GOD RAISES A FAMILY

This week’s goal : The Old Testament is the revelation of a merciful God who’s inviting the whole world into his family.

Sunday, Nov 8 th, 2015 Begin wi th prayer and this teach ing:

Think about your life. It’s filled with stories, right? (Pause to reflect together on some of your child’s best moments.) Have you ever thought about how all those stories fit together? It’s hard to see sometimes, especially when you’re in the middle of it, but from God’s perspective it all makes sense. Your life is one beautiful, intricate story and, in the end, it will all make sense – even the things that are confusing about it right now. And guess what? That’s exactly how the Bible is, too. It’s a book filled with stories, and sometimes those stories are hard to make sense of. However, looking at the Bible from God’s perspective gives us a clear vision that helps us to make sense of it all. There are a lot of stories in the Bible, but really it’s all one story, and it’s the story of God’s never-ending love for us!

GOD’S PLAN TO MAKE US FAMILY Basically, the entire Old Testament is meant to prepare the world to understand the importance of Jesus. Through what Jesus does for us on the cross, we’re invited to become the adopted children of God; however, the world was being prepared for this adoption long before Jesus. The Old Testament is the story of how God prepared us to join his family. Did you know this?

In a nutshell, it began with a simple marriage – two people, Adam and Eve. Eventually, God made his family even bigger through a series of special promises we call “covenants.” He made a covenant with Noah, and brought Noah’s entire household (eight people) into his family. Many years later, God entered into a special covenant with Abraham and all of his people. Now, God’s family was a tribe (it had grown from eight people to hundreds of people). More than 400 years after that, God again expanded his family covenant, this time to Moses and the nation of Israel. Now, the family included hundreds of thousands of people! Finally, he swore one last covenant promise with David, making him King. And the Kingdom of David was huge; it included many nations. God’s family was an entire Kingdom now, but this was nothing compared to what he was preparing us for. Through Jesus, that Kingdom family would grow to encompass the entire world!

“M ake me into a beaut iful ga rm ent fo r ou r Lord .”

Dominic Savio was forever changed by something his great teacher, St. John Bosco, said. “Everyone is called to be a saint, and do you know, it is easy to be a saint. Just do this: diligently do the ordinary things in an extraordinary way.” Dominic was profoundly impressed was impressed and, from that day on, became a

person of deep prayer and dedication. On the day of his First Communion he wrote: “Death but not sin.” After his First Communion, he was dedicated to reconciling differences, praying for the lost and lonely, serving the poor, and humbly growing in his relationship with Jesus as his loving and merciful savior.

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Act ivi t ies to Re inforce Your Teaching: (Choose at least one or two to use directly following your Sunday teaching, but try to complete all the activities sometime throughout this week.)

1. Outline Your Life Have your child divide his/her life up into five (5) major “seasons.” On a large piece of paper, have your child name the seasons, draw a simple image to capture that season, and arrange them in chronological order.

2. Name That Covenant Using the Covenant Flashcards on the attached handout (be sure to cut them out ahead of time), hold each one up in random order and ask your child to name each covenant, then name each person that God used to grow his family.

3. Arrange the Covenants Give your child the flashcards in random order and have him/her put them in chronological order as fast as he/she can. Time how fast it takes. Then, jumble them up and do it again. Do this every other day, until your child can arrange the cards chronologically with little effort (even after going a few days without thinking about them).

Quest ions fo r Discussion : (Ask these questions at the end of your Sunday teaching session, then again sometime later in the middle of the week to reinforce the lesson.)

1. Is there something that has happened in your life that you just can’t understand why? Tell me about it. 2. Have you ever heard that all the stories in the Bible are really one big story? Can you give an example of a bunch of

individual stories that make up one big story? (Remind your child, that his/her own life is also like this.) 3. In your own words, what’s the bigger story that the Old Testament tells? 4. In your own words, explain how God’s family grew throughout the Old Testament. 5. What impresses you about the story of St. Dominic Savio on the front of this sheet?

Church Teach ing : YOUCAT: CCC: 7-10, 471-477 51-78, 2568-2615

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COVENANT CARDS HANDOUT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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GOD RAISES A FAMILY

This week’s goal : When you were baptized, the Bible became the story of your family.

Sunday, Nov 15 th, 2015 Begin wi th prayer and this teach ing:

The Bible is a huge book about things that happened thousands of years ago. BUT when you choose to follow God in faith, the Bible becomes part of your story! How amazing is that?! It’s the story that tells of God saving his people – including us. It‘s a love letter from God our Father, to us, his children. He makes us a promise: that no matter what we do he will always love us. We may turn our back on him, but he will never abandon us. He is perfect Mercy. And he is a perfect Father. He loves us unconditionally, forgiving us with abundant love. There is nothing we could ever do that will make him love us less.

When you were baptized, you were transformed from a beloved creature of God, into a beloved child of God. That was his plan for you, from the beginning of time. But, if we are his children, then we are in a relationship with him. Think of a good relationship you have – maybe with a friend, sibling, or other relative. In order for that relationship to be successful, there must be communication between the two of you, right? The same is true for our relationship with God. God communicates with us, his beloved children, in many ways; but the Bible is the most important. Remember, God gave us his Word because he desires – he really wants – to communicate with us. That’s why we hear the Bible read every week at Mass, and also why we should have our own Bible to read at home.

When we begin to read the Bible as God’s love letter to us, we can begin to understand more fully how, from the very beginning of time, God has been loving and revealing himself to us. The ultimate sign of God the Father’s love for us takes place in the New Testament. God allows his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us in order that we may be saved from sin and enter into Heaven as his beloved daughters and sons.

But the Bible is even more than a love letter; it is an invitation. What are we being invited to? He invites us to open our hearts and to trust him, to be a member of God’s family, to walk with Jesus, and to participate in the mission he began 2,000 years ago. When we say ‘yes’ to him and accept God’s invitation to join his family; when we accept his infinite mercy and allow God to enter into our hearts, the Bible becomes more than just our history; it becomes part of our story too. Our lives become part of the great story of God’s children.

“M ake me into a beaut iful ga rm ent fo r ou r Lord .”

Dominic Savio was forever changed by something his great teacher, St. John Bosco, said. “Everyone is called to be a saint, and do you know, it is easy to be a saint. Just do this: diligently do the ordinary things in an extraordinary way.” Dominic was profoundly impressed was impressed and, from that day on, became a

person of deep prayer and dedication. On the day of his First Communion he wrote: “Death but not sin.” After his First Communion, he was dedicated to reconciling differences, praying for the lost and lonely, serving the poor, and humbly growing in his relationship with Jesus as his loving and merciful savior.

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Act ivi t ies to Re inforce Your Teaching: (Choose at least one or two to use directly following your Sunday teaching, but try to complete all the activities sometime throughout this week)

1. Read Out Loud: 2 Peter 1:16-21 What does this Scripture passage tell you about Jesus? Why do you think God’s Word is compared to “a lamp shining in a dark place”?

2. Read Out Loud: John 1:1-18 What was so special about John the Baptist? John the Baptist was called to “prepare the way for the Lord.” God calls us – all Christians – to do the same for the people in our own lives. How can we “prepare the way for the Lord”? Finish this discussion time by opening your Bible and praying together the Canticle of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79).

3. Journal Reflection Have your child open his/her prayer journal, and write about what he/she thinks it means that Jesus is “the true light that has come into the world.”

4. That’s From the Bible! Next week at Sunday Mass, point out to your child during the readings, “We’re listening to the Bible right now!” After Mass, talk about this and remind your child that we read the Bible at Mass and at home so that we never forget that we have a Father in heaven who will always love us.

Quest ions fo r Discuss ion : (Ask these questions at the end of your Sunday teaching session, then again sometime later in the middle of the week to reinforce the lesson.)

1. What is the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament? 2. What do you find most challenging about reading the Bible? Why? 3. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us: “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” What does this tell us about the

heavenly Father? 4. Do you know that God loves you, no matter what? 5. Have you ever thought about the Bible as a “love letter” or an “invitation” from God? Do you think looking at it this

way will help you to have a better appreciation for Scripture? Why, or why not? 6. Reread the story of St. Dominic Savio. What do you think St. John Bosco meant when he said it’s “easy” to be a saint?

Church Teach ing : YOUCAT: CCC: 37, 121-122, 516-517 240, 761-766, 2786-2793

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GOD RAISES A FAMILY

This week’s goal : God teaches us how to follow him, and equips us to show the world what it means to live in His love.

Sunday, Nov 22 nd, 2015 Begin wi th prayer and this teach ing:  

When people who don’t know Jesus think of the Bible, what do they most often think of? Rules, right? But, that’s not what Christianity is about! We have the most amazing message in the world, a God who freely loved you into being and thinks you’re awesome. He didn’t have to make you, he wanted to. He loves you more than you can imagine and wants to give you everything, and he does this through the gift of Christ in the Sacraments. Wow! So, what about the rules? Oh, yeah, there are rules. They help you to guard the garden of your heart, like Adam should have done in Eden. But it’s not just about following rules, it’s about learning to follow a God who loves you and wants to give you everything. The more you follow him, the more you come to know him and to trust how much he loves you.

Our God is all loving. The prophet Jeremiah proclaims, “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). God knows the desires of our heart and longs for us to have a life full of hope and joy. Our choice to obey him and to follow his carefully laid out rules brings us true peace and happiness. But did you catch that? We choose to follow God. He loves us so much that he does not force us to love him…after all, that wouldn’t be love, would it? The Bible is our key to a life of happiness and peace. The Bible teaches us how to love one another and how to trust God, our heavenly Father.

When you hear the word “mission” think of an awesome, superhero type mission. Wouldn’t it be pretty neat to have one? Believe it or not, God gave the Church, his family (you and me), a super mission! Do you want to be on God’s mission? Before we can participate in that mission, we must first say yes to God. We must be willing to love him with all of our heart, and to trust him. When we give God our yes, he transforms us. He sends us on his mission, and other people will begin to see it. Our lives will teach them that following Christ is not just a list of rules; it’s a relationship with a God who knows us and loves us. There are rules – the rules of love – given by a God who knows our hearts and wants us to know his. He’s with us every step of the way as we carry out his mission – to show the world who Jesus really is.

“M ake me into a beaut iful ga rm ent fo r ou r Lord .”

Dominic Savio was forever changed by something his great teacher, St. John Bosco, said. “Everyone is called to be a saint, and do you know, it is easy to be a saint. Just do this: diligently do the ordinary things in an extraordinary way.” Dominic was profoundly impressed was impressed and, from that day on, became a

person of deep prayer and dedication. On the day of his First Communion he wrote: “Death but not sin.” After his First Communion, he was dedicated to reconciling differences, praying for the lost and lonely, serving the poor, and humbly growing in his relationship with Jesus as his loving and merciful savior.

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Act ivi t ies to Re inforce Your Teaching: (Choose at least one or two to use directly following your Sunday teaching, but try to complete all the activities sometime throughout this week.)

1. Post… Text… Pin… Tweet… Think of creative ways to share the Gospel using social media. Help create examples of how your child can evangelize using Facebook, Texting, Instagram, and Twitter. For example, find fun videos on Youtube to share and encourage your child to use his/her own language to spread the Gospel.

2. The Boy Who Chose Poverty Go to http://www.loyolapress.com/saints-stories-for-kids.htm?cId=404000 and read the story of St. Francis. How was St. Francis’ life a testimony to God? Why did he choose poverty?

3. Journal Reflection Have your child take a few minutes to write in his/her prayer journal. Prompt the writing with the following question: Think about the different rules that God has given us. Which ones are the most confusing to you? Do you have any specific ones that you struggle to follow? In your journal, be completely open with God and talk to him about your struggle with these rules. Ask him to help you understand them.

Quest ions fo r Discussion : (Ask these questions at the end of your Sunday teaching session, then again sometime later in the middle of the week to reinforce the lesson)

1. Reflect on the following quote: "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called

children of God; and that is what we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him” (1 John 3:1, emphasis added). What do you think this means? Why does the world not know us?

2 . Some people think the Bible is just about rules? How would you explain to them it’s so much more than that? 3 . Why is it hard to say yes to God? 4 . Do you think you live your life in a way that allows people to see Jesus through you? 5 . What are some ways you could better live out your faith (at school, during sports, among friends, etc.)?

6. Reread the story of St. Dominic Savio. What do you think he meant when he said, “Make me into a beautiful garment for our Lord”?

Church Teach ing : YOUCAT: CCC: 279-320, 333-336, 348-351 1691-1876, 1949-1986, 2052-2082