Fully Focused
How do we keep focused?
by Alexandra Palmer
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider what being focused means, using the Bible story of Joshua and Caleb.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Fully Focused) and the means to display them.
- Have available the YouTube video ‘Joshua and Caleb – Stories of the Bible’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 3.47 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/dppUD2JlUZc
- Optional: you may also wish to use the extension activity (Fully Focused - Extension Activity) that accompanies this assembly.
Assembly
- Show Slide 1.
Introduce the assembly and ask the children, ‘How are these pictures connected?’
Pause to allow the children time to discuss their answers and then listen to a range of responses.
- Show Slide 2.
Discuss the fact that all of the objects in the pictures help us to focus fully on whatever we’re looking at. - Show Slide 3.
Ask the children, ‘What does being focused mean?’
Pause to allow the children time to discuss their answers and then listen to a range of responses. - Click to reveal the answer on the slide.
Explain that being focused means giving our full attention to an activity or target. - Show Slide 4.
Ask the children, ‘Can we lose our focus?’
Ask the children to vote by giving a thumbs up or a thumbs down.
Discuss the outcome of the vote. The answer is yes, we can lose our focus. - Tell the children that there is a story about losing focus in the Old Testament part of the Bible.
Joshua and Caleb were part of the group of Israelites who had escaped Egypt when Moses parted the Red Sea. Later, Moses selected 12 of them, including Joshua and Caleb, and sent them to look at the Promised Land. While the 12 of them were exploring the land, some people lost their focus, but others kept it.
Show the YouTube video ‘Joshua and Caleb – Stories of the Bible’ (3.47 minutes long). - Use the following questions to discuss the video.
- What was the Promised Land good for? (Answer: growing crops.)
- For how many days did the 12 men stay in the Promised Land? (Answer: 40 days.)
- What did they mean when they told the others that they had found ‘a land flowing with milk and honey’? (Answer: the Promised Land had lots of grass for their animals to eat, which would enable the animals to produce plenty of milk. The honey part means that the land would be able to produce plenty of food too.)
- Why did the Israelites become scared? (Answer: the men said that the people living in the Promised Land were powerful and the cities were strong. They said that they’d even seen giants there.)
- Did Joshua and Caleb stay fully focused on taking the Promised Land or did they lose their focus? (Answer: Joshua and Caleb stayed fully focused because they trusted God in giving them the land. They were allowed to enter the Promised Land 40 years later because they never gave up.) - Show Slide 5.
Ask the children, ‘What sort of things can we focus on?’
Pause to allow the children time to discuss their answers and then listen to a range of responses.
Click to reveal the answer on the slide and read out the options shown there. - Show Slide 6.
Ask the children, ‘How can we lose our focus?’
Pause to allow the children time to discuss their answers and then listen to a range of responses. - Explain that there are several ways in which we can lose our focus.
Click to reveal the rest of Slide 6.
Having too much choice can sometimes cause a distraction because we can’t decide between different activities. For example, we might be having a piano lesson after school, but we become distracted because we want to go online and play some games. Or we might be playing a board game, but after ten minutes, we want to go and read or watch TV.
To remain fully focused, we need to focus on one thing at a time. - Show Slide 7.
Explain that we can also lose our focus when we encounter a problem. In the Bible story that we heard earlier, when the 12 men saw that the cities were strong and believed that they saw giants living there, only Joshua and Caleb kept their focus. The other ten lost their focus and became fearful.
Sometimes, we can have a problem that feels huge, and we lose focus because of it. However, the easiest way to fix most problems is to step towards the problem and go through it, rather than going around it or running away from it. - Show Slide 8.
The Israelites were put off from entering the Promised Land because they listened to the negative words of the ten men who had lost their focus.
We can lose our focus when we listen to what our friends think rather than focusing on what we believe. Sometimes, we have to remain focused and do what we know is right, rather than what our friends think.
Time for reflection
Show Slide 9.
Ask the children, ‘How do we keep fully focused?’
Pause to allow the children time to discuss their answers and then listen to a range of responses.
Click to reveal the answer on the slide.
Joshua and Caleb saw the same giants and the same strong cities as the other men, but they didn’t develop a negative attitude. They knew that God was on their side, so they could still achieve what God had promised them.
Having a positive attitude helps us to remain fully focused on whatever activity we are doing. When we adopt a negative attitude, it can lead to broken focus, making us want to stop or give up.
Show Slide 10.
Joshua and Caleb never gave up. They were rewarded 40 years later because God allowed them to enter the Promised Land.
When we encounter a problem, it can make us want to give up. However, if we keep battling and solve the problem, things become much easier when the same thing happens again. So, it’s important that we don’t give up, but keep going. Then, we’ll be rewarded in achieving our goal.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the focus that you have given us.
Thank you that we can all achieve many goals.
Thank you that we can say kind words to one another, which can help us to have a positive attitude.
Please help us to have the wisdom to know when to ask for help.
Please help us to be courageous and remain focused, even when things seem hard.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Our God is a great big God’, available at: https://youtu.be/eaXPXWBcE3I (3 minutes long)
Extension activity
- Give each child a copy of the sheet that accompanies this assembly (Fully Focused - Extension Activity). Ask them to reflect on the things that they need to focus on fully by drawing or writing on the three magnifying glasses.
