5 BibleProject Theme Videos That Will Transform Your SRE Lessons

BibleProject's Biblical Themes series covers 31 concepts that appear across the whole Bible — things like the image of God, sacrifice, covenant, the kingdom of God, and holiness. These are exactly the concepts that underlie good SRE teaching, but they're often difficult to explain clearly in a short lesson because they require connecting multiple parts of the Bible simultaneously. A 5-minute animated video does this better than most 20-minute explanations. Here are five that every SRE teacher should have in their preparation toolkit.

This video explains what it means that humans are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26–27), how that concept was understood in the ancient Near East, and how Jesus is the perfect image of God who restores what humanity was meant to be. It is theologically rich, visually compelling, and directly applicable to Year 5–6 and secondary SRE lessons on human dignity, creation, and Christology.

Use it as: a discussion starter for 'What makes a person valuable?' or 'What does it mean to be human?'

This video explains why sacrifice was central to Old Testament worship, what it was accomplishing, and how it connects to the death of Jesus. It addresses one of the most common questions students ask about the cross: 'Why did someone have to die?' The explanation — that God is just and that justice requires consequences, but that God provides the sacrifice himself — is the heart of the gospel, explained visually in six minutes.

Use it as: essential preparation viewing before teaching any Easter unit, from Year 4 upward.

Without understanding what Jesus means by 'the kingdom of God', most of his teaching is opaque. This video explains the Old Testament background, why the Jews of Jesus' day were expecting a kingdom, and what Jesus meant when he announced that the kingdom had arrived in him. Essential background for teaching the parables, the Sermon on the Mount, and the ministry of Jesus generally.

Use it as: a unit launcher before any block of teaching on Jesus' parables or the Sermon on the Mount.

The concept of covenant — a formal relationship between God and his people with mutual obligations and promises — is the backbone of biblical theology from Genesis to Revelation. Without it, the different parts of the Bible seem unrelated. This video explains the major covenants (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, the New Covenant) and how they connect to each other and to Jesus. Once students understand covenant, the whole Bible reads differently.

Use it as: background preparation for teachers before any Old Testament teaching unit.

This video covers the Holy Spirit's work across both Testaments — as the animating force of creation in Genesis 1, as the spirit given to specific leaders in the Old Testament, and as the promised gift to all God's people from Pentecost onward. For SRE lessons on Pentecost, prayer, or the Christian life, this video gives students a biblical grounding for who the Spirit is and what he does.

Use it as: a companion video for any Pentecost lesson, or for a secondary unit on the Trinity.