Stick It Out!
Learning from our mistakes
by Alexandra Palmer
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider the importance of learning from our mistakes.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Stick it Out!) and the means to display them.
- Have available the YouTube video ‘Jesus forgives Peter’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 6 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/Ppb9bKX1r7k
- Optional: you may also wish to use the extension activity (Stick it Out! - Extension Activity) that accompanies this assembly.
Assembly
- Show Slide 1.
Ask the children, ‘What does it mean to stick something out?’
Pause to allow time for the children to discuss their ideas, and then listen to a range of responses. - Show Slide 2.
Explain that sticking something out can mean overcoming a problem, mistake or challenge. - Show Slide 3.
Ask the children, ‘How were these men connected to Jesus?’
Read out the names of the men on the slide. The top row shows Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip and Thomas. The bottom row shows Matthew, Thaddeus, James, Simon, Judas and Bartholomew.
Pause to allow time for the children to discuss their ideas, and then listen to a range of responses.
Explain that these men were Jesus’ 12 disciples. Jesus called them to be with him at the start of the last three years of his life, when he was teaching about God. - Show Slide 4.
Ask the children, ‘Which man betrayed Jesus?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Explain that the answer is Judas.
Ask the children, ‘How did Judas betray Jesus?’
Pause to allow time for the children to discuss their ideas, and then listen to a range of responses. - Show Slide 5.
Tell the children that Judas betrayed Jesus to the Jewish priests for 30 pieces of silver because he was fed up with Jesus and was greedy for money. - Show Slide 6.
Explain that this picture shows the Last Supper. During this meal, Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him, so he told him to leave and do what he had to do quickly. - Show Slide 7.
Explain that after Jesus had finished his meal, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. When he had finished praying, Judas betrayed him with a kiss. The kiss was a signal to the Jewish authorities that this was Jesus. - Show Slide 8.
Ask the children, ‘Which other disciple betrayed Jesus?’
Pause to allow time for the children to discuss their ideas, and then listen to a range of responses.
Explain that, although the children may be surprised, the answer is Peter. Tell them that you are going to show them a video that explains what Peter did. - Show the YouTube video ‘Jesus forgives Peter’ (6 minutes long).
- Show Slide 9.
Explain that Judas and Peter both made big mistakes.
Time for reflection
Point out that we all make mistakes, but it’s how we deal with them that matters.
Show Slide 10.
Explain that the first step in dealing with our mistakes is to recognize that we’ve made one.
If we don’t recognize when we’ve made a mistake, it’s much harder to sort it out. Even though it may feel hard or scary, it’s always best to admit to our mistake and own it.
Show Slide 11.
After we have recognized our mistake, it’s important to forgive ourselves.
Christians believe that God forgives our mistakes if we say sorry. Sometimes, if it’s a bad mistake, it’s really hard to forgive ourselves, but it’s something that we must do. That way, it’s easier to let go of the mistake and move on.
Show Slide 12.
A good way to deal with our mistakes can be to spend time with others.
Judas and Peter dealt with their mistakes differently. Although Judas realized his mistake, admitted it to the Jewish authorities and tried to return their money to them, he then ran away and isolated himself. His story did not end well.
By contrast, Peter knew that he’d made a mistake, but he didn’t isolate himself. Instead, he returned to what he knew. He went home to Lake Galilee to spend time with his friends and family, and go fishing. When we’ve made a mistake, spending time with others is a particularly useful thing to do because it helps to heal our feelings.
Show Slide 13.
The next step that we can take to deal with our mistakes is to move forward.
After we’ve dealt with our mistake, we can move forward in a positive way. This is what Peter did. After Jesus had cooked fish for their breakfast, he asked Peter three times if Peter loved him. Each time Peter answered yes, Jesus commanded Peter to feed his sheep. This exchange mirrors the three times that Peter denied knowing Jesus, and Jesus forgave Peter. When Jesus was commanding Peter to feed his sheep, he meant for Peter to go into the world, teach people about God and build the Church.
Show Slide 14.
When we have dealt with our mistake, we need to learn from it so that we can stop ourselves from making the same mistake again in the future. Peter learnt from his mistake because he knew that he would never want to let down Jesus or himself again.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the stories of Judas and Peter, and the lessons that we can learn from them.
Thank you that when we’ve made a mistake, we know that we can do something about it.
Thank you that we have the ability to say sorry and forgive ourselves.
Please help us to have the confidence to sort out all of our mistakes quickly, and remember any lessons that we learn from them.
Amen.
Extension activity
- Give each child a copy of the sheet that accompanies this assembly (Stick it Out! - Extension Activity). Ask them to design their own emoji for each step of dealing with a mistake.
