Vicarage Park

This morning Sarah and I went over to Kendal to visit Vicarage Park School, it was our first ever visit to the school so it did seem a little strange.  We were met with the friendly face of Bernadette who is now the head there and formally head of Church Walk.  We introduced ourselves and start off by singing Great Big God then I went into the story of David and Goliath as I have told it in a number of schools during the month of June.  I made the story big and bold with lots of drama which the children seem to enjoy.  At the end of the story Sarah summed up what David had done, although he was only small what he did had a huge impact on the people around.  Sarah encouraged them to try and do something small for those around them.  To finish off the assembly we sang God Can Do Anything then Sarah closed with a prayer.

Gleaston Family Fun Day

This afternoon it was Gleaston Family Fun Day on the green at Gleaston.  The event is run by the people from the Benefice of the Urswick Churches and it is a chance to show God's love in a practical way.  Lots of people turned up from 12 noon onwards and lots of people were still walking around at 4pm as we packed away.  I had been asked to entertain the children and adults with a few shows.  I did three shows in total starting off with lots of fun tricks with a slight gospel message, building to my final routine set which was all gospel.  At the end of the show I talked about the 4 points, the heart the cross, the other cross and the question mark.  The heart is a reminder that God loves us, and the first cross is a wrong cross reminding us that we have all done something wrong, the second cross is the cross of Jesus which reminds that that he died for us and finally the question mark we must decide to follow him.

Flookburgh Primary School

This morning we were invited to go over to Flookburgh Primary School for an assembly.  The invite came from the deputy headteacher who has seen us in another school.  The theme for the assembly was about moving on.  So after introducing ourselves we then sang  Our God is a Great Big God.  Sarah then introduced the theme to the children which was going to be about Paul.  I told the story of Saul's conversion and to help me do so I asked three children to help me.  I used the props and things that I use whenever I tell this story during Bible Explorer.  One of the children was Saul, another was Ananias the other child played the part of God's voice.  As the children read out their part in the script I filled in the background information until eventually Saul had the visit from Ananias who spoke to him and healed him of his blindness.  I then went on to explain that Saul changed his name to Paul and that the encounter with Jesus on the road changed his life completely, so much so he set off on journeys all over the place telling people about Jesus.  Sarah then explained that although it might seem a big adventure to do things like that Paul faced many difficult times in his life but although his life had been changed for the better he knew that God was looking over him.  The verse that we used for today is in Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  After this we sang God can do Anything and then I closed with a prayer.

BX OT4 Pennington

Today was the fourth lesson of Bible Explorer at Pennington School.  The lessons goes through the reigns of the first three kings of Israel - Saul, David and Solomon.  It also covers the story of Samuel.  The children responded well to the stories today and are always keen to want to take part it is just a pity that there are not enough roles for them all to play a part.  The lesson ends with the split in the kingdom between Israel in the north and Judah in the south and next week we will look at what happened next. With the scattering of the northern tribes and the exile of Judah and we cover the Esther story too.

Leven Valley School

I seem to have forgot to blog this assembly last Thursday.
On Thursday last week Sarah and I went to Leven Valley School and did our assembly on David.  To start off we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then I told the story of David fighting Goliath and winning.  The message was that even though we might be small we can do things that have a big impact as David king because he went on to be the greatest king Israel ever had.  At the end we sang God Can do Anything and we closed in prayer.

Our Lady's School

I seem to have forgot to blog this assembly last Thursday.
On Thursday last week Sarah and I went to Our Lady's and did our assembly on David.  To start off we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then I told the story of David fighting Goliath and winning.  The message was that even though we might be small we can do things that have a big impact as David king because he went on to be the greatest king Israel ever had.  At the end we sang God Can do Anything and we closed in prayer.

Low Furness Transition Morning

This morning Sarah, Vic, Andre and myself were at Low Furness School for the whole morning working with the year 6 pupils.  The morning started with an assembly for the whole school which was followed later with a 1 hour lesson for the year 6 pupils.  Following an introduction from us all as to who we are and what our best and worse memories were of secondary school we split the children into 4 groups.  Then each of us taking a group went through issue that might come up in the first year of a secondary school.  Three of the stations had a video clip to watch one was on homework, another on getting lost in school and the other was on bullying.  The final station was about moving on.  However as the children got to the station they had a jigsaw to make which had a bible verse on it from Joshua 1:8 'Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, for God is with you wherever you go'  Once the children had completed that they then watched the video clip then had a discussion about it then did something practical in the homework station they built a tower of truth with Jenga bricks, in the lost station they wrote a worry onto a plaster and put it in a first aid box, for the bullying station they make a friendship bracelet and in the moving on station they looked at the Moving on booklet and made a paper plane and flew it thinking as they did how hard it can be to let go of things.  At the end we did a quick question and answer sessions drew the lesson to a close and said a prayer.

OT BX3 Pennington

Today was lesson 3 at Pennington.  Despite the fact that the children came in from lunchtime very hot and red faced they were great and we had a fab time.  I had questions fired at me before I had even said hello to the class and the questions continued during the lesson, I even had one boy recapping the story from week 1 which was great too.  So after a quick summary as to where we were both in the Bible and on the map I set off telling the story of Joshua and the fall of Jericho.  Then the taking over of the land and on into the period of the judges and as always focusing in on just 3 Deborah, Gideon and Samson before retelling the lovely story of Ruth and finishing as always on a cliff hanger ready for next week.

St Peters

This morning I was over at St Peters School for the assembly.  To start with we sang a song that we haven't done for a while God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then I went on to tell the story of David and Goliath.  I started the story by explaining to the children that they can read it for themselves from the Bible or from one of the many Bible books such as the Lion Storyteller Bible which even has CD's for the children to listen to.  Tis is the story as I told it.  David was a shepherd looking after his sheep, singing songs, writing poems and playing his harp instrument as well as using his sling shot.  He wasn't afraid of things like lions, wolves, bears etc as he had his sling shot to defend himself as well as his fathers sheep.  The country was over run with Philistines and they had sent out their champion to fight one to one with an Israelite but sadly no-one was brave enough.  David was sent to the front to take food to his brothers and they were all down as Goliath was teasing them.  David said he would fight the giant well there was much laughter from the brothers but David insisted so they took him to King Saul who also laughed, in fact he laughed so much he fell off his throne.  However Saul agreed and sent for his man sized armour which was way too big for little David, instead David selected 5 smooth rounded stones and went off to meet Goliath.  Goliath too laughed at David but David stood his ground and looking up at him said, "You come against me with sword, spear and javelin but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty the God of Israel's armies and today I will strike you down and all peoples will know that there is a God in Israel." After he said this he removed 1 stone from his pouch and loaded it into the sling shot and before Goliath knew it the stone was winging it's way towards him.  Goliath was still laughing inside at the thought of a small boy coming out to fight him and thinking how easy it was going to me for him when - the stone hit him, he lurked forward then backwards, then forwards again before ... crashing to the ground and that was it Goliath was dead David had with God's help defeated the giant.  After the story I explained to the children that David although he was only small trusted God and put his faith in him and although we are only children we can do amazing things too.  A lot of the children have been making these loop bracelets and I encouraged them by saying perhaps they could make them and sell them to raise money for a charity.  That would be doing something small that could have a huge impact on other people because of what David did the Philistines went away and eventually David became king.  After the story and talk we sang Giants of Faith, then I closed with a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Crosthwaite School

This afternoon I went over to Crosthwaite School for the assembly.  I started with God's Love is Bigger than a Burger as we haven't sung that one for a while.  The story I told was David and Goliath and I did it as I would when I teach Bible Explorer but without the props.  The point was that David made a huge impact on those around him even though he was still a child and he trusted God in all things.  I encouraged the children to be like that, to try and make an impact even though they feel small.  To finish we sang Giants of Faith as it talks about David being a giant of faith.  I then closed with a prayer.

Low Furness School

This morning I went to Low Furness School for the assembly.  I decided to do the assembly on David so to start we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then I retold the David story as I would when teaching Bible Explorer rather than just reading it from a book.  I did use the Bible to quote what David said to Goliath (I did miss the odd word here and change a word there).  The point was that David as small as he was had a big impact and his actions showed a faith and trust in God.  I encourage the children to be like David and to try and make an impact like he did.  After the story we sang Giants of Faith and then I closed with a prayer.

Broughton School

This afternoon we have been over to Broughton School.  We had two assemblies in mind for today and depending on which children were in for the assembly we decided which one to do.  As the infants were out we did the assembly on perseverance which we have done to a number of schools just recently.  After I explained about my bad guitar playing and not sticking to it I explained what the word perseverance means then went on to show the video clip of Nick Vujicic then I pointed out some of the things he was doing on the video and talked about how easy it would have been for him just to give up.  Then with the verses from Hebrews 12:1-2 which encourages us to continue to run the race and to persevere as Christ did on the cross, I encouraged the children to persevere with whatever they find difficult if it is school work, a hobby, a gifting, a talent or a sport.  Sarah then continued to talk about Nick and about how he now has a family of his own.  After singing God Can do Anything we said a prayer and finished the assembly.

Church Walk Primary

This morning Sarah and I went to Church Walk School for the assembly.  After singing Great Big God I then went on to tell the story of David and Goliath, but instead of reading it from the bible or a children's bible I told it in the way I tell it for Bible Explorer which is dramatic.  The children responded with laughs particularly when I spoke in a big booming voice like Goliath spoke and then when I told them about the armour David was given to wear by King Saul.  After the story Sarah summed up by saying that no matter how small we may be we can make a big impact on those around us and with God's help what might seem impossible can be possible as God can do anything which was a cue to the next song.  After the song Sarah closed with a prayer.

Ignite - Youth Alpha

Tonight's subject was Why and How should I read my Bible.  Once again we watched and listened to the Youth Alpha video and explored a number of issue related to reading the bible.  We encouraged the children to read it in an ordered way that is to say not opening it up and pointing.  I gave an idea of how this works and came across some random verses that didn't make sense at all, however I did mention a time when we were just starting out in full time ministry when I was drawn to a set of bible reading notes from years back and I opened it on the day of the year and read a verse that lifted me up so high and has carried me for years the verse was from Jeremiah and it was this

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

The video we watched also explained that using notes would help to understand what the bible was saying and also it may say different things to different people at different times.  I finished by saying that if they needed help they should seek help from their parents, people at church and even us.



 

BX OT 1 and 2 Pennington

I started last week at Pennington with Bible Explorer but due to illness and things forgot to blog it.  So I decided to do week 1 and 2 together.  The lesson started well with all the children ready to hear about the Old Testament we went through the creation story and the fall of Adam and Eve through to the flood story and on into the father of nations.  Abraham, Isaac and then Jacob leading into Joseph.  as Joseph is such a big story and as my voice gave out I stopped lesson 1 there leaving poor Joseph in Egypt as a slave.  This week I picked up the story from the cliff hanger I had left it with last week. We went through the hand signs to start with and then on into the story.  The ending of the story then led nicely into the Moses story and we went through the hand signs as we went building them up as the story rolled out.  Finishing with the death of Moses and the people ready to take the land which will be the focus of next weeks story.

St Peters

This morning Sarah and I went over to St Peters for the assembly.  After singing Be Happy I started to tell the children about my guitar playing when I was in year 3 which didn't last very long as I could understand the notes and the chords and couldn't sing at the same time so I failed at it and gave it all up.  I wish now that I hadn't as it would have been such a useful tool to have.  This led on to me showing a video clip of Nick Vujicic who is a man born with no arms or legs.  The video showed him doing all sorts of things.  He persevered and has inspired millions of people around the world.  I displayed a bible verse from Hebrews 12:1-2
As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne. After reading it I explained what it meant to the children and encouraged them not to give up on things.  I asked who found maths, English, PE etc difficult differing groups of children put their hands up so I said that even now I still struggle with my English, spelling and writing - I encouraged them to carry on with it.  Sarah also did the same when she spoke briefly about it too.  To finish we sang God Can Do Anything then Sarah closed with a prayer.

Croftlands Infants School

This afternoon Sarah and I were at Croftlands Infants.  After singing Be Happy Sarah started by asking if the children knew what the word perseverance meant - there were some children that had a go and what it meant.  Sarah then asked me to tell the story of my failed guitar playing and how I wish that I had carried on - this led Sarah to talking about perseverance and not giving up like during sports day when they are running a race.  I then read out Hebrews 12:1-2 As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne. I encouraged the children to persevere with what ever it is that they find difficult, if it is school related like maths and English or a sport or a talent they have for music.  Then we sang God can do anything and closed with a prayer.

Croftlands Junior School

This morning Sarah and I were at Croftlands Juniors.  After singing Be Happy I started to tell the story of my failed guitar playing and how I wish that I had carried on - this led me to talking about perseverance and not giving up.  We showed the children the video of Nick Vujicic who was born without arms and legs and how he has over come through perseverance and become a top world wide speaker and an inspiration to millions.  I then read out Hebrews 12:1-2 As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne. I encouraged the children to persevere with what ever it is that they find difficult, if it is school related like maths and English or a sport or a talent they have for music.  Then we sang God can do anything and closed with a prayer.

Penny Bridge School

This afternoon I have been at Penny Bridge School doing the assembly.  I decided to do the assembly I did last week on Perseverance.  So after singing Be Happy because it refers to 'I will run this race and never stop, I will follow Jesus until I drop'  I talked about my guitar and how I didn't carry on with it when things got tough and how now I wish I had.  I then gave a definition to the word perseverance which says - continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.  I then showed a short video of Nick Vujicic who was born with no arms or legs and it talks about how he tackles life and has been an inspiration to thousands as a result of his perseverance.  I then brought a bible verse in from Hebrews 12:1 and 2 As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne.

After this I said a short prayer.

 

Low Furness School

This morning I was at Low Furness School for the assembly, the theme was perseverance.  So to start we sang Be Happy as it says that we will run this race and never stop. Then I talked about when I was a year 3/4 child and was bought a guitar for a birthday present and because I couldn't sing very well was not encouraged to play it by my teacher and I wish that I had persevered with it as it would have been such a useful tool to have particularly with what we do now.  I then displayed a picture of Nick Vujicic but a side view of him from his shoulder up.  Then we watched a video of his life.  He was born with no limbs at all and despite that he has touch the hearts of thousands of people by his own determination and perseverance, it is inspiring to watch.  I then spoke of other people that inspire me and over come physical difficulties daily and about how easy it would be for them to say enough and for them to do nothing.  I then displayed a bible verse from Hebrews 12:1 As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. I explained what this means then showed the second verse which talks about Jesus not giving up on the cross but sticking with it and persevering to the end and that end is glory in heaven.  I encouraged the children not to be like me giving up when someone opposes them, or when things become difficult or we feel like we have failed.  Because God can do Anything, which was our next song after the song I said a prayer.