Burlington School

This morning Sarah and I went to Burlington School for the assembly.  We started with So Many Ways to Praise the Lord before talking about the time of year - advent.  I told the children about the wise men and how they needed to prepare very well for the long journey they would make to see Jesus.  I asked them about journeys they had made and about what sort of things they needed to take for such a trip.  I then handed over to Sarah who told the story of Baboushka which is a folk tale.  She missed out on the chance to see Jesus as she was far too busy doing stuff.  We can be like that too on the run up to Christmas and forget what it is all about.  So we encouraged the children to take time and stop and think about the things they are doing for Christmas and to remember why it is we celebrate in the first place.  To close we sang Rejoice with us and then said a short prayer.

St Peters School

This morning Sarah and I went to St Peters School for the assembly.  We started with So Many Ways to Praise the Lord before talking about the time of year - advent.  I told the children about the wise men and how they needed to prepare very well for the long journey they would make to see Jesus.  I asked them about journeys they had made and about what sort of things they needed to take for such a trip.  I then handed over to Sarah who told the story of Baboushka which is a folk tale.  She missed out on the chance to see Jesus as she was far too busy doing stuff.  We can be like that too on the run up to Christmas and forget what it is all about.  So we encouraged the children to take time and stop and think about the things they are doing for Christmas and to remember why it is we celebrate in the first place.  To close we sang Rejoice with us and then said a short prayer.

Low Furness School

This morning Sarah and I went to Low Furness School for the assembly.  The theme was Advent, so we talked a little about Advent after we had sung Great Big God.  We then looked at the wise men story and I talked about the distance they travelled to see Jesus - then asked the children if they had ever been on a long journey in a car, also what they needed for the trip.  The wise men had to travel nearly 1000 miles to see Jesus so they needed to be prepared.  Sarah then read the account of Baboushka we did point out that it wasn't true and just a tale.  She wasn't ready to go and see Jesus when the wise men came knocking, but then later changed her mind and went to find him but couldn't.  The point was we can all be too busy with Christmas preparations that we miss the whole point of it and forget the real reason we celebrate in the first place.  To finish we sang Rejoice With us this Christmas and Sarah closed with a prayer.

Church Walk Primary School

This morning I went to Church Walk Primary School for the assembly.  We started by singing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger before I told the children the story of Sarah's cat Millie.  Millie would sit on Sarah's knee and Sarah would stroke her and Millie would purr.  One day while this was happening Millie jumped down walked across the floor and did a massive poo on the carpet (the new carpet).  Then she walked back to Sarah jumped up onto her knee again expecting the same as before.  Sarah was not happy as Millie had made a mess.  Then Sarah got to thinking about it and us and we are like that (we don't poo on the carpet) but we do things wrong, make a mess and expect God to love us just the same as he always has, which he does as his love is so big link to the song.  I then told the prodigal son story and how when the son came  to go back home his father was there waiting for him with arms wide open ready to welcome him home again - God is like that father too.  I then explained the next song Inright Outright to the children in that God sent Jesus to us at Christmas and that is what Christmas is all about - God showing us his love in sending Jesus to care for us.  We sang the song and I then finished with a prayer.

BX OT4 Penny Bridge

On Wednesday afternoon I was with year 6 again at Penny Bridge school doing lesson 4 of Bible Explorer.  It was the start of the united kingdom with Saul, David and Solomon so I told these stories and children came out to help me tell them as they dressed in costume and played the parts very well.  We finished with the kingdom being divided and a lead into next week the exile.

St Mary's Dalton

On Wednesday morning Sarah and I visited St Mary's Dalton School for the assembly.  We decided to do our God's Love assembly so we were going to sing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger sung - which we had sung last time when we did the OCC assembly - so I talked a little about the shoe boxes and thanked the children for their contribution towards it this year.  After the song Sarah told the children about Millie her cat and how she would spend time sleeping and resting on Sarah's knee until one day she was quite happy on her knee jumped down walked across the room did a massive poo on the floor and came back to Sarah for more snuggle time.  She had made a right mess on Sarah's new carpet.  Sarah got to thinking about this and we are like that with God - he loves us and wants the best for us and we make a mess (we don't poo on the carpet though) and God will love us just the same as before.  She then told the story of the prodigal son and how he wasted all his fathers money and then went to feed the pigs.  He decided to go home and work for his dad as a servant but his dad was waiting for him with wide open arms.  God is like that father and his love is bigger than anything we could ever possibly imagine.  I then displayed John 3:16 and talked about Jesus coming to earth at Christmas time and how he lived upon earth and died on a cross for us - that shows us just how much God loves us.  This linked to the final song Inright Outright.  After the song I closed the assembly with a prayer.

Lindel and Marton School

On Wednesday morning Sarah and I visited Lindel and Marton School for the assembly.  We decided to do our God's Love assembly so we were going to sing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger sung - which we had sung last time when we did the OCC assembly - so I talked a little about the shoe boxes and thanked the children for their contribution towards it this year.  After the song Sarah told the children about Millie her cat and how she would spend time sleeping and resting on Sarah's knee until one day she was quite happy on her knee jumped down walked across the room did a massive poo on the floor and came back to Sarah for more snuggle time.  She had made a right mess on Sarah's new carpet.  Sarah got to thinking about this and we are like that with God - he loves us and wants the best for us and we make a mess (we don't poo on the carpet though) and God will love us just the same as before.  She then told the story of the prodigal son and how he wasted all his fathers money and then went to feed the pigs.  He decided to go home and work for his dad as a servant but his dad was waiting for him with wide open arms.  God is like that father and his love is bigger than anything we could ever possibly imagine.  I then displayed John 3:16 and talked about Jesus coming to earth at Christmas time and how he lived upon earth and died on a cross for us - that shows us just how much God loves us.  This linked to the final song Inright Outright.  After the song I closed the assembly with a prayer.

Leven Valley School

This morning Sarah and I visited Leven Valley School for the assembly.  We started with God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then Sarah told the story of Millie her cat when she did a massive poo on the floor.  The cat had been sat on Sarah's knee nice and comfy as Sarah stroked her then jumped down did the poo and came back for more of the same.  Sarah thought about it and realised that we are a bit like that with God - we do something wrong make a mess and expect him to continue to love us - which he does, as his love is so big.  She told  the story of the prodigal son and about how the father was waiting for the son to return - which he did after spending all the money and letting his father down big time.  But the father held out his arms in love to him.  I displayed John 3:16 on the screen and explained that God love the world so much he sent Jesus into it.  I linked this to our next song Inright Outright.  After the song I closed the assembly with a prayer.

Our Lady's School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Our Lady's School and also pick up their shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  To start our assembly we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger which we did sing last time when we talked about shoe boxes with the children but today we wanted to tell the children just how much God loves them.  Sarah then told her cat story about Millie when she was just a kitten.  During a nice chilled out afternoon Sarah and Millie sat watching the television as Sarah stroked her she purred - as cat's do.  Suddenly Millie jumped down from Sarah's knee walked across the floor and did a massive poo on the new carpet, before walking back to Sarah jumping back onto her knee for more of the same chill time.  Well Sarah wasn't happy with Millie for the mess she had made, but then she thought it is a bit like us - we make a mess (we don't poo on the floor) and expect God to love us just the same as always - which he does.  His love is so big link to song that he loves us no matter what we do.  She then told the prodigal son story and mentioned how the son wasted all his fathers money and yet his father waited with arms open wide to receive his son back.  I then displayed John 3:16 and explained that God's love is so big that he sent Jesus to earth to save us, this linked with our next song Inright Outright.  After the song we closed the assembly with a short prayer.  I thanked the children for the 37 shoe boxes they had filled for us and explained that they were showing love to other people in doing what they had done.

BX OT 2 and 3 Penny Bridge Academy

This afternoon I have been in the year 6 class of Penny Bridge Academy doing a double Bible Explorer lesson.  I have covered from Moses through to Ruth with Joshua and the Judges to fill it out.  All the children loved it which was great, one even said how much she enjoyed listening to the stories.  Next week on to the first king Saul, then to David and Solomon.

Broughton School

This morning I went over to Broughton School for the assembly.  It was my first visit of the new school term and was great to see all the children again.  We started with God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then I told the story of Sarah's cat Millie.  Before Sarah met me 15 years or so ago, she had a cat (who is now 17).  Each day Sarah would come home from work and the cat would be waiting for her.  Once Sarah sat down the cat would join her and they would watch television together keeping each other company.  Well one day this is what was happening when Millie jumped down walked across the newly carpeted floor and did a massive poo in the corner before returning to Sarah's knee, fully expecting Sarah to continue as before.  This got Sarah thinking about us being a bit like the cat (we don't poo on the floor though) but we do make a mess and then come and expect God to continue to love us - which he does as his love is so big - link to song.  I then told the prodigal son story in short and said God is like the father who holds out his arms to us.  I linked this to the next song which was Inright Outright as it says Jesus cared for me when he died on Calvary, I displayed John 3:16 on the screen and read it through.  After the song we sang and I said a short prayer.  I then talked a little about how we can show love to others in filling a shoe box for a child that wouldn't be getting anything this year.

St Peters School

This morning I went to St Peters school to do an assembly and pick up their shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  after we had sung Great Big God I asked if anyone had ever told a lie - hands went up then I asked if anyone had done something wrong and blamed someone else - hands went up.  I then told the Adam and Eve story which generated a laugh particularly when I said that Adam and Eve had no clothes on.  The end of the story saw Adam blame Eve, Eve blame the snake.  I explained what happen next and how it is not right to lie and blame other people.  I then asked the children who it was that taught them to lie - nobody did it is part of human nature to therefore we need to try and be as honest as we can and when we do wrong own up and say sorry.  I then got the children to think about that before saying a short prayer.  I then thanked the children for their shoeboxes this year and said a prayer for the children who will be getting them.

Low Furness School

This morning Sarah and I went to Low Furness School for the assembly.  Our theme this week was honesty.  Sarah started by asking the children who the first people in the bible were - she directed the question to the younger children mainly.  Then I told their story ending with Adam blaming Eve and Eve blaming the snake.  Sarah then went on to talk about them not being truthful and honest with God when he asked them who was to blame.  Adam and Eve face being thrown out of the special garden in Eden that God had made for them to live in.  To close the assembly we sang My Lighthouse and afterwards I did a short prayer.

Pennington School

This afternoon Sarah and I went to Pennington School for the assembly.  We decided to talk about God's Love, so Sarah told her cat story - the one about Millie when she was small sitting on her knee then jumping down to do a massive poo on the floor - the new carpet actually before jumping back onto Sarah's knee for more cuddle time.  The cat fully expected Sarah to be alright with her doing such a massive poo on the floor.  Sarah got to thinking we are a bit like the cat - no we don't poo on the floor (do we??) but we do make a mess and then expect love back from God.  The thing is he does love us back and never stops loving us no matter  what we do or how much we hurt him.  This is like the story Jesus told of the prodigal son.  To round off our assembly we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then I said a short prayer.

Penny Bridge Academy

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Penny Bridge.  We started with God's Love is Bigger than a Burger, then Sarah told her story about Millie her cat.  The would greet her each day as she came home from work and sit on her knee as they relaxed in front of the television.  Well one day this was happening and Millie jumped down walked across the room and did a massive poo on Sarah's new carpet - then expected to get back up on Sarah's knee for more Sarah and cat time - Sarah wasn't happy.  This reminded Sarah of us in a way, because we come close to God then go and make a mess of things and still come back to God.  Despite the mess we make of things God still loves us, link to the song we had sung to start.  Sarah then went on to tell the prodigal son story that Jesus told explaining that God is like the father who holds his arms open wide waiting for us to run to him.  I then displayed John 3:16 and talked a little about the love that God has for us in sending Jesus - linking this to Christmas which we will be celebrating in a few weeks time.  I then linked it to our next song Inright Outright.  After the song I closed the assembly with a prayer.

Coniston Primary School

This morning I was at Coniston Primary School for the assembly.  I started by singing God's Love is Bigger than A Burger then told the story about Sarah's cat when it did a massive poo on the new carpet, then expected Sarah to show her love again.  I explained that this is a bit like us in that we do things wrong and yet come back to God and expect love from him, which we get as God love's us so much and wants the best for us.  I then told the prodigal son story before talking about Jesus and the love God had for us that he sent him to earth to us - I displayed John 3:16 as I spoke.  To finish off I explained that we would sing Inright Outright which tells of the love and care God has for each of us.  Then to close I said a prayer.

Croftlands Infant School

Today I went to do the assembly at Croftlands Infant School.  After singing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger I told them the story of Sarah's cat Millie.  I used this story of when she did a massive poo on the carpet to explain just how much God loves us, because we make mistakes like Millie (we don't poo on the carpet though) and come back to God expecting him to love us again - which he does.  Linking with the song I said that God's love is so so big, it is bigger than anything we can ever imagine.  He loved us so much he even sent Jesus to us, I linked this with Inright Outright the song we sang next.  After this song I said a prayer to close the assembly

Croftlands Junior School

This morning I went to Croftlands Junior  School for the assembly. Not all  the school was in  as some were on a school trip.  So after singing God's love is bigger than a Burger, I told them about Millie Sarah's cat.  I explained that Sarah had a cat before I met her and they would sit together, and keep each other company.  One day Sarah was having a quiet time with the cat sat on her knee, when it jumped down and did a massive poo on her new carpet, then climbed back up onto her knee expecting Sarah to show it love again.  This is  bit like us and God, he loves us so much and yet we do things wrong (we don't poo on the carpet) and after we have done those things wrong we expect God to continue to love us - and he does!  I then told the prodigal son story in a brief form explaining that God is like the father in the story and he holds his arms wide open to us.  To bring the assembly to a close we sang Inright Outright as it talks about the care and the love God has for us in sending Jesus, I displayed the words of John 3:16 on the screen before we sang it.  I then closed the assembly with a prayer.

St Peters School

This morning I was once again at St Peters School this time for an OCC assembly.  We had forgotten about it on Wednesday when we visited the school, we should have done it a few weeks ago but we had to cancel that assembly.  To start the assembly we sang So Many Ways to Praise the Lord.  I then talked about shoe boxes and how they can have a big impact on the lives of children, I recalled a few stories of children receiving their boxes and the reaction they had - I wanted to show a video clip but with my main computer not working the old one I have been using wouldn't display the clip.  I went through what to put into a box as well as what not to put it.  I explained about the £3.00 cost as well.  I then got the children to sing Shine explaining that when we fill a shoe box with good things we are also filling it with love so we are shinning out God's love.  After the song I said a short prayer.

Flookburgh Primary School

Today Sarah and I went down to Flookburgh Primary School for the assembly.  We started with God's Love is Bigger than a Burger.  I then told them the story of Sarah's cat Millie that liked to sit on her knee when she lived on her own before I met her.  Well there was this one time when Sarah and Millie were together and Millie was on Sarah's knee but then got off walked to the other side of the room did a massive poo before getting back onto Sarah's knee.  Now Sarah's loves Millie but what about this time? - It is a bit like that with us and God - he loves us so much and yet we do things wrong and turn back to God to be loved some more (a bit like Millie)  I then mentioned the prodigal son story and talked about the son running away and yet the father never stopped looking for him - like God does with us.  God loves us so much he sent Jesus into the world - I displayed John 3:16 on the screen and talked about it before introducing our final song Inright Outright which talks about the care and the love Jesus has for us.  I closed then with a prayer.

BX OT1 Penny Bridge

This afternoon I have been at Penny Bridge school with the year 6 children doing Bible Explorer Old Testament with them.  It was my first visit to them doing BX so I was looking forward to working with a different school.  The children I felt really enjoyed the session and soon got into the role play that I include in the stories I tell.  Looking forward to doing more with them in the weeks to come.

Burlington School

This morning I went to do the first assembly of the new school year at Burlington School.  It was really good to see all the children and staff again after such a long time.  To start the assembly we sang Be Happy.  I then emptied the contains of my bag which contained a kinds of different things from wet suits to snow boots to gloves and life jackets I asked the children to thing what linked them all together.  The link was they all protect us, I then used an Andy Robb book to read the account of Jesus calming the storm.  Afterwards I linked the story and the objects by explaining that in life we have ups and downs and we need someone to help us and even protect us - the items can all help protect us but are not much use when we are worried about something like a test or exam.  The disciples were in a storm going up and down so they called on Jesus to help them and we can too.  I finished the assembly with Wonderful Lord.

St Peters School

This morning Sarah and I went along to St Peters School for the assembly.  We started by singing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger then Sarah told the children a story about her cat Millie.  Sarah explained that when she got Millie she lived alone in a flat and the cat was good company for her, she would sit on Sarah's knee.  However one day the cat was on her knee then got down did a massive poo on the new carpet and then climbed back onto Sarah's need for comfort - Sarah as you could imagine wasn't happy.  She told the children this story and there was much laughter as you can guess at the very mention of poo - but Sarah explained that we are a bit like that (not doing a poo on the carpet) in that we do something wrong and turn back to God.  She talked about the prodigal son story that Jesus told and about how he wasted all the money then went back to his father.  Who opened his arms to him, at this point she got the children to stand up and put their arms out wide, then asked them to join up in rows, she explained that God's love is so much bigger and wider than that.  His love is so big that he allowed Jesus to come into the world to die for us.  She displayed John 3:16 on the screen and explained it to the children before introducing our next song Inright Outright.  After the song I closed the assembly with a prayer.

Crosthwaite School

This afternoon Sarah and I made our first visit of the new term to Crosthwaite School.  It was so great to see all the children and staff again after so long - it seemed ages since we were last there.  To start off the assembly we sang Be Happy I then lifted a number of odd items out of a bag and asked some of the younger children to hold them for me.  I explained that something links them all together - I had a hard hat, wet suit, snow boots, gardening gloves etc the link was they all help protect us.  Sarah then read the story of Jesus calming the storm.  I then explained the link between the story and the items, all the items protect us in some way and Jesus also protects us - you see the disciples were in the boat when the storm started and they called to Jesus for help.  In life we sometimes face difficult times and we go up and down a bit like in a storm, so I encouraged the children to do as the disciples did and call out help to Jesus.  Sarah told about Grace doing just that before a lesson and she really enjoyed the lesson, answering questions and things.  We closed with Wonderful Lord and Sarah said a prayer.

Low Furness School

This morning Sarah and I went to Low Furness School for the assembly.  The theme was on God's Love, so to start us off we sang God's Love is Bigger than a Burger.  Sarah then told the children a real life story about something that happened in her life with her cat Millie.  She explained that when she lived alone she bought a cat to keep her company and be there to welcome her home after work.  Well one day the cat was sat on her knee and Sarah was gently brushing her, when the cat suddenly got up and  did a massive poo on Sarah's new carpet, before re-joining Sarah to once again be brushed.  Sarah explained to the children that is what God is like with us, we make mistakes and then expect God to welcome us back each time (just as Millie did) and because he loves us so much he does welcome us back.  She reminded the children of the assembly that the year 5/6 class did before half term about the lost son - who wasted all his dad's money then went back to his dad - and his dad welcomed him back with open arms.  She pointed out to the children the theme for the half term is Love and encouraged them to look at the board with bible verses on it.  She also read John 3:16.  To close we sang Inright Outright before I closed with a prayer.