Hymns, Prayers and Creeds Explained - Primary RE Lesson Plan

This Primary School RE lesson plan, Hymns, Prayers and Creeds Explained, introduces children to the different ways Christians express their faith through worship, music, and belief.
Produced in the United Kingdom with no denominational or political bias, this engaging PowerPoint resource explains how psalms, hymns, and modern worship songs are used to share emotions from despair to joy and to teach Bible truths.
Pupils also learn about the importance of prayer in strengthening faith and expressing feelings to God, as well as the role of creeds, such as the Apostles’ Creed, in setting out the core statements of Christian belief and protecting against false ideas.
The lesson highlights how listening to the Bible and its teaching helps to build strong foundations of faith, making this resource an excellent introduction to Christian worship and practice within the Primary Religious Education curriculum.

1. Hymns, Prayers and Creeds Explained. Primary RE Lesson Plan Songs, hymns and Psalms are used in worship. They can convey emotions from despair to joy and can teach Bible truth. Creeds were written to combat false teachings. Prayers express love, hurt, despair, joy and requests to God.

2. Teacher’s overview: Christians use many different creative things to help express their faith. Psalms from the Bible are sung to worship, as they express people’s struggles in difficult situations. Hymns have been written from 400 years ago until now. New songs are being written all the time. Songs convey emotions from despair to joy and can teach Bible truth. Creeds were written with facts and statements about the Christian faith to stop false teachings and ideas. The Apostles Creed. Prayer strengthens Christian faith, expresses emotions of love, hurt, despair, joy and requests to God. Listening to the Bible being read and the explanation by the preacher to give good foundations of faith. Resources for Hymns, Prayers and Creeds Explained Lesson Plan: None.

3. Imagine that something special has just happened to you. You now want to write it down so that you can remember it and also tell others about it. Q. In what different ways could you tell others the news? You could write a song, a poem, a story, a play, a dance, or just write down the key points. Christians use many different creative things to help express their faith. We’ll look at these now:

4. [1] Songs were composed to express the Christian faith: Q. What emotions did the writer have? [a] Originally, Christians used the Psalms written within the Bible. Psalm 130 is an example of one. See if you can spot the sort of emotions the writer must have been feeling at the time: “From the depths of my despair, I call to you, Lord. Hear my cry, O Lord; listen to my call for help! If you kept a record of our sins, who could escape being condemned? But you forgive us, so that we should stand in awe of you.…” Psalm 130:1-4 Good News Translation

5. Answer: He could have been in despair because of all the wrong and bad things he was doing. So he was relying on God to have mercy and forgiveness. But he thought that being forgiven shouldn’t be taken for granted; he wanted to respect God’s authority. He felt in a mess, but he still did not want to turn away from God.

6. In the 1700s ′s, many people turned to God, and it is now known as the ‘18 th Century Revival’. During this time, many good hymns were written. Here is an example of a hymn written by Isaac Watts. It starts with ‘When I survey’, which means ‘When I look at’. “When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride…” ( etc ). Isaac Watts Q. Who is the ‘Prince of Glory’ mentioned in the hymn? [b] For hundreds of years, Christians have written songs known as hymns.

7. Answer to ‘Who is the Prince of Glory’? Jesus. Q. How was the writer picturing Jesus? He was picturing Jesus suffering crucifixion upon the cross. (for an explanation of this, see the Christian festival of Easter lesson plan), And because Jesus was taking the penalty for all the sins of those who would turn to Him, that was creating emotion within the hymn writer. Q. What emotions do you think the writer was experiencing?

8. Isaac Watts felt very humbled by this picture of Jesus. Whatever the world could offer in the way of riches just felt insignificant when compared with what Jesus did for mankind: “My richest gain I count but loss,” And there was no place for feeling proud when looking at Jesus upon the cross: “And pour contempt on all my pride”

9. They can be a song with many verses, or they can be very short and are then known as a ‘chorus’. Here is an example of a contemporary hymn: “How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure. That He should give His only Son…” Stuart Townend Copyright © 1995 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, [email protected]) Q. What is the focus of this song? [c] New Christian songs are being written all the time.

10. Answer: This is speaking about a relationship with God. It is the Christian calling God: ‘Father’, ‘Daddy!’ A relationship that will last forever. [2] Creeds were written to express the Christian faith: A creed is made up of facts and statements which set out certain truths about the Christian faith to stop false teachings and ideas. We will look at one which is known as ‘The Apostles Creed’, and it was written a few hundred years after Jesus walked on this earth. (Teacher’s note: The creed could be read aloud by the teacher, and then the children could all stand and read it together, just like in some Churches.)

11. “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day, He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, where He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” (The Apostles Creed)

12. “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day, He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, where He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” (The Apostles Creed) *The words ‘catholic church’ here mean the worldwide Church, and catholic means universal. It doesn’t mean the Roman Catholic Church. The idea was that these creeds were to be read out at each Church service so that everyone would hear this summary of the Christian faith. Then, if someone said that Jesus was just a man, the people would remember the words of the creed, and they would be able to correct them by quoting a part of the creed. Q. Which bit of the creed would they quote?

13. Answer: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord” Q. What does the prayer say about a special relationship with God? [3] Prayers to express the Christian faith: (Teacher’s note: This prayer could be read aloud by the teacher, and then the children could all stand and read it together, just like in some Churches.) “We have come together as the family of God in our Father’s presence to offer him praise and thanksgiving, to hear and receive his holy word, to bring before him the needs of the world, to ask his forgiveness of our sins, and to seek his grace, that through his Son Jesus Christ we may give ourselves to his service.” Anglican Book of Common Prayer

14. Answer: That God is a Father to those who meet with Him, they belong to His family: ‘We have come together as the family of God in our Father’s presence.’ Q. What does the prayer say about listening? “We have come together as the family of God in our Father’s presence to offer him praise and thanksgiving, to hear and receive his holy word, to bring before him the needs of the world, to ask his forgiveness of our sins, and to seek his grace, that through his Son Jesus Christ we may give ourselves to his service.” Anglican Book of Common Prayer

15. Answer: To listen to the Bible being read and the explanation by the preacher: ‘to hear and receive his holy word,’ But listening is not enough, because it also says: ‘to hear and receive’. To receive means to agree with it and put it into action, so that it becomes part of that person’s life. Q. Do you think Christian hymns and songs are boring? Q. Have you heard any modern Christian hymns or songs? Teachers’ note: There are some lively Christian hymns and songs on YouTube that could be played. See: https://notmanywise.uk/re-lesson-plans/christian-hymns-and-songs-re-resources/

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