Pause for Thought: Superheroes!
Pentecost is on Sunday 23 May 2021
by Alexandra Palmer
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider the festival of Pentecost by using the idea of superheroes and their powers.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the image of Lego superheroes that accompanies this assembly (Lego Superheroes) and the means to display it.
- Have available the YouTube video ‘Incredibles 2: new UK trailer’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 2.19 minutes long and is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPr2XYR_IgY
- Optional: you may wish to use the ‘Superheroes’ extension activity (available at: Superheroes - Extension Activity) that accompanies this assembly.
Assembly
- Show the image of Lego superheroes.
Ask the children, ‘Who is your favourite superhero and why?’
Pause to allow time for the children to discuss the question with a partner and then listen to a range of responses. - Ask the children whether they have ever seen the superhero films The Incredibles or The Incredibles 2.
Ask the children why the characters are called the Incredibles. (The answer is that they have incredible super powers!) - Show the YouTube video ‘Incredibles 2: new UK trailer’.
- After the video, ask the following questions, taking time to listen to a range of responses.
- Do the Incredibles use their powers for good or evil? (Answer: they use their powers for good.)
- If they use their powers for good, why do you think the townspeople no longer love superheroes? (Answer: the townspeople are annoyed about the amount of damage that the superheroes have caused when they’ve been trying to prevent disasters or foil evil plans.) - Before you go on to explain Pentecost, make sure that the children are familiar with the story of Easter.
Ask the children, ‘Why did Jesus die on the cross?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Christians believe that people can do wrong things, and this is sometimes called sin. They believe that Jesus died on the cross because God wanted to have a relationship with people and to forgive them for the wrong things that they have done. Christians believe that Jesus took the punishment for the wrong things that other people have done. - Ask the children, ‘What happened to Jesus after he died on the cross?’
Listen to a range of responses.
After Jesus died, his body was taken off the cross and placed in an empty tomb. This is the part of the Easter festival called Good Friday. Three days later, Jesus came back to life again, and this day is known as Easter Sunday. - After Jesus came back to life, he appeared to the disciples several times over 40 days. On one occasion, he appeared to more than 500 people at once! During those 40 days, Jesus prepared the disciples to start teaching about God. Just before he returned to heaven, Jesus cooked a breakfast of fish on the shoreline of Lake Galilee for the disciples. Jesus asked one of his disciples, Peter, to start teaching and spreading the good news about God.
- Jesus knew that his disciples had the right skills to start spreading the good news about God. Pentecost is the day when God sent the Holy Spirit to help the disciples to do this. This is the same Holy Spirit that had come down onto Jesus as a dove when he was baptized by John the Baptist three years earlier. However, this time, the Holy Spirit looked like flames and felt like the wind.
When God sent the Holy Spirit, Peter went outside straightaway and began to tell people about Jesus. After Peter had spoken, 3,000 people became followers of Jesus. Peter spent the next 33 years spreading the news about Jesus and helped to establish the Christian Church.
Time for reflection
Ask the children, ‘Did the disciples become superheroes?’
Listen to a range of responses.
When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, the disciples were given the power to teach about God and to perform some miracles like the ones that Jesus had performed during his three years of teaching. Like the Incredibles, the disciples used this God-given power to do good and help others who were in need.
Ask the children, ‘If you were given the power to do good and be a superhero, what would you do?’
Pause to allow time for thought before listening to a range of responses.
Ask the children, ‘Do we need special powers to carry out good deeds?’
Pause to allow time for thought before listening to a range of responses.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the celebration of Pentecost.
Thank you for the disciples, who were able to spread the good news about Jesus.
Thank you for all the ways in which we can do good and help people today.
When we need help and support, thank you for the people who are there to help us.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Our God is a great big God’, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaXPXWBcE3I (3 minutes long)
Extension activities
- Using the sheet that accompanies this assembly (Superheroes - Extension Activity), encourage the children to design a superhero who could help people who are in need today.
