THEME BOOK. Roots & Buds [Primary] OSSAE-UK REGION Diocese of UK, Europe & Africa of Indian[Malankara] Orthodox Church

Transcription

1 ORTHODOX VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2018 Roots & Buds [Primary] THEME BOOK OSSAE-UK REGION Diocese of UK, Europe & Africa of Indian[Malankara] Orthodox Church

2 ORTHODOX VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2018 Roots & Buds [Primary 6-8 years] Contents Message from Diocesan Bishop... 3 Foreword... 4 Theme Overview... 5 Lesson 1 Theme Background Prophet Isaiah... 8 Activities Lesson 2: Theme Introduction Activities & Presentable pictures Lesson 3: Moulding in Practical Life Ideas for activities Acknowledgement OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 2 of 25

3 Message from Diocesan Bishop OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 3 of 25

4 Foreword Beloved Sunday School teachers, parents and my dear children, Here we are again, beginning another year of OVBS which we have always been eagerly looking forward to. It gives us opportunity to learn and explore the spiritual joy and enjoyment through prayer, singing and learning. This year we have a wonderful theme for our OVBS God Mould Us (Isaiah 64:8). This theme indicates God-Human being relationship which rests on divine love (Father), sovereignty (potter) and care (work of your hand). This relationship is part of the unchanging reality of God. The description of God as the potter fits the history of God s people. He called Abraham and then shaped and moulded his descendants into a nation. God made them what they were. But the description also aptly describes God s people individually. God shapes and moulds every believer. We are the clay, and God moulds us to the shape and for the use that he deems appropriate. We are the work of his hands. The apostle Paul declared that the Ephesians were dead in their sins, but he went on to assure them that God s grace had saved them: For we are God s workmanship (Eph 2:10). So this year s theme will help us to submit ourselves to God s hand. Our OSSAE-UK team is working hard under the leadership of our Diocesan Metropolitan HG Dr. Mathews Mar Thimothios for the success of OVBS I take this opportunity to thank you all, especially our Diocesan Metropolitan, all Vicars, OSSAE UK Director, Secretary, Treasurer, OVBS coordinators, District Inspectors, Head Teachers, Teachers, Volunteers and Parents, for your dedication, selfless work and support to OSSAE-UK and OVBS Special thanks to team who worked hard behind the songs and theme books. Your every effort to support and nurture our children in Christ will be rewarded by Our Lord. In our song book, as previous years, we have included official songs provided by OSSAE OVBS 2018 and few English songs to make it more lively for our children. Each units have the freedom to choose number of songs from the song book depending on their OVBS duration, however, prayer, marching and theme songs are mandatory to be taught in all units. I request vicars and head teachers to conduct OVBS 2018 with a minimum of two days duration concluding with Holy Qurbana and OVBS rally. Prayers and wishes for a blessed OVBS Yours in Christ Fr Anoop Abraham Malayil (Vice President OSSAE UK) OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 4 of 25

5 Theme Overview "God moulds us". Isaiah 64: 8. Theme Introduction. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 The Book of Isaiah is a miniature Bible. It has 66 chapters just as the Bible has 66 books. The first 39 chapters of Isaiah speak for the most part of law and judgment just as the 39 books of the Old Testament. The last 27 chapters of Isaiah speak of comfort, restoration, and mercy under the Messiah just as the 27 books of the New Testament speak of Jesus the Christ (Messiah). Isaiah contains a bit of all that is found in the rest of the Bible. Isaiah s message covers about every theme and doctrine of the Bible. Isaiah preached over a period of about 40 years. Purpose of the book was to encourage the prophet's contemporaries to be loyal to the Lord and to exhort future readers in exile to repent of sin and trust the Lord to bring the faithful remnant of Israel and other nations to unprecedented blessings after the exile. Prophet Isaiah Isaiah was born in the 8th century BC, to a man named Amos. Isaiah was a Hebrew prophet who was believed to have lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Born in Jerusalem, Israel, he was said to have found his calling as a prophet when he saw a vision in the year of King Uzziah's death. Isaiah prophesized the coming of the Messiah Jesus Christ. The Book of Isiah. The book of Isaiah is composed of three natural divisions: sayings, principally of judgment, historical narratives, and of comfort in chapters Chapters were written by a prophet of the exile and not by Isaiah the son of Amos. This great anonymous prophet became known as Deutero or Second Isaiah and chapter Trito-Isaiah is written by some prophet back from the exile. Most contemporary scholarship affirms the multiple authorship of Isaiah; however, some conservative scholars still insist upon the unity of the book. Theological Outlooks-Key Truths: God called Isaiah to warn his people of the judgment of exile and to assure them of future restoration to tremendous blessing after the exile. Isaiah's reliability was demonstrated by the fulfilment of many of his earlier prophecies by the time of the writing of the book. Isaiah's astounding predictions about the end of the Babylonian exile and the restoration were sure to take place, but only the repentant in Israel and the nations would enjoy these future blessings. The Bible says that God is the Potter and we are the clay. When we are open to God s will in our lives, He moulds, transforms, and sanctifies us as we walk with Him. When we come to the Potter, we need to surrender all to Him, all our imperfections and let Him be our Master. We need to let Him mould us and make us the vessel of honour that He wants us to be. For this to be accomplished, we need to have the knowledge of God s Word before He can start the process of moulding us. As the potter places a piece of clay on a wheel he needs water in order to make it pliable and soft enough for him to be able to use it. Sacramental life is the Water. The next step is that the piece of clay needs to be properly centered on the wheel. The reason for this is if a lump of clay is not properly centered on the wheel, it will eventually tear apart before the potter can finish the process. In the same way we have to be properly centered in Jesus Christ before God can start to mould and shape us. Being centered in Jesus is to have our life fully surrendered to Him where He is in full control. A Christ centered life. OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 5 of 25

6 Once the lump of clay has enough water and is centered on the wheel, then the actual moulding process begins. The wheel starts spinning and the potter s hand presses down on the top of the clay to create and opening and moves his hands deep inside the middle of the clay. He continues by constantly shaping it and moulding it to result in the vessel he desires it to be. In the same way, God s own hand literally goes down deep into our soul and spirit where the sanctification work is actually done, moulding and transforming us into the saints He wants us to be. Just as the piece of clay needs to fully trust the potter, in the same way we need to fully trust the Lord to mould, shape, and transform our lives. The clay is totally under His control. It has to be one hundred percent yielded to Him. The clay must yield to the potter s hand if it is to become something useful. For this reason, we need to yield to God by surrendering ourselves completely. a) God s activity in creating and sustaining the world. The Bible says that God created the universe in the beginning and that He is now preserving it. Genesis 1 tells us that God is the Creator of the universe, including mankind. He created man and woman in his own image (Genesis 1:27) and this is what sets man apart from animals. Being created in the image of God means that mankind resembles God in certain ways. Such as the ability to reason, to make moral choices, the use of language and being creative. It also means that they are the representatives of God to have authority over creation. Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground (Genesis 1:28). It talks about the beginning of marriage and family, society and civilization, craft and industry. Sadly, it also explains how sin entered the world and corrupted God s good creation. But Genesis also shows us the beginnings of God s plan of redemption. Covenant: In Genesis, covenant involves divine promises and the blessings that accompany them. It refers to promises made to the entire world through Noah and to those made to the family of Abraham. Relationship: Genesis gives us a picture of the relationships between God and the world, between God and human beings, and between human beings. b) Moulding a continuous process Clay is not easy to work with. Before clay can be put upon the wheel, it has to be properly prepared. It has to be supple enough to adapt to change, yet firm enough to not collapse under pressure. Just like clay, before God can begin remaking and changing us, there are some preparations that have to occur. "Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was making something at the wheel. Yet the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make it" (Jer. 18:3-4). God sent Jeremiah down to the potter's house to reveal more of Himself in a very tangible way. God still uses life as a classroom, guiding us into His truths. Every event, hardship, failure, sin, and success is a part of our personalized lesson plan. Learning the lesson will require being able to see the situation through God's eyes. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 58:8). Seeing life through a heavenly lens puts it in a new perspective. Spending time in His presence can open the door to God revealing to you what type of vessel He wants to make you into. Once you get a glimpse of God's vision for your life, you have to then be willing to go through His process for change. No vessel is so flawed that it cannot be made new. Each can be reworked into a useful vessel in the hands of the Potter. c) Image and Likeness. According to most of the orthodox Fathers, the terms image and likeness do not mean exactly the same thing. The expression according to the image, wrote John of Damascus, indicates rationality and freedom, while the OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 6 of 25

7 expression according to the likeness indicates assimilation to God through virtue (On the Orthodox Faith, 2, 12 (P.G. 94, 920B)). The image of God signifies man s free will, his reason, his sense of moral responsibility everything, in short, which marks man out from the animal creation and makes him a person. But the image means more than that. It means that we are God s offspring (Acts 27:28), His kin; it means that between us and Him there is a point of contact, an essential similarity. The gulf between creature and Creator is not impassable, for because we are in God s image we can know God and have communion with Him. And if a man makes proper use of this faculty for communion with God, then he will become like God, he will acquire the divine likeness; in the words of John Damascene, he will be assimilated to God through virtue. To acquire the likeness is to be deified, it is to become a second god, a god by grace. "I said, you are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High" (Psalm 81:6). The image denotes the powers with which every man is endowed by God from the first moment of his existence; the likeness is not an endowment which man possesses from the start, but a goal at which he must aim, something which he can only acquire by degrees. However sinful a man may be, he never loses the image; but the likeness depends upon our moral choice, upon our virtue, and so it is destroyed by sin. d) Sin and fall The Orthodox Church cannot agree with Augustine, when he says that humans are under a harsh necessity of committing sin in his City of God. The image of God is distorted by sin but never destroyed and because we still retain the image of God we still retain free will, although sin restricts its scope. Orthodoxy repudiates any interpretation of the fall which allows no room for freedom. However, we agree with the West that sin had set up a barrier which humanity by its own efforts could never break down. Sin blocked the path to union with God. Since we could not come to God, He came to us. e) Theosis Theosis is the belief, mostly found within the Eastern Orthodox Church that Christians can experience a union with God and become like him so much that they participate in the divine nature. This concept is also known as deification. Theosis does not mean that they become Gods or merge with God but that they are deified. They participate in the "energies" of God with which he reveals himself to us in creation. But, these Christians are said to not participate in God's essence. Furthermore, this deification does not mean that a person stops sinning or no longer struggles with sin. Instead, Theosis is a mystical union with God that proceeds throughout the person's life and culminates in the resurrection of the body. Some have said that this is equivalent to sanctification as taught in the Western churches. Protestants do not use this term because of the natural error associated with becoming gods. We are not God, and we will never be God. God alone possesses His divine nature. False religions sometimes teach that we can become godlike and even gods. For this reason, we must be very careful when describing the doctrine of Theosis, and we must also be careful not to adopt anything that would support the heresy of becoming divine by nature. At best, we become more like Christ as we increase in our relationship with him, but we do not in any way become divine. May the OVBS training would illumine our hearts of all those who get involved in it, not only children but teachers, trainers, volunteers and parents. Let us explore the theme in its length and breadth and find our life more meaningful. I wish all the very best for OVBS May God Bless & Moulds us! Yours in His service, Ninan Achan. OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 7 of 25

8 Lesson 1 Theme Background Prophet Isaiah OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 8 of 25

9 Reference Verse: Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are allork of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 (NIV) Central Message: When we are open to God s will in our lives, He moulds us, transforms, and purifies us as we walk with Him. We are all God s creation, like a beautiful clay pot created by a potter. However, we have deformed ourselves through sin. Since we re all deformed vessels we need all the help we can from the Master Potter God. He uses trials to shape us, mould us, and make us into His image. Once we become a chosen vessel of God, He will fill us up with His Holy Spirit. But we must empty ourselves of our own pride, thoughts, and wishes and let God s Spirit fill us up to do His will. God cannot work with pride-filled human beings (James 4:6). It s like trying to form or shape a clay vessel that s already been hardened. It s impossible to shape a clay vessel that resists the Potter s hands. He can t fill us up if we re full of ourselves. Just like clay has to be soft to be moulded, our hearts must also be softened for God to work on us. The theme verse was taken from the book of Isaiah. Let us learn about Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is widely regarded as one of the greatest prophets of the Bible. He lived 700 years before the birth of Christ and was of royal lineage. Isaiah s father Amos raised his son in the fear of God and in the law of the Lord. On attaining maturity, the Prophet Isaiah married a pious prophetess (Is 8:3) and had a son Jashub (Is 8:18). Isaiah was called to prophetic service during the reign of Uzziah, King of Judea and he prophesied for 60 years. The start of his service was marked by the following vision: He beheld the Lord God, sitting in a majestic heavenly temple upon a high throne. Six winged Seraphim encircled Him. With two wngs they covered their faces, and with two wings they covered their feet, and with two wings they flew about crying out one to another, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord Sabaoth, Heaven and earth are filled with His glory! The pillars of the heavenly temple shook from their shouts, and in the temple arose the smoke of incense. The prophet cried out in terror, Oh an accursed man am I, granted to behold the Lord Sabaoth, and having impure lips and living amidst an impure people! A Seraphim was sent to him having a red-hot coal in his hand, which he took with tongs from the Altar of the Lord. He touched it to the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah and OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 9 of 25

10 said, This has touched thy lips, and will take away with thine iniquities, and will cleanse thy sins. After this, Isaiah heard the Lord s voice who sent him to the Jews to exhort them to turn from the ways of sin and idol worship and to offer repentance. (Is 6) Prophet Isaiah, with particular clarity and details, prophesies about the coming of the Messiah as man. The Prophet foretells the birth of the Messiah from a virgin, and with particular clarity he describes the suffering of the Messiah for the sins of the world. He foresees his resurrection and the universal spreading of his church. (Is 7:14, 11:1, 9:6, 53:4, 60:13, etc.) The holy prophet also had a gift of working wonders. During the time of the siege of Jerusalem by enemies, the city ran out of water and the people became exhausted with thirst. Isaiah drew out a spring of water from beneath Mount Sion, which was called Siloam meaning sent from God. It was to this spring that Jesus sent the man born blind to wash, after putting a mud paste on his eyes, and he could see again. By the prayer of Isaiah, the Lord prolonged the life of Hezekiah by 15 years. OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 10 of 25

11 Activities Spot the difference Can you identify three differences between picture A (left) and Picture B (right). Write your answers below and colour the pictures. Clue- Read Isaiah 6:1-8 1) 2) 3) For Discussion What good quality and attitude did Isaiah have? How can you show that you have a humble and willing spirit? Clue: Read Psalms 110:3, Mathews 28: 19, 20 OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 11 of 25

12 Lesson 2: Theme Introduction OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 12 of 25

13 Introduction God is the potter; we are the clay. Isaiah 64:8 The Bible says that God is the Potter and we are the clay. When we are open to God s will in our lives, He moulds us, transforms us and purifies us as we walk with Him. When we come to the potter, we need to give ourselves completely to Him and let Him be our master. We need to let Him mould us to be the vessel of honour that He wants us to be. When we are in the potters hands, we can relax and trust Him for we know that this potter has suffered with us and knows how we feel. Like Isaiah we should say Oh Lord, you are the father, we are the clay and you our potter; and all of us are the work of your hands. Do you know how a potter makes a beautiful vessel? A suggested link to a YouTube video on how a potter works: Though video is 6+ minutes long, kids can get a fair idea by 2 minutes. Also emphasise on how the potter is pressing down, removing bits of clay in between etc. (Discuss this with kids starting from how the clay has to be free from stones, soft, pliable, then centred on the wheel and moulded by the potter). So how can we allow God to mould our lives? The following are the key points that we can do for God to mould us: 1. Repentance Today in our lives, many of us do wrong things and our hearts become very hard just like dried clay. So how can we change? We can change if we turn back to God, admit our sins and ask Him to forgive us. Through repentance, impurities or bad qualities like lust, pride, envy, dishonesty, selfishness, worldly cares, anger, greed, and laziness are removed to ease the process of moulding Jesus taught us, Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Who knows what repentance is? (Ask kids to answer) OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 13 of 25

14 Example: Asking God for forgiveness for all our sins by repenting to the priest through the sacrament of Confession. When we admit our mistakes to God, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (St. Luke 15:7) 2. Knowing the Word In our lives, God the potter moulds us, but we need to give ourselves to His hands so that He can shape us, transform us and bless us. For this, we need to know who God is and we should have knowledge about His word, the Holy Bible. The Bible tells us, He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5: We should spend time reading the word so that we will become pliable and mouldable. Spending time in God s presence will open God s door to us revealing what kind of vessel He wants us to be. This is why Jesus tells us in his word that without him we can do absolutely nothing. God also tells us that if we try to build our own houses without his direction that will end up labouring in vain. 3. Leading a Sacramental life: When the potter takes a piece of clay, he uses water to make it soft enough to use it. In our lives, sacraments play the role of water, softening our will to God s plan. What are sacraments? Sacraments are the visible means of feeling God s presence. There are 7 main sacraments in our Orthodox church but there also many other sacraments. By regularly participating in and partaking of the sacraments, we can keep ourselves mouldable to God s plans. OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 14 of 25

15 4. Leading a Christ-centred life In the next step of making the vessel, the potter places the lump of clay in the middle of the wheel. If it is not in the centre of the wheel, it will just fall apart. Similarly, in our lives, we should have Jesus at its centre. Otherwise our life will also fall apart. Jesus has to become both Lord and Saviour in our life. Lord cannot work with us unless we are perfectly centred in him. If we try to live our life without Jesus leading and guiding the way, our lives will eventually fall apart and we will never reach and fulfil the divine destiny to which God has called us. Jesus should be the master of our personal life, family life and social life. Receive Him as your best friend above anyone else in this world. We accept Jesus into our lives at the time of baptism, and we need to remember this each and every day of our lives. When Christ is in you, no one else can destroy you. So how can we bring Jesus into the centre of our lives? (Ask kids to answer) Example: Daily prayer in the morning, afternoon and evening, attending church, and so on. 5. Allowing ourselves to be moulded & transformed into the saints as He wants us to be Once the clay get enough water and is centred properly, then the potter starts to mould with his hands until he gets it to the shape he wants it to be. In the same way, God s hand goes down into our soul and spirit until we are the children of God. Therefore, we must trust God and we should surrender ourselves to the full control of God. Then He will mould us and we will become part of God s Kingdom. We all are called to become saints and are given the freedom to choose right and wrong. It is important for us to be willing to trust the potter, our God, and to accept the moulding that happens in our life. OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 15 of 25

16 Conclusion Attending worship, receiving sacraments, reading the word of God, learning about the Kingdom of God all these are aimed at assisting us in the journey to perfect moulding to become a divine child of God. God has a plan for each and every one of us and it is for good. Activities & Presentable pictures Colouring Sheets Potter & Clay [Google Image Reference] OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 16 of 25

17 Jesus & Children Google Image Reference Game Ideas OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 17 of 25

18 Lesson 3: Moulding in Practical Life OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 18 of 25

19 Creation of the world In the beginning, God created the beautiful universe with sea, sky, plants, mountains, valleys, animals and finally humans. God created man and woman in His own image and gave them the authority to rule over or look after the whole creation. After creation, God found everything He made was good. Then God saw everything He had made, and indeed, it was very good Activity- Genesis 1:31 (Narrate story of creation in a video or story telling) Even though Almighty God provided man with all blessings, he disobeyed God and thus, sin entered the world and corrupted or spoiled the creation. Just as a beautiful pot created by a master potter can break or become less useful with mishandling or outside forces, so also. Creation of God in its perfect shape gets disfigured through mishandling or misuse. More than the physical outlook, Prophet Isaiah is telling us about the disfigurement of our inner beauty. It s about our moral ethics, social values, spiritual life, etc. Moulding, a continuous process A potter has a plan for each and every pot. Similarly, God Almighty has a plan for each of us and wants us to become the perfect creation. In order to gain perfection, clay is reworked and moulded again and again. Similarly, God uses every event, hardship, failure, sin and success to teach us and mould us. It is all part of His plan for us. We need to look it at through God s eyes. (Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 58:8). Through a prayerful life, we will be able to bear and accept any hardship as the best plans of God in our life. God, as the good potter, makes good vessels, but vessels can crumble without His intervention. Just as a pot gets chipped or breaks, our life also gets broken through sin, rough experiences, wrong guidance, etc. especially in the current world. Such deformities happening in an individual or group of individuals will eventually harm the person as well as the community they belong to. OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 19 of 25

20 Or in a broader sense, it will affect the humankind we all belong to. Hence it is very important to repair the deformities so that they become more useful to themselves, their families, the community they belong and the whole word. (Ask children how humans can change their pure nature; ask them to make a list of actions.) In Jeremiah 18:1-11, God asked Prophet Jeremiah to go down to the potter s house where he saw the potter reworking a misshapen clay lump into something new and beautiful. Out of the chipped/broken pot, the potter was able to recreate something beautiful. God wanted to show how He could also work on a broken sinful life and make it whole again. This moulding or repair process is easier in individuals who are willing to repent. Holy Spirit enables them to confess and reconcile to themselves and others and regain the original nature. (Now ask children to write another list on the same sheet about what could turn them into a perfect pot) Image and Likeness We know that we are made in the image and likeness of God. What is the difference between image and likeness? The church teaches us that being of the same image of God means that we are able to think and analyse, unlike animals. On the other hand, likeness points to the virtues that make us similar to God. Image is the gift of God from the time of existence of a person whereas likeness is the virtue that an individual grows into. Image gives us the honour of being God s offspring, His kin. (Acts 27:28). There is an essential similarity or there is a point of contact between God and human beings, so that we can have communion with Him. Anyone who keeps this kinship to a perfect OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 20 of 25

21 level grows to a divine likeness. (I said, You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High. - Psalms 81:6) Each and every man or woman has a role in maintaining their original nature provided by God. It gets distorted through sin in the form of greed, cheating, sorcery, hatred, drunkenness, envy. (Works of the flesh, Galatians 5:19-21). St. Paul teaches us about the fruits of Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23). Bearing the fruits of Holy Spirit will help us to avoid committing sin. We need to submit ourselves to the will of God so that our dear Father Almighty would work in our lives. Keep praying to the merciful God to mould us into His image and likeness. Theosis Ultimate aim of a child of God is to grow into the likeness of God the process is called Theosis or deification. Theosis is like a union with God that proceeds throughout the person s life and ends in the resurrection of body. It is very important for children to get right directions and guidance from childhood in order to live a life in close relationship with God. Reading the word of God, family prayers, attending worship, receiving sacraments, fasting, Sunday school, OVBS, listening to parents and teachers, having good friends, reading good books, doing charity works etc. help in moving towards the union with and likeness of God. We have to pray to God to make us His chosen vessels. God may put us through life experiences which are just like a furnace; those who believe in the potter will come out as the finest gold. We have examples of saints. St. Mary submitted herself to the will of God and become the mother of God. Parumala Thirumeni surrendered himself to his master through fasting and prayers. Key words Moulding; clay; potter; pot; image, likeness, Theosis Bible verses: Then God saw everything He had made, and indeed, it was very good. Genesis 1:31 OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 21 of 25

22 Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24 Ideas for activities -It will be good for children to create something using playdough from the introduction lesson to reflect on. For e.g., any damage that happens, how do they repair it and the eagerness and pain they took to make it perfect until the last lesson. Get children to look at their final product and reflect on it, what went wrong and how could it be rectified? If they were not able to do it who helped them? Are they happy with their creation? -Encourage children to generate and display a message, a prayer, a poem or a story as a reflection of their learning for the last three days. Many activities can be found on the following links Puzzle: Enjoy puzzles from the following links: Note: Click restart arrow at the left bottom of the picture to play again OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 22 of 25

23 Identify Divine Qualitites Which of the following qualities will help you to grow into divine nature? Choose from the following and put them in the right pot, if not bin it.( Cut words out and ask to pick.provide a pot and a bin to put it in) Prayer Love Envy Hatred Fasting` Good friends disrespect Bullying Charity Lent Biblereading Listen to elders Harassing Cheating Lying Failures Sacraments Reconcillation Sunday School Success OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 23 of 25

24 Acknowledgement All OVBS participants, head teachers, teachers, coordinators, music teachers, parents and volunteers, Let us praise and thank our Almighty God for guiding us in all our centralized Sunday school activities within UK. This is our sixth successive centralized OVBS programme. Considering the unique needs of our children growing up in the UK, similar to last couple of years, the OVBS scheme has been developed and modified by incorporating some changes to make it an enjoyable experience for the children but keeping the essential and core components from OSSAE. First of all, I would like to express my humble gratitude to H.G. Dr Mathews Mar Thimothios, our Diocesan Metropolitan and president for OSSAE-UK for the blessings and invaluable guidance to all our Sunday school activities in United Kingdom. Sunday school in UK is greatly indebted to Central OVBS committee headed by H. G. Dr Gabriel Mar Gregorios, President OSSAE; Rev. Fr. Dr. Jacob Kurian, Director General OSSAE; Rev. Fr. Dr. Reji Mathews, Ex-Director General OSSAE; Rev. Fr. K. V. Alias, Examination Controller, Rev. Fr. Mathew Koshy, OVBS Director; Dr. Ipe Varghese, General Secretary OVBS; Prof. Dr. Cherian Thomas, Publication Officer; Prof. K.V. George, OSSAE Executive Officer for providing us with OVBS central curriculum and song book of OSSAE. My sincere gratitude to Rev. Fr. Anoop Malayil Abraham, Vice President OSSAE-UK for his inspirational leadership and encouragement specifically towards OVBS and generally to all Sunday school activities within UK region. I wholeheartedly thank Rev. Fr. Dr. Ninan V George, vicar of St. Gregorios I.O.C, London for spending his valuable time and effort in guiding, supervising, reviewing all theme books and preparing an overview of the theme for general assembly. Kindly join me to convey our hearty gratitude to Mrs. Shali Saji (St. Marys IOC, Bristol), our OVBS coordinator, Mrs. Merlin Robin [St. Thomas IOC Cambridge], OVBS Assistant coordinator of OSSAE- UK and their families for their valuable contribution and painstaking efforts especially in compiling OVBS song book for UK as well as in the procurement and distribution of OVBS materials to all participating units. Specially acknowledging all the Sunday school teachers and students assisted them. Also passing our sincere gratitude to all the students who sent drawing book covers. A special mention to Master Matt Sijy Abraham [St. Gregorios IOC London] and Mrs. Deepthi Cherian [St. Marys IOC, Bristol] for writing the songs and Sneha Thomas & Aleena Thomas [St. Marys IOC, Bristol] for composing and beautifully singing those songs. Extending a big thanks to Joshi Eapen, Secretary of OSSAE-UK who put on a lot of different hats in the preparation of this years OVBS. Similar to last year, the OVBS Theme book has been prepared exclusively for OSSAE-UK by Sunday school teachers from different units. I hereby sincerely thank all teachers who wrote lessons namely: Viji Syra [Hemel], Lisha Simon,[London], Shali Saji, Sophy Thomas & Sonu Dennis [Bristol - Primary], Shibu Thomas, Sharon Susan Thomas, Roni K Rajan, Loveena Simon [Southend-on-Sea Juniors book], Joshi Eapen, Shaji Varghese and Shiji Biben [Manchester Intermediate], Rev. Dn.Tiji Thankachan, Roopa Thenat [London] & Ranju Abraham[Cambridge] and internal reviewers Roshnnie Manoj, Vinitha John, Preena Kurian and Beena Mathew [London]. Sunday school activities in UK is strengthened and led by all our vicars, district Inspectors, Sunday school head teachers, teachers, talent competition coordinator, volunteers and parents working at different capacities within limited resources and in various circumstances. I thank each and every one OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 24 of 25

25 for their commitment, dedication and efforts for making our children grow in Orthodox faith enabling them to serve God in the true Christian way. Finally, I would like to thank all Sunday school children in all units for their enthusiasm and spirit; Sunday school teachers, music teachers, and OVBS unit coordinators for their commitment; head teachers and district inspectors for their dedication; volunteers and parents for their motivation; OSSAE-UK executive committee members for their outstanding support; and Church managing committee of various units for jointly working with Sunday school teachers to make this OVBS a grand success. May God Almighty continue to shower His Blessings in all our activities in future and help us to work together for His Glory and spiritual growth of our students! Yours in Christ Simon Chacko Sunday School Director-UK Region (sundayschool.iocuk@gmail.com) OSSAE-UK: OVBS Theme Book Roots & Buds Page 25 of 25