RE – What is the Good News that Christians Believe Jesus Brings?
This week in Sparrows Class, the children have been exploring the story of Matthew the Tax Collector as part of our RE learning about the good news that Christians believe Jesus brings.
📖 We learned that tax collectors were not well liked in Jesus’ time and were often thought of as sinners.
🤔 The children discussed why Jesus chose Matthew to become one of his disciples, even though other people did not think highly of him.
❤️ We thought carefully about how Matthew might have felt when Jesus called him. The children suggested that he may have felt surprised, grateful and thankful, while those around him may have felt shocked and confused by Jesus’ choice.
🎭 As a class, we retold the story, thinking about the important events and the feelings of the different characters.
✏️ The children then created storyboards, sequencing the key events from the story and demonstrating their understanding of what happened.
💬 We explored Jesus’ words: “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do.” Together, we discussed how Jesus wanted to help, welcome and forgive people rather than reject them.
🌟 Finally, we linked our learning back to our big question, considering how Christians believe that the good news Jesus brings is for everyone, including people who have made mistakes.
Mrs Patefield said: “The children showed thoughtful understanding as they explored why Jesus chose Matthew. They demonstrated great empathy when considering the feelings of different people in the story and made excellent links to the message of forgiveness and inclusion.”
One child said: “Jesus chose Matthew because everyone matters and can be his friend.”
This learning reflects our school vision of Love, Learn, Shine. The children showed Love through their understanding of kindness and forgiveness, Learned by exploring an important Bible story, and Shone through their thoughtful discussions and creative storyboard work.
Ideas to Follow Up at Home
🏠 Read the story of Matthew the Tax Collector together (Matthew 9:9-13) and talk about why Jesus chose him.
💭 Discuss a time when someone showed kindness or gave another person a second chance.
📚 Share a storybook about friendship, forgiveness or inclusion and talk about the characters’ feelings.
❤️ Encourage your child to think of ways they can help everyone feel welcome and included at home, school or in the community.
🌟 Create a simple “kindness challenge” and see how many acts of kindness your family can complete in a week.
We are very proud of the thoughtful discussions and reflections that took place in Sparrows Class this week. Well done, everyone! 🐦✨
