In short
Themes: Christianity; sharing; miracles; caring; empathy.
Summary: This assembly, which is suitable for an act of collective worship, focuses on a Christian story from the Bible related in the gospels: Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 and John 6.
Resources:The framework to download / print (pdf); an image to display of the word 'Sharing'; an image showing a basket with five loaves and two fish. Additionally you may like to have something of your own which you can share with the assembly.
The video
OMAR: Hello, I'm Omar and this is the fabulous story of the Feeding of the 5,000.
A long time ago, a special man called Jesus was walking with his close friends. They were followed by large crowds as people loved to hear the stories that Jesus would tell. But, it was getting late in the day and everyone was getting a little bit hungry.
So, Jesus' friends suggested that he sent everyone home to have their dinners. But then, Jesus did something very surprising. He told his friends, "Don't send them away, we can feed them all." His friends were confused.
But Jesus had a special plan.
He told his friends to get ready to feed everybody, but he didn't have any food and didn't have enough money to buy any food. How were they going to do it? Hmm…
But then, one of the Jesus' friends Andrew had an idea.
ANDREW (OMAR): This might be a silly suggestion, but there's a boy here who's got some food. Maybe we could share that.
OMAR: Five tiny loaves and two small fish. Hmm… Jesus told his friends to tell everyone to be patient.
KIDS: We're hungry!
OMAR: Jesus thanked God for the food and started breaking it up into small pieces for people to share. Then, he told his friends to start giving pieces to the people.
So, they started passing them out… and they kept passing them out… and they kept passing them out…
And before they knew it, everyone had been fed.
Then Jesus asked his friends to gather up all the extra food. We don't want to waste it!
And then they noticed something amazing. Even though there'd only been a small packed lunch to begin with, once they'd finished clearing up, there were 12 baskets of leftovers! How did that happen?
Everyone was amazed! Thank you for helping me tell today's treasure story. It's written in the Bible. See you soon!
KIDS: Bye-bye!
This story can be found in the Bible and is the only miracle to be referenced in all four gospels.
Jesus was walking with his friends followed by crowds who wanted to hear his message. As the day went on, people felt hungry. Jesus told his disciples that they could feed everyone. Andrew brought a boy to Jesus who had five loaves and two fish. Jesus blessed this food and told the disciples to share it among all the people. Amazingly everyone was fed and there were twelve baskets of food left over. This can help us to reflect on the value of sharing.
Duration: 3' 19"
Final words: 'See you soon! Bye!'
Video questions
- Why was Jesus followed? (Because people liked to listen to his stories)
- What did his friends suggest? (That he send the people home so they could get their dinner)
- What did Jesus's friend Andrew suggest? (That they share the food that the boy had)
- What food did the boy have? (Five loaves and two fish)
- How man baskets of leftovers were there? (12 baskets)
Key links
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Sharing. image
Click for the full size image.
Loaves and fish. image
Click for the full size image.
Suggested framework
1. Entry
Display the image of the basket containing the loaves and fish and play your chosen music.
2. Introduction
Invite some volunteers to look at the image displayed and describe what they can see (or look in a real basket if you have arranged one). Establish that there is a basket, five loaves of bread and two fish (although only four of the loaves are actually visible in the picture). Explain that these items all feature in the video - which tells a famous story from a very long time ago.
3. Play the video
The duration is 3’ 19” and the final words are: ‘See you soon! Bye!’
4. After the video - Time to talk
Ask some or all of the Video questions (see above) to consolidate children’s recall of the story and their understanding of it.Then lead a discussion by asking:
- What does ‘sharing’ mean? (Giving part of what you have to others; thinking about other people; taking it in turns; making a game more equal).
- What sort of things can you share?
- What does it mean to 'share your time'? (Spending time with others; doing things for other people; helping out).
- What does it mean to 'share your friends'? (Including others in our game; making sure everyone is included).
- Does sharing make you feel happy or sad?
- What do you share with your family?
- If you were introducing a visiting alien to the idea of sharing, what top tips would you pass on that they could introduce to their home planet?
5. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC collections below.
6. Opportunity for reflection:
Think back over the last week…
Can you remember three times that you shared with others?
What was it you shared? How do you think it made the other person or people feel?
Has someone shared something with you recently? How did that make you feel?
Take a moment to think of a sharing opportunity which may come your way during today. How can you use that time to show you care for others? How many people can you make smile today by your ‘sharing’ superpower?
7. Opportunity for prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for showing us how to share: how to share our time, share our food, share our friendships, share our games and share our love.
Help us to remember the gifts which we have which we can share.
So that we can bring a smile to others.
Amen.
Suggested songs
'Together' (All about our school, no 13).
- Work together, not alone,
Gather round and share a problem.
Work together, hand in hand,
Gather round and work things out.
Chorus
‘Cos together, we can work it out together,
We can ride the stormy weather,
As long as we’re together we’re strong!
- There’s a setback, don’t despair,
Gather round and share your feelings.
Why just worry on your own?
Gather round and work things out.
Chorus
- If there’s trouble big or small,
Gather round and find an answer.
If you stumble there’s a friend,
Gather round and work things out.
Chorus
'All together as a family' (All about our school, no 15).
Some can dance and some can sing,
Some can fiddle on a violin.
Some can bat and some can bowl,
Some can tackle and score a goal.
Some can paint and some can sew,
Some can juggle and some can throw.
Some can throw, some can throw.
All that we can do or be
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
Some can run and some can swim,
Some do somersaults in the gym.
Some can ride or climb a tree,
Some are good at technology.
Some can teach and some can guide,
Some get everybody organised.
Organised, organised.
All that we can do or be
All together as a family.
All together as a family.
One for all and all for one,
All together we get things done.
We get things done.
All that we can do or be…
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
All together as a family.
'Friends' (© BBC 2021)
Related links
See also:
BBC Teach Assemblies - The Kitchen Miracle-Maker: Jesus feeds the 5000
