Lesson five - pages 10/11 Names of Jesus

AIM for the book

To bring to life the story of Jesus by exploring the way we use our senses.

Learning objectives

• To know that the Bible uses different names for Jesus.
• To be able to say what some of the names for Jesus are.
• To understand that the names for Jesus tell us different things about him.

Background

Jesus is given different names in the New Testament: Emmanuel (God with us), Master, Lord, Rabbi (teacher), Son of Man, Son of God, Christ, Messiah and so on. They all describe ways in which Jesus' followers saw him and tried to understand him and his teaching. All of us have different roles and could be given different names: brother, sister, father, mother, teacher. Jesus' names, Christians believe, indicate his power and authority as coming from God and therefore the names inform his followers today about the purpose and significance of his life, death and resurrection.

Bible reference

Mark 8. 27-9

Ways of using the picture

• Use the children's names to explore whether they are descriptive of a job, event or story.
• Choose a well-known person and think of ways of describing them.
• People have titles, e.g. Mrs, Ms, Revd, Dr. Why do they have titles? Why are people given names of that sort?
• Look at the picture, and the different names for Jesus on each branch. Discuss what the names are saying about Jesus. Some of them are easy to understand; others are more difficult and relate to Christian beliefs about Jesus.

Key words

• Christ
• Messiah
• Relationship
• Describe

Activity one - name tree

• You will need
  A two- or three-dimensional tree. (A large, bare branch secured in a pot would be a good idea).
  Labels to be stuck or hung on the tree. (Each label should have a name to describe Jesus on it - the picture in the book and the background material above will give you ideas.)
  Art or collage materials.

• Start
  Place the labels on the table. Have the children read them out. Tell the children that all these names describe one person - can they guess who?

• Develop
  Pick up each label, reading out what it says and asking, 'I wonder why people used that name for Jesus?' Give the children time to express their ideas. Hang or stick the label on the tree.

• End
  Invite each child to think of the name that they would use to describe Jesus. (It might - or might not - be one of the labels.) Let them use the art or collage materials to illustrate what it means to them.

Activity two - dreamy music

• You will need
  A large sheet of paper for each child plus one extra.
  Pens, coloured crayons and glue.
  A photograph of each child. (If this isn't possible, have each child draw a self-portrait.)

• Start
  Play a game together. Ask each child 'Who are you?' They will probably answer by giving their name. In the second round, ask the question again, but this time the children have to think of a new way of describing who they are. You might need to give some suggestions 'I am Becky's brother', 'I am a member of this class', 'I am someone who likes drawing'. Continue until they grasp the idea that everyone can be described in a variety of ways.

• Develop
  Help each child draw a 'spider's web' of who they are. Stick a picture of the child in the centre of a large sheet of paper. Underneath write the words 'I am...'. Draw lines out to illustrations of some of the phrases they used during the starting game.

• End
  Create a similar spider's web with Jesus in the centre. Some of the relationships talked about on pages 4 and 5 of In Words could be used, as well as the phrases on page 10. Discuss which descriptions are most useful in helping the children think about Jesus.

Activity three - picture collection

• You will need
  A selection of pictures of Jesus - these could be postcards, pictures from illustrated Bibles or religious books and so on. (The pack 'Images of Christ' has a good selection, as does Margaret Cooling's book Jesus through Art).
  Art or collage materials

• Start
  Ask the children to close their eyes and think of Jesus. What picture comes into their mind? Spend some time talking about their image of Jesus.

• Develop
  Spread the selection of pictures in front of the children. Use the following questions to help the children think about the various portrayals of Jesus:

• I wonder which of these is your favourite picture?
• I wonder which picture tells us most about Jesus?
• I wonder what the artist was trying to say about Jesus in the picture?
• I wonder what you would want to put in a picture of Jesus?

• End
  Allow the children to use the art materials to express their picture of Jesus.

Activity checklist

Activity one - name tree

A two- or three-dimensional tree. (A large, bare branch secured in a pot would be a good idea).
Labels to be stuck or hung on the tree. (Each label should have a name to describe Jesus on it - the picture in the book and the background material above will give you ideas.)
Art or collage materials.

Activity two - dreamy music

A large sheet of paper for each child plus one extra.
Pens, coloured crayons and glue.
A photograph of each child. (If this isn't possible, have each child draw a self-portrait.)

Activity three - picture collection

A selection of pictures of Jesus - these could be postcards, pictures from illustrated Bibles or religious books and so on. (The pack 'Images of Christ' has a good selection, as does Margaret Cooling's book Jesus through Art).
Art or collage materials.

Web site links

http://www.jesusanswers.com
Word puzzles and a specially designed children's area make this an enjoyable site for Key Stage 1 pupils. There is also a list of the names of Jesus, their significance and the bible references at:
http://www.jesusanswers.com/bible/names.htm

© Mary Hawes