Session 1: God Who?
By the end of this session participants should be able to . . .
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discuss God as the One who loves us and teaches us how to love.
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define the “fear of God” as not wanting to displease/disappoint Him, out of great love for Him, not a servile fear of punishment.
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list 4 things the Church teaches about God.
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relate the Creed to what we know about God and how He acts in our lives.
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discuss their relationship with God based upon what the Church knows about Him
Useful Texts:
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Procedure:
(5 min.) Introduction to Unit
Say, “During this unit we will be discussing our relationships and the choices we make in our lives.” Briefly explain why you, personally, think this is an important subject to talk about. Be sure you make it clear that this is going to be a learning experience for yourself as well.
Ask the participants, “What relationships in our lives do you think really affect our decisions and choice?” [God, Ourselves, Our Parents and Family, Our Friends, Our Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Saints, etc.] List all responses on a large visible surface, asking them to explain their answers. Once they have exhausted all responses, list the topics of the sessions of this unit on the piece of newsprint and quickly summarize what you will be discussing in each.
Session Introduction
Say, “During this session we’re going to talk about and explore what we know about God, what the Church tells us about God, and our personal relationship with Him.”
Brainstorm on a large piece of newsprint all the words and phrases the participants think of when you say “God.” Hang the piece of newsprint in a visible area.
The Statement of Faith - What We Believe
Copy and hand out the Worksheet on the Creed. Give them about 5 minutes to do the worksheet and then share their answers together as a group. Record answers on another large piece of newsprint.
Compare the two lists pointing out similarities and differences, asking participants to clarify why they think there are inconsistences (if there are any).
Have someone read 1 John 4:7-12. (Be prepared to give a quick lesson on looking things up in the Bible - book, chapter, verse, since many kids do not know how to do this.) Ask, “Based upon the Creed why do you think St. John says that ‘God is Love.’” [The Creed briefly explains God as doing all these things (Creation, the Incarnation, the Passion and Resurrection, and the founding of His Church) for us so that we can be saved from spiritual and physical death.]
Activity on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
Read the passage aloud quickly as is and then read it again slowly replacing the word love with God.
Go back to the beginning and after each description (God is patient) have participants give one example of why they think that describes God. On newsprint or poster board, using markers, magazines, construction paper, and other materials, have participants create a large poster with the 16 descriptions of “God as love” with their examples. Depending on the size of your group you may want to split participants into groups of 4 or 5.
Discussion on 1 John 4:10-11
Ask one of the participants to read 1 John 4:10-11.
Ask and discuss the following questions:
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What does this verse tell us about what the Church believes about God?
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How do you think this might differ from what other groups believe?
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How do you think these beliefs about God are supposed to effect our daily lives?
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At the Divine Liturgy, as the chalice is brought out for communion we hear “In the fear of God, with faith and love, draw near.” (Depending on the participants, you can also do this by asking, “What does the priest/deacon say as he brings out the chalice for communion?”) If the Church believes that God is love, what do you think the Church means when it tells us to fear Him? [When we truly love someone, we fear disappointing them; not because we think they will punish us, but because we don’t want to disappoint them in any way. It is the natural thing to want those we love to think well of us.]
(Some good questions to help them get to this are: “Are you ever afraid of upsetting your parents? If you know they love you, and that they won’t really hurt you, why are you afraid of them?)
Note to Leader
Each session includes a journal reflection question or activity. Give participants about 10-15 minutes for this at the end of the session. You should do this yourself with them. Give participants the option of leaving their journals with you if they would like you to read it. This will provide them with a “safe” way of asking questions and expressing private concerns.
Journal Reflection
Imagine that a friend writes you a letter asking what you think about God. They have heard a lot of things but don’t know what to think or believe. Their experiences in life have given them a lot of reason to wonder about whether or not God even exists. Write them a letter explaining your beliefs, thoughts, and feelings.
Session Conclusion
St. John tells us that God is love and St. Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, explains for us what that means. This is the teaching of the entire Bible and Tradition of the Church. If we choose to believe in a God who is love, that means we must try to be “love” as well. How do we do this? By loving the One who first loved us and never ceases to do everything He can for us.