Mark’s Gospel

Worship

 

GCSE Texts and Exercises

The Eucharist II

Getting ready for the Last Supper

Mark 14:12-16

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the day the lambs for the Passover meal were killed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and get the Passover meal ready for you?"

13 Then Jesus sent two of them with these instructions: "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him

14 to the house he enters, and say to the owner of the house: ‘The Teacher says, Where is the room where my disciples and I will eat the Passover meal?’

15 Then he will show you a large upstairs room, prepared and furnished, where you will get everything ready for us."

16 The disciples left, went to the city, and found everything just as Jesus had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

Questions

  1. On what day did Jesus and disciples get ready for the Passover?
  2. What normally took place on this day?
  3. What did the disciples ask Jesus?
  4. Who did Jesus tell the disciples to look out for?
  5. Where did Jesus tell the disciples to follow the man to?
  6. What did Jesus tell the disciples to say to the owner of the house?
  7. What did Jesus say the room will be like?
  8. What happened when the disciples went to the city?

More Questions

  1. What is the Passover?
  2. How do you think Jesus knew what was to happen when the disciples went to the city?

11. Why do you think Christians call Jesus ‘the Lamb of God’?

Activities

Design an Old Document, like a scroll or parchment, with the Jesus’ instructions to the disciples to get ready for the Passover.

The Eucharist III

The Last Supper

Mark 14:17-25

17 When it was evening, Jesus came with the twelve disciples.

18 While they were at the table eating, Jesus said, "I tell you that one of you will betray me - one who is eating with me."

19 The disciples were upset and began to ask him, one after the other, "Surely you don’t mean me, do you?"

20 Jesus answered, "It will be one of you twelve, one who dips his bread in the dish with me.

21 The Son of Man will die as the Scriptures say he will; but how terrible for that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would have been better for that man if he had never been born!"

22 While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. "Take it," he said, "this is my body."

23 Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and handed it to them; and they all drank from it.

24 Jesus said, "This is my blood which is poured out for many, my blood which seals God’s covenant.

25 I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine in the Kingdom of God."

Activities

  1. Do a poster to show the link between the modern day Eucharist and Jesus’ Last Supper.
  2. Imagine that you were one of the disciples at the Last Supper. Write a diary entry, describing what happened.
  3. Do a cartoon version of the story of the Last Supper, showing step by step what happened.

The Eucharist IV

How different Christians celebrate the Eucharist.

Not all Christians believe exactly the same things. Different Christians celebrate the Eucharist in different ways, and believe slightly different things about it.

For Roman Catholics, Mass is the most important act of worship (service) there is. It is a sacrifice when the bread and wine turn into Jesus’ Body and Blood. It is celebrated every Sunday. Only Catholics can take communion in a Catholic Church.

Orthodox Christians believe much the same as Catholics. The Liturgy is the main Sunday Service. Only Orthodox Christians are allowed to receive communion, but in many places they may take communion as little as once a year.

For the Church of England the Eucharist is usually the most important service, and it is the main Sunday Service. You don’t have to be a member of the Church of England, though to take Communion in their Churches.

For Methodists and many other small Christian groups the Communion service doesn’t happen often - perhaps only once a month or even less often. These groups usually invite anyone who is a Christian to take communion with them.

Questions

Copy the passage, filling in the gaps.

Use these words:

anyone, Catholics, Christian, month, sacrifice, worship, year.

Roman Catholics. The Mass is the most important act of ___________________ worship. It is a ___________________ sacrifice when the bread and wine turn into Jesus’ Body and Blood. It is celebrated every Sunday. Only ___________________ Catholics can take communion in a Catholic Church.

Orthodox. The Liturgy is the main Sunday Service. In some places they might take communion only once a ___________________ year.

The Church of England. The Eucharist is usually the main Sunday Service. Members of any ___________________ Christian Church can take communion.

Methodists. The Communion service might happen only once a ___________________ month. Usually ___________________ anyone who is a Christian can take communion with them.

Activity

A. Do a table of the different Christian groups and what they believe about the Eucharist. Use this layout:

Name of Group

Who can take communion?

How often does it take place?
     

B. Design a greetings card for someone’s ceremony of First Communion. Use symbols which show how they understand the Eucharist.

The Eucharist V

Different Names for the Eucharist

What people call the Eucharist

Different groups of Christians call the Eucharist by different names. Part of the reason for this is because different Christian groups understand the Eucharist in different ways.

  1. The Eucharist is the name used by almost all Christians. It means "thanksgiving". It is used because the priest or minister gives thanks
over the bread and wine,
for all God’s gifts,
and for Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection.
  1. The Mass is the name used most in the Catholic Church. It comes from the words at the end of the Mass in Latin. It is usually used to mean that the Mass is a sacrifice, because it remembers the sacrifice of Jesus.
  1. Holy Communion means the sharing of bread and wine, and also the closeness all Christians have in this service. This name is often used in the Church of England and other groups (such as the Methodists) to mean the whole service.
  1. The Liturgy means ‘service’, and is the name most often used in the Orthodox Churches (for instance in Greek and Russia).
  1. The Breaking of Bread is the name some Christians nowadays like because it was used by the very first Christians. The name is mentioned in the New Testament in the Acts of the Apostles.

Questions

Copy out the Questions and answer them.

Which name:

  1. … means ‘thanksgiving’?
  2. … means the sharing of the bread and wine?
  3. … is most used by Catholics?
  4. … is used by Church of England and Methodist?
  5. … means ‘service’?
  6. … is used to remember the sacrifice of Jesus?
  7. … is liked by some Christians because the first Christians used it?
  8. … comes from the Latin words at the end of the service?
  9. … is most used in the Orthodox Churches?
  10. … is the name used by almost all Christians?

Activity

Draw a table with two columns. In the first column have the name for the Eucharist and in the second the meaning of the name.

The Baptism of Jesus

Mk 1: 9-11

9 Jesus came from Nazareth in the province of Galilee, and was baptised by John in the Jordan.

10 As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, he saw heaven opening and the Spirit coming down on him like a dove.

11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you."

Questions

  1. Where did Jesus come from?
  2. Who baptised Jesus?
  3. Where was he baptised?
  4. What did Jesus see when he came up out of the water?
  5. What did Jesus hear when he came up out of the water?

More Questions

  1. Who hears and sees things in this story?
  2. Does the story say that John the Baptist or the crowd heard or saw anything?
  3. The story of Jesus’ Baptism in Mark is very simple. How is the story different in other Gospels? (in other words, what might you think is missing from this story?)
  4. What was the meaning of John’s Baptism?
  5. Why did Christians find it hard to understand why Jesus went to John to be baptised?

Even more questions

  1. Jesus was an adult when he was baptised, but most Christians are baptised as babies. Why is this?
  2. Do you think it is right that people are baptised as babies? Give reasons for your answer.

Activity

Do a spider diagram, showing all the different things which baptism might mean for Christians. When you have finished the diagram, write a sentence about each word or phrase.
Here are some words and phrases to start you off: Joining the Church, Family Party, Getting rid of sin, Name, Godparents.

Believers’ Baptism

spacer.gif (918 bytes)

Compassc.gif (7778 bytes)Signposts is a Painsley Small WorldCompassc.gif (7778 bytes)
Return to Signposts Homepage