Assembly Objective:
- How do we react to those who are different from us? This assembly explores the biblical account of how many people rejected Jesus and encourages pupils to avoid the mistake of rejecting others.
Film:
- Man of Steel (Warner Bros, 2013, certificate 12). Click here to buy the DVD online.
Bible:
- Luke 9:18-22 (New Living Translation)
Supporting Values Education:
- The value of Individual Liberty affirms each person’s right to self-determination, but the values of Democracy, Respect and Tolerance call us to live as part of a community. This assembly encourages pupils to consider how we react to those who are different.
OPENING ACTIVITY
Odd One Out (game)
Download the Odd One Out PowerPoint for use with this activity.
- [PowerPoint slide 1]
- Split the room into two sides to play against each other in a game of odd one out. Reveal the list of four options for each question, and ask the students to identify the odd one out. You might want to point out that even if they manage to construct an argument for why their wrong answer is right, points are only awarded if they match the answer you are looking for. Offer questions alternately to the two sides of the room and keep a track of the score.
- [PowerPoint slide 2]
- Question 1: Which is the odd one out?
- Football
- Tennis
- Rugby
- Cricket
- [Click to reveal answer:] Tennis: all the others are team sports.
- Question 1: Which is the odd one out?
- [PowerPoint slide 3]
- Question 2: Which is the odd one out?
- Dumbledore
- Caractacus Potts
- Stanley Matthews
- Gandalf
- [Click to reveal answer:] Caractacus Potts is the inventor from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. All the others are wizards – footballer Stanley Matthews was famously known as ‘the wizard of the dribble’.
- Question 2: Which is the odd one out?
- [PowerPoint slide 4]
- Question 3: Which is the odd one out?
- Superman
- Spider-Man
- Iron Man
- Ant Man
- [Click to reveal answer:] Superman – all the others are Marvel superheroes.
- Question 3: Which is the odd one out?
- [PowerPoint slide 5]
- Question 4: Which is the odd one out?
- Matthew McConaughey
- Jamie Foxx
- Johnny Depp
- Daniel Day-Lewis
- [Click to reveal answer:] Johnny Depp is the only one never to win the Oscar for Best Actor.
- Question 4: Which is the odd one out?
- [PowerPoint slide 6]
- Question 5: Which is the odd one out?
- Strawberry
- Tomato
- Raspberry
- Banana
- [Click to reveal answer:] Banana – all the others are fruits (yes, even the tomato), whereas bananas are technically herbs.
- Explain that the point of the game was to identify the one option that was different to all the rest. In today’s assembly you are going to be talking about how we react to people and things that are different.
- Question 5: Which is the odd one out?
They Came For…(something to listen to)
Download the They Came For PowerPoint with this activity.
- Explain that Martin Niemoller was a German clergyman who, like many others, did nothing to oppose the early stages of the Nazi regime in the 1930s. The following quote is widely attributed to him, although there is some dispute as to the precise wording and it is likely that he is responsible for many different formulations of the same idea over the years. We suggest you read the quote out, rather than just expect the students to read it for themselves. You might like to expand on the quote, explaining how Niemoller described the inactivity of German intellectuals as a result of not seeing how helping apparently unrelated groups was also in their own interests.
- Niemoller was imprisoned in 1937 for ‘not being enthusiastic enough about the Nazi movement’ and released in 1945, when he became a leading voice of penance and reconciliation.
- As well as being suitable as an opening activity, this presentation could alternatively be used as a reflection as a response to the talk. Please note that the PowerPoint reveals Niemoller’s words gradually, without you needing to click for each section.
- [PowerPoint slide 1]
- ‘First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.’ Martin Niemoller.
- Explain that in the rest of today’s assembly, you are going to be thinking about how we react to those who are different to us.
FILM CLIP
- Play the clip from Man of Steel (Warner Bros, 2013, certificate 12).
- Start time: 0.50.55
- End time: 0.52.12
- Clip length: 1 minute and 17 seconds
- The clip starts with Lois driving past a mailbox with ‘Kent’ written on it. The first line is Lois saying, ‘Mrs Kent? I’m Lois Lane. I’m from the Daily Planet.’ The clip ends after Clark says, ‘…they’d reject me out of fear.’
TALK
Download the Easter Man of Steel Talk PowerPoint for use with this presentation.
Scripted Talk
- [PowerPoint slide 1]
- How do you react to things that are different? Some people relish new tastes and new experiences, other people like to stick to what they know. Things that are different can be unsettling, confusing and even sometimes frightening.
- Perhaps the reaction of fear is most common when we’re talking about people who are different to what we are used to. Through the ages, many political movements have played on the fear of the outsider. There’s a long and dishonourable history of this. The Nazis in pre-war Germany is the most obvious example, but racist nationalist groups in any number of other countries, including Britain, show us that this wasn’t an isolated phenomenon.
- We’re going to watch a clip now about someone who hid himself away because he was different. The clip is from the Superman movie Man of Steel. In this clip Lois Lane has finally tracked down the mysterious man who saved her life earlier in the film. Watch out for what Clark Kent says about why he tried to avoid being discovered.
- Play the clip from Man of Steel:
- Start time: 0.50.55
- End time: 0.52.12
- Clip length: 1 minute and 17 seconds
- The clip starts with Lois driving past a mailbox with ‘Kent’ written on it. The first line is Lois saying, ‘Mrs Kent? I’m Lois Lane. I’m from the Daily Planet.’ The clip ends after Clark says, ‘they’d reject me out of fear.’
- If you are unable to play the clip, say, ‘When Lois asks Clark why he kept himself hidden, he explains that his father always told him that if people discovered what he could do, they would reject him out of fear.’
- [PowerPoint slide 2]
- Clark’s Dad has got a point. We know that he speaks with homespun wisdom, because he’s played by Kevin Costner! Everything we know about human beings says that someone with unique powers like Clark – he can fly, he has superhuman strength – wouldn’t be left to quietly get on with his life. The powers-that-be would want to either make sure they had him under control, or to eliminate him before he started to cause trouble.
- Jesus was someone else who was very different to the people around him. This is what he had to say on one occasion when he was talking with his followers:
- [PowerPoint slide 3]
- One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’ ‘Well,’ they replied, ‘some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.’ Then he asked them, ‘But who do you say I am?’
- [PowerPoint slide 4]
- Peter replied, ‘You are the Messiah sent from God!’
- Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. ‘The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,’ he said. ‘He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.’ Luke 9:18-22, New Living Translation.
- Jesus knew that the powers-that-be wouldn’t accept him for who he was. His followers had realised that he was the one God had promised to save his people, but that didn’t mean everyone was going to be pleased. In fact, the rejection of Jesus was part of God’s plan. Jesus’ death on the cross made it possible for anyone to be reconciled with God.
- [PowerPoint slide 5]
- At Easter we do more than just remember a remarkable man who was killed for being different. We remember what came after that death, and what it means. Christians believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. [click] His resurrection is a sign that God’s plan worked – death couldn’t keep hold of Jesus, because his death was enough to fix the problem between people and God. Jesus’ new life gives his followers confidence that he truly was who he said he was, and that he had done what he said he was going to do.
- [PowerPoint slide 6]
- You have probably heard the Easter story lots of times before now, yet I suspect that some of us have never really seen what it has to do with us. We may not have been involved in handing Jesus over to be tried, in nailing him to a cross or in jeering as he died painfully, but many people today reject Jesus just the same.
- Equally, there were people 2,000 years ago who didn’t reject Jesus, and there are people today who believe what Peter said in our Bible reading – that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who God has sent to save his people.
- It’s entirely up to you which group you decide to be part of. Whether you accept or reject Jesus’ claims is a personal choice that no one can make for you. It’s not a choice to be made lightly, and it’s certainly worth investigating thoroughly. It would certainly be a mistake to reject Jesus just because he’s different.
Headings and Bullets
Download the Easter Man of Steel Talk PowerPoint for use with this presentation.
- [PowerPoint slide 1]
- How do you react to things that are different?
- Some relish new experiences.
- Some stick to what they know.
- Different can be unsettling, confusing and frightening.
- Fear: a common reaction to people who are different.
- Many political movements play on our fear of the outsider.
- Introduce clip from Man of Steel:
- Lois Lane has finally tracked down the mysterious man who saved her life.
- Watch what Clark says about why he keeps a low profile. Play the clip:
- Start time: 0.50.55
- End time: 0.52.12
- Clip length: 1 minute and 17 seconds
- The clip starts with Lois driving past a mailbox with ‘Kent’ written on it. The first line is Lois saying, ‘Mrs Kent? I’m Lois Lane. I’m from the Daily Planet.’ The clip ends after Clark says, ‘they’d reject me out of fear.’
- How do you react to things that are different?
- [PowerPoint slide 2]
- Clark’s Dad has a point:
- Must be wise – played by Kevin Costner!
- Unlikely that someone with powers like Clark would be left alone.
- Powers-that-be would want to control him or eliminate the danger.
- Jesus was very different to the people around him.
- Clark’s Dad has a point:
- [PowerPoint slide 3]
- One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’ ‘Well,’ they replied, ‘some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.’ Then he asked them, ‘But who do you say I am?’
- [PowerPoint slide 4]
- Peter replied, ‘You are the Messiah sent from God!’
- Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. ‘The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,’ he said. ‘He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.’ Luke 9:18-22, New Living Translation.
- Jesus knew he wouldn’t be accepted.
- His followers knew who he was, but not everyone would be pleased.
- Jesus’ reaction was part of God’s plan.
- Jesus’ death made it possible for people to be reconciled with God.
- [PowerPoint slide 5]
- At Easter we do more than remember a man who was killed for being different.
- We remember what happened after that death.
- Christians believe Jesus was raised from the dead.
- [click] His resurrection shows that God’s plan worked.
- Jesus’ new life gives confidence that he was who he said, and that he did what he said he would do.
- At Easter we do more than remember a man who was killed for being different.
- [PowerPoint slide 6]
- Heard the Easter story lots of times.
- Some of us might wander what it has to do with us.
- We didn’t hand Jesus over to be tried, or nail him to a cross, but many today reject him just the same.
- 2,000 years ago, some people didn’t reject Jesus.
- There are some today who believe he is the Messiah, sent by God to save his people.
- Up to you which group you are part of.
- Not a choice to be made lightly, worth investigating thoroughly.
- It’s a mistake to reject Jesus just because he’s different.
- Heard the Easter story lots of times.
Photo Copyright for They Came For PowerPoint: J. D. Noske/Anefo
Photo Copyright for Odd One Out PowerPoint: Slide 1 Nick Smith / Slide 2 football image by Mark Barnes, tennis image by Antonio Garcia, rugby image by Patrick Khachfe, cricket image by Reflexio / Slide 3 Dumbledore image by Murray Close, Warner Bros Entertainment Inc, Caractacus Potts image by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc, Stanley Matthews image by Gillone Nazionale, Gandalf image by Mark Pokorny, Warner Bros Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc / Slide 4 Superman image by Clay Enos Warner Bros Entertainment Inc and Legendary Pictures Funding, Spiderman image by James Devaney WireImage.com, Iron Man image by Marvel, Ant Man image by Marvel Studios/Disney Enterprises / Slide 5 Matthew McConaughey image by Georges Biard, Jamie Foxx image by Georges Biard, Johnny Depp image by Jason Merritt Getty Images, Daniel Day-Lewis image by Steve Granitz Getty Images / Slide 6 strawberry image by FoeNyx, tomato image by Goldlocki, raspberry image public domain, banana image by Renee Comet
Photo Copyright for Easter Man of Steel Talk PowerPoint: Slide 1 Warner Bros Pictures / Slide 2 Warner Bros Pictures / Slide 3 image 20 LUMO Project / Slide 4 image 6 LUMO Project / Slide 5 image 2 LUMO Project / Slide 6 image 8 LUMO Project
RESPOND
Prayer
- Dear God, thank you for sending your Son Jesus, knowing that he would be rejected and killed. Thank you for raising him from the dead and for making it possible for us to be reconciled with you. Help us this Easter to reflect upon how the Easter story affects each of us today. Amen.
Reflection
- How do you react to people who are different to you? Do you give them a fair chance, or do you dismiss them and reject them? How does that compare with the way you respond to the idea that Jesus is the Son of God or that his death and resurrection has anything to do with your life today? Have you ever spent any time looking into the evidence concerning Jesus, before forming your opinion about him?
YOU WILL NEED:
- Man of Steel (Warner Bros, 2013, certificate 12). Click here to buy the DVD online.
- Odd One Out PowerPoint.
- They Came For PowerPoint.
- Easter Man of Steel Talk PowerPoint.
Ethos Education 