Lesson video

Hi, my name's Mrs. Charalambous.

Welcome to today's lesson.

I've got a really great story to share with you, so I hope that you're ready.

Today's lesson is called "The Story of Waiting for God" from the unit "Hindus: What Do Hindu Stories Teach About Life and the World?" Let's get started.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to retell the story of waiting for God.

Let's go over our keywords for today's learning with my turn, your turn.

Folktale.

Folktale: A story that has been told for many hundreds of years with a deeper meaning.

Content.

Content: Having peace and balance in your life.

Hindu.

Hindu: People who follow the path of Hindu Dharma.

Let's carry on.

Here is your lesson outline for the story of waiting for God.

Cycle one: The story of waiting for God.

Aisha explains why we use stories in religious education.

Aisha says, "We can better understand people's worldviews by listening to their important stories and thinking about the deeper meaning of these stories.

We can also look at the difference the story makes to people." Today in this lesson, we will be using a story about waiting for God to help us better understand Hindu worldviews.

Aisha and Jacob are thinking about mysteries.

Aisha says, "A mystery is something that is hidden, and the answer is not revealed until the end." Jacob says, "Mysteries can be a puzzle that we need to work out and solve." Have you read a book or seen a film with a mystery or a puzzle to solve? Would you like to share some with me? This is Het.

He has a Hindu worldview.

Hi, Het! Het would like to share this with you: "Hindu Dharma is full of stories that answer really big questions.

One of my favourites is waiting for God, as it tries to answer the big question: What does God look like?" The folk tale about waiting for God.

There was once a woman who loved God with all her heart.

She spent her days praying, singing hymns, and performing rituals with deep devotion.

Her greatest wish was to meet God in person, to see Him with her own eyes and feel His presence.

One night, as she fell asleep, God appeared in her dream.

His presence was bright and warm.

"My child," He said, with a gentle smile, "tomorrow I will visit you." The woman woke up feeling very excited.

She could not believe it.

God Himself was coming to her home.

She jumped out of bed and started getting ready.

She cleaned every part of her house, dusted the furniture, and made everything look perfect.

She even decorated the door with flowers.

Then she went to the kitchen and started cooking the most delicious food she could think of, tasty dishes fit for the Lord.

She stirred the pot with excitement, her hand shaking at the thought of serving God.

Let's check our understanding about the story so far with this multiple-choice question: What did the woman do to prepare for God's visit? A: She went to the market to buy new clothes.

B: She cleaned her house, decorated the door with flowers, and cooked delicious food.

C: She told her neighbours to come and see God with her.

Have a moment to think before I share the answer with you.

That's right.

It's B.

She cleaned her house, decorated the door with flowers, and cooked delicious food to prepare for God's visit.

Let's carry on with the story.

As she was busy cooking, there was a knock at the door.

(hand knocking on door) Her heart raced.

Could it be God? She rushed to open it.

Outside stood a tired man in simple clothes, holding a stack of magazines.

"Madam," he said kindly, "would you like to buy a magazine? The money helps people in need." The woman frowned.

"I don't have time for this," she said quickly.

"I'm expecting a very special guest.

Please go away." The man nodded sadly and walked away.

She shut the door and went back to the kitchen, stirring the pot once more, still excited about God's arrival.

A little while later, there was another knock.

(hand knocking on door) The woman wiped her hands and hurried to the door again.

This time, it was her neighbor's little girl, a bright-eyed child with a big smile.

"Auntie," the girl said, "can I play with your daughter?" "Not today," the woman replied quickly.

"We have a very special guest coming.

Maybe tomorrow." The little girl looked sad but nodded and walked away.

The woman shut the door again, still thinking about God's visit.

The day passed.

She waited and waited, but no special visitor came.

The sun set, and the sky turned dark.

Still, there was no sign of God.

Her heart, once full of excitement, now felt heavy.

Let's pause the story here to check our understanding with true or false.

You can do thumbs up for true and thumbs down for false.

The woman turned away the people at her door.

True or false? Take a moment here to think about the answer before I reveal it to you.

That's right.

It's true.

Why? Would you like to share why with me? She was too busy cooking and preparing for God's arrival, so she turned away the visitors without helping them.

Let's carry on with the rest of the story.

That night, she fell asleep, feeling sad, and once again, God appeared in her dream.

"My child," He said gently, "why did you turn Me away?" The woman sat up in surprise.

"Lord, I've been waiting for you all day, but you never came." God smiled.

"I did come, twice, once as a magazine seller and once as a little girl, but you did not see Me." The woman gasped.

She felt very sorry.

She had been so focused on seeing God in a special way that she had missed Him in ordinary people.

When she woke up the next morning, she felt different.

She realised that God was not just a distant being waiting to be invited into a perfect home.

He was in every person she met, in every act of kindness she gave.

From that day on, she never turned anyone away.

She welcomed everyone with love, knowing that in each face, she was seeing God.

Let's check her understanding for the last part of the story with multiple-choice.

What did the woman learn at the end of the story? A: That she needed to clean her house more often.

B: That she should never open doors for strangers.

C: That God is in everyone, and kindness is the true way to welcome God.

That's right.

She learned that God is in everyone, and kindness is the true way to welcome God.

Well done if you got that answer correct.

Task A.

In the speech bubble, write what the woman might say after she learned that God is in everyone.

Think about what she has learned and how she feels.

You can use these sentence starters below to help you: "I have learned.

I feel.

I will.

." Pause the video here so you can carry out task A.

When you are ready, press play to carry on with some feedback.

Task A feedback time.

This is how you might have answered: "I have learned that God is in everyone.

I feel sorry for turning people away.

I will always be kind and help others because it is important." If you'd like to share some of your ideas with me, you can do it now, if you'd like.

Well done so far.

Let's carry on.

Cycle two: Why do Hindus tell different stories? The story of waiting for God has made Het reflect on stories in Hindu Dharma.

Here's what he has to say: "Stories are an important part of my Hindu Dharma worldview.

They teach lessons that help people find answers to big mysteries.

These answers can help people feel content in their lives." And remember that keyword, "content," feeling balance and peace.

So he's saying that these stories help people feel balance and peace in their life.

"A folktale is a story that has been told for many hundreds of years.

Folktales often have a deeper meaning and help me learn important lessons." Let's take a look at this multiple-choice question together.

What is a folktale? Hm? Is it A: A story that has been told for many hundreds of years with a deeper meaning.

B: A story that has been told for many years with no meaning.

C: A story that has been told for 10 years.

Take a moment to think before I reveal the answer.

That's right.

It's A.

A folk tale is a story that has been told for many hundreds of years with a deeper meaning.

Well done if you remembered that keyword from today.

Het has been thinking about the deeper meaning of the story of waiting for God.

He says, "This story teaches me that I should treat everyone with kindness because we never know when we might be in the presence of something greater.

At the end of the story, the woman realised her mistake and thought about what she had learned.

She learned that God is in everyone and that kindness is the true way to welcome God." Kavita is Hindu.

She has a Hindu worldview.

She has been thinking about different stories in Hindu Dharma.

Hi, Kavita! She says, "My grandma comes to visit us once a year from India.

I always look forward to her stories and folktales.

She learned them from her mum.

These stories are beautiful and help me learn more about how to be content and find balance in life." Het says, "There are many different Hindu stories.

Many stories are passed down to each of my family members.

My dad tells me I can pass them on when I get older.

These stories help me understand that there are different ways of understanding the mystery or truth in the story.

As Hindus, we can decide what part of the story will help us most in life." Het and Kavita both learn from different stories and folktales.

Why do they say it's important for them to hear different stories? Take a moment here to really think about this question, and you can tell me some of your answers, if you'd like.

Thank you for sharing your ideas! Really great ideas.

I think Het and Kavita both show us why stories are so important.

Het learns that stories can teach us how to be kind and see something greater in others.

Kavita loves hearing stories from her grandma because they help her understand life and find balance.

Hindu stories are special because they have different meanings for different people.

Like Het said, each person can take something different from a story that helps them in life.

That's why listening to different stories is important.

It helps us learn, grow, and see the world in new ways.

Priya is Het's older sister.

Hi, Priya! Priya says, "Hindu stories help me make sense of life's big questions and help me feel content.

I think being content means having peace and balance in your life.

This is an important part of following the path of Hindu Dharma." What makes you feel content? Would you like to share some of those things with me? Yes, I can see how that would make you feel content.

"Being content means not having peace." Hmm.

Let's do true or false to see if you know the answer to that.

It's false.

Why? Would you like to share with me? That's right.

It's false because being content means having peace and balance in your life.

Well done if you got that tricky true-or-false correct.

Task B.

Use the words "content," "folktale," "deeper meaning," "good choices" to complete the sentences.

"A hm is a traditional story passed down through generations." "Many folk tales have a hm-hm that teaches important lessons." "Hindu stories help people make hm-hm in life." "Being hm means having peace and balance in your life." Pause the video here so you can carry out this activity.

When you are ready, press play for some feedback.

Task B feedback time.

Use the words "content," "folktale," "deeper meaning," "good choices" to complete the sentences.

Your answers should look like this: "A folk tale is a traditional story passed down through generations." "Many folk tales have a deeper meaning that teaches important lessons." "Hindu stories help people make good choices in life." "Being content means having peace and balance in your life." Well done if you got those all correct! Let's summarise our learning for the story of waiting for God.

Stories from Hindu Dharma can help us better understand Hindu ideas of God.

The waiting for God story is a well-known Indian folktale.

Many folk tales teach about being content, which means finding peace and balance in life.

The story tells of a woman who wanted God to visit her home.

The woman does not initially recognise God when He calls.

Well done for today's learning.

I know that you tried really hard today, so I'm very proud of you, and I hope to see you soon.

Bye for now!.