Monday, March 10, 2014

Emptying the rubbish: an assembly for lent

A primary assembly:
You will need some cleaning utensils and a hoover. 

Sun is shining - shows up all the dirt and cobwebs.
Time for a spring clean

It is a good time for a spring clean, so I've brought along the brush, dustpan and hoover. Who can give me a hand?

But often it is not just the house or the school that needs cleaning up. Sometimes we need cleaning up. If you've been involved in a mud fight, you come back from a football match, and you get home. mum picks you up and drops you in the bath. You are filthy and you need a good scrub.

But it is not just the house that needs cleaning; it is not just our bodies. What is inside also needs cleaning up!

We're a bit like hoovers.
The hoover cleans up rubbish. But where does the rubbish go?
And what happens if you don't empty the bag?
[loses suction - sucking power - and eventually clogs up]

And as we go through life we collect the rubbish. And there are times when we need to empty the bag:
So what is some of the sort of rubbish we need to empty
- owning up if we've done something wrong (not carrying the fear that we are going to be caught out)
- saying sorry (not carrying guilt)
- forgiving someone (not carrying the resentment)
- telling someone (parent, teacher) that we are hurting or frightened
- ask for help (not trying to do something all on our own)

Lent is that time of year when Christians have a bit of a spring clean.

Hoovers are not able to empty themselves. They need someone to do it.
And we can't empty ourselves.
That is why Christians come to Jesus and ask him to help us empty the bag of all the rubbish that is inside us.