Happy New Year! My First Lesson of 2013

As we begin 2013 and continue with our Year of Faith, I wish you abundant blessings!

It’s time to get back to work as a catechist! New Year’s Day proved to be a good day for me to plan my lesson for this coming Monday evening. Here is the outline of our session for Monday, January 7, 2013:

The Prophets of Israel Challenge the People

Big Idea: Prophets “get in the face” of the People of Israel.

Preliminaries (15 mins)

• Welcome and attendance – children write out prayer intentions
• Opening prayer ritual/procession to set up prayer center

Engage (10 mins)

• Show brief YouTube video of coaches “getting in the faces” of their players
• Talk about why coaches “get in the faces” of their players
• invite kids to talk about coaches and instructors who get in their face
• explain that it is the coaches job to make sure that you are playing to the best of your ability and according to the plan.
• explain that, in the Old Testament, God sent certain people to “get in the faces” of the people of Israel and their leaders since they were not living up to their potential or following God’s plan

Explore (30 mins)

• • Read aloud Finding God pg. 94 (The Prophets; Amos and Jeremiah), pg. 95 (God calls Isaiah), and pg. 97 (What it Means to Reform) – use ball toss to facilitate reading

• Distribute Bibles and have students locate passages in the Old Testament of Prophets getting in the faces of the people and leaders of Israel.
  • Distribute the Prophets of Israel Challenge the People BLM
  • Check off ahead of time one passage for each student to locate in the Bible and to write out on the BLM
  • Tell students to look over their passage and to prepare to announce it to the group and to work in at least 2 pauses for people to respond!
• Do a “Getting Up on Your Soapbox” activity. Bring in a sturdy wooden box or crate for students to step up on to proclaim their passage. Explain that people used to stand up on a box or crate or tree stump (“stump speech”) to get people’s attention and make a speech.
• Encourage students to read their passage with passion and fire and have the rest of the students roar approval (half) or boo (half) at the pauses and the end of each speech.

Reflect (15 mins)

• Explain that it, if we are to be prophets, we must pray for guidance and inspiration to be sure we are proclaiming God’s word and not our own opinions.
• Lead guided reflection using Finding God pg. 96 (Send Me, Lord)

Respond (5 mins)

• Complete bottom of Finding God pg. 97 which asks young people to identify an example of injustice they would like to call people’s attention to.
• distribute Homework Notification Sheet – WRITING A LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT which invites young people to work with their parents to write a letter to the President of the United States expressing their concern in this area and asking for action. Emphasize that this is an optional activity.
• This is the attachment with instructions for how to write a letter to the President: Writing a Letter to the President

[Clip art from Free Clip Art by Phillip Martin)

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