Overcoming Mistakes
Learning from our mistakes
by Alexandra Palmer
Suitable for Key Stage 3
Aims
To consider the importance of learning from our mistakes.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Overcoming Mistakes) and the means to display them.
- You may wish to ask a student to read the Bible passage in the ‘Assembly’, Step 8. It comes from John 21.12-17 and is available at: http://tinyurl.com/489ukcdu
Assembly
- Show Slide 1.
Ask the students, ‘Have you ever had to overcome a problem?’
Pause to allow time for discussion, and then listen to a range of responses. - Show Slide 2.
Ask the students, ‘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.
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 and performing miracles. - Show Slide 3.
In the Easter story, we discover that Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, betrays Jesus to the Roman authorities, leading to Jesus’ arrest and subsequent death. - Show Slide 4.
Before Jesus was betrayed, he and his disciples had a meal together. This meal is known as the Last Supper.
During the meal, Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him, so he told him to leave and do what he had to do quickly. Before that happened, Jesus knelt and washed Judas’ feet, along with the feet of the other disciples. - Show Slide 5.
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, which signalled to the Jewish authorities that this was Jesus. - Show Slide 6.
Ask the students, ‘Which other disciple betrayed Jesus?’
Pause to allow time for discussion, and then listen to a range of responses.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested, Peter followed the soldiers to the place where Jesus was being held. Three different people said that they believed that Peter was a friend of Jesus, but each time, Peter denied knowing him.
In this way, Peter betrayed Jesus: he denied knowing him, even though at the Last Supper, he had said that he would never leave Jesus and would even die for him. - Show Slide 7.
The day after Jesus’ arrest, he was crucified. When he died, his body was placed in a tomb, but three days later, he came back to life. - Read, or ask a student to read, the Bible passage John 21.12-17.
Explain that a week after he had come back to life, Jesus was walking on a beach with Peter, and he asked him three times if he loved him. This was Jesus’ way of addressing the three times that Peter had denied knowing him. Jesus forgave Peter and made it clear that he was still valuable to him and loved by him.
Time for reflection
Point out that we all make mistakes, but it’s how we deal with them that matters.
Show Slide 8.
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 9.
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 10.
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. From a mental health perspective, spending time with others is a great thing to do. This is especially true after we have made a mistake because it helps to heal our feelings.
Show Slide 11.
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 12.
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.
