Eloise Wellings - Where Do We Find Our Identity?
Students discuss what they think would be the best and worst things about life as an elite athlete. They view Eloise Wellings talking about her life and purpose, her setbacks as an athlete, and how her perceptions changed when she became a Christian. They read a number of Bible verses relevant to the lesson’s key ideas and relate them to Eloise’s faith. This video is the PowerPoint for the full lesson sequence - including the video clips and student discussion questions. Pause and play to work through the lesson. The Full lesson plan is under the 'Discussion Guide' tab.
40 mins
Tony Hoang - The Loving Father We All Need
Students begin with a hypothetical discussion about who should be allowed into heaven. They view Tony Hoang talking about his troubled youth including drug-dealing and imprisonment, followed by his conversion to Christianity. They look at the story of the Prodigal Son and make connections between this story and Tony’s experiences. They observe aspects of God’s character in Scripture, including an examination of salvation by grace. This video is the PowerPoint for the full lesson sequence - including the video clips and student discussion questions. Pause and play to work through the lesson. The Full lesson plan is under the 'Discussion Guide' tab.
40 mins
John Flynn - Working for Jesus, Being Like Jesus
Students discuss the Australian reputation for helping each other in a crisis. They read a selection of Bible verses focusing love for and service of others. They view Dr Paul Roe describing John Flynn’s activities and motivations in establishing the Royal Flying Doctor Service. They discuss why Christians do ‘good works’. This video is the PowerPoint for the full lesson sequence - including the video clips and student discussion questions. Pause and play to work through the lesson. The Full lesson plan is under the 'Discussion Guide' tab.
40 mins
Gemma Bell - Seeking to Follow the Path of Christ
Students begin by ‘storyboarding’ (or refreshing their knowledge of) Psalm 23. They view Gemma Bell talking about her troubled youth, her early experience of God’s love for her, and her path to regular Christian worship and fellowship. They observe how Gemma’s faith motivates her work with young people experiencing homelessness, and connect her activities with selected examples of earthly ministry of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. This video is the PowerPoint for the full lesson sequence - including the video clips and student discussion questions. Pause and play to work through the lesson. The Full lesson plan is under the 'Discussion Guide' tab.
40 mins
Cass Langton - The Creator Creates the Creatives
Students discuss how humans are like God and/or engage in a creative activity to stimulate thinking about creativity. They view Cass Langton talking about her role as a pastor and creative director, and explore Bible verses that reveal God as Creator and as the God who values beauty and creativity. They consider that they are made in God’s image, and that creativity of all kinds is God-given can be used to worship God. This video is the PowerPoint for the full lesson sequence - including the video clips and student discussion questions. Pause and play to work through the lesson. The Full lesson plan is under the 'Discussion Guide' tab.
40 mins
Elizabeth and Lachlan Macquarie - Questions of Justice and Mercy
Students begin with a brief discussion of ‘cancel culture’ and then quickly check/refresh their general knowledge of Australia’s colonial history. They view two historians discussing the Christian faith of Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth Macquarie, noting their Bible-motivated commitment to showing mercy and grace to those who needed redemption and a fresh start. They learn of Macquarie’s role in the massacre of Indigenous people at Appin, and examine the fraught issue of commemorating historical Christian figures whose actions were part of social value systems unacceptable by today’s standards. This video is the PowerPoint for the full lesson sequence - including the video clips and student discussion questions. Pause and play to work through the lesson. The Full lesson plan is under the 'Discussion Guide' tab.
40 mins
Bill Ferguson with Riverbank Frank - Rights and Reconciliation
Students brainstorm everything they know about the story of the Good Samaritan. They view Riverbank Frank talking about the impact of Bill Ferguson in the Aboriginal rights movement of the 19430s and 1940s, then engage in a brief research task to expand their knowledge about this important historical figure and how his Christian faith motivated his activism. They view Riverbank Frank talking about his own faith, and about his path away from God and back again. They read the story of the Good Samaritan and make connections between Jesus’ teaching and the lives of Riverbank Frank and Bill Ferguson. This video is the PowerPoint for the full lesson sequence - including the video clips and student discussion questions. Pause and play to work through the lesson. The Full lesson plan is under the 'Discussion Guide' tab.
40 mins
Andy Gourley - Looking to the Interests of Others
Students eat red frogs and contemplate the connection between red frogs and Jesus! They view Andy Gourley talking about his work with the Red Frogs organisation and the role of Christian faith in his own work and that of the young Red Frogs volunteers. They read a number of Bible verses about serving others and connect them with how the Red Frogs volunteers are living their lives as true followers of Jesus. This video is the PowerPoint for the full lesson sequence - including the video clips and student discussion questions. Pause and play to work through the lesson. The Full lesson plan is under the 'Discussion Guide' tab.
40 mins
Each of the eight lessons is planned to take up approximately 40 minutes of lesson time. Teachers can truncate or stretch the lessons as needed. Some lessons have suggestions about time-saving approaches. Lessons do not need to be done in any particular order and each one is designed to be able to stand alone. However, there is a suggested sequence below, and the ‘key ideas’ are colour-coded to make it possible to highlight links between different lessons.
Viewing and listening questions are designed to help students focus on the video content. They are a mixture of basic comprehension questions and questions involving a little more thought. At times it will be a good idea to copy material from the lesson plans (e.g. viewing and listening questions, tables, readings) into worksheets and distribute them to students.
Sometimes a large number of Bible verses are listed. Teachers should choose the ones they would most like to explore if time will not permit looking at all of them. Quoted Bible content is taken from the NIV translation.
The ‘Going deeper: optional extension ideas’ at the end of each lesson are generally provided with the following situations in mind:
• classes with a lot of Christian students who are mature enough in their faith to tackle some more difficult and complex issues.
• teachers who are unafraid to tackle some more difficult and complex issues!
• individual students who may have questions and wish to pursue some ideas further.
• teachers who may have or take a special interest in researching and further exploring issues raised by or tangential to the video content.
Preparation instructions for each lesson:
• View the video content and read the questions that accompany each segment.
• Read through the material provided and select the activities and Bible content you wish to use with your students.
Note: there are quite a few activities and Scripture passages provided for each lesson. You may wish to give greater focus to some activities and/or some Bible verses than others. You can omit or modify content as appropriate for your class and the time you have available.
• Use the resources listed in ‘Further reading’ if you wish to explore the topic more fully for your own reference before teaching.