Being Lonely
Aim
To help children know that there are times when we feel lonely, and that Jesus understands.
Preparation
You will need
- to check on the Bible Story of Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19 verses 1-12
- flash card with 'please stop talking now' written on it
Focus
- school bell
- vase with water and some flowers to arrange
- a birthday wrapped parcel
Introduction
Say that you are not quite ready for the Assembly and that the children can talk quietly amongst themselves.
Arrange the flowers as they chatter.
Hold up the 'please stop talking now' notice and wait! (hopefully silence will gradually reign!)
Silent Messages
Explain that some messages can be silent.
Ask what the notice 'says'.
Then ask what the bell 'says' - playtime, line up, fire practice!, be quiet, etc.
What do you think the flowers 'say? - that I care, want to make the hall nice, etc.
What about this? - Hold up parcel - someone's birthday, a thank you present etc.
Do they really talk to us? No, but they give us a 'silent message' even if we don't actually hear any words.
We give silent messages by the way we look, or behave, or the things we wear.
Show the 'grumpy face' and ask the children to tell you how you might feel!
Let's hear a story about a man with a face like this!
Story - The Small Man and the Tree
A long time ago, a man called Zacchaeus lived in a town in Israel called Jericho.
He wore fine clothes and spent lots of money. This gave a 'silent message' that he was rich and important, but he was actually very lonely. He had no friends.
He had the job of collecting money from everyone. This money was called 'tax' and had to be paid to the government. But Zacchaeus took more than he should... and kept it for himself. So people didn't want to be his friends. They didn't want to speak to him, or visit him, or even be near him.
Something else made him feel lonely too. People called him names and laughed at him because he was very, very small.
One day Jesus came to Jericho. Everyone wanted to see Jesus. They had heard that Jesus made blind people see, deaf people hear and lame people walk. Crowds of people stood on the edges of the road as Jesus passed by.
Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus too. But he was so small, he couldn't see over people in front. No one would let him through. So he climbed a tree. Hidden in the leaves, standing on a branch he had a really good view! When Jesus was under the tree he stopped. He looked up and spoke to Zacchaeus. Usually nobody spoke to Zacchaeus.
"Zacchaeus", he said, "come down. I must come to your house today."
Zacchaeus could hardly believe it. Someone had spoken to him! Someone wanted to come to his home!
"Fancy wanting to go to his house", people grumbled.
"He steals our money. He's rich and selfish, and he makes us poor!"
But Zacchaeus felt excited. Jesus had chosen to visit his house. He felt as if somebody loved him after all.
When they got home, Zacchaeus talked to Jesus, and Jesus listened.
"Lord I will give half my belongings to the poor people."
"If I have cheated or stolen from anyone, I will pay them back four times as much."
Jesus was so pleased.
"Today, Zacchaeus", he said, "you have been saved! It is as if you were lost and I have found you and now you are safe."
Zacchaeus felt as if all his loneliness, all the silence of being without friends had disappeared.
And people stopped grumbling about him when he started giving his money away.
Thinking Time
Ask the children what Zacchaeus might look like now.
Choose a face.
How do you think the people felt about Zacchaeus now?
Choose a face.
Because he changed, Zacchaeus wasn't lonely anymore. He was still very small but that did not seem to matter now. He felt Jesus had saved him from this to become this. (Use faces.)
Prayer
Thank you Jesus for visiting Zacchaeus, and changing his life from loneliness to happiness. Amen
Song
Zacchaeus was a very little man: Children's Praise No.
202 Marshall & Pickering
Look out for loneliness: Someone's Singing Lord No. 36
