Thursday, October 11, 2012

Catholic Religious Education (CRE) Week #6

Welcome back to my weekly Catholic Religious Education Lesson! Last week, went well. The kids really enjoyed the skit on the Lord's Prayer. I'm not sure if it was because they thought it was interesting or that it gave them a chance to get out of their seat, but either way it was a success. This week we will be talking about the Gospels and Jesus (briefly). I am excited, because we are finally getting to use the Bible some, which these kids desperately need to know more about.

I may show them how to find passages in the Bible and what Bible notation is. It's real simple and is just Book Chapter:Verse or John 3:16, but so many of them don't realize that. I am also allowing my aide to talk more in class. It is good for everyone I think, as it builds her skills and confidence in front of the kids, gives me a break from talking, and gives the kids a break from hearing me talk the whole time.


  • Preparation for the Lesson
    • Bring the Annunciation and Nativity Icons 
    • Write the words Good News on the board
      • Ask the students to write/reflect on what the phrase Good News means to them and to list examples of Good News they received recently.
  • Introduction
    • Good morning. Today we are going to talk about the Second Person of the Trinity – God The Son or Jesus. Before we discuss what is written on the the board, I would like you to turn to page 51 and begin with the opening prayer.
      • I need 1 reader and the rest of you will respond to All.
    • Okay! While waiting for class to start, I had y’all write and reflect on what Good News means to you.
      • Let’s first start with a definition of Good News.
    • Good. Now let’s go around the class and give some examples of Good News you recently had.
      • Explain to them that the word Gospel means Good News.
      • Ask them what the Good News of the Bible is?
    • Read selections of 51C to them.
      • Summarize that the Good News is God came to us in human form to make Himself better known.
Chapter 5
  • Now I would like you to turn into your books to page 54 and we will begin reading.
    • There are two BIG concepts covered in these three paragraphs.
      • The first is Incarnation.
      • What does it mean?
      • Would you define this as something easy to understand?
      • If not, what is the term we gave for a concept we have to accept on Faith but can’t easily explain?
        • A Mystery
    • The other Mystery we encounter comes to us in the last line on these page.
      • Jesus was both true God and true Man.
      • That doesn't mean he was one or the other and could swap back and forth. He was both at the same time.
      • Talk about something that will blow your mind.
      • So if Jesus was a human like us that means that he ate, slept, got sad, etc. He was like us in every way but one. Does anyone know?
        • He didn’t sin!
  • Now let’s get back to the text on page 55.
    • So here we see how the Four Gospels developed.
  • On page 56 and 57, we get a more detailed explanation about each Gospel.
    • What does the term synoptic mean?
      • Similar
    • What are the three synoptic Gospels?
      • Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
      • Matthew was written primarily for Jewish Christians
      • Mark was written primarily for Christians living in Rome.
      • Luke was written for Greek speaking people.
    • This is why the Gospels are similar but not identical.
    • The author wanted to explain Jesus’ life and teaching in a way that was easily understood to their audience.
  • Pass out Bibles
    • Let’s take a look at the three passages:
    • Matthew 9:1-8
    • Mark 2:1-12
    • Luke 5:17-26
      • How are they similar?
      • How are they different?
  • Alright, let’s conclude with the material on page 57.
    • John’s Gospel was written for all Christians.
      • It is deep and theological and focuses on explaining that Jesus is God.
      • That may seem like a simple concept to us, but back in the 1st Century, people struggled with this idea.
      • A lot of people then saw Jesus as:
        • Only human
        • Someone in between human and God.
  • Real-world application
    • We are all called to be Disciples of Jesus and spread the Good News.
    • So think about people you know in your life
      • Family
      • Friends
      • Classmates
    • How many of them seem to be hurting or not realizing the ultimate Good News of Jesus?
      • What would you tell these people about the Good News?
        • Jesus loves them
        • Jesus wants to forgive their sins
      • What are ways you can share this Good News to people?
        • Tell them
        • Facebook message
        • Be loving to them
        • Read the Bible with them
  • Talk about Year of Faith if anytime is left over in the class.
  • Remember Saint Museum is in two weeks. I hope y'all have started on your costumes.

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