Assembly:  Saying Sorry

 

1.  Michael Rosen poem – Mistakes, or analogy of video screen.

 

2.  How do we know God will forgive us?

 

Story that will tell us how we know.

 

3.  Practice cue cards.  “Eh?”  is “Pardon”

 

One day Jesus went back home to visit his folks  (Aah!)  But soon everybody heard that he had come back, and a huge crowd gathered around the house he was in (Ooh!)  They all crammed around trying to get a look in to see him, and there were so many of them that no one could get in or out of the door.  (Wow!)  It was hot in there, and Jesus was teaching them about God (Wow!)

 

Anyway, four friends brought a paralysed man on a stretcher to the house to se if Jesus could make him better (Aah!) But they couldn’t get in because there were too many people round the entrance (Oh no!)  So they climbed on the roof and dug a big hole in it (Ooh!)  Then they lowered the man on the stretcher down into the room in front of Jesus (Ooh!)  Jesus was amazed by how much they believed in him (Wow!)  And he said to the paralysed man “Son, you are forgiven!”  (Aah!)

 

There were some stuck up religious people there who were not impressed (Oh no!)  They couldn’t believe what they had just heard (Eh?)   They started saying, “He can’t say that!  (Oh no!)  No one can forgive anyone they don’t know. Only god can forgive people like that!  Who does he think he is?!” (Oh no!)

 

But Jesus knew exactly what they were whispering about (Ooh!)  He said to them, “Why are you being so cynical?  (Ooh)  Why do you doubt that I can forgive anyone?  Which is simpler: to say to this paralysed man, “You are forgiven” or to say “Get up off that stretcher, pick it up, and walk out of here?”(Ooh!)  Well, just so you understand that I can forgive people because I am God’s son, I’ll show you something.”  Now the stuck up people were worried (Eh?)

 

Jesus looked at the paralysed man (Aah) and said, “get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”  (Ooh!) And the man did it – he picked up his stretcher and walked out of there.  (Wow!)  And everyone watched him with amazement  (Wow!)  Now they knew that when Jesus said he could forgive people, he meant it.  They rubbed their eyes and said, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”

 

4.  Story of Bishop and nun who sees Jesus.  Done something naughty before he was a bishop, ask God if he knew the great sin.  He doesn’t remember.

 

5.  Pray – thank God that every time we say sorry, he forgives and doesn’t remember.

 

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