Don’t Give Up!

Lent: a time to persevere

by Alison Thurlow (revised, originally published in 2016)

Suitable for Whole School (Sec)

Aims

To reflect upon the season of Lent.

Preparation and materials

• Have available an image of the Judean desert and the means to display it during the assembly. An example is available at: https://tinyurl.com/msf6ecj7

Assembly

1. In today’s assembly, we’re going to consider the Christian season of Lent and what it could mean for us. To start with, we’re going to think about our goals for the rest of this school year. Let’s think about this question: ‘What things would we like to achieve at school between now and the summer holidays?’
   
   Pause to allow time for thought.
   
   Optional: ask the students to turn to the person next to them and discuss their answers.
   
   
2. It’s really important to set goals for ourselves and have something to aim for. However, it’s not always easy to achieve our goals. There are many things that can easily put us off. Often, we just need to keep going; sometimes, we can need a lot of perseverance.
   
   
3. In the Bible, there is a story about Jesus being tempted to do certain things.
   
   Show the image of the Judean desert.
   
   
4. Deserts are very hot during the day and very cold at night. Before Jesus started the work that God had given him to do, he spent 40 days and 40 nights in a desert. During this time, Christians believe that Jesus was tempted by the devil in three ways.
   
   - First, the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread. Jesus refused, saying that doing what God wanted was more important than food, even though he was really hungry.
   - Next, the devil tempted Jesus to jump off a high tower so that God would have to send angels to protect him. Jesus refused to do this because he knew that it would be wrong to test God.
   - Finally, the devil took Jesus to the top of a high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. The devil told Jesus that he would be king over the whole world if Jesus worshipped him. Jesus refused and said that only God should be worshipped.
   
   
5. The story of the temptation of Jesus might seem dramatic, but it reminds us that Jesus never gave up, even when he was tempted to do the wrong thing. His goal was to use the time in the desert to be close to God. Jesus continued with this goal even when temptations were placed in his way. He persevered.
   
   
6. Christians refer to the 40 days that lead up to Easter as Lent. They use these 40 days to get ready to celebrate Easter. This year, Lent starts on Wednesday 22 February and lasts until 8 April.
   
   During Lent, Christians remember the story of Jesus’ time in the desert. As we heard, Jesus had to face many difficult situations while he was in the desert, and he had to rely on God to help him. One of the difficult situations that Jesus faced was managing without food, so some Christians decide to fast, or at least give up something, during Lent.
   
   
7. Today, many people who don’t have a Christian faith still use the period of Lent to give up something. They may give up eating chocolate, watching television, drinking coffee or something else altogether. The idea is that they might use the extra time or money gained for something good. Christians might spend the extra time on thinking about God. People might also use the time to help others or support a charity. Recently, there has been a move towards people carrying out special acts of kindness during Lent.

Time for reflection

Most of us have been tempted to give up at some time, so what can we do when we feel this way?

Here are three ideas.

- First, acknowledge that it isn’t easy to persevere and that everyone is tempted to give up.
- Second, try to be strong and say no to people or things that are tempting you to give up.
- Third, remember that we can ask God or other people to help us at any time.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the encouragement of today’s Bible story.
Please help us to persevere when we are tempted to give up.
Please help us always to be willing to ask for help.
Amen.

Song/music

‘Never give up’ by Sia, available at: https://youtu.be/NEsQfb4xWY0 (4.11 minutes long)