Heaven’s Big Secret
The Easter story, with Alfie and Alia
by Karen Langtree
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To tell the Easter story in a meaningful, child-friendly way.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Heaven’s Big Secret) and the means to display them.
- You will also need to have a secret sentence ready for the game in the ‘Assembly’, Steps 1 to 2. It could be something like, ‘At last, the sun is shining outside; it’s going to be a beautiful day!’ You may wish to display the sentence for the watching children to see, but if you do so, make sure that the volunteers for the game cannot see it.
- You will also need a copy of the book Heaven’s Big Secret, which can be purchased at: https://spckpublishing.co.uk/heaven-s-big-secret-pb
Assembly
- Invite ten volunteers to come to the front and ask them to stand in a line. Explain that you are going to whisper a sentence to the first child, who should whisper it to the next in line, and so on all the way along the line. The person at the end of the line should then say the sentence out loud.
Optional: you may wish to display the sentence for the watching children to see, but if you do so, make sure that the volunteers for the game cannot see it. - Ask the last child in the line to reveal what the ‘secret’ has become. Hopefully, it will be something funny!
You may wish to repeat the exercise with other volunteers and a different sentence. - Ask the children whether they have ever had an exciting secret to keep. Maybe there was going to be a big surprise party for someone and they had to keep it a secret until the big day. Perhaps someone surprised them with something special.
Note: Emphasize that you are talking about good secrets: surprises and things to make people happy. Remind the children that if anyone asks them to keep a secret that makes them sad, they should always speak to an adult whom they trust. - Ask the children to give a few examples of exciting secrets they have been part of.
Listen to a range of responses. - Ask the children whether they can think of a time when other people have known a secret that they didn’t, such as what their birthday present would be. How did they feel?
Listen to a range of responses. - Show the book Heaven’s Big Secret to the children.
Use the book and the slides to share the Easter story with the children.
Time for reflection
When Jesus came back to life, many of his friends saw him and had meals with him. After a time, he went up to heaven, which is where he lives now. The story about this in the Bible is known as the Ascension.
The new life that Jesus brought on that very first Easter means we can know that he is with us wherever we go. We can’t see him, but we can know his presence with us every day – just like we can feel the wind, but we can’t see it.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for sending Jesus to bring us new life.
Help us to remember him this Easter as we eat hot cross buns and chocolate eggs.
May they remind us of the cross on the hillside and the stone that was rolled away.
May we always remember that Jesus is alive forever.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Every step’ by Nick and Becky Drake, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZBhKp5_HwE (4.05 minutes long)
