Identity 3

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This assembly does have a Christian message, but it’s not as strong as some others. Lots of content with very little media as was done for a longer assembly without access to tech equipment.

Identity Intro 

We all have an identity, but how do we really define that identity? Is it really about who we are, how we dress, who we know, what we do..? Or is it something deeper – is it more about who we are on the inside, and who we can grow to become? 

Who are you? Who do you think you are? Who do people say you are? Does it matter?

How many tribes / sub-cultures that have ever existed can you name?

(Get people to shout out) 

Goths, Vloggers, Hippies, New Agers, Punks, Rockers, Mods, Emos, Chavs, Jocks, Skinheads, Ravers, Skaters, Townies, Hipsters, K-Poppers, Druggies etc. etc. These will shift with youth culture and time!

Value of things – the Price Is Right game (adapted from identity assembly) 

Bring a few volunteers from the assembled masses and bring them to the front. Ask each person to guess how much one individual item costs. When they decide on a possible price, get the audience to shout ‘higher’ or ‘lower’. Then go onto the next contestant and do the same. Use as many as you want.. 

Updated – January 2019

  • Nike Jordan Superfly MVP trainers original price – £120
  • Apple iPod Touch 128GB – £299
  • Gucci Gigi Knit Wool Scarf – £200
  • Bird Sunglasses ‘Finch’ – £140
  • Calvin Klein ‘Eternity’ for men, 50ml – £20
  • Apple iPhone XS 64GB – £999
  • Man Utd 2018-19 official ‘Alexis Sanchez’ Football Shirt – £67.90
  • DJI Mavic Air drone, white on Amazon – £729
  • Porsche 911 3.6 993 Carrera 2dr (1994, 26,000 mileage) – £79,995
  • How to start your own window blinds business guide – £1.99
  • Bosch 18v 6 Pce li-ion Cordless Kit 6-Tool Package – £699.00
  • 3 pairs of Calvin Klein stretch boxer trunk (new!)  – £38.00

Stories of identity 

The actor Peter Sellers was famous for playing Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther comedy series. He was an incredible actor. One day a fan walked up to him and asked, ‘Are you Peter Sellers?’ ‘Not today’, answered Sellers and walked on..

A famous German philosopher who made it to the top of his profession and helped shape the way we think today was once sitting on a bench in the park. A policeman thought he was a homeless vagrant and asked him, ‘Who are you?’ The philosopher replied sadly, ‘I wish I knew..’

True Value and Identity

We get told that we’re only lovable and have an identity because of what we do, how we perform in life etc. This message gets reinforced through childhood. The popular kids were the ones with the most stuff, the coolest stuff, the best clothes, the most girls, the most sporty etc. As a result we learn a false message that our value and identity depends on what we do, not on who we are. 

There is a fish called the Koi fish. If you put this fish in a small bowl, it grows to the size of the bowl. If you place the fish in a large bowl, it grows bigger to the size of that bowl. If you then place the fish in a pond or lake, it grows up to 2 foot. The fish is a product of its environment. As the world around it grows, so does the fish.

You and I are the same. We need to get to a place where we re-frame our way of thinking and start understanding who we really are and what we can be. 

There is a fish called the Koi fish. If you put this fish in a small bowl, it grows to the size of the bowl. If you place the fish in a large bowl, it grows bigger to the size of that bowl. If you then place the fish in a pond or lake, it grows up to 2 foot. The fish is a product of its environment. As the world around it grows, so does the fish. You and I are the same. We need to get to a place where we re-frame our way of thinking and start understanding who we really are and what we can be. 

There is a proverb that says, ‘the greatest happiness comes from loving other people, the greatest unhappiness comes from loving only yourself.’ 

There is a man called Bill Strickland. He grew up in the ghetto where expectations and opportunities are usually very low and people are dismissed because of where they live and what they look like. He started to do pottery, encouraged by an art teacher. He went on and studied, achieving great success. He came back to his roots and re-invested into the inner city and the students that other people didn’t believe in, giving opportunity and hope. Today, his amazing academies train up many people and 95% go on to university and beyond. Bill could have accepted his lot in life, but he chose to expand his way of thinking and attempt great things.

Story of the eagle

While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens. One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard with the chickens. The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved as the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.

“Still it has the heart of an eagle,” replied the naturalist, “and can surely be taught to fly.” He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, “You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again.

The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, “You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and world and jumped down once more for the chicken food. Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, ” You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky. Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that the eagle began to tremble. Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens.

It may be that the eagle still remembers the chickens with nostalgia. It may even be that he occasionally revisits the barnyard. But as far as anyone knows, he has never returned to lead the life of a chicken.

(Originally from Theology News and Notes, October, 1976, quoted in Multnomah Message, Spring, 1993, p. 1. Taken from http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/i/identity.htm)

Rap / Poem 

Ignoring consequences and sorting with a pill 
Tragic sequences, but still can’t get our fill
Our tax bills rise, enslaved to our possessions
You say we’re going forward, I say we’re in regression
Believe in so called experts, search for any truth
We tune into false prophets, only God’s Word stays aloof
Huh, you do things your way and I’ll do things mine
But over time we’ve seen the signs, like stepping on a landmine
Self help books, soap operas and pointless chat shows
Magazines and trash TV, it’s godless overload
We feed on selfish greed, taking grabbing what we see
Living selfishly, injustice causing misery
We’re doing what feels good, we’ve failed, misunderstood
Majoring on rights and not on what we should
We build the tallest structures, we reach for the skies
But God seems ever distant and still we wonder why..

End

The Bible says that God has a plan and a purpose for people, plans for good and not evil, plans for life and not death, for a hope and a future. This is the attitude that God has towards you and for you. When you consider your life, consider what God thinks of you, and what you can achieve.