Thursday 3rd May 2018

What would Jesus do?

LO – Investigate the meaning of the 15 quotations that Jesus said during ‘The Sermon On The Mount’.

The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5–7.

Resource Sheet 1 gives 15 quotations from Jesus’ teaching, to be referred to every time pupils consider ‘What would Jesus do?’ Get the class used to thinking about how to apply these quotes.

You could use a guided story narrative or stilling and experiential reflection techniques to open up pupils’ thinking about the meaning of these texts and to get inside the Sermon and its meaning.

15 sentences that changed the world: point out that Christians and some non-Christians try to live by Jesus’ teachings: over 2 billion global Christians include 59% of the UK’s population too. For each of the 15 sayings from the Sermon on the Mount, ask pairs of pupils to suggest what they think it means, then summarise each saying with one topic word and a phrase of seven words or fewer. See if they can match another pair’s summaries with the texts. What does Jesus think people are like if he needs to give this sermon? Is he right?!

Create game – 4 summarised words on a card, answer on back of card.

Thursday 19th April

What would Jesus do?

LO – Offer meaning to the parable of ‘The wise and Foolish Builders

Give pupils some scenarios where a choice must be made: truth or lies, kindness or mocking, generosity or greed. Ask: What would Bart Simpson do in each case? Taylor Swift? Show the class some artefacts from the ‘What would Jesus do?’ gift shop: online searches will give you plenty of options including wristbands, bumper stickers, mugs, badges and shirts, asking this question. Show these to pupils, and consider why they have become popular. Christians want to follow Jesus and apply his teachings to all of their lives. The pupils are going to try to work out what Jesus would do in lots of different tricky situations. It’s not guesswork: it will all be based on what he actually said and did.

Foundations for Living:

The Wise and Foolish Builders, Matthew 7:24–27. (parable)

Start with a fun design challenge: can the pupils in groups of three use 12 kebab sticks and some masking tape to create the tallest possible Bible stand? Give half the class sand trays from 

Reception, the other half modelling clay for the base. Which is easier? Read the parable: imagine the scene from inside the story. Ask pupils what they think the story is about and why. This unit explores the kinds of things that form these foundations for living.

EASTER

Today Craig came to school to make palm crosses with EC3 and JC5. These are made for Palm Sunday to help Christians remember the celebrations in Jerusalem when Jesus arrived on his donkey.

LO - Make clear connections between Bible texts studied and what Christians believe about God; for example, through how churches are designed

Coventry Cathedral trip photos all on the JC5 Blog. Mr. D : )

Thursday 22^nd February 2018

God

LO - Explain connections between biblical texts and Christian ideas of God, using theological terms

Express learning creatively: for example, draw/paint/design images to reflect all they have learned about God from these passages — symbols, images, signs, colours.

1.2.18

What does it mean if God is both holy and loving?

LO - Explain connections between biblical texts and Christian ideas of God, using theological terms

Discuss the features of God pupils have come up with. They are now going to look at the words of three people who claim to know the God of the Bible personally — David (Psalm 103 — a psalm or prayer/ song), Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1–5 — a prophet tells of a religious experience) and John (I John 4:7–13 — a letter).

Divide these up and give a section to groups of pupils. They are looking for words and phrases from the texts to describe what God is like, what God does and what God does not do; and also to identify how the writer knows this.

Focus on two important ideas about God: Christians see God as holy as well as loving. God’s holiness is to do with being apart from all others, being pure, being without sin. Read Exodus 19:1-19 to show how serious this is in the Bible. Get pupils to go back to the texts and identify the ones that are to do with God being holy, and those to do with God being loving.

18.1.18

What does it mean if God is holy and loving?