OT Mini 5 St Paul's School

This afternoon I have once again been working with the children of year 5 and 6 at St Paul's School Barrow as we have finished off OT Mini.  We have covered a number of great stories during the afternoon as we have looked at the scattering of Israel and the exile of Judah.  The story of Daniel as he rose to an important position within the kingdom and his time with the lions.  Then onto the story of Esther and how she saved her people then the return the rebuilding of the temple and the people and final the walls then...…. wait...….Christ as the Old Testament closes and makes way for the New Testament and Jesus.

Leven Valley School

This morning I went down to do the assembly at Leven Valley School.  It was the first visit to the school this year so it was great to see all the children again as well as the staff.  I started by talking about Christmas and New Year and asked if the children had had a good time - I know it seems like ages ago now but there was a link into the story later.  We then sang Be Happy and I explained afterwards that I was going to tell the children a story that Jesus told which was an earthly story but had a hidden or heavenly meaning to it.  I then went on to recall the story of the Lost Son or as my visuals called it The Wild Son Who Returned. Towards the end of the story I focused in on the dad who forgave the wild son for what he had done.  I then pointed out that Jesus came to earth to show us and to teach us more about God and Heaven and how we can get there and this story was one such story.  I then explained the meaning to the children in that the son is like us who do things wrong and the dad is like God who forgives us - we just need to say sorry.  We also need to forgive people that do wrong things to us - this idea comes out of what Jesus taught us and is also in the Lord's Prayer.  We then sang God Can do Anything and as we did I said that no wrong is too big or too small that God can't forgive us for.  I then finished with a prayer.

Our Lady's School

This morning I went to Our Lady's School in Dalton for the assembly.  It was our first visit of 2020 so I asked the children if they had had a good Christmas and New Year and if they had been to any parties or had family round during that time - there was a link here into something I was going to say later.  Our first song was Be Happy and after the song I told the story of the Lost Son or as the slides I was using for the visual aid called it The Wild Son Who Returned.  As I told the story I focused on the dad who forgave the son for the wrong he had done.  I then pointed out the reason Jesus came to earth was to teach us about God and Heaven and how we can get there.  The story is about forgiveness as the son is like us - people who do things wrong and the dad is like God who will forgive those who do wrong - we just need to say sorry.  But also we need to forgive those people who do wrong to us.  In the prayer that Jesus taught us I continued it says about forgive us as we forgive others the wrong we have done.  To link in with the final song I said that nothing is too big or too small that God can't forgive - after singing God Can do Anything I finished with a prayer.

St Mary's RC School

This morning I went to St Mary's RC School to do the assembly.  As it was the first visit of this year I asked the children if they had had a good Christmas and New Year - there was a link here into something I was going to say later.  Our first song was Be Happy and after the song I told the story of the Lost Son or as the slides I was using for the visual aid called it The Wild Son Who Returned.  As I told the story I focused on the dad who forgave the son for the wrong he had done.  I then pointed out the reason Jesus came to earth was to teach us about God and Heaven and how we can get there.  The story is about forgiveness as the son is like us - people who do things wrong and the dad is like God who will forgive those who do wrong - we just need to say sorry.  But also we need to forgive those people who do wrong to us.  In the prayer that Jesus taught us I continued it says about forgive us as we forgive others the wrong we have done.  To link in with the final song I said that nothing is too big or too small that God can't forgive - after singing God Can do Anything I finished with a prayer.

Dalton St Mary's

This afternoon Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Dalton St Mary's School.  As it was the first assembly of the new year for us Sarah opened the assembly by asking if everyone had had a good Christmas and New Year and if anyone had been to any parties.  She also asked the children what makes them happy - she asked a few children and we got a number of answers.  We then sang Be Happy.  After the song Sarah introduced the story I had prepared by reminding the children what parables are and that Jesus used them to teach us.  I then told the Lost Son story or the Wild Son Who Returned as the title on the slides I was using said.  I focused in on the dad in the story who forgave his son for the wrong he had done and explained that Jesus came to show us and teach us about God and Heaven and how we can get there - so I explained that the son is like us who do wrong things and the dad is like God who forgives us those wrongs - when we say sorry to him that is.  I also said that we should also be forgiving of those people who do wrong to us.  Sarah then expanded a little further this point by referring to the Lord's Prayer.  We then finished off the assembly with God Can Do Anything before she closed with a prayer and then the Lord's Prayer.

Lindal and Marton School

This morning Sarah and I went to do the assembly at Lindal and Marton School.  It was our first visit of 2020.  So to start off Sarah asked if everyone had had a good Christmas and New Year, she also asked if anyone had been to parties over Christmas - this was to link in with the story I was going to tell later.  Sarah then asked what makes them happy and a few children responded this was to link with the song - Be Happy.  After the song I told the story of the Lost Son except the visuals I used called it The Wild Son Who Returned - which I think sounds better.  Sarah had mentioned to the children that I was going to tell the children one of Jesus' parables - an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.  As I told the story I focused in on the forgiveness the dad showed to the son and reminded the children that Jesus came to tell us more about God and Heaven and what we need to do to get there.  As the dad forgave the son so in turn God forgives us for the wrong things we do, but we also need to forgive those that do wrong to us.  Sarah concluded this part and talked a little more about forgiveness before introducing our next song God Can Do Anything.  After the song Sarah finished with a prayer.

Broughton School

This morning I went to do the assembly at Broughton School.  To start off I asked the children about Christmas and New Year and if they had had any family get togethers or parties - it was to link with something I was going to say later during the story.  Our first song was Be Happy then I told the story of the Lost Son from Luke - although the visuals I used had the title The Wild Son Who Returned - which I thought sounds better.  I pointed out and reminded the children of the reason why Jesus came to earth in the first place and explained that these stories are everyday earthly stories but have a hidden heavenly meaning which I explained to the children.  Jesus came to show us what God was like as well as what Heaven is like and how we can get there.  The wild son of my story is like us who do things wrong and the dad of the story is like God who forgives us when we do wrong.  But we need also forgive others if they do wrong to us.  To finish off I reminded the children of the Lord's Prayer which has the words forgives us our wrongs as we forgive those that do wrong to us then after singing God Can Do Anything I finished with a prayer. 

St Peters School

This morning I went to do the assembly at St Peter's School.  It was our first visit this year and was so lovely to see all the children and staff after such a long time.  To start off I asked the children about Christmas and New Year - yes I know it was weeks ago and we are now in February! but it did link into something I was going to say later.  Our first song was Be Happy then I told the story of the Lost Son from Luke - although the visuals I used had the title The Wild Son Who Returned - which I thought sounds better.  I pointed out and reminded the children of the reason why Jesus came to earth in the first place and explained that these stories are everyday earthly stories but have a hidden heavenly meaning which I explained to the children.  Jesus came to show us what God was like as well as what Heaven is like and how we can get there.  The wild son of my story is like us who do things wrong and the dad of the story is like God who forgives us when we do wrong.  But we need also forgive others if they do wrong to us.  To finish off I pointed to the large version of the Lord's Prayer that is painted on the wall of the school then after singing God Can Do Anything I finished with a prayer and then we all said the Lord's Prayer. 

St Pius X School

This morning Sarah and I went to do an assembly at St Pius X School in Barrow.  It was lovely to see all the children and staff again we felt so welcomed into the school.  Sarah started by asking who was happy and what makes us happy - a few hands went up - this linked into our first song Be Happy.  After the song Sarah told the children that I was going to tell them a story from the New Testament - a story Jesus told - so she asked what we call these earthly stories with heavenly means - parables came the answer.  I then told the story of the Lost Son or as the visual aids said the Wild Son Who Returned.  After the story I pointed out that Jesus came to earth to show us the way to get to heaven by telling us about God as well as Heaven.  In the story the son is like us - people that do things wrong and the dad is like God who forgives us when we say sorry.  I also pointed out that we too need to forgive those people who do wrong to us.  Sarah then backed that up by talking about the Lord's Prayer and how it says forgive us our wrongs as we forgive those that do wrong to us.  To finish off we sang Shine then Sarah said a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.