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Knowing God is a foundational part of our mission here at ÁùÊåͼ¿â; we want to equip all our students to live for God's glory. Our 'Knowing God' program seeks to help all our students to know God; either to come to faith or grow in their faith.

Knowing God is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. As one comes to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour, their heart is changed and they are reborn into eternal life. Jesus’ death pays the price for their sin and they are declared righteous through his sacrifice. When someone comes to know God they repent of their sin and turn to follow Jesus, who saves them from sin and death.

The subject 'Knowing God' helps our students to focus upon God himself, as revealed through his word. The words of God written for us, by those carried along by his Spirit, show us who our God is. And these words point us to ‘the Word’, Jesus, who fully reveals the Father to us. This is the wonder of the Bible, God’s revelation of himself. Reading and considering the Scriptures together are the primary activity of our classes, as we seek to know God more and more. The aim of our 'Knowing God' program is that each student will come to genuine faith in the Lord Jesus.

Students growing in their relationship with God is not something that we want to happen only in ‘Knowing God’ classrooms. All our staff at ÁùÊåͼ¿â play a part in helping our students to know God or grow in their faith. "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Students will come to a greater understanding of God in all their classes at ÁùÊåͼ¿â. Each class, from Prep through to Year 12, is taught from a biblical perspective. In this way, ‘Knowing God’ is like ‘English’, both as a name for a course and as a foundational element in other courses.

Knowing God in Prep
Knowing God in Junior School
Knowing God in Secondary School

Knowing God in Prep

The 'Knowing God' program filters through everything that happens at Prep. Every day, our students spend time reading the Bible together, praying and singing praises to our great God. Our Prep students are also encouraged to commit the words of God to heart with a new memory verse each term.

A Firm Foundation

Every interaction with our Prep students, from informal conversations to planned lessons, is laid on the foundation that God created the world and everything in it. From there, students are introduced to the saving power of Jesus and their place in the biblical timeline.

A snapshot into Prep...an everyday interaction

Prep was growing beautiful sunflowers from seeds. As they drew their own sunflowers, the class took the opportunity to thank God for the amazing flower he created. The teachers asked the students to consider the texture of the leaves (so rough and spiky!) and to ponder why God gave the flower roots.

Knowing God in Junior School

Knowing God

A Journey Through God's Truth - A Systematic Theology

Each year in 'Knowing God', our students will be taken on a Christ-centred journey through the Bible*. Each year the program points to the idea that we can trust God.

A look through the years

  • Kindergarten: Beginning with God
  • Year 1: God loves his people so...
  • Year 2: God is the good King who...
  • Year 3: God talks to...
  • Year 4: God is gracious and just so...
  • Year 5: God's got a plan that...
  • Year 6: God is worth trusting!

A snapshot into Year 3

In Year 3, students look at the idea that God speaks. Over four terms, students focus on the topic 'God talks to...', examining God's promises and instructions in the Old Testament, how Jesus is God's word in the flesh, and how God's people respond to God's word. All of our Year 3 students also receive their own Bible; a wonderful reminder of how God speaks to them personally.

*In consultation with our Junior School teachers, the Junior School Knowing God program has been designed to be developmentally appropriate.

Knowing God in Secondary School

A Christ Centered Journey Through The Bible

In Secondary School, we prayerfully seek to see each student come to genuine faith in the Lord Jesus. We recognise that each student will be at a different stage in their faith journey, and so while we may plant and water, we believe that God alone gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).

A look through the years

  • Year 7: Jesus - Walking through Mark's gospel
  • Year 8: The Bible - Walking through the biggest story
  • Year 9: Key Truths - The Creed; what do you really believe
  • Year 10: Identity - Who are you in God's eyes?
  • Year 11: Jesus - John's gospel and life's questions
  • Year 12: Looking Forward - what does the future hold?

The Walking With God Framework

We are still called to be expert gardeners, and so our Knowing God program in Secondary School allows our students to deeply engage with God's word using their Walking With God journal (see the framework for the journal below):

What's in the text?

Asking questions

Linking things together

Knowing God

Identity

Now Go

A Snapshot into Year 9

In Year 9, students take a Christ-centered exploration of the claims of the Bible. Over four terms, students will examine some of the key truths presented in God's word; is God the creator? Is the resurrection a reality? They will finish the year by looking at the book of Philippians and see how God's people should respond to God's word.

Understanding the Christian Worldview

Optical lenses are a wonderous invention. Each lens allows us to see the world in a unique and powerful way. Telescopes allow us to see far away worlds, microscopes give us access to the miniscule, and glasses correct vision, allowing us to see clearly. Every lens changes the way we see. How we understand the world is shaped by the lenses we use to examine it.

This is a useful analogy for understanding the concept of worldview. Just as we all see the world through our own eyes, we understand it through our own unique perspective. This unique perspective is our worldview. Like a lens shapes everything we see, a worldview shapes everything we think. Just as the right lens in our glasses will help us accurately see the reality of the world around us, the right conception of our worldview will help us accurately understand the reality of the world around us.

Christ shows us that reality. As we come to know God, he shows us who we really are, and what the world really is. As we know him as creator, we see that this is his creation. As we know him as judge, we see the tragedy of our sin. As we know him as Saviour, we see the joy of eternal life. As we know him as Lord, we see the goodness of his way.

One of the great joys of Christian education is that we present Christ and his worldview to our students all the time. All our staff are working together to show how the world is brought into focus when seen through the lens of Christ. As we teach English, science, history, health and more, we look at the world through the Christian lens. We see how the Christian worldview is compelling, how it makes sense of the world. We seek to know God more in every aspect of school life, as we look at the world through knowing him.

‘Knowing God’ classes are one place where we intentionally spend time looking at Christ. We focus on him as he reveals the Father to us by the ministry of his Spirit. We consider our worldviews and why we see the world the way that we do. We consider Christ, and his call to follow him, to know him, to know true life.

Meet Jason Marriott - Knowing God Coordinator

Jason is married to Katherine and they have 3 gorgeous kids. Jason loved teaching secondary science but decided that he had an even greater desire to help people come to know the Creator behind the creation. He went to Moore Theological College and obtained a Bachelor of Divinity to equip him as he seeks to point students to find life in Christ.

Jason started as our Knowing God Coordinator in 2017, excited to continue the development of our Biblical Studies program. He is passionate about coordinating a team of educators who are engaging deeply with God’s word so that students can come to know and trust God.

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