Year 3. Christianity. PARABLES (Spring 1)

Session 1   - How did Jesus teach about God and values through parables?

KEY WORDS God; Jesus; Parables

Class discussion and recap of work completed in KS1.

Questions- answer the following questions....

What is a parable? Can you remember any, maybe one or two of the parables? Who told these? Let's take a look...

Why did Jesus teach about God through parables?   

What ideas do you have?

Session 2 -

Today you are going to learn about the parable The Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Please read the story found in the Holy Book for Christians (Luke 18:10-14).

Can you explain what a Tax Collector & a Pharisee were? Why did Jesus tell the story? Can you list ideas and talk to your adult about your ideas.  Why did Jesus tell stories in parables? 

Watch the following video clip and see if your views have changed at all. 

The Pharisee and the Tax collector 

How was Jesus explaining about pride and humility through the Parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee?

Can you explain how the parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee teaches about being closer to God. 

What does the Parable of the Friend at Midnight teach a Christian about prayer? 

Read the story of the parable of the friend at midnight (Luke 11:5-12). What did the man in the story do in order to get some sleep? Why did the friend keep knocking at the door?

Watch this video clip and try and answer the questions. I wonder how the man felt? How did Jesus say the man asleep was like God?

Compile a list of characteristics about God that Jesus was illustrating. Why did Jesus tell the story? Together with your adult, suggest and record your ideas.

How does the Parable of the Judge and the Widow explore the relationship between a Christian and God?

Explore the parable of the unjust judge & persistent widow, (Luke 18:3-7).

Explore and discuss or debate the following with your adult. How did the judge behave? How did the widow behave? Why did the widow keep asking the judge? How did he respond? How did Jesus compare the judge to God? What was Jesus trying to teach about God? How does this parable teach about a Christian’s relationship with God? Record your answers on paper and show your teacher.

Kingdom of God - What is the Kingdom and God and how does the mustard seed help to explore this concept?

Adult help is needed : Have some mustard seeds which you pour from the packet into your hand. Explain how tiny this seed is, have you ever seen a seed so small?  How big a plant will this grow into? Have some guesses together. It can end up higher than 3 metres high. Look at the text of the parable. Matthew (13:31–32), Mark (4:30–32), and Luke (13:18–19). It is mentioned in three different Gospels. Can you remember what a Gospel is? 

Adult please try and have a go at explaining the meaning leading to how great things grow from small beginnings. Compare to acorns and oak trees. Explore how Jesus’ mission started small and he gathered together 12 disciples who then continued with his work. The Kingdom of God grew as more and more people believed in Jesus and passed on this belief to others. Look at an apple, cut it open, how many seeds are in it. If each seed grows into a tree which creates more apples and seeds then how many apples will there be in 50 years? This shows how Christians believe the Kingdom of God can grow. Explain to your chlid that this is not the only meaning for this parable and it can be interpreted in different ways.

Research a modern day example of something which started small, has grown and made a difference.