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The Jesus Challenge The Gospels

Catechist Lesson Plan Ignite Lesson Week 14

February 28, 2016

OBJECTIVES For teens to gain a fuller understanding of what a gospel is and how they form the foundation of

Christian faith

For teens to look at each gospel as a “portrait of Jesus”

For our teens to reflect on their own understanding of who Jesus is in light of the gospels

OVERVIEW

I. 4:00-5:10pm - Teen Mass

II. 5:10-5:20pm – NO Hospitality in the Narthex during Lent

III. 5:20-5:30 - Large Group/Attendance in Church (please drop attendance in bin before going to class)

IV. 5:30- 7:00pm - Small Group Lesson Plan o The lesson’s activities include the 6 components that should be in every faith lesson:

o Community Building

o Scripture

o Shared experiences by adults and teens

o Catholic Theology and learning

o I learned statements

o Putting our faith in action or lived experience.

o Read through the Background for Catechist/Reflection Section. There are discussion questions

listed throughout this section for your class.

o Please complete the Examination of Conscience as well as the letter writing activity. Reference the

Teen Handout for some additional activities and lists useful to the teens.

o Stop by 6:45 to cover the remaining items:

o I Learned Allow time to share what the teens have learned. There is always a spot on the handout for the teens to write this portion of the lesson. This can be done verbally as well. It is important for you to be able to assess if the teens in your group are meeting the objectives of the lessons. Peer Ministers can be utilized here to help you make sure teens are engaged and learning. Encourage students to take packets home and share with their parents or families

o Social Action and Challenges for the week (Lived Experience) Discuss ways to put the ideas from tonight into action

o Closing Prayer & Dismissal: Ask group members to share personal intentions. End with your covenant prayer if you didn’t start with it.

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BACKGROUND FOR CATECHIST / REFLECTION (Please use this background information to further your own knowledge, as well as using it to teach the teens in a way you see fit.) Resources to consult Short articles

Four Faces of Jesus – this is a great 4 page handout on the gospels published by Catholic Update

The Story Of The Storytellers - What Are The Gospels ... - PBS – good information for catechists, easy to read

The Gospels - http://www.usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?src=_intros/gospels-intro.htm - One page overview of all four gospels good information for catechists, a bit stiff for teens.

Introduction to the Gospel of Mark - http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/0 (one page) Introduction to the Gospel of Matthew - http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/0 (1 ½ pages)

Introduction to the Gospel of Luke - http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/0 (1 page) Introduction to the Gospel of John http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/0 (1 page)

Short Videos

MATT CHANDLER'S GOSPEL PRESENTATION - LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT! – VERY PROVOCATIVE

What Is the Gospel? www.youtube.com/watch?v=0maL4cQ8zuU Sharing the Gospel video by outside da box www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fEVjGEqxbw The Gospel of The Kingdom – @JoinBibleProj Overview of the central Gospel message

KEY POINTS TO COVER

1. The gospels are not biographies in the modern sense of the word. Rather, they are stories told in such a way as to evoke a certain image of Jesus for a particular audience. They're trying to convey a message about Jesus, about his significance to the audience and thus we have to think of them as a kind of preaching, as well as story telling. That's what the gospel, The Good News, is really all about.

2. Our most significant source of information about Jesus Christ comes from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament. Yet the four gospel accounts should not be taken as an exhaustive narrative of the life and work of Jesus. John, for example, explicitly states that his account does not contain everything Jesus did (John 21:25).

3. Why do we have four gospels? One account could never capture the complete picture.

All scripture, including the gospels are inspired by God. God used human authors with different backgrounds and personalities to accomplish His purposes through their writing. Each of the gospel each emphasized different aspects of the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.

To enable us to verify the truthfulness of their accounts In Biblical times judgment in a court of law was not to be made against a person based on the

testimony of a single eyewitness but that two or three as a minimum number were required. This standard for truth was well-known and acceptable throughout the ancient world. Providing different accounts of the person and ministry of Jesus Christ gave authority to the Christian Church about what they said about Jesus.

For us today, hearing stories about Jesus, having Jesus teaching and doing the same things in more than one gospel helps us to know that what we say about Jesus is based in truth.

To expand (deepen, develop, increase) our understanding of Jesus Much can be learned about Jesus by reading and studying a particular gospel. But still more

can be gained by comparing and contrasting the different accounts of specific events of Jesus' ministry.

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4. There were many gospels written – (see Luke 1:1-4) - Some teens may have heard that there are other gospels than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and wonder about them.

“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

Canonical gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (the canonical gospels are the ones which the Church has recognized as divinely inspired and which faithfully hand on the apostolic tradition).

Non-canonical gospels – these are gospels that the Church chose not to put into the New Testament for various reasons. Many of these texts of these are all available to us.

There are 11 Gnostic gospels the most famous of which is the Gospel of Thomas. Gnosticism was a school of thought that taught that divine truth was communicated through

gnosis or “special wisdom” given to only a few. Gnostic Christians held a distinctly different view of the Bible, of Jesus Christ, of salvation, and of virtually every other major Christian doctrine. However, they did not have any writings by the Apostles to give legitimacy to their beliefs. After much debate the early Church rejected Gnosticism in part because Christianity did not believe that God gives ‘special wisdom to some and not to others.

The Jewish-Christian gospels - gospels of a Jewish Christian character quoted by early Church teachers.

Most scholars agree there was one gospel in Aramaic/Hebrew and at least two in Greek. None of these gospels survived, but attempts have been made to reconstruct them from references in the Church Fathers.

Fragmentary or partially persevered gospels There are five gospels and eight infancy narratives (stories about the birth of Jesus, the most

famous of which is the Gospel of Peter and the Protoevangelium of James

Lost Gospels These gospels no longer survive, they were lost over time. We know about them because they

are mentioned or quoted in other early Christian writings Medieval Gospels

3 gospel written in medieval times, the most famous of which is the Gospel of Barnabas.

Modern Gospels 14 we know about the most famous of which is the Book of Mornon

What reasons did the Church give for not including gospels other than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

They were believed to be forgeries They were incomplete They were repetitive – they contained the same or similar material that is in Matthew, Mark,

Luke and John They were too esoteric (obscure, confusing, hard to understand) for most Christians They contradicted what the Christian community agreed was the truth about Jesus and his

ministry

5. The Christian Church decided the list of books that would be part of the Bible in 397 A.D. No books have been added to Bible since then The Church teaches that the “canon of sacred scripture” is closed, meaning no new books can be

added to the Bible All Christians agree on the list of books currently in the New Testament accept the New Testament is

complete

I provide more detailed info about gospels below. The main point to make is that many gospels were

written and the Church decided in 397 A. D. , after much debate to recognize the 4 we have.

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I. COMMUNITY BUILDING ACTIVITY: Option 1: Names for Jesus Instructions

1. Write the word Jesus on the board 2. Ask each individual or divide the larger group into smaller groups (dyads, tryads or groups of 5-6) and

ask them to create a list of titles or names they have heard used or use themselves to identify Jesus (i.e., Son of God, Son of Man, Christ, Lord, Lamb of God, Savior, Redeemer, Good Shepherd) – have them write them down in their Teen Handout pg. 1).

3. Review and debrief – have each group share their list of words a. Create one master list for the group on a flip-chart or whiteboard b. Different questions can then be asked about the exercise.

Where did you hear these names for Jesus? Are there any other names for Jesus they would like to add (push them a bit – did they

list Rabbi? Healer? Teacher? Herald of the Kingdom of God? Servant leader/servant God, lover of souls/lover of people, host (not the communion wafer but host of dinner and parties), miracle worker/wonder worker, friend of the poor…)

Ask what, if anything, they learned from doing it.

Option 2: Image Comparison Instructions

1. Ask the teens to look at the first two images that appear on their TH (page 1) 2. After giving them a few moments to study the images move on to the discussion questions provided on

the TH II. CHURCH TEACHING – refer to the key points outlined in the Catechist Background material above

1. What is a gospel – what is the purpose of having gospels (#’s 1 & 2 under key points) 2. Why do we need more than one gospel? (# 3 under key points) 3. There were many gospels written (# 4 under key points)

Ask one of the teens in the group to read Luke 1:1-4 Question – what is Luke telling us?

4. The Christian Church decided the list of books that would be part of the Bible in 397 A.D. 5. The Church tells us that reading, listening to and studying the gospels is

Worth doing (can refer to Mahaney quote on page 1 of the TH Will deepen our relationship with Jesus (can refer to the Pope Francis quote on p. 1 of TH) Will change the way we look at God, others and ourselves Will provide us with a blueprint of what is required of a Christian

III. SHARED EXPERIENCE

Model the kind of sharing you want your teens to do in the Scripture Activities Share with your teens 2-3 or your favorite Gospels stories about Jesus. Tell your teens why

these stories are important to you or how they have shaped your understanding of Jesus.

IV. SCRIPTURE ACTIVITY Creating a scriptural portrait of Jesus – make sure each group has a Bible (I will have a cart of

Bibles in the Narthex make sure you or your peers pick up 3-4 for your group) Ask each teen to go to their TH and list their favorite stories about Jesus (pg. ) This is a time for

personal individual reflection. Ask them to divide into two small groups and have your peer ministers facilitate the small group

process Each group should create a common list of stories they like about Jesus (they can begin

with their own lists and then look at the Bible to see if they forgot some)

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Ask each teen to share why their liked that story or what it taught them about Jesus as they add it to the group list

Based on the stories they list have each group come up with a list of qualities that describe Jesus and identify what story or stories on their list reflects that quality (kind, understanding, powerful, accepting, forgiving, wise…)

Gospel Portraits Option 1 – share the St. Mary’s Press powerpoint presentation called Introduction to the

Gospels – access on line at Introduction to the Gospels (13 slides in total) Option 2 – have teens in your group read aloud excerpt of the short article, An Introduction to

the Gospels by Marilyn Mellowes on page 3 of the TH or

Reflection questions for both Option 1 and 2 1. What do all four of the gospels contain? 2. Which is the oldest gospel? (Mark) youngest (John) 3. Who was Mark writing to and why? Given this what stories would you expect to find in this

gospel? (see page 4 of TH) 4. Who was Matthew writing to and why? Given this what stories would you expect to find in

this gospel? (see pp 4-5 of TH) 5. Who was Luke writing to and why? Given this what stories would you expect to find in this

gospel? (see p. 5 of TH) 6. Who was John writing to and why? Given this what stories would you expect to find in this

gospel? (see pp. 5-6 of TH) 7. How is John’s gospel different from the other three gospels

Option 3 – show a short video

MATT CHANDLER'S GOSPEL PRESENTATION - LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT! – VERY PROVOCATIVE

What Is the Gospel? www.youtube.com/watch?v=0maL4cQ8zuU Sharing the Gospel video by outside da box www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fEVjGEqxbw The Gospel of The Kingdom – @JoinBibleProj Overview of the central Gospel message

Discussion Questions 1. Why is it important for Christians to know the gospels? 2. What are the overall themes in all four gospels? 3. How can we share what we have learned in the gospels with others? Why is important to

do so? 4. What do you find most challenging about the gospel message?

V. PRAYER OPTIONS

OPTION 1: LITANY OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS (THE VERSION GIVEN BELOW HAS BEEN AMMENDED)

What is a litany? Do not assume your teens know what a litany is. A form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations/petitions read or sung by a by the leader with alternate responses by the congregation.

Feel free to divide up the litany among you and your peer ministers. Before you begin ask your teens to listen carefully to the names given to Jesus in this litany. At the end of the litany ask your teens if there were any names for Jesus they heard in the litany that they would like to include in their list on page 1 of the TH and if so to do it now.

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Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy

God our Father in heaven have mercy on us God the Son, have mercy on us Redeemer of the world have mercy on us God the Holy Spirit have mercy on us Holy Trinity, one God have mercy on us Jesus, Son of the living God have mercy on us Jesus, king of glory have mercy on us Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary have mercy on us Jesus, worthy of our love have mercy on us Jesus, mighty God have mercy on us

Jesus, prince of peace have mercy on us Jesus, all-powerful have mercy on us Jesus, gentle and humble of heart have mercy on us Jesus, lover of us all have mercy on us Jesus, author of life have mercy on us

Jesus, model of goodness have mercy on us Jesus, seeker of souls have mercy on us Jesus, our refuge`` have mercy on us Jesus, Good Shepherd have mercy on us

Jesus, the true light have mercy on us Jesus, eternal wisdom have mercy on us Jesus, our way and our life have mercy on us Jesus, teacher of apostles have mercy on us Jesus, master of evangelists have mercy on us Jesus, courage of martyrs have mercy on us

Lord, be merciful Jesus, save your people From all evil Jesus, save your people From every sin Jesus, save your people

From the spirit of infidelity Jesus, save your people From everlasting death Jesus, save your people From neglect of your Holy Spirit Jesus, save your people

By the mystery of your incarnation Jesus, save your people By your birth Jesus, save your people By your public ministry Jesus, save your people By your suffering and crucifixion Jesus, save your people By your grief and sorrow Jesus, save your people By your death and burial Jesus, save your people By your rising to new life Jesus, save your people By your return in glory to the Father Jesus, save your people By your gift of the holy Eucharist Jesus, save your people By your joy and glory Jesus, save your-people

Christ, hear us Christ, hear us Lord Jesus, hear our prayer Lord Jesus, hear our prayer

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Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, you are for me medicine when I am sick; you are my strength when I need help; you are life itself when I fear death; you are the way when I long for heaven; you are light when all is dark; you are my food when I need nourishment.

R. Amen Ambrose of Milan (340–397) A prayer attributed to Saint Ambrose

Amen. Option 2: Class portrait of Jesus In your hanging folder you will have a manila envelope containing an image of Christ which has been cut into pieces to create a puzzle which when completed will form an image of Jesus, along with a piece of colored cardstock. Distribute a piece of the image to each of your teens and ask them to write on it a name they identified for Jesus or a quality they identified with Jesus (refer them back to page 1 and 2 of the TH). Then reconstruct the image by gluing the puzzle pieces on to the cardstock to create a class portrait of Jesus. The words your students wrote should be visible on the completed puzzle.

Close with this prayer (in the TH p. 6) Lord Jesus Christ, you are for me medicine when I am sick; you are my strength when I need help; you are life itself when I fear death; you are the way when I long for heaven; you are light when all is dark; you are my food when I need nourishment.

This is what the completed

image will look like.

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Amen Ambrose of Milan (340–397) A prayer attributed to Saint Ambrose

----- Please remember to dismiss class at 7:00PM only ----- Do not dismiss students earlier.

*Please make sure students place their chairs on top of the tables/desks before they leave. Maintenance vacuums on Sunday evenings after we leave.*

Thank you!

Catechist Checklist – Please fill out and turn in at the end of the night

Ignite Lesson 9, 12/03/13 - Reconciliation

We covered (check the ones covered):

□ Scripture □ Shared experience □ Catholic Theology

□ I learned □ Social Action □ handed out and used lesson sheets

Name a success with my group’s faith formation:

Biggest challenge with my group this week:

Feedback on lesson plan and handouts:

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Name: