This R.E. lesson plan looks at: a) The Bible is a collection of books. b) The Bible is in two sections – two Covenants. What is a Covenant? c) How do you describe what God is like when He is invisible? d) The ceremonies of the Old Covenant were 'symbolic' of the New Covenant. e) The different types of writings within the Bible: eg; letters, history, poetry, prayers, songs, proverbs, prophecy, and laws. f) Different translations of the Bible. This Christianity lesson plan is ready to use, straight into the classroom for the pupils to look at and work through. Teachers require no planning for this lesson plan. For more free lesson plans see: https://notmanywise.uk/free-resources-for-primary-re-assemblies-and-lesson-plans/

1. Teachers note:
Topics we will look at
See more Free Lesson Plans at: https://notmanywise.uk
What is the Bible?
The Bible is a collection of books

2. We need a volunteer to look in a book written by one author.
What’s the author's name?
We need a second
volunteer to find the
author's names in a
book containing short
stories by different
authors.
[i]

3. We need another volunteer to find the authors in the Bible:
Find the Contents page of the
Bible.
Now find the Book of Proverbs.
At the start of Proverbs it tells
you who the author was.
Then find the Book of Joel. Also
at the start of Joel it tells you
who the author was.
How many books are there in the Bible?
[ii]

4. By looking at the Contents page you should see that the Bible is in two sections:
Old Testament (Old Covenant) 39 books
New Testament (New Covenant) 27 books
66 books in total
Many of these books were written by the same people.
For example, the first 5 books of the Bible most probably were written by Moses.
About two thirds of the books of the Bible the authorship is definitely known
One sixth the author is probably known but it is not definite fact.
Another sixth the author's are unknown.
[iii]

5. Do you know what a Covenant (or Testament) is?
A Covenant is an agreement between 2 people.
Here is an example of a 'Covenant':
"I ……………………………. (child's name)
do promise to listen to everything
that ……………………………. (teachers name) says,
and not to be ……………………….. (naughty or what?)"
signed ……………………………. (child's name)
"I ………………………………….. (teachers name)
do promise to teach ……………………….. (child's name)"
signed …………………………………… (teachers name)
[iv]

6. The 'Old Covenant' was more serious than the pretend Covenant with your teacher
(but that doesn’t mean you do not follow your teachers instructions!)
The Old Covenant in the Bible was between the nation of Israel and God.
[v]
Where is Israel on this map?

7. That doesn’t mean that the Covenant between the nation of
Israel and God is irrelevant to us now, because:
[a] Through these books it gradually builds up a picture of what God is like.
But how do you describe what
God is like when He is invisible?
[vi]

8. Describe someone from your class to a school in Australia.
But you can't send any photo’s.
You can describe what the person looks like.
But that doesn’t tell us anything about their character.
How would they react in certain situations?
So one good way is to start telling true little stories about them.
[vii]

9. From the children's stories about the child,
the school in Australia would start to 'know' this child.
This is how the Old Covenant (and indeed the whole Bible)
deals with explaining what God is like.
In other words when we read
the Bible stories it reveals
more about God.
[viii]

10. [a] Through these books in the Bible it gradually
builds up a picture of what God is like, and also:
[b] The ceremonies of the Old Covenant were
'symbolic' of the New Covenant which Jesus
brought in later.
The Covenant between the nation of Israel and God is not
irrelevant to us now, because:
What does ‘symbolic’ mean?
[ix]

11. What symbol is this?
The simple ‘symbol' represents the whole McDonald's experience.
A lot of the symbols within the Old Covenant represented different
ways of looking at Jesus Christ.
Even though these things were written from 400 to 4000 years before
Jesus Christ!
[x]
The second section in the Bible is known as the 'New Covenant' (or
'New Testament')
This covers the life of Jesus Christ and includes what this New Covenant is between
himself and anyone who wants to become a Christian.

12. Can you find a:
• history book,
• poetry book,
• song book,
• a letter with an envelope?
What are the different styles
of writing in them?
[xi]

13. The answer is that you will find all these types of books and even letters within the Bible.
There are 7 different styles:
1) HISTORY: This concentrates on the nation of Israel, and shows how God interacted with them.
2) GOSPEL: (The word 'Gospel' means 'good news'). The 4 Gospels are the good news about Jesus
Christ, and they cover his life, death and his rising from the dead. The 4 writers are: Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John, and they all write as 'witnesses' in that they saw the things Jesus did.
3) SONGS, POETRY and PRAYERS: Both songs and poetry may be to God, or to other people.
It can put into words what we are feeling.
Would you find these sort of books and letters within the Bible?
Have you ever heard, or read, something which really expresses the way you are feeling?
Has it helped you?
It helps us to know that we are not the only person feeling like this.
Prayers are said to God.
Prayers can be: asking God to forgive us of the wrong things that we have done or it can be asking
God for something, or it can be expressing our gratitude to God.

14. 4) LAWS: An example of a law within the Bible:
"You shall not steal." Exodus 20:15 (NIV)
Do you think that laws like this restrict you, or protect you?
Laws are not there to kill our joy!
They make the world a better place to live in, if everyone obeys the laws.
The Law within the Bible tells us what God expects from us.
5) WISE SAYINGS: An example from the Bible:
"Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice."
Proverbs 13:10 (NIV)
[xii]
Why should pride start quarrels?
Why is it wise to listen to advice (from sensible people)?
Wise sayings give wisdom.
They help us to make the right decisions in our lives.

15. 6) LETTERS: These were written by wise Christians to either individuals, or whole
Churches.
They contain encouraging things, helpful advice and correction.
7) PROPHECY: This tells people of things before they happen, either to warn
people, or to prove a certain point.
For example, many things in Jesus' life and death were given in prophesies 100′s of
years before it happened, to prove that He is the Son of God.
(This is different from trying to predict the
future by using palm reading, horoscopes,
mediums, etc.
The Bible condemns such activities,
because it can manipulate and trap
people.)
[xiii]

16. Most of the Old Testament was written in 'Hebrew', which was the
language of the Israelites (the Jews).
Most of the New Testament was written in 'Greek', which was the most
common language in the known world at that time.
Different translations of the Bible:
So what had to be done so that we could read it?
The whole Bible had to be translated into the English language.
(The Bible, as at 2020, has been translated in its entirety into 704 of the
world's estimated 6,900 languages.

17. (1) One of the early translations was known as the King James Version and was completed in 1611.
(The first complete English translation was completed in the late 1300′s).
The King James Version is not very easy to understand, because the English language has evolved since then.
Here is an example of the King James Version:
"For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled." Matthew 5:18 (KJV)
Try to work out what this
verse is saying and then write
it out in your own words.
[xiv]

18. (2) Here is a modern translation of the same verse:
"I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear from the Law until
everything is accomplished."
Matthew 5:18 The New International Version.
Have another go at working
out what this verse is saying
and then write it out in your
own words.
(The Law means the Bible).
[xv]

19. Christians describe the Bible as being God's Word.
Even though different people wrote the Bible, Christians believe that it was
God who spoke to them, therefore God can 'speak' to anyone now who
reads it.
What do Christians think of the Bible?

20. Photo credits:
These images are licensed under CC BY-NC
[i] & [ii] Free images https://images.pexels.com/
[iii] https://live.staticflickr.com/3860/14219487807_6eabf4c50a_b.jpg
[iv] https://freepngimg.com/thumb/scroll/8-2-scroll-png-clipart.png
[v] http://oldsaltshaker.blogspot.com/2014/11/escalating-old-threats.html
[vi] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/77/Facepalm_silhouette.svg/1200px-Facepalm_silhouette.svg.png
[vii] https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2013/07/13/11/26/boy-158152_640.png
[viii] https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/320000/velka/himmel-wolken-sonnenuntergang-1582913916BBU.jpg
[ix] https://live.staticflickr.com/2416/2367170600_65b5d20560_b.jpg
[x] https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/03/60/76/3607696_c7f8d63a.jpg
[xi] https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-02mBP0btzdE/Tr0lKr_0mLI/AAAAAAAACW8/nzbx9vbLMmw/s1600/vermont+mail+2.jpg
[xii] https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/170954493_1280x960.jpg
[xiii] https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/110000/velka/road-warning-sign.jpg
[xiv] https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8149/7311242798_56c69e8734_b.jpg
[xv] https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.ecwid.com/images/7453276/814413485.jpg