In short...
Themes: Christianity and Judaism; Daniel in the Lions’ Den; Old Testament heroes; courage; bravery; prayer.
Summary: This assembly, which is suitable for an act of collective worship, focuses on a story from the Old Testament part of the Bible which is referred to as Daniel in the Lions’ Den.
Resources:The framework to download / print (pdf); an image to display showing the word 'Courage'. Also have some examples of religious art of Daniel on the board and / or video footage of lions for children to watch as they come into the assembly (See Related links below).
The video
BEN: Hiya, I'm Ben, and this is the exciting story of Daniel and the Lions.
KIDS: Roar!
BEN: Oh, phew. On with the story. Daniel was a servant to the king and lived in a place called Babylon. Daniel did lots of jobs for the king, like maybe polishing his crown. Now, the king of Babylon liked Daniel very, very much.
DANIEL: Here's your crown, my king.
KING: Thank you, Daniel. Now, you know I like you. In fact, I like you so much I'm going to put you in charge of the whole country.
DANIEL: Wow!
BEN: But some of the other servants to the king were jealous of Daniel, because they wanted to be in charge instead of him.
So, the servants thought how they could get Daniel into trouble. But, getting Daniel into trouble was very tricky because Daniel was a good person who worked very hard.
Very hard indeed! Phew! So, they tricked the king into agreeing to a new rule.
KING: What's this?
BEN: The servants told the king it was a new rule he'd made up and so he announced it.
KING: Thanks very much. From now on, people will only pray to me. Anyone caught praying to anybody else will be thrown to the lions!
KIDS: Roar!
BEN: This meant that Daniel had a really big decision to make. Praying to his God was even more important than being a good servant to the king. So, Daniel was very courageous and kept praying to his God every day just as he'd always done.
But the servants spotted him.
KING: What's this?
BEN: The king was told Daniel had broken the rule and had to be punished?
KING: Thank you, thank you. Now, I still like Daniel very, very much, but he did not pray to me and broke the rule. So now, he must be thrown into the den of ferocious lions!
BEN: Daniel was trapped face-to-face with the big-toothed, hungry beasts.
What would happen to him?
That night, the king couldn't sleep. He was worrying about Daniel.
KING: Oh, what have I done? What have I done?
BEN: So, in the morning, he rushed to find him.
KING: Oh dear, Daniel's been in the lions' den all night and it's my fault.
BEN: But as the king got closer to the den, he looked in and saw Daniel was fine! The king was amazed. How had Daniel survived? Courageous Daniel said…
DANIEL: "My king, when I was in the lions' den, I prayed and all the lions' mouths were shut tight. The lions didn't hurt me because I've done nothing wrong."
KING: "Wahoo! Daniel's okay!"
BEN …said the king.
KING: "You were very courageous, because you stood up for what you knew was right."
BEN: Come on in, guys. Thanks for helping me tell today's treasure story. It's a very old story from the Bible and Hebrew Bible. See you again soon, bye!
KIDS: Bye!
The story of Daniel in the Lions' Den is found in the Old Testament part of the Bible and the Tanach within Scriptures, in the Book of Daniel, Chapter 6.
Daniel was a trusted adviser to King Darius. He was Jewish and his faith was very important to him. Daniel was honest and always worked hard; he also prayed three times a day. Other advisers and servants to the king were jealous of the relationship between Daniel and King Darius, so they tricked the king into making a new law that prohibited praying to anyone other than the king. Daniel remained faithful and continued praying to God, even though he knew this would put him in danger. He was spotted praying to God and it was reported to King Darius that Daniel had broken the law and Daniel was punished by being thrown into the Lions’ Den. Darius worried all night about the fate of Daniel, so rushed to the den the following morning. He found Daniel safe and Daniel explained that God had sent an angel who protected him. He had shown courage in his trust of God. The law was then changed so all others could pray to God as well. This can help us to reflect on the value of courage.
Video questions
- What was Daniel's job? (A servant)
- Where did he live? (In Babylon)
- What new rule did the King make? (That people were only allowed to pray to him. Anyone caught praying to anyone else would be thrown to the lions)
- What happened when Daniel prayed to God? (The King had him thrown in the Lions' Den)
- Why could the King not sleep? (He was worried about what would happen to Daniel in the Lions' Den)
- How did Daniel survive in the Lion's Den? (He prayed that all the lions' mouths would stay shut tight)
Key links
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Image: the word 'Courage' image
Click to display image full size
Suggested framework
1. Entry
You could play some video of lions as children enter the assembly. Display some examples of artwork showing Daniel in the Lions’ Den.
2. Introduction
Ask for volunteers to come to the front to describe what they can see in the pictures. Younger pupils could be prompted to continue the sentence 'I wonder…' Explain that the man you can see in the paintings is called Daniel. Ask whether Daniel looks scared of the lions? How would you describe Daniel’s expression? What is courage and where do you get it from? How would you feel if you were the person in the picture surrounded by lions? Explain that the assembly is going to watch a short film telling the story of Daniel and why he found himself surrounded by lions.
3. Play the video
The duration is 3' 46" and the final words are: 'See you again soon, bye! Bye!'
4. Time to talk
Lead a discussion about the story by asking some or all of the following questions:
- A child comments on superheroes having courage inside them. Who are your everyday superheroes who don’t wear capes? Who would you award a Medal of Courage to?
- Why were the servants jealous of Daniel and what did they do? (They were jealous of his relationship with King Darius and how he trusted Daniel. They tricked the King into making a law which they knew Daniel wouldn’t be able to keep.)
- Why do you think Daniel continued praying to God knowing it was against the new law? (Daniel believed in God so he continued to practise his religious beliefs in doing so he is showing that he trusted God.)
- Was it right for Daniel to break a law? (Explain that Daniel wasn’t doing anyone any harm and believed that his faith in God meant that he could not obey the new law.)
- Is there a time when you have shown great courage? (Ask children to volunteer their experiences.) Did you have those wobbly / nervous tummy feelings? What did you do to overcome them?
- Who do you know who has shown great courage - perhaps someone you have seen in the news or in your local community…?
5. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC collections below.
6. Opportunity for reflection
Think about a time when you have shown courage…
What was it that you were worried about? What difficulty did you have to overcome?
What small steps did you take? Think and be thankful for those who helped you during this time.
Now think about those who are 'Superheroes without capes' in your own lives. How do they inspire you? How do they show courage?
How can you show courage and make the world a better place for those nearby and those far away?
7. Opportunity for prayer
Begin with your usual form of address (‘Dear God’, ‘Let us pray’, etc) and:
Thank you for the story of Daniel teaching us about courage, faith and prayer.
There are times in our lives when it is hard to do the right thing.
Help us to show courage and to choose the right path when we have difficult decisions to make.
Amen.
Suggested songs
'God is watching over you' (All about our school, no 7)
God is watching over you,
When you lay down to sleep,
When you wake he will keep
Always watching over you,
Now and forever more.God is watching over you,
When you lay down to sleep,
When you wake he will keep
Always watching over you,
Now and forever more.
Now and forever more.
'Build up' (All about our school, no 12)
Verse 1:
Every word you say, (wo-oh)
Every game you play, (wo-oh)
Every silly face, (wo-oh)
Every single place, (wo-oh)
You can build up,
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Or you can tear down.
Chorus:
Build up one another,
Build up your sisters and brothers,
Build up one another,
Build up!
Verse 2:
Every joke you tell, (wo-oh)
Every name you spell, (wo-oh)
Everywhere you go, (wo-oh)
Everyone you know, (wo-oh)
You can build up,
spoken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Or you can tear down.
Chorus:
Build up one another,
Build up your sisters and brothers,
Build up one another,
Build up!
Build up!
Build up!
'He who would valiant be' (Come and Praise, no 44)
He who would valiant be
'Gainst all disaster,
Let him in constancy
Follow the Master.
There's no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.
Who so beset him round
With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound -
His strength the more is.
No foes shall stay his might,
Though he with giants fight:
He will make good his right
To be a pilgrim.
Since, Lord, thou dost defend
Us with thy Spirit,
We know we at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away!
I'll fear not what men say,
I'll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.
