WELCOME TO THE FAMILY A LIFE NIGHT ON CHILDLIKE FAITH AND GOD AS FATHER

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2 GOAL LIFE NIGHT OVERVIEW WELCOME TO THE FAMILY A LIFE NIGHT ON CHILDLIKE FAITH AND GOD AS FATHER The goal of this Life Night is to introduce teens to the relentless Father who makes us His adoptive children through the Sacrament of Baptism. Teens will also be challenged to actively seek out a childlike relationship with the relentless Father. KEY CONCEPTS We are called to have a childlike faith as adopted children of God. We become God s children through the Sacrament of Baptism, which gives us the grace needed to live out the Christian life. God is our relentless Father who will provide us with everything we need when we foster a relationship with Him built on childlike trust and faith. ABOUT THIS LIFE NIGHT The Gather is a small group competition to create a unique city using children s toys. The Proclaim explores the ideals of childhood and the gift of adoption by God the Father through the Sacrament of Baptism. The Break allows teens to reflect on their trust in our relentless Father. The Send is a prayer of abandonment, which the teens are encouraged to pray daily throughout the series. ENVIRONMENT Create an idyllic childhood setting in your main meeting space by adding bold and cheerful colors to the room. Consider creating a tree mural with animals and taping big, colorful polka dots on the walls. Also consider placing posters of the most popular TV shows and cartoons from when the teens were children on the walls. Place a shelf in one corner with toys, games, and books from their childhood. In a different corner, place childhood snacks such as goldfish, pretzels, cheerios, etc. In the center of the room, have a huge magnet board with magnet letters and a big ball pit using a kiddie pool and plastic balls. Project the Relentless Father series environment image found online at lifeteen.com under the Relentless Father theme tab. AS YOU GET STARTED... KEY TERMS: Baptism Childlike Faith Trust SCRIPTURE: Matthew 18:3-3 Matthew 19:14 1 John 3:1 CATECHISM: For an alternate environment, consider beginning the Life Night on a playground at your church facility or a local park. For a budget friendly Gather, consider having a chalk drawing competition. In the parking lot or on a sidewalk, create one-foot by one-foot squares using painter s tape. Give each teen a square and chalk and allow them five to ten minutes to draw. Have Core Members judge and give prizes to the three best drawings. 2 LIFE NIGHT SERIES: RELENTLESS FATHER 3

3 For a more mature youth group with teens in leadership, consider asking a teen to give the Proclaim and working with them to prepare it. For a deeper Break and Send, consider combining the two for Eucharistic Adoration. Pass out the Trust Examination and Prayer for Abandonment handouts found online at lifeteen.com under the Relentless Father theme tab. Notes: LIFE NIGHT: WELCOME TO THE FAMILY GATHER Welcome and Opening Prayer (5 min) Gather the teens in the main meeting space. Welcome them to the Life Night, introduce any teens or Core Members attending for the first time, and begin in prayer. Welcome to Childhood (15 min) Break the teens into small groups of six to eight. Give each small group a bin of big plastic blocks, train tracks, and trains (or things to build roads with cars). Using all of the materials they are given, challenge each team to create a small city for their small group. Have them name their city, as well. Give prizes for best structure, most creative, best city name, etc. PROCLAIM Welcome to the Family Teaching (15 min) The Proclaim Details can be found on pages 8 to 12. BREAK Trust Examination (15 min) Ask the teens to break off for individual reflection. Pass out the Trust Examination handout found online at lifeteen.com under the Relentless Father theme tab. Play reflective music in the background using the Media Suggestions found in the Relentless Father series. 4 LIFE NIGHT SERIES: RELENTLESS FATHER 5

4 SEND Blessing with Holy Water (10 min) Gather the teens in the main meeting space or chapel. Have a few Core Members at the front of the room with bowls of holy water and the Prayer for Abandonment handout, found online at lifeteen.com under the Relentless Father theme tab. Create an environment of prayer by dimming the lights and continuing to play reflective music. Invite the teens to come forward and bless themselves with the holy water. Once a teen has blessed himself or herself, hand him or her a copy of the Prayer for Abandonment handout. Use the following to transition into prayer: In our baptism, we become sons and daughters of the relentless Father. Each time we enter or exit the church, we have an opportunity to remind ourselves of this identity by blessing ourselves with holy water. It is easy to lose sight of who we are. It is easy to lose sight of who we belong to, but God the Father wants to remind us. He invites us into a deeper relationship with Him daily. He wants us to know Him so we can know who we are. At this time, we invite you to come forward to bless yourself with holy water and reflect on the gift of being a child of God. As you make the Sign of the Cross, ask God to strengthen your trust in Him, and ask for the grace to live that out in a new way, even if it is a small step. Prayer of Abandonment (10 min) Conclude the Life Night by praying the prayer together. Challenge the teens to keep this prayer with them and pray it everyday throughout this series (especially if they feel like they cannot say this prayer in full truthfulness because they still struggle to trust in God). Notes: 6 LIFE NIGHT SERIES: RELENTLESS FATHER 7

5 KEY TERMS WELCOME TO THE FAMILY PROCLAIM DETAILS Baptism: The sacrament in which the one baptized is cleansed of original sin and (in the case of one who has reached the age of reason) of actual sins and is incorporated into Christ and made a member of His Body, the Church; he or she is infused with sanctifying grace and receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Childlike Faith: The quality of guileless openness that Christ declared is one of the conditions for attaining salvation (Matthew 18:3). It is the virtue of humility, at once ready to do God s will and having no selfish interests of one s own. Trust: Reliance on someone; applied to God, it is a form of hope but with the special nuance that God will not deny His grace to one who co-operates with divine grace according to his or her ability. TEACHING CHILDLIKE FAITH Share a positive story about your childhood or your children that highlights the good qualities of being a child. Aside from the occasional meltdowns and temper tantrums, children naturally have some of the best qualities found in the human race. Consider children who have a great sense of security in their life and who have not been wounded by the world. They are trusting. Generally, they don t worry about food, clothes, money, or shelter because they trust that all these things will be provided by the adults in their lives. They are loving and easily accepting of others because they are unassuming. They are carefree and easily make friends on the playground. They have no inhibitions or worries about what other people think. Ask the teens to think about a moment when they were carefree and had no inhibitions or worries. Have a couple of volunteers briefly share their memory. Children believe in things that are not always tangible. Life is magical and wondrous, full of imaginary friends and incredible adventures that don t have to go beyond the backyard. Faith is easily accepted and questions are entertained without hesitation. Most of the time, children are honest, humble, and accepting. They are happy with what is around them, play easily, and are present in their current circumstances. THE KINGDOM S GREATEST Jesus speaks of children and says, Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3-4 Why would Jesus want us to be like children? What is it about children that make them the greatest in heaven? Simply, it s their disposition. Children are not as concerned with the world and there are not as many hurdles in their relationship with God. We are called to have a childlike faith because God wants us to trust Him with everything in our lives. He is our Father and will provide everything for us, and He wants us to trust in His providence (or His protective care). He wants us to be ourselves, to be free enough to be who He created us to be, to not worry what others think of us. He wants us to be honest, loving, and accepting of others. He wants us to be humble and 8 LIFE NIGHT SERIES: RELENTLESS FATHER 9

6 recognize that He is our Father and we are His children and that we need Him we are not greater than Him. Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 19:14 God is our Father, a relentless Father who will never let us down. We are called to be His children and to come before Him with open hearts hearts that trust in His goodness and are filled with awe at His greatness as a Father who never stops seeking us and giving good things to us. ADOPTIVE CHILDREN God does not only want us to be childlike in our faith He actually wants us to be His children. God desires this so much that He pursues us, fights for us, and strives to help us know we are loved and we are His. Project and read 1 John 3:1. Being a child of God is not just a nice idea but a tangible reality of our faith. How do we become His child? We become children of God through the Sacrament of Baptism. When we are baptized, we are not only brought into the family of God as His adoptive children, but we are also given a newness of life. By Baptism, we are freed from our sins, given new life in Christ, and receive the Holy Spirit. CCC 1243, 1265, 1279, 2 Corinthians 6:18 The Sacrament of Baptism makes us children of God, but it also helps us to live as children of God. We not only receive sanctifying grace, which gives us supernatural life in God, we receive so much aid to live a life with God because it is not always easy to have faith, especially childlike faith. In Baptism, we are equipped with the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love which allow us to hear the voice of God, follow His promptings, and grow in virtue. CCC 1266 We were created by God and for God. No matter where we begin in life or how many times we stray, our relentless Father never stops searching for and reaching out to us. He wants us to live blessed and happy lives of hope, faith, and joy. He wants us to have the freedom and abandon of children to trust in Him fully and not worry. CCC 27, 1 Peter 5:7 Project and read Romans 8:15. He gives us everything we need to belong to Him through the Sacrament of Baptism and all of the other sacraments and gifts and graces of the Church. He wants us to be His children. He wants us to belong to Him so that He can give us the fullness of His grace and assistance in this life. In the relentless Father, we have an identity. As His adopted children, we are given the promise of eternal life. Project and read Matthew 7:7-12. But the question remains what will you do with all that has been given to you? Will you accept these gifts of the relentless Father? RESPONDING TO THE RELENTLESS FATHER All of these good things are available to you. God wants you to live your life as a child of faith, following Him and trusting in Him but the decision is yours. You may have already been baptized, or maybe you have not. Either way, the truth remains that you have also been given free will and you have to freely choose God. He is there as your loving Father who will always take care of you, but will you allow Him to? Will you trust in Him? Will you find your identity in Him? Will you let Him set you free from sin? Will you let Him lead you to truth and happiness? Will you accept His love, 10 LIFE NIGHT SERIES: RELENTLESS FATHER 11

7 mercy, and grace? God loves you and wants to be a part of your life, but will you let Him? Share a story about a time when you finally let God into your life and how this radically changed your life for the better. Maybe you are afraid because you don t really know where to start or how to even have a relationship with God. It will take work, just like every other relationship in your life. You can t be apathetic. You can t be distant. You can t ignore God. You actually have to foster a relationship with Him. You can foster your relationship with God in many ways. You can read the Bible (just a few verses every day). You can pray, even if it starts at five minutes a day. You can go to Mass every Sunday and even during the week. Make regular visits to a local adoration chapel. Celebrate the sacraments regularly. Read about the lives of the saints to see how they did it. Serve the poor and needy at local shelters or spend time with the elderly at your parish or a nursing home. The possibilities are endless and only grow as we spend more time with our heavenly Father. The relentless Father is a good Father. He is trustworthy. He is loving. He will never let you down or disappoint you. Don t be afraid to let Him into your life and rely on Him with childlike faith. Notes: 12 LIFE NIGHT SERIES: RELENTLESS FATHER 13

8 TRUST EXAMINATION When was the last time you felt childlike freedom? What situation were you in? Why was it a positive experience? Do you truly believe God will take care of you? Why or why not? What things in your life have led you to believe, or not believe, that God is a good Father? What would your life look like if you truly had a childlike trust in God? Relentless Father 14 LIFE NIGHT SERIES: RELENTLESS FATHER 15

9 PRAYER FOR ABANDONMENT Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands I commend my soul: I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father. Charles de Foucauld Relentless Father 16 LIFE NIGHT SERIES: RELENTLESS FATHER 17

10 CORE TEAM OVERVIEW WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: A Life Night on Childlike Faith and God as Father GOAL: The goal of this Life Night is to introduce teens to the relentless Father who makes us His adoptive children through the Sacrament of Baptism. Teens will also be challenged to actively seek out a childlike relationship with the relentless Father. GATHER (20 MIN): Welcome and Opening Prayer: Welcome to Childhood: PROCLAIM (15 MIN): Welcome to the Family Teaching: BREAK (15 MIN): Trust Examination: SEND (20 MIN): Blessing with Holy Water: Prayer of Abandonent: Notes: 18 LIFE NIGHT SERIES: RELENTLESS FATHER 19