In short
Themes: Christianity; parables; perseverance; success.
Summary: This assembly, which is suitable for an act of collective worship, focuses on a well-known story from the New Testament part of the Bible.
Resources: The framework to download / print (pdf); an image to display of the word 'Perseverance'; also have some pictures or props of shepherds, sheep and crooks for children to see as they come into assembly, or display the image provided.
The video
JONAH: Hello, I'm Jonah. Have you ever been told that if you can't sleep, you should try counting sheep in your head? Well, imagine what it's like being a shepherd and having to count sheep for real.
Do you think it would send you to sleep? Let's try counting them. One, two, three, four. Are you feeling sleepy?
GIRLS: [SHAKE HEADS]
JONAH: No, me neither. And it's a little bit too noisy for sleeping. Now, this story is about a shepherd who persevered and didn't give up.
This shepherd was out counting his 100 sheep when he realised…
SHEPHERD: 97, 98, 99… Oh, oh no, one of my sheep is missing!
JONAH: What did the shepherd do? Did he say…
SHEPHERD: Oh well, I've got 99. That's good enough. I think I'll go to bed.
JONAH: No, he did not. He said…
SHEPHERD: I will find that lost sheep and I won't rest until I do!
JONAH: The fields were big and the lost sheep was small. This could've taken a long time, but the shepherd was determined and was not going to give up.
He looked everywhere!
The shepherd looked under things… and around things. But no lost sheep, so he kept on looking. But then… No, that was a goat.
The shepherd even went to the top of a hill. Surely, he'd be able to see the sheep from there! Still, no lost sheep.
But he didn't give up. He persevered and kept on looking everywhere he could think of.
STORY NARRATOR: Until eventually…
JONAH: He'd found the lost sheep! Hello! So, he brought the sheep home and threw a party!
Weren't those sheep lucky to have a shepherd who persevered and never gave up. Thanks for helping me tell today's treasure story. It's a story from the Bible that Jesus told. See you again soon. Bye!
The story of The Lost Sheep is found in the Bible in the book of Luke, Chapter 15. The story is a parable that Jesus told. Christians believe that parables are stories with ‘hidden’ meanings that teach a moral or a lesson.
Christians believe that the shepherd in this story represents God and that the sheep are God’s people or God’s kingdom. God will always be faithful to God’s people (like the shepherd in the story) and if one goes a stray, God will do anything to find them and rejoice when they return.
The shepherd in the story goes everywhere to find his sheep - even places of danger - until eventually the sheep is found. This can help us to reflect on the value of perseverance and the success that can result from never giving up.
Video questions
- How many sheep did the shepherd have? (100)
- What happened when the shepherd counted his sheep? (He found out there were only 99 and one was missing)
- What did the shepherd promise to do when he found out one sheep was missing? (He would find the lost sheep)
- Where did the shepherd look? (He looked under things, around things and went to the top of the hill)
Key links
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Perseverance. image
Click for the full size image.
Image: shepherd with sheep. image
Click to display image full size
Suggested framework
1. Entry
Play your chosen music and display the image of the shepherd or your props.
2. Introduction
Ask the children what a shepherd is. (Someone who looks after sheep). What is the crook for? (The crook is to put round a sheep’s neck to guide them to safety if they go the wrong way). Explain that in the story the children are about to watch there are 100 sheep. Ask them to count to 10 together, slowly. The shepherd in the story has 10 lots of 10! That’s a lot of sheep!
Explain that the shepherd in the story has to ‘persevere’ and gather some suggestions as to what ‘perseverance’ means. Then play the video.
3. The video
The duration is 3’ 31” and the final words are: ‘See you again soon! Bye!’
You can play the video straight through or you can choose to pause at 1’ 29” when the shepherd says ‘I think I’ll go to bed’ and ask the children for their predictions.
4. After the video - Time to talk
You could ask some or all of the Video questions above to consolidate pupils’ recall of the story and their understanding of it.
Then lead as discussion about perseverance by asking:
- How do you think the shepherd felt when he realised that one of his sheep was missing?
- What choice did he have to make then?
- Have you ever lost something precious to you? How did it make you feel?
- Would you give up looking if you lost something important?
Explain the following from the Themes overview: The story is a parable that Jesus told. A parable is a simple story with a moral or message that Christians believe can show how they should live their lives. Christians believe that the shepherd represents God and that the sheep are God’s people, and that God will always look after the people - even when one goes astray, like the sheep in the story. God cares for each and every person.
5. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC collections below.
6. Opportunity for reflection
Close your eyes for a moment…
Think about a time when you felt you might give up on something…
Think about the story of the shepherd and what happened when he persevered…
Now picture yourself succeeding at whatever it was you were finding challenging…
How do you feel now…?
Next time you are tempted to give up, remember that feeling so that it encourages you to persevere.
7. Opportunity for prayer
Use your standard address (‘Dear God’, ‘Dear Lord’, ‘Let us pray’, etc) and:
Thank you for the story of ‘The Lost Sheep’ teaching us the value of perseverance.
When we feel something is too tricky, help us to keep on trying.
When our success feels far away, teach us to never give up.
When we succeed, help us to know that you are joyful too!
Amen.
Suggested songs
'All together as a family' (All about our school, no 15).
Some can dance and some can sing,
Some can fiddle on a violin.
Some can bat and some can bowl,
Some can tackle and score a goal.
Some can paint and some can sew,
Some can juggle and some can throw.
Some can throw, some can throw.
All that we can do or be
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
Some can run and some can swim,
Some do somersaults in the gym.
Some can ride or climb a tree,
Some are good at technology.
Some can teach and some can guide,
Some get everybody organised.
Organised, organised.
All that we can do or be
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
One for all and all for one,
All together we get things done.
We get things done.
All that we can do or be…
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
All together as a family.
Song: 'Chain of love' (All about our school, no 14. Vocal version)
- For the children of tomorrow
We’ve got to make it a better place,
Fill the world with love and laughter,
Make a fresh start for the human race.
(Chorus)
Chain of love, chain of love,
Circle the world with a chain of love,
Chain of love, chain of love,
Circle the world with a chain of love.
- No more war and no more hunger,
No more jealousy and hate,
Say goodbye to greed and sadness,
Make a change now or it will be too late.
(Chorus)
(Middle eight)
Circle the world, circle the world,
Circle the world, circle the world.
- Doesn’t matter where you come from,
Doesn’t matter where you’ve been,
Different race or creed or colour,
We are the same underneath our skin.
(Chorus)
Chain of love, chain of love,
Circle the world with a chain of love,
Chain of love, chain of love,
Circle the world with a chain of love.
Circle the world with a chain of love.
Song: 'Give me oil in my lamp' (Come and Praise, no 43. Vocal version)
- Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning,
Keep me burning till the break of day.
ChorusSing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings!
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King!
- Give me joy in my heart, keep me singing.
Give me joy in my heart, I pray.
Give me joy in my heart, keep me singing,
Keep me singing till the break of day.
Chorus
- Give me love in my heart, keep me serving.
Give me love in my heart, I pray.
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
Keep me serving till the break of day.
Chorus
- Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting.
Give me peace in my heart, I pray.
Give me peace in my heart, keep me resting,
Keep me resting till the break of day.
Chorus