Easter

What makes this festival so special?

• Festivals
• Text

What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘Easter’? Bunnies? Hot cross buns? Gooey creme eggs? Easter is one of the most special times in the year for Christians – and very little of it has to do with chocolate! ‘Easter’ is a season […]

Celibacy – one person’s reason for living a celibate life.

What is celibacy and why might you decide to be celibate?

• Issues
• Video

Although Christians believe sex is something created by God and very special,  the New Testament contains teaching that claims that being celibate and remaining unmarried is the ideal state. This is because if you are not married you have more time and energy to focus […]

Sex, relationships, the media, identity and self-image

What does it mean to be made in God's image?

• Issues
• Video gallery

What does it mean to a Christian to be made in God’s image? What did God create us for? How should we see ourselves? How do we get a positive self-image? In these films Rachel from Romance Academy and Jonathan from True Freedom Trust discuss […]

Divorce

What is the Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox view of Divorce?

• Issues
• Text

A Protestant view of divorce Protestants believe that Jesus’ teaching on marriage and divorce in the New Testament shows the ideal way to which all Christians should aspire. They accept, however, that sometimes humans fall short of this ideal, because we live in a fallen world, […]

Divorce – a Christian view

What is a Christian view on divorce?

• Issues
• Text

Christians believe the Bible teaches that marriage is for life. During a Christian wedding ceremony the bride and groom make promises before God to live faithfully with each other until death. Christians believe the husband and wife become ‘one flesh’  when they get married, that […]

Marriage & Divorce

How does divorce and Christianity fit together?

• Issues
• Video

Should you remarry after you have been divorced? Are those who have been divorced allowed to remarry in church? Are Christians open to those who have been divorced? The Church has often been divided on the issue of divorce and remarriage. Some churches now allow […]

Christian Family Life

How does being a Christian impact family life?

• Issues
• Video

Does it make a difference to your family if you are a Christian? Can your faith help to solve arguments? Is it important to pray for your family? Discover one couple’s experience of how Christianity has impacted their family life.

Confirmation Video

What happens when someone is Confirmed?

• Life
• Video

Watch this clip to see what happens when someone is confirmed.

Sex

What do Christians think about sex?

• Issues
• Text

Every form of life must reproduce in order to survive. Humans, like animals reproduce sexually. In every non-human species that reproduces sexually, sexual activity appears to be purely concerned with reproduction. In humans however, sexual activity is a pleasurable activity in its own right. Humans […]

Believer’s Blog: Divorce

'My story of a broken marriage'

• Issues
• Text

Jenny is a Christian. In our guest blog, she shares about her experiences of marriage and divorce. “Like many teenage girls, I dreamed of the day when I would have a loving husband, a nice home and a happy family of my own. “By the […]

Life in a Christian family

What roles do men, women and children have?

• Issues
• Text

Like all families, Christian families come in all shapes and sizes.  There are some key guidelines in the Bible to help Christians in family life.  Christians believe that men and women are equal in God’s eyes (Galatians 3: 26 – 29). The Bible contains lots […]

Choosing marriage

Why do Christians decide to marry?

• Issues
• Text

People get married for all kinds of different reasons. For Christians, the best defence of marriage – that is, the description of the reasons why they might decide to get married – is found in words of the marriage ceremony in an Anglican Church.   […]

Marriage

What do Christians believe about marriage?

• Issues
• Text

Marriage in the 21st century means different things to different people. For some, it is a bit of paper – a legal contract between two people. It is not something that is necessary to live a fulfilled and happy life as a couple. For others, […]

Church

What is church?

• Life
• Video gallery

Take a minute to think about church. What pictures do you imagine? You may think of a building you have seen in your community. It may be old or new. It may have a cross outside it to show it is a special place for […]

Resurrection evidence

What happened to Jesus' body?

• Jesus
• Video

After Jesus was crucified, his body was placed in a cave and a large rock was rolled in front of the entrance. Roman guards were ordered to stand and keep watch over it to ensure that the body wasn’t stolen. However, after three days, Christians […]

Churches Organisations

What organisations help Christians work and worship together?

• Life
• Timeline

Churches Together

Do Christians from different churches ever meet together?

• Life
• Text

There have always been different ideas around in the Christian Church. The Bible teaches that some things are really important – and on others we can agree to differ. Churches are united in central beliefs – for example, those in the Nicene Creed – and […]

Churches Together

How do churches work together in their communities?

• Life
• Video gallery

Why did Jesus pray that his followers  ‘may be one?’ (John 17:21). What is the importance of unity for the church? How do different Churches in our communities meet and work together in? How do they celebrate their faith and share their commitment to loving […]

The Nicene Creed

What do all Christians believe?

• Life
• Text

In AD325, the Emperor Constantine called together 120 bishops from across the Roman Empire, to agree on a statement of what all Christians believe (The Creed). The Nicene Creed is named after the place where they met. Christian churches are united by this one statement […]

Not just Sunday…

What happens in churches during the week?

• Life
• Video

Church is about more than what happens in the sanctuary on a Sunday morning. Jesus taught that his followers should love their neighbour and the local church provides a place for many Christians to serve the people in their communities during the week. Try to […]

Worship in church

What happens inside a typical church?

• Life
• Timeline

The Church in the Bible

How does the Bible describe the Church?

• Life
• Text

  The Bible used a lot of word-pictures to help early Christians understand what the Church is designed to be. Church is a body – Jesus’ body, with Jesus himself as the Head (Ephesians 1: 22-23). Bodies are made of different parts – hands, feet, […]

The Early Church

What were the very first churches like?

• Life
• Text

When the Bible talks about church, it isn’t really talking about a building. ‘Church’ is the name given to people who follow Jesus, who meet together to worship God and learn to do what God asks them to. It is the people in the building […]

Christian funerals

What happens at a Christian funeral?

• Life
• Text

For Christians, a funeral service is a way of saying ‘thank-you’ to God for the dead person and to celebrate their life, as well as saying goodbye. The funeral may take place at a church, or there is a chapel at the crematorium or cemetery […]

Life after death

What do Christians believe happens next?

• Life
• Video gallery

Whatever people believe about life after death, a funeral can help them to cope with the loss of someone they love. Surrounded by family and friends, they can share happy memories and comfort each other. For Christians, funerals give an opportunity to gain encouragement and […]

Marriage

What is Christian marriage all about?

• Life
• Video gallery

A couple’s wedding day is often called ‘the big day’. But it represents the beginning of something much, much bigger – life together as a married couple. The Bible talks about marriage as a man and a woman becoming like one person. What this means […]

Confirmation

What happens when someone is 'confirmed'?

• Life
• Text

When a baby is baptised, parents and godparents make promises for them. Once they are old enough, they can decide for themselves if they wish to live as a Christian, and make their own promises in the confirmation service. Confirmation happens in Anglican and Catholic […]

Believer’s Baptism

What happens during believer's baptism?

• Life
• Text

Getting married is a sign of being serious about a relationship with someone else. In the same way, getting baptised is a sign of being serious about a relationship with God and being committed to living His way. Before the baptism service, most churches have […]

Believers’ Baptism Films

Why do some Christians decide to be baptised as believers?

• Life
• Video gallery

A person may choose to be baptised once they have decided for themselves that they want to live as a Christian. This is known as believers’ baptism. Believers’ baptism can be celebrated in a number of different ways. One way being that the person would […]

Baptism or Dedication?

Why do some Christian parents choose to dedicate their children?

• Life
• Text

Why choose dedication? One family shares their story here: ‘When our children were born, we experienced the joy and excitement shared by all new parents as we saw new life come into the world. We knew we were grateful and wanted to share in some […]

Dedication

What happens in a dedication service?

• Life
• Video

Some churches believe that being baptised is something people should decide to do when they are old enough. But they still think that welcoming children into the church is important. In these churches, you might find a ‘dedication’ or ‘thanksgiving’ service. Infant dedication is a […]

Infant baptism

What happens when children are baptised?

• Life
• Text

A baby cannot decide to follow Jesus for themselves, but infant baptism – or Christening – shows that the child is included as a member of the church family. When a child is baptised the family and church members look forward to the day when […]

Infant Baptism film

What happens when children are baptised?

• Life
• Video

Children are baptised to show that they belong to the Christian family, the Church. Baptism is a sign that someone belongs to Christ, which is why it is sometimes called “Christ-ening“. Watch what happens in a typical christening in the Anglican Church in the film […]

Jesus is baptised

What happened at Jesus' baptism?

• Jesus
• Text

Baptism was already popular in the time of Jesus. It demonstrated a person’s commitment to living God’s way rather than their own. Jesus had a cousin called John who baptised people. He was known as John the Baptist. John was a preacher. He told people […]

What is Baptism?

Why is baptism so special to Christians?

• Life
• Text

Have you ever joined a group? Or started at a new school? Do you remember what happened when you began? Perhaps you were welcomed ‘officially’ and people gave you a round of applause. Maybe you did something special at home to mark the occasion. Being […]

Rites of Passage

How do Christians celebrate big life changes?

• Life
• Video

What are the big ‘milestones’ you’ve experienced in your life? Maybe you can remember the first day you went to school. Maybe it was a time you moved to a new place to live. Maybe you’ve even moved country. Life is full of these big […]

What is a Christian?

• Life
• Text

Perhaps the clue to what a Christian is can be found in the name. The word ‘Christian’ is actually a nickname – it literally means ‘little Christ’. It was a nickname given to men and women in the first century who went about talking about […]

Jesus’ miracles: Turning water into wine

How did Jesus liven up a wedding party?

• Jesus
• Text

According to the Gospel of John, this was the very first miracle – or ‘sign’ as John calls them – which Jesus did. Jesus, his mother and his disciples were all guests at a wedding in Cana, in Galilee. At the reception, the wine runs […]

Jesus’ teaching

What did Jesus teach people?

• Jesus
• Video gallery

Jesus was known as Rabbi or teacher as he taught people a lot about how they should live and the decisions they should make. But what exactly did Jesus teach about: revenge? worry? prayer? giving? These films show Jesus’ core teaching on these important issues.