Lesson One Jesus Baptism 1. Know your sins 2. Be sorry for your sins 3. Decide not to sin again 4. Confess your sins to a priest in the Sacrament of Penance 5. Do your assigned penance Gifts of the Holy SpiritTheological Virtues 1. Wisdom 2. Understanding 3. Counsel 4. Fortitude 5. Knowledge 6. Piety 7. Fear of the Lord 1. Faith 2. Hope 3. Love In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.[a] 4 Johns clothes were made of camels hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. 11 I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? 15 Jesus replied, Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God The son of Elizabeth and Zechariah. A Prophet Not the Messiah or Savior. Johns Baptisms were those of repentance. His Baptisms did not forgive sins like the Sacrament of Baptism. John knew that the baptisms he gave were signs of sorrow for sin. It is the Sacrament of Baptism (instituted by Jesus) that would give us forgiveness of sin and a share in God life of grace. Baptism washes away all sin, including Original Sin Baptism pours the life of grace into the soul Baptism makes us adopted children of God and puts an indelible mark on our soul. We receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the theological virtues. Three Theological Virtues: Faith Hope Love You must first be sorry for your sins and then receive forgiveness, so, too, Johns baptism as a sign of sorrow for sin comes before Jesus Sacrament of Baptism which removes sin from the soul and gives the life of grace. Lesson Two Temptation Satan is the devil He is a fallen angel and the leader of the other fallen angels called demons. Satan and the demons were cast into hell, where they are eternally separated from God. They were created good, but chose to become evil 4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Jesus answered, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.[b] 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 7 Jesus answered him, It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.[d] 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. 10 Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.[e] 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. What were the three temptations offered to Jesus? How did Jesus respond? Did Jesus ever sin? (It is not sinful to be tempted) What can we learn from Jesus example? Jesus began his public ministry after his baptism. We note that at his baptism, the fullness of the Holy Spirit descended up him (which is what happens at our Confirmation, preparing us to witness publicly to and serve our Church). Where did Jesus preach? In what kinds of places did Jesus preach? To whom did he preach? What did he preach? 5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. The Beatitudes 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 1 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Salt and Light 13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. What is the kingdom? Who is the King? What is the Good News of Jesus teaching? How do we know that salvation was not just for the Israelites and those who lived sinless lives? 13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. 14 Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. How did Jesus treat the children? How can the students be witness for Christ? How can the students inherit the Kingdom? Why did Jesus have a special relationship with children? Can the students have this same relationship with Jesus? How? How can the students face temptations and still enter the Kingdom? Lesson Three Parables Parables is a short story that teaches a lesson. What are some of the main lessons that Jesus taught using parables? He taught about God He taught about the Kingdom of Heaven He taught about us that God loves us God wants sinners to return to his love and forgiveness He taught that we are children of God He taught us to love, even our enemies He taught us to forgive others He taught us to do good works What is heaven worth? What price might you have to pay in order to go to heaven? Martyrs- People who died for their religious beliefs Are people that are martyrs going to heaven? What do you need to do on an everyday basis to make sure that you go to heaven? Lesson Four Following Christ We know from scripture that Jesus spent more time with his apostles than his other followers and taught them what he wanted others to know what was the foundation for the church. Jesuss Disciples: 1.Andrew 2.Bartholomew 3.James Sr. 4.James Jr. 5.John 6.Judas 7.Jude 8.Matthew 9.Peter 10.Phillip 11.Simon 12.Thomas Divine Providence is Gods loving plan. He has a plan for each of us. We should trust in Gods will, for it is truly good. We should pray to grow in trust of God and that his plan is good for us. We should pray to grow in abandonment to Gods will. We should strive to live out Gods will once we recognize it in our lives.