Orthodox Church in America - The Hub for Youth and Young Adult Ministries

A: Younger Children

(Note: Groups with less time should choose one of the chart activities)

1. Introduction: Welcome students, pray together, and review the previous lesson by talking about the mural. Ask students, “What does the word ‘exodus’ mean?” (It means “going out.”) Ask, “:Who went out?” (The Israelites went out from Egypt and from the tyranny of the Egyptian masters.) Relate the word “exodus” to “exit” to help students get its meaning.

Review the importance of the lamb, displaying one from a student’s memory box. Go on to tell students, “Today we will talk about the life of Jesus Christ, whom we sometimes call the ‘Lamb of God’ because He gave His life for us. Jesus was sent by God to save all of us. He showed us what life with God is like, and He makes it possible for all of us to have eternal life--a life that will never end.”

Continue, “How could one person do all that? Jesus was not just a person, a boy and then a man, but God’s own Son. His love for us was so great that He was willing to be crucified and die for us. This was the plan of God the Father. Have you ever seen at a ball game people in the stands holding up signs that say ‘John 3:16’?” (Wait for their responses, then read the passage together. It tells that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to be with us and die and rise from the dead so that we might have life eternal. Use Chart #1 from the first session to review the idea that God did all the things He did--saving His people in the Exodus, and sending His Son to save His people--for everyone in the world.)

2. Have students take turns reading from the Bible about the life of Christ. (In order: Lk. 2: 1-52, Mt. 3:1 to4:11, Lk. 18:1-17, 19:28-47, 23:1 to 24:12.) Display the enlargement of Chart #3. As an event in Jesus Christ’s life is described, have students decide whether that same event can be put on both sides of the chart--in other words~ cUd this happen both to Jesus and to me? (See Objective #1 above for a list of the main events in Jesus life. For birth and baptism, the answer is yes, it happened to both Jesus and me. Make this a real thinking, reasoning task by considering and deciding with care about each possibility.)

Continue: If Jesus taught, do I teach too? Do I heal? (The answer can be yes in both cases--we are capable of learning about and teaching others about God, and we can heal others by being kind to them rather than unkind, as Jesus was, or encouraging them to forgive someone who may have hurt or wronged them.)

What about the Last Supper? We are invited to take Holy Communion at every Divine Liturgy.Resurrection and Ascension are things we share, too, because we have the promise of eternal life in God’s Kingdom with Jesus, His Father, and the Holy Spirit.

The “crucifixion might be difficult for this age group to relate to their lives. If it is leftt blank on the children’s side of the chart use it to show us that nobody, no earthly human being, could do what Jesus did. Only God’s Son had enough love and enough power to die and by His death bring life to the whole world. This one blank on the chart shows us the unique gift of God, that nobody else could give us. We come to church for services to thank God often for this gift that is like no other anyone could ever receive or has ever received. Otherwise, they can discuss concepts such as how they can help others even when that person hurts them, or how some people (the martyrs) actually die because they won’t reject their faith in Jesus.

Discuss the chart further by having students add words to show contrasts and similarities between the events of Jesus’ life and our lives. For example, Jesus’ birth was divine and was prophesied; ours were not. His baptism was in the Jordan River; ours were (probably) in the font at church. When Jesus taught, He did so as God--we can teach only as His human followers. But Jesus grew up and learned from His parents as we do. He experienced tiredness, sadness, disappointment as well as joy and love, as we do. He really understood our life, because He lived it with us.

3. With the chart complete, talk with students about the word CHRIST-lAN as you did in a previous session. As Orthodox Christians, we are offered many opportunities to think about sharing the story of Jesus Christ in our own lives. When we receive Holy Communion, and during Great Lent, Easter, Christmas, and all the other times when we celebrate the events of His life, we also commit ourselves to sharing His life as we live from day to day.

4. Pass out the white construction paper. Have students write the word “Christian” in the center, using colorful markers. Have them create a word web using ideas from Chart #3 and from your discussion. The words should reflect ideas about: How am I attached to Christ? How am I part of Christ? (See Chart #4.)

5. Help students make an entry in their cloth-bound personal books for this session.

6. Give each student a 1 thick pile of newspapers as a base for the foil press activity. Have students choose something to sketch from the life of Christ, and then proceed making sure to follow the instructions that come with the kit. Have students mount their finished products in the cardboard frames provided, and put them in or with their memory boxes.

7. Close the session with a prayer.

B: Pre-teens

Opening Prayer

1. Ask the question: What are the sacraments of the Orthodox Church? Write them on the butcher paper/white board. In the discussion mention that the sacraments are sometimes also called Holy Mysteries. You can use the icons when reading the biblical texts.

2. Tell the students that they will be broken into 7 groups. Each group will be responsible for creating 3 freeze-frame tableaus about their assigned sacrament. A tableau is creating a still picture with your bodies using simple props to explair~ the most important parts of the story. Use the story of The Three Bears to explain tableau. 1) The three bears leave the house. 2) Goldilocks comes in and does her damage. 3) The bears confront Goldilocks and she realizes that she should not have intruded in their home.

In our case the students will show 1) the sacrament done liturgically, 2) the story from the life of Christ which applies to the sacrament, and 3) a instance where the fact that we have these sacraments can affect the outcome of a situation.

*Example for teacher clarification only. Do not read to children since you want them to be as creative as possible. Penance: a child going to confession, Christ forgives His disciple Peter for denying Him, a friend promises you he will play with you after school, he breaks his promise, you get angry, realize the anger is not good and confess it ~nd then are able to forgive your friend.

Note: If you anticipate the participants having difficulty with this activity you put the following on note cards which includes the Biblical reference as well as related themes and give the appropriate card to each group with a copy of the Bible.

Baptism - Theophany. Remember the Exodus.
Our birth into the family of God through our baptism. Read the story of Theophany Matt. 3:13-1 7. Include ideas about the properties of water: cleanses, maintains life but also destroys. In Baptism water destroys the old man in each of us, cleanses us and gives us the possibility of eternal life with Christ.

Chrismation - Pentecost. The gift of the Holy Spirit.
We become truly what God intended us to be as human beings. We are full and complete when we are anointed with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2. Some of us come to the Orthodox Church through Chrismation. This anointing sets us apart. In the Old Testament only the great prophets, judges and kings were anointed, but in the Church we are all anointed giving us the opportunity to be apostles. In this story the promise of Christ to send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is fulfilled. We are empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit: to teach, preach, prophesy, (I Cor. 12:4-12)

Eucharist - The Last Supper. The center of the Church’s life.
It is at this banquet that we are reunited with Christ in the Church and that we give thanks to God. Christ is the food that nourishes us. Here bread and wine are transformed into the living body and blood of Christ. We are invited to draw near in faith and love. I Cor. 11:23-26.

Penance -
Christ forgives His disciple Peter who betrayed Him and puts Him as the leader of the apostles (Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75, John 21:9-15). We sin, we are sorrowful, we confess, we repent, we are forgiven. We take responsibility for our sins. We are capable of change in our lives. God recognizes this.

Unction - The Commission of the Twelve Disciples
(Mark 6:7-13) Healing - spiritually, physically mentally. We participate in the wounds of Christ by carrying our own cross in the form of illness, sadness or pain. We can be healed by our faith and action and God’s will and action in cooperation.

Marriage - The Wedding at Cana.
John 2:1-11. A relationship can change your life. We bring all aspects of our life to the Church, to be blessed by God. This includes our love for a husband or wife. We begin this bond in the midst of the Church, surrounded by the Church, consecrating this new life to God in the Church.

Holy Orders -
Christ teaches the elders in the temple at Luke 2: 41-52. Our clergy carry on the work of Christ, through the Holy Spirit, in God. They preach, teach, pray, and work among us, keeping order in the Church and our lives.

Split the students into 7 groups. Place pieces of paper with the name of each sacrament into a bowl/hat. Have someone from each group pick one paper and NOT TELL THE OTHER GROUPS WHAT THEY CHOSE! Send them to different locations with an adult to devise their tableaus. After about 20 minutes bring them back together. Give each child a scorecard (piece of paper) and pencil and have them write down the sacrament as described by the tableau. Whichever group is correctly identified the most times on the scorecard gets a candy bar per participant.

4. Extended Activity: Interviews with a Bishop, a Priest, a Deacon, a lay church leader, a married couple, someone who has experienced recovery from a serious illness, an adult convert, a cradle Orthodox Christian, etc. about how the sacraments have affected their lives and for those who perform the sacraments how they have seen the sacramental life of the Church affect others. Sort of the CHICKEN SOUP of Orthodox Christian life. Interview sheets (see attached) and willing candidate assignments should be made available.