Login | Forgotten Password
Why do Christians consider baptism to be an important aspect of their faith?
Students will:
STARTER 1. Ask the students to think of different symbols that have meaning. If you need to give them some examples to get them started, use some or all of the following: Traffic lights (red, amber and green mean stop, get ready and go respectively) Male and female figures on toilet doors indicate who should use a public toilet Emoticons are used to represent emotions and feelings in text messages Point out that these symbols work because there is a widespread understanding of the meaning that has been put on them. Explain that in today's lesson you are going to be thinking about a ritual from Christianity which, like the symbols you have discussed, Christians believe to convey an important meaning: baptism. MAIN ACTIVITIES 2. Introduce the clip from the television show Gavin and Stacey (series 3, episode 1) (BBC DVD 2009, certificate 15). Click here to buy Gavin and Stacey Complete Series 3 from Amazon. Ask the students to pay particular attention to what Smithy (James Cordon) and Uncle Bryn (Rob Brydon) say about the implications of a christening. Start time: 0.15.07 (beginning of chapter 4 of the DVD) End time: 0.19.47 Clip length: Four minutes and 40 seconds The clip starts with an exterior shot of Smithy's house. The first line is Smithy calling out, 'Mum, we were supposed to leave ten minutes ago.' It ends with Doris (Margaret John) aggressively saying, 'There's the salad, now leave me alone!' to Bryn. Please note that the clip includes several instances of swearing. If you do not feel these are appropriate for your class, they can be avoided by breaking this clip into two separate ones. For the first clip, start at 0.16.07 (Smithy's car pulls up outside Mick (Larry Lamb) and Pam's (Alison Steadman) house. The first line is Mick saying, 'Be nice.') and stop at 0.17.25 (Pam says, 'Lovely' as she gets into the car). For the second clip start at 0.18.37 (Gavin (Mathew Horne) and Stacey (Joanna Page) come into Gwen's (Melanie Walters) living room. The first line is Stacey saying, 'Hiya!') and finish at 19.47, as per the uncut clip. Ask the students to summarise Smithy's attitude to baby Neil's baptism. Some possible answers are as follows: It is a formal occasion (hence his dismay at his sister Rudi's (Sheridan Smith) clothes It will make baby Neil into a Christian It will guarantee that baby Neil won't go to Hell Now ask them to summarise Bryn's observations about the service. Possible answers may include: The service is very dramatic Godparents are taking on a big responsibility Ask the students which of these attitudes they would expect a Christian to agree with, and which ones they would expect them to disagree with. Would all Christians be likely to share the same point of view on these, or would the students expect disagreement? 3. Explain that baptism is practised in many Christian churches; Jesus was baptised and his earliest followers were baptised. However, in the church today there are many different opinions and practices surrounding baptism. Divide the students into groups and distribute the cards from the first worksheet. Ask them to discuss the following questions, giving reasons to support your answers: Which definition(s) match what happened in the film clip? Which definition(s) support infant baptism? Which definition(s) support adult baptism? Which definition(s) are closest to expressing what you believe about baptism? Allow enough time for the students to discuss the questions, then ask them to report back to the whole class, and continue the discussion to make sure that they have grasped these concepts. 4. Explain that while different Christian denominations believe different things about baptism, all Christians believe baptism to be more than just an empty ritual. In order to understand its significance more fully, you are going to ask the students to explore some occurrences of baptism in the Bible. Ask each group to look up the following passages: Acts 8:26-38, Acts 2:22-24 and 2:36-41. Distribute copies of worksheet two before reading the Acts 8 passage together. Ask them to complete the worksheet in their groups. Once each group has finished ask them to feed back their findings. Notes for worksheet two: The man whom Philip meets is from Ethiopia, so would not have been a Jew. As a result, he would not have been allowed into the temple at Jerusalem. Nevertheless, he had obviously made the journey to Jerusalem in order to worship God in the outer-most court of the temple. When Philip meets him he is reading the Old Testament, but is finding it hard to understand. Clearly therefore he was interested in finding out more about God but had no one to help him understand. Four main points for question 2: 1. Jesus did miracles and wonders 2. People put him to death on a cross 3. God raised him from the dead because death couldn't keep a hold on him 4. God has made him Lord Three responses for question 2: 1. Repent 2. Be baptised for the forgiveness of sins 3. Receive the Holy Spirit The eunuch wants to be baptised in response to hearing the Gospel explained to him as outlined above. Philip must have explained baptism as being part of the process, or else the eunuch wouldn't have asked to be baptised. SUMMARY / ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING 5. Use some or all of the following discussion questions to help the students to sum up what they have learned about baptism: How do the baptisms in Acts differ from the baptisms in the film clip? Why do you think churches baptise people? From what you have read, do you think anyone can be baptised? Do you think it matters how a church baptises people? What do you think is most important to God in baptism? 6. As a final exercise, ask the students to write a discussion between one or more of the characters from Gavin and Stacey and a Christian minister. The minister should answer questions about baptism and put right any misconceptions about what Christians believe about it.
A copy of Gavin and Stacey Complete Series 3 and the means to play it A copy of worksheet one for each group Bibles Copies of worksheet two for each pupil
You can optionally add your own notes below to be added to a PDF for saving or printing:
