SAMPLE - Think Faith - What is the meaning of life? by Christian Education Publications

T H I N K FA I T SEMINARH TERM 1A Years 11–12 WHAT IS MEANINGTHE OF LIFE? ?? ? ?

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Published 2022 by CEP

Original Design: Bethany Abbottsmith Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Editorial: Guan Un, Natasha Percy

THE THINK FAITH TEAM: Writer: Jenn Phillips

Permission to make copies of the Visual aids, Teaching aids and Worksheets is given only to those who hold an active licence with CEP for Think Faith. These copies are for use only in the Special Religious Education, Religious Instruction or Christian Studies classes of the purchaser’s school, or of the school in which he or she has the responsibility for the provision of these classes. This unit is issued under licence for the 2022 school year only.

Additional versions of worksheets also feature Scripture quotations from the Contemporary English Version

T H I N K FA I T H Web: thinkfaith.com.au

Copyright © Christian Education Publications 2022 This resource is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism and review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced by any process without the express permission of the publisher, apart from the following provision. This curriculum may be reproduced for use only in the Special Religious Education, Religious Instruction or Christian Studies classes of the purchaser’s school, or of the school in which he or she has the responsibility for the provision of these classes. It may not be distributed, or copied for distribution, beyond the purchaser and his or her classroom.

Also included on worksheets is Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION®.

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Answering commonly asked questions about faith, life and the world. How did human life start? And what is its purpose? Why do Christians care so much about Jesus?

Important note: To gain access to the Scripture Union NUA videos that feature in this unit, you must register for access at https://nuafilmseries.org/nua-film-series-registration-form

These questions and more will be answered over the course of this eight-part series. These lessons have been written for Senior High students (Years 11–12) to have the chance to engage with the claims of Christianity at a deeper level than in previous units. These lessons work alongside the Scripture Union Ireland NUA Film series.

There are also additional worksheets you may like to use which are accessible via this link.

SEMINAR GUIDE YOUR ISANSWERED:QUESTIONSWHATTHEMEANING OF LIFE?

Topic Your questions answered Duration 8 lessons

SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

Focus Students will consider the following questions: What is the meaning of life? Jesus: fact or fiction? Jesus: dead or alive? Jesus: myth, martyr or made-up? What’s the problem with Christians? God: Good King or Sky-Bully? Church: Social good or source of social injustice? What does Jesus have to do with me? Outcomes See over page

RELATING[SS.S.3]TO GOD

• Christians understand the importance of forgiveness and repentance in their relationships with God and others [SS.RO.2]

• show how Jesus’ life (as recorded in the Bible) was unlike that of anyone else before or since.

Students will be able to:

• Christians find comfort in difficult situations in their own lives and the world around them by thinking about the future that has been secured for them through Jesus’ death and resurrection. [SS.RW.3]

• use critical thinking to reflect on the reasons Christians believe what they believe [SS.S.1]

• weigh up Christian responses to popular objections and assess the plausibility of these responses.

• analyse reasons for popular objections to Christianity [SS.S.2]

Students will understand that:

TO OTHERS

• explain why people have these questions [SS.U.2]

[SS.U.4]ACQUISITION

• Jesus is the saviour God promised.

• identify key questions people raise about Christianity [SS.U.1]

• Christians trust in what Jesus has done for them and recognise him as saviour and Lord.RELATING[SS.RG.4]

• Christians believe Jesus’ life fulfilled Old Testament promises about God’s coming saviour and King [SS.RG.3]

NOTES Outcomes for the Senior High Seminar series UNDERSTANDING

• Christians believe that Jesus is the saviour God promised [SS.RG.1]

Students will understand that:

Students will be able to:

• Christians recognise that God is the creator of the world [SS.RW.1]

• Christians acknowledge that sin has broken human relationships [SS.RO.1]

• Christians acknowledge that the world is not the way it originally was at creation due to the effects of sin [SS.RW.2]

• Christians are not perfect, make mistakes, and rely on forgiveness and God’s strength to be able to serve him. [SS.RO.3] RELATING TO THE WORLD

• the Bible presents God as a loving saviour who sent his Son on a rescue mission to become the saviour of the world [SS.A.1]

Students will understand that:

SKILLS[SS.A.2]

• Christians acknowledge that the whole Bible (Old Testament and New Testament) is all about Jesus [SS.RG.2]

4 © CEP 2022—ISSUED UNDER LICENCE FOR 2022 SCHOOL YEAR ONLY

Students will learn that Christians believe that:

• describe key Christian beliefs about God, Jesus, the Bible and the doctrine of salvation [SS.U.3]

NOTESSEMINAR TERM 1A WHAT IS MEANINGTHEOF LIFE? Big question: What is the meaning of life? Answer: Christians find meaning in the creator who is revealed not only in his creation but also in the pages of the Bible. Curriculum outcomes: SS.U.1, SS.U.2, SS.U.3, SS.A.1, SS.S.1, SS.S.2, SS.S.3, SS.RG.2 SS.RO.1, SS.RW.2 AT A GLANCE Connecting Exploring Forming 10 mins 30 mins 10 mins Welcome, expectations and introduction to the Big question Famous opinions Video segment 1: Where do we begin? Who began the beginning? Video segment 2: The complexityofthe universe Scientists and God Chance vs Design Video segment 3: The constantfor meaningsearch Creation points us to God Ticket to Leave/Reflection Important note: To gain access to the NUA videos, you need to register at https://nuafilmseries.org/nua-film-series-registration-form 5 © CEP 2022—ISSUED UNDER LICENCE FOR 2022 SCHOOL YEAR ONLY

• Fair go for the speaker by listening quietly.

Big question: Explain that in this lesson, we will answer the Big question: ‘What is the meaning of life?’

NOTES

ENGAGING 3 mins Slides 1–2

Welcome your students. Introduce yourself and the team (if you have helpers). You might want to explain what will happen over the course of the lesson, and outline some expectations.

• Fair go for fellow students by having one person speaking at a time. Explain that if students have participated in a Think Faith lesson before, this is different—as the students are in Senior High, the concepts and questions will be much deeper than those covered previously.

Welcome, expectations and introduction to the Big question

Some expectations that may be helpful include ‘Fair go for all’:

Famous opinions Show the slides for this activity and ask the students to guess who originally said this quote. You may like to take guesses from the floor or a general hands-up vote.

• Fair go for the program by participating respectfully.

Teacher’s note: This teaching component gives you an opportunity to introduce yourself and set the expectations of the lesson as well as introducing your visible learning statement, the Big question

ENGAGING 7 mins Slides 3–7

Teacher’s note: This activity is a way to get students thinking about what they believe is the meaning of life by reflecting on other people’s opinions.

CONNECTING

2. Allen, W in Willmore, A 2014, ‘Woody Allen believes that life is meaningless’, Buzzfeed, July 19, viewed June 24, 2022, https://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonwillmore/woody-allen-believes-that-life-is-meaningless

3. Schwarzenegger, A, BrainyQuote, viewed June 24, 2022.

Play NUA Film Series Video 1 from the start to 4:54. This segment introduces the idea of a beginning and also the one who began it!

4. Goldberg, W, Goodreads, viewed June 22, 2022, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/145142-we-re-herefor-a-reason-i-believe-a-bit-of 5. Matthew 22:37–39, NIrV

The answers are: ‘Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.’1 The Dalai Lama

3 SchwarzeneggerArnold

NOTES

‘I firmly believe, and I don’t say this as a criticism, that life is meaningless […] I’m not alone in thinking this—there have been many great minds far, far superior to mine, that have come to that conclusion. And unless somebody can come up with some proof or some example where it’s not, I think it is.’2 Woody Allen

1. The Dalai Lama, BrainyQuote, viewed June 24, 2022, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dalai_ lama_158917

‘We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.’4 Whoopi Goldberg Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind. … ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’5 Jesus Recap the quotes and give the students time to reflect on which one they most relate to. They might want to share out loud, or perhaps just think and reflect. LINK STATEMENT

‘The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.’

There are so many opinions about the meaning of life—we’ve only just looked at five! In the seminar today, we’re going to have the chance to think of our own answer to the question ‘What is the meaning of life?’. But first, we’re going to watch a video to get us thinking about how we can even begin to answer a question like this.

INSTRUCTING 5 mins Video segment 1: ‘Where do we begin?’