SHATTERING NIGHT A LIFE NIGHT ON GOD S SELF-REVELATION

GOAL LIFE NIGHT OVERVIEW SHATTERING NIGHT A LIFE NIGHT ON GOD S SELF-REVELATION The goal of this Life Night is to introduce teens to God, who chooses to reveal Himself to us, and to encourage teens to get to know God better by reading His Word. KEY CONCEPTS God chooses to reveal Himself to His people. This has happened throughout salvation history to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and many others, is recorded in Sacred Scripture, and is called divine revelation. Ultimately, God reveals Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. God becomes man, takes on our sin and suffering, and redeems us. God, who dwells in unapproachable light, shatters our darkness and brings us into His light. Jesus is the Word of God, and He is alive in Scripture. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, our hearts can burn within us when we read Scripture. KEY TERMS: Divine Revelation Inerrant Sacred Scripture SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:32 1 Timothy 6:16 2 Timothy 3:16 Hebrews 4:12 1 Peter 2:9 CATECHISM: CCC 51-53 CCC 105-110 CCC 2653-2654 ABOUT THIS LIFE NIGHT In the Gather, song lyrics and Scripture verses collide in an interactive video. The Proclaim introduces the series by explaining that Scripture is a record of God s self-revelation that God continues to use to make Himself known to us today. Teens personally reflect on God s Word during the Break by praying lectio divina and make a resolution based off their lectio divina in the Send. ENVIRONMENT Create a theatre experience in your main meeting space. Set up a stage with lights, a microphone, and a podium. Put out chairs. Dim the lights over the audience. For the Gather, have no lights on the stage except for one light shining through a large sheet of shattered glass. Go to your local home improvement store to purchase the glass. Play contemporary songs that have a darker tone in the background. Use the music to transition into the interactive video found in the Gather. For the Proclaim, turn on the stage lights or house lights so the presenter can be seen. MEDIA SUGGESTIONS The Book or Kanye, Life Teen Video Support May 2017 (LifeTeen.com) Ascension Presents: Ways to Read the Bible (youtube.com) Spirit Speaks, All Sons & Daughters (Season One, 2012, Integrity Music) You Speak, Audrey Assad (Fortunate Fall, 2013, Fortunate Fall Records) Zombieblizzed2: Shattering Glass Intro (Test) (youtube.com) 10 EX TENEBRIS LUX 11

SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS: #LT_ShatteringNight #GodsTBH AS YOU GET STARTED... To integrate and introduce other Life Teen resources, use the following Sunday s Summit session and pray through the following Sunday s Ascend reflection for the Break or Send. This would also be a great time to start Summit small groups. For a more liturgical Send, create your own handout or PowerPoint with psalms, antiphon, or readings that match the current cycle or feast day. You can find the Liturgy of the Hours online at www.universalis.com or download the app, ibreviary. HISPANIC INCULTURATION By Chilo and Stephanie Salinas God revealed Himself to Moses by revealing His name. Our names are part of our identity, they reveal our history and make us proud to be a part of that history. I am a (insert last name). Our names tell us where we come from and how we do things. Hispanics often have two last names. Likely, there is a story about whose name they have and why. Challenge the teens to go home and ask their parents the story behind their last name and their parents last names. The teens will learn more about themselves and their parents, just like we all learn more about God through His name. Notes: 12 EX TENEBRIS LUX 13

GATHER LIFE NIGHT: SHATTERING NIGHT Welcome and Prayer (5 min) Gather the teens into the main meeting space, welcome them to the Life Night, and begin in prayer. Invite teens that are at the Life Night for the first time to stand and ask them a few introductory questions. Encourage the rest of the group to welcome them with snaps, claps, or some other interesting applause. The Book or Kanye? (5 min) Play The Book or Kanye found on the Life Teen May 2017 USB or online at LifeTeen.com under Life Support: May 2017. This interactive video asks teens to guess whether a certain quote is from Sacred Scripture or pop culture. PROCLAIM Shattering Night Teaching (15 min) The Proclaim Outline and Proclaim Details are found on pages 17 to 23. BREAK Lectio Divina (30 min) This prayer activity walks the teens through a lectio divina on Luke 24:13-35, The Walk to Emmaus. The Lectio Divina Handout can be found on the Life Teen May 2017 USB or online at LifeTeen.com under Life Support: May 2017. Have the Core Members pass out the handout and pens to the teens. Now, we are going to have the opportunity to reflect on God s word and allow God to reveal Himself to us. The handout you ve received walks through lectio divina. As you can see, lectio divina has four elements. The first one is lectio or reading. I will read the Scripture passage slowly one time. I encourage you to listen, close your eyes, and picture the scene. Then you will have a few minutes to read the Scripture passage on your own. Read the passage slowly. If a certain section strikes you, pause with that section. Use a pen to underline, star it, or make a note. You don t need to rush. Give God the space to speak. After the lectio portion, I ll announce each of the other sections, but you will follow the instructions on the handout on your own in silence. Then, lead an extemporaneous prayer inviting the Holy Spirit into this time of prayer. Give the teens about five minutes for each element: lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio. At each transition point, simply say, Now we ll move into, naming the next step. At the end of contemplatio, close with a brief prayer thanking God for His revelation to us through Scripture. Small Group Discussion (15 min) Instruct the teens to get into their small groups and discuss the prayer experience using the questions provided below: Which part of the Scripture passage struck you? Why? How did you reflect on it further? What do you think God was saying to you through this Scripture passage? Instruct the teens to spread out, staying in the same vicinity but having at least an arm span of space between themselves and the next person. Then use the following to introduce lectio divina: 14 EX TENEBRIS LUX 15

SEND Scripture Resolutions (10 min) During the last few minutes of the Life Night, encourage the teens to make a personal resolution based on their lectio divina. Share the following with the teens: Like the men on the road to Emmaus, encountering Jesus changes us. The men could not continue the way they were going. They turned the opposite direction and returned to Jerusalem. We, too, may be called to a new direction or deeper in our faith every time we pray. Have your music minister play an instrumental song or play one of the songs from the Media Suggestions while the teens reflect on their lectio divina and choose one specific, concrete resolution for the week. When they are ready, instruct them to come to the piece of shattered glass in the front of the main meeting space, pick up a notecard, and write down their resolution. Encourage them to take the notecard home with them and tape it to the wall beside their bed so they remember their resolution every morning and night. Notes: KEY TERMS SHATTERING NIGHT PROCLAIM OUTLINE Divine Revelation: God s communication of Himself, by which He makes known the mystery of His divine plan, a gift of self-communication, which is realized over time, and most fully by sending us His own Son, Jesus Christ. Inerrant: The absence of error in matters of truth. Commonly applied to the Bible as the revealed Word of God. Sacred Scripture: The sacred writings of the Old and New Testaments. TEACHING POINTS GOD REVEALS HIMSELF The song lyrics and the Scripture verses were more difficult to tell apart than we expected. Words can move us in many ways. When we read Scripture, we can feel understood, supported, and encouraged. We also get a glimpse into the Author s heart God s heart who He is, and what He desires. God chooses to reveal Himself to His people. This has happened throughout salvation history, is recorded in Sacred Scripture, and is called divine revelation. God creates the world and places Adam and Eve in the garden with Him. He calls Abraham to begin the family that will become a nation. He reveals His name to Moses. 16 EX TENEBRIS LUX 17

God reveals His name as YHWH (pronounced yahway) or I AM WHO AM. His name expresses His identity as being itself, God Is. Ultimately, God reveals Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. God becomes man, takes on our sin and suffering, and redeems us. God, who dwells in unapproachable light, wants to share His divine life with us. He shatters our darkness and brings us into His marvelous light. SACRED SCRIPTURE The history of God s self-revelation has been recorded so that all generations can receive the light. We call this record Sacred Scripture. When we read Scripture, we need to hold two realities in our heads. One, God is the true author of Sacred Scripture. Two, He inspired human beings to write it. Sacred Scripture is without error in teaching us what God wills us to know for our salvation. Our hearts can burn within us when we read Scripture. While the books of the Bible were written a long time ago, God makes Himself known and speaks to us through them today. TAKE AND READ Scripture is one of the best places we can get to know God. As we read the Gospels, we can reflect on Jesus life His teachings, His miracles, and His interactions with others. The Psalms make up the prayer book of the Old Testament, covering nearly every element of the human experience; joy and sorrow, desolation and victory, individual reflection and communal praise. The Liturgy of the Hours sets up Psalms, readings from the Old and New Testaments, spiritual reading, and intercessory prayer in a cycle that follows the liturgical year. Meditating on Scripture can be especially helpful. One way to meditate on Scripture is lectio divina, the divine reading. In lectio divina, we don t read Scripture to study it but to prayerfully allow Christ the Word to speak and reveal Himself to us. Like songwriters who share their hearts with us through their songs, God shares His heart with us through Scripture. Will you listen to His song to you by reading His Word? Notes: _ 18 EX TENEBRIS LUX 19

SHATTERING NIGHT PROCLAIM DETAILS Throughout the history of the Jewish people, God gradually reveals Himself. He calls Abraham to begin the family that will become a nation. He reveals His name to Moses. CCC 56-64 TEACHING GOD REVEALS HIMSELF The song lyrics and the Scripture verses were more difficult to tell apart than we expected and both have a way of deeply impacting us. When we listen to a favorite song, our hearts are moved, we feel understood and encouraged. We get a glimpse into the depths of the songwriter s heart, who that person is and what that person desires. Scripture is not all that different. When we read Scripture, our hearts can be moved and we can feel understood and encouraged. We get a glimpse into the Author s heart God s heart who He is, and what He desires. God chooses to reveal Himself to His people. This has happened throughout salvation history, is recorded in Sacred Scripture, and is called divine revelation. When we read Scripture today, we read God s self revelation to us. CCC 52 God started revealing Himself in the beginning, when He created the world and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God provides evidence of Himself in created realities and manifested Himself personally to man. Genesis 1-2, CCC 54-55 Have the teens open their bibles to Genesis 1:26-31 and give them a moment to read the passage. Even after original sin, God directly communicated His promise of redemption and revealed Himself as merciful and loving. Genesis 3 Have the teens open their bibles to Exodus 3:13-15 and give them a moment to read the passage. Names are how we become accessible and capable of being known. When God reveals His name, He is saying He is not an anonymous force but a Person to be known and to have a relationship with. CCC 203 God revealed His name as YHWH (pronounced yah-way) or I AM WHO AM which is also translated as HE WHO IS or I AM. His name expresses His identity as being itself, God Is. He is without origin and without end. Exodus 3:13-15, CCC 206, 213 Ultimately, God reveals Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. God becomes man, takes on our sin and suffering, and redeems us. God, who dwells in unapproachable light, wants to share His divine life with us. He shatters our darkness and brings us into His marvelous light. CCC 51-52, 65, 68, 1 Timothy 6:16, 1 Peter 2:9, John 1:1-5 Have the teens open their bibles to John 1:1-5 and give them a moment to read the passage. SACRED SCRIPTURE The history of God s self-revelation has been recorded so that all generations can receive the light. We call this record Sacred Scripture. 1 John 5-9 20 EX TENEBRIS LUX 21

When we read Scripture, we need to hold two realities in our heads. One, God is the true author of Sacred Scripture. Two, He inspired human beings to write it. CCC 105, 109 What is written in Sacred Scripture has been inspired by the Holy Spirit. This might raise some questions because the Bible has some confusing or seemingly contradictory passages. The human authors God used to write Scripture wrote within their own culture and literary style. We may misread a passage outside of the culture and style and because of that, misinterpret it. However, Sacred Scripture is without error in teaching us what God wills us to know for our salvation. CCC 107, 136 We also need to remember that the Bible itself isn t a dead letter. Jesus is the Word of God and He is alive in the Scriptures. After Jesus Resurrection, He appeared to two disciples on their way to the town of Emmaus. Though they didn t recognize Him, Jesus explained how He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. After Jesus left them, they exclaimed, Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us? Have the teens open their bibles to Luke 24:32 and give them a moment to read the passage. Our hearts can burn within us, too, when we read Scripture. While the books of the Bible were written a long time ago, God makes Himself known and speaks to us through them today. Hebrews 4:12, CCC 108 When God makes Himself known today, it is not new revelation. Christ was the fullness of revelation. Jesus, the Word, said everything. No new revelation is expected. Revelation is complete, though we may still be growing in our understanding of it. CCC 65,66 Share a testimony about how God has used Sacred Scripture to speak truth, comfort, or conviction into your own life. TAKE AND READ Scripture is one of the best places we can get to know God. As we read the Gospels, we can reflect on Jesus life His teachings, His miracles, and His interactions with others. CCC 2554, 2653 The Psalms make up the prayer book of the Old Testament, covering nearly every element of the human experience; joy and sorrow, desolation and victory, individual reflection and communal praise. Originally, the Psalms would have been sung... making them some of the most ancient examples of song lyrics. CCC 2586-2588, 2597 The Liturgy of the Hours sets up Psalms, readings from the Old and New Testaments, spiritual reading, and intercessory prayer in a cycle that follows the liturgical year. It s called the Liturgy of the Hours because there are different prayers and readings for different hours of the day. Priests and religious are required to pray it, and everyone is encouraged to pray it. CCC 1775-1777 Meditating on Scripture can be especially helpful as well. One way to meditate on Scripture is lectio divina, the divine reading. In lectio divina, we don t read Scripture to study it but to prayerfully allow Christ the Word to speak and reveal Himself to us. CCC 1777, 2708 God reveals Himself to us personally. This is not only a thing of the past or something that happened long ago. It is something that is still happening today, through Sacred Scripture and personal prayer. God wants us to know who He is. Like the songwriters who share their hearts with us, God shares His heart with us. Will you listen to His song to you by reading His Word? 22 EX TENEBRIS LUX 23

CORE TEAM OVERVIEW SHATTERING NIGHT: A Life Night on God s Self-Revelation GOAL: The goal of this Life Night is to introduce teens to God, who chooses to reveal Himself to us, and to encourage teens to get to know God better by reading His Word. GATHER (10 MIN): Welcome and Prayer: The Book or Kanye: PROCLAIM (15 MIN): Shattering Night Teaching: BREAK (45 MIN): Lectio Divina: Small Group Discussion: Which part of the Scripture passage struck you? Why? How did you reflect on it further? What do you think God was saying to you through this Scripture passage? SEND (10 MIN): Scripture Resolutions: Notes: 24 EX TENEBRIS LUX 25