Primary Current Assemblies



CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

By Helen Redfern

Suitable for Whole School

Aim

To consider Jesus as a light in the darkness and to think how we can bring light into dark situations this Christmas.



Preparation and materials

• You will need a ‘feely bag’ with Christmas objects in it (e.g. a bauble, a Santa, a chocolate for the tree, a candy stick, a stocking) and a candle.
• Download the song if you are using it: ‘Love Shine a Light’ by Katrina and the Waves.

Assembly

1. Ask the children: When it is very dark at this time of year, there are lots of different kinds of lights. How many can you think of? Either take responses from the front, or ask the children to talk about it in pairs. Draw out these suggestions: street lights, car headlamps, lights in the house, fairy lights, torches, fires, nightlights, candles, traffic lights, matches, moon, stars, shop windows.
   
2. Invite some volunteers to the front to put their hand into the feely bag, take hold of an object and try to guess what it is without looking. Comment on how much harder it is to tell what things are without being able to see them.
   
3. Long before Jesus was born, back in the time of Isaiah the prophet, the people were walking in darkness. That didn’t mean that it was literally dark all the time, that the sun never shone. It was a way of describing the fact that they were living without hope and without guidance. They didn’t know where they were going in life. They had lost sight of God and were doing lots of wrong things. They couldn’t see an end to their troubles.
   
   Isaiah told them of a time when things would be different:
   
   The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
   Those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9.2)
   
   Jesus was born to be a light in the darkness. When he grew up, he actually called himself ‘the light of the world’ (John 8.12).
   
4. Some situations today can feel like living in darkness – constant arguing, worries, illness, loneliness, bullying, fears …
   
   People still need light in their lives today – the light of hope, encouragement and direction. We can bring light into people’s lives – sometimes just a smile is enough. Or maybe doing a kind thing for someone or saying something encouraging.
   
   Perhaps when we see sparkling Christmas lights this year, it will remind us to be a light for someone.

Time for reflection

Reflection

Light a central candle and play a song about light. A great one would be ‘Love Shine a Light’ by Katrina and the Waves.

Invite the children to reflect on Jesus as the light of the world.

Challenge the children to think about how they can bring light into the lives of others this Christmas.

Song

‘Shine Jesus shine’ by Graham Kendrick (Hymns Old and New, 479)