Hi, I'm Ms. Minton, and welcome to this lesson on the meaning and examples of covenants.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the meaning and importance of covenants using examples.

Now, lots of this learning might be new, but don't worry, because I'm here to guide you every step of the way, and I'm confident that we can achieve the outcome by the end of the lesson.

Our key words for this lesson are Abrahamic, covenant, Davidic, descendants, and redemption.

Abrahamic refers to a group of monotheistic religions, which are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

A covenant is an agreement between God and people.

Davidic refers to anything relating to King David.

Descendants are your children and any future generations of children that come from them.

And finally, redemption means to be saved from sin.

Now, in this lesson, we will look at the meaning of covenants.

We will look at the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, and finally, we will look at the new covenant.

So, let's get started with the meaning and example of covenants.

So, I want you to imagine two people, Sam and Izzy.

Sam and Izzy make a deal.

Sam says to Izzy, if you help me with my homework, I'll help you rehearse for your play.

And Izzy quite likes the sound of this.

So, she says, it's a deal.

Now, a covenant is actually very similar to this, but a covenant involves God, because a covenant is an agreement between God and people.

Now, followers of the Abrahamic religions believe that God gave humans free will.

So, God gave humans the ability to make their own choices.

And they also believe that from the first two humans, Adam and Eve, we have strayed from God's path.

So, we've not always behaved in the way that God wants us to behave.

Now, covenants are actually a way of trying to bring humans back to God's will and offer rewards.

And the Abrahamic covenant, which we are going to have a look at in this lesson, is significant in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Okay, time to test your learning.

Which of the following best describes a covenant? A, B, or C? Pause the video and have a go.

Fantastic.

A covenant Is an agreement between God and people.

So, B is the statement that best describes a covenant.

Time for another check.

Fill in the blank in this sentence.

Covenants are a way of trying to bring blank back to God's will.

Pause the video.

Have a go.

Well done.

The missing word is humans.

So, covenants are a way of trying to bring humans back to God's will.

Covenants form the foundation of the relationship between God and humans.

And this is because covenants very clearly set out what is required to have a successful relationship with God from the very beginning.

Time for a check.

True or false, covenants do not form the foundation of a relationship with God.

Fantastic.

That is false.

So, why is it false? Well, it's because covenants actually do form the foundation of a successful relationship with God, and that's because they clearly set out what's required to have this successful relationship from the very beginning.

So, well done if you've put false, and that was your reason why.

So, what we're going to have a look at now is why covenants are important to the Abrahamic religions.

So, we've got two of our lesson keywords here, covenants and Abrahamic.

So, in other words, we're looking at why these agreements between God and people are meaningful in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

So, the first reason is because they actually give God the opportunity to offer rewards for faithfulness.

So, for example, God might ask a person or a group of people to trust Him.

And in return for their trust, He will protect them.

So, here, what we're seeing is that the faithfulness and the trust is rewarded with God's protection.

So, again, let's check your understanding.

Fill in the missing word.

Covenants are meaningful because they give God the opportunity to offer blank for faithfulness.

Is it A, B, or C? Fantastic.

The correct answer is B.

So, covenants are meaningful because they give God the opportunity to offer rewards for faithfulness.

So, another reason that covenants are meaningful in the Abrahamic religions is because they allow God to set out exactly what He wants from humans and exactly what's expected from them.

So, for example, a covenant can actually be used for God to deliver and enforce laws such as the 10 Commandments.

So, this is God's opportunity to really clearly tell humans exactly what's expected of them.

Let's check your understanding.

A covenant may be used for God to deliver and enforce laws, true or false? Fantastic.

That statement is true.

So, a covenant can be used for God to deliver and enforce laws.

And in our previous slide, we looked at how an example of that could be the 10 Commandments.

I'd now like you to have a go at explaining which character is showing an accurate understanding of covenants and why.

So, Jacob says that covenants are an opportunity for God to set out what is expected of humans as part of an agreement.

And Aisha says that covenants allow humans to tell God what they expect from Him and form their agreement with Him.

Use the sentence stems to explain which character is showing accurate understanding and why.

Well done for your hard work during that task.

So, you were asked to explain which character is showing accurate understanding of covenants and why.

Now, your answer might look something like this.

Jacob shows accurate understanding, because a covenant is an agreement between God and people, where there are expectations set out for humans by God.

Aisha is not showing accurate understanding, because she suggests that humans are in control of forming the agreement and can make demands about what they want from God.

Therefore, she's incorrect.

Okay, so we're moving on to the second part of our lesson now, which is the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants.

Now, some covenants are found in the Old Testament or the Torah.

And most Jews and Christians believe that God made covenants with Abraham, Noah, Moses, and David.

So, time to check your understanding.

Who do most Jews and Christians believe that God made a covenant with? You can select two answers.

Is it A, B, or C? Fantastic.

The answer is A and C, Abraham and David.

God's covenant with Abraham is known as the Abrahamic covenant.

And what we can see when we look at the word Abrahamic is that the name Abraham is actually found within that word, which is why we refer to the covenant that God made with Abraham as the Abrahamic covenant.

Now, in the Abrahamic covenant, God promises Abraham three things.

He promises him land, He promises descendants, and He promises blessing and redemption.

So, time to test that knowledge.

What three promises did God make to Abraham? Select three answers.

Fantastic.

So, it's A, the promised land, B, descendants, and D, blessing and redemption.

Well done.

Now, the Abrahamic covenant is actually an example of how covenants can be used by God to reward faithfulness.

And we find out what God is offering Abraham as a reward in the Book of Genesis.

In the Book of Genesis, it says, "For I have made you a father of many nations and I will give you a lot of descendants and they will become great nations.

Some of them will even be kings." Pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself about what reward God offers Abraham for his faithfulness in this passage.

So, you may have noticed that God told Abraham that he would be a father of many nations and promised him many descendants.

And we know from our key words that this means God is telling Abraham that he will have children and that there will be future generations of children that come from them.

So, that's what God is promising Abraham.

Time to check your understanding.

Fill in the blanks.

God promised that blank would be a father of many blank.

Pause the video and have a go.

Fantastic.

The missing words are Abraham and nations.

So, God promised that Abraham would be a father of many nations.

So, time for us to look at the covenant with David.

So, the covenant with David is known as the Davidic covenant, and it can actually be seen as a continuation of the Abrahamic covenant, and that's because it also comes with the promise of a descendant.

Now, when David was king of Israel, this is when God established the covenant with him.

And God promised David protection for the people of Israel, but also a descendant who would be king and reign forever.

So, that tells us that God is promising David someone who will be part of his family, part of the future generations that come from him who will be a king forever.

And in return, David and the Israelites needed to remain faithful to God.

So, let's check your understanding of the promise with David.

What did God promise David? A, to be a successful musician? B, to make him the father of many nations? Or C, a descendant who will reign forever? Fantastic.

The answer is C, God promised David a descendant who would reign forever.

Okay, so what I would like you to do now is explain how God rewards faithfulness in both the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants.

But I want you to use these words in your response, descendants, which is one of our key words for today, king, nations, and promises.

Pause the video and have a go.

You are asked to explain how God rewards faithfulness in the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, and your response could have included that God rewards faithfulness through the promise of descendants in the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants.

In the Abrahamic covenant, God promises that He will make Abraham a father of many nations and give him many descendants.

In the Davidic covenant, God promises David a descendant who will be king and reign forever.

So, we're now moving on to our final part of today's lesson, which is on the new covenant.

Now, the new covenant is found within the New Testament.

And actually, many Christians believe that it brings together all previous covenants.

And for most Christians, it fulfils the promise of descendants that was made to Abraham and David.

It's Jesus who is actually the focus of the new covenant.

And for most Christians, Jesus is actually the descendant that was promised in the Davidic covenant.

So, let's check your understanding so far.

The new covenant is found in A, the New Testament, B, the Old Testament, C, both testaments? Fantastic.

The new covenant is found in A, the New Testament.

Well done.

Let's do another check.

So, true or false, for many Christians, Abraham is the descendant promised in the Davidic covenant.

Well done.

That is false.

And why is it false? So, for Christians, it's actually Jesus who is the descendant promised in the Davidic covenant, not Abraham.

So, well done for recognising that that's why this is false.

Now, the new covenant is where God sends Jesus with the promise of redemption.

So, thinking back to our keywords for this lesson, that's the promise that humans will be saved from sin.

Most Christians agree that Jesus redeemed the sins of humanity through His sacrifice on the cross.

And Jesus' death restored the relationship between God and humans.

Now, you might have noticed that I used the word sacrifice.

I want you to have a think about how we know that many Christians believe that Jesus' death was a sacrifice.

Pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself.

So, you may have identified that Christians know this because of their holy text, the Bible.

Now, we can actually use theology to help us look at holy text and understand how Christians might interpret it.

And we're going to have a go at that now.

So, this is a passage from the gospel of Luke.

I'd like you to pause the video and have a read of the passage.

Now you've read the passage, I want you to have a think about what this passage tells us about the new covenant.

You might like to talk to a partner, you might like to talk to me, or you might just have a think to yourself.

So, you may have noticed that this passage describes Jesus' death as a sacrifice.

When Jesus says, "This is my body given for you," now a sacrifice is giving something up.

So, that part of the passage tells us that Jesus is giving up His body, He's making a sacrifice.

You may have also noticed that Jesus' sacrifice created the new covenant.

Jesus says, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." So, Jesus here is saying that it's His sacrifice, it's His death that creates the new covenant.

Let's check your understanding of the gospel of Luke.

So, how does the gospel of Luke describe Jesus' death? A, as a sacrifice, B, as a promise, or C, as a memory? Fantastic.

The gospel of Luke describes Jesus' death as a sacrifice.

Now, what I would like you to do is have a look at these statements.

Now, some of these statements are actually incorrect, and I'd like you to identify which ones are incorrect and rewrite those statements, so that they become true.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done for working on that task.

Let's have a look at what your answer should look like.

So, you should have identified that the incorrect statements are A, C, and D, which means that the only correct statements here are B and E.

When you were rewriting A, C, and D, your answer should look like this.

For A, you should have said that the new covenant is found in the New Testament.

For C, the new covenant restored the relationship between God and humans.

And for D, for Christians, Jesus is the descendant promised in the covenant with David.

So, well done for your work on that activity.

Okay, so we've reached the end of our lesson now, and we're going to just summarise the key things that we have learned throughout the lesson.

So, we've learned that a covenant is an agreement between God and people, and that God made covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David.

And the covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David can be found in the Old Testament.

We've also learned that the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants promised descendants, and that the new covenant, which is found in the New Testament, is believed to fulfil what the other covenants did not.

So, a huge well done for all of your work this lesson.

You've done really, really well.

And you can now explain the meaning and importance of covenants using examples.

Well done.