JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING This week s goal: When we re honest about the facts, Jesus words and actions leave us with very few options. Sunday, Jan 17 th, 2016 Begin with prayer and this teaching: Jesus is unlike any other man who ever lived. He is God, in human flesh. God chose himto become one of us, a real man with a real human mother, Mary. How do we know this? Because, in the Bible, Jesus told us. And, on the cross, he showed us we could trust that what he says is true. Long live Christ the King! From a young age, Jose Sanchez del Rio had a great love for the Eucharist, and encouraged his friends to deepen their love for Jesus and Mary. Sadly, he lived in Mexico during a time of severe religious persecution; the President of Mexico had a deep hatred for the Catholic Church. In legitimate self-defense, many young men took arms to defend their faith, and 14-year old Blessed Jose was among them. In the midst of battle, Jose gave up his horse to save his General, and was captured and brutally tortured. He was given a way out: Just say, Death to Christ the King. the soldiers told him. But with every blow, Jose only shouted louder: Long live Christ the King! Blessed Jose died a martyr for Jesus. What is the truth? (Pause for answers) How do we know what s true? (Pause for answers.) Jesus was asked this question, too, and he always spoke with authority. He told Pontius Pilate, For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice (John 18:37). He always spoke the truth. And he also taught us the truth through his actions. He showed us how to love, and (amazingly!) he showed us he s God like when he healed the sick, raised Lazarus from the dead, and forgave people s sins. After shocking everyone by doing and saying all these amazing things, Jesus asked his disciples, Who do you say that I am? (Mark 8:29) He listened to their answers. Jesus always listens to us, and pays careful attention to us. He loves us. And he also wants us to know the truth. Peter answered on behalf of the disciples, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). Jesus told the disciples that Peter was speaking with the gift of faith that what he said was true. Do you remember the time when Jesus and his Apostles were in the boat and there was a terrible storm? What happens? (Pause for answers.) The boat was going to sink! The Apostles were afraid really, really scared they were going to drown. And, oddly enough, Jesus was asleep. So they woke him up and begged him to do something. Jesus looked at them with love and asked them, why don t you trust me? Then he calmed the storm. HE SAVED THEM! (see Matthew 8:23-27). He did all of this, and gives us the Bible, so that we can trust him, too. End with a prayer asking Jesus to help us remember, if we are ever in a hard situation and we re scared, that he always there for us and will take care of us.
Activities to Enrich Your Faith: (Choose at least one or two to use directly following your Sunday teaching, but try to complete all the activities sometime throughout this week.) 1. What Shocks? First ask: What shocks? Can you tell me a few things that shock? (Lightning, static electricity, a loud noise, a surprise ) Then, ask your child some things that Jesus said and did that shocked people. (Healed people, controlled nature, forgave sins, rose from the dead ) 2. A Boy and His Lunch Open your Bible to the Gospel of John. Read the following passage aloud to your child, John 6:3-14, but before you do have your child imagine he/she was really there, witnessing what Jesus did. After reading the passage, ask your child what he/she thinks that boy told his mom when he got home? Ask, what he/she would have felt like? What would he/she have done of he/she witnessed this? What would it make him/her think about Jesus? 3. Jesus Transforms the Ordinary (God Journal) Begin by reading one more Scripture passage and having your child imagine he/she was there to witness what Jesus did, Luke 5:1-11.After reading this passage, talk about how Jesus uses ordinary things (like bread and fish), and ordinary people (like simple fisherman) to do extraordinary things, and to reveal amazing truths about God. Ultimately, say, Jesus does all of this to show us how much God loves us. *Finally, have your child write in their God Journal a list of all the ordinary (but wonderful) things God has given us the simple things we usually take for granted but would have a hard time living without (food, shelter, clothing, family, friends, education, church buildings, toys, etc.). 4. Sing a Prayer St. Augustine said, Whoever sings, prays twice. Listen to a praise and worship song together to end your teaching lesson. (Recommended: Youtube Lord I Need You by Matt Maher, or Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin.) Questions for Discussion: (Ask these questions at the end of your Sunday teaching session, then again sometime later in the middle of the week to reinforce the lesson.) 1. How do you think Jesus was able to make the wind stop blowing and the waves stop crashing? 2. What would Jesus say to someone who was crying? WWJD if he was told to clean his room? 3. Would Jesus love someone who did something really horrible? 4. What if they didn t love him back, would he still love them? 5. Will you love Jesus? What are some things you can do to show Jesus you love him? (prayer and action) 6. Read the short bio of Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio on the front of this sheet. Do you think he could have been so strong when the soldiers were hurting him if he didn t love Jesus so much? Why, or why not? Church Teaching: YOUCAT: CCC: 74-77, 90-91, 163 102, 443-445, 464-469, 547-550, 1039-1041 2
JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING This week s goal: Everyone is faced with a personal decision to believe and to follow Christ; that choice determines everything. Sunday, Jan 24 th, 2016 Begin with prayer and this teaching: Before we begin, let s pretend I ve never heard of Jesus. What can you tell me about him? (Pause for answers.) There is so much we could say about Jesus, isn t there? Jesus is God. Jesus is my friend. Jesus is Mary s baby. Jesus died on the cross and saved us from our sins. Jesus opened the gates of heaven. Jesus is the beloved Son of the heavenly Father. Jesus is always with us. We could probably even say a lot more, couldn t we? Long live Christ the King! From a young age, Jose Sanchez del Rio had a great love for the Eucharist, and encouraged his friends to deepen their love for Jesus and Mary. Sadly, he lived in Mexico during a time of severe religious persecution; the President of Mexico had a deep hatred for the Catholic Church. In legitimate self-defense, many young men took arms to defend their faith, and 14-year old Blessed Jose was among them. In the midst of battle, Jose gave up his horse to save his General, and was captured and brutally tortured. He was given a way out: Just say, Death to Christ the King. the soldiers told him. But with every blow, Jose only shouted louder: Long live Christ the King! Blessed Jose died a martyr for Jesus. JESUS INVITES Here s something. Jesus invites us to make a choice. Tell me in your own words, what does it mean to invite someone? (Pause for answers.) Yes, an invitation allows us to accept or refuse something. We say that Jesus invites us to love him because he doesn t ever force us to do anything. He wants us to make the decision to follow him for ourselves. He wants us to be free when we give our love to him. JESUS CHALLENGES And there is one last thing we should know about Jesus. He challenges us to believe in him. What does it mean to challenge someone? (Pause for answers.) A challenge is an invitation to do something difficult, something that requires a lot of effort. Jesus challenges us to believe in him, and to love him. He also challenges us to practice our faith. Isn t it hard to be faithful sometimes? Do you ever not feel like praying, or going to Mass? (Pause for answers.) It can be hard to love Jesus sometimes. But that s why it s a challenge and an invitation. He doesn t force us, and it can be hard sometimes. But it s always worth it he promises us that! And he gives us one last challenge: Love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34). It s a challenge to love people sometimes, isn t it? It s easy to love people when they re nice to us, but what about when they re not nice to us, or we don t really get along with them? Jesus challenges us to love those people, too. But he also promises to help us. He s always with us, and he invites us to choose him, and to believe in his love. (End with a prayer, asking Jesus to be the Lord of your lives.) 3
Activities to Enrich Your Faith: (Choose at least one or two to use directly following your Sunday teaching, but try to complete all the activities sometime throughout this week.) 1. I Choose Poster Make a poster that says (in big bubble letters) I CHOOSE. Underneath, leave room for the following: to say my prayers to obey to do my best to tell the truth to believe Jesus Decorate it and have your child sign it, then hang it up somewhere for the week. At the end of each day this week, have your child draw a cross next to each of the choices he/she made that day. 2. Family Challenge Play a game together as a family. Make it mildly competitive and remind your child: Challenges (like sports and games) are hard sometimes; but, no matter what win or lose Jesus just wants us to do our best. We can always be happy in whatever we do, as long as we ve given our all. 3. Listen to Him There are two Gospel stories that we don t always think about as being connected: Jesus first Miracle, the Wedding at Cana, and his Transfiguration. Read aloud the Wedding at Cana in John 2:1-11. Then, read the story of his Transfiguration in Luke 9:28-36. Ask: What could these two stories have in common? Pry a little: What does Mary say to the servants, and what does the heavenly Father say to the Apostles? After the connection is made: What is God telling us when we read these stories? 4. Let s Choose to Pray! Say: Jesus doesn t force us to pray. Let s make a choice to pray right now, just to say we love him! Pray the Divine Mercy Chaple together as a family, or another prayer if you wish (either spontaneous or memorized). *You could also choose to visit the church and to pray this prayer before him in the tabernacle sometime this week. Questions for Discussion: (Ask these questions at the end of your Sunday teaching session, then again sometime later in the middle of the week to reinforce the lesson.) 1. What does Jesus ask us to do? Why? 2. Can we do it? Do you know anyone who does? 3. How does Jesus help us to do what he asks? (grace, sacraments, his example, example of saints ) 4. Reread the short bio of Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio on the front of this sheet. What was the choice the soldiers gave Blessed Jose? What s the hardest choice you ve ever had to make? Church Teaching: YOUCAT: CCC: 117, 229, 337 721-726, 967, 1427-1439, 1989-1995, 2786 4
JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING This week s goal: With so much confusion spread about Jesus, we re called to have courage and witness to the truth. Sunday, Jan 31 st, 2016 Begin with prayer and this teaching: Long live Christ the King! From a young age, Jose Sanchez del Rio had a great love for the Eucharist, and encouraged his friends to deepen their love for Jesus and Mary. Sadly, he lived in Mexico during a time of severe religious persecution; the President of Mexico had a deep hatred for the Catholic Church. In legitimate self-defense, many young men took arms to defend their faith, and 14-year old Blessed Jose was among them. In the midst of battle, Jose gave up his horse to save his General, and was captured and brutally tortured. He was given a way out: Just say, Death to Christ the King. the soldiers told him. But with every blow, Jose only shouted louder: Long live Christ the King! Blessed Jose died a martyr for Jesus. In the Bible we learn that God sent his beloved Son to save the world, and to set us free to live in the truth. Jesus says, I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life (John 14:6). When Jesus walked the earth, he constantly talked about the truth. He talked to the Apostles and to his followers, and to anyone who would listen. He told them stories (lots of stories!); he listened to them, and he laughed with them. He lived with them and played with their children. Everything Jesus did showed people the truth. He loved his Mother, and gave her to us. He prayed to God as his heavenly Father, calling him Abba, and told us that God is our Father, too. He amazed everyone. Crowds of people wanted to hear him speak. The people had been waiting a long, long time for the Messiah, the one who would save them from their sins and lead them to heaven. Some people pretended to be the Messiah, but they were lying. Jesus is the truth. Jesus calls us to share the truth the Gospel. He calls us to tell the truth always, and to live our lives based on what is true. What s the difference between the truth and a lie? (Pause for answers.) Jesus IS the Truth. The devil is the master liar and doesn t want us to believe Jesus. But Jesus destroyed the devil s power on the cross, so now we are free to listen to Jesus and to ignore the devil. So, we love Jesus. We follow him. Every day, we begin with prayer, and we ask God to be with us, to give us courage and to help us with everything we need. We ask him to help us to be brave and to always do what is right, to tell the truth, and to help others know the truth. It s hard to do sometimes, but that s why we pray. We let God help us because we believe Jesus we know he wants to help us. With God s help we will be the very best we can be. If we become the person God created us to be (and we really can, with his help!) kind, generous, and respectful to ALL of God s children, we will help other people trust Jesus. When they see us, they will see Jesus, too. 5
Activities to Enrich Your Faith: (Choose at least one or two to use directly following your Sunday teaching, but try to complete all the activities sometime throughout this week.) 1. Surprise a Neighbor Hey, let s do something really nice! Let s do something nice for one of our neighbors! This could be anything: shovel a driveway, make them cookies, build them a snowman, bring flowers, etc. 2. Paper Bag Puppets Get out some brown paper lunch bags, colored construction paper, scissors, glue, and markers. Together with your child, think of some different stories in the Bible. Choose one to recreate using paper bag puppets. Read the story in the Bible first, and then make the different characters. Perform it for Grandma or someone special. (Before acting it out, reread the story in the Bible one more time and look for templates online for ideas on how to make fun puppets.) 3. Kindness Call Have your child think of someone to call someone special like a grandparent. Have your child call that person on the phone and tell them how much your child loves him/her and also how much God loves him/her. Have them say at the end, In fact, God is crazy about us! 4. Holy Cleaning Day! Take a couple of hours this week to clean the house as a family. As you clean, have Christian music playing in the background. And turn it up! (Suggestion: If you have Internet access, use Pandora and set it to Matt Maher Radio. ) Questions for Discussion: (Ask these questions at the end of your Sunday teaching session, then again sometime later in the middle of the week to reinforce the lesson.) 1. What is truth? What is a lie? 2. Who wants us to be honest and truthful? Who doesn t want us to be? 3. How did Jesus destroy the power of the devil? 4. Why should we listen to Jesus and share the Good News? (He is with us; He opened the gates of heaven; the evil one does NOT want anyone to go to heaven, etc.) 5. Because Blessed Jose is a saint, he is alive with Jesus in heaven, and he prays for you. (Take a moment now to say a prayer to Blessed Jose and ask for his intercession in your life ) Church Teaching: YOUCAT: CCC: 22, 138, 492-493 158, 849-859, 2518, 2658 6