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Lesson Ideas for teaching the Apostles Creed.

Editor's Note:
Because creeds cover a wide range of theological subjects, they often are not taught as a four or five week rotation in Workshop Rotation Model. Rather, they are often taught in other places in the church, such as, Confirmation classes and Children's sermons. In some Rotation churches, the Creed is taught during a particular season (such as Lent) over a period of weeks at the END of each regular lesson.

That said, if you have a great Apostles Creed lesson idea or lesson set, please post it!

Last edited by Luanne Payne
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Why is it Called the "Apostle's Creed"?

Another area to explore using the Creed is to do some research and learning about the Apostles; who were they and why did the Creed get named the way it did? 

I hope that gives you a springboard!
Blessings to you-
Jan Snell

Last edited by Rotation.org Lesson Forma-teer

Music/Movement Idea

My first thought was the song "Creed" by Rich Mullins. Could they do something with music/movement? 

Moderator notes:  you can listen to it on YouTube (some versions have lyrics) 

CD - "Songs" by Rich Mullins, Provident Music, 1996, 602341620529.

Last edited by Rotation.org Lesson Forma-teer

Art Idea - Wall Mural

To introduce the Apostles' Creed for our K-5 rotation (with mostly K & 1st). 

Brief Lesson Outline: 

Memory verse: Deut. 6:4. 

Advance Prep:

  • I took large pieces of white butcher paper(about 48"x48") wrote each phrase of the creed on one.
  • Need an adult leader w/each 2-4 children to offer suggestions and encourage/clarify their ideas.

 Lesson:

  1. Put children in groups of 1, 2 or 3 and had them illustrate each phrase. 

    I encouraged stick figures and drew a couple as examples, e.g. "the holy catholic church" was different shaped boxes with a cross on the top or door (representing different congregations) connected with a big circle.
  2. Discuss:  We talked about the universal church-all those who worship Jesus, all around the world.
  3. Then I asked one of the more tentative students to color that page for us.

 

At the end of that class, the kids had a wall-sized mural illustrating the entire creed because I hung up the pictures, in order, as they completed them. 

They seemed to enjoy walking along and saying/reading it together and the entire process seemed to help them memorize it. 

I've used the pictures since on the walls of the Praise tent where we have games and music. They were pleased with their work and brought their parents and friends down to see it. 

NOTES: 

Older kids might not find this as meaningful, but it actually engaged ALL my learners that morning. 

Probably works best with 5-9 learners, because the more production minded can do a couple and help hang them while those with more of a craftsman approach can perfect their one.

Last edited by Rotation.org Lesson Forma-teer

More info moved here to consolidate topic...


Computer

  • Cal and Marty's Scripture Memory Game to help children memorize it in sections. You can also ask up to three questions after they've sorted the verse.  The program comes with a preinstalled copy of the Apostles Creed, however, I'd have the older kids type in their own copy -Neil
    This software is now FREE to supporting members! Check it out here.
  • Kid Pix 4 (or 3-D) - If your computer lab is on line, have students search for images to represent the various phrases (i.e. "I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth" could be represented by an picture of earth from space that can be found at NASA's website). You may want them to brainstorm first so they know what they are looking for!

    Then they can put all of these images (and the phrases represented) into a slide show (recommend Kid Pix) or PowerPoint presentation.  [Pastor Beth]

Video Ideas

  • DVD Peter and Paul
    You will need to get "abstract" to do this. The Apostle's Creed was a document produced to end a dispute in the early church and say "This is what we believe."

    Try looking for videos that show the creation and resolution of disputes, perhaps showing several different clips? Some of the Acts videos will certainly have disputes going on. We have the DVD Peter and Paul (Vision Video) and scenes 16 & 17 are disputes about Greek converts. Again, not the dispute of the Apostle's Creed era, but showing that there have always been conflicts in the church, and the church always tries to resolve them.

    It's not going to help children learn the creed per se, but might help them understand why we say it.  [Lisa M.]
  • Storykeepers Series
    You may want to check out the video series StoryKeepers. (Vision Video) These are about the early church, after Jesus' resurrection, and do not deal directly with the Apostles Creed, but there could be something that would be helpful in teaching children why we say what we believe.  [JanS]


Apostle's Creed - A Brief Lesson Idea from Neil MacQueen

I've done the following with Confirmation classes that I've taught.

  1. For the Apostle's Creed, I would split the class into two groups and have each come up with 5 second actions for each of the key images/ideas in the Creed.
  2. A narrator on their team must also come up with a "plain English translation" of "what that line in the Creed means to us."
  3. Discuss and Practice it once with a teacher-assistant working with them and it's off to do it in front of the camera.
  4. Then view it and recap it.


Lesson Idea from Jan Snell

I remember doing something with an Apostles Creed lesson that had to do with creating commercials (as in advertisements).

  1. The leader talked about the Creed as a commercial for what we believe as Christians.
  2. The activity involved asking the students, in groups or pairs, to identify their favorite cereal, sports team, beverage, etc. and create a 30 second commercial about that thing.
  3. Then the students are invited to do the same activity only this time they create a commercial about being a Christian.
  4. These could be videotaped or acted out in a "broadcast" sort of format.
Last edited by Luanne Payne

Art Lesson

Here is an art lesson that is part of a lesson set about the 12 Apostles:
Lessons: NT GOSPELS: JESUS' DISCIPLES Call of the Disciples, Call to Individual Disciple 12 Apostles Lesson Set - Bethany UCC, Bethlehem, PA

  • Art: Explore the twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed through participation in an architecture/art project, and to incorporate rubbings into a year-long prayer calendar.
  • Media (Art): To review information about Jesus' thirteen disciples - the original twelve, plus Matthias - and to create newspapers containing examples of their experiences of prayer.
  • Video: View portions of the video, Children's Heroes Of The Bible: New Testament. Specifically the segment entitled: "Jesus teaches and calls his disciples.

Lesson Goal: To explore the twelve articles of the Apostles' Creed through participation in an architecture/art project, and to incorporate rubbings into a year-long prayer calendar.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

We did a year that focused on the Apostle's Creed--using different stories to teach about the various parts.

  • 1st Article--focus on how God Continues to care for us:  Wilderness Wanderings; David & Goliath; Esther
  • 2nd Article--Jesus is True God:  Miracles of Jesus
  • 2nd Article--Psalm 23/Good Shepherd
  • 2nd Article--Work of Redemption--Lent thru Eyes of Marys; Resurrection
  • 3rd Article--Holy Christian Church:  Body of Christ
  • 3rd Article--Called me by the Gospel: Call of Disciples
  • 3rd Article--Sanctifies Us--Beatitudes
  • 3rd Article--Gives us Eternal Life:  Parable of Virgins

Previously we did this:

Apostles’ Creed

Summary

The students will be travelling to different activity stations to learn the about the Apostles’ Creed.

  • Game Station: “I Believe” Game,
  • Science Station: Water Experiment ,
  • Music Video Station: Creed Live by Third Day,
  • Art Station: student booklets titled “Apostles’ Creed”,
  • Architecture/Field Trip: look at Church stain glass windows and Christian Flag.

Workshop-specific Goals:

  • Understand that WHAT you believe is important.
  • Know that a creed is a statement of what you believe.
  • Become familiar with the Apostles’ Creed
  • Think about they believe about God.

Preparation:

  1. Pray for the children and for your teaching of the lesson.
  2. Gather the materials.
  3. Read the story ahead of time.
  4. Review the DVD of the song “Creed” so that you will know where to start it—have it set up at this point for the class.

Materials List:

  • Bibles
  • Box with: pens, pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, tape
  • Luther’s Small Catechism
  • Piece of blue paper
  • Bottle with liquid in it—put a label on the bottle that says “Poison”—perhaps add a “Mr. Yuk” picture
  • Calculator
  • TV with DVD player
  • DVD of the song “Creed” (see below for link)
  • Microwave
  • 2 Clear cups—microwave safe
  • Small ice cubes
  • Student booklets—one per child


Lesson

Opening:

Guide Activities—the guide will take attendance/acknowledge any birthdays

Introduce yourself to the students.

Introduce the day’s story/station and the main learning purpose: We are not studying a specific story today. Instead, we are kicking off the Sunday School year with something a little different—learning about the Apostles’ Creed. And we are going to do a variety of activities: a game, science, a music video, art.

Open with a prayer .

We would like to have a consistent opening and closing to each class, especially since the teacher and station changes each week. Please start the class by having everyone make the sign of the cross and say: “We make our beginning in the name of God the Father—and God the Son—and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Intro & Bible Story:

Around 500 years ago, there was a man named Martin Luther. He was a priest in the Catholic church. There were some ideas being taught in the church that he did not agree with because these ideas were NOT from the Bible. Luther felt that the church needed to be fixed or reformed. so he started talking about this. Luther had his own ideas—which were based on what the Bible said. Many people listened and started following Luther instead of the Catholic church. Over time, different churches formed, including the Lutheran Church.

Martin Luther wanted children—all children—to know about God and His love. So he wrote a book called a catechism (show a catechism). The catechism is full of questions and answers about the main teachings of the church. It talks about things like the Lord’s Prayer, the 10 Commandments, Baptism, Holy Communion, and the Forgiveness of Sins. It also talks about the Apostles’ Creed, which is what we are learning about today. In fact, all of the Bible stories that we study this year will have something to do with the Apostles’ Creed.

Tell me what you know about the Apostles’ Creed.

A creed is basically saying what you believe. We say either the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed every Sunday in church. The Apostles’ Creed is NOT called that because the apostles and disciples wrote it. It is called that because everything in the Apostles’ Creed is taken from the teachings and writings of the Apostles—and these writings are a part of the Bible. So everything in the Apostles’ Creed is from the Bible. The Apostles’ Creed has 3 articles (kind of like paragraphs)—one about God the Father, one about Jesus, and one about the Holy Spirit.

We’re going to do a few activities to learn more about the Apostles’ Creed.

Activity Stations:

“I Believe” Game Station:

We’re going to play a game about what you seriously believe to be true. (Hold up the piece of blue paper) If you believe this paper is blue then go to this corner of the room, and if you believe it is red then go to this other corner of the room. Why did you all go to the blue corner? It is pretty obvious that blue is the true color of this piece of paper—you just have to look at it.

(Hold up the “poison” bottle, but keep the label hidden) If you think this bottle has poison in it then go to this corner; if you don’t think it is poison then go to this other corner. Ask the children why they chose their corners. (Show them the label) Now who believes that this is poison? Some believed it was poison and others didn’t? You both believed “something”. Is it important to know “WHAT” you believe in? Why? (if you didn’t believe it was poison and drank it, you could get sick or die).

I’m going to give you a math question and you tell me which answer is true. Take 497 x 82. Add 154. Divide all that by 12. If you believe the answer is 4097 then go to this corner. If you believe that the answer is 3409 then go to this other corner (this is the right answer). How do you think we can figure out which is the answer to believe in? Bring out the calculator and work out the problem.

So, we’ve learned a few things about the importance of what to believe in. (Hold up the piece of blue paper) It needs to be true, like it is true that this is blue. (Hold up the poison bottle, label showing) Believing in the wrong thing can have consequences, like drinking poison because you don’t believe it is poison. What is a consequence of not believing in Jesus as your Savior? (not going to heaven/going to hell) (Hold up the calculator). And sometimes you need some help knowing what is true, like with our math problem. The Bible helps us know what is true about God.

Music Video Station:

The basic facts of what we believe about God are laid out in the Apostles’ Creed. Instead of reading it, I am going to play a video of someone singing the Apostles’ Creed. The song is called ‘Creed’ and was written by Rich Mullins. The group that is singing this is Third Day. They sing the creed almost word for word. I want you to listen for the refrain: “And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am. I did not make it, no it is making me. It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man.”

[The first part of the video just shows the members of the band—it goes on for about a minute. Start the video at the screen where it says Creed Live by Third Day. Watch the entire video (about 5 minutes).]

After the video, Say: Before I ask any questions, do you have any comments on the video? When they sang the refrain, what picture did they show? (circle of hands holding a Bible) What do you think they were trying to show us with that picture and the words of the refrain? (make sure to draw out the part about very truth of God/not the invention of man).

Science Experiment Station:

The creed talks about God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. It might sound like we are talking about 3 different Gods, but that is not true. There is one “essence”—that is God. There are 3 persons in this one God. We call this the Trinity. No one—not even pastors—can fully understand how this is so, but I have a little science demonstration to try and explain it a little.

Some people compare the Trinity to the “essence” of water. Water can be solid and liquid and gas (or steam) all at the same time. Hold up the cup with ice in it. Say: Here is some water—is it solid or liquid or gas? (solid) Put some of the ice cubes in another cup and put it in the microwave and heat. Bring out the cup and show the class. This is still water—is it solid or liquid or gas? (liquid). If there is steam rising, point it out. If not, put the cup back in the microwave and heat until there is steam. Point out the steam. Say: Is this water solid or liquid or gas? (gas—steam). We had ice and liquid and steam—all different, but also all are water.

There is one God with 3 Persons: the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Each of these persons of God had certain things that they do. We will learn more about that over the year in Sunday School.

Architecture/Field Trip:

We are going to learn a little bit about some of the symbols in our church that remind us of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We will be going to the church to see these. Instruct the class to walk quietly to the church. Go near the altar area—where they usually do the Children’s Sermon. Point out the following stained glass:

  • In the balcony on the pulpit side, you can see a hand reaching down. That represents God the Father—and His care and protection as He holds us in His hand.
  • There are 3 windows under this. The middle window stands for the Apostles’ Creed (the cross with the triangle at the top for the Trinity, and the 12 stars for the Apostles). The window with the 2 tablets is the 10 commandments. The incense rising up to the throne represents the Lord’s Prayer—our prayers rise up to heaven.
  • Behind the organ is the window depicting Jesus. Here He is shown as the victorious Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world..
  • In the other balcony is the window for the Holy Spirit—it is a descending dove. The windows underneath it stand for Holy Communion (the wheat and grapes), and baptism (shell with water). The middle window with the Bible and sword and keys stands for the Office of the Keys—which deals with confession and forgiveness.


Walk over to the Christian Flag—it is between the pulpit and the side door. The Christian flag has 3 colors, just like the Apostles’ Creed has 3 articles:

  • The blue rectangle represents the faithfulness of God the Father
  • The red cross reminds us the blood shed by Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins
  • The white field is for the power of the Holy Spirit—especially for his role in increasing our faith and our Christian living.


Now we will be heading back to the classroom for one last activity.

Art Station:

Place markers and crayons and colored pencils on the table(s). Pass out the student booklets titled “Apostles’ Creed”—one per student. Explain that they will be using these booklets all year long as we explore the different Bible stories. They will stay here at church—the guides will keep track of them—and they will be able to take them home at the end of the school year.

Have them put their names on the front cover—along with the grade they will be this school year. They should then turn to page 1—it has “I Believe…” at the top. Say: In the Apostles’ Creed, we start each of the 3 articles with the words “I Believe”. This is because everyone needs to believe for themselves. You can’t believe for someone else, and they can’t believe for you. On page 1 you see the words “I Believe” at the top. I’d like you to take a few moments to draw or write at least one thing that you believe about God—you can do more than one if you like. If you would like, you could also decorate the cover of your booklet. (say the closing prayer below right after you have handed out the journaling materials—that way the students can leave as soon as they are done journaling)

Reflection:

We would like to have a consistent opening and closing to each class, especially since the teacher and station changes each week. Please end the class with this benediction from Numbers 6: 24-26 (CEV). Make the sign of the cross and say:
I pray that the LORD will bless and protect you, and that He will show you mercy and kindness. May the LORD be good to you and give you peace. Amen.


A lesson from: St. John Lutheran Church

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

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