This week we are thinking about courage. Courage is not when you aren’t afraid, it is when something is scary or difficult, but you still

persevere.

Christians believe that God asks us to offer our skills, talents and abilities, to act with courage, to be part of making our world a better

place. They believe that God will strengthen them and help them to do this.

Monday

Here is a link to our Act of Worship where Hannah Blake thinks about

the meaning and promises in a bible story you may

recognize……but with some unusual actors! Can you guess

what story it is? This week’s theme is Courage…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwVDTqKJUME&feature=youtu.be

Just one small stone…I wonder what you think of when you hear the word ‘courage’?

How would you explain what courage means?

Can you think of a time in your life when you have had to be filled with courage?

Courage comes from the Latin word ‘cor’ which means ‘heart’.

I wonder if you can find a small stone and hold it in your hand. Could something this small make any difference to anything? How can this remind you of the story Hannah read?

I wonder if you could design a wordle/word-art picture, shaped as a heart, filled with words which you think of when you describe what ‘courage’ means or looks like?

Why not listen to this song by ‘Casting Crowns’ as you reflect on what courage means to Christians?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkM-gDcmJeM

What is courage?

Watch this video clip: how do these people define courage?(You need to scroll down to click on the ‘Courage (primary)’ link)

https://www.thenational.academy/oak-activity-club/faith-at-home

Tuesday

David and Goliath: a giant to worry about?

I wonder if your worries and anxieties can sometimes feel like ‘giants’?

Is there anything you are worrying about today? You may like to draw

your worries, or write them down.

It is always good to share your worries with someone you can trust. It is ok to feel

worried or anxious when things are difficult or new, of maybe just different. Christians

know that God promises to help, strengthen and fill them with courage, just like he did

for David. You may want to say a prayer to tell God what you are worried about and tell

him you are confident that he can take these worries away, just like he did for David.

Some Christians pray with open hands to remind them to let go of their worries when

they have told God about them.

Read Psalm 23. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+23&version=NIV

This Psalm was written by the same King David who, when he was a boy, faced the giant Goliath with just a small stone, but with courage given by his confidence in God.

How does this Psalm make you feel? How might it help you to feel courage in a difficult situation? Are there any words which stand out to you?

If you found a small stone yesterday, then hold it in your hand to

remind yourself that small things can make a big difference – a bit of

courage can go a long way, when God promises to be with you!

Let us pray:

Dear God, things are very different to normal right now; you know that sometimes I feel worried.

I worry about what will happen to me, to those I love and to our school community.

But I know that you have been with me, I know that you will be with us today and I know that you will be with me in the future.

Give me courage to do the big things, the little things and the difficult things that will make a difference to someone else today.

Amen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN4tPkX0MG0

Why not listen to Stuart Townend singing the words of Psalm 23, and you reflect on how Christians find courage to face tricky situations in

life.

Wednesday

Read this week’s bible story again and imagine that you were David… how would you have felt? https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+samuel+17&version=NIV

In some ways David probably felt nodifferently than when he had to facelions or wolves to defend the sheephe looked after (he was a shepherdbefore he was a king).

What do you think was the secret of David’s courage?

I wonder what ‘lions’ or ‘giants’ you face in your life?

David believed that the same God who gave him courage and successagainst sheep-eating lions, would also be with him when he facedGoliath.

Are there people today who give us examples of great courage?

Watch this video clip: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-52333127

Do you recognise this man? Do you think he showed courage?

How about other people today… do you think doctors and nurses in the NHS show courage? Who else?

I wonder who you thought ofwho shows courage today. Howmight you encourage them?Pause and say a quiet prayer asyou reflect.

Why not listen to this song ‘All through History’ by Nick and Becky Darke to reflect on how God gives his people courage in times of need.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQS2HHayr38

Thursday

How does this quote make you feel? Do you think this describes courage? How would you describe courage?

Can you think of times during lockdown when people you know – your own family or friends, showed courage? Sometimes it takes courage to care for each other.

How does God want Christians to live courageously? Read this verse from the bible: Micah 6 verse 8. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Micah+6%3A8&version=NLT

What does this verse mean? How can we live like this in our family and school community?

How can we ‘act justly’?

How can we ‘show mercy’?

How can we ‘walk humbly’?

• What do you know about Nelson Mandela? Do you think he would understand what courage is? Why?

• Do you agree with how Nelson Mandela defines courage?

• How is this different from what other people say about courage?

Who can you think of who is a modern day hero?

Who has shown great courage, and what do you think inspired them to do this?

Say a prayer to ask God to show you howyou can ‘act justly’, ‘show mercy’ and‘walk humbly’ this week at home or atLady Boswell’s. Ask God to give youcourage to live like this.

Will it be something creative you have made, a moment where you showed one of our core school values or cared for someone in your community? Or will it be something you have seen in the wonderful world in which we live? Have you ‘looked up’ and seen a ‘promise’ rainbow reminding you of hope, or observed something amazing in the natural world as you went for a walk?

Read:

Genesis 9 verse 17

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis+9%3A17&version=NIV

Listen to this song to celebrate what a wonderful world we live in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRONFXoXsJ0

Friday: It’s Celebration Assembly!

What can YOU celebrate this week with your family

or friends?

The rainbow is an important symbol right now, it reminds us that we can have hope for the future, also that God keeps his promises. God gave Noah the rainbow as a symbol of his promise: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+9%3A12-17&version=NIV

Maybe you could challenge yourself to think of as many things to be thankful for as you can … and write them in every colour of the rainbow, maybe as prayers created as a piece of art?