Loving-kindness is one of the primary attributes of God in the Bible. The Hebrew word is sometimes translated as mercy or love, and intriguingly has the same root as the Hebrew word for ‘womb’. In the minds of those who wrote the Old Testament it has strong similarities with the feelings of a mother towards her child - her strong connection to it, her investment of time and energy in it, her willingness to suffer and make sacrifices for it, her determination to help it to grow into all it can be. Loving-kindness is concerned with having a creative attitude towards others.1. BE GENTLE AND KIND
How to use these suggestions
These are not ready made assemblies - you will need to do some preparatory work, however I hope these suggestions will give you starting points.
The suggestions fall into three groups.
- God is... Connecting human rules to Christian beliefs about the nature of God.
- Stories relevant to the rule.
- Words for reflection on the rule.
Comments
Gentleness and kindness have to do with nurturing and protecting others, allowing them to grow and thrive. It is hard to grow when we are treated harshly or ridiculed. 'A gentle answer quietens anger, but a harsh one stirs it up. " Proverbs 15: 1. We could also speak of being merciful - not belittling others or being vindictive towards them. These are not necessarily soft virtues - true kindness doesn't let someone do things which will damage and hurt them. Anger is not necessarily the opposite of these virtues, though it can be if it is used to destroy rather than to create.
1. God is... gentle and kind
Christians believe that we are made in the image of God. Therefore our values reflect our ideas of God.They are not arbitrary, nor do they just apply to children. They are an expression of what we believe is at the heart of God.
Reflecting on this takes us beyond mere " oughtism" and dry morality, and counters the danger that this sort of assembly only touches social and moral dimensions of life and ignores the spiritual.In the Old Testament we see God's love in his relationship with the people of Israel.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercy never comes to an end. They are new every morning." Lamentations 3:22
"I drew [my people] to me with affection and love . I picked them up and held them to my cheek; I bent down to them and fed them."Even when people do wrong he cannot hold onto his anger for long.
"How can I give you up, Israel? How can I abandon you? My heart will not let me do it. My love for you is too strong." Hosea 11:8
2. Stories
- Healing miracles. e.g. Mark 3:1-6, Mark 10:46, Luke 13:10 - 17
- The lost sheep. Luke 15:1-7
- The prodigal son. Luke 15:11-31
- Love your enemies Luke 6:27
- Jesus welcomes children. Luke 18 :15 - 17
- Zaccheus Luke 19:1-10
- Samaritan woman at the well John 4:1-42
- Psalm 23 (The shepherd cares for his sheep
- Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. John 13: 1-11
- Consider the lilies -if God cares for these enough to make them so beautiful, surely he cares even more about you? Matthew 6:28- 30
- Love is patient and kind. 1 Corinthians 12: 4 – end
3. Words for reflection
You might need to paraphrase a little. I have only used words from the Bible, but you could use other proverbs or poems in the same way. To avoid making assumptions about the children's own beliefs, it would be wise to explain that these were the words of Jewish or Christian people, expressing the way they understood things, e.g. “someone wrote these words in the Bible a long time ago. I wonder whether you agree with them / what you think about them / how they make you feel/ what you think he might have felt or meant by them."
You could,
You could also
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