W/C 15th June 2020
This is our special time together : Let us light the candle
This week's theme is RESILIENCE.
Resilience is when you have the strength to keep going even when things are challenging. Christians learn from the Bible how to keep going, knowing that they don’t have to do it alone.
You could draw yourself a picture that represents challenges beat - a mountain, a set of blocks to push through. You could write words on the mountain or the blocks of things you find hard. Rainbow colours might give you courage.
See the picture opposite for ideas.
You may like to light a candle to help you reflect. Christians use this moment to remember that Jesus is the light of the world, and whatever happens, he will always be with them.
This week, we are thinking about the idea of resilience – keeping going even when we encounter difficulties. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it makes a huge difference. It’s also something we can learn to get better at! We can develop resilience in our hearts and minds through practice, a bit like we develop muscles in our body when we exercise.
If you can, why don’t you stand up and do a quick exercise now! If we do this every day, we will get stronger in our bodies. Perhaps you find it easier to exercise with someone else alongside you. Why don’t you ask a member of your family to exercise with you now!
If we practise having a go at things that are hard, we can also get stronger in our minds and our hearts. Eventually, we will be able to do harder and harder things. Knowing that we have people alongside us when we try to do hard things can make it easier too.
I wonder – what do you find really hard to have a go at? Who or what helps you with this?
This week's Bible story is about someone who tried to do something really hard and kept going even though it looked like she wasn’t getting anywhere.
Watch the video opposite to learn about the story of the persistent widow.
The widow wanted justice when someone treated her unfairly. She had been really brave, going to a judge, and when she asked him for help, he refused to give her the fairness she wanted. But she kept going back! The reason Jesus told this story was to encourage his followers to keep trying – if things didn’t work out straightaway, they shouldn’t give up. In fact, he said this is how they should pray to God – over and over again, without giving up.
Time for reflection
I wonder how the widow in the story felt about having to go back again and again? How would you feel? Have you ever had a time when you asked someone for justice and they wouldn’t listen to you?
If you wish, tell God about one of those times.
Now think of a different situation. It might be something that happened to you, or to someone famous (look up the stories of Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Gandhi or Harriet Tubman, for example).
What helped you, or the person you researched, to keep going? How did you or they develop resilience so that you or they could keep trying?
If you wish, say a prayer asking God to help you.
Father God
I know you hear me when I cry out to you,
Comfort me when things feel hard,
Give me strength when I can’t keep going,
Breathe into me when I feel empty and alone,
Help me to know I am loved and valued.
So I can keep trying,
Again and again
Again and again
Again and again
Amen
Click on the music opposite to join in with one our favourite hymns.
Be bold, be strong
Be bold, be strong, for the Lord, your God, is with you. Be bold, be strong, for the Lord, your God, is with you. I am not afraid, I am not dismayed, Because I’m walking in faith and victory, come on and walk in faith and victory, For the Lord, your God, is with you. X2
Let us go out of this Collective Worship with kind and positive thoughts.
We will be the best that we can be.