Progression in Christianity
Jesus
Introduction
Jesus is an enigmatic figure. He didn’t write anything (or at least nothing that is known), he died the death of a convicted
challenger to the state, the stories of his birth suggest he was conceived out of wedlock (most Christians believe through
the action of the holy Spirit), he appears to have spent some time while a baby as a refugee in Egypt. All that is known of
him comes from Christian writings which have a particular view of him as a person and his relationship to God. In many
ways Jesus ‘ teaching is not original and virtually all his teaching can be found within the Jewish tradition for, of course,
Jesus was a Jew. What is controversial are the claims made by followers of Jesus about him being the Messiah, the Son
of God, Son of Man, Lamb of God, inaugurator of the Kingdom of God on Earth, fully God and fully man. These are
statements of faith, of belief and some of these have their own controversies within the Christian tradition.
The units which follow explore the person and work of Jesus and the implications of following him for his disciples and
other followers. The units try to express what Christians believe about Jesus, what they argue about, while seeking to
catch the ambiguity of his teachings and his personhood.
Jesus
Year Group
Key Question
Reception/ Key Stage 1
Who was Jesus?
Time allocation
At least 7 sessions – the length of these will be dependent upon the age of the children
What the pupils should learn
That Jesus is the key figure of importance for Christians. They will be able to recount the main
events from the life of Jesus and reflect on the stories and teachings of Jesus, making
connections with experiences in their own lives.
Key vocabulary
birth, childhood, Baptism, temptation, healing, miracle, love, forgiveness, parable, resurrection,
Bible
Key Skills
investigation – asking questions, interpretation – suggesting meanings, analysis – identify
different elements in a religious story, explanation – give reasons for religious events, actions
and behaviour
At the end of this unit pupils
 Recount the main events from the life of Jesus
will be able to: Reflect on stories and teachings of Jesus and make connections with experiences in
their own lives.
Links:
QCA – RB – who were the friends of Jesus?
2B – why did Jesus tell stories?
Activities
Talk about role models.
Role Models
Which famous people do the children admire?
Why do they admire that person?
What makes this person important?
Do they have special qualities?
Who is the special role model for Christians? Younger What do we know about Jesus?
children may need help with this! Establish that the name
of the special person for Christians is Jesus.
Where can the stories about Jesus be found?
In groups, collect everything that the children may know about him. Groups report back to the rest of the class and
record all ideas on a poster to refer to in future sessions.
Baptism
Using a children’s bible, tell the children the story of Have any of the children been baptised?
Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist.
Could the children bring in photos?
What happens at a baptism?
Ask the local minister/priest to visit and explain the Can we find out what happens when adults get baptised?
significance of baptism.
Was it the same as Jesus’ baptism?
Why do Christians use water to baptise?
Role play baptism.
Jesus as a friend
Ask the children to describe a friend in words and Who are our friends?
pictures-personal qualities as well as appearance. Read
descriptions to rest of class and let others guess who it is. What makes them special?
When we talk about what someone is like, we mean more
than their physical appearance-character and personality
are very important.
Tell the story of the call of the disciples and talk about people they trust.
Temptations
Explain the meaning of ‘temptation’! Tell the story to the What do you find tempting?
children.
.
Are there times when you have given into temptation?
What were the consequences?
Why do you think Jesus didn’t give in?
Why do we need to resist giving in to temptation?
Jesus as a teacher
Parables – The Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32) / The Good Who is the key figure in each story – is it the Lost Son and
Samaritan (Luke 10:25 - 37). Either of these stories could the Good Samaritan?
be used. Initially find out if the children know anything of
these stories.
Or is it one of the other characters in the stories?
How would they feel if they had been one of the people in
the story?
What happened after the man was left for dead?
Year 2 children could be split into groups and each Why and how do they change?
assigned a character from the focus story – map how that
character’s emotions change throughout the story.
What has caused them to change?
Hot seat a representative from each group to explain their Can you think of times when you changed your mind about
character’s actions and responses in the story.
something or you changed from feeling sad to happy?
The children could enact the stories in small groups for the rest of the class.
Order a series of pictures of the story.
In groups Year 1 children could illustrate a different part of the story to be used in a class retelling of the story at the end
of the lesson.
Jesus as a Healer
What would they expect to happen in a story about a
miracle?
Ask the children to explain the meaning of the word
‘Miracle’.
Why do you think Jesus healed some people and not
others?
Miracles – Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:49-56).
Would you expect him to heal everyone?
If you could, what changes would you make in the story?
The children could act out the story in groups with each group taking a part of the story.
What did Jesus look like?
Use
images
of
Jesus
(packs available
RE Why have you chosen the picture you have?
TODAY/USPG)) to look at how artists have portrayed
Jesus over the years.
What it is that appeals to you about the picture?
www.rejesus.co.uk/expressions/faces_jesus/index.html
Why do you like your picture rather than one of the others?
Allow children time to browse through the pictures and
choose one that they prefer.
What about the images that have not been chosen, why
have they been omitted?
Children to imagine and draw their own image of Jesus.
What and How Did Jesus Teach?
Year Group
Key Question
Time allocation
What the pupils should learn
Key Stage 2 Years 3-4
Why did Jesus choose to teach in the way he did?
6 Sessions
Pupils should learn some of the basic teaching given by Jesus through the miracles, parables
as well as about his concern for all people, particularly the outcast and the poor.
Key vocabulary
Parable, miracle, merciful, resurrection, forgiveness
Key Skills
Evaluating, analysing, evaluating, understanding, and creating.
At the end of this unit pupils
 Developed an understanding of some of the events of the story of Jesus through
will have :looking at some parables, some miracles and some teaching.
 Demonstrated an awareness of the ways in which Jesus taught;
 Reflected on the relevance of the parables and miracles to Christians and to the
contemporary world;
 Had the opportunity to develop a range of cross-curricular skills;
 Reflected on their attitudes towards Jesus and Christian teaching.
Assessment and Evaluation
The manner of assessment can be varied. Pupils will have done a variety of creative tasks,
some written, some artistic, some poetic. They will have demonstrated an ability to express
their ideas and some pupils will have demonstrated an ability to think deeply on the topic.
Assessment has been built into all the activities.
Background information
Little is known of Jesus’ life. Two of the Gospels, Matthew and Luke, tell stories of his birth and one, Luke, of a visit to
Jerusalem as a young boy but it is only when he was over thirty years old and began his teaching that the Gospels tell
more about him.
Jesus taught in four ways:
 by speaking to people;
 by using stories (parables);
 by using miracles;
 through the example of his life, death and resurrection.
Jesus healed blind people and deaf people as a sign that those who listened to him would see and hear what he taught.
Look, listen and understand are important words in the stories of Jesus.
His message was about how people should live; how they should listen to what God had said for his would improve their
lives. They should love their enemies and those who hate them; they should not judge other people but be prepared to
forgive them. Jesus was very concerned for the poor and the outcasts in society and asked those who listened to put
other people’s needs before their own.
One of the most important events in Jesus’ life is called the Sermon on the Mount. It summarizes much of Jesus’ teaching
that is found in the Gospels.
Jesus had been travelling all over Galilee. Crowds turned up to listen to him because he was a great teacher and also
healed sickness and disease. The crowds were so great that one day he climbed up the side of a mountain and began to
teach.
He used a poem to make it easier for his listeners to understand want he wanted them to learn:
The Beatitudes
Happy are the gentle; for they shall have the earth as their heritage.
Happy are the merciful: for they shall have mercy shown to them.
Happy are the pure in heart: they shall see God.
Happy are those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
(Matthew 5. 3-10)
Pupils create a ‘Happiness tree’ in relation to the Can they choose four things that are top of their list?
Beatitudes above. There are four things that refer to
‘Happiness’ in the beatitudes above. Children can, in What four things make you happy?
pairs, make a ‘Happiness List’.
What makes your family happy?
What do you think would make a happier world?
Are there any rules that everybody should keep to make a
happier world?
Why do you think we have to have rules to live by?
Do your class rules work and why?
What ‘rules’ do you have to keep at home?
Why are some of them like the class rules and some of them
different?
Look again at the four things Jesus suggested.
Do you think it is possible to do what Jesus said?
Is Jesus asking the impossible?
Select some texts such as: ‘Go and make peace with your Is it really possible to do these things?
brother… ‘Matt.5.24; ‘An eye for an eye a tooth for a What do you do if you have had a row with someone?
tooth...turn the other cheek’
your enemies…’ Matt 5. 43-45.
Matt.
5.38-42;
‘Love What do you do if someone hits you?
Which saying do you like best? Why have you chosen it?
Using pictures
There are a number of pictures of Jesus addressing What is the main theme of the picture?
Indian, Chinese or African crowds. There is the famous
Stanley Spencer picture addressing the saying: ‘Foxes What expressions can you see on the faces of the
have holes but the Son of man has nowhere to rest his people?
head’. These are available on the internet, can be
downloaded and pupils can use them.
Does Jesus look like you expected him to do?
Are the people listening?
What expression does Jesus have on his face? Is he
kindly, stern, forbidding?
How would you have felt if you had been there?
Can you pick out the important people in the picture?
Children can create their own version of the story
How people should live
Jesus told the crowd that it was very difficult for the rich to What could Jesus mean by talking about camels and
enter the kingdom of heaven because having a lot of needles?
money can mean you think only of yourself. He said, ‘It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than Do you think Jesus means it is impossible?
for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven’. Don’t
worry, he said, about practical things like having clothes to Was he using a way of speaking?
wear and enough food to eat, put your trust and faith in
God and everything will be provided for you.
Design a cartoon to illustrate the difficulty of a camel
going through the eye of a needle. (Jesus might have
had a sense of humour!).
Some people think that there was a very small gate in the wall in Jerusalem which camels had great difficulty
getting through. Make a collection of sayings about doing impossible things, paste on a sheet entitled, ‘Can a camel
go through the eye of a needle?’
Parables (Background)
Jesus used parables to help people understand his message. A parable is a story that has layers of meanings which can
be enjoyed and remembered as a good story. Parables are a form of teaching used by the Jews of Jesus’ time. The
rabbis used stories from everyday life to entertain and teach. They encourage the listener to think about the different
levels of meanings. If the story is remembered then each time they hear or think about the parable there will be something
new. Some of the parables are quite long stories; others short sentences, but almost all of them are taken from everyday
life at the time. They reflect familiar situations in the lives of Jesus’ hearers.
A Parable - The Lost Sheep Matthew 18:12-14 Luke 15:3-7
The story tells about the love God has for everyone and how God will always come to look for those who go astray. Jesus
lived at a time when shepherds were a common feature of the countryside. A shepherd with 100 sheep was a wealthy
man. When Jesus told this story some of his hearers would have laughed that such a rich man would bother to go to look
for one sheep – much easier to let it go and forget it. Also sheep are not easily caught; they are heavy and hard to carry
so the shepherd would not have had an easy time, climbing up and down rocks in the heat of the day.
There are many pictures of Jesus as the ‘Good Shepherd’
caring for his sheep that are available on the internet. Use
some of them so pupils can use them to discuss the
parable. They may need some help in realising that sheep
are not always willing to do what they are told and they
can be large and difficult to manage.
With the pupils, make a horizontal chronological timeline
of the shepherd’s journey from leaving his house to count
his sheep until the time he got home. On the vertical make
a graph of how the shepherd felt at each stage based on
‘Being Happy’, ‘Being OK’ and ‘Being Sad and Unhappy’.
Pupils will be able to reach a judgement about how the
shepherd would have felt on each stage of his journey.
Would you go after one sheep?
What would you do to make sure the 99 were kept safe?
How do you think the shepherd felt when he heard the
sheep?
“Shall I bother to go? I can’t be bothered”. How would you
have felt if you were the shepherd when you went out and
counted your sheep?
How do you think the sheep felt?
Use the model of the parable to write a similar story/poem about looking for a ‘lost’ person or animal and think about why
that person/animal is important. You might like to link with rescue groups who risk their lives to save people and animals
at sea or on mountains.
Two other well-known parables
The Lost Son (Luke 15.11-32) there are four people in this story-the father, two sons and the servants.
In The Good Samaritan (Luke 10.30-37) there are six –the thieves, the beaten man, the priest, the lawyer, the Samaritan
and the innkeeper.
They are both good stories, read them carefully. You may Who are the two most important people in the story? Write
be able to find pictures of them in your resource area or down your reasons.
on the internet to help you.
What would your feelings be if you were these main
characters?
Children could compare accounts with a partner.
There are many pictures easily available on the internet. Look at the picture(s) carefully.
Choose any but it is worthwhile to try to find some of a Describe what is going on in the picture. Can you imagine a
non-European style, as this helps to break down the conversation between the people?
dominant ‘Jesus as a European’ notion.
What expressions can you see on the faces of the people?
Is the picture like you imagined when you heard the story?
Can you say how it is different?
Miracles (Background)
Jesus used miracles to teach. Miracles were not new in the Jewish tradition; they were signs of the power of God. The
Jewish scriptures (the Old Testament) have many stories about individuals being healed or even brought back from the
dead. Whether Jesus was stilling a storm when his disciples were afraid, or healing a paralysed man by telling him his
sins were forgiven, he was keen to show what the power of God could do. There have been many healers before, during
and since Jesus’ time. Today many Christians claim to have the power of Jesus to heal and some people do seem to
have been healed.
The Healing of the Paralysed Man Luke 5:17-25
Some men brought a paralysed man to Jesus but when they came to the house where he was teaching they could not
get in because of the crowd. So they climbed the stairs at the side of the house and went on to the roof. They dug
through the roof and let the paralysed man down on a stretcher into the middle of the crowd. Jesus said, ‘Your sins are
forgiven, take up your bed and walk.’ The man did so and everyone was amazed.
It was thought in those days that illness was caused by Who is the most important person in the story?
wrongdoing or offending God in some way. If your sins
were forgiven, you would be well again.
Is it Jesus? The paralysed man? The four friends? The
owner of the house?
What lesson do you think Jesus was teaching his listeners?
Is it the persistence of the paralysed man’s friends? How
would you feel if someone opened up the roof of your house
and passed someone down? Is it the power of Jesus to
forgive the man’s sin/wrongdoing?
If Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven, why did it make
some people angry? Do you think Jesus was trying to show
people he was God?
Think about the frustration of the friends when they Can you think of any words that would describe how they
couldn’t get to Jesus.
felt? What makes you frustrated? What makes your teachers
frustrated? How do we go about solving our frustration?
Children could make a list of frustrations they feel sometimes and how they resolve them.
In groups write a view of the story as if you were: the paralysed man, one of his friends, the man who owned the house,
one of the people in the house at the time, and Jesus.
If you put all your stories together you will have a very detailed knowledge of the story and have thought a lot about
people’s feeling.
Children could write a short poem from the point of view of one of the characters.
The Example of Jesus
Christians believe that human beings have become separated from God because they didn’t do what was right. Jesus’ life
and death healed that relationship giving an opportunity to enter into a special relationship with God. They believe that
Jesus was the Son of God; he is often referred to as the Word of God. He died for all people and he rose from the dead.
This triumph over death was witnessed as true by his followers. Jesus’ story is why Christians often say Jesus is alive
now and lives in each person. One of his sayings is used to sum up his teaching:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your
neighbour as yourself. (Luke 10:27)
This saying, written by the Apostle Paul about 20 years after Jesus’ death, is used to show that love-for God and for one’s
neighbour and for the world is paramount.
In a word there are three things that last forever; faith, hope and love; but the greatest of them all is love. (1 Corinthians
13:13)
What did Jesus look like?
Collect some pictures with faces on. Give two/three Would you trust the person in the picture? Why/Why not?
pictures to each group and invite them to write down their What is there about the face that you trust/don’t trust?
impressions of the faces before them.
What are the important features of a face that tell us what
the person is thinking? Why do we trust some people and
not others?
Children could paint/crayon a picture that expresses the words they have used.
There are many good resources which illustrate the face What sort of expressions would you expect to see on the
of Jesus in many different styles.
face of Jesus?
www.rejesus.co.uk/expressions/faces_jesus/index.html
Children could make a list of the words they have thought up. When they have collected a number of words to describe
Jesus, they could make a shape poem in the form of the face of Jesus using the words they have gathered.
On a practical side, pupils could prepare a project on a charity which would be a practical way of showing love
for all people. They may not be able to heal people but they could do a lot to help some people. This would a)
pick up the example of Jesus and b) be a way of picking up the words above about love.
What and How Did Jesus Teach?
Year Group
Key Question
Key Stage 2 - Year 5/6
In what ways do the teaching methods of Jesus and the content of his message have
contemporary relevance for Christians today?
Jesus used a variety of teaching methods - stories, acted stories, parables with layers of
meanings, one-liners but perhaps most significantly for Christians it was his whole life
that was the medium and the message. This is a difficult concept to explore and could be
taken up at Key Stage 3 but some aspects of all of the above can be addressed at Key
Stage 2
Time allocation
What the pupils should learn
6/7 sessions
The pupils will learn that although Jesus lived 2,000 years ago, his teaching is relevant
for today. Jesus ‘ teaching was about the Kingdom of God but he also taught people to
care for and to love each other,
Key vocabulary
Kingdom of Heaven, compassion, faithfulness, incarnation.
Key Skills
These will be developed in line with those identified in the current RE Agreed Syllabus.
investigation, analysis, reflection, synthesis, explanation, interpretation, evaluation and
empathy
At the end of this unit pupils
 Build on previous learning about the life and teaching of Jesus;
will have : Identify some of the key factors in his life that have relevance for Christians today;
 Reflect on the deeper understanding Christian have about Jesus;
 Explored some of the methods of teaching used by Jesus;
 Relate some of the emotions and experiences expressed 2,000 years ago to their
contemporary situation;
 Indicate where their cross curricular skills have been applied and developed.
Parables
Much of Jesus’ teaching is about the Kingdom of God (or Heaven). He teaches that it is here now and that people should
be ready to acknowledge that ‘fact’ and be prepared for it. So while he teaches about the kingdom, one way to start is by
being prepared. So pupils can think about preparation. Life is about preparation but alongside that is the underlying
reality that preparation is often left to others.
How do they prepare for events that are going to happen,
like going on holiday, getting ready for school? What
happens if they are not prepared? Do they look forward to
preparing? Do they prepare for holidays, a special event,
coming to school, organising the classroom?
What happens if no-one prepares anything? Who does most
of the preparation at home, in school, at the clubs you go
to? If you are not prepared do you miss anything? What
happens if one of your friends is not prepared when you do
an assembly together? Have you ever missed out on
something because you were not ready or no one has
bothered to tell you, as they didn’t think you were interested
or perhaps they forgot about you?
Jesus tells people why he uses parables (see above).
Pupils can read Matthew 13:10-16, Mark 4: 1-20, Luke
8:4-15. These passages deal with the reason for teaching
in parables. Pupils can identify differences between them.
These three accounts are similar.
Can you spot the differences and similarities? Why do you
think there are some differences?
Why did Jesus not speak openly about things? Why did he
speak in this hidden way? If he wanted people to listen and
understand why didn’t he just state it out loud?
Tell a favourite story to your group; it might be one you Why did you remember it? What was it about the story that
have recently read or an old favourite.
held your interest? Why is it easy to remember? Was there a
moral or purpose in the story? Did it have any contact with
your own life?
When pupils have identified some stories from their own
experience, they can begin to link the reason for Jesus’
stories. Stories are easy to remember and sometimes
they have different meanings depending upon the
experience of the listener. It could be that a remembered
story might appear different when reflected on or returned
to later.
Divide the class into groups.
One group can read the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37); the parable of the Great Feast (Luke 14:1524); the parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-31); the parable of the Ten Pounds (Luke 19:11-27) or any other longer
parable.
First; ask each group: Identify what they think might the main point or points of the parable. Can they agree? It is not
always as obvious as it seems.
Second: within each group a person can hot seat a character from the parable and be asked questions about how they
feel, why they behaved in that way etc.
Third: one of the other groups which has listened to the hot seating can give their opinion of the meaning and intention of
the parable.
Fourth, each group returns to its own parable and makes a flow chart of the undercurrents in the story.
They can then see if they can, collectively, make up their own parable on a chosen theme which they can act out to the
class.
Miracles
Having explored stories and the listening model, pupils
can now explore the visual teaching model. Jesus also
taught by ‘doing things’. Some have called these ‘acted
parables’ because he was making the same point but
differently. Hence the saying ‘Ears to hear and eyes to
see’. We all know we hear and see what we want!
Pupils can begin by discussing things they have seen that Why will they remember it? What was so special about the
have made an impression of them. It may be something experience? Did anyone else share it?
from nature, or something a person did, something at
home, school or on holiday. Something they think they will
remember for a long time.
Read one of the following: Jesus stills the storm (Matthew In the groups discuss what would be the most memorable
8: 23-27); a series of healings (Matthew 9:18-34) Healing aspect of the healing for each of them? How would they have
of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10).
responded if they had seen it? What emotions would they
have felt?
It will be difficult for some pupils who may want to argue
that these things are factually not true - and that is an
issue that can be addressed later - but for now try to keep
them on the task of seeing something amazing;
something beyond belief. They may well stray in to the
magician area here which is fine as we are specifically
dealing with amazement!
There are a number of paintings in RE resources and on
the internet that illustrate the miracles and the groups
could study these to see if their personal images of these
events relate to the events as they occur in the story.
Use a hot seating exercise where they take the role of
someone in the story and explore their feelings and
emotions about what they have experienced/seen. One
person from each group should take the role of Jesus and
answer questions such as:
Why did you do it? Why don’t you heal everyone? What is
special about these people? Are you trying to say there is
something special about you? Other people heal, so why are
you better than them?
Do you think there are there some similarities between the
telling of stories and the acting out of a story by performing a
miracle? Why should Jesus do them? Have you heard
anything in the hot seating that makes you think they might
have an answer?
Remember Jesus was a teacher, so how do we learn? What are the best ways of learning? Which ways do you learn
best? Can you remember something you have learned and how you went about it? Jesus may have done some miracles
but did he do them for the sake of it or did he have another purpose? ‘Remember ears to hear and eyes to see’!
Teachings
Jesus taught in a straightforward fashion. The best known passage is the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew (5-7) but there
are short sayings spread throughout the Gospels. Often he is urging people to receive God into their lives and be ready
for the Kingdom. Some are well known:
You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth’. But I say to you. Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone
strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also’. (Matthew 5:38)
‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy’. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you’ Matthew (5:44)
‘Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.’ (Matthew
5:25)
‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. (Matthew 7:1)
‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you’ (Matthew 7:12)
Give some of these sayings (or any of the many others) Can we live like Jesus says? Would it be a good thing if we
and ask them to discuss the practicality of them.
could? What problems might it create? How difficult would it
be to keep to some of these teachings even for a short time?
Would our friends still like us if we did these things?
Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven…I tell you it is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who
is rich to enter the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:21-24)
Western society is dominated by the need for money and
for some, the need to earn a great deal. There are a
number of games produced by the Aid agencies,
particularly Christian Aid, which allow pupils to explore the
way in which money can be used appropriately and
inappropriately. These resources are excellent ways of
exploring the issue of the use of money for it is the use of
money that is the grit in the oyster not money itself.
Jesus teaches about growth and discovery and he uses very short parables:
‘What is the Kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and
sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. (Luke 13:18-19)
‘The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells
all that he has and buys that field’ (Matthew 13:44)
The essence of all these sayings and many others is that God knows everyone better than they know themselves. God
loves them all and cares for all people but they don’t all do what he wants. Gods knows everything.
Activity
Place a pile of stones on the table. There should be at least 10 more stones than there are pupils. In turn ask each pupil
to come out to select a stone. When this is completed and everyone has a stone, it is important to emphasise that this
stone is their stone. They should look at it carefully, sketch it and give it a name. In other words it has a personal link to
them. They can then create a story of how the stone arrived on their desk, in their hand. How old is it? Where did it come
from? What sorts of experiences has it had? When their story has been written up they return their stone to the table
where there are 10+ stones in excess. The stones are then all mixed up together before each pupil comes out to see if
they can select their own personal stone. Most will.
The purpose is to exemplify Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom. Christians believe that each person is known to God and
Jesus’ teaching is aimed at helping people recognise that closeness.
Jesus Himself
Jesus’ life is a teaching model. He is seen by Christians as a model to follow but they also want to emphasise that he
saved people from their evil God-less ways by dying for them. By giving his life he saved people from living without the
love of God. The story of his last days is one of suffering but Christians believe he did rise from the dead on Easter Day.
Nobody really understands this but it can be approached with pupils through looking at a theme of:
Change – discuss change in their own lives and in the What has changed in your life since you started school?
world around them.
What skills have you developed? Have you made new
friends? Have you a new house, a new baby? Things
change.
Have you pictures of yourself as a baby? Do you look
different? Are you the same person? Look in a mirror. Look
cross; pull a face, laugh, and look angry. They are all
different expressions but the same face. Is the real you the
expressionless one? Or not?
Think about nature, plants and animals. Do they change? In
what way? Frogspawn to tadpoles to frogs; water bugs to
dragonflies; they all change, even the daffodil that comes up
every year is from the same bulb. What other things are the
same but different? What other parts of our lives change?
Jesus talks about changing our attitudes.
Is it easy? Can you think of some changes of opinion you
have made?
Christians believe their lives change when they follow What changes do you think they might have to, or want to,
Jesus.
make?
Create a poem about change in which you use the words you have thought of to form the shape of Jesus’ face. Give it an
expression which says something of what you think about the teaching of Jesus.
And/or
In Art you have studied the style of a lot of different painters. In your group each pupil should paint the face of Jesus
using the style of an artist you have studied. Compare notes on how different the portrait looks.
What were you trying to say about Jesus when you painted in the style of your chosen artist?
And/or
In Music you will have become used to making your own music. You may prefer to choose some music from a CD.
Chose a piece of Jesus’ teaching, or a miracle or a parable and choose some music that will heighten the drama. Think
about films and dramas you watch, they all use music to tell you what is happening and add to the drama. One of you
can tell the story while others use music to dramatise the telling.
Jesus: What Do Christians Believe?
Year Group
Key Stage Three
Key Question
In what ways do the key beliefs of Christians affect the way in which they live their
lives?
Time allocation
What the pupils should learn
4/5 1 hour sessions
 Demonstrate an understanding of key Christian beliefs.
 Identify why these beliefs are important.
 Begin to understand the importance for Christians of linking one’s belief and
action.
 Reflect in some depth on their attitudes to these key beliefs.
 Demonstrate an awareness of the reasons why Christians work in the
community.
Key vocabulary
Sin, Trinity, Creed, Holy Spirit, Salvation, Atonement
Key Skills
All the major elements will be covered in this activity. Pupils will use a variety of skills
to explore, and to reflect on, their attitudes to beliefs about Jesus.
At the end of this unit pupils
 Developed an understanding of the basic beliefs held by Christians;
will have : Identified why these are important and distinctive to Christians;
 Reflected on why some beliefs are more important to some Christians than
others;
 Considered the implications of such beliefs in the lives of contemporary
Christians.
Background Information - Central Beliefs
Christianity is a religion of salvation. People are saved from being separated from God by the life and death of Jesus and
are able to live forever in God’s presence. The heart of Christianity is the belief that human beings have become
separated from God through disobedience. Christians believe that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection renewed that
relationship giving them an opportunity to enter into a special relationship with God. How this salvation occurs leads to the
main beliefs of Christianity: the Trinity, the Incarnation and the Atonement.
There are well over 22,000 Christian groups and denominations and they all have different views about the person of
Jesus. Most Christians believe, however, that Jesus was the Messiah (the Anointed, the Christ) and they frequently use
the phrase ‘Son of God’ to describe this relationship. They believe he died for all people as the Old Testament had
prophesied; he rose from the dead, also as prophesied. This triumph over death was witnessed as true by his followers.
Jesus’ story is why Christians often say Jesus is alive now and lives in each person.
Summary
The belief in the Trinity affirms there is one God but Christians use three ways to express that oneness - Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. It is a statement of the relationship between the persons of the Trinity, reflecting the personal relationship
between God and creation.
For most Christians the mysterious nature of these beliefs is irrelevant. For them the experience of forgiveness, of being
reconciled to God and feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit is more than enough. The doctrines of the Church are
important but personal experience is much more significant.
Creeds – Statements of Belief
The first followers of Jesus could rest their faith on what they knew and had seen. Quite soon, however, as other people
came to the ‘Way’ (an early name for Christianity) they would be baptized into the faith of the Way. Statements of belief
(or ‘creeds’) arose as people came to join Jesus’ followers and wanted to make a declaration of belief and be baptised. In
doing so they put away their previous beliefs, were ‘washed clean’ and became Christians.
Two of the creeds, the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, are probably used most frequently today. They developed
from the early creeds used at baptism and were intended to act as a safeguard against what were regarded as wrong
beliefs.
Belief
Use a series of pictures and invite students to say
whether they believe what they see. Some of these
pictures can be ambivalent. (M.C. Escher’s pictures are
an excellent resource)
The pictures raise questions of: ‘do we believe what we Can two (or three) people see the same thing but
see’?
interpret things differently?
One way of dealing with this complex problem is to use a
clip from a football match or a cricket match where a
tackle, or a dismissal, is seen from different angles. If we
can see a range of pictures we may (or may not) have a
clearer view of what happened. Sometimes we say ‘I can’t
believe my eyes!’
So what does proof rest upon? Does belief always rest
on scientific proof? Can it rest on personal experience?
Identify with the pupils what things they ‘know’ to be true
and what things they ‘believe’ to be true. Each student
can list a number of things on a post-it and stick them on
two large sheets one headed ‘knowing’ and the other Is it possible to identify any clear division between the
‘belief’. Examine some of the offerings.
two lists? Is it possible to make a third list to account for
the overlaps?
If so then that is another activity for the students. The aim
is to establish what a person knows to be an absolute fact
and what they might believe to be true but for other
reasons than external factual information.
For example, do we know our close relatives and/or What does the phrase ‘unconditional love’ mean?
carers love us or do we believe it?
When Christians say 'I believe…’ into which of these three
lists would that statement fall? Some would say it is a
belief which is personal to them and therefore cannot be
proved; others might say their faith is absolutely real and
‘true’ to them. Others again might say a ‘belief’ is only a
‘belief’ and therefore can have no proof one way or
another.
Is there a criterion for belief?
Is it built on gut-feeling rather than cold logic?
Does belief only become an issue when it deals with
something personal?
Is something believed only if we emotionally believe it to
be true?
Use the questionnaire style of approach which should be How many believe in a god of some description? How
private to the students:
many do not? How many don’t know? Are there any who
don’t care whether there is a god or not?
Hand out, again so it is private to each student, a couple Are there any words or passages that could be ‘proved’?
of extracts from the Christian Creeds.
Not that they may have the proof but the statement does
not rest solely on belief?
The first is from the oldest creed, the Apostles Creed:
Are there any statements of belief they think they could
‘I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of agree to? Which is the most difficult part of these two
heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only statements to believe? Why? Can the students identify
Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the what is most difficult for them?
Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.’
Do we think either or both of the extracts use poetic or
The next one is from a creed used by all the churches but imaginative language or are they writing down an
is a few centuries later, the Nicene Creed:
historical event? Which words indicate some use
of
literary metaphors and which may be more direct?
‘For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he
rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he
ascended into heaven and is seated on the right hand
of the Father.’
Ask the pupils to underline any words or phrases in the
creeds which they think are mainly concerned with belief.
Ask the students to think about their earliest memory. It Why are they able to recall that particular event? What
must be a memory that can be verified, not some vague caused them to remember that when they can’t
memory of being in a pram. Some will be able to go back remember other things (like doing their homework!).
to 2 ½ - 3 years old, others may find it hard to go back
beyond about 4/5. Memories are part of emotions and
maybe beliefs are too, so to believe in something,
whatever it might be, could be connected with an emotion.
Christian beliefs are connected to emotional feelings of
the truth of something.
The Trinity
Do Christians believe in Three Gods?
Christians believe there is, and only ever has been, one God. However, they refer to God in three ways: as Father the
Creator; as Son, Jesus Christ; and as Holy Spirit, the power of God which people feel and experience in their lives. So
Christians talk about God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit – they call this the Trinity (three in one).
While Christians believe that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the words used to describe this belief never fully capture
the experience. What the Trinity expresses is the personal nature of God and therefore the personal relationship that
exists between God and creation. The belief in the Trinity has led some non-Christians to assert that Christians believe in
three gods, but that is not and never has been the traditional Christian belief.
It is the most mysterious and least understood of all Christian beliefs. It is true to say that many Christians emphasise one
of these more than either of the others. Some Christians focus very much on Jesus while others look to the Holy Spirit for
guidance and their worship is an expression of that emphasis. Almost any attempt to teach the Trinity will fall foul of
doctrinal correctness but it is worth a try!
The Trinity
The first activity depends upon what is available in the classroom.
Using either IT or Perspex sheets or paints, create three separate circles but which
overlap so there is common
central piece shared by all three circles. In the case of paints and Perspex obviously different colours have to be used
but the final result should indicate that while each colour has its own integrity, it contributed to the greater shared
colour. So with the three persons of the Trinity.
Water, ice and steam share the same chemical numbers – two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen yet when the
conditions vary they can be very different although they are the same element. Christians believe God is one but, in
practice they often refer to God in three ways Father, Son and Holy Spirit just as water exists in three forms.
Christians believe the most powerful emotional force in life is love. By ‘love’ is meant what is often called
‘unconditional love’. It is the love that does not ask for love back but simply loves.
The example often used in human life is the love a mother has for her baby/child where she will sacrifice her life to
save her child. Christians want to use this example as a model of how God loves the world and everything in it. In
other words, the love expressed by God in the human/divine relationship is so much greater than even the love of a
mother for her child. So while there may be three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, they are ways of trying to
express divine love.
Students could note down three relationships they have. They may be a daughter, sister, aunt; a brother, friend,
footballer. They have a number of relationships but they are still one person. So with the Trinity. It is the belief about
One God but there are different relationships God has with creation.
The Christian belief of the Trinity is very much of a personal relationship so working with students to think about these
personal relationships is helpful.
So in their list of three relationships: Do any of the others in the relationship get
on your nerves? Do you fall out? Do you make up? Do you know if the person cares for you whatever you do-even if
they are cross?
If they can explore this very human but complex network of relationships they are well on the way to exploring how
Christians understand God as Trinity.
The Incarnation
Why did God have to be born on Earth?
Virtually every Christian believes that, in some mysterious way they do not understand, Jesus was fully God and fully
human. By becoming fully human, God revealed a willingness to share the pains and difficulties of life on earth. Jesus
knew pain and humiliation, was frightened, cried, and, because he was human, he would have shared in the diversity of
human experience. By becoming a human being the extent of God’s love for creation was demonstrated; to be born and
live as a complete human being was the only way save all people.
The Incarnation
The Trinity is all very well but that is off most people’s
scale of understanding. Human beings need images
and/or figures to focus on and religions provide these
figures and objects whether they are human, animal (or
both) or inanimate objects but represent a truth or contain
one in their written content. Christians find their focus in
Jesus. And some Christians use statues and images of
saints and, most commonly, Mary, the mother of Jesus.
What sets them apart from the ‘normal’ person? Are all
of us potential heroes? It could be that a truly great
sportsperson is head and shoulders above very good
sports people. How do we define a real star? What
qualities must they have? They will be a genius at what
they do, though they may not be very good at other
things – relationships, friendships, managing their lives,
their money etc.
What questions would we ask about their heroic nature
if we could meet them? What gifts have they which set
them apart? Could we simply learn to be a great athlete
or do we need something else? One of the greatest
athletes of the 20th century, the runner Michael
Johnson, said he worked hard but he was born with a
talent and a natural physique. Is it only a question of
Christians believe Jesus was God and man. What discovering our talent?
problems might this raise? Would he know the future? If
he did then he would not be fully human. Could he heal What problems would you encounter if you knew what
people when he wanted? Some people do heal others would happen to you in your life? Not just next week
Here is a cross-curricular exercise. Identify some great
‘heroes’. They may be contemporary sports people, pop
stars anybody…, but they are heroes to some students.
Identify national heroes who may be heroic for a number
of reasons: war leaders, inventors, adventurers, doctors
and nurses…
today so he would have some links with human beings.
Did he walk on water? If so, he was the only human who
has ever been recorded as doing so. Not normal human
behaviour! Could he switch from being God to being
human? Maybe people wrote about him in that way
because they wanted to say something about him and not
just describe him.
but next year and in the years ahead? Would you want
to know? Would you tell the people around you what
would happen? Would you tell your family? You
wouldn’t be able to change anything so how would you
manage with the ‘now’?
Create a power point presentation looking at the issues raised by being God and a man.
Think about the superheroes: Spiderman, Superman, What separates them from being normal human
Flash Gordon.
beings? Why or how is Superman protected from what
happens in the world?
All the superheroes are more than human. Christians
want to say that Jesus was human because he wasn’t What do we want to be protected from? Is it a threat of
protected by kryptonite or by anything else and therefore physical pain, or serious illness or the hurtful comments
was as weak as any of us. The other superheroes are made about us by others? Do we feel so elated
strong, mighty and undefeated. Christians believe in a sometimes that we feel we could walk on water? What
person who was put to death and suffered great pain. No is special about us?
kryptonite for him!
Why do you think Christians can accept two opposing
Think about what you know about Jesus.
beliefs? Do they want the best of both worlds?
Draw around a student on a large sheet of paper. On and Do you think it emphasises the human or the godly side
around the outline make a list of qualities of what it is to of Jesus?
be human. They can be skills or qualities, abilities or
capacities.
Why doesn’t this two-dimensional figure become a real
In the same way, Christians believe Jesus transcends the human? What does it lack?
human, we are like the drawing with the qualities listed
when compared to him. Flat, two-dimensional etc.
Sin, Salvation and Atonement
What were people to be saved from?
Christians believe that sin separates people from God. Sin is not simply doing wrong things but it is a failure to be
obedient to, and trust in, God. It is a misuse of the free will given to humans by God. The sin of Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden was disobedience - a failure to do God’s will. This disobedience is passed down throughout human
history so the traditional Christian belief is that everyone is born sinful. This is called ‘Original Sin’. God’s only son, Jesus,
breaks this cycle of sin; Christians believe Jesus was born on earth to take away sin and unite people with God.
Jesus, therefore, atones for the sins of the world and recreates at-one-ment; the bringing together of God and human
beings. This is the heart of Christian belief: sin is disobedience to the will of God and Jesus Christ brings victory over evil
and death by atoning for everyone’s sinful nature.
Belief in Jesus as Saviour means, for Christians, that all sins are forgiven and each person can enter into a special
relationship with God. The outward sign of this is baptism, which symbolically ‘washes away sin’. By being obedient to
God’s will and doing what was required he removed the separation sin had created.
Sin, Salvation and Atonement
Saved from what? Or from whom? And by whom? Contrary
to most mediaeval beliefs, Sin is usually regarded as
separation from God! The person who saves is, for
Christians, Jesus because he heals the separation.
Think about something you may have done which you
feel mildly guilty about: maybe you have upset
someone or been nasty behind their back. Anything
which you have done that you don’t want anyone to
find out about. How do you feel when you next meet
them? What is going on in your mind? Do you behave
differently towards them? Do you make such an effort
to be ‘normal’ that your behaviour is abnormal? Are
we able to sense things in the air? Do we sometimes
feel people have been talking about us and they fall
silent
when
we
enter
a
room?
How do we learn about these feelings others (and
we) have from time to time? Tone of voice, body
language, certain forms of behaviour sometimes
trying to compensate for something the other person
Read the passage from Genesis 2 where Adam and Eve doesn’t know has happened?
are in the Garden of Eden. They have been told not to eat
the fruit of a particular tree. (It isn’t an apple tree but the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil) Eve has been
tempted by the serpent to eat the fruit then offers it to Adam
who also eats. When, in the story, we read about God
walking in the garden at the cool of the day, Adam and Eve
hide from God because they are ashamed. They have
broken the rules and find it hard to face God. They no
longer feel at ease in God’s presence just as we often don’t
feel at ease in someone’s presence if we have hurt them in
some way. Do you this story is literally true? What might it
be telling us about ourselves?
To be ‘saved’ is to heal the gulf between us. For Christians,
the gulf between God and human beings was so great that
only the sacrifice of God’s son, Jesus, could heal the
separation. Jesus would atone for the disobedience and
separation by offering his life on behalf of everyone. In this
way he would bring about atonement: at-one-ment with God
and restore the perfect state humans were in before they
sinned.
How often do you fall out with a friend and then make
up? Do you fall out and occasionally wish you did
make it up? Do you want to make up but can’t or
won’t make the first move? On a scale of 1-10 with 10
being the hardest, how difficult is it to heal the gulf?
Christians believe Jesus healed the gulf for all people at all
times so this was an enormous sacrifice, a one-off
occasion. Whatever anyone else believes, Christians
believe that in some way they can’t explain Jesus’ sacrifice
healed the separation between God and Creation.
What burden do you think this put on Jesus? Did
Jesus know what was expected of him? Did he
always know how he would live and how he would
die? If he knew he would rise from the dead was the
crucifixion as bad as it appeared?
What reasons can you think of which might answer
the question: Why did Jesus have to die? Why did he
have to suffer? What sort of a life did he have? He is
assumed to have been about 36/37 years old when
he died so what did he know about his future life
through those years? Is a sacrifice one of the ways
we can heal separations? Not through death perhaps
but we often have to humble ourselves and feel as if it
is a death of sorts before we rise again having healed
Using the internet look at some pictures of the crucifixion of the friendship.
Jesus. Some pictures have him in great agony but others
seem to have him looking quite comfortable. In some he How is Jesus portrayed? Why do you think artists
hangs from the crossbar, in others he appears to be holding represent Jesus on the cross in these different ways?
his arms out straight and not hanging at all. In fact, he What might the artists be trying to say to the viewer?
seems quite triumphant.
These pictures give us some clues as to how the
painters saw salvation.
There are other pictures, but not so many, of Jesus rising
from the dead.
Why do you think there are fewer? Surely Christians
would have wanted to paint the risen Jesus? But no,
so why? Look carefully at the ones selected. What do
you notice about Jesus’ body language? How is he
standing and what expression does he have on his
There are many mediaeval pictures of heaven and hell; you face? What are the artists trying to say to us, the
can look up some of these on the internet as well. Many of viewer?
them are in churches.
Why? What are they saying to those who look at
them? What do you think you have to do to make
sure you do not end up in hell? What do you do to
ensure a place in heaven? Who do you think makes
the judgement of where you go? Do you go to hell (or
heaven) for ever or just for a while?
What about very young babies or people who cannot
be held responsible for their actions, do they go to
heaven or hell? Or do we have to invent another
place for them? Are you affected by the pictures? Is
the threat of eternal life in hell enough to make you
believe in Jesus or simply to be a better person?
Should our beliefs be decided by fear or by a more
positive approach? Do people live in hell for ever or
will every one be saved in the end, even the most evil
and cruel of people like Hitler and Stalin and a few
Roman emperors?