us to the last week on earth of Jesus' life.  We talked about the entry into Jerusalem and the temple cleansing.  I did this story with some toy money some English pounds and some Euros.  The pounds were the normal money and the euros temple money.  A couple of children gather round as we pretended to be in the temple.  There was a sheep for sale at 10 Euros but the buyer needed to exchange his pounds into temple money so to get 10 Euros he paid 15 pounds, so he bought the sheep.  Then when he came to leave the temple any money he had left needed to be change back so say he had 10 Euros left he sold it back for 8 pounds.  The children soon realised that this was not fair which helped them understand why Jesus turned the money tables over - I didn't turn the tables over I demonstrated it by turning the money trays over and repeating Jesus' words 'this is a house of prayer but you have made it into a den for thief's'  This led to the last supper story which included the breaking of bread and wine (I didn't have these items) and the command to 'Do this in remembrance of me'  then I explain that Judas had already spoken to the chief priest about Jesus and basically sold him for 30 silver pieces.  Then came prayers in the garden, the arrest and Peter's denial which I got a couple of children to act out.  I then went over the crucifixion part of the story before quickly moving into Easter Sunday and the resurrection.  On the whole I felt the lesson went well and I hope the children enjoyed it.  One or two have been asking when Paul's story starts which is interesting.

St Peters - Being MAD, square to cross??

This morning Sarah and I went for our first visit of the summer term to St Peters.  We welcomed everyone and asked them about Easter before we sang Giant of Faith.  I had taken my square to cross prop with me and told the children the story of Jesus healing the man that was lowered down through the roof my his four friends.  I used the prop to create shapes that helped to tell the story.  At the end I made the cross shape and explained that Jesus did have the right to forgive the man from his sins and we know that now because of what he did on the cross.  I also focused on the four friends who I called MAD that is Make A Difference friends, they helped the man to get to Jesus so they made a difference.  And I continued if we do that we can Shine from the inside out.  Which was a perfect cue for a song - Shine.  Sarah close with a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.