Christian value in focus
Our Christian values at school this year are going to be:
Term 1 – Thankfulness
Term 2 – Trust
Term 3 – Perseverance
Term 4 – Justice
Term 5 – Service
Term 6 – Truthfulness
Here are some of the ways to practice our values at home.
Courage
Have you ever been courageous? What happened? How did you feel?
Why were you showing courage? What does it mean to be full of courage?
Did you know that our word courage comes from French word for heart? Take heart is another way of saying be courageous.
Being courageous doesn’t mean that you aren’t scared. Many courageous people have been scared but they stood up for what was right anyway.
There are a lot of courageous people in the Bible. Can you think of any stories where they might be somebody who showed a lot of courage at a difficult time?
In the book of Joshua, in the Bible, it says ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’ Jesus often said to people “Don’t be afraid.” That sentence turns up 365 times in the Bible! Christians believe that when things seem difficult and hard that they can rely on God to strengthen their courage.
Compassion
What does it mean to live our lives with compassion?
What do you think of this definition of compassion? Could you add any more?
Talk at home about the ‘Footprints’ poem and the Bible passages below. Can you decide what they each teach us about ‘compassion’?
Footprints in the Sand
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord Scenes from my life flashed across the sky,
In each, I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints; other times there was only one.
During the lowest times of my life
I could see only one set of footprints,
so I said, “Lord, you promised me,
that you would walk with me always.
Why, when I have needed you most would you leave me?”
The Lord replied, “My precious child,
I love you and would never leave you.
The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
Find these bible passages – what do they teach us about ‘compassion’?
- Baby in the Bulrushes: Exodus Chapter 1, verse 2.
- David spares Saul: 1 Samuel Chapter 23, verse 24.
- The Good Samaritan: Luke Chapter 10.
If you want to find out more about compassion have a look at our home school values sheet. Just click the picture below.
Generosity
We’ve been thinking about how we can show generosity to others around us without spending any money. We did this by doing kind acts. What sort of things have we done?
We displayed some of generosity hearts on our tree on the Worship table in the hall.
Often when people talk about generosity they are thinking about sharing money and belongings but generosity is bigger than just that. Generosity can also be about sharing your time and abilities with others.
Generous people often say that they receive much more than they give. Perhaps this is because when someone is generous to us, it makes us want to be generous in return.
Have a think about these questions:
How have you been generous?
How did someone respond to your generosity?
How do you show generosity to someone you finder harder to get along with?
What kind of person would you prefer to have as a friend?
Who is the most generous person you know? Why did you pick them?
Find these bible passages – what do they teach us about ‘generosity’
- 2 Corinthians 9 v7
- Mark 12 v 41-44
If you want to find out more about generosity have a look at our home school values sheet. Just click the picture below:
Service
What does the word service mean to you?
Service means looking after and helping people.
Can you think of any people who have helped you in the past? How can you help people? How can you help people at home? How can you help people in school?
Try out one of those things and see what happens.
If you want to find out more about service have a look at our home school values sheet. Just click the picture below:
Justice
Can you think of a time when something has been fair or even unfair?
What was it? How does something being unfair make you feel?
Our new value for this term is justice. We will be thinking about what justice means all the way to Easter.
What do you think this quote about letting justice roll down like water means?
Justice is about being fair and right towards each other.
Can you think of times in your life when we need to be fair to others?
Can you think of a time in school when you need to show fairness to others?
We will look at Fair trade as part of our link to justice. Fair trade works hard to make sure farmers in Third World countries are paid fairly for their work.
If you want to find out more about justice have a look at our home school values sheet. Just click the picture below:
Trust
If you trust someone you believe that they will do what they said they would do.
If you trust in something, you believe it to be true or right.
Trust is really important. It can take a long time to trust someone but it can take only a moment for that trust to be broken. That’s why it’s something important to take very good care of.
Who do you trust?
What special thing about them makes them people that you can trust?
Can you think of something which shows that people are really trustworthy?
In the Bible there are lots of stories about trust. In some of the stories people trust in God; in other stories people break other people’s trust.
Joseph was very good at trusting. Read his story. How did he show trust?
Look at the story of Daniel (Book of Daniel). Who did he trust? What happened to him because he showed trust?
Look at the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19) who was not a very trustworthy person at all at the beginning of his story. How did he change?
Creativity
Creativity is one of our school’s key values.
Creativity is…
- thinking outside of the box
- letting your imagination run wild
- trying something new
Sometimes it can take a lot of courage to be creative. You might have to share a new idea with people who might think differently. Sometimes people might agree but sometimes they might not. You might have to be brave to share your idea
A really good example of this is the story of Caedmon and St Hilda.
Caedmon lived 1300 years ago in the St Hilda’s Abbeyat Witby. For most of his life Caedmon looked after the animals at the monastery. He hated singing and poetry and wouldn’t take part in these activities when people asked him to. If he was at a party and people were taking turns to sing a song, he would leave and go home. But one night, something special happened. Caedmon had gone back to the stable where he took care of the horses and settled down to sleep. But then he had a dream.
In the dream, someone appeared to him, and said, ‘Caedmon, sing me a song.’He answered, ‘I can’t sing! That’s why I left and came to bed! I can’t sing! ‘The other replied, ‘Yes you will sing!’ ‘Sing what? ”Sing about how everything was created in the beginning,’ said the other. With that, Caedmon began to sing a song in praise of God, a new song which he had never heard before.
Next morning, he told others about his dream and his song and was taken to see the Abbess, Hilda. After telling her about what had happened, he sang her the song. Hilda was amazed, so she called in some other older monks to listen to the song as well, to see if they could make sense of what was happening here. After some discussion, they decided the song could only have come from God.
But could Caedmon do it again? To see if he could, someone read him a passage from the Bible (Caedmon couldn’t read) and he was sent away. Next morning, he was back with another song based on the passage. At that moment, Hilda told Caedmon that he must join the monastery straight away as a monk. He agreed. Soon, he was being taught all the things of the Bible that he had never heard before, and he didn’t forget a thing.
Caedmon sang about the creation of the world, the creation of man. He also wrote many verses about the escape of God’s people from Egypt and their entering into the land of promise. He sang about many other Bible stories, especially the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. He sang many more songs about serving God.
Here is the song which Caedmon first sang in his dream:
Caedmon’s hymn
Now let me praise the keeper of Heaven’s kingdom,The might of the Creator, and his thought,
The work of the Father of glory, how each of wondersThe Eternal Lord established in the beginning.
He first created for the sons of men
Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator,
Then Middle-earth the keeper of mankind,
The Eternal Lord, afterwards made,
The earth for men, the Almighty Lord.
(Suggestions adapted from http://www.barnabasinschools.org.uk/)
If you want to find out more about creativity have a look at our home school values sheet. Just click the picture below.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is really important to Christians as it reminds them of why Jesus died. Easter is a good time to think about forgiveness. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “Without forgiveness there is no future.” Ghandi said that “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Do you agree with these quotes? What do you think about forgiveness?
Forgiveness isn’t easy; in fact sometimes it is one of the hardest things we can do but often forgiving others can make us feel as if we have had a big weight taken off our shoulder. Lewis B. Smedes said that “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. What do you think of that idea?
There is a lot about forgiveness in the Bible. It was very important to Jesus.
Jesus says in the Lord’s Prayer:
‘Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others’ (Matthew 6:12, CEV).
Bible links to forgiveness:
- The story of the prodigal son
- The story of the lost sheep
If you want to find out more about forgiveness have a look at our home school values sheet. Just click the picture below.
Perseverance
What does living our lives with perseverance mean?
What is the hardest thing you have ever done?
How did you keep going? What did it feel like at the end?
Perseverance means keeping going even when something is difficult. Sometimes this might mean that it goes wrong lots of times before you get it right! Sometimes perseverance means lots and lots of practice.
Think about some of things you have persevered at.
There are lots of stories about perseverance in the Bible. In fact the Bible said that life is like a race you are racing.
Can you think of any?
If you want to find out more about perseverance have a look at our home school values sheet. Just click the picture below.
Thankfulness
Thankfulness is an incredibly important value. It’s one which can change how we look at the world and people around us.
We will talk about what being thankful means, how we can find things to thankful about every day and how we can show our thankfulness.
During Harvest festival we to be talk about being thankful for the crops grown to produce our food. We collect tins and long lasting food to donate to Foodbank.
We have been looking at the book ‘A seed is sleepy’ this term and as part of our Harvest service we give out seeds to show our thankfulness to the bees for all their hard work.
Christians believe that God loves and cares for them in many different ways in all aspects of their life. This means that they should show their thankfulness to him and others through the way the act and care for people around them.
If you want to find out more about thankfulness have a look at our home school values sheet. Just click the picture below.
Respect
What does the word respect mean to you?
Respect means treating each other politely and with courtesy.
Respect has to do with recognising each other as fellow human beings with equal rights to ourselves.
Respect does not mean that we always agree with the other person but that we are prepared to listen and share our views without rudeness or impatience.
Can you think of ways you have been shown respect by others? ? How can we show respect to our friends and family?
How can we show respect people at school ?
Try out one of those things and see what happens.
If you want to find out more about respect have a look at our home school values sheet. Just click the picture below.
Peace
Peace can mean lots of different things.
It can mean:
- an end to war and fighting.
- a time of quiet and stillness.
- not being interrupted or disturbed by anything.
Peace can be a big thing for example when countries stop fighting one another but it can also be a small thing. You can make up with your friends after an argument.
Peace isn’t always easy but it is important. In the Bible it says “Seek peace and pursue it.”
If you want to find out more about peace have a look at our home school values sheet; Home School Values Sheet; PEACE
- Bible story links to peace;The prophets in the Old Testament foresaw the day when there would be an end to war – see Micah 4:1-5 (beating swords into ploughshares).
- Isaiah advises that a child will come one day who will be called ‘The Prince of Peace’ – see Isaiah 9:6-7.
- The angels sing of peace on earth when Jesus is born – see Luke 2:8-16.
- Jesus brings peace to the storm on Lake Galilee – see Luke 8:22-25.
- Paul talks of Jesus being the person who can bring peace between opposing groups of people – see Ephesians 2:14 -18.
- Paul prays for peace among the people to whom he writes – see 2 Corinthians 13:11-13.
(Suggestions adapted from http://www.barnabasinschools.org.uk/)
In assembly we have been looking at peace which is our value this term. We thought really hard about what peace means and how we can be peaceful in school. We’ve written peace promises where we say how we can show peace towards others in our school.
Friendship
Our Christian value for this term is Friendship. Have a look at some of the linked activities on the activity sheet.
