Grades 11 12

ERITREAN ORTHODOX TEWAHDO CHURCH
DIOCESE OF NORTH AMERICA
Sunday School Curriculum

for
Grades 11 and 12
Compiled by the Educational Branch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church,

Diocese of North America
Adopted from the Coptic Orthodox Church, Diocese of Southern USA

PREFACE
Glory to Almighty God!!
i
CONTENTS
Preface i
Contents ii
I Lessons for the Month of September 1
1 Getting the Benefits of the Holy Bible 2
2 Introduction to the Old Testament 6
3 Introduction to the New Testament 10
4 Susanna and the Second Canonical Books 14
II Lessons for the Month of October 20
1 The Sermon on the Mount I 21
2 The Sermon on the Mount II 25
3 Faith and Patience 30
4 Christianity and Violence 37
III Lessons for the Month of November 41
1 Isaiah the Prophet 42
2 Jeremiah the Prophet 48
3 Ezekiel the Prophet of Renewal and Unity 52
4 Daniel the Prophet of the Messiah 57
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CONTENTS
IV Lessons for the Month of December 61

1 Discovering God’s Will 62
2 The Goal of Life 66
3 Youth and Identifying a Goal 69
4 Christianity is a Practical Life 74
V Lessons for the Month of January 78

1 The Coming of the Savior Jesus Christ 79
2 My Need for Jesus Christ 83
3 Salvation in the Orthodox Understanding 87
4 Commitment in Spiritual Life 92
VI Lessons for the Month of February 101

1 Prophet Jonah and Salvation 102
2 Sin and Its Consequences 106
3 The Effect of the Softly Spoken Words 109
4 Fellowship among Believers 113
VII Lessons for the Month of March 118

1 Repentance 119
2 Confession 124
3 Fast and Pray as Christ Did 128
4 The Eucharist 133
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CONTENTS
VIII Lessons for the Month of April 137

1 Holy Liturgy I 138
2 Holy Liturgy II 141
3 Resurrection 146
4 Building the Heavenly Kingdom 150
IX Lessons for the Month of May 153

1 Witnessing to the Lord in Today’s World 154
2 The Church after the Apostolic Era 158
3 The Ecumenical Councils 162
4 The Orthodox Creed on One God 167
X Lessons for the Month of June 173

1 The Orthodox Creed on the Godhead of the Son 174
2 The Orthodox Creed on the Godhead of the Holy Spirit 178
3 The Council of Chalcedon 182
4 Friendship 186
XI Lessons for the Month of July 190

1 The Calling of St. Paul 191
2 Success in the Christian Concept 197
3 Christian Understanding of Success 201
4 Christian Means of Achieving Success 206
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CONTENTS
XII Lessons for the Month of August 211

1 The Transfiguration 212
2 The Book of Esther 218
3 Some Virtues in the Life of the Virgin 222
4 St. John the Baptist 227
XIII Filler Lessons 232

1 Christian Self-Esteem 233
2 Liberty with Responsibility 237
3 Choosing Friends 243
4 Dating 246
5 Alms Giving 250
6 Psychological Health 254
7 The Epistle of St. James 258
Appendices 261
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1 Part I
2 Lessons for the Month of

3 September
1
4
5 Week 1
6 Getting the Benefits of the

7 Holy Bible
8
9 Objectives:
10 • To know the effectiveness of the word of God.
11 • To learn how to read the Holy Bible.
12 • To learn how to apply the word of God in our life.
13 References:
14 • 2 Timothy 3:15-17
15 Memory Verse:
16 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.
17 (Psalm 119:103)
18 Introduction
19 There is an essential difference between the word of man and the word of
20 God. Man’s word echoes in the air and disappears. We may not believe
21 it as it does not have the power to do things although the words of kings
22 and judges have the power of action. However, the word of God is one of
23 the attributes of God and a personal hypostasis coming out of the Lord
24 whose word has the power of action and does not go back without benefit.
25 The word itself is composed of sayings and actions without separation. The
26 word of God is living and active.
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WEEK 1. GETTING THE BENEFITS OF THE HOLY BIBLE
27 Lesson Outline
28 I. How did the word of God reach us: God sent us His word through the
29 prophets inspired by the Holy Spirit. When men did not listen to the
30 voice of prophecy and kept away from the word of God, He sent His
31 Incarnate Word “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”.
32 The Bible is a precious message sent to us. The New Testament is the
33 Life of Christ on Earth and His sayings come from the Mind of God
34 Himself. The Old Testament composes the messages of the prophets
35 whom the Lord spoke to through the Holy Spirit.
36 II. Characteristics of the Word of God:
37 a. The Word of God is Light: God said, “Let there be light”. The word
38 of God lightens darkness, gives light to the thoughts of the heart
39 and provides the spiritual insight. Christ granted the Samaritan
40 woman enlightenment and she recognized her darkness and sinful
41 past. The Word of God is powerful enough to lighten our hearts as
42 David said “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet . . . ” (Psalm 119:105).
43 b. The Word of God is Life: The word of God has its power in the
44 material creation “My word is Spirit and Life”. God has created
45 living beings from dust and nonexistence. Ezekiel the prophet saw
46 a place full of bones and when he prophesied through the Word of
47 God they became a great army. When Jesus called Lazarus, the
48 soul went back to the body, which gave out a vicious smell. The
49 Word has a great authority “He who hears my word and believes
50 Him who sent me has eternal life; he does not come into judgment,
51 but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
52 c. The Word of God is Power: “Praise the Lord O angels who carry
53 out the commands of God when you hear the voice of His Word”.
54 Contemplate what happened on the Mount of Sinai when the Law
55 was received. It was the powerful voice of the Lord . . . the voice of
56 God with great glory shakes the wilderness and fills the heavens.
57 “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not
58 return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
59 and prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
60 d. The Word of God is Food: “Your words were found and I ate them
61 and Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart”
62 (Jeremiah 15:16). “How sweet are Your words to my taste; sweeter
63 than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103). The body lives on food
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64 and the soul lives by every word that comes forth from the Mouth
65 of God.
66 e. The Word of God is a Weapon: The Word of God is powerful and

67 effective; it is sharper than any sword that is double-edged. It
68 comforts and reproaches. It rectifies and instructs. It drives away
69 our enemies and judges us. It keeps us safe in time of trouble and
70 saves us from stumbling blocks, which we bring to ourselves.
71 III. How to read the Holy Bible?
72 a. With the Spirit of Prayer: Contemplate how people stand when

73 they read the Holy Bible in the church and when the priest starts
74 to raise incense while praying so that we may hear, understand
75 and work according to the Holy Gospel and the deacon asks us
76 to pray from the Holy Gospel. Prayer should accompany reading
77 the Bible. Hence, we should pray before, during and after reading
78 the Gospel. We thank God for His promises and pray to Him to
79 give us the words with understanding. We pray that He might
80 lighten our insights and touch our hearts and clarify what we do
81 not understand.
82 b. With the Spirit of discipleship: Whatever the degree of your knowl-

83 edge or culture may be, read the Bible as a young child who wants
84 to know something about the Absolute Truth. Read it regularly.
85 Use a regular educational method. Start with the simple explana-
86 tory series (The key to the Book) and then study the characters
87 and heroes of the Book. Then read it a third time slowly, verse
88 by verse. Resort to the method of studying by heart. Stay for a
89 long time to enjoy it. We usually spend a long time to achieve the
90 sciences of the world. Begin now and concentrate on the study of
91 the Book of Heaven as the Lord told us “Heaven and earth will pass
92 away but My words will not pass away”.
93 c. With the Spirit of Obedience: You also see the priest put the Gospel
94 over his head bowing his head to the voice of God as if he were ready
95 to slaughter every dear and precious thing “And take every thought
96 captive to obey Christ”. “That who hears the word and does not
97 keep it deceives himself and these words will condemn him”.
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WEEK 1. GETTING THE BENEFITS OF THE HOLY BIBLE
98 Conclusion
99 The word of God is the most important guide to our life to reach the unity
100 with God on earth and eventually in heaven.
101 Applications:
102 • With the help of your Servant or your father of confession or your
103 parents, set a program for studying the Holy Bible this month and
104 throughout the year.
105 • Pray so that God will help you to commit to it and write down your
106 notes.
107 • Take one verse every day and write it down in your notebook. Repeat
108 it during the day, recite it and apply it to your life.
109 Exercises:
110 1. What is your most favorite verse in the Holy Bible?
111 2. Give two characteristics of the word of God.
112 3. List the three ways we should follow in reading the Holy Bible.
113 4. What does it mean to read the Holy Bible with the spirit of Obedience?
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114
115 Week 2
116 Introduction to the Old

117 Testament
118
119 Objectives:
120 • To have a clear overview of the Old Testament.
121 • To know the theme and the importance of the Old Testament.
122 References:
123 • The Bible - Old Testament
124 Memory Verse:

125 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God. (John
126 17:3)
127 Introduction
128 Eternal life is the gift of Jesus Christ to those who believe in Him “He [the
129 Son] should give eternal life to as many as You [the Father] have given Him”
130 (John 17:2). Also, it is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven, which
131 comes upon us when we apprehend the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ
132 “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of
133 God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). This life starts here on earth and
134 continues forever in the life to come. In John 17:3, Jesus Christ confirms
135 that eternal life is the knowledge of God through Him. Knowledge here does
136 not mean the theoretical intellectual knowledge, but the spiritual knowledge
137 based on experience, communion, living and tasting. Briefly, the means for
138 this experience and communion are:
139 1. In the sacrament of communion, in which we experience eternal life by

140 receiving the body of Christ that was broken (Acts 2:24), and His blood
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WEEK 2. INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
141 that was shed: “if any man eats of this bread, he shall live for ever”
142 (John 6:51).
143 2. In the mystery of the word - the word of God - the voice of God in the
144 Holy Bible, which gives eternal life when it is heard “the words that I
145 speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63), “He
146 that hears My word, and believes in Him who sent Me, has everlasting
147 life” (John 5:24). This second means is the subject of the present Short
148 Notes.
149 Lesson Outline

150 I. The Holy Bible contains 73 books written through the inspiration of
151 the Holy Spirit over a period of more than 15 centuries. These books
152 are divided into two testaments:
153 1. The Old Testament: Includes the history of creation, the fall and
154 corruption of mankind, and the establishment of a covenant be-
155 tween God and man in preparation to save mankind from their
156 corrupt state. The Old Testament covers the period from the cre-
157 ation till the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior and the King. The
158 Old Testament consists of 46 books. These books are again divided
159 into:
160 a. The first canonical books, which are 39 books, collected by Ezra
161 the priest in one volume.
162 b. The second canonical books (Deuterocanonical or Apocryphal),
163 which are seven in addition to the completion of the books of
164 Daniel and Esther.
165 2. The New Testament: The New Testament consists of 27 books.
166 II. The Main Sections of the Old Testament
167 1. The Five Books of Moses (from Genesis to Deuteronomy): Also
168 called the Pentateuch, Torah or the covenant. They correspond to
169 the four gospels in the New Testament. These books describe the
170 beginning of human history dealing with God . . . the failure of the
171 human race . . . until his arrival to the gates of the Promised Land.
172 Whereas these books declare the need for a savior to free the human
173 race from bondage, the gospels in the New Testament reveal this
174 savior, who is the desire of all nations, and take us into the true
175 Promised Land.
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176 2. The Historic Books (from Joshua to Esther): These books present
177 the chronicles of the work of God with His people from before the
178 period of the kings (period of Joshua and the Judges) until the cap-
179 tivity in Babylon. The corresponding book in the New Testament
180 (The book of the Acts of the Apostles, Praxis) presents Jesus Christ
181 as the judge and king who does not request an earthly kingdom.
182 It also presents His disciples declaring the only savior (Joshua vs.
183 Jesus), and warning against sin that leads to devil’s captivity.
184 3. Poetic, Edification or Wisdom Books (from Job to the Song of
185 Solomon): They present practical teachings for living with God,
186 teachings which help us throughout the present life. The corre-
187 sponding books of the New Testament (the Epistles: the Pauline
188 and Catholicon) present the Christian life with the Father in His
189 Son through the Holy Spirit as a true foretaste of eternal life in
190 heaven.
191 4. Prophetic Books (From Isaiah to Malachi): These books came in a
192 spiritually dark period, calling people to repentance and preaching a
193 glorious vision of the Messiah, Christ the Savior. The corresponding
194 book in the New Testament, Revelation, encourages us to keep up
195 our struggle expecting the glorious second coming of Jesus Christ,
196 the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
197 III. General Comments on the Old Testament
198 1. Jesus is the center of the two Testaments. He appears in the Old
199 Testament behind the scenes and the events and in symbols and
200 through holy men. For example: At the creation of man, God
201 said, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26). Isaac car-
202 ries the wood (the cross) on his way to death as a burnt offering
203 (redemption) but he returns alive (resurrection). Joseph saves the
204 world from starvation and death (salvation) in the Old Testament.
205 Moses and Joshua lead the Israelites from slavery to freedom. The
206 Passover and sacrifices as a method to escape death and receive
207 forgiveness.
208 2. The Holy Bible is one book, and the Holy Spirit has inspired the
209 writing of the two Testaments. The New Testament complements
210 the Old Testament and sees the men of the Old Testament as heroes
211 of faith (Hebrews 11). They are the people that hoped for salvation
212 and resurrection of the dead. In the transfiguration, Moses and
213 Elijah appear beside Jesus (Matthew 17:1-8).
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WEEK 2. INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
214 3. The Law was the means to discover man’s sin, and a helper for him
215 to look ahead to the savior (Galatians 3:24). It successfully accom-
216 plished these purposes during the period of spiritual childhood of
217 mankind until the coming of the “fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4)
218 declaring Jesus Christ the Savior who gives new life and grants lib-
219 erty, and proclaiming the age of the generous grace for every one
220 who accepts.
221 4. The sons of Israel are the people whom God has entrusted with the
222 seed of faith in order to prepare a field for the continuation of the
223 work of God, i.e. the salvation of all people and the spread of the
224 kingdom of heaven when His Son arrives in the “fullness of time”.
225 Conclusion
226 We leave you in the hands of the Holy Spirit that He might guide you to
227 God’s purpose in what you read, and guide your steps to its depth to gain
228 the spiritual experience. The interaction with the word is a continuously
229 renewed field, in which the heroes of faith become alive among us, and the
230 past in flesh becomes the present in the Spirit, through Him.
231 Applications:
232 • Start reading the Old Testament from the beginning and make note
233 of things you do not understand to ask about their meaning in the
234 next class. We hope that the book of Genesis will become the subject
235 of the daily Bible study for all of us in the coming days until we meet
236 again in the next Short Notes.
237 Exercises:
238 1. What is the first verse in the Bible ?
239 2. What is the main theme in the Book of Genesis ?
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240
241 Week 3
242 Introduction to the New

243 Testament
244
245 Objectives:
246 • To have an overview of the content of the new Testament.
247 • To learn the theme of the new Testament.
248 References:
249 •
250 Memory Verse:
251 The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)
252 Introduction
253 This is the era of grace that embraced mankind by the glorious advent of
254 the Messiah and the salvation from corruption by redemption which gave
255 us the privilege to become the children of God who have the blessed hope
256 of eternal life at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of
257 time. The Bible has 1,189 chapters, thus it can be completed in less than
258 three years if we read one chapter a day.
259 Lesson Outline

260 The New Testament consists of 27 books: 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke
261 and John) The Book of Acts (written by St. Luke) 14 Epistles written by
262 St. Paul 7 Epistles written by St. James (1), St. Peter (2), St. John (3)
263 and St. Jude (1) Revelation written by St. John
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WEEK 3. INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
264 I. The Gospel of St. Matthew: St. Matthew wrote this Gospel for the
265 Jews in order to explain to them that the Lord Jesus is the expected
266 Messiah, the son of David of whom numerous prophesies of the Old
267 Testament were written. Therefore, this gospel has about 65 prophe-
268 cies and focuses on the Lord as the king, the son of David.
269 II. The Gospel of St. Mark: St. Mark wrote this gospel for the Romans.
270 He emphasized that our Lord Jesus is a powerful minister. This would
271 satisfy the powerful Romans. It has a simple and lively style and
272 explains some of the Jews traditions.
273 III. The Gospel of St. Luke: St. Luke wrote this gospel for the Greeks,
274 the men of wisdom and philosophy, to show them that Jesus Christ is
275 the Son of Man who will deliver man from all his problems and will
276 open for him the gates to eternity.
277 IV. The Gospel of St. John: St. John wrote this gospel in order to reply to
278 the heresies that tried to refute the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
279 He addressed the world as a whole.
280 V. The Acts of the Apostles: St. Luke wrote this book to his friend,
281 Theophilus, so as to continue his conversation with him. He told him
282 about the life of the Lord in his gospel and then started to explain
283 to him how the apostles preached the message to the world, exactly
284 as Jesus Christ asked them to do and through the power of the Holy
285 Spirit.
286 VI. The Epistles: While the apostles were preaching, they faced a lot of
287 questions, various problems and heresies that threatened the sound-
288 ness of faith. Thus, they started to reply to these matters in the
289 epistles directed to churches, people, or priests in order to explain to
290 them the basics of Christian faith and to warn them of the hated here-
291 sies. St. Paul wrote to the Galatians in 49 A.D. in order to deal with
292 their reversion to the Jewish law. In 53 A.D. he wrote to the Thessa-
293 lonians in order to explain to the believers the meaning of expecting
294 the Lord’s Second Coming, as some had left their jobs, waiting for this
295 event. In 58 A.D. he wrote to the Romans and Corinthians to explain
296 to the believers the meaning of justification through active faith and
297 to correct the numerous faults found in the Corinthians such as divi-
298 sion and the abuse of spiritual gifts. He also wrote to the Hebrews to
299 demonstrate to them the superiority of Christ than all the prophets,
300 priests and angels. Subsequently, St. Paul wrote four epistles when
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301 he was prisoner in Rome in the years 62-64 A.D. known as captivity
302 Epistles? These are the epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, and
303 Colossians and to Philemon. Each of these epistles had a wonderful
304 pastoral message. For example:
305 The theme of the epistle to the Ephesians was building the body of
306 Christ The theme of the epistle to the Philippians was to live in Christ
307 The theme of the epistle to the Colossians was the preeminence of
308 Christ The theme of the epistle to Philemon was Forgiveness from
309 Slavery He went on writing according to the condition of the churches
310 or the priests. He wrote, for example the first epistle to Timothy, which
311 was a leadership manual for churches. Then he wrote the epistle to
312 Titus, which was a conduct manual for the churches. Finally, he wrote
313 the second epistle to Timothy, which was a farewell counsel as he felt
314 that his martyrdom was near (67 A.D). James, Peter, John and Jude
315 wrote the catholic or universal epistles to all the churches. They are
316 7 epistles, one was written by St. James, two by St. Peter, three by
317 St. John and one by St. Jude.
318 VII. Revelation: This book was written by St. John the beloved while he
319 was exiled on the island of Patmos by the Emperor Dumetian who,
320 at seeing that throwing the saint in boiling oil had no effect on him,
321 thought that by exiling him to Patmos he could stop his influence on
322 his children in Asia Minor. The Lord, however, revealed Himself to
323 St. John in order to encourage him and his children in their tribula-
324 tion assuring them that victory was at hand and that He is coming
325 undoubtedly. St. John wrote this book in a symbolic style. Thus the
326 27 books of the New Testament were completed by the end of the first
327 century. However, they were scattered in different places and their
328 collection into one book was done during the second century.
329 Conclusion
330 Christians should deeply know the Bible because God is its primary author
331 and hence it gets them closer to Him by hearing His commandments. The
332 Bible’s practical benefits for us may well be summarized under two headings:
333 knowing and growing. The Bible proclaims the good news of the gospel that
334 we might know God; it explains the will of God that all of us may grow
335 spiritually before Him.
336 Applications:
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WEEK 3. INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
337 • Read one chapter of the New Testament every day.
338 • Read every paragraph carefully and if you do not understand anything
339 bring it to the Sunday School teacher or the priest to explain it to
340 you.
341 • Also try to look for books that explain the Bible.
342 Exercises:
343 1. Explore how Jesus was described in the Gospel of Mark
344 2. Explore how Jesus was described in the Gospel of John
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345
346 Week 4
347 Susanna and the Second

348 Canonical Books
349
350 Objectives:
351 • To learn about the Second Canonical books.
352 • To learn the story of Susanna and the spiritual meanings behind it.
353 References:
354 • Daniel chapter 13
355 • Internet site: http://wesley.nnc.edu/noncanon/apocrypha.htm
356 Memory Verse:

357 I will fall into your hands, rather than sin in the sight of the Lord. (Daniel
358 13: 23)
359 Introduction
360 The commonly used Bibles (Protestant versions) do not include some of the
361 Old Testament books, which the Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, the Greek
362 Orthodox, the church of Antioch and the Byzantine churches consider as
363 part of the Old Testament. These books are usually called “Apocrypha”
364 which means hidden. The Protestant believe that they do not have the
365 same spiritual level as the rest of the Old Testament and since they were
366 not included in the Old Testament version collected in the time of Ezra the
367 priest in 534 B.C, they should not be part of the Bible. However, these
368 books were written by the Jews in the exile after the time of Ezra and
369 were included in the Septuagint translation of the Bible and many other
370 early translations of the Bible, including the first Coptic translation. These
371 books are:
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WEEK 4. SUSANNA AND THE SECOND CANONICAL BOOKS
372 1. Tobit - 14 chapters and should come after the book of Nehemiah.
373 2. Judith - 16 Chapters and should come after Tobit.
374 3. The remainder of the book of Esther - Chapters 10 to 16.
375 4. The Wisdom of Solomon - 19 chapter and should come after the Song of
376 Songs.
377 5. Joshua the son of Sirach - 51 chapters and should come after the Wisdom
378 of Solomon.
379 6. The Prophecy of Baruch - 6 chapters and should come after Lamenta-
380 tions.
381 7. The remainder of Daniel, which include the rest of chapter 3 and chapters
382 13 and 14.
383 8. The first Maccabees - 16 chapters and should come after Malachi.
384 9. The second Maccabees - 15 chapters and should come after the first
385 Maccabees.
386 The Orthodox Church believes that these books are part of the Old
387 Testament because many of their verses were repeated in the New Testa-
388 ment and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself cited verses from some of them.
389 Many of the early church fathers also used verses from these books in their
390 writings, including St. Clement the Roman, St. Polycarp, St. Clement of
391 Alexandria, St. Origen, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, St. Gregory
392 and many others. There are other Apocrypha books, which all the churches
393 agreed on the fact that the Holy Spirit did not dictate them, e.g. the book
394 of Bernaba.
395 Lesson Outline

396 The story of Susanna is mentioned in Daniel chapter 13 and is read dur-
397 ing the Apocalypse night. It is one of many stories read on this night to
398 demonstrate deliverance from death to life by the power of God. These are
399 considered prophecies of the salvation given to the humanity through Jesus
400 Christ who changed our death into life and our punishment into salvation.
401 The story of Susanna is as follows (Daniel 13):
402 “1 There was a man living in Babylon whose name was Joachim. 2 He
403 married the daughter of Hilkiah, named Susanna, a very beautiful woman
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404 and one who feared the Lord. 3 Her parents were righteous, and had trained
405 their daughter according to the Law of Moses. 4 Joakim was very rich, and
406 had a fine garden adjoining his house; the Jews used to come to him because
407 he was the most honored of them all. 5 That year two elders from the people
408 were appointed as judges. Concerning them the Lord had said: “Wickedness
409 came forth from Babylon, from elders who were judges, who were supposed
410 to govern the people.” 6 These men were frequently at Joachim’s house, and
411 all who had a case to be tried came to them there. 7 When the people left at
412 noon, Susanna would go into her husband’s garden to walk. 8 Every day the
413 two elders used to see her, going in and walking about, and they began to
414 lust for her. 9 They suppressed their consciences and turned away their eyes
415 from looking to Heaven or remembering their duty to administer justice. 10
416 Both were overwhelmed with passion for her, but they did not tell each other
417 of their distress, 11 for they were ashamed to disclose their lustful desire to
418 seduce her. 12 Day after day they watched eagerly to see her. 13 One day
419 they said to each other, “Let us go home, for it is time for lunch.” So they
420 both left and parted from each other. 14 But turning back, they met again;
421 and when each pressed the other for the reason, they confessed their lust.
422 Then together they arranged for a time when they could find her alone. 15
423 Once, while they were watching for an opportune day, she went in as before
424 with only two maids, and wished to bathe in the garden, for it was a hot
425 day. 16 No one was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves
426 and were watching her. 17 She said to her maids, “Bring me olive oil and
427 ointments, and shut the garden doors so that I can bathe.” 18 They did as
428 she told them: they shut the doors of the garden and went out by the side
429 doors to bring what they had been commanded; they did not see the elders,
430 because they were hiding. 19 When the maids had gone out, the two elders
431 got up and ran to her. 20 They said, “Look, the garden doors are shut,
432 and no one can see us. We are burning with desire for you; so give your
433 consent, and lie with us. 21 If you refuse, we will testify against you that
434 a young man was with you, and this was why you sent your maids away.”
435 22 Susanna groaned and said, “I am completely trapped. For if I do this, it
436 will mean death for me; if I do not, I cannot escape your hands. 23 I choose
437 not to do it; I will fall into your hands, rather than sin in the sight of the
438 Lord.” 24 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and the two elders
439 shouted against her. 25 And one of them ran and opened the garden doors.
440 26 When the people in the house heard the shouting in the garden, they
441 rushed in at the side door to see what had happened to her. 27 And when
442 the elders told their story, the servants felt very much ashamed, for nothing
443 like this had ever been said about Susanna. 28 The next day, when the people
444 gathered at the house of her husband Joachim, the two elders came, full of
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445 their wicked plot to have Susanna put to death. In the presence of the people
446 they said, 29 “Send for Susanna daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joachim.”
447 30 So they sent for her. And she came with her parents, her children, and
448 all her relatives. 31 Now Susanna was a woman of great refinement and
449 beautiful in appearance. 32 As she was veiled, the scoundrels ordered her to
450 be unveiled, so that they might feast their eyes on her beauty. 33 Those who
451 were with her and all who saw her were weeping. 34 Then the two elders
452 stood up before the people and laid their hands on her head. 35 Through her
453 tears she looked up toward Heaven, for her heart trusted in the Lord. 36
454 The elders said, “While we were walking in the garden alone, this woman
455 came in with two maids, shut the garden doors, and dismissed the maids. 37
456 Then a young man, who was hiding there, came to her and lay with her. 38
457 We were in a corner of the garden, and when we saw this wickedness we ran
458 to them. 39 Although we saw them embracing, we could not hold the man,
459 because he was stronger than we, and he opened the doors and got away.
460 40 We did, however, seize this woman and asked who the young man was,
461 41 but she would not tell us. These things we testify.” Because they were
462 elders of the people and judges, the assembly believed them and condemned
463 her to death. 42 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, “O
464 eternal God, you know what is secret and are aware of all things before they
465 come to be; 43 you know that these men have given false evidence against
466 me. And now I am to die, though I have done none of the wicked things
467 that they have charged against me!” 44 The Lord heard her cry. 45 Just as
468 she was being led off to execution, God stirred up the Holy Spirit of a young
469 lad named Daniel, 46 and he shouted with a loud voice, “I want no part in
470 shedding this woman?s blood!” 47 All the people turned to him and asked,
471 “What is this you are saying?” 48 Taking his stand among them he said,
472 “Are you such fools, O Israelites, as to condemn a daughter of Israel without
473 examination and without learning the facts? 49 Return to court, for these
474 men have given false evidence against her. 50 So all the people hurried back.
475 And the rest of the elders said to him, “Come, sit among us and inform
476 us, for God has given you the standing of an elder.” 51 Daniel said to
477 them, “Separate them far from each other, and I will examine them.” 52
478 When they were separated from each other, he summoned one of them and
479 said to him, “You old relic of wicked days, your sins have now come home,
480 which you have committed in the past, 53 pronouncing unjust judgments,
481 condemning the innocent and acquitting the guilty, though the Lord said,
482 “You shall not put an innocent and righteous person to death.“ 54 Now
483 then, if you really saw this woman, tell me this: Under what tree did you
484 see them being intimate with each other?” He answered, “Under a mastic
485 tree.” 55 And Daniel said, “Very well! This lie has cost you your head, for
17
486 the angel of God has received the sentence from God and will immediately
487 cut The Greek words for [mastic tree] and [cut] are similar, thus forming an
488 ironic wordplay you in two.” 56 Then, putting him to one side, he ordered
489 them to bring the other. And he said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and
490 not of Judah, beauty has beguiled you and lust has perverted your heart. 57
491 This is how you have been treating the daughters of Israel, and they were
492 intimate with you through fear; but a daughter of Judah would not tolerate
493 your wickedness. 58 Now then, tell me: Under what tree did you catch them
494 being intimate with each other?” He answered, “Under an evergreen oak.”
495 59 Daniel said to him, “Very well! This lie has cost you also your head,
496 for the angel of God is waiting with his sword to split The Greek words for
497 [evergreen oak] and [split] are similar, thus forming an ironic wordplay you
498 in two, so as to destroy you both.” 60 Then the whole assembly raised a
499 great shout and blessed God, who saves those who hope in Him. 61 And they
500 took action against the two elders, because out of their own mouths Daniel
501 had convicted them of bearing false witness; they did to them as they had
502 wickedly planned to do to their neighbor. 62 Acting in accordance with the
503 Law of Moses, they put them to death. Thus innocent blood was spared that
504 day. 63 Hilkiah and his wife praised God for their daughter Susanna, and
505 so did her husband Joachim and all her relatives, because she was found
506 innocent of a shameful deed. 64 And from that day onward Daniel had a
507 great reputation among the people.”
508 The story of Susanna demonstrates the strength in her stand against
509 sin regardless of the price, even if it was humiliation to herself, her husband
510 and her family. She was about to lose her life but she felt safe in the hands
511 of the Lord regardless of what man can do to her. She probably was singing
512 with David the Psalmist when he said, “let Your hand become my help for I
513 have chosen your precepts. I long for Your salvation, O Lord and Your law
514 is my delight. Let my soul live, and I shall praise you; and Your judgments
515 help me” (Psalm 119:173-175).
516 There is a great resemblance between the story of Susanna and Joseph
517 against Potiphar’s wife temptations to sin with her (Genesis 39:7-23). They
518 both refused to sin against God and initially had a hard punishment from
519 humans but God delivered them and restored them to a higher rank or
520 reputation.
521 It is also interesting how God used Daniel and guided him to save Su-
522 sanna. In contrast, He used the dream of Pharos to save Joseph. It has
523 never occurred to Joseph or Susanna that they will be saved is such Godly
524 plans and arrangement for them. This shows how His thoughts can be
525 above our understanding and expectations. As He said in Isaiah “For My
526 thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways; says the Lord: For as
18
527 the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your
528 ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore, we
529 might as well surrender completely to His good well for those who keep His
530 commandments.
531 Conclusion
532 Standing against sin has a certain triumphant reward from God. We pray
533 that God may give us the same strength and faith that He gave to Susanna
534 to face all evil wars against her.
535 Applications:
536 • Study other stories read in the Apocalypse night that demonstrate
537 deliverance from death to life.
538 • Read stories of saints that demonstrate chastity in their lives.
539 Exercises:
540 1. What did you learn from the story of Susanna?
541 2. What spiritual meanings behind can will learn from this lesson?
542 3. Do you think this story of Susanna demonstrates strength for this gen-
543 eration family?
544 4. Have you hear before about “The Second Canonical Books?”
19
545 Part II

547 October
20
548
549 Week 1
550 The Sermon on the Mount I

551
552 Objectives:
553 • To describe the contents of the Sermon on the Mount.
554 • To learn the virtues desired for Christians as outlined in the Sermon
555 on the Mount.
556 References:
557 • Matthew 5:1-16
558 Memory Verse:
559 Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which lead to life, and there are
560 few who find it.(Matthew 7:14)
561 Introduction
562 Jesus Christ our king met His people on the mountain to give them His
563 new law. In the Old Testament, Moses went up the mountain to get the
564 law after fasting 40 days. Nobody approached the mountain but Moses.
565 The mountain was smoking and the thick clouds and thunder surrounded
566 it. Now, the Word of God Himself came to us and talked directly to us with
567 simplicity.
568 Lesson Outline

569 I. Blessed are the poor in the spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven:
570 This is the humbleness that teaches us that without God we are noth-
571 ing. If pride is the basis of every fall, then humbleness is the way to
572 the kingdom of Heaven. This is the best start to the blessings since
573 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10) and
21
574 “Pride is the first Sin” (Wisdom of Joshua 10:15). The poor in spirit
575 is the person who fears God and confess his sins. He is never proud of
576 his righteousness.
577 II. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted: The hum-
578 ble person feels his sins and its weight, so the Holy Spirit leads him to
579 the “Spiritual Mourn”. He also mourns for every sinful person. The
580 normal mourning is for losing something or someone precious. A spir-
581 itual person does not consider any of these things as precious to him.
582 “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be
583 regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians
584 7:10).
585 III. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth: The mourn on
586 our sins leads us to meekness. Meekness does not mean weakness but
587 means the power of the inner spirit that does not get disturbed by
588 the timely things. Our Lord said: “Take My yoke upon you and learn
589 from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
590 for your souls”(Matthew 11:29). The reward is inheriting the earth,
591 which can be interpreted literally. A meek person does not get only
592 spiritual reward but also an earthly reward. It can be interpreted as
593 the land of life “I cried out to You, O Lord: I said: You [are] my
594 refuge, My portion in the land of the living” (Psalm 142:5).
595 IV. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
596 shall be filled: A meek person will always wish to quench his spiritual
597 thirst by Christ Himself, proclaiming “As the deer pants for the water
598 brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God” (Psalm 42:1). The Holy
599 Spirit takes us through this hunger and thirst to unite with Christ
600 so we are a filled only by Him “As for me, I will see Your face in
601 righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” The
602 Jewish people were not only hungry or thirsty in the desert waiting
603 for the manna but it was a matter of life and death to them. Also our
604 hunger to our Lord Jesus Christ should be on the same level, “I am
605 the bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:41), “For with You
606 is the fountain of life” (Psalm 36:9).
607 V. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy: When we are
608 filled with Jesus Christ, we start to become like Him, “Therefore be
609 merciful, just as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 9:36). Mercy is
610 not only by giving to the poor but in every aspect of our life. We
611 should feel others’ pain and share it with them. “Who does not have
22
WEEK 1. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT I
612 mercy does not deserve the mercy of God” (St. Keprianos). If you saw
613 a poor man then, even if he does not look like Jesus Christ, He is the
614 one accepting your act of mercy, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch
615 as you did to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me”
616 (Matthew 25:36).
617 VI. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God: God works in
618 the merciful person’s heart so that he can see God. His inner eye sees
619 what cannot be seen. The pure in heart are those who gained every
620 virtue and do not carry any evil inside them, “Pursue peace with all
621 people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb
622 12:14). We can only see the divinity with our hearts, “My heart said
623 to You: Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8).
624 VII. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God:
625 Making peace is not an outside act but it is the nature of the sons of
626 God. Through the inner peace, they shine on everyone. Peacemakers
627 control their lusts inside them.
628 VIII. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs
629 is the kingdom of heaven: When we become the sons of God through
630 uniting with Him in baptism, we do God’s work, which is peace. The
631 Devil starts prosecution against us. We have to accept prosecution for
632 righteousness’ sake as the apostles accepted prosecution with happi-
633 ness, “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that
634 they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41).
635 IX. You are the salt of the earth: Salt is a cheap element but is indispens-
636 able. Same with the Christian person, he is humble giving his life for
637 everyone. Food is not good without salt, like the world with a good
638 Christian person. The salt is dissolved in the food, like the Christian
639 giving all his life for others. Salt alone has no effect, only when it is
640 mixed with food it gives the taste. The Christian also gives taste to
641 the world when he is in the world.
642 X. You are the light of the world: When we offer our life, God makes
643 us shine as light to the world, “that you may become blameless and
644 harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and
645 perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”
646 (Philippians 2:15). The basket that hides the lamp is our sin and the
647 lust of the flesh.
23
648 XI. That they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven:
649 We do not do well for others but to please God and glorify His name.
650 Conclusion
651 The Sermon on the Mount requires fifteen minutes to read but its brevity
652 has not diminished its profound influence on the world. The Sermon on the
653 Mount presents new standards and laws for God’s people.
654 Applications:
655 • Try to adopt one of the virtues blessed by the Lord to practice for
656 your life, e.g. you can try to be a peacemaker and not get involved in
657 fights or arguments.
658 • Read this Sermon on the Mount many times this week and memorize
659 some parts of it as much as you can.
660 Exercises:
661 1. Read Romans 12:18-21 and discuss how we can be peacemakers in people
662 around us.
663 2. What does Jesus mean when he said “. . . they may see your good works
664 and glorify your Father in heaven”?
665 3. Read John 15:18-21 and 2 Timothy 3:12, and the discuss why do Chris-
666 tians get persecuted for righteousness.
24
667
668 Week 2
669 The Sermon on the Mount II

670
671 Objectives:
672 • To learn the new laws of the New Testament era, the grace era.
673 References:
674 • Matthew 5:17, 6:-, 7:-.
675 Memory Verse:

676 But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne
677 of God, or by the earth, for it is His footstool. (Matthew 5:34-35)
678 Introduction
679 Here, we continue the contemplation of our Lord Jesus’ meeting with His
680 people on the mountain to give them His new law. We will understand some
681 of the strong commandments like, “Do not think that I came to destroy the
682 Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew
683 5:17) where our Lord showed them a new dimension of the law. He also
684 introduced a new spiritual law for the sons of God, “For I say to you, that
685 unless your righteousness exceeds [the] [righteousness] of the scribes and
686 Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew
687 5:20).
688 Lesson Outline

689 The name Esther is taken from the Persian name meaning a ”star”. Her
690 story fits between chapters 6 and 7 of Ezra, between the first return by
691 Zerubbabel and the second return led by Ezra to Palestine. It provides
692 the only biblical portrait of the vast majority of Jews who refused to re-
693 turn and chose to remain in Persia. God’s protective hand on behalf of His
25
694 people is evident throughout the book of Esther. The clearly emerging mes-
695 sage is that God uses ordinary men and women to accomplish His gracious
696 purposes. Although God disciplines His people, He never abandons them.
697 I. Killing: The Old Testament commandments tell us not to kill, but the
698 New Testament asks for even higher spiritual level with higher new
699 standards “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall
700 not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
701 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause
702 shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother,
703 ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You
704 fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to
705 the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against
706 you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be
707 reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree
708 with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest
709 your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to
710 the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you,
711 you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny”
712 (Matthew 5: 21-26). These verses teach us that anger with our brother
713 has different levels:
714 1. Raca is a Hebrew word which means disrespect. This is a worse
715 level of showing anger of one person to his brother. This angry
716 person deserves the council, which is a higher court.
717 2. A higher level of expressing anger is saying a fool. We should control
718 our anger in the first step, if we cannot totally prevent it.
719 3. “But no man can tame the tongue” (James 3:8). Man can tame
720 beasts, but it is difficult to tame his tongue. God can only do
721 this for us. This verse demonstrates how hard it is to control the
722 tongue. It may be easier to control our temper earlier in the ladder
723 of anger.
724 4. When anger is expressed in words, it is a sin that deserves the judg-
725 ment on judgment day and it can cause us to lose our brothers on
726 earth because of materialistic things, even if they seem important.
727 II. Adultery: Sin is a three-step process: desire, enjoying and fulfilling.
728 The Law had forbidden the fulfilling of the sin and our Lord Jesus
729 Christ wanted to uproot this sin by preventing the first step, “You
730 have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit
731 adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust
26
WEEK 2. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT II
732 for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your
733 right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it
734 is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for
735 your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes
736 you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for
737 you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be
738 cast into hell” (Matthew 5: 27-30). In these verses, plucking the eye
739 means not seeing the beloved person or the desirable object.
740 III. Swearing: The world will recognize us by our language. Swearing is
741 a sin that many of us slip into it and some people do it many time
742 a day. Again it takes prayer and lots of self-control to prevent the
743 tongue from slipping into the sin of swearing “Again you have heard
744 that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall
745 perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at
746 all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it
747 is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
748 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair
749 white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For
750 whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:33-37).
751 IV. Returning Evil with Good: This is the highest level of Christian per-
752 fection “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a
753 tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But
754 whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If
755 anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your
756 cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
757 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from
758 you do not turn away” (Matthew 5:38-42). What does the right cheek
759 mean? Usually a strike is on the left cheek unless the person is left-
760 handed. So, you are the one who would humbly turn your check in
761 an effort to stop the angry striking person. That is why Christianity
762 is called the second mile religion. The believer would give more than
763 required to win others to Christ.
764 V. The Narrow Gate: God commanded us to enter by the narrow gate;
765 “for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
766 and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and
767 difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it”
768 (Matthew 7:13-14). The wide gate is the lust of the world and the
769 narrow gate is opened by spiritual fighting like fasting, praying. We
770 do not have to search for the wide gate; it is available for everyone.
27
771 However, few can find the narrow gate. Even when they find it, they
772 may not enter. The end is different in both cases.
773 VI. Building on the Rock: Our Lord Jesus Christ told us, “Therefore
774 whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him
775 to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended,
776 the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did
777 not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these
778 sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who
779 built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came,
780 and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was
781 its fall” (Matthew 7: 24-27). Who is the rock except our Lord? If we
782 build our souls on Jesus Christ, then we are not afraid from any rain,
783 which is the devil that tries to demolish the house. We need to hide
784 in Jesus.
785 VII. Summary of the 10 major sections of the Sermon on the Mount
786 1. The beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)

787 2. The lessons of salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16)
788 3. True righteousness (Matthew 5:17-48)
789 4. Practice without hypocrisy (Matthew 6:19-34)
790 5. The Christian’s concern (Matthew 6:19-34)
791 6. Warning against Judgment (Matthew 7:7-12)
792 7. Invitation to prayer (Matthew 7:7-12)
793 8. The two ways (Matthew 7:13-14)
794 9. A tree and its fruit (Matthew 7:15-20)
795 10. The importance of deeds (Matthew 7:21-29)
796 Conclusion
797 The central theme of the sermon is summarized in Matthew 5:48 “There-
798 fore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”. The
799 word ‘perfect’ does not refer to sinless or moral perfection. It indicates
800 completeness, wholeness, maturity being all that God wants a person to
801 be.
802 Applications:
28
WEEK 2. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT II
803 • Think of a situation that provoke you to be angry recently. How did
804 you respond? Was it in line with what you learned in this lesson? If
805 not, think of ways you can improve your response.
806 • Do you swear in conversations? Think of reasons why do people need

807 to swear in conversations. Think of ways you can avoid the need for
808 you to swear.
809 Exercises:
810 1. Make a comparison between the Ten Commandments in the old Testa-
811 ment (Exodus 20) and the sermon on the Mount.
812 2. Why is Christianity called “the second mile religion”?
813 3. Why do many people choose the gate that leads to destruction?
814 4. Why is a person who hears the words of Jesus and do them liken to a
815 person who built his house on a rock?
29
816
817 Week 3
818 Faith and Patience

819
820 Objectives:
821 • God will solve our problems. Fulfill our needs. Have faith in Him,
822 and wait PATIENTLY for His solutions.
823 References:
824 • Mark 9: 2-8, Luke 9: 30-32
825 Memory Verse:
826 By your patience, possess your souls. (Luke 21:19)
827 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
828 seen (Hebrews 11: 1
829 Introduction
830 • “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
831 not seen” (Hebrews 11: 1).
832 • “My brothers, count it all joy when you fall in various trials, knowing
833 that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).
834 • “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith
835 virtue to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control
836 perseverance, to perseverance godliness” (1 Peter 1:5-6).
837 • “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with
838 painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And
839 he took for himself a post shed with which to scrap himself while he
840 sat in the midst of the ashes. Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still
841 hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die.’ But he said to her,
30
WEEK 3. FAITH AND PATIENCE
842 ‘you speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept
843 good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did
844 not sin with his lips” (Job 2:7-1 0).
845 • “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the
846 perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord - that the
847 Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11). “But we also
848 glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produce perseverance”
849 (Romans 5:3).
850 • “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret because of
851 him who prospers in His way. Because of the man who brings wicked
852 schemes to pass. Wait on the Lord and keep His way. And He shall
853 exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall
854 see it” (Psalm 37:7,34).
855 Faith without patience produces people who start off good, but burnout
856 over time. Patience without faith produces people that constantly suffer
857 and have no power to change their situation. . But combining these two
858 will enable us to inherit the promises.
859 Lesson Outline

860 • How do you feel while waiting in long lines (Amusement Parks, fast
861 food restaurants, banks . . . )?
862 • Describe the emotions of people during traffic jams?
863 • How do you handle these situations?
864 • What is the definition of faith? What is the relation between faith
865 and patience?
866 • Can you give some examples from the Bible of people that have en-
867 dured for a long time with faith and patience?
868 a. Joseph: hatred; false accusation from employer; separation from
869 b. Job: financial ruin; death in family; sickness; problems with wife and
870 friends.
871 • Can you relate your life to these problems?
31
872 • Why do you think God waits, sometimes it seems for us too long,
873 before He solves our problems?
874 a. To test our faith . . . .
875 b. Our problems which, if we endure patiently, and He eventually solves, is

876 glorifying to Him
877 c. This, in turn, earns us glory in His kingdom . . . .
878 d. He knows the right time that is best for solving our problems.
879 I. What is Faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
880 evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11: 1).” There is a fundamental
881 difference between hope and faith. Hope is open-ended, meaning that
882 it is not tied to anything. You can hope to be successful in life, hope to
883 be healed of a sickness, hope to be promoted, and so on; but this is no
884 more than wishful thinking. Lots of people hope and wish for things.
885 Faith adds substance to this hope. Faith must be tied to Gods Word.
886 When we tie Gods Word to what we hope for, then we have confidence
887 that He will do what He said He would do. The Bible tells us that God
888 does not change His mind (Num 23:19) and that He cannot lie (Titus
889 1:2). So when we substantiate our hope with the Word of God, we
890 can have confidence that He will bring it to pass. It does require faith
891 to believe in a God that you cannot see and to furthermore believe
892 that this invisible God will make a difference in your visible world. It
893 means that you can think about being victorious and successful in life
894 and hope that you will somehow achieve it, but when your dreams and
895 desires are rooted in the Word of God, you can operate in faith. Faith
896 gives substance and confidence to your thoughts and produces Godly
897 images of His expected outcome. Without faith we often lose.
898 II. Why is Faith Important? “Its impossible to please God apart from
899 faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must
900 believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those
901 who seek him.(Heb 11:6) ”
902 Faith is woven into everything that we do in the Kingdom of God. It
903 has been said, and I agree, that faith is the currency of the Kingdom.
904 So whats the big deal about faith? We all want to live a life that is
905 pleasing to God. We all want the favor of God upon our lives. We all
906 want God to respond to our prayers. This text teaches us that it is
907 literally impossible to please God without faith. If it is impossible to
32
908 please God without faith, then we should want to know more about
909 it, to ensure that we are pleasing to God. Lets take a look at some of
910 the things that the Bible says we do, as believers, through faith. The
911 Bible teaches us that we:
912 a. Are saved through the vehicle of faith (Eph 2:8, 9).
913 b. Are to live by faith (Ro 1:17, Gal 2:20, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38).
914 c. To be even clearer, we are instructed to live by our faith (Hab 2:4).
915 d. To walk by faith and not by our senses (2 Cor 5:7).
916 e. To fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12).
917 f. Are taught that the prayer of faith can heal the sick (James 5:15).
918 It means that nothing is done in the Kingdom of God without faith.
919 God requires faith. Faith moves Him. The absence of faith disappoints
920 Him and opens a door for the operation of fear. Faith, however, can-
921 cels fear. So open yourself up in this series and prepare to receive
922 instruction on how to develop faith and patience in your life, so that
923 you too can inherit the promises of God (Heb 6:12).
924 III. How is Faith Developed? “ So then faith cometh by hearing, and
925 hearing by the word of God.(Rom 10:17).” Remember that faith is a
926 confident assurance that God will do what He said He would do. You
927 cannot apply faith in what God said He would do, if you do not know
928 what He said. Faith, then, is tied to the Word of God. The more you
929 investigate the scriptures on any given subject, the more promises you
930 will be able to stand on in that area. The more promises you are able
931 to stand on, the more faith you are able to exercise. You can then see
932 how faith is developed through the Word.
933 It means that our faith is developed through studying and applying
934 the Word of God. Once you know what Gods promises are, then you
935 can believe by faith that He will bring them to pass in your life.
936 Without knowing what He promised, the best you can do is hope or
937 wish. Hoping or wishing for kindness is OK, but developing our faith
938 through the Word is better!
939 IV. What is Patience? “For you need endurance so that, having done the
940 will of God, you may receive the promise. (Heb 10:36). ” Patience is
941 more than simply waiting on something to happen, but rather remain-
942 ing the same while you wait, no matter what the circumstances may
943 be. You can see how this ability, coupled with faith, is very important.
33
944 You must know what to do in the space between I believe, in Jesus
945 name. Amen; and there it is! This is what I call the space between the
946 promise and the performance. The enemy will make every attempt to
947 get you to lose heart during that space. He will tell you that God is
948 not going to do it, that He did not hear your prayer, that you need
949 to lower your expectations, and etc. This ability to remain the same
950 (patience) will enable you to combat the thoughts of fear, doubt, and
951 unbelief; and make it possible for you to remain in faith.
952 V. Why is Patience Important? “By your endurance you will win your
953 souls” (Luke 21:19). “The ability to remain the same” Luke 21: 10-18.
954 Patience is critical in the life of the believer. I have stated that faith is
955 the currency of the Kingdom and how nothing happens in God without
956 faith. This is true, but patience gives us the ability to remain the same
957 while we are waiting on the manifestation of our faith. Remember that
958 fear cancels faith and faith cancels fear. Without patience, without
959 the ability to remain the same, most people will cancel out their faith
960 with fear, doubt, and unbelief; before they ever see the manifestation
961 of it.
962 VI. What does Patience produce? “Let endurance have its perfect work
963 that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”(James 1:4).
964 Well, the issue is not whether you know how to suffer, or whether
965 you know how to endure pain; the issue is whether or not you can be
966 trusted to remain faithful for the long run. Does God know that you
967 have the ability to remain the same, no matter what the devil may
968 attack you with? That is the key issue. If you search the scriptures to
969 find people that God used mightily you will see a common denominator
970 in all of their lives they were people that were proven faithful.
971 a. Abraham proved himself faithful when he was willing to offer God
972 his only son.
973 b. Noah proved himself faithful when he continued to seek God, even
974 though he was surrounded by a world of heathens.
975 c. David proved himself faithful while he was a shepherd boy and
976 protected his sheep from a lion and a bear.
977 d. Elisha proved himself faithful to serve Elijah for many years, before
978 he received his anointing. And the list could go on. Jesus explains
979 it well in the parable of talents in Matthew 25. He gave talents
980 to three men. Two of them were faithful. To the two that were
981 faithful, to the ones that passed the test, He said, Wonderful! You
34
982 are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little,
983 but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in
984 my happiness (Mat 25:21, 23 CEV).
985 It means that you have to resolve in your heart that you will allow
986 patience to run its full course in your life; that you will continue to
987 operate in faith, no matter what may happen; and that you will not
988 allow what you see to change what you believe God for. If you remain
989 the same (patience), you will prove yourself faithful. Once you prove
990 yourself faithful over the level that you are operating in today, God
991 will elevate you to the next level!
992 VII. Faith and Patience “That you wont be sluggish, but imitators of those
993 who through faith and patience inherited the promises. (Heb 6:12).”
994 It means that God has given us many examples in His Word of people
995 that have obtained the promises of God through faith and patience.
996 God does not want us to recreate the wheel. If it worked for them
997 it will work for us! Operate in faith and patience and your too will
998 obtain the promises of God. You will see God manifest Himself in
999 your life like never before. Simply have faith and keep that faith until
1000 you see what the Word says you can have!
1001 a. Jesus is the leader and source of our faith: Jesus is why we came
1002 to God. He is why we first believed. It is through His blood that
1003 we are saved. He initiated our faith walk.
1004 b. Jesus is also the Finisher of our faith: Jesus ensures that we have
1005 every opportunity to develop and become fully mature. Remember,
1006 James taught us that the testing of our faith develops patience (1:3)
1007 and that when patience is fully developed in our lives, we become
1008 complete, mature, and lacking nothing (1:4). For Jesus to ensure
1009 that we mature, He must give us opportunities for our faith to be
1010 tested.
1011 c. Jesus is also our example: He knew where He was headed. He
1012 knew that He had to endure the death of the cross. He struggled
1013 with that reality in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42), but
1014 He decided that His purpose was greater than His predicament. He
1015 knew that His calling was greater than His crisis. He decided to
1016 put up with anything he had to put up with to fulfill His purpose
1017 and because of it, He is back in heaven, established in His rightful
1018 position of authority.
35
1019 Conclusion
1020 Faith and patience are always rewarded with victory on earth or eternally
1021 because He said, “behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me,
1022 to give to every one according to his works” (Revelation 22:12). So our faith
1023 must be developed to produce patience and our patience must be developed
1024 if we are to fulfill our purpose. Knowing where you are going is one thing,
1025 but having the determination to stay the course, no matter what may come
1026 your way is something else altogether. Remember that Jesus is our example.
1027 He stayed His course, finished His race, and fulfilled His purpose. Our goal
1028 now is to do the same!
1029 Applications:
1030 • Give examples from our lives for people who endured problems for a
1031 long time and prevailed by their faith that gave them perseverance.
1032 • It is not the will of God that we become spiritual sluggards. We are
1033 to live for Christ all the days of our lives.
1034 • We should be imitators of faith
1035 • We should be initiators of patience
1036 • We must be confident that we can also obtain the promises of God
1037 through faith and patience
1038 Exercises:
1039 1. How do you feel about the prayers which you are still waiting to be
1040 answered according the faith and patience you should have?
1041 2. Can you give some examples from the Bible of people that have endured
1042 for a long time with faith and patience?
36
1043
1044 Week 4
1045 Christianity and Violence

1046
1047 Objectives:
1048 • To teach students to live a Christian life marked by meekness and
1049 devoid of cowardice, subjugation or humiliation.
1050 References:
1051 • The life of Jesus Christ.
1052 • The life of St. Paul.
1053 • The life of John the Baptist.
1054 • Bible verses which clarify the absence of contradiction between meek-
1055 ness and strictness or firmness. We need to train our children to
1056 abstain from practicing violence in their lives and to face its different
1057 forms with meekness that befits the children of saints.
1058 • The following are only some of the situations that might be raised
1059 during discussions: Matthew 12:18-20; 26:51-53; Luke 9:54-56.
1060 Memory Verse:

1061 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew
1062 5:9)
1063 Introduction
1064 Psychological studies underline the tendency of violence in most youth,
1065 especially in males. This is compatible with the surging instincts in their
1066 bodies, and the ambitions filling their beings, as well as their ultimate
1067 requirements and the tendency to seek to fulfill them at whatever cost.
1068 However, Christian youth pose an opinion about violence drawn from the
1069 attitude of Jesus Christ Himself where He rejects violence in all its aspects.
37
1070 Lesson Outline
1071 I. The Teachings of Jesus Concerning Violence:
1072 • Our Lord rejected violence for He said, “Blessed are the meek,
1073 for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). He also preached
1074 and said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called
1075 sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
1076 • Again, He said, “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to
1077 him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). To His apostles, He said,
1078 “I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves, therefore be wise as
1079 serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
1080 • St. John Chrysostom comments upon this saying, “you can be a
1081 savage wolf and unwilling to be meek as sheep, but you cannot
1082 be of Christ?s fold because He is the shepherd of sheep and not
1083 of wolves.”
1084 • Jesus rejects violence in His life: When He was interrogated by
1085 the religious leader of the Jews, the latter asked Him about His
1086 disciples and His teachings. Jesus courageously answered that
1087 He taught in public. At that point, one of the soldiers hit Je-
1088 sus, according to the gospel of St. John, and said to Him “Do
1089 You answer the high priest like that? Jesus answered him, ‘If I
1090 have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you
1091 strike Me?”’ (John 18:22-23). It is important to stop for a while
1092 and meditate on the words of Jesus. Jesus did not turn the other
1093 cheek to the soldier who hit Him, neither did He reveal any sign of
1094 humiliation, subjugation, or depression in his reaction. However,
1095 He did put an end to the man’s aggression by using a tone char-
1096 acterized by meekness and manliness, as well as being awesome
1097 and sublime. This underlines that meekness of a Christian is not
1098 due to cowardice but rather to forgiveness arising from spiritual
1099 ability and power. These characteristics enable a Christian to
1100 overcome his own weakness and physical nature. When the Lord
1101 was crucified, He faced the worst form of hatred with ultimate
1102 love as He called aloud, on the Cross and prayed on behalf of His
1103 murderers.
1104 II. The Church at the Time of the Apostles is a Practical Model of Meek-
1105 ness: The first Christians followed the model set by their Teacher
1106 (Matthew 11:29). Consequently, they did not revolt against their per-
1107 secutors. In fact, they achieved the biggest spiritual revolution by
38
WEEK 4. CHRISTIANITY AND VIOLENCE
1108 offering a testimony of blood without any hatred. For example, Saint
1109 Barbara prayed for the governor and her father who commanded that
1110 she be made to suffer. Philemon and Apollonius also prayed for the
1111 governor, Arianos of Ansana. Upon their martyrdom, the latter took
1112 dust from their graves and rubbed his ailing eyes and they were in-
1113 stantly healed. Thus he was transformed from a cruel persecutor to a
1114 great martyr.
1115 III. Why Does Christianity Reject Violence?
1116 • Violence rejects love since it considers a person like an object

1117 that should be destroyed rather than someone who should be
1118 respected.
1119 • Violence is weakness because it fears others, while meekness is
1120 strength, and love is power and perfection.
1121 • Violence disregards man?s humanity, while Christianity strength-
1122 ens it and opposes contempt for others.
1123 • Violence involves pride since it involves exaggerated self-confidence,
1124 while the meek tolerates discussion and listens to others.
1125 IV. Does Society Reject Violence? Yes, civilized societies reject violent
1126 actions and consider those who react with hostile attacks as savage.
1127 Consequently, society judges and condemns both the aggressor and
1128 the violent defender.
1129 V. Christian Meekness Implies True Power:
1130 • Because by facing violence with meekness, we allow love to enter

1131 the heart of the violent through our own living testimony of true
1132 love.
1133 • Christian meekness is not due to wavering, for it does not op-
1134 pose security, firmness or steadfastness in standing for the truth.
1135 Strictness is required to shake our hardened consciences.
1136 • Jesus was firm without bearing any hatred in many instances
1137 (check Matthew 17:17; John 3:13-16).
1138 • Meekness does not mean making compromises or bargaining with
1139 evil or making peace with the wicked, because it arises from love
1140 and truth.
39
1141 • Dear youth, let all your energy, keenness, jealousy and ambition
1142 be blessed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. May the only vio-
1143 lence you experience be the violence of love and testimony to the
1144 truth.
1145 Conclusion
1146 Our lord Jesus Christ taught us not only to love our friends, but also love our
1147 enemies. Our lord Jesus Christ is the best model to a Christian. He didn’t
1148 retaliate against those who were unjsutly beating and accusing him before
1149 his crucifiction. He was so patient and silent to the surprise of everyone.
1150 Chrsitianity is a religion of love, not a religion of violence and retaliation.
1151 Thus, we should follow the perfect exaples of love and patience set forth by
1152 our lord and saviour Jesus Chrisst.
1153 Applications:
1154 • Train yourself to practice meekness in your family life as well as at

1155 school and in national service.
1156 • Train yourself to praise meekness and to prefer it to cruelty and vio-
1157 lence.
1158 Exercises:
1159 1. How do you explain meekness, explain using practical examples if appli-
1160 cable?
1161 2. There are some people who think meekness as a weakness. How would
1162 you answer to them?
1163 3. As Christians, how should we respond to an altercation? What does it

1164 mean to ‘give the other cheek’ as described in Matthew 5:39?
1165 4. What did you learn from today’s lesson?
40
1166 Part III

1168 November
41
1169
1170 Week 1
1171 Isaiah the Prophet

1172
1173 Objectives:
1174 • To have an overview about the book of Isaiah.
1175 • To learn lessons from the book of Isaiah.
1176 References:
1177 • The Book of Isaiah.
1178 Memory Verse:
1179 All flesh shall know, that I, the Lord, am your Savior, and your Redeemer.
1180 (Isaiah 49:26)
1181 Introduction
1182 Isaiah is the first of the 4 great prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
1183 He belonged to the family of the kings. He was contemporary with four
1184 kings: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. He lived in their palaces for
1185 about half a century. He shared in ruling the kingdom as those kings had
1186 confidence in him. He called for comprehensive reform when he recognized
1187 the afflictions that people suffered especially the poor classes who suffered
1188 from social injustice. In the days of Isaiah, the North Kingdom (Israel) fell
1189 into the hands of the king of Babylon and its people were captured and sent
1190 into exile . . . and there they spent a difficult time and they expressed their
1191 sufferings in this sad hymn: “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down
1192 and wept, when we remembered Zion . . . On the willows there we hung up
1193 our lyres . . . for there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors,
1194 mirth. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137).
1195 The book of Isaiah contains 66 chapters and is the second most quoted
1196 book after psalms, in the New Testament (about 50 quotations). The four
42
WEEK 1. ISAIAH THE PROPHET
1197 evangelists quoted Isaiah in referring to John the Baptist 40:3 “The voice
1198 of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight
1199 in the desert a highway for our God”.
1200 Jesus, Himself, read part of Isaiah 61:1-2 that said, “The Spirit of the
1201 Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the
1202 poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
1203 captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are
1204 oppressed” (Luke 4:18).
1205 Isaiah began his prophecy in 733 BC and continued for 50-60 years. The
1206 evil king Manasseh, who followed Hezekiah, had him sawed into two. His
1207 book has several themes. The most prominent is the portrayal of God as
1208 king over all creation and His eternal commitment to the descendents of
1209 King David.
1210 Lesson Outline

1211 I. Isaiah’s dramatic call to be a prophet occurs in a vision where he saw
1212 God sitting grandly on a throne, and the angels called “Seraphs” serve
1213 Him and proclaim the essence of God’s character “Holy, Holy, Holy is
1214 the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3).
1215 II. A large section of Isaiah’s book contains cracks against foreign nations:
1216 The first of the nations marked for condemnations is Babylon and
1217 Isaiah foresaw its fall to the Persians in the 6th century. The Assyrians
1218 were singled out for a condemnation in Isaiah 14:25. Moab, Israel’s
1219 neighbor to the east of the Dead Sea, was next on the list of wicked
1220 Nations in Isaiah 15:1. The oracle against Egypt in chapter 19 depicts
1221 the Lord in majestic term. The seafaring nation Phoenicia, with its
1222 capital Tyre, was told of its dread fate in chapter 23.
1223 III. Condemnation of sin: The first chapter condemned the sins of Israel
1224 “Israel’s hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:2,15). God commends Israel
1225 “Cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed,
1226 defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:16-17). Satan’s sin
1227 and fall was described in Isaiah 14:12-15 “How you are fallen from
1228 heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to
1229 the ground, You who weakened the nations. For you have said in your
1230 heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars
1231 of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest
1232 sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will
1233 be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to
43
1234 the lowest depths of the Pit”. Chapters 34 and 35 describe God as
1235 the divine judge and is calling all people to listen to God “For the
1236 indignation of the Lord is against all nations, and His fury against all
1237 their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over
1238 to the slaughter” Isaiah 34:2.
1239 IV. The coming of the Savior: The birth of Jesus is prophesied in Isaiah
1240 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the vir-
1241 gin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel”.
1242 Also, Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
1243 and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be
1244 called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince
1245 of Peace”. Jesus is a descendent of King David “There shall come forth
1246 a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots”
1247 (Isaiah 11:1). Jesus’ character “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
1248 My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon
1249 Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:1). Isaiah
1250 52:13 and 53:12 provides a sobering sense of the price that must be
1251 paid for redemption. The divine servant “Shall be exalted and extolled
1252 and be very high” but only after surviving affliction and oppression “He
1253 was wounded for our transgression; He was bruised for our iniquities”
1254 (Isaiah 53:5). Acts 8:32 echoed the language of Isaiah 53:7 to describe
1255 Jesus’ suffering and death. Jesus as Savior “The people who walked in
1256 darkness Have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the
1257 shadow of death, upon them a light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2). Compare
1258 with Matthew 4:16 “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great
1259 light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light
1260 has dawned”.
1261 V. Return to God: God expects us to be righteous, repent our sins and
1262 worship Him “Thus says the Lord: Keep justice, and do righteousness,
1263 for My salvation is about to come, and My righteousness to be revealed”
1264 Isaiah 56:1. God promises that those who are faithful “Shall renew
1265 their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall
1266 run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31) and
1267 “Fear not for I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10). God offers the promise
1268 of a joyous future for the righteous. For them, God will create a “new
1269 heaven and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17) in which all human infirmities
1270 will disappear and there will be continual rejoicing. The divine plan
1271 will achieve full realization when “From new moon to another, and
1272 from Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before God”
44
1273 (Isaiah 66:23).

1274 The following are the three images with which Prophet Isaiah expressed
1275 what he saw through prophecies about Messiah:
1276 1. The Messiah as the Incarnate God: Isaiah prophesied the conception
1277 of the Messiah of a Virgin and the birth of Christ, and considered this
1278 fact the top of all prophecies as we see in Isaiah (Isaiah 7:10-16). Ahaz
1279 requested the Lord to rescue him from the Syrians and the Lord told
1280 him to seek a sign of being rescued. However, Ahaz did not ask for a
1281 sign and kept silent. Here the prophecy of the Messiah was uttered and
1282 it was the glory of all the signs and miracles. This sign and prophecy
1283 was repeated once more in chapter nine and it emphasized that He is
1284 the true light that shines over the whole world (Read Isaiah 9:1-7).
1285 2. The Messiah as the Redeemer and Sufferer: The true Son of God is
1286 coming to redeem the world. Isaiah saw Him as a person sent by God
1287 taking the image of a servant enduring many sufferings, pains and grave
1288 (Isaiah 53). Isaiah saw Him bearing the men’s grieves “He has borne
1289 our grieves and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Then he saw Him
1290 wounded on the cross, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He
1291 was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon
1292 Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). He saw Him as a
1293 lamb that bears all our sins “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet
1294 He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as
1295 a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isaiah
1296 53:7). Although He did not sin, yet He was numbered with transgressors
1297 and was sentenced to death in place of sinners: “And they made His grave
1298 with the wicked– but with the rich at His death, because He had done no
1299 violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth . . . Therefore I will divide Him
1300 a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
1301 because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with
1302 the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession
1303 for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:9-12).
1304 The greatness of this personality is shown in the redemptive work, as
1305 through His passions He saved men out of love and redemption. He
1306 turned sufferings into a fellowship of love and sacrifice for the others. His
1307 passions formed the way for achieving triumph and victory to achieve
1308 the blessed goals people hoped for . . . Our Orthodox church recites the
1309 prophecies of Isaiah about the passions of the Savior in her Pascha
1310 prayers of the Holy Week showing how these prophecies were fulfilled
1311 in Christ’s life and passions in the Holy Week.
45
1312 3. The Messiah as the Spiritual King: He saw Christ, the Son of David
1313 as a strong wise king ruling over the peoples of the world: “There shall
1314 come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out
1315 of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of
1316 wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of
1317 knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:1). A kingdom where
1318 justice prevails: “But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and
1319 decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth
1320 with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay
1321 the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4). A kingdom where peace prevails: “The wolf
1322 also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young
1323 goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little
1324 child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). He saw security and peace fill all
1325 the hearts: “The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the
1326 weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den” (Isaiah 11:8). The
1327 knowledge of God fills the hearts with holiness so the bad and corrupt
1328 things of society will disappear “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all
1329 My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the
1330 Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). All these prophecies
1331 were fulfilled in the spiritual kingdom of Christ, which He established on
1332 earth and in the hearts of the believers:
1333 a. King: “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born,
1334 and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear
1335 witness to the truth” (John 18:37).
1336 b. A spiritual kingdom not worldly kingdom: “My kingdom is not of this
1337 world” (John 18:36).
1338 c. A kingdom of peace, security and eternal joy “for the kingdom of God
1339 is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the
1340 Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).
1341 d. A chosen and holy nation: “you are a chosen generation, a royal
1342 priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9).
1343 Conclusion
1344 The first 39 chapters of Isaiah reflect concrete historical events from the
1345 eighth century BC. The last chapters depict a future in which God will
1346 fashion an entirely new heaven and earth. Thus, a spanning time period
1347 from the eighth century BC to the unrealized future, Isaiah’s vision ad-
46
1348 dresses the morbid fears of judgment and fervent hopes for consolation of
1349 countless generations past, present and yet to come.
1350 Applications:
1351 • Open the Holy Bible and read Isaiah chapter 53. You will find that
1352 it is full of prophecies of the passions of our Lord Christ. Thank God
1353 for these passions, which bring life to us.
1354 • Choose few verses from the book of Isaiah and meditate on them and
1355 show your meditation to the teacher next Sunday.
1356 • Try to search for some of God’s characters from the book of Isaiah
1357 and support them with verses from the book.
1358 Exercises:
1359 1. What is the most prominent theme of the book of Isaiah?
1360 2. Mention one prophecy of Isaiah about the Messiah.
1361 3. What are the three images with which Prophet Isaiah expressed what
1362 he saw through prophecies about Messiah?
47
1363
1364 Week 2
1365 Jeremiah the Prophet

1366
1367 Objectives:
1368 • To learn about the personality of Jeremiah the prophet.
1369 References:
1370 •
1371 Memory Verse:

1372 For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.
1373 (Jeremiah 31:34)
1374 Introduction
1375 Let us imagine something. Let’s say when you are praying, God would
1376 speak to you and asks you to go to specific people in school who drink,
1377 party, commit adultery, or take drugs. God wants you to preach to them
1378 and tell them that if they do not repent, then they would be destroyed.
1379 What would you say? How would you feel and what are some of the issues
1380 that would be going through your mind about this request? Well, this exact
1381 thing happened before with Jeremiah the prophet. Let’s read Jeremiah 1:4-
1382 10, 19 and see how Jeremiah the prophet responded.
1383 Jeremiah was set aside before birth to take a message to the nations,
1384 urging a change of heart and turning to the one true God. His message still
1385 applies.
1386 Lesson Outline

1387 When God called Jeremiah the prophet for service, Jeremiah was initially
1388 scared because the people he had to face were very wicked, and they were
1389 a lot higher in status than he was. However, God comforted Jeremiah
48
WEEK 2. JEREMIAH THE PROPHET
1390 by telling him not to worry, and that God will help him speak. From
1391 the first scene between God and Jeremiah we can summarize some basic
1392 characteristics of Jeremiah the prophet:
1393 1. Humility: when he told the Lord that he “can not speak, for he is a
1394 youth” (Jeremiah 1:6).
1395 2. Full of spirituality God has chosen Jeremiah the prophet when he was
1396 about 13 years old! That by itself says a lot about how much God valued
1397 Jeremiah the prophet.
1398 3. Obedient: When Jeremiah expressed his concerns to the Lord, and the
1399 Lord comforted him, he trusted and obeyed the Lord. Thus, witnessing
1400 to the evil and wicked people of Israel at the time.
1401 Some interesting facts about Jeremiah the prophet and his relationship
1402 with God include:
1403 1. God chose Jeremiah the prophet before he was born. This is shown in
1404 the fifth verse of the first chapter when God said, ”Before I formed you
1405 in the womb I knew you.” In order for him to serve and set a good
1406 example before the wicked, he had to be sanctified and blessed by the
1407 Lord as mentioned in Jeremiah 1:5, ”Before you were born I sanctified
1408 you.” Finally God has ordained him or appointed him to the service
1409 when He said, ”And I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
1410 2. What an honor to be so special to the Lord. We all have the same status
1411 in front of God, it’s just a matter of our willingness to serve Him and
1412 be good witness before the others, showing them the true meaning of
1413 Christianity.
1414 3. Even though Jeremiah the prophet was very strong when he went to
1415 preach about God and tell people to return from their evil ways, at
1416 times of persecutions and hardships, he would always plead with God
1417 for help and encouragement. The other amazing feature in his service
1418 is that although the people he was preaching were evil, he still cared
1419 for them and prayed for them. We see that in Chapter 9, verse 1 when
1420 Jeremiah says, ”Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain
1421 of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter
1422 of my people!” Here Jeremiah the prophet expresses his sorrow for his
1423 people.
49
1424 4. Jeremiah was never able to make the wicked people return. He worked
1425 very hard telling them to repent, but unfortunately these wicked people
1426 started plotting to kill him. He was able to escape the death several
1427 times, but he was finally killed by and for his people. He was killed by
1428 his people, and he was killed for them because he continued to care for
1429 them by carrying God’s message to them but they did not care. Similarly
1430 the Jews, who claimed to know the God of Israel all their lives, killed
1431 Christ, and Christ was killed for them because He wanted to save them
1432 and grant them eternal life.
1433 5. Here is a question for further reflection: What other characteristics of

1434 Jeremiah the prophet could we compare to Christ’s characteristics and
1435 life?
1436 We learn many virtues from Jeremiah the prophet, one of which is the
1437 relationship with God. Jeremiah always had intimate conversations with
1438 the Lord, and we pray that we would improve the quality of our talks
1439 with God. Also, Jeremiah the prophet trusted in the Lord in the hardest
1440 times when people were seeking to kill him. We wonder, if we were in
1441 his situation, if we would’ve done the same thing?
1442 Conclusion
1443 Prophets of God often performed a dual role. One was to warn a wicked
1444 nation of Gods judgments while powerfully calling on them to repent and
1445 turn from their sins. And the other was to build up and encourage the
1446 faithful of that time as well as us today to remain steadfast in living godly
1447 lives and to stay close to God in order to weather the increase in wickedness.
1448 We see that Jeremiah the prophet was a courageous yet a humble man.
1449 He started his service when he was a very young man, i.e. 13 years old.
1450 This tells us that it’s never too early to start serving the Lord. We should
1451 always have the sense of responsibility toward serving the Lord and others.
1452 Also we should learn from Jeremiah that even though we might find road
1453 blocks, we need to keep on going and asking God for His support.
1454 Applications: • Never be afraid or ashamed from what God likes you
1455 to say or do, we should always know that God would be on our side
1456 to support us.
1457 • Get more familiar with the Bible so we would be more qualified to
1458 carry the divine message to others.
50
WEEK 2. JEREMIAH THE PROPHET
1459 Exercises:
1460 1. What was Jeremiahs purpose of his calling?
1461 2. What do you learn from Jeremiahs life?
1462 3. What does God want you to do at this time?
51
1463
1464 Week 3
1465 Ezekiel the Prophet of

1466 Renewal and Unity
1467
1468 Objectives:
1469 • To learn about the new life in the prophecy of Ezekiel.
1470 • To understand the fundamentals of a christian life journey.
1471 References:
1472 • John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 17:20-23
1473 Memory Verse:
1474 The name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.
1475 (Ezekiel 48:35)
1476 Introduction
1477 Ezekiel is a priest and a prophet, ministered during the darkest days of
1478 Judah’s history: The seventy years period of Babylonian captivity. He was
1479 carried to Babylon before the final assault on Jerusalem and used prophe-
1480 cies, parables, signs and symbols to dramatize God’s message to His exiled
1481 people.
1482 Lesson Outline

1483 I. The Defeat of Jerusalem Before the Babylonians: In about 597 BC
1484 the Babylonians came under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar and
1485 besieged Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s king, Jehoiakim, surrendered and
1486 the Babylonians looted the city and took with them Jehoiakim and
1487 all the strong men as captives and sent them into exile in Babylon
52
WEEK 3. EZEKIEL THE PROPHET OF RENEWAL AND UNITY
1488 as the Scriptures say: “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried

1489 away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the
1490 princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and
1491 had brought them to Babylon” (Jeremiah 24:1).
1492 II. Ezekiel the Prophet In those days there was a great prophet whose
1493 name was Ezekiel. He prophesied of the Exile before it took place
1494 but the people did not listen to him and were not wise in what they
1495 did. Ezekiel was taken captive to Babylon and there he prophesied
1496 about what would happen in the future. The people went to him and
1497 asked about the time of salvation and rescue from that affliction and
1498 Ezekiel prophesied saying: “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he
1499 brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst
1500 of the valley; it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them
1501 all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and
1502 indeed they were very dry. And He said to me: Son of man, can these
1503 bones live? So I answered: O Lord God, You know. Again He said to
1504 me: Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the
1505 word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Surely I will
1506 cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews
1507 on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath
1508 in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.’
1509 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was
1510 a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to
1511 bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them,
1512 and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also
1513 He said to me: Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say
1514 to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O
1515 breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied
1516 as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and
1517 stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:1-10).
1518 This prophecy had a direct meaning (which was near) and a spiritual
1519 meaning. The direct meaning indicates the historical events, which
1520 took place fifty years after this prophecy when Cyrus King of Persia
1521 gave an order that the Jews would return to Jerusalem from exile and
1522 rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-4). But the remote spiritual meaning is
1523 what Ezekiel prophesied about the work of the Holy Spirit and the New
1524 Life which is given to men: “Even when we were dead in trespasses,
1525 made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5).
1526 III. The Work of the Holy Spirit
53
1527 a. The Gift of the New Life: We can imagine human beings before
1528 Christ. They were sentenced to death because of sins. That was
1529 the wide valley which was full of the bones of the dead then Christ
1530 the Hope of Gentiles, came and His light shone on those sitting in
1531 the valley of darkness and shadows of death and the voice says, “O
1532 you who are still asleep, get up rise from the dead and Christ will
1533 send light for you”. The soul that believes will pass from death to
1534 life and will rise with Christ and take, with the help of the Holy
1535 Spirit, the gift of the new life . . . and on the day of Pentecost, there
1536 was a sound which came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind
1537 and the Holy Spirit rested on the early church and all the people
1538 were filled with Spiritual power . . . gifts and miracles according to
1539 what the Holy Spirit gave them and the new man who rose with
1540 Christ began to live his new life with the Holy Spirit: “We were
1541 buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was
1542 raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
1543 should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). In this way the
1544 rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit saved us (Titus 3:5). The
1545 life of the disciples was completely transformed after they received
1546 the holy spirit during Pentecost. If we take Peter, for example,
1547 he betrayed Jesus three times before the rooster crows twice (John
1548 18:13-27). After receiving the holy spirit, however, he courageously
1549 stood up and preached to the Jews from all over the world (Acts
1550 2:14-40). Thus, the holy spirit transforms our lives from death to
1551 new life, as the prophesy of Ezekiel tells us.
1552 b. The Source of Unity: Ezekiel prophesied of the Unity of the church
1553 in which the Spirit of the Lord works, “Come from the four winds
1554 O breath and breathe upon these slain that they may live”. The
1555 breathing of the Spirit from the four parts of the world indicates
1556 the one church in the whole world which is led and guided by the
1557 Spirit of the Lord in the holy unity of all believers as the Lord
1558 Jesus desires so that all believers may become one (John 17:21), a
1559 new heart and right spirit. St. Augustine said contemplating this
1560 saying, “Come with all your sins and with all your faults, come
1561 with your heart, with your spiritual desires and in secret take off
1562 the works of darkness, take off the sins of humanity . . . the moment
1563 you do this the Spirit renews your senses which have been corrupted
1564 by iniquities and sins. In this way our souls will be holy temples
1565 for God and the Spirit of God abides in us . . . Ezekiel the Prophet
1566 wrote: Thus says the Lord Then I will sprinkle clean water on you,
54
WEEK 3. EZEKIEL THE PROPHET OF RENEWAL AND UNITY
1567 and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness
1568 and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new
1569 spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh
1570 and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and
1571 cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments
1572 and do them” (Ezekiel 36:25-27). The unity of the church is very
1573 important God. Our lord Jesus Christ prayed for the unity of the
1574 church before his death saying “. . . I in them and you in me so that
1575 they may be brought to complete unity.” John 17:20-23. And the
1576 life of the first church was a testimony of this prayer as they were
1577 living together in unity and love. The source of all this wonderful
1578 unity is the holy spirit as prophesized by Ezekiel.
1579 Conclusion
1580 The Lord appeared to Ezekiel in a heavenly vision so he fell upon his face
1581 and the Lord said to him, “Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will
1582 speak to you” (Ezekiel 2:1). This encouraged Ezekiel and the Lord gave
1583 him a message to call the captured to repent and ordered him to deliver
1584 that message.This lesson also teaches us on how God honors his promises.
1585 “It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a
1586 pen to drop out of the Law.” Luke 16:17. Thus, we can trust God, because
1587 he keeps his prophesies and promises.
1588 Applications:
1589 • Do a Bible search for the characters that saw a vision?
1590 • Unity of the church is very important to God. God tells us to love
1591 each other and live in unity. It is our responsibility to love each other,
1592 and preserve the unity of the Church.
1593 Exercises:
1594 1. Find verses from the New Testament that was actually prophesied in the
1595 book of Ezekiel.
1596 2. Do you appreciate the new life you received through our lord Jesus
1597 Christ? Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The
1598 old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! “Therefore if anyone
1599 is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the
1600 new has come!”(2 Corinthians 5:17).
55
1601 3. Whenever we are tempted to do something against our consciousness,
1602 we hear a voice inside us telling us not to do it. Have you ever had such
1603 an experience? That is the holy spirit guiding us.
1604 4. Exercise the habit of listening to the advice of God. God advices us
1605 through different means such as His word ( Titus 3:16), through other
1606 people ( 2 Samuel 12), through a voice in our heart (John 14:26), through
1607 vision like in the case of Jeremiah. God could also talk/teach to us
1608 through our problems (eg Joseph).
56
1609
1610 Week 4
1611 Daniel the Prophet of the

1612 Messiah
1613
1614 Objectives:
1615 • To Know the Character of the Coming Christ in the Book of Daniel.
1616 References:
1617 • Matthew 24 for more reference about events preceding the second
1618 coming of our lord Jesus Christ.
1619 Memory Verse:
1620 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
1621 everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel
1622 12:2)
1623 Introduction
1624 We see in King David a model indicating a greater king, i.e. the Messiah.
1625 He rules over all the world and his kingdom is endless according to the
1626 promises given from God and the prophecies uttered in the psalms. After
1627 him came prophet Isaiah and through the spirit of prophecy he revealed
1628 the personality of the coming Christ and His kingdom, which He would
1629 establish. But it was a spiritual kingdom not of this world. Here we meet
1630 with Daniel to whom Heaven revealed many secrets through visions and he
1631 saw the great events in the life of the Son of man and he prophesied of His
1632 coming and the kingdom of saints as he saw it in his vision.
57
1633 Lesson Outline
1634 I. The Son of Man in Daniel’s Vision: Daniel saw a dream: “I saw in
1635 my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring
1636 up the Great Sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each
1637 different from the other. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s
1638 wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up
1639 from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s
1640 heart was given to it. And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear.
1641 It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its
1642 teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’ After this I
1643 looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four
1644 wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given
1645 to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast,
1646 dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was
1647 devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet.
1648 It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten
1649 horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little
1650 one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were
1651 plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes
1652 of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. I watched till thrones
1653 were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment
1654 was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His
1655 throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued
1656 and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to
1657 Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was
1658 seated, and the books were opened. I watched then because of the sound
1659 of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the
1660 beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.
1661 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet
1662 their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. I was watching in
1663 the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the
1664 clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought
1665 Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory
1666 and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve
1667 Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass
1668 away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel
1669 7:4-14).
1670 II. The Saints and the Kingdom Here Daniel began to understand the
1671 interpretation of this vision. One of those standing began to explain:
58
WEEK 4. DANIEL THE PROPHET OF THE MESSIAH
1672 “Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of
1673 the earthThe fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, which
1674 shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
1675 earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings
1676 who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them;
1677 He shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings.
1678 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute
1679 the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law.
1680 Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and
1681 half a time. But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his
1682 dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and
1683 dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
1684 shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is
1685 an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him”
1686 (Daniel 7:17-27).
1687 This explanation clarifies the vision to us and gives us its spiritual
1688 meaning as follows: The Son of man who Daniel saw is Jesus Christ
1689 who took to himself the title of the “Son of man”. This means that
1690 Daniel prophesied of His coming down from heaven, His incarnation
1691 and becoming man for us, the people and for our salvation. Daniel here
1692 reveals the symbols of the Holy Trinity the One God so we see: The
1693 Father (the Ancient of Days), the Son (the Son of man) and the Holy
1694 Spirit (a river of fire running and coming out from the Father). The
1695 saints whom Daniel saw in his vision are the Christians who believed
1696 in the Incarnate God and accepted Him and He gave them dominion
1697 to become children of God and made them children of the kingdom of
1698 God. Those saints are from the kingdom of Christ, which begins and is
1699 established here on earth. This kingdom is the struggling church which
1700 includes a society whose life is characterized by holiness as they made
1701 Christ their king; the king of their life and their hearts. They obey
1702 the commandments of God and their holy hearts glorify Him. This
1703 kingdom extends to heaven which represents the triumphant church
1704 represented in the heavenly glories where the righteous inherit the
1705 kingdom prepared for them before the establishment of the world and
1706 they will attain the crowns of righteousness. Daniel revealed the fight
1707 between the world and the children of God and how the world prevails
1708 and succeeds for a limited time (the fourth kingdom refers to the
1709 Roman Empire which was in existence when Christ came and how the
1710 Romans fought the believers and persecuted them severely). But the
1711 King of kings won victory. He went out conquering and to conquer
59
1712 and to give His people triumph and victory. In all these things we are
1713 more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).
1714 III. Seventy Weeks! Gabriel the angel appeared to Daniel and said to
1715 him “I have come to tell you because the Lord loves you After seventy
1716 weeks (70 x 7 which means in the fullness of time . . . as 7 is a complete
1717 number) Christ the Holy of Holies will appear and He shall make a
1718 strong covenant with many . . . and He shall cause sacrifice and offering
1719 to cease” (Daniel 9:20-27).
1720 Conclusion
1721 Let us be cautious of those who interpret the prophecies of Daniel in a way
1722 that may make people believe that Christ will come on a certain day or
1723 that Israel in her present political circumstances is the outcome of ancient
1724 prophecies . . . as Christ will come on a day unknown to.
1725 Applications: Choose from the Second group what responds to the first
1726 group and completes the meaning:
1727 • First Group The Son of man whom Daniel saw is . . . . . . .
1728 • The four beasts stand for . . . . . .
1729 • The beast, which fights the children, is . . . . . .
1730 • The horn, which spoke great things against God stand for . . . . . .
1731 • The saints of the Most High to whom the kingdom is given are . . . . . . .
1732 Exercises:
1733 1. How did Daniel inform us of the Messiah?
1734 2. Do all Christians have to be saints? How?
1735 3. Why is Christ given the title of “Son of man”?
1736 4. Study the following verse: Daniel 7:13,14
1737 5. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out
1738 of them all” (Psalm 34:19). Explain this in the light of what you studied
1739 in the Book of Daniel.
60
1740 Part IV

1742 December
61
1743
1744 Week 1
1745 Discovering God’s Will

1746
1747 Objectives:
1748 • To appreciate the importance of seeking God’s will before every deci-
1749 sion that we make.
1750 • To know how to make decisions according to God’s will.
1751 References:
1752 • John 6:28
1753 Memory Verse:
1754 For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of
1755 a sound mind. (2Timothy 1:7)
1756 Introduction
1757 Everyday we face multiple decisions that challenge us in various aspects
1758 of our lives. Some decisions are big and some are small, but we always
1759 have to live with the consequences.Many Christians make their plans and
1760 decisions like atheists, without reference to the Lord. They verbally profess
1761 to be Christians, but their lives are no different from those who deny God’s
1762 existence. But the Lord calls us to forsake practical atheism and puts feet
1763 to our verbal profession of faith.
1764 So how do you know what to do? Our contemporary world provides us
1765 a dizzying abundance of choices and opportunities in our personal, family
1766 and public lives. Which option should we choose? Sometimes the choices
1767 for the Lord stand out starkly and we at least are aware of what we are
1768 supposed to do. But even when we know what we are supposed to do,
1769 our will to honor God often seems disabled. How do we follow through in
1770 obedience with the right choices? In our contemporary world, the choices
62
WEEK 1. DISCOVERING GOD’S WILL
1771 for the Lord are not always clear. In our family, in our vocation, and in
1772 our community several tough options often confront us, and maybe none
1773 of them seem terribly clear. How does the Christian sift through shades of
1774 gray?
1775 Lesson Outline

1776 I. God’s will has two aspects: One aspect is the revealed will of God and
1777 the other is the hidden will of God. What is the difference?
1778 • The revealed will of God is the Word of God, the Holy Bible.
1779 • The hidden will of God is His plan for each one of us that is not
1780 immediately evident on the pages of the scripture.
1781 Many Christians agonize as they try to ascertain the hidden will of
1782 God for their lives, but the key is first obeying the revealed will. It
1783 is truly amazing how much God’s hidden will becomes apparent to
1784 us when we are faithful to follow Him in the things He has already
1785 revealed. Our Lord Jesus said:“you were faithful with a few things, I
1786 will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:20). So,what is
1787 God’s revealed will for your life and my life?
1788 First, God’s will is that you and I be saved. The only way to be in the
1789 middle of the Lord’s will for our lives is to be saved and be reconciled
1790 to God through Christ. His highest hope for you and I is to be in a
1791 loving relationship with Him every moment of every day.
1792 Second, God’s will for us is to obey His commandments and love Him
1793 with all of our heart, mind and strength. The Holy Bible tells us that it
1794 is God’s will that we should avoid sexual immorality, and that we pray
1795 continually and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 4:3-
1796 5, 5:17-18). Also God’s will for all of us is to be spirit-filled (Ephesians
1797 5:18). This means that we are to surrender our will to the Lord and
1798 let the Holy Spirit direct and empower us. God’s will for us is to obey
1799 scriptural commands.
1800 But what about the situations where God does not specifically give a
1801 command? If you are unsure ask yourself these questions:
1802 a. Will God be glorified if I choose this option?

1803 b. Will people connected to this decision be strengthened in their faith
1804 or at least see a clear example of Godliness?
63
1805 c. Would Our Lord Jesus do that?
1806 d. Does this help me grow closer to the Lord?
1807 e. Would I like this done to me or said about me?
1808 II. Two important activities that help in making God’s desires your de-
1809 sires: Prayer and Godly advice. Prayer is one way the Holy Spirit
1810 works (John 16:13). Godly counsel is important in seeking to discover
1811 God’s hidden will. Ask your father of confession a Sunday School Ser-
1812 vant, or a trusted friend in church. The Holy Bible tells us that the
1813 church (all believers) is the body of Christ, and the Lord often works
1814 His blessings in our lives through other parts of the body. However,
1815 be careful whom you ask. Make sure you know that the individuals
1816 that you solicit advice from are trustworthy, mature, loving and true
1817 Christians. Seeking Godly counsel does not mean that you do exactly
1818 what they tell you but it does mean that you give serious consideration
1819 and weight to their advice.
1820 III. Waiting and Fearing God’s Will Waiting is a difficult but important
1821 part of seeking God’s will. Many of us have been conditioned by
1822 society to expect results right away. We are impatient in waiting
1823 for the Lord’s direction on important decisions in our lives. However,
1824 God tells us to wait upon Him: “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage,
1825 and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”(Psalm
1826 27:14). He is very concerned about our character, not just our clarity
1827 in decision-making. Often we find that the very process of waiting
1828 illuminates selfish, demanding areas of our hearts, which God can
1829 purify and cure.
1830 Also some people express anxiety about God’s will that it may not be
1831 according to their will and that will make them miserable. Fearing
1832 to submit to God’s will shows that we don’t know the goodness of
1833 God and His love for us. The Lord knows us perfectly. He knows our
1834 physical, mental and emotional make-up and needs. He knows our
1835 hopes, dreams, and fears. He knows all the good and bad in us and
1836 He loves us utterly the whole time. God’s desire is for our best. In
1837 fact, He wants what is best for us more than we do! “If you then,
1838 being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much
1839 more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who
1840 ask Him!”(Matthew 7:11).
64
WEEK 1. DISCOVERING GOD’S WILL
1841 Conclusion
1842 When you pray, “Lord, I am yielding my will to yours. I relinquish my
1843 own selfish plans and accept whatever you have for me,” the Lord becomes
1844 exalted because He can bring more blessing and joy in your life more now
1845 than ever before. The one place in the universe where your fears must flee
1846 forever is in the center of our loving God’s will. It doesn’t get any better
1847 than this.
1848 Applications:
1849 • Search the Bible for the acceptable prayers in the Old and New Tes-
1850 tament and look for the way they were worded.
1851 • Identify Bible personalities that submitted completely to God’s will

1852 and contemplate on the outcomes in their lives.
1853 Exercises:
1854 1. From this lesson what is God’s revealed will for your life and your family?
1855 2. What do you understand from St. Paul message when he was saying:
1856 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are hon-
1857 est, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
1858 things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any
1859 virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians
1860 4:8)
1861 3. What does It mean when the Bible says this “For this is the will of God,
1862 even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.” (1
1863 Thessalonians 4:3)
1864 4. Do you agree with this “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
1865 are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher
1866 than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
1867 than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
65
1868
1869 Week 2
1870 The Goal of Life

1871
1872 Objectives:
1873 • To show that our Life is not for us but for others.
1874 References:
1875 •
1876 Memory Verse:

1877 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
1878 (Luke 12:31)
1879 Introduction
1880 If I ask some of you about the thing that pleases each one of you, one of you
1881 will say: I feel very happy when my father buys me a new shirt. Another
1882 will say: I feel happy when I play with my friends. A third one will say: I
1883 feel happy when I watch television. A fourth one will say: I feel very happy
1884 when I have money with which I can do what I want. Another one may
1885 say: I feel happy with all these together but I also feel happy when I see my
1886 brother or my friend happy too. I feel happy when they put on a new shirt
1887 or when they enjoy the pleasure of playing with their friends or others. In
1888 general, all what pleases them pleases me. Which group do you belong to?
1889 Are you of that selfish type who cares only for himself and concentrates
1890 on what pleases him personally or are you of that type who is happy when
1891 others are happy? But, what binds me with the others so that I may be
1892 happy for their happiness and sad for their sadness?
1893 Lesson Outline

1894 I. The fellowship of brotherhood:
66
WEEK 2. THE GOAL OF LIFE
1895 1. Members of one body: We have to know that we are all members
1896 of one body; if one member suffers all the other members of the
1897 body suffer. For example, if your leg is wounded, can the body do
1898 without this wounded leg and say to it “you can suffer far away
1899 from me”? On the contrary, the whole body suffers when the leg
1900 suffers. Because we are members of one body and the head is the
1901 Lord Jesus Christ, we share one another in joys and sorrows (An
1902 example: The Church of the apostles).
1903 2. Cooperation and Integration: In soccer matches, the team cannot
1904 do without the goal keeper, nor can it do without the forward play-
1905 ers or the defenders. All play and each one has his own important
1906 place and no one can do without the other. The same is with us;
1907 each one of us has a gift and a task to do. We need one another; the
1908 thread of love gathers our hearts and combines us together. Can
1909 a miller do without the farmer who plants wheat for him or can a
1910 baker do without the miller who grinds the wheat for him or can
1911 you do without all those people? We are all in need of one another.
1912 We integrate one another. No one is self-sufficient. So we must
1913 cooperate and integrate.
1914 II. Phases of practical fellowship:
1915 1. Love and Service: Each time you can do a work of love, do it to
1916 please the heart of your brethren. If a blind man wants to cross
1917 the street help him cross the street with love. When you hear that
1918 a colleague is ill, visit him and so on.
1919 2. Pray for one another: One of the best phases of fellowship is to raise
1920 our prayers for one another especially when one of us is in trouble
1921 or ill, sad, worried or is traveling. We have to pray for them and
1922 plead the Lord to support them (Example: The Church prayed for
1923 Peter when he was in prison).
1924 3. The blessing of the Lord’s brothers: To be an active member in
1925 the body of the Lord, you can do good work in secret to the poor
1926 and the needy that are the Lord’s brothers. If your circumstances
1927 are better than those of any of them, it is your duty to help them,
1928 in the spirit of love and sacrifice. Give them as much as you can:
1929 money, visits, service but in secret (Example: Barnabas sold a field
1930 he owned, brought the money and handed it over to the apostles).
1931 4. Endurance: The person in whom Christ dwells and who is con-
1932 sidered a member in the body of Christ endures the weakness of
67
1933 others. He does not reproach them or blame them as he knows
1934 that his weaknesses and sins are more in number than those of oth-
1935 ers. Endure your brethren in their anger, endure your colleagues
1936 when they sin and pray for them, endure your friends and do not
1937 blame them when they do not share your joys or sorrows: you do
1938 not know their circumstances. Accept, with love, the instructions
1939 of the elders whether they are your parents, your brothers or your
1940 Servants.
1941 Conclusion
1942 Christianity is the religion of the second mile, which reaches out to others.
1943 It is the religion of the living sacrifices, where we sacrifice our comfort,
1944 material and time for the sake of others. It takes the example of our Lord
1945 Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for our sake.
1946 Applications:
1947 • Try to achieve these trends in Sunday School classes and write about
1948 points of success and points of failure in achieving this exercise.
1949 • Try to practice these exercises in your church and in your family to
1950 achieve your goal in life.
1951 • Think out, you and your class, how you can give food to the hungry,
1952 find a shelter for the stranger, and visit the sick people.
1953 • Contemplate the parable of the rich and fool . . . and make a compar-
1954 ison between saints such as St. Paul who sold everything for their
1955 love of King Christ and the greedy people of this life. What is your
1956 situation? Who would like to be your role model?
1957 Exercises:
1958 1. Read the First Epistle of St. Paul the apostle to the Corinthians and
1959 quote the verses which contain these words: members, body and member.
1960 2. Why can’t money, food, or all material matters be considered sufficient
1961 to be the goal of life?
1962 3. What is the true meaning of “riches” to God?
1963 4. What are the characteristics that enable you to be an heir to the King-
1964 dom of heaven? And what are the obligations?
68
1965
1966 Week 3
1967 Youth and Identifying a Goal

1968
1969 Objectives:
1970 • To realize that our spiritual goal in life is to be children of God.
1971 • To witness to God wherever we go and whatever we do.
1972 References:
1973 • 1 Timothy 4:12, 2 Chrinicles 15:7, Psalms 37:4-5, Psalms 127:1, Proverbs
1974 3:6, Proverbs 16:3
1975 Memory Verse:

1976 Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)
1977 Introduction
1978 Many people live to achieve temporary earthly goals that perish. They
1979 devote all their time and thoughts in achieving such goals even though, they
1980 get covered by rust or worms such as money or commerce, knowledge or lust
1981 or other lowly desires such as passionate indulgence. However, such people
1982 are rarely satisfied or gratified. After a while, they realize they have wasted
1983 their lives to achieve these goals. They wish that life would go back in
1984 time to give them another chance to choose a different goal. Unfortunately,
1985 time would be up, the door closed and the bridegroom already inside. They
1986 will find themselves thrown outside the door and deprived of the heavenly
1987 bridegroom.
1988 The danger such people take by living without having goals is that they
1989 are swept by the different trends surrounding them. They go because they
1990 see others doing so, and they stop as they see others stop. They do not
1991 wish to see for themselves and often wonder why they are living, or why
1992 God has created them. Because they live without a purpose, they are like
1993 a ship that sails without having any destination.
69
1994 Lesson Outline
1995 I. The Importance Of Identifying A Goal: There should be a goal and
1996 it should be identified. It should also have a defined strategy. Jesus
1997 Christ came to define your goal for you. He then holds your hand and
1998 leads you towards it. He scolds every wind, and calms every wave, so
1999 that your beat proceeds peacefully to the port, blessed by His presence
2000 inside it.
2001 II. Clarity of the Goal: By this, we mean that a person should know
2002 exactly what he is going to do, where he is going, and how much
2003 time he will spend on his journey. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, in
2004 planning for the salvation of mankind, had a goal set before Him. St.
2005 Paul the apostle expresses this when he speaks about Christ saying,
2006 “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising
2007 shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”
2008 (Hebrews 2:2). Thus the Lord came to achieve the goal He had set. He
2009 struggled to achieve it and it was motivated by His love, an inexplicable
2010 love, to save the world.
2011 III. Identifying the Goal: When Jesus handed down His mission to His
2012 disciples He made them responsible for the whole world; they had
2013 to teach all His ways. He therefore offered Himself totally to them,
2014 thereby ensuring the realization of His goal.
2015 • “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
2016 the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
2017 (Matthew 28:19).
2018 • “And you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and all Judea
2019 and Samaria and to the end of the world” (Acts 1:8).
2020 • “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you”
2021 (Matthew 28:20).
2022 • “I am with you always, even to the end of ages” (Matthew 28:20).
2023 • From the above three verses, the overall goal, its depth and its
2024 sublimity that transcends power and time, becomes clear. These
2025 last three commandments that the Lord delivered to His disciples
2026 reveal that the mission is very lengthy. In fact, it would entail
2027 all ages for its fulfillment.
2028 As for our responsibility towards this lengthy divine mission, we should
2029 observe its comprehensiveness, which seems impossible, unless it is put
70
WEEK 3. YOUTH AND IDENTIFYING A GOAL
2030 within the framework of the divine Will and the assistance of Jesus
2031 Christ. However, comprehensiveness in its full sense is hard to achieve.
2032 Nevertheless, we could serve and mark our mission by this feature
2033 when we do not discriminate among people or areas, flesh or blood,
2034 friendship or profit, moods, comfort, beliefs, or nationality. Such a
2035 multiple population, served so completely, elevates the value of the
2036 goal. It makes it a task greater than could be confined to one man,
2037 one group, or one people. Therefore, we are required to present the
2038 Lord Jesus Christ to the entire world exactly as He has presented
2039 Himself to it.
2040 The task of the Christian could be clarified in the following three
2041 goals. He hopes to achieve them through his contacts with the world,
2042 supported by Christ Himself as well as the Holy Bible:
2043 • First Goal: Promoting the relationship between people and God
2044 to achieve its true spiritual level.
2045 • Second Goal: Promoting man?s relationship with himself so that
2046 he becomes concerned with the salvation of his soul above all
2047 other considerations whatever those may be.
2048 • Third Goal: Promoting the relationship between man and his
2049 fellowmen in order to raise it to its original divine status, and
2050 give it priority over all other considerations.
2051 IV. Consolidating the Goal: When a Christian succeeds in achieving his
2052 goal in society, on the basis of the above three specifications, he will
2053 find that this does not guarantee steadfastness. To ensure the strength
2054 and development of a human soul, or any group within the limits of the
2055 defined goal, a transformation must take place whereby the affected
2056 become effective. In other words, there is the need to become contin-
2057 ually and actively alive. For every person living with Jesus Christ is
2058 required to be actively alive within the body of God. This necessitates
2059 unity with the Church and close adherence to it.
2060 Consequently, any work undertaken by a Christian and which does
2061 not end with leading people to join the Church or end in their per-
2062 severance in prayer so that they, too, would carry the mission one
2063 of these days, would come short of achieving the goal. This is so be-
2064 cause life with Jesus Christ is inconceivable if a person is isolated from
2065 the rest of those who live with Him. All this is a preparation work
2066 for the greater task undertaken by a person to get spiritually unified
2067 with all people in the whole world to love them on the basis of, and
71
2068 through, Christ’s love for everyone. That is how the responsibility of
2069 a Christian transcends the circle of Church service and moves into the
2070 circle that comprises work for the benefit of all mankind. It involves
2071 responsibility for providing the needs of all nations and peoples who
2072 are suffering or are deprived. That is the goal of Christ’s mission as
2073 well as that of the Bible. It is the way that Christ has designated
2074 as the perfect picture of the Christian person. This is how man was
2075 at the beginning - in the image of God and likewise upon the Cross,
2076 the picture of Christ, Himself, crucified for the salvation of the whole
2077 world.
2078 We are all invited to attain this picture. We can achieve it whether
2079 through our small services or larger ones within the Church. It is
2080 a possible task when the heart is prepared to receive and love every
2081 person it meets; becoming like Christ’s heart and actually taking on
2082 His power to change and convert the hearts of men. In other words, as
2083 much as the task is comprehensive, it becomes a prerogative to open
2084 up one?s heart. Moreover, to consolidate the goal as well as ensure its
2085 promotion, we need to exert a great effort.
2086 Conclusion
2087 This lesson revealed to us an important aspect and a deep concept of the
2088 Christian life; in that it is not mere mental doctrines, nor controversial
2089 philosophies, but is rather a life and a spirit by which the youth lives, as
2090 well as the student; each within his own responsibility and work.
2091 Paul told Timothy, a younger man in the faith, “Let no man despise
2092 thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation,
2093 in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12). God specifically
2094 commands us, as young people, to be leadersto lead by example. We are
2095 to understand God’s instructions to us and let the world watch us grow in
2096 our spiritual walk with the Lord. Finally, never give up. When we fail the
2097 Lord in various areas of our lives, get back on track through repentance
2098 prayer and Bible study and keep purposing to please Him in everything
2099 you do. Keep striving to be an example “of the disciples.” God earnestly
2100 desires to help us, walk with us and strengthen us in every area of our
2101 lives. All we need to do is to obey Him and yield ourselves to Him and to
2102 His will. Difficult times will come– loneliness, anxiety, peer pressure and
2103 discouragement will look us straight into the eyes at times. But God is
2104 always faithful to us. Purpose to remain faithful to Him.
72
WEEK 3. YOUTH AND IDENTIFYING A GOAL
2105 Applications:
2106 • This lesson revealed to us an important aspect and a deep concept

2107 of the Christian life; in that it is not mere mental doctrines, nor
2108 controversial philosophies, but is rather a life and a spirit by which the
2109 youth lives, as well as the student; each within his own responsibility
2110 and work.
2111 • Paul told Timothy, a younger man in the faith, ;”Let no man despise
2112 thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in con-
2113 versation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12). God
2114 specifically commands us, as young people, to be leadersto lead by
2115 example. We are to understand God’s instructions to us and let the
2116 world watch us grow in our spiritual walk with the Lord.
2117 • Finally, never give up. When we fail the Lord in various areas of our
2118 lives, get back on track through repentance prayer and Bible study
2119 and keep purposing to please Him in everything you do. Keep striving
2120 to be an example ”of the disciples.” God earnestly desires to help us,
2121 walk with us and strengthen us in every area of our lives. All we
2122 need to do is to obey Him and yield ourselves to Him and to His
2123 will. Difficult times will come–loneliness, anxiety, peer pressure and
2124 discouragement will look us straight into the eyes at times. But God
2125 is always faithful to us. Purpose to remain faithful to Him.
2126 Exercises:
2127 1. What is the importance of Identifying a Goal and clarity of our Goal?
2128 2. What do you think we learn from the life of Timothy? And what made
2129 him to be strong in the eyes of the Lord?
73
2130
2131 Week 4
2132 Christianity is a Practical Life

2133
2134 Objectives:
2135 • To describe the practice of alms giving at the individual and group
2136 levels.
2137 References:
2138 • 1 John 3:11-18; James 1:27, 2:14-16
2139 Memory Verse:

2140 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in
2141 truth. (1 John 3:18)
2142 Introduction
2143 James the apostle says: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says
2144 he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother
2145 or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them,
2146 ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things
2147 which are needed for the body, what does it profit” (James 2:14-16). In his
2148 first Epistle St. John says, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees
2149 his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of
2150 God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue,
2151 but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18). Lord Jesus Himself not only
2152 gave us commandments about mercy, love and kindness but He also gave
2153 us His Body. He gave “Himself” to us as a model to follow His steps. He
2154 came down from heaven to become man like us in everything except sin
2155 only. He lived as a poor man and worked as a carpenter in Joseph’s house.
2156 He visited the poor in their homes. He also entered the houses of sinners
2157 and tax collectors. He shared the household of Lazarus with His heart and
2158 tears, and He shared in the wedding at Cana of Galilee with His love and
2159 rejoicing. In this way, He gave us a model for practical participation.
74
WEEK 4. CHRISTIANITY IS A PRACTICAL LIFE
2160 Lesson Outline

2161 I. Typical Life Examples: The following are examples of problems many
2162 people are going through. We should do something to help those
2163 people:
2164 1. The Orphan: A little boy who lost one of his parents or both of
2165 them and he had nobody to support him. He lost the kindness of
2166 the mother and the parents’ care so he became needy, vagrant and
2167 deviant.
2168 2. The Widow: A woman whose husband died so she and her children
2169 are without means of support and her responsibility towards her
2170 children and her duty to bring them up make her unable to work
2171 to support her children.
2172 3. Unemployment: A young man who is able to work but he does not
2173 find a job to help him support himself and his family. He may have
2174 a profession or experience but he does not have the money needed
2175 for a simple project.
2176 4. Poverty: A worker whose resources are very few and whose wage is
2177 very low and limited and the demands of life are pressing, had to
2178 borrow money and the creditors ask for their money back. He dwells
2179 in an unsuitable house and his children suffer from malnutrition
2180 because of lack of food. He was forced to find work for his children
2181 at an early age, so he deprived them of being sent to school.
2182 5. Addiction: A family supporter who spends a large portion of his
2183 limited income on drinking wine, smoking or tea or any other things
2184 and what remains does not suffice the necessities of life. His health
2185 is dangerously affected and the family atmosphere and home hap-
2186 piness are corrupted.
2187 II. Some Domains in which we can serve the Lord Christ:
2188 1. Visiting orphanages and charity institutions to study their spiritual

2189 needs and material needs, and showing them spiritual and cultural
2190 films, making Agapi (love) parties there, and giving children some
2191 religious and scientific books.
2192 2. Visiting the widows and the disabled and giving them help and
2193 care, caring for old people and the aged ones who have nobody to
2194 support them and sending them to institutions.
75
2195 3. Visiting a family that suffers a severe shock or that is in grief and
2196 sorrow, and sitting with those in grief to soften their suffering by
2197 reading them texts from the Holy bible.
2198 4. Visiting those in prison after getting permission and offering the
2199 prisoners some pamphlets and spiritual guidance, and encouraging
2200 them to repent and endure affliction if they are not guilty.
2201 5. Giving help to the poor and the unemployed by possibly setting up
2202 small projects to support themselves.
2203 6. Finding a dwelling place for sojourners and looking for some sort
2204 of make agreements with social and national institutions to make
2205 an integrated plan for offering services.
2206 7. Visiting patients in hospitals and comforting them by showing the
2207 feelings of love and raising prayers for them.
2208 III. Examples of things offered in the previous domains:
2209 1. Materials: money, food, sweets, presents clothes, covering.

2210 2. Cultural: Holy books, religious and cultural books, magazines pic-
2211 tures.
2212 3. Abstracts: Visits, reconcilement, sharing occasions.
2213 4. Spiritual: prayers, gospel, religious pictures, public masses, visits
2214 and individual work.
2215 IV. Instructions in Social Service
2216 1. Respect the poor man’s feelings and dignity. Do not hurt him by
2217 any word but at the same time be on your guard so that you may
2218 not be a prey for swindlers. Therefore, a social worker should study
2219 each case.
2220 2. Concentrate on prayers and reading the Bible during your visits.
2221 3. Draw the poor people’s attention to the Lord Jesus, as He is the
2222 source of every good gift and do not tie them to yourself.
2223 4. Try to find a suitable job for each unemployed man for alms may
2224 drive people to laziness.
2225 V. A Problem and its Solution: We do not have enough money to meet
2226 the needs of the poor and our pocket money is limited. This problem
2227 faced the disciples when the Lord Jesus asked them to give food to the
2228 multitude and they said to Him. “We do not have enough food”. We
76
WEEK 4. CHRISTIANITY IS A PRACTICAL LIFE
2229 have to believe that He who blessed the little and filled five thousand
2230 people with five loaves can bless our little money and our gifts and the
2231 more we pray and show zeal the more the Lord gives us. Then comes
2232 the story of the poor widow who dropped two coins in the treasury
2233 chest out of her want and the Lord praised her saying: “Truly I say
2234 to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these
2235 out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of
2236 her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had” (Luke 21:1-4). This
2237 emphasizes that the limited potentialities did not hinder the woman
2238 to excel over the rich when she gave out of her want. The spirit and
2239 the way of almsgiving are more important than its amount. So we
2240 have to offer the little that we have and we have to ask loving people
2241 to participate in the projects we make for the poor.
2242 Conclusion
2243 As Christians we show our faith through our acts. We are sensitive to the
2244 needs and pains of others. We show them love and mercy as the Lord loves
2245 us and is always merciful to us.
2246 Applications:
2247 • Think of a person in need and practice of some of the above mentioned
2248 domains of service.
2249 • Together with you class and Sunday School teacher, plan to visit
2250 people in need and help in their suffering by showing love.
2251 Exercises:
2252 1. How does God want us love each other?
2253 2. List three group of people who are suffering among the society.
2254 3. List ways Christians can assist the people you mentioned in (1).
77
2255 Part V

2257 January
78
2258
2259 Week 1
2260 The Coming of the Savior

2261 Jesus Christ
2262
2263 Objectives:
2264 • To contemplate the Nativity of the King of Glory and the Prince of
2265 Peace.
2266 • To know the fulfillment of the prophecy made in the old testament
2267 about coming of Jesus Christ
2268 • To understand Salvation attained by coming of Jesus Christ
2269 • To know the sacrifice that Jesus made for us
2270 References:
2271 • Luke 1:26-38
2272 • John 3:16
2273 Memory Verse:
2274 Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
2275 (Luke 2:10)
2276
2277 Introduction
2278 Since Adam fell and was driven out of the Garden of Eden, the Lord
2279 promised Adam that the seed of the woman would smite the head of the
2280 serpent and man waited for a long time and expected that the Lord would
2281 fulfill His promise through the Law and the prophets. In the Old Testament
2282 there are many clear references indicating the Coming of the Messiah and
79
2283 that the Promises of God must be fulfilled . . . as what happens before dawn
2284 appears . . . rays of light gather and light shines suddenly and darkness is
2285 no more . . . . Jesus came to give himself as a sacrifice for all peoples so that
2286 we could escape our failure and reconnect with God
2287 Lesson Outline

2288 I. The Prophecy: Isaiah prophesied that Christ would come when he
2289 said, “For to us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the govern-
2290 ment will be upon His shoulder and His name will be called Wonderful
2291 Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah
2292 9:6) The same prophet says, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear
2293 a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Jeremiah
2294 emphasizes the promise when he says, “Behold, the days are coming,
2295 says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Is-
2296 rael and with the house of Judah– not according to the covenant that I
2297 made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead
2298 them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though
2299 I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that
2300 I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord:
2301 I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I
2302 will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jeremiah 31:31-33).
2303 The Old Testament paved the way for the New Testament, which is
2304 a spiritual testament. In it the Lord dwells in man and we become
2305 God’s people.
2306 II. The Day, which the Lord has made: Let us rejoice and be glad in it
2307 . . . . In the first two chapters of his Gospel St. Luke explained how
2308 man was joyfully waiting for the day when Christ comes according to
2309 God’s promise. When Virgin Mary visited Elizabeth, she sang hymns
2310 of praise and said, “My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit has
2311 rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His
2312 maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
2313 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His
2314 name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to
2315 generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the
2316 proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty
2317 from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry
2318 with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped
80
WEEK 1. THE COMING OF THE SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
2319 His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our

2320 fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever” (Luke 1:46-55).
2321 When Zechariahs the Priest opened his mouth, he said, “Blessed is the
2322 Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, and
2323 has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant
2324 David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been
2325 since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and
2326 from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to
2327 our fathers and to remember His holy covenant” (Luke 1:68-72).
2328 When Simon the elder was in the temple, he took the child Jesus in
2329 his arms and gave thanks to God and said, “Lord, now You are letting
2330 Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word: For my eyes
2331 have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of
2332 all people” (Luke 2:29-31). There was also a very old prophetess, a
2333 widow named Anna. She never left the temple day and night she
2334 worshiped God. That very same hour she arrived and gave thanks to
2335 God and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for God to
2336 set Jerusalem free (Luke 2:38) . . . Christ, through His Incarnation and
2337 His coming to us as man brought back our nature and our first order
2338 to us. The greatness of what the Lord did by His coming to us, His
2339 Incarnation and His Nativity can be shown through the hymn, which
2340 the angels sang the moment the Lord Jesus was born “Glory be to
2341 God in the highest and on earth peace . . . good will toward men” (Luke
2342 2:14).
2343 III. Glory be to God in the Highest: Through Nativity man could share the
2344 angels in glorifying God. All heavenly and earthly creatures gathered
2345 to bow to Jesus and glorify Him . . . This is what the church says in
2346 her prayers: ”We worship You, O Christ with Your Good Father and
2347 the Holy Spirit for You have come and saved us”.
2348 a. And on earth peace: In the prophecy of Isaiah, the Lord Jesus was
2349 called ”the prince of peace” and the peace He sent on earth is the
2350 spiritual peace, which helps man to overcome sin as sin drives peace
2351 away. He gave us His peace by saying, ”Peace I leave with you, my
2352 peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, I give unto you”.
2353 The Lord reconciled the heavenly creatures with the earthly ones
2354 and reconciled the soul with the flesh. In this way the church has
2355 become the kingdom of true peace on earth.
2356 b. Good will toward men: True happiness and good will result from
2357 the strong relationship between God and man and it gives man true
81
2358 joy, which is the work of the Holy Spirit in the believers. That is
2359 why the church in her prayers says, ”Fill our hearts with joy and
2360 gladness. Fill our hearts with rejoice and grace that we may develop
2361 every good deed and should be satisfied with the bare necessity”.
2362 Conclusion
2363 Let us sing praise with St. Mary when she said: “For He who is mighty has
2364 done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those
2365 who fear Him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:49-50).
2366 Applications:
2367 • Read the good news that the angel brought to the shepherds (Luke
2368 2:8-14) and paint the scene.
2369 • Make a Nativity cavern showing the Nativity events. Invite your
2370 friends and explain these events to them and sing together the Nativ-
2371 ity hymns.
2372 • The following prayer should be recited daily this week: ”O Lord, who
2373 were born in poverty for me. Grant me that I will devote all my life
2374 for you. You who saved me through your Incarnation grant me that
2375 I give you myself and my whole life. You who gave me your peace let
2376 me be a messenger of peace among all the people”.
2377 • As we are in a testament where the ruler is not law but grace of God;
2378 we shall make use of the power gained through grace to rule over sin
2379 and live for Christ.(Romans 6:13-14)
2380 Exercises:
2381 1. What made God to send His only son to become a man and sacrifice
2382 Himself to avenge our sin?
2383 2. How do you remember the coming of Christ?
2384 3. Meditate that Jesus Christ came to earth in order to save us
82
2385
2386 Week 2
2387 My Need for Jesus Christ

2388
2389 Objectives:
2390 • There is no life without Jesus Christ.
2391 References:
2392 •
2393 Memory Verse:
2394 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
2395 Introduction
2396 Within man there is a need that is endless and unsuitable. All philosophical
2397 and psychological studies have identified that need. Moreover, the daily
2398 observation of man’s life has proved its existence. For example, man may
2399 seek knowledge and he may attain various scientific degrees, however, he is
2400 still unsatisfied and demands more.
2401 Another may seek the truth, and the truth is God, so he struggles in his
2402 search. However, he does not reach the other bank for the simple reason
2403 that he is limited. At the same time, there is within him an infinite hunger
2404 that can be satisfied by God only. This need will not be satisfied except
2405 in the world to come, when man shakes off the finiteness of his flesh and
2406 short sightedness and puts on another nature granted by God. Then the
2407 words of the apostle will be fulfilled: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly,
2408 but then face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Similarly, man may struggle
2409 in his search for money. He may obtain a lot of it. However, he continues
2410 his relentless pursuit. This is because money is limited and no matter how
2411 plentiful it is, money can never satisfy that infinite hunger within man.
2412 The same theory applies to earthly pleasures. Man may strive and seek
2413 them, he may greedily indulge in them every day, yet he is never satisfied.
83
2414 Actually, these pleasures are like salty water, which does not quench thirst,
2415 but rather inflames it. This reveals the truth of the saying, ”‘man’s heart
2416 is a triangle, and even if we put inside it the whole globe, the angles will
2417 still be empty”’. For there is nothing that can satisfy the triangle of man’s
2418 heart other than the unity in One God. A philosopher known as Baggy
2419 said, ”‘Man is a deep well of desires, and a well can never be filled. No
2420 matter how much water is poured into it, it will never be filled”’. Now, let
2421 us ask ourselves: what are my real needs? How can I satisfy them?
2422 Lesson Outline

2423 Man’s deepest needs can be grouped into two categories:
2424 a. Psychological needs: Such as the need for love, success and security.
2425 b. Spiritual needs: Such as forgiveness, inner peace and immortality
2426 However the good part about being a Christian is God can supply all you
2427 need, when you acknowledge your need for Jesus Christ. So lets see some
2428 of the needs and how God fulfills them.
2429 I. The need for Life: If you are reading this you are alive, and may think
2430 that Jesus Christ has nothing to do with it. However, the life you
2431 have now was given to you, and it is destined to end. The life that
2432 comes through Jesus Christ has no end. If you enjoy life and want it
2433 to continue then you need Jesus Christ. There is no life without Him.
2434 Eternal life is through Him (Rom 6:23).
2435 II. The Need for Love: This is a real need present in man’s inner depths.
2436 Without love, man lives within his shell, isolated from the flow of
2437 human life. He is wrapped within himself and deprived of communal
2438 life. However, human love is limited, and is often diverted. In fact,
2439 it is a love that likes to take before it gives. Consequently, it is not
2440 satisfying and soon becomes transformed into hatred. On the other
2441 hand, if we obtain infinite spiritual love that proceeds from the heart of
2442 God, we will be satisfied. Moreover, we will offer it to others without
2443 any hindrance, reservation, or diversion. It will take the form of a
2444 holy, generous, and communal quality that is self-sacrificial.
2445 III. The Need for Success: The definition of success varies from one person
2446 to another. However, real success is to “prosper in all things and be in
2447 health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2). This important form
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WEEK 2. MY NEED FOR JESUS CHRIST
2448 of success is a gift of God only. It protects the soul from harm and
2449 grants it true peace. This is what truly makes man successful in all
2450 the walks of life, and not only in one limited sphere as that of money
2451 or knowledge.
2452 IV. The Need for Security: Man may live in a fortified fortress but still
2453 experience fear from people or the unknown future. Our children,
2454 however, experience real security for they are supported by God?s
2455 promise “Fear not, for I am with you”. Thus they are saved from the
2456 torment of fear. Moreover, they speak out of perfect love that casts
2457 out fear (1 John 4:18).
2458 V. The Need for Forgiveness: “For there is no other name under heaven
2459 given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). For Jesus
2460 Christ alone is the redeemer and “through His blood, the forgiveness
2461 of sins” (Ephesians 1:7). He is the only offering that can adequately
2462 cover our sins. This gift cannot be granted by anyone else other than
2463 Jesus Christ. Man obtains it through repentance, baptism, and Holy
2464 Communion.
2465 VI. The Need for Immortality: It is impossible for man to be satisfied by
2466 the world or by time for he will always transcend these and aspire
2467 to an encompassing immortality and happy eternity with God. Such
2468 eternal life is confined in the person of Jesus Christ for “this is eternal
2469 life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
2470 whom You have Sent” (John 17:3).
2471 VII. The Need for Strength: Some people are stronger than others, but
2472 there always seems to be someone or some thing more powerful in this
2473 life to overwhelm you. Only some of us have great physical strength.
2474 Yet, what of the inner strength needed to make right choices, to live
2475 each day, and to resist the evil. How does one go on? Jesus Christ
2476 provides this strength when all things are done through him (Phil
2477 4:11-13).
2478 VIII. The Need for Peace: Peace is allusive in this world where we toil to
2479 provide what we need, and there are constantly others who are trying
2480 to take what we have. We can have peace with God through Jesus
2481 Christ (Rom 5:1). We can also have the peace of God work in us
2482 through the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 4:7). Peace is something every
2483 man desires, and yet few have consistently without Christ.
85
2484 IX. The Need for Grace: We would not have of any of these things if it
2485 were not for Gods grace giving them to us freely. All is fulfilled by the
2486 grace of God. A just man would uphold the principle of giving people
2487 what they deserve, but what if you deserve nothing or worse? What
2488 is your net worth then? What of the times you fail, sin, or break the
2489 law? No one truly wants what they deserve, they want more. If you
2490 are a sinner, you need more. Grace is necessary for you to continue,
2491 and the grace of God to you is in the providence of Jesus Christ.
2492 Conclusion
2493 Man’s deepest needs can be grouped into two categories. Psychological
2494 needs: Such as the need for love, success, strength, and security, and Spiri-
2495 tual needs: Such as forgiveness, grace, inner peace and immortality. Jesus
2496 Christ can only fulfill all these needs.
2497 Shepherd of our souls, we are lost without You. Help us to rejoice in
2498 Your presence that we do not think of straying. Thank You for Your love
2499 that find us and holds us unto You.
2500 Applications:
2501 • Train yourself to read Bible and pray regularly.
2502 • Train yourself to love, start with your fellow brothers and extend that
2503 to include the love of enemies.
2504 • Train yourself to go into retreat so that your soul is at peace and can
2505 meet Jesus Christ even for one hour on a weekly basis.
2506 • Go regularly to confession to obtain absolution and forgiveness and

2507 to solve your problems.
2508 • ’Turn your soul to God and you will find peace’ St. Abba Moussa.
2509 Exercises:
2510 1. Tell your friend what you got through Jesus Christ
86
2511
2512 Week 3
2513 Salvation in the Orthodox

2514 Understanding
2515
2516 Objectives:
2517 • To understand the concept and meaning of salvation in the Orthodox

2518 Church.
2519 • To understand the importance of working towards salvation.
2520 References:
2521 • “Salvation in the Orthodox Understanding” By His Holiness Pope

2522 Shenouda
2523 Memory Verse:
2524 By works, faith is made perfect. (James 2:22)
2525 Introduction
2526 Many Christians believe that salvation can happen in an instant and last
2527 a lifetime. Yet, in the Orthodox Church, salvation is a long continuous
2528 process.
2529 Lesson Outline

2530 I. The danger of using a single verse: Wrong practice can lead to incor-
2531 rect understanding of Biblical truths. Consider the following examples:
2532 a. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and
2533 your household” (Acts 16:31). Some take this verse to mean that
2534 salvation comes through faith alone. This verse was said to an
87
2535 unbeliever, so he needs to believe in Christ first as a beginning of
2536 a life of salvation. Sometimes the Bible mentions a first step:
2537 • Simeon the Elder said: “my eyes have seen Your salvation”
2538 (Luke 2:31).
2539 • Christ said, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke
2540 19:9). How could salvation come to the entire household through
2541 the faith of the jailer? If we continue the passage, we see that he
2542 and his family were baptized. So we learn that we have to put
2543 together a number of verses in order to understand “salvation”
2544 correctly.
2545 b. Once a young man came to Christ and asked Him what he should
2546 do to have Eternal life (Matt 19:17). Christ did not mention faith
2547 or grace in his response. Christ said he needed to keep the com-
2548 mandments. Should we then say that keeping the commandments
2549 is sufficient without faith, baptism, and the sacraments? Christ
2550 here made His comments in order to reach this person’s weakness.
2551 c. “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God”
2552 (Romans 5:1). Again this verse alone indicates that justification is
2553 through faith alone. We should include other verses, such as, “For
2554 not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers
2555 of the law will be justified” (Rom 2:13). Also, “You see then that a
2556 man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:24).
2557 II. There is no salvation except through the blood of Christ alone:
2558 a. Faith in the redeeming work of Christ is essential for salvation.

2559 Those who do good works apart from faith in Christ will not be
2560 saved.
2561 b. Why can there be no salvation but only through the blood of
2562 Christ? Since God is unlimited, any sin committed against Him
2563 is also unlimited. So sin cannot be forgiven except by an unlimited
2564 propitiation. Therefore the only solution for man is for God to take
2565 flesh and die on man’s behalf.
2566 c. Conditions of salvation through the blood of Christ: Faith, Bap-
2567 tism, Church sacraments and Good works.
2568 III. The importance of working for salvation:
2569 a. Evil works lead to perdition: Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5-6, 1

2570 Corinthians 6:9-10.
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WEEK 3. SALVATION IN THE ORTHODOX UNDERSTANDING
2571 b. Judgment will be according to works: Psalm 62:12, Ecclesiastics

2572 12:14, Matthew 16:27, John 5:28-29, Matthew 12:37.
2573 c. Works are requited of faith: Luke 3:8, James 2:14, Matthew 21:43.
2574 d. Works are evidence of the existence of faith: James 2:18.
2575 e. Works are evidence of being born of God: 1 John 2:29.
2576 f. Works make faith perfect: James 2:22.
2577 IV. Striving:
2578 a. A person cannot be saved through his own efforts. “Without Me

2579 you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Grace is necessary for salvation,
2580 but it cannot solely save us unless we respond to it.
2581 b. The communion of the Holy Spirit. It is a fellowship where both
2582 we and the Holy Spirit work together. The Holy Spirit alone could
2583 save us, but He does not work against our will.
2584 c. The necessity of striving. “Therefore we also, since we are sur-
2585 rounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
2586 weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with
2587 endurance the race that is set before us. . . . You have not yet re-
2588 sisted to bloodshed, striving against sin” (Hebrews 12:1-4). “I have
2589 fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2590 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which
2591 the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not
2592 to me only but also to all” (2 Timothy 4:7-8 ).
2593 d. The spiritual war. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
2594 devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
2595 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings
2596 are experienced by your brotherhood in the world who have loved
2597 His appearing” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
2598 V. Confidence and trust concerning the Kingdom of God:
2599 a. Two questions: To what extent may one have hope in God’s mercy?
2600 Can a believer trust that he will attain the Kingdom?
2601 b. Unlimited trust in God. We have hope in God’s mercy. Hope is
2602 one of the three great virtues mentioned in l Corinthians 13:13.
2603 c. We should not trust our own will. A person may err easily. A
2604 person is mistaken to think that he has done away with sin and is
2605 now renewed and sanctified. We trust in Christ’s blood, but admit
89
2606 our tendency to sin: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will
2607 all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). “Therefore let him who thinks he
2608 stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
2609 d. Are you saved or not? We answer saying, “We were saved from the
2610 original sin in baptism, but final salvation shall be attained when
2611 we put off the flesh”. The Church does not celebrate the birthdays
2612 of the saints or the day that they were accepted in the Church.
2613 It celebrates the godly completion of the journey of their lives on
2614 earth.
2615 e. Let your answers be from the faith of the Church: “Lean not on
2616 your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Church teaches us in our
2617 prayers: “If the righteous is hardly saved, where shall I a sinner
2618 appears? Behold I am about to stand before the Just Judge, ter-
2619 rified and trembling because of my many sins. For a life spent in
2620 pleasures deserves condemnation. So repent, O my soul, so long as
2621 you dwell on this earth . . . .” These prayers teach us not to rely on
2622 any guarantee, but to struggle with humility for salvation.
2623 VI. Is it possible that a believer should perish?
2624 a. First example: “Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken
2625 off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God
2626 did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
2627 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who
2628 fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, and if you continue in His
2629 goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off ” (Romans 11:20-22 ).
2630 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and
2631 every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit
2632 . . . if anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and
2633 is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and
2634 they are burned” (John 15:2-6).
2635 b. Second example: Hebrews 10:26-31.
2636 c. Those who deny the faith: 2 Peter 2:20-21.
2637 d. The saints can be overcome: “And it was granted to him to make
2638 war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given
2639 him over every tribe, tongue, and nation” (Revelations 13:7).
2640 e. The perdition of Demas: Colossians 4:14, Philemon 1:24, 2 Timothy
2641 4:10.
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WEEK 3. SALVATION IN THE ORTHODOX UNDERSTANDING
2642 Conclusion
2643 Both faith and works are essential for a continuing process of salvation.
2644 Applications:
2645 • Do a search regarding the understanding of salvation in the Protestant

2646 and Catholic faith?
2647 Exercises:
2648 1. Thank God for He has provided us with a way of salvation.
2649 2. Think about which of your current behavior could hinder from living on
2650 the way of salvation.
2651 3. Discuss with your friends at school about salvation by the blood of Jesus
2652 Christ.
91
2653
2654 Week 4
2655 Commitment in Spiritual Life

2656
2657 Objectives:
2658 • Commitment (seriousness) in Spiritual Life.
2659 References:
2660 • Book of Job
2661 • The four Gospels
2662 Memory Verse:
2663 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or dis-
2664 tress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
2665 As it is written: For Your sake we are killed all day long. (Romans
2666 8:35-36)
2667 Introduction
2668 We all strive to be saints during this life but many times we fall short
2669 to achieving our goal and we feel like we are dragged back to where we
2670 started. We then wonder how these people that the Church mentions in
2671 the Synaxarium became the saints they are. These saints lived in the same
2672 evil world we live in, they were tempted with the same temptations that we
2673 are tempted with, and some of them even lived a worse life than us all. So
2674 why are these people saints and we are not? The answer to the question is
2675 very simple. Maybe these people lived a part of their life in darkness and
2676 evil, as with St. Moses the black, but at one point they made a commitment
2677 to God and did not turn back away from it. They became committed and
2678 serious about their spiritual life no matter what risks, dangers, or losses
2679 they had to endure as a result to their steadfast stand to such a decision.
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WEEK 4. COMMITMENT IN SPIRITUAL LIFE
2680 Lesson Outline

2681 Most of us live in a state of a coma. We work in the morning, watch TV
2682 in the evening, eat when hungry, and sleep when tired. We don’t have
2683 any set standards or spiritual goals in our lives. We then go to confession
2684 and say that we feel like sinners and do not know what to do. First and
2685 foremost we need to sit with ourselves and know whether we are serious
2686 about Jesus Christ or not, whether we are willing to do what it takes for
2687 us to be His or not, or are we so weak that after hearing His calling and
2688 seeing his open loving arms, we decide to “be sad at the Word, and go away
2689 grieving” (Mark 10:22) as did the rich man. Most of us are always looking
2690 for things to do to earn the heavenly kingdom. It would be our dream come
2691 true if our father of confession would give us a list of 1,2,3’s to do that will
2692 guarantee us heaven. Unfortunately God is not like that. God does not
2693 work with lists or requirements. We cannot just give Him what is His’, and
2694 then we’re free to do whatever we want. The commandment is very clear,
2695 “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
2696 soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). A
2697 full and complete life commitment to worship God and to follow Him to
2698 the ends of the earth is our key to abide in Him. No space for the world or
2699 any of its desires should be present after Jesus comes in.
2700 When we meditate on the lives of the saints of our Church, we always
2701 see four characteristic features in their spiritual life. These four aspects
2702 or characteristics should be the cornerstone and the blue print of our own
2703 spiritual lives.
2704 I. Clarity of goal: First point to a successful serious spiritual life is a clear
2705 goal; eyes wide open on the road; a mission; a plan. Sadly however,
2706 we sometimes even forget the reason why we come to Church. Who
2707 can boldly say, “I come to Church to meet with Jesus?” Who of us is
2708 actually coming to Church to ask for a favor from God, to meet with
2709 friends, to just satisfy his parents, or to not even feel guilt for not
2710 going to Church on Sundays, and who among us is actually coming to
2711 Church to have a personal chat with Jesus? Since we do not have a
2712 clear goal, we are lost and confused. We do not know which college
2713 to go to, what field to major in, whom to marry what job to accept
2714 . . . etc.
2715 Our Church fathers did not have that confusion in their lives. They
2716 had a clear goal. Even when their neck was under the sword, their
2717 goal was still clear, Jesus Christ. No one could shake their faith; their
2718 goal was clear. Their clear goal was “my life does not matter, my life
93
2719 does not make a difference, that is how much I do not care if I live
2720 or die as long as I live with Jesus Christ, that is how much clear I
2721 see the way.” Their vision was so clear that the Church decided to
2722 name those who died for Jesus Christ Martyrs, which means, “to see”.
2723 Martyrdom means the “vision” or the “revelation”.
2724 In Church manuscripts there is a story about an emperor that was
2725 persecuting Christians. One day he was torturing an 87-year-old man
2726 by the name of Polycarp. The emperor felt so sad for that old man
2727 and for what he was going through that he told him, “Have mercy
2728 on your age and deny Jesus Christ so that I may grant you mercy”.
2729 With all faith and with all clarity of goal the old man Polycarp told
2730 him, “87 years I lived with Jesus Christ and he never betrayed me,
2731 how can I betray him now?” St. Polycarp is indeed a deserving saint
2732 in our Church, may we all ask for his prayers and supplications to the
2733 Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf that He may grant us clarity of goal.
2734 Let us all have a clear and an apparent Jesus. Lets us not put Him
2735 on a balance and see what we need to give up to have Him and then
2736 weigh it out. How can one weigh an absolute such as our Lord Jesus
2737 Christ with relative things of this world? And if Jesus is our absolute,
2738 then there is no other absolute out there, for there can only be one
2739 right absolute “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. The
2740 world is passing away, and its lust. But the one doing the will of God
2741 abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
2742 II. Determination: Second point to a successful serious spiritual life is

2743 persistence. We can find good example in Daniel 3:1-30. “At the time
2744 of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, he builds a giant golden statue and
2745 sets it up on a plain near Babylon. His reverence for Daniel’s God ap-
2746 parently evaporating, Nebuchadnezzar gathers together all the officials
2747 and VIPs from throughout the Babylonian Empire and its different na-
2748 tions and languages. He invites them to come to the statue’s dedication
2749 ceremony. When everyone is assembled, they are ordered to bow down
2750 and worship the golden statue when the music strikes upor else they’ll
2751 be thrown into a fiery furnace. Apparently, everyone bows down and
2752 does as their told. Well . . . almost everyone. Some Babylonians attack
2753 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego for being disobedient and failing to
2754 honor the statue. Nebuchadnezzar flips outwhich is mainly what he
2755 doesand orders the Jewish trio to be brought in. He asks them if what
2756 their accusers say is true. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego imme-
2757 diately admit to not worshiping the statue. They say that their God
2758 is powerful enough to save them from the fiery furnace. If they can
94
2759 survive, it’ll prove that their God is, indeed, pretty powerful. Snarling
2760 with rage, Nebuchadnezzar arranges for them to get tossed into the
2761 furnace. He orders the furnace to be extra toasty, warming it up to
2762 seven times its normal temperature. Nebuchadnezzar’s henchmen pre-
2763 pare to toss the fully clothed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into
2764 the furnace, but the cronies get burned to death in the process of chuck-
2765 ing the trio into the furnace. Nebuchadnezzar is shocked to see that
2766 there appear to be more than three people in the fire. There’s a fourth
2767 person present, who looks like “a song of the gods.” And he’s walking,
2768 alive with the other three.”
2769 One can imagine all the thoughts that went through St. Anthony’s
2770 head when he decided to go live in the desert. The devil definitely
2771 had tried to discourage him telling him how cold and hot the desert
2772 will be, how full of snakes and wild beasts it will be, and how lonely
2773 it will be. But because of St. Anthony’s determination on living
2774 with Jesus Christ, Christianity all around the world now enjoys the
2775 heavenly aspect of Monasticism.
2776 A few years ago when Russia was a communist Country, Christian-
2777 ity was outlawed. Priests, clergy, and any testifying Christians were
2778 arrested and locked up in concentration camps. They were tortured
2779 to extremes to deny Christ but just like St. Polycarp, they all had a
2780 clear goal and were determined in their commitment to follow Jesus
2781 Christ, no matter the circumstances.
2782 One day, one of the priests in the prison saved his one and only meal of
2783 the day, a piece of bread, to use it as the bread of offering for he longed
2784 for a liturgy and communion. He gathered all the clergy and they all
2785 decided to pray a liturgy but did not know where is a worthy place in
2786 such a dirty prison cell to use as an altar to officiate the sacrament.
2787 With some simple meditation they remembered that an altar is a place
2788 where Jesus Christ is sacrificed so with all unity they went towards
2789 the most tortured prisoner among them, the one lying in the corner
2790 covered with wounds and blood who could not move out of pain who
2791 has not denied Christ despite of all the tortures he experienced, and
2792 decided that his body is a worthy altar to sacrifice Jesus on. They
2793 placed the bread on him and started praying the liturgy.
2794 Why couldn’t they just deny Jesus Christ and go back home to their
2795 families and to a normal painless life? It’s not that they don’t know
2796 what fire is nor had special power. But to them, that life they would
2797 have earned if they had denied Jesus Christ would have been more
95
2798 horrible and painful than the life of starvation and torture they could
2799 experience in prison.
2800 During early Christianity, when Airiness became a governor over one
2801 of the Christian Roman villages he made a declaration that when he
2802 comes into the city the next day he will kill all people inside the Church
2803 thus starting an era of Christian persecution. He decided that he will
2804 spare the villagers who will not go to Church for he will assume that
2805 they have denied Jesus Christ and decided to worship the emperor.
2806 The next day came and Airiness marched into the city with his army
2807 as he declared, and to his surprise all the streets and the houses were
2808 deserted but for one crippled old lady with a cane in the middle of
2809 the street. He rode his horse towards her and he commended her
2810 on her decision to obey him and to deny Jesus Christ so as to live.
2811 The old crippled lady with all disappointment said, “I am but an old
2812 crippled lady and everybody was in a hurry to go to Church and the
2813 Church is crowded and no one had the time to carry me in, but I
2814 am a Christian” . . . . It is said that on that day blood flowed in the
2815 roads and the streets of the village for it was a great massacre and
2816 a mass slaughter. When people from neighboring cities heard what
2817 happened, they all came down to the village to be martyred too. Why
2818 didn’t these simple villagers just deny Jesus Christ, even just publicly
2819 in order to live, to raise their children and to pass down their lands?
2820 The answer is that they couldn’t. They saw the goal so clearly and
2821 they had determination that can move mountains.
2822 We all might make decisions to follow Jesus Christ but we are not de-
2823 termined about it when it comes down to it at the first temptation we
2824 face, we start compromising and making excuses and then we finally
2825 let it slide. We have to be strict and serious when it comes to Jesus
2826 Christ. When we start fasting, let us fast all the way. No compromis-
2827 ing or making deals or even cutting corners. When we decide to pray
2828 everyday, let us actually pray everyday, no matter how tired or busy
2829 we are “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ ‘No’. For whatever
2830 is more than these is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37). All these
2831 saints that we read their stories and we try to be exemplified by their
2832 lives, “they did not love their soul even until death” (Revelation 12:11)
2833 and that is why they earned the heavenly kingdom.
2834 III. Exertion and struggle: The third point to a successful serious spiritual
2835 life is putting effort in it and exerting oneself to keep it burning with
2836 holy fire. One might think that the martyrs had it easy. All they
96
2837 needed to do is to confess their faith and in just a matter of minutes

2838 they were killed and put out of their misery and behold, they are in
2839 heaven. The truth is that martyrdom is such a powerful representation
2840 of faith that only the strong in Christ can undergo it.
2841 During the era of persecution, a monk went to his spiritual father
2842 requesting that he would be dismissed so that he can go to the nearest
2843 city to the governor confessing his faith so as to be martyred. His
2844 spiritual father prohibited him from going and instructed him that if
2845 he prays 10 minutes twice a day, let him extend his prayers to two hours
2846 in the morning, and four hours at night. The monk, disappointed by
2847 what he had heard, decided to go get martyred despite of his spiritual
2848 father’s warning.
2849 After a few minutes of torturing, the monk denied Jesus Christ and
2850 knelt down offering incense to the idols. Going back to the desert
2851 ashamed, the monk walked in on his spiritual father and told him
2852 what happened and asked for his forgiveness. He also asked him why
2853 he couldn’t get martyred. His spiritual father, with a fatherly look,
2854 told him that he failed because he was lazy in his spiritual life inside
2855 his cell. The spiritual father also told him, “He, who cannot offer
2856 sweat in his room, cannot offer his blood in the arena of persecution”.
2857 Let us always remember that feeling Jesus Christ should be translated
2858 to something alive that we do. In other words, spiritual life is a living
2859 translation to love and feelings for God.
2860 We are always complaining about how long the mass is and how boring
2861 praying is. We are not prepared to offer our lives for martyrdom unless
2862 we offer our personal comfort to Jesus Christ in our spiritual life in
2863 our homes. No one said that one would not get tired if he/she stands
2864 during liturgy. Let us get tired standing during liturgy; let us stand
2865 in all fear and respect while Jesus Christ Himself is being sacrificed
2866 in front of our eyes on the altar; let us exert ourselves physically and
2867 mentally to show God how much we love Him. St. Paula of Tamoh
2868 was a 100 years old monk in the desert. One day he was doing his
2869 prostration (matanias) and suddenly Jesus Christ appeared to him
2870 and told him, “Enough struggle and strive my beloved Paula”. St.
2871 Paula raised his tears filled eyes and said, “God, I haven’t had thorns
2872 in my head or nails in my limbs, or a spear in my side. What did I offer
2873 to you of my body that is worthy enough for me to stop striving?” If
2874 Jesus Christ appears to us, what is He going to say? Is He going to
2875 tell us it is enough exerting ourselves, or is He going to say enough
2876 laziness, compromise, slumber and enough hammering more nails in
97
2877 His hands? Let us always remember that God is never pleased with
2878 anything you offer from yourself but He is pleased with anything you
2879 offer of yourself. God may not be pleased if you offer him money that
2880 you can live without, but He will be pleased with just two mites like
2881 the widow who offered Him, for those two mites were out of her need.
2882 God is more pleased with the smell of sweat than the smell of incense.
2883 St. MarIsaac says, “Blessed is he whose cheeks were burned with tears
2884 of strive”.
2885 In Church manuscripts there is a story about a circus man who asked
2886 God what he could do to live more for Him? God spoke to him and
2887 told him to go to the desert and join the monastery. God also spoke to
2888 the abbot of the monastery and instructed him to ordain that young
2889 man a monk immediately with no reservations or testing. The circus
2890 man was ordained as a monk even though he knew not how to read,
2891 how to pray, or even how to praise God. The rest of the monks got
2892 annoyed with him and asked the abbot of the monastery to kick that
2893 monk out of the monastery for he did not know how to do anything
2894 and so he was not worthy to be a monk. The abbot, seeing that the
2895 request was unanimous, instructed all the monks to go with him to
2896 tell the monk the decision. When the monks entered the Church, the
2897 abbot asked them to stand aside in a dark area so as not to disturb the
2898 monk when he comes in to pray his one final prayer, and after prayer
2899 they can go tell him the decision. The monk walked in the Church
2900 with a sack in his hand and knelt in front of the altar. He then took
2901 off his clothes and opened the sack getting out a circus custom and
2902 put it on. He also brought out of the sack three colorful balls that
2903 he twirled in the air while jumping around and shaking his hat that
2904 had bells at the end of it. The monk kept twirling the balls in the
2905 air and ringing the bells that he started sweating. Suddenly St. Mary
2906 came out of her icon and with her hands, she wiped off the monk’s
2907 sweat. Shocked by such a scene, all the monks flooded the monk and
2908 asked him to forgive them for what they were about to do to him. He,
2909 looking amazed at all what is happening told them that throughout
2910 his life he knew nothing but a circus trick that he performed to people.
2911 That circus trick, which was all that he had, he decided to offer it to
2912 God in front of his altar everyday.
2913 No matter how simple or how few are the things we can do, let us offer
2914 them to Jesus Christ. He is capable of transforming such small talents
2915 to numerous powerful gifts that are able to show God?s glory to men.
2916 But let us offer all that we have to Jesus Christ not saving anything
98
2917 to the evil world we live in.
2918 IV. Particularity: The fourth and final point to have a successful serious
2919 spiritual life is particularity. We must be very particular in everything.
2920 We must be particular in our free time, in our senses, in our thoughts,
2921 and in our friends or else our crown will be stolen and there will be no
2922 more days to make up for lost time.
2923 We say that we are too busy and have no time for all that spiritual
2924 stuff. We say that there is no way we can stay up all night praying,
2925 or stand up in mass for 4 hours, or even fast all day without eating
2926 anything. But unfortunately, we all do these things already but not
2927 for Jesus Christ. We stay up all night talking to friends and having
2928 slumber parties. We play basketball for hours, not just standing up,
2929 but even running and sweating. We stay up late at night talking on
2930 the phone or thinking about something not eager to eat. But how
2931 many times do we offer a fasting, not eager for it to end?
2932 We are capable of doing all those things but unfortunately not for
2933 Jesus Christ. We live seriously in everything but not in spiritual life.
2934 Conclusion
2935 Seriousness in spiritual life leads to commitment and commitment leads to
2936 success. Indecisiveness in spiritual life leads to leniency, and leniency will
2937 definitely lead to failure, no matter how small the degree of compromise in
2938 spiritual life is. With failure, condemnation and anger from the Almighty
2939 are accompanied. “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I
2940 wish you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither
2941 cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).
2942 The Church fathers have always meditated on such a concept and always
2943 warned about the smallest glitches in our spiritual lives that are more than
2944 capable to destroy the whole structure. A huge ship is bound to sink if it
2945 has a hole in its bottom. The smallest hole will still take such a ship down.
2946 Struggling against every sin in our lives, big or small, will fortify us against
2947 defeat and will be the stepping stone towards God’s grace. Beware of “the
2948 little foxes that spoil the vines” (Song of Songs 2:15).
2949 Let us all today, actually now at this moment, stand up in prayer and
2950 raise our hearts and make a commitment to God and say to Him that no
2951 matter how strong the world rages against us, we are His? and we will never
2952 forsake Him for He never forsook us. Let us tell Him that we now have a
2953 clear goal, which is He. Let us tell Him we will persist till death in our
99
2954 spiritual life. Let us tell Him that we will exert our hearts, our souls and
2955 our bodies to show Him how much we love him. Let us tell Him that we will
2956 be particular in everything we do from now on. If the enemy overcomes us,
2957 let us pray to Him that He sends power from above to come and save us in
2958 a miraculous way. Through the intercession of St. Mary, and the prayers of
2959 St. Polycarp, St. Anthony, and all the martyrs that gave up their lives for
2960 Him throughout time allover the world, may God grant us a spiritual life
2961 from above. May He be the sole owner of our lives and our eternity. Amen.
2962 Applications:
2963 •
2964 Exercises:
2965 1.
100
2966 Part VI

2968 February
101
2969
2970 Week 1
2971 Prophet Jonah and Salvation

2972
2973 Objectives:
2974 • God makes use of everything and all things for the salvation of man.
2975 References:
2976 • The book of Jonah
2977 Memory Verse:
2978 I long for Your salvation, O Lord and Your law is my delight. (Psalm
2979 119:174)
2980 Introduction
2981 A long time elapsed during which men kept away from God and people
2982 committed so many sins that they forgot themselves and forgot God their
2983 Lord but God did not forget them at all. He was always near them because
2984 He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2985 It was not possible for God to come closer to men in a direct way as men
2986 invented gods for themselves and their idea about God was deformed so the
2987 Lord sent prophets to the children of Israel whom He had chosen to send
2988 to the other nations to let them know His holy name. He did not choose
2989 them out of prejudice, far be it from God, but He chose them because
2990 they were the seed of Abraham who believed in Him and blessed His name.
2991 God expected many good things of this people but sorry to say even those
2992 people who tasted many tidings worshipped the idols and the people and
2993 their prophets needed the Savior. However, when man’s sufferings increased
2994 and people kept away from God, He insisted on saving them. His love for
2995 them remained strong and the Lord’s hand was always ready to save them.
102
WEEK 1. PROPHET JONAH AND SALVATION
2996 Lesson Outline

2997 I. God saves Jonah: This prophet was characterized by fanaticism, stub-
2998 bornness and faith heartedness. Like all other people he fled from the
2999 Lord when he heard His voice. This reminds us of the verse; “I heard
3000 Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I
3001 hid myself ” (Genesis 3:10). As a prophet of the Jews, he was supposed
3002 to be better than others in obeying the commandments of God but if
3003 this is the case of the head what will be the case of the other mem-
3004 bers. Jonah thought that there would be peace for him in Tarshish or
3005 at the bottom of the ship although he knew that the Lord fills every
3006 place and although he read David’s psalm: “Where can I go from Your
3007 Spirit?” (Psalm 139:7).
3008 II. How the Lord Saved Jonah? The Lord made use of:
3009 1. Discomfort: the rough sea, the destruction of the gourd (God in-
3010 sisted on fulfilling the message).
3011 2. Tenderness: God was merciful to Jonah when He saved his life and
3012 taught him through practical educational examples (such as: the
3013 gourd -helping him to complete his mission and finally reproaching
3014 him gently).
3015 3. The solid nature: The lesson was for Jonah in:
3016 a. Obedience: The storm obeyed the Lord and carried out His
3017 purpose and the whale as a ship to carry Jonah to the appointed
3018 place and the worm is ordered to devour the tree.
3019 b. Ability and Power of God: God is able to do everything and all
3020 things obey Him but man is free to obey or disobey.
3021 III. God saves the sailors: The Gentile sailors were better than the prophet
3022 who escaped:
3023 1. They prayed to their gods.

3024 2. They prayed with the spirit of fellowship.
3025 3. They believed that the calamity was because of the sin of one of
3026 them.
3027 4. They asked Jonah to pray to his God so they were not fanatic.
3028 5. They had a sensitive conscience. They only made sure that Jonah
3029 deserved death but they refused to carry out the sentence even after
3030 drawing lots.
103
3031 6. They prayed for forgiveness before they threw him into the sea:
3032 “Lay not on us innocent blood”.
3033 7. In this way justice and mercy filled their hearts.
3034 8. They believed in the miraculous power of God.
3035 IV. God saves Nineveh: At last the Lord found the man who would go to
3036 Nineveh. He was kind to them as a father who loves His children. The
3037 Lord could have punished and frightened them but He was also ready
3038 to turn from His anger. Jonah refused to go to those evil people but
3039 the Lord accepted their repentance. The Lord was patient with them.
3040 Although they were pagans and sinners, the Lord did not abandon
3041 them. The Lord does not abandon His children no matter how sinful
3042 they are. Theirs was true repentance. They were afraid and cried to
3043 the Lord and believed in what Jonah said. The anointed king covered
3044 himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. All the people fasted and hu-
3045 miliated themselves, even animals. The Lord accepts true repentance
3046 and the contrite and submissive hearts.
3047 V. Jonah is a symbol of Christ: God sent Jonah to the people of Nineveh
3048 so that they might repent and be saved. In the same way the Lord,
3049 out of love, chose to be incarnated and become man to die for the
3050 world then rise from the dead to grant salvation to those who believe
3051 in Him. Throwing Jonah into the sea saved all the sailors of the ship
3052 from certain death. In the same way the death of Christ on the cross
3053 caused the Salvation of those who believed in Him and saved them
3054 from eternal death. Jonah remained inside the belly of the whale
3055 three days and three nights then he went out and was alive. In the
3056 same way, Christ was buried three days and three nights in the tomb
3057 then He rose up from the dead. He was alive and granted us the eternal
3058 life. In Jonah’s prayer we find a clear expression of his success in the
3059 test of death and rebirth: “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried . . . I went
3060 down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet You did bring
3061 up my life from the Pit . . . O Lord my God” (Jonah 2:2-6). Compare
3062 this to the death of the Lord Christ and His resurrection as He says
3063 to His disciples: “The Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests
3064 and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him
3065 to the Gentiles . . . and after three days He will rise” (Mark 10:33-34).
104
WEEK 1. PROPHET JONAH AND SALVATION
3066 Conclusion
3067 God has prepared the humanity with many prophets before Him. He also
3068 gave different signs and prophecies for the awaited salvation of the world.
3069 Those who were attentive and responsive to the fulfillment of the prophecies
3070 (Jesus Christ) were saved.
3071 Applications:
3072 • What is your opinion of casting lots in our life? (The Spirit abides in
3073 us and we do not seek any sign from outside).
3074 • “The Lord has chastened me severely; But He has not given me over
3075 to death” (Psalm 118:18). Apply this verse to the story of Jonah.
3076 • Resist despair so that you may proceed and correct your way of life.
3077 • Pray the Lord to receive our life and correct it as he likes.
3078 • Quick obedience that results from the heart to all that the Lord com-
3079 mands us to do having confidence that he is the Loving Father who
3080 desires the Salvation of the souls of men.
3081 Exercises:
3082 1. Mention some situations in the life of the holy men of God with whom
3083 God used severe punishments so that they might be saved?
3084 2. Mention some situations in which the Lord was merciful and patient with
3085 men?
3086 3. Did the Gentile sailors were better than the prophet (Jonah) who es-
3087 caped? How?
3088 4. We learned that the people of Ninevahs practiced true repentance. Was
3089 this considered true because they dressed and acted out the right way
3090 (which may have been a custom/culture of their society), or was it the
3091 fact that they genuinely meant it when they repented from their hearts?
3092 5. Did the Lord accept true repentance Nineveh? How about ours?
3093 6. How did you understand Jonah as a symbol of Christ?
105
3094
3095 Week 2
3096 Sin and Its Consequences

3097
3098 Objectives:
3099 • To study the meaning of the commandment.
3100 • To learn why the commandment was broken (disobeyed).
3101 • To discover the consequences of the disobeying the commandment.
3102 References:
3103 • Genesis 3.
3104 Memory Verse:
3105 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said,
3106 ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’. (Genesis
3107 3:3)
3108 Introduction
3109 In this way the Lord showed man His love and waited for his answer and
3110 man had to answer willingly: Love for love or to refuse the Divine love.
3111 Lesson Outline

3112 I. Man was Created and was Associated with the Lord: When man
3113 walked with the Lord he was associated with the life and enjoyed
3114 the joy of heaven. If he confined himself to his ego, he would sepa-
3115 rate it from the mystery of life and enclose himself in the prison of
3116 nothingness and death.
3117 II. The Meaning of Commandment:
106
WEEK 2. SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
3118 • As the commandment was given to Adam, it was a covenant

3119 between God and man. If man walks with God, He will keep the
3120 source of his origin.
3121 • It is a domain of showing man?s love for God.
3122 • It is a proof and evidence of the freedom of man and his freedom
3123 in choosing the attitude.
3124 III. How Did Man Sin?
3125 • Adam wanted to deify himself and to live with a power of his
3126 own independent of God and depending on the material world
3127 and that caused his fall.
3128 • The tree of knowledge of good and evil - knowledge here means
3129 testing and not the mental knowledge alone, as Adam was able
3130 by his mind to distinguish between evil and good.
3131 • The serpent, a creature, stands for evil. This means that evil is
3132 not everlasting as it has a beginning and it will have an end and
3133 the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent.
3134 • The devil had a role in the temptation as he envied man after
3135 the devil separated from the life in heaven.
3136 • The sin entered by arousing suspicion in the heart of man towards
3137 God and His love for man.
3138 IV. The Consequences of Sin:
3139 • Became anxious of God’s presence: as he separated himself from

3140 the Divine love.
3141 • He left the Lord and depended on other creatures - he hid himself
3142 among the trees.
3143 • Death and separation from God. As a result of the sin, physical
3144 and spiritual death came us. God was leaving in the presence of
3145 the lord happily without fear. After sinning, they were thrown
3146 out of the garden of Eden. Sin and its consequences were inher-
3147 ited by all his ofspring. “for all have sinned and fall short of the
3148 glory of God,”(Romans 3:23).
3149 V. The Destruction of Man:
3150 • His unity with himself collapsed (His mind became dark - the
3151 instincts ruled over the will - the desire of the flesh).
107
3152 • His unity with others collapsed (selfishness - spite - envy - hatred).
3153 • His unity with the universe collapsed (earthquakes - disasters -
3154 wild animals - microbes).
3155 Conclusion
3156 Every sin in its essence is disobedience to the will of God. It means that
3157 he refuses to be associated with Him as a son. The image of God has
3158 not been completely lost from man as he has kept in himself a mind and
3159 a will and tendency to do good - with the existence of contrast with evil
3160 things. The return of man to God is the realization of his loneliness and
3161 his reconciliation with himself, with people and with the universe.
3162 Applications:
3163 • The servant discusses with his students the importance of the work
3164 of grace and the spirit in bringing man back to his first image.
3165 • Ask the students what are the reasons that make us fall into sin.
3166 • Remember, we reap whatever we sow. “The For the wages of sin is
3167 death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”(Romans
3168 6:23)
3169 Exercises:
3170 1. What is sin?
3171 2. Read the following verses in groups and try to identify the consequences
3172 of Sin:
3173 a. “Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have
3174 withheld good things from you.” (Jeremiah 5:25)
3175 b. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans
3176 3:23)
3177 c. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save neither
3178 his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated
3179 between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you,
3180 that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2)
3181 3. Can believers do to keep themselves from sinning (Psalms 119:9)?
108
3182
3183 Week 3
3184 The Effect of the Softly

3185 Spoken Words
3186
3187 Objectives:
3188 • To demonstrate the benefits of the softly spoken word.
3189 • To learn from the example of our Lord and His wisdom of speech.
3190 References:
3191 • Matthew 12:36; Psalms 141:3, 19:14; Proverbs 15:1-2, 4, 23, 18:21,
3192 20:19; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 3:8; James 3:5-10; 2 Samuel 11:12-
3193 17
3194 • The Tongue - A sermon by Pope Shenouda III
3195 Memory Verse:

3196 The heart of the righteous studies how to answer. (Proverbs 15:28)
3197 Introduction
3198 The ultimate goal of any Christian is to resemble our Lord Jesus Christ in
3199 everything. We try to change ourselves gradually to reflect His image in our
3200 lives. When Jesus Christ was among people, He was obedient and helpful
3201 to His parents. He also fulfilled all the characters of Sonship to God “He
3202 will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
3203 A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoking flax He will not quench”
3204 (Isaiah 42:1-3; Matthew 12:18-21). Thus, He was gentle and kind to the
3205 weak and the sinner. He encouraged the broken heart and strengthened the
3206 weary. Even in the critical discussions and testing by the pharisees and the
3207 priests, He was firm and strong, yet He never insulted or used unsuitable
3208 words. For example when He was slapped by one of the officers of the high
109
3209 priest, Jesus said: “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well,
3210 why do you strike Me” (John 18:23).
3211 Lesson Outline

3212 The virtue of the softly spoken word and controlling the tongue is an im-
3213 portant virtue for every Christian. King David talked about it and said:
3214 “Lord who may abide in Your tabernacle? . . . He who does not backbite with
3215 his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take reproach against
3216 his friend” (Psalm 15:3). Also, St James said about the tongue “If anyone
3217 does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man able also to bridle the whole
3218 body” (James 3:2-12).
3219 I. What is the value of controlling my words? Words can lead us to

3220 evil and sin or it can lead us to blessings and spiritual growth. For
3221 example lying is a sin and praising God is a blessing and they are
3222 both expressed by words. Remember a word from Herod the king to
3223 Herodias’ daughter lead to the death of St. John the Baptist (Mark
3224 6:22-23). Through our words we can make friends or enemies, love
3225 or hate, peace or war. We can bring the non-believers to the faith
3226 through our words. A message becomes stronger when it is delivered
3227 through gentle and kind words, as in the example of the Lord?s words
3228 to the Samaritan woman.
3229 II. How can I acquire the virtue of the softly spoken words?
3230 a. Pray: Pray that God may help you to be as gentle as He was. Ask
3231 the Holy Spirit to work and speak on your tongue.
3232 b. Think Before You Speak: The wise and righteous thinks before he
3233 talks, because he would like to present his thoughts and ideas in
3234 the best manner. On the other hand, the foolish and impulsive
3235 person talks without thinking because he does not care about the
3236 consequences of what he says. In proverbs King Solomon said:
3237 “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of
3238 fools pours forth foolishness” (Proverbs15:2).
3239 c. Choose the Words Carefully: You may have great ideas but if you
3240 use bad words to present them, they would seem to be bad ideas.
3241 Therefore, ask yourself: am I choosing the correct words or am I
3242 just talking. The words of a Christian are the guide to others to
3243 their Christianity. People would know that we are Christian by our
110
WEEK 3. THE EFFECT OF THE SOFTLY SPOKEN WORDS
3244 words. St. John Chrysostom was described of having a mouth of

3245 gold because of the words of blessing he offered during his sermons.
3246 A true Christian is able to direct the conversation to be constructive
3247 and comforting (Proverb 9:11).
3248 d. Put Yourself in Place of the Listener: You can build bridges or
3249 destroy them through your words with others. If you place yourself
3250 in the listener place you may be able to judge if your words bring
3251 comfort and knowledge to others or if they bring hurt and anger,
3252 “Soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”
3253 (Proverb 15:1). Also, the Lord commanded us to do unto others
3254 what we would like done to us (Matthew 7:12).
3255 e. Remember That Your Words Indicate What is in Your Heart: The
3256 words that come from your mouth indicate what is in your heart
3257 “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew
3258 12:33-37). So, let the Holy Spirit work in your heart to purify it
3259 and thus purify your words. By no means, can you speak good
3260 words if the heart is not clean (Luke 6:45).
3261 f. Our senses play a crucial role in allowing us to sense and understand
3262 our environment. The things we allow to our senses through media
3263 such as TV, novels, movies, internet, songs, games have a huge
3264 influence on our behavior and speech. The bible warns us to “Pay
3265 attention to what you hear”(Mark 4:24). In addition, the people
3266 we hangout with such as our friends and peers can influence our
3267 speech (1 Corinthians 15:33). Thus, since we have control over the
3268 things we allow to enter through our senses, it is important not to
3269 allow the evil of the world into us. Remember, the mouth speaks
3270 out of the abundance of the hearth.
3271 Conclusion
3272 Experience the effects and the blessings of the softly spoken words in your
3273 life. Take the example of Job who blessed the Lord even in his hardship
3274 and Solomon the king whose words of wisdom brought the queen of Sheba
3275 from thousands miles afar to listen to him (1 Kings 10:1-7).
3276 Applications: • Avoid bad words, swearing dirty jokes and lying.
3277 • Avoid unproductive conversations and gossiping.
3278 • Think of how we should react if others call us names “bless those who
3279 curse you, pray for those who mistreat you”(Luke 6:28).
111
3280 Exercises:
3281 1. Why does the bible warn us much about the words we speak? (Ans:
3282 “But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for
3283 every careless word they have spoken”(Matthew 12:36).)
3284 2. Tell us about a situation when you spoke something to someone that you
3285 ended up regretting later?
3286 3. Tell us about a situation when someone offended you with his/her words
3287 and how did you feel?
112
3288
3289 Week 4
3290 Fellowship among Believers

3291
3292 Objectives:
3293 • To learn that the integration and unification of the whole body is
3294 achieved by the fellowship among members.
3295 References:
3296 • Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37
3297 • Romans 12
3298 • 1 Corinthians 12
3299 • Ephesians 4:1-16; 25-32
3300 Memory Verse:

3301 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with
3302 one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from
3303 all sin. (1 John 1:7)
3304 Introduction
3305 Read 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. Discuss with your students what
3306 the text is about (Fellowship among believers and ties with members, which
3307 form one body; that is the Church).
3308 Lesson Outline

3309 I. Communion With Believers Is The Participation In Our Lord Jesus
3310 Christ: Draw a parallel between our relationship with our Lord Jesus
3311 and that of the vine with its branches. Jesus is the origin of the vine,
3312 and each true believer is a live branch fixed in the origin and drawing
113
3313 from Him, the elixir of life. As long as the believer is steadfastly
3314 rooted in the vine, he will consequently gain fellowship with the other
3315 branches, fruit, and leaves.
3316 II. The Early Church Experienced Communal Life: Analysis: Acts 2:42-
3317 47; Acts 4:32-37.
3318 • The disciples regularly joined together in one spirit for prayer
3319 and supplication. The women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and
3320 His brothers were also there (Acts 1:14). They all joined as one
3321 soul, one existence, and one heart (Acts 2:1,46; Acts 4:32)
3322 • Communal worship and communal doctrines (Acts 2:42,46,47).
3323 • Witnesses joined in faith (Acts 4:32).
3324 • Witnesses gathered around the holy offering of the Eucharist
3325 (Acts 2:42).
3326 • The Agape (sharing a meal) table (Acts 2:46).
3327 • Spontaneous sharing of money and possessions (Acts 4:32.34-3)
3328 “they had all things in common” (Acts 4:32).
3329 III. Characteristics of The Fellowship Among Believers “Canonization”
3330 • Its basis and main role is to achieve steadfastness and unity in
3331 God.
3332 • A communion achieved through faith and belief.
3333 a. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).

3334 b. myverseOne God and Father of all, who is above all, and through
3335 all, and in you all (Ephesians 4:6).
3336 c. The wisdom of the Church in reciting the Creed of Faith in a loud
3337 voice is to inculcate the basis of our faith. It ensures the isolation
3338 of heretics and contrivers, and their banishment from the Church
3339 (1 Thessalonians 3:10; 2 John 1:10,11).
3340 IV. Fellowship Demonstrated In Holiness and Chastity:

3341 • It is a communion among saints living in purity and rejecting the
3342 way of the world and its uncleanness. They seek to live according
3343 to the way of the Lord (Hebrews 12:12-16).
3344 • The Church used to eliminate its ties with the wicked, the im-
3345 moral, and the adulterers (1 Corinthians 5:9-13).
114
WEEK 4. FELLOWSHIP AMONG BELIEVERS
3346 V. Fellowship Achieved Through Worship and Rejoicing:
3347 • The Church has its communal prayers, such as those of the Holy
3348 Mass and its communal praises, such as the Psalms, the Psalmody,
3349 and the prayers of the Coptic month of Kiahk.
3350 • The Church also observes general fasting periods in which every-
3351 body participates to create an atmosphere of ritual, of worship,
3352 and of purity. This allows the Church to rise above physical
3353 bonds and all the earthly lusts they involve.
3354 • The whole Church joins in the offering of the Eucharist announc-
3355 ing that we may be one body and one spirit and ‘that we may have
3356 a share and an inheritance with all the Saints’ (Divine Liturgy).
3357 VI. Fellowship Based On Love and Sympathy:
3358 • Divine Love in the Church gathers everyone in reciprocal love.

3359 Each one places his brother before himself in the place of honor,
3360 as it is stated in the Bible (1 Corinthians 12:25, 26).
3361 • Fellowship of love in the Church is beyond slander and seeks to
3362 promote the exchange of sympathy to limitless giving (Acts 3:15;
3363 l John 3:17-18).
3364 • Therefore the first Church lived in the spirit of sharing (Acts 4:34;
3365 Romans 12:9-13).
3366 VII. Fellowship Achieved Through Integration and Cooperation:
3367 • St. Paul, the apostle, speaks in Romans 16 and Corinthians 12

3368 about the integration in the one Body of Christ, made up of
3369 various members. In spite of the diversity of their functions all
3370 members work together, harmoniously, for the well being of the
3371 body (1 Corinthians 12:14-25).
3372 • In the same way, there are multiple talents just as there are mul-
3373 tiple members (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).
3374 • Moreover, the tasks and services are numerous and each of us
3375 should stand in the appropriate post assigned to him/her by the
3376 inspiration of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 4:10).
3377 VIII. Our Spiritual Life Originated and Formed Through the Life of Fellow-
3378 ship in the Church: The Church servant discusses with his students
3379 the extent of which they respond to the life of fellowship with believers,
3380 through which communal prayers gain greater efficacy and strength.
115
3381 The wonderful power of communal worship and its support to the
3382 spiritual life of each person; the efficacy of communion of the Holy
3383 Mysteries, the general fasts, the sermons and the spiritual (retreat)
3384 days, the fellowship of the Saintly fathers as they sustain our struggle
3385 by praying and interceding on our behalf, communal life of the Church
3386 and how it enriches, discovers, and guides our talents so that they may
3387 be used for the glory of God and the expansion of His Holy Kingdom.
3388 IX. Sayings of the Father:
3389 • If you have been born in Christianity, then everyone else born in
3390 Christ is your brother. Consequently, if you love yourself more
3391 than your brother, this does not arise from Christ (a spiritual
3392 elder).
3393 • The younger member adds brightness to the elder, as the simple
3394 eyelid is the beauty of the eye. Therefore a person, who resists
3395 his younger brother, resists himself. Moreover, harm does not fall
3396 upon the person resisted, but rather it reverts to and harms the
3397 initiator, in a greater degree than that caused to his brother (St.
3398 John Chrysostom).
3399 Conclusion
3400 Fellowship among believers is very cricial to their spritual growth. The
3401 lord gave us this promise, “[”For where two or three gather together in
3402 My name, there am I with them.](Matthew 18:20). Thus, we should utilize
3403 properly the fellowships in the church inorder to grow spiritually.
3404 Applications:
3405 • Discover some of your talents and use them for the benefit of the
3406 Church.
3407 • Spend a vigil of prayer in Church.
3408 • Join in providing the needs of the saints (brothers in God).
3409 a. Offer clothes, covers, or food.

3410 b. Contribute to the education of needy colleagues.
3411 c. Visit an orphanage and donate some gifts.
3412 • Pray for the weak, the stumbling, and the fallen.
116
WEEK 4. FELLOWSHIP AMONG BELIEVERS
3413 Exercises:
3414 1. What does it mean fellowship with believers is the participation in our
3415 Lord Jesus Christ?
3416 2. Compare this “our Spiritual Life Originated and formed through the Life
3417 of Fellowship in the Church” with “I was glad when they said unto me,
3418 Let us go into the house of the LORD.” (Psalms 122:1). Do you feel
3419 happy to come to church? Why or why not?
117
3420 Part VII

3422 March
118
3423
3424 Week 1
3425 Repentance
3426
3427 Objectives:
3428 • To learn the importance of repentance in our spiritual journey.
3429 • To point out the practical steps of true repentance.
3430 • To underline the importance of confessing to a Priest.
3431 References:
3432 • Psalm 51:1-19; Mathew 18:18; John 20:22-23; James 5:16
3433 Memory Verse:
3434 Against You, You only have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight.
3435 (Psalm 51:4)
3436 Introduction
3437 When the Lord Jesus desired to show the love of God for the sinner, He
3438 gave the parable of the Prodigal Son who deserted his father’s house and
3439 went to a far country. There he spent his money foolishly and led a life
3440 of corruption and extravagance. At last he became needy and he repented
3441 and decided to return to his father’s house. He at once rose and went to
3442 his father who was waiting for him stretching out his hands to receive him.
3443 He kissed him and gave him the best garment and slaughtered the fat calf
3444 for him. All these things show us how God’s love is great enough to receive
3445 any sinner who repents and go back to God.
119
3446 Lesson Outline
3447 I. What are the sins that we should confess? “Sin is lawlessness. Sin is
3448 the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). It is written that the wage
3449 of sin is death. Sin may be in the form of action, saying or thinking.
3450 The more man matures spiritually, the more he discovers his wrong-
3451 doings. At the beginning of the road he discovers the apparent sins
3452 such as insulting people, calling them names, swearing, stealing and
3453 telling lies. However, when he matures, he discovers selfishness, stingi-
3454 ness, self-love, grudge, hatred, etc (John 3:14-20). We must examine
3455 ourselves well before confession to discover our sins, as this is one of
3456 the signs of our spiritual progress. The real death is when we think
3457 that we are saints and are not in need of the Savior or when we are
3458 desperate of the mercies of God.
3459 II. How to repent?
3460 1. The first step in the way of repentance is to test yourself. Sit
3461 by yourself and think of the things you did in the same way the
3462 Prodigal son did so that you may know your sins and the points of
3463 weakness. In this regard, St. John Chrysostom says, “Test yourself.
3464 If you remember your sin God will not remember it and if you forget
3465 it, God will not forget it”.
3466 2. The second step is to repent what you have done. The prodigal son
3467 repented leaving his father’s house and his heart was broken. We
3468 cannot repent unless our hearts become sorry for what we did. We
3469 should be confident of God’s love and be sure that He will accept
3470 us. We should never fall into despair.
3471 3. The third step is to adopt an attitude against sin. Repentance does
3472 not mean that I should confess what I did only but it includes a
3473 positive move towards the Father. What would have been the ben-
3474 efit if the Prodigal son had sat in his place without doing anything?
3475 He rose, walked and went to his father’s house. In the same way,
3476 we have to rise and pray and seek God’s help to grant us the power
3477 so that we may not sin again. We should give signs of repentance
3478 to the Lord as when we say “sorry” to those whom we offend or as
3479 we get rid of a bad picture in our library . . . and so on.
3480 4. The fourth step is going to confession. This is a necessary step as
3481 he who sins, sins against the Lord and against the church which is
3482 His Body. We should bear in mind that each believer is a member
3483 of that Body. That is why our teacher St. James tells us “Confess
120
WEEK 1. REPENTANCE
3484 your sins to one another” (James 5:16). In the past, believers used
3485 to confess their sins in public in the church but the church saw that
3486 it was better for the believers to confess in secret to the priest.
3487 III. A Test to examine Yourself. Ask yourself the following questions and
3488 answer them honestly:
3489 1. Pride: Are you proud of yourself or of your deeds? Do you despise
3490 others? Do you condemn others and judge them?
3491 2. Selfishness: Do you harden your heart and show no mercy to your
3492 brothers? Do you prefer yourself to your brothers in choosing the
3493 best things? Do you refuse to help others and serve them with
3494 pleasure?
3495 3. Grudge: Do you feel sorry when others succeed? Do you feel happy
3496 when evil befalls one of your relatives? Do you think of taking
3497 revenge when anyone offends you?
3498 4. Hatred: Do you refuse to forgive others and reconcile with them?
3499 Do you say bad words about others? Do you put the seeds of hatred
3500 between friends?
3501 5. Laziness: Do you do your homework and studies honestly? Do you
3502 neglect prayers or spiritual exercises? Do you eat much or sleep for
3503 a long time?
3504 6. Disobedience: Do you refuse to respect or obey your parents? Do
3505 you lie to them or cause sadness to them? Do you refuse to eat
3506 with them?
3507 7. Dishonesty: Do you cheat in exams? Do you evade paying the
3508 price to the shop assistant or to the conductor? Do you take others
3509 belongings in secret?
3510 IV. Is it necessary to confess to the Priest? Yes, we must confess our sins
3511 to our Priest. The Priest should be our spiritual father of confession
3512 because he receives his authority from God who forgives our sins. He
3513 receives this authority through the Sacrament of the Holy Orders. The
3514 Lord said to His disciples, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound
3515 in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”
3516 (Mathew 18:18). After His resurrection He confirmed that sacrament
3517 when He breathed in their faces saying: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If
3518 you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins
3519 of any, they are retained” (John 20:22-23). Someone may say that “I
3520 am ashamed of confessing my sins to the priest. What shall I do?”
121
3521 If you are not ashamed of yourself when you sinned before God, you
3522 have to be ashamed before the priest during confession. It is of a great
3523 benefit to recognize the lowliness of sin. This painful feeling should
3524 motivate you to go back to God and avoid sin. Remember that you
3525 do not confess your sins to man but to God (read Psalm 51, Luke
3526 15:18-19 or 1 John 1:28,2:3). Another may say that “the priest makes
3527 me ashamed of myself when I repeatedly make confession of the same
3528 sin.” It is beneficial for the soul to feel ashamed and fear the guide, so
3529 that the soul in this case tends to fear God only?????????????. Pride
3530 may lead man to refuse to confess his sins to the Priest.
3531 V. The Prayer of Repentance: O righteous Lord . . . I know my weakness

3532 and the silliness of my mind but I give myself to your grace to save
3533 me. With complete trust and confidence I leave myself between your
3534 hands to keep me safe till the Day of Judgment. Bless me and grant
3535 me Your grace till Your Son comes. Glory and Honor be to the Father,
3536 and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit forever and ever Amen.
3537 Conclusion
3538 There is no joy in heaven and on earth greater than the joy of the Father to
3539 see His children come to Him with a true repentance. On the other hand,
3540 there is no comfort greater than the comfort of the sinners when they rid
3541 off themselves from the burdens of sin. Do not deprive yourself from this
3542 comfort and do not deprive your Father from this joy.
3543 Applications:
3544 • Examine yourself and be prepared for repentance and then go to con-
3545 fession in the church.
3546 • Encourage your colleagues to go to confession and to repent, and then

3547 receive the Holy Communion.
3548 • Study the life history of the saints who repented to follow their ex-
3549 ample.
3550 Exercises:
3551 1. What is sin?
3552 2. To what extent is sin dangerous?
122
WEEK 1. REPENTANCE
3553 3. What are the steps of true repentance?
3554 4. Why should we confess to our priest?
123
3555
3556 Week 2
3557 Confession
3558
3559 Objectives:
3560 • To elucidate the role of the mystery of Confession as a complete cure
3561 for the pains of man and its connection with repentance.
3562 • To describe the benefits of confession before a priest.
3563 References:
3564 • The book of Jonah (Jonah’s prayer).
3565 • John 1:9, James 5:16, Proverbs 28:13, Acts 19:18; Psalms 51:1-5,
3566 James 4:17, 2 Peter 3:9
3567 Memory Verse:

3568 For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth con-
3569 fession is made to salvation. (Romans 10:10)
3570 Introduction
3571 Confessing the Sin is an Ancient Divine Plan.
3572 1. God asked Adam our father: “Where are you? Have you eaten of the
3573 tree?” That was the Divine Plan to bring man to confession and through
3574 confession he could have been forgiven.
3575 2. The Law of Moses states that the unfaithful should confess his sin
3576 (Deuteronomy 5:1-6; Numbers 5:6).
3577 3. Even David the Prophet and King when he sinned he had to confess his
3578 sin before Nathan the priest (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalms 51).
3579 4. In the days of John the Baptist many people came to him to be baptized
3580 in the Jordan and they confessed their sins (Matthew 3:5).
124
WEEK 2. CONFESSION
3581 5. In the New Testament, the Lord Christ designed the mystery of confes-
3582 sion and gave it to His disciples (Matthew 3:6, 18:17,18; John 20:22-24).
3583 Lesson Outline

3584 I. To whom do you confess? Is it enough for a sinner to confess his sins
3585 directly to the Lord? Why did the Lord command us to confess before
3586 the priests? Here we count the blessings of confession and its beneficial
3587 effects on the self, body and the soul:
3588 a. Confession before the priest cures the problems of repression (Job
3589 22:18-20).
3590 b. The human nature drives man to complain to others.
3591 c. The psychiatrists, the psychological clinic and modern psychiatry
3592 are a little point of a confession session. However, it doesn’t give
3593 absolution of sin or listening to the word of God that proceeds from
3594 the mouth of the father of confession.
3595 d. Self-peace resulting from confession is reflected upon the health of
3596 the body.
3597 e. Confession of sin by the priestly authority (Absolution) has many
3598 relieving effects on both the body and soul.
3599 f. The person who confesses acquires the habit of accuracy and self-
3600 examination (1 Corinthians 11:31).
3601 g. The person who confesses feels that his confessor is wise and kind
3602 father who shares with him, his feelings and pains (2 Corinthi-
3603 ans11:29).
3604 h. In confession, we benefit from the blessed instructions given by the
3605 experienced father of confession. The elders’ advice is good. Re-
3606 member the advices given by the elder and young men to Rehoboam
3607 the king, son of Solomon. Not listening to the elders’ advice de-
3608 stroyed the whole kingdom.
3609 i. In confession, we share with the priest our thoughts that reveal the
3610 tricks and snares of the devil, and bring to light the weakness and
3611 defects of the self that may not be easily noticed by the person as
3612 he may be afflicted by the sin of pride, he may be in a state of
3613 despair or self-degradation.
3614 II. How to Practice Confession Correctly?
125
3615 a. Examine yourself before you go to confession. This should be ac-
3616 cording to the commandments, which call us to be holy, and without
3617 blemish before the Lord and the People.
3618 b. Cast the self before the Lord with contrition and feeling of remiss-
3619 ness, as Isaiah did when he saw the Glory of the Lord.
3620 c. Confess to our father the priest with reverence and tears. Confess
3621 your sin in detail . . . the time taken in doing it, how often you did
3622 it, and your feelings while doing it.
3623 d. The person who confesses must listen carefully to his father of con-
3624 fession and carry out his advice with great obedience and persis-
3625 tence.
3626 e. It is good to remind your students that personal confession, where
3627 we can ask God for forgiveness in our prayers, is also important.
3628 Due to the shortage of priests in the US, we might not get an
3629 opportunity to confess our sins to a priest or father whenever we
3630 want to. If a priest is not immediately available, we should keep
3631 confessing our sins to God everyday in our prayers. “If we confess
3632 our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
3633 us from all unrighteousness”(1 John 1:9).
3634 III. What are hindrance to Confession?
3635 a. Shyness: When we offer true confession with a spirit of shyness, we

3636 taste the bitterness of sin and we do not go back to it. If shyness
3637 turns to stubbornness and refraining from confession before the
3638 priest, then it is a hidden pride (Sirach 4:26).
3639 b. Fear that the secret may become known: We all should have trust
3640 in the priest who has been accustomed to listening to hundreds of
3641 confessions and who cannot reveal any secret.
3642 c. Some do not benefit from the father of confession’s guidance: When
3643 people choose their father of confession, they must be sure that he
3644 is an experienced, wise, patient and spiritually advanced. Note:
3645 The problem sometimes does not lie in the father of confession but
3646 it often lies in the person who confesses, as he does not obey the
3647 advice of the priest with earnestness and perseverance. You can
3648 change your father of confession when necessary but first take his
3649 permission to do so.
3650 d. Making U-turn in our life after a confession: After confessing our
3651 sins, the next step is to abandon our old ways and live a life of
126
WEEK 2. CONFESSION
3652 righteousness. For example, if one was stealing, that person should
3653 stop stealing again, and start working hard to support his/her life
3654 and help the poor. A person who goes back to repeating his old sins
3655 after confession is metaphorically described as ‘A dog who returns
3656 to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing
3657 in the mud.’ (2 Peter 2:22).
3658 Conclusion
3659 There are multiple spiritual benefits to confession in the life of the youth.
3660 We must be aware of the blessing and grace of confession as through it
3661 man can wipe out all the dust of sin and remove its effects and then the
3662 Divine Icon appears. Confession is like a monitor of our spiritual growth
3663 and though it we can find the right path to salvation.
3664 Applications: • Read some of the booklets about how to practice the
3665 mystery of confession among the students before they go to confession.
3666 • Prayer meetings should be held for those who have repented and those
3667 who have not repented yet.
3668 • Encourage your students to practice confession regularly.
3669 • Encourage your students to develop the habit of reading Psalms 51

3670 everyday.
3671 Exercises:
3672 1. What did you learn from today’s lesson? Find bible verses in which Jesus
3673 told/asked people to confess and repent.
3674 2. What is the difference between confession and repentance? (Ans: Re-
3675 pentance involves commitment not to return to the confessed sin. Con-
3676 fession is agreeing with God that what we did is wrong with sorrow and
3677 remorse.)
3678 3. How often should we confess our sins? How do you confess your sins?
3679 4. What are the advantages of confessing our sins to our confession fa-
3680 ther/priest?
127
3681
3682 Week 3
3683 Fast and Pray as Christ Did

3684
3685 Objectives:
3686 • Sound spiritual practice of the acceptable fasting.
3687 References:
3688 • 1 Corinthians 7:5, Matthew 6, Matthew 4:2
3689 Memory Verse:

3690 Give yourselves to fasting and prayer. (1 Corinthians 7:5)
3691 Introduction
3692 What does fasting mean? Fasting is abstaining from food for a period
3693 of time followed by eating vegetarian food. It is not a commandment for
3694 weakening the body but exercising and controlling the body to refresh the
3695 soul and test it to grow in grace and in the knowledge of God.
3696 Lesson Outline

3697 I. The Position of Fasting in the Spiritual Life: Fasting has an important
3698 position in the spiritual life and there are many examples in the Old
3699 Testament of the men of God who fasted and did great works. Moses
3700 fasted forty days before he spoke to God. Daniel was fasting when the
3701 Angel Gabriel appeared to him. Nehemiah fasted when he heard of the
3702 sad news about Jerusalem. David was a man of fasting. He said, “I
3703 afflicted myself with fasting”. Isaiah spoke about fasting (Isaiah 58:3-
3704 12) and king Jehoshaphat called all the people to fast (2 Chronicles
3705 20:3). In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Himself fasted till He felt
3706 hungry. The Lord spoke about fasting in His Sermon on the Mountain
3707 (Mathew 6:16-18). He also spoke about the importance of fasting when
128
WEEK 3. FAST AND PRAY AS CHRIST DID
3708 He said about the Devil “This kind cannot be driven out by anything
3709 but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). In Book of Acts we read about
3710 fasting in the church of the apostles (Acts 13:3,4) and (1 Corinthians
3711 7:5). The church fathers also wrote about fasting in their writings and
3712 rules, which reached us. The history of the Orthodox Church bears
3713 witness to the fact that the believers respected public fasting that have
3714 been established since the times of the early church such as Lent, and
3715 fasting on Wednesday and Friday.
3716 II. How the Lord Christ Fasted and Prayed? After Jesus was baptized
3717 by John in the Jordan, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
3718 to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights
3719 and afterwards He was hungry and the devil came and tempted Him
3720 three times but the Lord quoted verses from the Scriptures to answer
3721 him with. He gave us a practical example of how man shall not live
3722 by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of
3723 God (Mathew 4:2-11). The Lord’s fasting was accompanied by prayer
3724 and spiritual struggle. In the same way we fast and pray with Him
3725 and through Him. May our fasting and prayer be acceptable before
3726 the Lord. Fasting is a wonderful rite in the church that goes side by
3727 side with receiving the Holy Communion. For example, fasting always
3728 precedes every communion. So the church connects our worship of
3729 fasting and prayers and unites them with the Divine Sacrifice of the
3730 Lord, which is His Body and His Blood so that it may be acceptable
3731 before Him and without blame.
3732 III. How to Fast Correctly?
3733 a. Fasting and Spiritual Growth: Fasting is an exercise to humiliate

3734 the desires of the flesh and not an exercise to weaken the body itself.
3735 In our physical nature there is a bad tendency which we inherited
3736 from Adam and Eve and St. Paul expressed it by saying; “For
3737 the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh,
3738 and these are contrary the one to the other; so that you cannot
3739 do the things that you would” (Galatians 5; 17). In another place
3740 he says: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from
3741 the body of this death” (Romans 7:24). St. Isaac the Syrian says:
3742 “Every struggle against sin and its lusts must begin with fasting
3743 especially when the struggle is because of an internal sin”. Resisting
3744 the desires of the flesh does not mean that we should weaken the
3745 body and moderation in fasting is necessary so that physical and
3746 spiritual health may not be affected. Abstaining from food should
129
3747 go side by side with internal spiritual growth. This means that
3748 physical fasting is connected with the godliness of the heart, the
3749 soul?s fasting and the purity of the flesh. In this, one of the saints
3750 said, “If we are fasting only in the sense of abstaining from food
3751 while we are still bound to sin and iniquities, submission of the body
3752 will not benefit us so long as the most precious part of us is defiled.
3753 So as the outer man fasts, the inner man must also be controlled
3754 and be kept away from harmful food as acceptable fasting should
3755 be genuine, without evil, insincerity, grudge, hatred or defilement
3756 of body and soul”.
3757 b. Inseparableness of fasting and prayer: The saints likened fasting to
3758 a stronghold and prayer to a weapon with which man fights inside
3759 the stronghold . . . St. Augustine said, “In the Temple built by
3760 Solomon, there were two altars, on the outer altar, burnt offerings
3761 are offered and on the inside altar the incense offerings were offered.
3762 The same is true with the temple of Spirit which is man where
3763 there must be two altars; the inside one which is the heart where
3764 he offers the incense of prayers and their aroma and an outer altar
3765 where the body is offered as an offering through fasting and types
3766 of abstemiousness and devoutness”.
3767 c. Inseparableness of fasting and contemplation: “The fast that I
3768 choose . . . Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring
3769 the homeless poor into your house? When you see the naked, to
3770 cover him and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah
3771 58:6,7). It is necessary for spiritual life to feed on contemplations
3772 during fasting. The church sets fasting on important occasions so
3773 we must connect fasting with contemplation and remember the oc-
3774 casions of fasting. During the holy Lent we remember our Lord, the
3775 Holy righteous Lord when he fasted. On Wednesday we remember
3776 the plans of the chief priests to kill him. Ask yourself then “Do I
3777 betray him and how much shall I receive to betray him?” Remem-
3778 ber that you betray him when you sin. So during each fasting raise
3779 your heart to God in the spirit of contemplation to attain spiritual
3780 power during fasting. You can get benefit also through reading the
3781 Holy Bible and the spiritual books with the spirit of discipleship,
3782 prayer and obedience of the commandments.
3783 d. Inseparableness of fasting and almsgiving: Fasting is usually ac-
3784 companied by works of love and mercy, so in his hunger, the fasting
3785 man shares the poor and the needy and spends what he has saved
3786 of the expenses of his food and other things on his needy brethren
130
WEEK 3. FAST AND PRAY AS CHRIST DID
3787 . . . Isaiah emphasizes this fact by saying: “Is not this who are kind
3788 to the poor . . . ”.
3789 IV. Discussion: A young man may face a problem, i.e. the family some-
3790 times does not allow him to fast as they believe this would keep him
3791 healthy and the suggested cure is the following:
3792 a. He must test himself as his life may not be straight and his behavior
3793 may be a stumbling block in the eyes of the family.
3794 b. He must discuss the matter with his father of confession and follow
3795 his advice concerning the period he appoints for fasting and if there
3796 are any health reasons a doctor should be consulted.
3797 c. He should discuss the matter with his family and explain the impor-
3798 tance of fasting and the importance of obeying the commandments
3799 of Christ and the church order.
3800 d. He should seek the priest’s advice when necessary and the priest
3801 will help him to convince the family to allow him to fast. He could
3802 also pray so that the Lord may soften their hearts and allow him
3803 to fast.
3804 Conclusion
3805 Fasting is essential for us to develop self-control and to grow spiritually.
3806 Jesus Christ Himself fasted and we should follow his example.
3807 Applications:
3808 • Practice fasting with reverence, prayer, contemplating and reading the
3809 Holy Bible. It is also important to share whatever you have (money,
3810 food, cloth...etc)with the poor.
3811 Exercises:
3812 1. What important is fasting in the Orthodox Church?
3813 2. Have you ever fasted all the seven fastings of the Orthodox Church?
3814 What are the seven fasts in the orthodox church?
3815 3. Do you know the names of the seven Fasting periods of the church? If a
3816 young man who does not fast asks you “Why do you fast?” What will
3817 you say to him?
131
3818 4. Of what benefit is fasting for your private inner and outer life?
3819 5. What are the conditions of the acceptable fasting before God?
3820 6. Why do the church and the Holy Bible emphasize the inseparableness of
3821 fasting and prayer?
3822 7. Can we tell/show off to other people that we are fasting? (Matthew
3823 6:17-19).
3824 8. Pin point to personal things that may hinder you from participating in
3825 fasting and praying. How can you overcome these challenges?
132
3826
3827 Week 4
3828 The Eucharist

3829
3830 Objectives:
3831 • To go into the depths of the Eucharist Sacrament to meet the Lord
3832 Jesus and understand His work of Salvation through sacrifice of His
3833 love.
3834 References:
3835 • John 6:25-59, 1 Corinthians 11:28
3836 Memory Verse:
3837 Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them and said,
3838 Take eat, this is My body. (Mark 14:22)
3839 Introduction
3840 What is the Sacrament of the Eucharist!
3841 • It is the mystery of being united with God through the enlightenment
3842 of knowledge and reaching eternity.
3843 • It is the mystery of worship and consecration through which the soul
3844 knows the Holy Trinity and loves Him, accepts Him and responds to
3845 His work.
3846 • It is the mystery of thanksgiving through which we obtain the grace

3847 of Christ’s life.
3848 Lesson Outline

3849 I. Eucharist and Relationship with Passover, Salvation and Church:
133
3850 • The Sacrament of the Eucharist is the continuation of Christ work
3851 of sacrifice as He is present in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is an
3852 extension to the Cross work of salvation.
3853 • The Eucharist Sacrament is the Sacrament of the New Testament
3854 and in it the covenant between God and man is achieved as the
3855 Sacrifice of Christ is the faithful witness (Revelation 1:5). Aso,
3856 He grants us heavenly relationship through it, a heavenly meal
3857 that grants us eternal life.
3858 • The Eucharist is a symbol of real Pascha as Christ was offered as
3859 the lamb of God (Corinthians 5:7). The mystery of the Pascha
3860 has been achieved in the Body of the Lord that He gave us in
3861 His body and His Blood so that we may enjoy eternity. So the
3862 sacrament of the Eucharist allows us to enter the kingdom of God
3863 to meet Him face to face forever.
3864 • The Eucharist is the church sacrifice, which Christ offers with all
3865 love and obedience to God. The church goes into the altar (the
3866 Golgotha) and soars up to the highest heaven and does not know
3867 what to offer except Christ.
3868 • Through the Eucharist we become members of Christ?s Body,
3869 filled in Christ and known to the Father on the altar through His
3870 beloved Son.
3871 II. The Eucharist and the Word of God
3872 • The Sacrament of the Eucharist is the flesh of the Word of God
3873 that fulfils the voice of God.
3874 • The sanctification of the sacrament of the Eucharist and receiving
3875 the Holy Communion bring us into the depths of the Holy Bible
3876 to realize that the Word of God is the presence of the living God
3877 with all His power as a Creator, Judge and Savior.
3878 • The Holy Bible is the main source of sanctioning the Sacrament of
3879 Eucharist as we read during Liturgy prayers the Pauline Epistle,
3880 the Catholic Epistle, a reading from the Acts of the Apostles,
3881 Psalms and the Holy Gospel.
3882 • The Liturgical Eucharistic text is taken from the Holy Bible (1
3883 Corinthians 2:9).
3884 III. The Eucharist Symbols in the Old Testament:
3885 • The Passover (Pascha).
134
WEEK 4. THE EUCHARIST
3886 • The heavenly Manna.

3887 • The offering of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-19).
3888 • The wisdom meal (Proverbs 9:1).
3889 • The Messiah?s meal (Isaiah 55:1-3).
3890 • The wedding meal (Songs of Songs).
3891 • The prophecy of Malachi (Malachi 1:11).
3892 • The Division of the Eucharist Liturgy
3893 • The Eucharist Liturgy is a journey to heaven - during which we
3894 enjoy the company of our Lord Jesus through our unity with Him
3895 by.
3896 • The Hymn: This is a preparation for this journey and through it
3897 we enter the life of praising God the Creator.
3898 • The bread and wine Prayer (the Lamb): this is the beginning of
3899 the journey and in it we offer all our life to Christ.
3900 • Readings: These are the guides of the journey. Without them
3901 we cannot follow the road or achieve the goal. They give the
3902 believers a chance to listen to the voice of God through:
3903 a. His apostles (the Pauline epistle and the Catholic epistle).
3904 b. The works of His apostles (Acts of the apostles, Praxis).
3905 c. The Acts of the church (Synaxarium).
3906 d. The Acts of His Son (the Gospel).
3907 e. Through the Ministers (the Sermon).
3908 • The Intercession: Throughout this journey the church prays for
3909 her safety and peace (the intercession for peace), the safety of her
3910 ministers (the intercession for the fathers), for the Lord to bless
3911 the Congregations (intercession for the congregations) so that she
3912 may complete, achieve and fulfill her message without fear.
3913 • Reconciliation Prayer: Before the Invocation of the Holy Spirit:
3914 The church announces reconciliation between God and the people
3915 in Christ (the apostolic embrace of Peace).
3916 • The coming of the Holy Spirit (Anaphora): It is the moment of
3917 going into heaven and being united with God through receiving
3918 His Holy Body and Blood.
135
3919 Conclusion
3920 The Lord, with His great compassion toward man kind, has arranged for
3921 a continuation of His salvation to man kind through the sacrament of the
3922 Eucharist. This is the sacrament to continue the unity between man and the
3923 loving God. It would be very difficult for any wise person not to participate
3924 in it.
3925 Applications:
3926 • Clarify the concepts and meaning of the Sacrament of the Eucharist
3927 to the students so that the spiritual benefit of the sacrament may be
3928 achieved.
3929 • A special Mass is to be said for the students and the teachers to
3930 explain the divisions of the Liturgy.
3931 • All the students are to receive the Holy Communion in this Mass as
3932 one fellowship to renew the spirit of membership and understanding
3933 the basic relationship with the Lord.
3934 • Encourage the students to receive communion regularly.
3935 • Tell your students that they need to pray and repent before taking
3936 the holy communion.
3937 Exercises:
3938 1. Why do we take the Holy Communion? (John 6:53-54)
3939 2. What should a believer do before taking the Holy Communion? (1

3940 Corinthians 11:28).
136
3941 Part VIII
3942 Lessons for the Month of April
137
3943
3944 Week 1
3945 Holy Liturgy I

3946
3947 Objectives:
3948 • To explain the steps of the Holy Liturgy and how to benefit from
3949 attending it.
3950 References:
3951 • Matthew 26: 17-30
3952 • The Book of Liturgy of Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
3953 Memory Verse:
3954 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him.
3955 (John 6:56)
3956 Introduction
3957 The Holy Liturgy is the most sacred part of our worship to God since our
3958 Lord Jesus Christ is present physically on the altar by his body and blood.
3959 Every move in the Holy Liturgy has a deep spiritual meaning as explained
3960 below.
3961 Lesson Outline

3962 I. The Church Rites: The word (serate Qdasie) meaning order or ar-
3963 rangement. It means the order of service in church and the different
3964 prayers that are chanted in her.
3965 II. God Takes Care of Rites : God accepted Abel sacrifice and not Cain
3966 because He had already taught them that it should be an animal
3967 sacrifice and because of His knowledge of the purity of their hearts.
138
WEEK 1. HOLY LITURGY I
3968 In the tent of meeting, God has shown Moses how the tent should
3969 look like and how different parts of service are carried out with great
3970 detail. Anybody changing this order would be severely punished. For
3971 example, Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron offered profane fire
3972 before the Lord, fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and
3973 they died before the Lord (Leviticus 10).
3974 III. How the Church Rites Started and How It Reached Us: Jesus Christ
3975 Himself laid the foundation for the church rites when He instituted the
3976 sacrament of the Eucharist in the upper room. The apostles delivered
3977 to the churches what they learnt from our Lord. This in turn was
3978 given to the next generations. All parts of the Holy Liturgy are from
3979 the Bible, e.g., the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of
3980 hosts (Jeremiah 32:18). Finally having a defined way of praying the
3981 Liturgy is an element of stability and order in church.
3982 IV. Parts of the Liturgy: Prayers for Sunday morning
3983 1. Prime payer.
3984 2. Morning praises.
3985 3. Morning raising of incense .
3986 4. The Holy liturgy (Catechumen and Believers).
V. Components of the Divine Liturgy:
Steps Jesus performed in the

Last Supper (Matthew 26:26-30) Steps of the Divine Liturgy
The disciples prepared the upper room The raising of incense
Jesus washed the disciples feet Repentance, confession and absolution
Took Bread Choose Lamb
Gave thanks Thanksgiving Prayer
Blessed it The blessing
Broke it Fraction
Gave it to His Disciples Communion
Sang hymns (Matthew 26:30) Hymns for communion
3987
3988 VI. The Raising Of Incense: Using the incense in praying is a heavenly
3989 angelic act“Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and
3990 stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer
3991 it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was
3992 before the throne” (Rev 8:3). The priest enters the sanctuary and put
139
3993 five hands on incense. This is a symbol of the offerings of Abel, Noah,
3994 Melchizedek, Aaron and Zechariah.
3995 Conclusion
3996 Everything in the liturgy has a meaning and it becomes more enjoyable
3997 when we understand those meanings. We feel as if we are living many of
3998 the events of the life of Jesus Christ on earth. The liturgy finally left us
3999 from earth to heaven.
4000 Applications:
4001 • Pay attention in church to the prayers and moves of the priest. You
4002 may use a liturgy book to help you out. It is also important to
4003 frequently attend Qdasie (holy liturgy).
4004 • If there is anything that you do not understand during the liturgy,
4005 ask the priest or your Sunday school teacher for an explanation.
4006 Exercises:
4007 1. What is the main purpose of the Holy Liturgy?
4008 2. Why do we take the holy communion?
4009 3. It is important that we remember and witness the death and tribulation
4010 of our lord Jesus Christ every time we take the holy communion or when
4011 we attend the holy liturgy.
140
4012
4013 Week 2
4014 Holy Liturgy II

4015
4016 Objectives:
4017 • To learn the sequence and the meaning of the liturgy.
4018 • To appreciate the beauty of the Holy liturgy.
4019 References:
4020 • The Book of Liturgy of Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church.
4021 • Matthew 6, 1 Corinthians 11:27
4022 Memory Verse:
4023 I am the bread of life. (John 6:35)
4024 Introduction
4025 Examine parts of the Liturgy and analogy with the Last Supper. Refer to
4026 the previous lesson.
4027 Lesson Outline

4028 I. The Burial:
4029 1. The priest places the bread on the paten: He pours wine into the
4030 chalice, emptying out completely the cruet. He pours water into
4031 the empty wine cruet and from it he adds to the wine in the chalice
4032 a little water (around a third). This is a symbol that blood and
4033 water came from Jesus’ side when he was on the cross.
141
4034 2. The prayer of thanksgiving: The priest covers the oblation with a
4035 handkerchief and he covers likewise the chalice with another hand-
4036 kerchief. This is a symbol of the clean linen cloth that our Lord
4037 Jesus was wrapped in the tomb. He covers both with the Prospher-
4038 ine together with the deacon facing him. This is a symbol of the big
4039 rock that was roiled over Jesus Christ’s tomb. Also the priest and
4040 deacon on either side of the altar are a symbol of the two angels
4041 seen by Mary Magdalene in the tomb, one on the head’s side and
4042 the other on the legs’ side (John 20:12). Then, the priest places a
4043 handkerchief above the Prospherine. This is a symbol of the seal
4044 on the rock.
4045 II. The Absolution of the Servants: This is the absolution given to ev-
4046 eryone in church to be able to complete this service and partake from
4047 the Holy Communion. If two priests are attending the liturgy, one is
4048 called the serving priest (choosing the lamb, saying the fraction and
4049 administering the body of Christ), and the other is a participating
4050 priest. The participating priest always says the absolution even if he
4051 is younger or newer than the other one is. The bishop always says the
4052 absolution himself.
4053 III. The Readings The Pauline: From the 14 epistles written by St Paul
4054 The catholic: From the epistle of the other disciples: St. James (1),
4055 St. Peter (2), St. John (3), St. Jude (1). The Acts: from the Book
4056 of Acts (Praxis). During the reading of the Pauline, the priest goes
4057 around the altar and the whole church representing the preaching of
4058 St. Paul to the whole world. During the reading of acts, the priest
4059 turns around the altar and the deacons? chorus only remembering
4060 that the Lord asked His disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they
4061 receive power from above. The Psalm: Some verses from the Book
4062 of Psalms. The Gospel: This is the center of all readings. It speaks
4063 about the occasion of the day according to the Sundays, Lent, and
4064 Pentecost days have separate readings. The sermon: This explains
4065 what is read in the Gospel.
4066 IV. The Creed: Two main things we need to do before approaching the
4067 sacrifice, faith and love. Faith we prove by saying the creed and love
4068 by the holy kiss.
4069 V. The Prayer of Reconciliation: This narrates the story of salvation.

4070 The deacon stands on the other side of the altar and the priest takes
142
WEEK 2. HOLY LITURGY II
4071 the handkerchief on the Prospherine and holds it up. This is a sym-
4072 bol of the separation between God and man before our Lord Jesus
4073 was incarnated. At the end, the Prospherine is removed (symbol of
4074 resurrection).
4075 VI. Anaphora from the 14 Anaphora’s one be conduct for the day The
4076 Blessings: The priest asks the Holy Spirit to come and bless the bread
4077 and wine to change them to the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
4078 VII. The Seven Prayers: After the bread and wine change to the body
4079 and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we start asking Him for all our
4080 requests. We pray for the safety of the church, the Pope and bishops,
4081 the priests, God’s mercy, our place (water of the rivers, the plants or
4082 the air of heaven) and the oblations.
4083 VIII. The Congregation of the Saints: We remember all the saints asking
4084 for their prayers on our behalf and take them as an example.
4085 IX. The Fraction
4086 X. The Absolution: Another absolution here before approaching the sac-
4087 rifice.
4088 XI. The Confession: The priest and the deacon confess their faith.
4089 XII. Taking Communion: During communion the congregation chants psalm
4090 150 and appropriate hymns praising God and thanking Him for His
4091 gifts.
4092 XIII. After the Liturgy: Each one should take care not to take anything out
4093 of his mouth or get injured. Meditate on the gift and blessing received
4094 for the rest of the day.
4095 XIV. How to Benefit from the Holy Liturgy:
4096 a. Prepare for the liturgy: Attend vespers the previous night. Come
4097 clean to church, outside and inside. Outside, by washing and wear-
4098 ing tidy clothes. From inside by having a pure heart through peace
4099 with everyone together with repentance and confession. It is im-
4100 portant to examine our self and repent our sins prior to taking the
4101 holy communion. ”So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the
4102 cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning
4103 against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to ex-
4104 amine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the
4105 cup. ” (1 Corinthians 11:27-28:1 Corinthians 11:27-28)
143
4106 b. Come early to church: Coming to church too late may prevent you
4107 from taking communion. Coming early allows the enjoying of the
4108 readings, hymns and deep prayers in the liturgy. The longer time
4109 spent in church will calm down the soul and ease the concentration
4110 in the liturgy.
4111 c. Participating in the Liturgy responses: The congregation is one of
4112 main three persons needed for a liturgy: a priest, deacons and the
4113 congregation. The responses are meant for the congregation not
4114 only the deacons.
4115 d. Concentrate in the prayers and responses: We should pray with
4116 the mind not the lips only. Using a Liturgy book may help in this
4117 situation.
4118 e. Take communion: Every one should be prepared by repentance and
4119 confession and participate in the communion.
4120 Conclusion
4121 “The time that we spend in church during the Holy Liturgy is a moment of
4122 heaven on earth. This glory surrounding us may be hidden from our eyes
4123 at that time. This is only because we are human but many are deserved to
4124 see this glory. They witnessed and it is true” (The life of orthodox prayer).
4125 Applications:
4126 • Try to apply all the methods mentioned above to benefit from the
4127 Liturgy.
4128 • Pay attention in church and use a liturgy book to follow up.
4129 Exercises:
4130 1. What is the purpose of the holy communion?
4131 2. Mention steps that MUST be taken before participating in the Holy
4132 Communion?
4133 3. How should we prepare before taking the holy communion (1 Corinthians
4134 11:27,2)?
4135 4. Why do we take the holy communion (John 6:53-54)?
4136 5. How should we behave after taking the holy communion?
144
WEEK 2. HOLY LITURGY II
4137 6. What are the right and wrong ways to behave after the holy communion?
4138 Why?
145
4139
4140 Week 3
4141 Resurrection
4142
4143 Objectives:
4144 • To understand the effect of resurrection on the life of the Lord, the
4145 life of the church and on our life.
4146 References:
4147 • Luke 20:35-36; Acts 26:23; 1 Peter 1:3;
4148 Memory Verse:

4149 I am the life and the resurrection, he who believes in Me, though he may
4150 die, he shall live. (John 11:25)
4151 Introduction
4152 The days of resurrection are days of happiness and joy so the church sings
4153 the resurrection hymns that are characterized by their pleasant and joyful
4154 tunes for fifty days during which she forbids any sad tunes even in her
4155 prayer for those who die. She also forbids fasting and kneeling in worship
4156 during these days. May the gratification of resurrection be for the benefit
4157 of the soul not for the benefit of the body. May we be filled with joy so
4158 that we may test the power and brightness of resurrection.
4159 Lesson Outline

4160 I. The Power of Resurrection: The devil won all the rounds before the
4161 Resurrection. He could make the authorities sentence Jesus to death
4162 as a sinner and evildoer. The Lord neither objected nor protested. The
4163 devil could direct all sorts of disgrace such as striking His body with
4164 whips and striking Him and spitting on His face, nailing His hands
4165 and stabbing Him with the spear . . . . Christ received all these sorts of
146
WEEK 3. RESURRECTION
4166 afflictions on the cross and the devil thought that the Lord was weak
4167 and that he could conquer Christ. The disciples hid in the upper room.
4168 They were filled with horror and awe, as they were afraid of the Jews
4169 . . . while the sincere women and the Maries together with John and
4170 Peter went to the tomb all night long till dawn to offer the spices to the
4171 body of Christ in great sorrow. Sorrow and despair filled the hearts of
4172 some disciples. The two disciples of Emmaus were speaking with the
4173 Lord while He was walking with them after His resurrection without
4174 knowing Him. “. . . Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in
4175 deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests
4176 and rulers delivered Him up to be condemned to death, and crucified
4177 Him . . . . It is now the third day since this happened” (Luke 24: 19-
4178 21). But the truth of resurrection turned sorrow into joy and despair
4179 into boldness and courage and fear into courage and preaching . . . .
4180 This is the power of resurrection, which filled the church with Joy,
4181 and comfort . . . . The Lord Jesus rose with His own power . . . . He
4182 rose and the stone was still at the door of the tomb . . . . He rose
4183 and His wounds were as they were and His side was open . . . . He
4184 rose declaring: “O death where is your sting? O Hades where is your
4185 victory?” He rose at the time He appointed and left the shroud and
4186 the napkin lying in their place.
4187 II. The Joys of Resurrection: The church sings hymns that clearly express
4188 the joys of resurrection . . . she sings: “All the heavenly hosts . . . all
4189 heavenly and earthly ranks and orders . . . all angels and people sing
4190 happily as our Lord Jesus Christ, the True Lamb has risen from the
4191 dead”. Your heart will be filled with joy when you see the deacons
4192 decorate the Resurrection Icon while singing: “O all heavenly ranks
4193 and orders sing to our Lord with hymns of praise and rejoice with us
4194 today as we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Christ . . . . The
4195 Lord rose as if He had been asleep or affected by wine and granted us
4196 the eternal grace and freed us from severe bondage”.
4197 III. The secret of this great joy:
4198 He bruised the head of the Serpent.
4199 He broke the sting of death.
4200 He opened the door of Paradise.
4201 Resurrection had a great effect on the church of the apostles. The
4202 Writer of the Book of the Acts (St. Luke) says: “And with great
4203 power the apostle gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord
147
4204 Jesus and great grace was upon them all”. St. Paul, inspired by the
4205 Holy Spirit, considers the resurrection as the basis of Preaching and
4206 without resurrection the preaching would be futile. He says: “And if
4207 Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also
4208 empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have
4209 testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up–if
4210 in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is
4211 not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still
4212 in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:14-17).
4213 IV. Resurrection in our own life: When St. John saw the Lord in a vision
4214 on the island called Patmos, he fell at His feet as dead. The Lord
4215 laid his right hand upon him saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the
4216 First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold,
4217 I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and
4218 of Death” (Revelation 1:17-18). The Lord Jesus; then, is Living in
4219 heaven and is living in the hearts of the believers. Through the Holy
4220 Spirit, He fills their hearts with the power of His resurrection. In this,
4221 St. Paul the apostle says, “That I may know Him and the power of
4222 His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed
4223 to His death” (Philippians 3:10). As the Resurrection was latent and
4224 present in the life of the Lord Jesus, it is also a test that takes place
4225 in the hearts of believers with which they attain the power, the glory
4226 and the joys of resurrection. Whenever our hearts are filled with the
4227 Divine love and strong will to carry out the commandment, the spirit
4228 of resurrection fills us and the ugly sin disappears. Whenever we
4229 overcome our grudge, lusts and bad tendencies, the Holy Spirit who
4230 raised Christ from the dead fills us and raises us with Him and delivers
4231 us from evil. Through the Holy Spirit, we attain the power to rise up
4232 from the spiritual death, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus
4233 from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will
4234 also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in
4235 you” (Romans 8: 11).
4236 Conclusion
4237 If we have been raised with Christ, let us seek what is above where Christ
4238 is sitting on the right hand of the Majesty on High. If we have truly been
4239 raised with Christ let us search for the lost sheep to attract them as that
4240 who rose from the dead said to Peter, “Do you love me? . . . attend my
148
WEEK 3. RESURRECTION
4241 sheep” After His resurrection, the Lord used to say and still says to our
4242 hearts, “That who loves Me should feed my lambs”.
4243 Applications:
4244 • Read what is written in the Gospels about Resurrection in the last
4245 one or two chapters of each Gospel.
4246 • Recite the cheering hymns of the Resurrection and take part with the
4247 deacons in the Resurrection Icon Procession.
4248 • Send presents to the orphans and those who mourn especially on
4249 Easter.
4250 • Pray and contemplate the prayer for the sharing of Holy Communion
4251 prayed by the priest while breaking the Holy Body. Study some parts
4252 of it and recite these parts.
4253 • Examine yourself to find out any sin and pray so that the Lord may
4254 help you to keep away from it and test the power of resurrection from
4255 the tomb of the sin.
4256 Exercises:
4257 1. Why is the Resurrection of the Lord Christ considered one of the mira-
4258 cles?
4259 2. What is the difference between the resurrection of Christ and that of
4260 Lazarus?
4261 3. What was the effect of resurrection on the church of the apostles?
4262 4. How has resurrection given the church joy and happiness?
4263 5. How can we know that we have tested resurrection in our life?
149
4264
4265 Week 4
4266 Building the Heavenly

4267 Kingdom
4268
4269 Objectives:
4270 • To learn the dimensions of the Heavenly Kingdom.
4271 • Our role in building the Heavenly Kingdom.
4272 References:
4273 • Matthew 3, 10; Revelation 21
4274 Memory Verse:
4275 As you go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew
4276 10:7)
4277 Introduction
4278 Since the sin of Adam, man had been cast out of God’s sight in paradise to
4279 live in the realm of Satan. The authorities of darkness and death overruled
4280 every man, until our Lord conquered death by His death and became King
4281 on the wood of the cross (Psalm 95). He also said, “I am going to prepare
4282 a place for you (in the kingdom of heaven)” (John 14:2). The preparation
4283 for the heavenly kingdom was the focus of the preaching of St. John the
4284 Baptist, our Lord Jesus Christ and the disciples. Since we always pray and
4285 say “thy kingdom come”, where are we now in the process of preparing for
4286 the heavenly kingdom?
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WEEK 4. BUILDING THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM
4287 Lesson Outline

4288 I. The Kingdom In Our Hearts: The heavenly kingdom starts in the
4289 hearts of those who enthrone the Lord as king over their hearts. The
4290 Lord said, “give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my way”
4291 (Proverbs 23:26). However, He is a unique king. You are not forced
4292 into his kingdom, and He does not force Himself over your heart. He
4293 actually reigns through love.
4294 II. The Kingdom On Earth: The heavenly kingdom is also felt among
4295 the people who show good will and love to each other (John 15:12).
4296 In heaven, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and by doing
4297 this same thing to each other on earth we start the heavenly kingdom
4298 on earth (Revelation 21:4).
4299 III. Our Role In Building The Heavenly Kingdom: To build the heavenly
4300 kingdom we have to know what is the kingdom built of? In revelation
4301 chapter 21, a description of the New Jerusalem: “Behold the taberna-
4302 cle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall
4303 be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God”
4304 (Revelation 21:3). Then, the building blocks of the kingdom are the
4305 people of God. So, How many blocks did you put to build the king-
4306 dom? How many did we bring to God and His kingdom? Or do you
4307 care only about entering first and everybody else should take care of
4308 his own salvation?
4309 Building the kingdom need lots of hard work and perseverance to
4310 bring more and more people to the kingdom. It needs great sacrifices,
4311 like sacrificing your own comfort to comfort others. We may need to
4312 sacrifice our leisure time to win infinite time with the Lord in heaven
4313 for you and for others. It also may need financial scarifies to help
4314 others in times of need. The more sacrifice we give the more blocks
4315 we place in building the heavenly kingdom.
4316 There are many great examples of builders of the heavenly kingdom
4317 who entered and brought with them hundreds or even thousands of
4318 men and women. St. Peter, with one sermon on the day of Pen-
4319 tecost, converted 3000 men into Christianity. St. Paul, through his
4320 trips spread the Word and brought thousands or even millions into
4321 the kingdom. Another great example is St. Anthony who started
4322 monasticism and showed many of his followers a new way of build-
4323 ing a close relationship and dedication to God. St. Demiana brought
4324 40 virgins with her to the kingdom when they were martyred for the
151
4325 name of Christ. St. Rifka brought her children with her when they
4326 were slaughtered on her lap for Christianity. So, how many are you
4327 bringing to the kingdom with you?
4328 Building the kingdom may take many forms. A wife may care to bring
4329 her family and children to the kingdom with her. A Sunday school
4330 servant works hard to bring his students to the kingdom with him.
4331 A preacher would preach the Word to every soul that does not know
4332 Christ. Every one of us has a chance somehow, somewhere to bring
4333 more people with him to the kingdom of God.
4334 However, we have to be careful that others may enter and we remain
4335 outside. The Lord gave an example of those who said we performed
4336 miracle in Your Name but He said to them: “I do not know you”
4337 (Matthew 25: 12). So, be watchful also for your own salvation. The
4338 sight of a chicken who walks with all her chicks walking behind her
4339 brings the question again how many are walking behind you into the
4340 kingdom of heaven? Are you like a magnet that attracts tens of pins
4341 to it or you make people repel from you?
4342 Conclusion
4343 Every one of us has to help in building the heavenly kingdom by bringing
4344 more people with him into the kingdom of God.
4345 We pray that we be counted with the five wise virgins who were watchful,
4346 filled their lamps and were ready for the arrival of the bridegroom and
4347 entered his wedding. We pray that the fire of His Spirit would take away
4348 the laziness of the five foolish virgins away from us.
4349 Applications:
4350 •
4351 Exercises:
4352 1.
152
4353 Part IX
4354 Lessons for the Month of May
153
4355
4356 Week 1
4357 Witnessing to the Lord in

4358 Today’s World
4359
4360 Objectives:
4361 • To help our youth become more proud of following Jesus Christ
4362 • To identify some ways by which they can witness to Jesus Christ in
4363 today’s world.
4364 References:
4365 • Luke 10:1-20.
4366 Memory Verse:
4367 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. (Luke 10:3)
4368 Introduction
4369 Can you imagine if one day while you’re praying to God, He sends an angel
4370 and asks you to go to school the next day and tell everyone at school that
4371 they are on the wrong track, that God is warning them to repent, and that
4372 if they do not return to God, He will destroy them? Really, how would you
4373 respond? Would you feel worthy of this task? Would you feel capable of
4374 this task? Well, I know that this might be difficult to believe considering
4375 your age, but you know it has actually happened. God asked Jeremiah
4376 the prophet as a teenager to witness to the Israelites when they were sinful
4377 and went after other gods (Jeremiah Chapter 1). Jeremiah the prophet
4378 felt incapable, but God told him that He will put the words in his mouth
4379 as he serves. So could the same thing happen to us? Are we expected to
4380 witness in the world? These questions will hopefully be answered through
4381 this lesson.
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WEEK 1. WITNESSING TO THE LORD IN TODAY’S WORLD
4382 Lesson Outline

4383 First it is important for us to establish the normal conditions under which
4384 service is expected to occur. Christ Himself said to the seventy apostles
4385 that He appointed, “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among
4386 wolves” (Luke 10:3). It is apparent through this verse that God is aware
4387 of the world’s corruption and that His servants will face lots of problems.
4388 Now why do we use the word servants here even though we are talking to
4389 teenagers who are being served? Because God said that we are the light
4390 of the world. He did not differentiate the levels. We as true Christians
4391 are by default the light of the world. We actually carry the light of Jesus
4392 Christ to the world. It is the duty of every Christian to confess the name
4393 of Jesus Christ to everyone. We even repeat at least every Sunday, “Amen,
4394 Amen, Amen, Your death, O Lord we proclaim.” Have we ever stopped and
4395 thought about what that really means? Do we really proclaim and confess
4396 Christ’s death and resurrection? Now that we know that tribulation and
4397 hardship come from service and witnessing, it is important for us to know
4398 the tools by which we can witness.
4399 1. In Luke 10:2, Christ asks the seventy to pray to the Lord for the sake
4400 of service; therefore, prayers are essential for the success of witness-
4401 ing or carrying the good news to others. Have you ever known a good
4402 non-Christian friend, and you were too disappointed that they are not
4403 Christians? Well, pray to God and ask Him to lead you in your witness-
4404 ing. Ask God to help you find the way by which you can introduce your
4405 friend to Jesus Christ.
4406 2. The second essential tool for witnessing is humbleness. It is important

4407 for us to introduce Christ to others with meekness. We need to start out
4408 teaching others about Christ’s love rather than condemning them. It is
4409 a shame that some of the people whom we meet at the malls and roads
4410 claim to be witnesses by stopping people while shouting and telling them
4411 that if they do not believe in Christ they would go to hell. St. Paul said,
4412 “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may
4413 know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:6).
4414 3. The third important tool in service is the Gospel. St. Paul said, “Let
4415 the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and ad-
4416 monishing one another . . . ” (Colossians 3:16). Also St. Peter said,
4417 “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for
4418 the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:13). This is
155
4419 an excellent verse because it explains the importance of knowledge and
4420 meekness.
4421 There are few true believers in Jesus Christ in this world and this fact
4422 naturally makes us feel odd enough. However, We always have to remember
4423 that we are not just governed by natural instincts but by the blood of Jesus
4424 Christ.
4425 Conclusion
4426 We need to understand that the least we could do as an appreciation to
4427 God’s blessings in our lives is to introduce others to Him. We as Christians
4428 are expected to attract others to Christ. Even if we do not have the per-
4429 sonality to talk about it, our actions and behaviors should attract others.
4430 Do we display the true Christian behavior? When people see our actions,
4431 do they form a good or a bad impression about Christianity? Being a true
4432 Christian is a serious responsibility; we have to watch our actions and make
4433 serving God our focus in life.
4434 Applications:
4435 • Some of the ways we can build our knowledge include attending as
4436 many Sunday School classes, youth meetings and bible studies as we
4437 can.
4438 • Also a close relationship with your father of confession can help guide
4439 you into becoming a more active servant to God.
4440 • If you have extra few months and resources, you might consider serv-
4441 ing with the missionary group around the world. That would build
4442 self-confidence in terms of witnessing to others about Christ.
4443 • Pray to God to give you courage and wisdom to speak his word boldly.
4444 Exercises:
4445 1. What does he mean when Paul was saying “For I am not ashamed of
4446 the Gospel of Christ” (Rome 1:16) how about you are you ashamed to
4447 share the Gospel with the people?
4448 2. What does He mean when Jesus Christ was saying “Whosoever therefore
4449 shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful
4450 generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh
4451 in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)?
156
WEEK 1. WITNESSING TO THE LORD IN TODAY’S WORLD
4452 3. What does He mean when Jesus Christ was saying “For what is a man
4453 profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what
4454 shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
4455 4. Describe what our lord Jesus Christs love mean to you personally? How
4456 much do you love Jesus in your life? How do you prove your love to him?
4457 “[”If you love Me, you will keep My commandments](John 14:15).
157
4458
4459 Week 2
4460 The Church after the

4461 Apostolic Era
4462
4463 Objectives:
4464 • To learn the heroism of the fathers who carried faith down to us.
4465 References:
4466 • Matthew 10:32-39; Luke 12:8-9; John 15:18-16:4.
4467 Memory Verse:
4468 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number
4469 daily. (Acts 16:5)
4470 Introduction
4471 The day of Pentecost was a shining day in the history of humanity. A
4472 stormy wind shook Jerusalem and tongues came down on the disciples and
4473 the Holy Spirit outpoured over them and filled them with all knowledge.
4474 Emboldened by the Holy Spirit, they went out of their upper room to the
4475 world carrying the message of Christ . . . a message of love and redemption.
4476 Years go by and the disciples work hard and the Christians and the churches
4477 grow in number. The first century came to its end and all the apostles
4478 departed from this world after they had changed the whole world. Before
4479 them the world was completely filled with paganism. There were groups of
4480 Jews, some were in Palestine and the others were scattered here and there.
4481 But now, delightful lights began to shine the lights of the church of Christ,
4482 which began to lighten darkness.
158
WEEK 2. THE CHURCH AFTER THE APOSTOLIC ERA
4483 Lesson Outline

4484 I. The Happy Church: The Christians were pleased with the new religion.
4485 They shared everything among them. Nobody was poor or needy.
4486 They sold their property and divided the price among all according to
4487 each one’s need. Every day they gather for prayer, singing hymns and
4488 listening to the preaching and to the Gospel that the apostle had left
4489 them. They used to eat together. On Sunday, they gather to attend
4490 prayers of the Holy Mass and receive the Holy Communion. People
4491 around them desired to imitate them so the Christians allowed them
4492 to attend their meetings and taught them the rules of religion and the
4493 Lord brought those who were saved to the church every day.
4494 II. Persecutions: The spread of Christianity was not easy. Many ene-
4495 mies tried to hinder its progress and growth. They fought it by all
4496 means but it won victory over them. In spite of persecutions, the
4497 Christians were an example of loyalty and sincerity even to their per-
4498 secutors and their life was a good model for all people to follow. Many
4499 non-Christians believed in Christ when they saw their deeds and they
4500 glorified their Father who is in heaven. Through love, sacrifice and
4501 martyrdom, Christianity became victorious and the more persecution
4502 and torment increased, the more they kept close to Christ. They did
4503 not fear death but they sought it and desired it everywhere. They were
4504 martyred in Egypt, in Syria, in Rome and their martyrdom astonished
4505 the people around them and made them ask themselves “Why do they
4506 hold fast to their God?” Many believed because the Christians held
4507 fast to their Christ in spite of the cruelty and tormenting they suffered.
4508 a. Ignatius (35-108 AD): Ignatius, Peter’s disciple, was the Bishop of
4509 Antioch. He cared for his people with power and courage so the
4510 people gave him the name of “Theo-Forus” i.e. “that who carries
4511 the Lord”. The king urged him to worship the idols. He tempted
4512 him with money and glory and threatened that he would torment
4513 him and put him to death but all his attempts were in vain and
4514 at last he sent him to Rome to be thrown to the fierce animals to
4515 devour him. Ignatius was not frightened. All his people wept for
4516 him but he encouraged them all and in his epistle to the Romans
4517 he says: “At last my brothers I attained what I desired . . . to die for
4518 Christ to declare myself a Christian and deserve the glorious name
4519 given to me but my fear is that you, through your love for me might
4520 try to save me from death and deprive me of the martyrdom for
4521 Christ”.
159
4522 b. Clement: Clement knew Christ in Rome through St. Paul and he
4523 was ordained Bishop of the city. Because of his activity to spread
4524 Christianity, the Emperor sent him into exile in a far away country.
4525 There he met two thousand Christians in exile like him because
4526 of their Christian faith and they were tormented with hard work.
4527 He encouraged them and helped them in their work and reminded
4528 them of the heavenly joy that awaits them. Those banished peo-
4529 ple endured hardships joyfully and their life changed. Many non-
4530 Christian people believed in Christ because of Bishop Clement’s
4531 works.
4532 c. Polycarp (69-156 AD): In Izmir in Asia Minor, the governor arrested
4533 Polycarp, John’s disciple. When he saw his white beard and bent
4534 back, he showed sympathy for him and advised him to deny Christ.
4535 But, Polycarp said to the governor, “Since my childhood, I have
4536 been serving Christ for 86 years and during that long time he gave
4537 me every love and kindness so how can I reject him?” The governor
4538 threatened that he would send him to wild beasts. The saint said,
4539 “Let these beasts come to me. I am not afraid of them”. The
4540 governor said, “If you despise the beasts I will throw you into a
4541 burning fire” and the saint said, “Your majesty, you threaten me
4542 to send me to a fire that burns a little then dies away but you do not
4543 know the fire of the eternal judgment that the Lord has prepared
4544 for non-believers”. Then the saint said, “Why are you slow, your
4545 Majesty? Do what you want quickly”. The governor ordered that
4546 Polycarp would be burnt alive. When the soldiers wanted to tie
4547 him up, he said to them, “there is no need for that. God who gave
4548 me power to endure the insult, gives me power to stand amid fire”.
4549 He lifted up his eyes to heaven and prayed: “O Lord, I bless you
4550 because you have chosen me to be one of your martyrs who die for
4551 bearing witness to your name. I have glorified You in my life and I
4552 am now glorifying You in my death”. The saint attained the crown
4553 of martyrdom and the Christians gathered his bones and kept them
4554 in their church in Izmir.
4555 Ignatius, Clement and Polycarp were martyred and gave us the best
4556 example of holding fast to Christ. Their life and death were the seeds
4557 of faith in the church.
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WEEK 2. THE CHURCH AFTER THE APOSTOLIC ERA
4558 Conclusion
4559 Those are the word of these saints who loved the Lord from all their heart
4560 and were ready to endure all kinds of suffering for His seek: “I desire mar-
4561 tyrdom to declare myself Christian not only in words but also in action”
4562 (St. Ignatius). “Since my childhood I have been serving Christ and He
4563 never harmed me but He showed me every mercy and kindness, how can I
4564 leave Him?” (Polycarp)
4565 Applications:
4566 • As you are one of the children of those martyrs, what are the troubles
4567 and sacrifices, which you are ready to endure for the growth and
4568 spread of the church?
4569 • What types of service can you perform to achieve this purpose?
4570 Exercises:
4571 1. List two ideas that describe the life of the Christians during the Apostles’
4572 time.
4573 2. On a map, write the names of Ignatius, Clement and Polycarp beside
4574 the cities to which they were Bishops.
4575 3. Give the names of the Apostles who mentor Ignatius, Clement and Poly-
4576 carp.
4577 4. Do a research to find out How these apostles died?
161
4578
4579 Week 3
4580 The Ecumenical Councils

4581
4582 Objectives:
4583 • To learn about the three great councils and the work of the church.
4584 References:
4585 • Church Ecumenical councils http://www.suscopts.org/servantsprep/

4586 pdf/HIS/HIS102_councils.pdf.
4587 Memory Verse:
4588 Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for
4589 the hope that is in you. (1 Peter 3:15)
4590 Introduction
4591 a. Administration System in the Church: The church anywhere is always in
4592 charge of her priests and deacons. If there is a simple dogmatic question,
4593 people usually ask the priest of the church. The deacons could help in
4594 financial and administration matters. This is like the system followed
4595 in organizing any group. For example, a principal runs the school as-
4596 sisted by a vice-principal and a board that meets regularly to discuss
4597 the school’s needs. A society also has a board and a chief. In the church
4598 we have deacons and priests headed by bishops and his holiness the Pa-
4599 triarch. The Holy Council (Holy Synod) is the highest authority in the
4600 church and it is its members who decide and it is they who have the final
4601 word in the domains of the church creed and faith, in ordaining bishops
4602 and their assistants and in setting the general policy of the church.
4603 b. The Holy Council (Holy Synod): It is the highest authority that looks
4604 into the affairs of the church, manages its activities and solves its prob-
4605 lems. If there is a problem in more than one country and is too difficult
162
WEEK 3. THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
4606 to be solved as the case was in the early Christian period, there is a need
4607 to hold a council in which the different churches of these countries are
4608 to be represented. As the early church had one dogma and one faith,
4609 Ecumenical councils were held. The main direct reason for holding these
4610 councils was the appearance of strange religious views or what we call
4611 heresies.
4612 Lesson Outline

4613 I. The First Council and the Choice of Matthias: “The Council” is a
4614 living expression . . . on the part of the church to keep the spirit of
4615 understanding and love. The Lord Christ left the apostles as a group
4616 of believers who love one another, are tied to one mind and one heart.
4617 They expressed their opinions and took their decisions with unity in
4618 mind, heart and spirit so they gave a model to the church, a model
4619 of unity and love. In the apostolic age, the eleven apostles held a
4620 meeting under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and they all prayed so
4621 that God might choose Judas’ successor as Judas betrayed the Lord.
4622 They drew lots and the one chosen was Matthias who was added to
4623 the group of eleven apostles (Acts 1:15-26).
4624 II. The Conference in Jerusalem: We also read about the first council in
4625 Jerusalem in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 15:1-20). Here
4626 we find the great apostles holding a meeting to discuss the problem
4627 that aroused a lot of discussion those days. The problem was: It is
4628 necessary for a believer to go through the Jewish stage first then to
4629 Christianity or can his faith in Christ take him directly from pagan-
4630 ism to Christianity? They discussed this problem, then one of them
4631 proposed a suggestion and a certain decision and they all agreed then
4632 they wrote it and sent it to all the churches.
4633 • Mention some names of the apostles who attended that meeting?
4634 • Who was the head of the council?
4635 • What were the decisions?
4636 • Was this the apostles’ own point of view, or was it God’s desire?
4637 Prove this.
4638 The faithful Christians must do the same if they misunderstand a re-
4639 ligious topic and the church clarifies it for them. In this case they
4640 must obey and be happy to learn, not to be stubborn and resist.
163
4641 There appeared in the church people who understood dogmatic mat-
4642 ters wrongly. Those persons appeared at different times in the fourth
4643 and fifth centuries when Christianity was declared a formal religion of
4644 the State, i.e. the Roman Empire. Let us discuss some examples in
4645 the following sections.
4646 III. The Council of Nicene (325 AD): Arius was a priest in Alexandria. He
4647 came from Libya. He could not understand the Holy Trinity and how
4648 God is One in Three Hypostases. He thought that God the Redeemer
4649 was not God. He said that the Son (Jesus Christ) was of a less degree
4650 than the Father. The Egyptian church tried to convince him but
4651 he did not obey the church so the church excommunicated him. He
4652 complained to Emperor Constantine who summoned a conference in
4653 Nicene in Asia Minor. 318 Bishops from different parts of the world
4654 came to attend the conference. It was a blessed model of the unity of
4655 the church. Theological discussions ran between Arius and the church.
4656 The great defender of faith was Deacon Athanasius who accompanied
4657 Pope Alexander who was the Pope of that time. Arius enjoyed a
4658 strong character. In Alexandria and other places he wrote hymns that
4659 contained his corrupt belief and tried to indoctrinate his belief into
4660 the minds of many people. In the conference, he played with words
4661 but the council reached decisions and opinions were listened to and
4662 votes were taken for each decision. “Truly we believe in one God
4663 . . . reator of heaven and earth, and all things, seen and the unseen.
4664 We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Only begotten Son of the
4665 Father . . . true God out of true God; Begotten not created . . . ”. What
4666 was the conviction of the council?
4667 The council excommunicated Arius and the bishops signed approving
4668 the decision. They glorified God who gathered them as brothers and
4669 the Holy Spirit who guided them to take this decision.
4670 IV. The Council of Constantinople (381 AD): The church settled the ques-
4671 tion of the Son but Macedonia?s Patriarch of Constantinople said that
4672 the Holy Spirit was created or made (not God), so the Second Ecu-
4673 menical Council met in Constantinople and was attended by 15 bish-
4674 ops. The principles were discussed and decisions were taken and thus
4675 the last part of the Orthodox creed was written: uly we believe in the
4676 Holy Spirit, the Lord the life giver. we look for the resurrection of the
4677 dead and the life of the age to come. Amen
4678 V. The Council of Ephesus (431 AD): The questions rose never ended.
4679 Before the fourth century people used to ask and they still ask ques-
164
WEEK 3. THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
4680 tions. Blessed are those who obey and never cause troubles to the
4681 church, but the devil never keeps still. Nostorius, the Patriarch of
4682 Constantinople, said that God was not born of Mary the Virgin but
4683 she gave birth to a man then God abode in him. These words are
4684 against the Holy Bible. We shall give three verses to prove this fact.
4685 For example: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”
4686 (John 1:14). “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest
4687 in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). “For you have found favor with God
4688 . . . therefore also the Holy One which shall be born of you shall be called
4689 the Son of God” (Luke 1:30-35). So the council of Ephesus was held
4690 and 200 bishops attended it and the leader was St. Cyril the Pope of
4691 Alexandria. After the discussion they came to the following definite
4692 decisions: “We exalt you O Mother of the True Light . . . ” They ended
4693 with this text: “We preach and evangelize the Holy Trinity. One God-
4694 head . . . we worship Him and glorify Him”. So the decisions of the
4695 Council of Nicene summarized the most important topics studied by
4696 the Ecumenical Councils.
4697 • What are the three Ecumenical Councils?
4698 • Why was each of them held?
4699 • What were the names of the people involved in the herecy?
4700 • What were the decisions of each council?
4701 Conclusion
4702 The Orthodox Church was strong and defended the faith actively in all the
4703 councils. The heroes of the church St. Athanasius, St. Cyril and Pope
4704 Alexander were the defenders of the faith. We should be proud of the role
4705 that our church had in these councils. We should also appreciate that our
4706 church gives people found with heresy a fair hearing and a chance to repent
4707 before excommunicating them. We also learn that we shouldn’t stubbornlly
4708 rely on our intelligence and understanding about matters of the church like
4709 these heretic people. As a member of the Orthodox Tewahdo church, it
4710 is important that you properly know your church doctrine inorder to give
4711 answers to those who ask you. “[”Always be ready to give a defense to
4712 everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.](1 Peter 3:15)
4713 Applications:
4714 • Read the holy creed and try to memorize it by heart. Ask your priest
4715 or Sunday school teacher if you have questions about it.
165
4716 • Study the dates, topics raised, and names of all the ecumenical coun-
4717 cils along with the names of the main pain parties involved.
4718 • Read the holy creed and try to relate the statements with the ecu-
4719 menical councils.
4720 Exercises:
4721 1. Write what you know about Athanasius the Apostolic, Arius the heretic,
4722 and Cyril the great?
4723 2. What are the ecumenical councils accepted by our church and what was
4724 the main reason for holding each one of them?
4725 3. Why is it important for the church to protect its believers from heresy?
4726 4. Write a list of the heretic teaching and try to match them with the
4727 statements in the Orthodox Creed that refute these fallacies: Write the
4728 items opposite each other?
166
4729
4730 Week 4
4731 The Orthodox Creed on One

4732 God
4733
4734 Objectives:
4735 • To explain the Orthodox Creedt One God.
4736 • To understand the attributes of God and the work of the Father.
4737 References:
4738 • The Bible, Colosians 1:16-17, Matthew 3:16-17, Genesis 1:31
4739 Memory Verse:
4740 The Lord our God is One. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
4741 Introduction
4742 The soldier who marches at the head of an army of fighters carries the flag
4743 and raises it to fix it at the highest spot. He may be wounded; he may
4744 die and become a martyr. In case this happens, another soldier succeeds
4745 in raising the flag and declaring victory. Similarly, our faith came to us
4746 through the saints’ struggle and the martyrs’ blood.
4747 The main part of the Orthodox Creed was set by the Council of Nicene
4748 in AD 325. There were 318 Bishops who attended that Council and Pope
4749 Alexanderos, together with St. Athanasius the Apostolic (who was a deacon
4750 at the time), represented the Coptic Church. The Council was held to
4751 discuss the Arian heresy. Arius claimed that Christ was not the Everlasting
4752 Son of God, but that He was created as any other man. Pope Alexanderos
4753 did his best to bring Arius back to the correct faith but Arius would not be
4754 convinced Emperor Constantine attended the first meeting of the Council.
4755 St. Athanasius defended the Godhead of Christ and succeeded in having the
167
4756 Council?s agreement to issue a creed to excommunicate Arius and dismiss
4757 him. Then he put the Orthodox Creed till the beginning of- “Truly we
4758 believe in the Holy Spirit”.
4759 In AD 381, the Second Ecumenical Council, the Council of Constantino-
4760 ple was held because Macedonius denied the Godhead of the Holy Spirit,
4761 so the Council added the Second part of the Orthodox Creed. So the Or-
4762 thodox Creed was set by two Councils; the Council of Nicene in AD 325
4763 and the Council of Constantinople in AD 381.
4764 Lesson Outline

4765 I. One God:
4766 a. God is one and has no partner: We do not believe in three gods but
4767 we say: In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
4768 One God. If there were two gods, who would be greater and who
4769 came before the other? If they were equal, each one would possess
4770 half the kingdom! How can a limited being be a god? God is
4771 one Essence. The statement “The Father, the Son and the Holy
4772 Spirit” does not mean that they are three gods but they are three
4773 hypostases: One Essence and the Essence of God is Love.
4774 b. An example:
4775 • Man is mind, body and soul; still one person not three persons.
4776 • The sun is disc, ray and heat; still one sun.
4777 c. Other evidence that God is one: There are countless number of
4778 clear verses that prove that God is One. These are some of the
4779 Scripture verses:
4780 • “The Lord our God is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
4781 • “There is none holy like the Lord. There is none besides thee”
4782 (1 Samuel 2:2).
4783 • “For who is God but the Lord” (2 Samuel 22:32).
4784 • “I am the First and I am the Last, besides Me there is no god”
4785 (Isaiah 44:6).
4786 • “For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is God),
4787 who formed the earth and made it. I am the Lord, and there is
4788 no other” (Isaiah 45:18).
4789 • “There is none good but one, that is God” (Mathew 19:17).
4790 • “Hear O Israel our God is one Lord” (Mark 12:29).
168
WEEK 4. THE ORTHODOX CREED ON ONE GOD
4791 • “It is One God” (Romans 3:30).

4792 • “There is none other God but one... But to us there is but One
4793 God” (1 Corinthians 3:20).
4794 • “God is One” (Galatians 3:20).
4795 • “Thou believe that there is one God” (James 2:19).
4796 d. God reveals Himself: The Lord spoke to Adam and gave him a
4797 commandment. Adam heard the Lord’s voice walking in the garden.
4798 The Lord spoke to Noah, saved him and rescued his family from
4799 certain death. He revealed Himself to Abraham, tested him and
4800 blessed him . . . . It is He who gave Moses the Ten Commandments
4801 at Mount of Sinai. The mountain was burning with fire and smoke.
4802 The Divine voice was heard when Christ was baptized in the Jordan
4803 and said, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased”
4804 (Mathew 3:17).
4805 II. The Attributes of the Father:
4806 a. His Existence is a must: The Existence of God is a necessary obli-
4807 gation for understanding the universe. “For in Him we live, and
4808 move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
4809 b. He has no end: He is not confined in a certain place, and He has
4810 no end. He is boundless. “Thou art the same and thy years have
4811 no end” (Psalm 102:27).
4812 c. He is a Simple Spirit. He has no flesh. He in Himself is a Spirit
4813 “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in
4814 Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
4815 d. God does not change: “Man changes but God does not change.”
4816 The Lord says, “For I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6). “[”]
4817 e. God is everlasting and eternal: He has no beginning and has no
4818 end. The Lord says, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning
4819 and the ending” (Revelations 1:8).
4820 f. God exists everywhere: He is present everywhere. No place can
4821 confine Him. God knows everything “Neither is there any creature
4822 that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and opened
4823 unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13).
4824 “[”Jesus looked at them and said, “[”With man this is impossible,
4825 but with God all things are possible.] (Matthew 19:26).
4826 g. God is Almighty: “Whatever the Lord pleases He does in heaven
4827 and on earth in the seas and all deeps” (Psalm 135:6).
169
4828 III. The Work of the Father:
4829 a. Fatherhood and choice: Fatherhood is one of the attributes of God
4830 the Father. He is the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the
4831 Father of humanity and that is why we call Him God the Father.
4832 He created us and He cares for us. Sparrows are without number
4833 but one of them does not fall on earth without the will of God who
4834 art in Heaven. He also cares for plants . . . . He clothes them in a
4835 way that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of them.
4836 But God cares more for man.
4837 b. Why does God let his children suffer? God created man on the sixth
4838 day after He had provided him with all his needs. He also gave him
4839 a perfect, accurate, good-looking and beautiful body. He gave him
4840 an eternal soul, mind, intelligence, Sufferings in our life are due to
4841 our sensitive advanced nature. Our feeling of pain distinguishes us
4842 from inanimate things. Sufferings make us escape to a better life.
4843 Some sufferings are the outcome of our behavioral mistakes and
4844 others are due to God’s purpose, which we do not know (The man
4845 who was born blind John 9:1-12). “[”For My thoughts are not your
4846 thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, “[”declares the LORD.] ]
4847 (Isaiah 55:8).
4848 c. Choice: Because God is a Father, He chooses His beloved. This
4849 choice is according to man’s heart’s preparedness and response to
4850 the Divine Will. He chose us to be His children and this was a
4851 special call to us, as we believed in Him. The scripture says:
4852 • Pre-destination: “For those whom He foreknew He also predes-
4853 tined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that be
4854 might be the first born among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).
4855 • The Call: “And those whom He predestined, He also called,
4856 and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom
4857 He justified He also glorified” (Romans 8:30).
4858 • Our choices: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Christ,
4859 who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in
4860 the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the
4861 foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless
4862 before Him in love” (Ephesians 1:3-4).
4863 IV. The Almighty God:
4864 a. The Lord controls the universe: The sun rises in its appointed
4865 time. Stars do not sleep. Planets do not collide. There are laws,
170
WEEK 4. THE ORTHODOX CREED ON ONE GOD
4866 which control the universe. These Laws are so accurately set by
4867 the Lord that scientists find it difficult to discover their details.
4868 “How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding
4869 out!” (Romans 11:33).
4870 b. God is our supporter: He opens and no one shuts. He shuts and
4871 no one opens. The Lord also protects our life from dangers, lusts
4872 and deviations. “The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade
4873 on your hand. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon
4874 by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your
4875 life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from
4876 this time forth and for evermore” (Psalm 121:5-8).
4877 V. He Created the Heaven and the Earth: There is the wonderful na-
4878 ture which we see and enjoy its beauty and when we see a lovely
4879 thing we utter the name of God. The existence of a thing indicates
4880 that someone has made it and if that thing is perfect, we say that
4881 its maker has a great ability and skill. There are also the invisible
4882 creatures, which we cannot see such as atoms and electrons, which
4883 run through wires, but we feel their effects. There are also the remote
4884 stars and the tiny microbes. The greatness and majesty of God are
4885 beyond our thoughts. There are also the spiritual invisible creatures
4886 such as angels, archangels, cherubim and seraphim who are without
4887 number. Then thousand times ten thousand and thousands and thou-
4888 sands praising God but we do not see them. Those creatures (angels)
4889 help us. Man is a tiny drop in a big ocean but the Lord cares for him
4890 as if that entire big universe had been made for man. Isaiah 40:15
4891 Conclusion
4892 The holy creed describes our church’s doctrine. It testifies the believe of
4893 the church in God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. As
4894 the flags of a country represents its nationals, the holy creed represents our
4895 faith. Thus, it is important to study, understand, and reflect on it.
4896 Applications:
4897 • Encourage your students to reflect these attributes of God every time
4898 they pray.
4899 • Encourage your students to memorize the Orthodox creed and quiz
4900 them on that.
171
4901 Exercises:
4902 1. During which two ecumenical councils was did holy creed evolved? [Nicene
4903 and Constantinople]
4904 2. Speak about the attributes of God?
4905 3. Define the works of God the Father?
172
4906 Part X
4907 Lessons for the Month of June
173
4908
4909 Week 1
4910 The Orthodox Creed on the

4911 Godhead of the Son
4912
4913 Objectives:
4914 • To understand the Godhead of Christ and His works.
4915 References:
4916 • The Bible, John 1:1-18, John 3:16, Matthew 3: 13-17, Genesis 1,
4917 Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 64:8, Psalm 139:14
4918 Memory Verse:
4919 Of his kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:33)
4920 Introduction
4921 Lesson Outline
4922 I. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
4923 begotten of the Father before all ages: There is a difference between
4924 sonship among people and the Sonship of Christ to God. The human
4925 father is older than his son and each one of them is separated from the
4926 other but Christ is Consubstantial with the Father everlasting and of
4927 the Same Essence. He said about himself, “I and the Father are One’
4928 (John10:30).’ The human language does not contain any words that
4929 can indicate the conformity and unity except “the Father and the Son”,
4930 that is why Christ is the “Son” but there is a big difference: “He is
4931 the only Begotten Son of the Father before all ages’(John 3:16).’There
4932 is another simile that can be used, i.e. the coming forth of the light
4933 out of a lamplight is generated but not through flesh.
174
WEEK 1. THE ORTHODOX CREED ON THE GODHEAD OF THE SON
4934 II. Light Of Light; True God Of True God: He is of the same nature and
4935 essence of the Father. God is Love and we knew love through His Son
4936 “[”This is how Gods love was revealed among us: God sent His one
4937 and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him] (1
4938 John 4:9). There is no difference in Essence.
4939 III. Begotten Not Created: As water flows out of a spring and runs through
4940 a canal but the water is one, the same is true of the Son begotten of
4941 the Father before all ages. This was the basis for the heresy of Arius
4942 that led to the council of Nicene. He claimed that ’Jesus is created,
4943 not begotten.’ This is completely wrong and we beleive that our lord
4944 Jesus Christ is ’Begotten Not Created.’
4945 IV. In One Essence With The Father: The Scripture says: “In the begin-
4946 ning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
4947 God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through
4948 Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John
4949 1:1-3). Here we see that God the son was in existance before creation
4950 and is the creator of all creatures that exist (Colossians 1:16-17).
4951 V. Incarnation: We know that the Son is consubstantial with God. He
4952 is everlasting and not made but He took flesh of Virgin Mary and the
4953 Holy Spirit. So Christ has two births, the first is everlasting and of
4954 the heavenly Father, and the second is of the Holy Spirit and Virgin
4955 Mary. He has not come of a man through the natural way of birth like
4956 us and this proves His Godhead (Luke 1:34-35).
4957 VI. He Was Crucified For Us Of Whose Kingdom Shall Have No End: Now
4958 comes the role of redemption, which we confess that it was fulfilled for
4959 our salvation.“[”He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so
4960 that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.“[”By His stripes
4961 you are healed]] (1 Peter 2:24). We also confess the Second coming
4962 for judgment and kingdom. The angel says to the Virgin: “Of His
4963 kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33).
4964 The following Schedule shows, ChristTasks in brief:
4965 Conclusion
4966 God the son is the only Begotten son of God. We beleive he is begotten, not
4967 created. He existed before created and was the word by which the entire
4968 creatures were created. We beleive he had two births, the first is everlasting
175
Time Place Task
Before all ages With God Divine Sonship
The beginning of life (5000 years before Christ) In heaven He took part wit
starting the new AD era In the Virgin’s womb He was incarnate
Forty days after Resurrection From earth to heaven Going up to the
Unknown From heaven to earth The Second Com
4969 and of the heavenly Father, and the second is of the Holy Spirit and Virgin
4970 Mary for our salvation. “[”For God so loved the world that he gave his
4971 one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
4972 eternal life.](John 3:16).
4973 Applications:
4974 • Encourage your students to study and recite the holy creed.
4975 • Encourage your students to appreciate the act of love God showed us
4976 when he gave his only son to die on our behalf (John 3:16). Would
4977 you give the only thing you have to someone who is your enemy?
4978 • Quote the verses that prove this and you can make a wall chart.
4979 Invite a priest or a minister who has a deep knowledge of theology
4980 and let the students ask questions about the difficulties they face in
4981 understanding the Godhead of Christ. Evidence should be given from
4982 Logic, reason, the Gospel and from different references.
4983 Exercises:
4984 1. When we say in the church that we believe in One God, the Almighty
4985 God. Does this mean that He controls our tendencies, emotions and
4986 instincts?
4987 2. When we confess that He created heaven and earth, do we offer worship
4988 to Him in awe feeling that our life is of Him and to Him?
4989 3. When we confess that Christ is light out of light and True God out of
4990 True God, do we ourselves live in light and walk in truth, as we are the
4991 children of God who is light of light and truth of truth?
4992 4. When we confess that the Lord Jesus came from heaven and incarnated
4993 for our salvation and suffered to redeem us, aren’t we ashamed of our-
4994 selves when we ignore and neglect such salvation?
176
WEEK 1. THE ORTHODOX CREED ON THE GODHEAD OF THE SON
4995 5. When we recite the Orthodox Creed, do we have real and practical faith
4996 in what we say?
4997 6. The students are to be divided into 3 groups:
4998 a. The first group proves the Godhead of Christ in His nativity.
4999 b. The Second group proves the Godhead of Christ in His miraculous
5000 deeds and teachings.
5001 c. The third group proves the Godhead of Christ in His crucifixion and
5002 His resurrection.
177
5003
5004 Week 2
5005 The Orthodox Creed on the

5006 Godhead of the Holy Spirit
5007
5008 Objectives:
5009 • To understand the Godhead of the Holy Spirit.
5010 • To learn about the unity of church and her tasks.
5011 References:
5012 • Genesis 1:1-3, Genesis 1:26, Acts 5:1-11, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Acts 2:1-12,
5013 John 16:8
5014 Memory Verse:
5015 Because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by
5016 the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:21)
5017 Introduction
5018 Lesson Outline
5019 I. Truly we believe in the Holy Spirit: This past was put by the Council
5020 of Constantinople, which was held to refute the heresy of Macedonius
5021 who denied the Godhead of the Holy Spirit. He said that the Holy
5022 Spirit is one of the creatures and hence the church excommunicated
5023 him. We believe in the Holy Spirit and call Him “The Giver of Life.”
5024 When Ananias and Sapphira lied to St. Peter. St. Peter said, “Ana-
5025 nias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to
5026 keep back part of the proceeds of the land? You have not lied to men
5027 but to God” (Acts 5:3-4). This verse clearly shows the divinity of the
5028 Holy Spirit.
178
WEEK 2. THE ORTHODOX CREED ON THE GODHEAD OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
5029 II. The Divine tasks of the Holy Spirit:
5030 • He is called the Spirit of Life or God the Giver of Life. “The
5031 earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face
5032 of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of
5033 the waters” (Genesis 1:2).
5034 • He is the creator; He was not made; “The Spirit of God has made
5035 me” (Job 33:4). “By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made
5036 and all their host by the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6).
5037 • Through the Inspiration of the Scripture and prophecy: Who was
5038 spoken of by the prophets. “Because no prophecy ever came by
5039 the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from
5040 God” (2 Peter 1:21).
5041 • It is He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and it is He
5042 that raises us up from any sin and purges us. “If the Spirit of
5043 Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised
5044 Jesus Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies
5045 also through His Spirit which dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).
5046 • He makes of us a new creation - created in the image of Christ.
5047 The Lord breathed in the face of His disciples as He breathed a
5048 breath of life in the dust. If the image of Adam was corrupted,
5049 the Holy Spirit gave us a new nature through baptism so that we
5050 may be in the image of God once more.
5051 • Coming forth: As a ray of light comes from the sun, and as water
5052 flows out of a spring to pour into a lake, the same is true of the
5053 Holy Spirit who comes forth from the Father and dwells in the
5054 Son. The Father loves the Son and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of
5055 love that comes forth from the Father to the Son. In the Jordan
5056 River the Father said, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am
5057 well pleased.” “And behold the Spirit of God descending like a
5058 dove, and alighting on Christ.” As the water in the well, or in
5059 the canal or in a lake is the same water that we drink, the same
5060 is true of the Holy Spirit that is consubstantial with the Father
5061 and the Son.
5062 III. One Church: All believers had one heart and one Spirit. The unity of
5063 the church is what Christ desires. In His final prayer of intercession
5064 He said, “that they may all be one, even as You Father, art in Me, and
5065 I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe
5066 that You have sent Me” (John 17:21).
179
5067 IV. Universal Church: She gathers all believers of every nation, language
5068 and tribe. She gathers all the orders of priesthood of bishops, priests,
5069 deacons and also the laity. She gathers men, women and children in
5070 one unity, which is the unity of the universal mission.
5071 V. Apostolic Church: As she is “built upon the foundation of the apostles
5072 and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the Cornerstone” (Ephesians
5073 2:20). The Life of her members is an apostolic life based on abstention
5074 and Evangelic poverty. It is impossible to recognize and confess the
5075 priesthood of anyone if the hands of legal heads are not set on him.
5076 VI. A Holy Church: She is holy because Christ is her head. It is holy
5077 because it is his holy body (1 Corinhians 12:27). The spring of holiness
5078 is the Holy Spirit working in her. The life history of her members is
5079 pure and holy (the story of Ananias and Sapphira proves that the
5080 church rejects every corrupted and bad member).
5081 VII. We Confess One Baptism For The Remission Of Sins: Christ said to
5082 Nicodemus, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, One cannot
5083 enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) “Go therefore and make dis-
5084 ciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
5085 of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Baptism is not
5086 repeated because it is like the death, burial and resurrection of Christ
5087 which happened only once: “You were buried with Him in baptism, in
5088 which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of
5089 God, who raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12)
5090 VIII. We Look for the Resurrection of the Dead and the Life of the Age to
5091 Come. Amen. We believe that our souls are eternal and will not die.
5092 When the body dies, the soul goes up to Paradise or goes down to the
5093 Hades. On the Day of Judgment the Lord will come in awe and glory
5094 and will reward every one according to his deeds. The evildoers will
5095 be sent to Hell where they suffer eternal torment and the righteous
5096 are sent to the kingdom of Heavens and the glorified eternal life. Our
5097 bodies will be glorified and they will take the image of the body of
5098 the raised Son of God, to enter the kingdom as blood and flesh cannot
5099 inherit the kingdom. Let us live on the hope of resurrection waiting
5100 for the coming of the Lord. Amen.
180
WEEK 2. THE ORTHODOX CREED ON THE GODHEAD OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
5101 Conclusion
5102 It is important to note the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
5103 was coexisting with both God the Father and God the Son during creation.
5104 The Holy Spirit was at work when Jesus was born the virgin Marry. Also
5105 during the babtism of Jesus Christ and during the resurrection of our lord
5106 Jesus Christ. The unity of the church is important to God, and thus, we
5107 have the responsibility to love each other in unity, just as God loved us
5108 unconditionally.
5109 Applications:
5110 • Make a wall magazine about the attributes of the church (One - Holy
5111 - Universal - Apostolic).
5112 • encourage your students to study and memorize the holy creed.
5113 • Having a clear understanding about the divinity of God the Father,
5114 God the son, and the Holy Spirit is important to understand the dif-
5115 ference among different Churches. For example, Jehovah Witnesses
5116 don’t believe in the divinity of Christ (God the Son). Thus, know-
5117 ing and understanding the holy creed allows us to defend the true
5118 teachings of our Church.
5119 Exercises:
5120 1. Why is the holy creed so important?
5121 2. Does beliving in the divinity of God the Father, God the son, and God
5122 the Holy Spirit mean we beleive in three Gods? (No. We belive in
5123 Trinity, but one God. That’s why we say, ’In the name of the Father,
5124 the Son, the Holy Spirit one God amen’ when we pray.)
5125 3. How can we keep the unity of our Church? (Knowing it’s right teachings
5126 such as the Holy Creed and living in Love).
181
5127
5128 Week 3
5129 The Council of Chalcedon

5130
5131 Objectives:
5132 • To be acquainted with the reasons behind the Schism of the church.
5133 References:
5134 • Church Ecumenical councils http://www.suscopts.org/servantsprep/

5135 pdf/HIS/HIS102_councils.pdf.
5136 Memory Verse:
5137 You may charge some that they teach no other doctrine. (1Tim 1:3)
5138 Introduction
5139 Eutyches was an archimandrite of a monastery at Constantinople. He de-
5140 fended the Orthodox faith against the heresy of Nestorus but his great zeal
5141 for the sound faith led him to a new heresy. He believed that Christ’s body
5142 was not like ours but it was an ethereal body. Many people followed him in
5143 his belief, so a small council was held in the city of Constantinople under
5144 the leadership of its Bishop, Flabianus and the council decided to excom-
5145 municate Eutyches because he said that the Manhood of Christ was totally
5146 lost in his Divine Nature as a drop of vinegar is lost in the waters of an
5147 ocean. The heresy of Eutyches caused a great split in the church so King
5148 Theodosius decided to hold a new council in the city of Ephesus. He invited
5149 all the churches to attend that council and he also invited Pope Dioscorus to
5150 exercise supreme authority over it as president. Twenty Egyptian bishops
5151 attended with Pope Dioscorus.
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WEEK 3. THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON
5152 Lesson Outline

5153 I. The Second Council of Ephesus (449 AD): The Bishops of Alexandria,
5154 Jerusalem and Antioch and all the churches came to Ephesus but
5155 the Pope of Rome sent two delegates with a message “Leon’s Tome”.
5156 Pope Dioscorus presided the council according to the king’s desire.
5157 The Pope began the meeting by reading the king’s decree of holding
5158 the council then he asked someone to read the message sent by the
5159 Pope of Rome but one of the bishops suggested that Eutyches should
5160 stand before the council so that his beliefs might be examined and all
5161 agreed. So Pope Dioscorus summoned Eutyches to appear before the
5162 council.
5163 II. Eutyches Declares Orthodox Statement: Eutyches appeared before

5164 the council and said that he repented his wrong belief and that he
5165 confessed the belief of the church so the council declared him innocent
5166 and rehabilitated him.
5167 III. The Roman Pope Protests: There was no chance for them to read
5168 the message sent by the Roman Pope to the council and that was a
5169 new heresy about the Lord Christ, so the Pope’s delegates went back
5170 to Rome and told the Pope that his message was not read and the
5171 Pope was annoyed. The Roman Pope asked the king to hold another
5172 council in Rome to re-examine Eutyches’ beliefs but King Theodosius
5173 did not agree to hold that council saying that the Second Council of
5174 Ephesus declared the true faith and there was no need for holding
5175 another council.
5176 IV. The goal is achieved King Theodosius died and his sister Pulcheria
5177 and her husband Marcian reigned Rome. Pulcheria hated Dioscorus
5178 because he used to reproach her because of her sins as she was a nun
5179 but she married. Pope Leo seized the chance and asked the queen to
5180 hold another council. At last there was an agreement to hold a council
5181 in Chalcedon.
5182 V. The Council of Chalcedon (451 AD): It is clear that the council of
5183 Chalcedon was not held to discuss a dogmatic creed but it was held for
5184 personal reasons. The queen desired to take revenge of Pope Dioscorus
5185 because he used to reproach her for her sins and Pope Leon wanted
5186 to declare himself as the head of all the churches of the world includ-
5187 ing the church of Alexandria as he saw that the Popes of Alexandria
5188 preside the Ecumenical Councils and some of the excommunicated
183
5189 bishops wanted to be rehabilitated. In this way all the parties were
5190 against Pope Dioscorus and they tried to prove that he did not follow
5191 the Orthodox faith and that he followed the heresy of Eutyches. Be-
5192 cause that was out of their power, they asked for the meeting to be
5193 postponed for five days. Then they held a meeting and ordered the
5194 soldiers to keep him within the confines of his house and prevent him
5195 from going out so that he might not attend the council. Then they
5196 excommunicated Pope Dioscorus and deposed him.
5197 VI. Schism inside the Church: The council of Chalcedon had a very bad
5198 effect on the church in the whole world. The church split into two: The
5199 Eastern churches included the church of Alexandria and the church of
5200 Antioch and the western churches included the church of Rome and
5201 the church of Constantinople. It was love that gathered and united
5202 the hearts of the fathers in the first three councils of Nicene, Con-
5203 stantinople and Ephesus so those councils succeeded and the church
5204 became more powerful through them but when the spirit of jealousy
5205 and dispute appeared in the council of Chalcedon, the church divided
5206 into groups.
5207 Conclusion
5208 Our church, which is one of the non-Chalcedonian churches, believes in
5209 “Miaphysis” which means the unity of the two natures of Christ (the Divine
5210 and the Human Natures) into one nature of the incarnate God. The two
5211 natures never separated and never changed each other.
5212 Applications:
5213 • “For where envy and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work”
5214 (James 3:16). Show how this verse came true in the Council of Chal-
5215 cedon.
5216 • “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe
5217 in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father,
5218 just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that
5219 the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21). We
5220 see here how important unity of the church (gathering of Christians)
5221 was to our lord Jesus Christ. How do you think this verse relate to
5222 the split of the Church in the council of Chalcedon?
184
WEEK 3. THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON
5223 • Raise many prayers so that the church may be reunited and all become
5224 one according to the desire of the Lord Jesus and the heavenly Fathers
5225 that we may be one in Him as He and the Father are one.
5226 Exercises:
5227 1. Write a list (a diagram) showing: The councils you know and their dates,
5228 the names of the famous fathers of each council, and the heresies they
5229 discussed.
5230 2. Why was St. Dioscorus condemned in the Council of Chalcedon?
5231 3. Do you think the split of the church after the council of Chalcedon weak-
5232 ened or strengthened the church?
5233 4. Why is the council of Chalcedon not accepted by our church? Do you
5234 think the motives of the council were religious or political?
5235 5. Our Church is called Orthodox tewahdo, what is the basis for that and
5236 what significance does it have? [Refer to the concept of ”Miaphysis”].
185
5237
5238 Week 4
5239 Friendship
5240
5241 Objectives:
5242 • Proper behavior in society: Distinguishes between your friends and

5243 when you choose the good one.
5244 • Don’t involve yourself in relationships that may lead to destruction.
5245 References:
5246 • Friendship of Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 1:1-22).
5247 • Friendship of David and Nathan (1 Samuel 18).
5248 • 1 Corinthians 15:33; Proverbs 12:26, 13:20, 17:17, 18:24, 22:24-25,

5249 27:17; Job 2:11; Luke 6:31; John 15:12-15; Judges 16.
5250 Memory Verse:
5251 He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his
5252 friend. (Proverbs 22:11)
5253 Introduction
5254 Cisceron said “Tell me about your friends, I tell you about personality.”
5255 Man is unconsciously affected by his friends.
5256 Lesson Outline

5257 I. Who is my friend? The concept of “friendship” varies according to the
5258 type of people and their aims. To the people of the world, “Friendship”
5259 means that I choose a friend who has approximately the same attitudes
5260 I have, is of nearly the same age. social rank, and behaves similarly.
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WEEK 4. FRIENDSHIP
5261 But to the Spiritual man: My friend is the person whose aim is sal-
5262 vation and for this end the two friends encourage and support each
5263 other. Although David and Jonathan were different in education and
5264 social rank, they accompanied each other on the way of salvation.
5265 II. Two types of friendship:
5266 a. The good friend: Joshua son of Sirach says, “The good friend is
5267 more precious than any other living thing in the world and his
5268 goodness is matchless”. He is a treasure and a supporter in times
5269 of psychological, social and financial crises. He is a model and
5270 a mirror for his friend. A friend usually encourages his friend to
5271 develop spiritually and academically.
5272 b. The bad friend: Paul the apostle says, “Do not be deceived: Evil
5273 company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33). The bad
5274 friend may cause his friend to indulge in bad habits such as smok-
5275 ing, drinking, going to places of immoral entertainment, gambling
5276 and sometime committing crimes as St. Augustine’s friends once
5277 did.
5278 III. How to choose your friends
5279 • You have to like them and be on good terms with them taking
5280 David and Jonathan as example “The soul of Jonathan was knit
5281 to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul”.
5282 • Their behavior should be characterized by the spirit of holiness
5283 in talks, meetings, and short excursions and in play.
5284 • They should be characterized by Christian attributes such as hon-
5285 esty “The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue
5286 speaks justice” (Psalm 37:30) “For my mouth will utter truth;
5287 wickedness is an abomination to my lips” (Proverbs 8:7).
5288 • They should be characterized by self-control (eye - tongue - thought).
5289 • They should be of sound judgment and good reputation. They
5290 should not be gesturing or reckless.
5291 • They should sincerely love God and people. David lamented for
5292 Jonathan saying, “Your love to me was wonderful, passing the
5293 love of women” (2 Samuel 1:26).
5294 • They should be assiduous in their work and studies.
5295 • They should have the same attributes.
187
5296 • There should be conformity between you in age, in academics,
5297 and in social and spiritual level.
5298 IV. The Ideal Friend: Lord Jesus is the best friend “The Lord is at hand”,
5299 “The Lord is near”, “We love him because He first loved us”, “Let’s
5300 follow His example”.
5301 V. How to Preserve Friendship
5302 • Friendship should be free from opportunism and selfishness so
5303 that it may be long lasting. It should be based on sacrifice and
5304 self-sacrifice.
5305 • There should be mutual respect, serious and frank talk without
5306 reproach or violence with gentle treatment aiming at all spiritual
5307 benefits.
5308 • Friendship should be created upon Christ and it should aim at
5309 salvation and spiritual growth.
5310 • Forgive your friends when they sin against you, “How often shall
5311 my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?”
5312 • Defend your friends in their absence and reveal them. Don’t give
5313 ear to slander. Contemplate how St. Peter spoke about St. Paul
5314 (2 Peter 3:5).
5315 • Give earnest advice to your friends and guide them to what is
5316 right. Contemplate the talk between Christ and the workers in
5317 the Vineyard (Matthew 20).
5318 • Do not impose your ideas on them and criticize them, only con-
5319 structively.
5320 • Refrain from harmful jesting.
5321 • Sympathize with them in all circumstances “Rejoice with them
5322 that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15).
5323 Conclusion
5324 Our friends have a tremendous influence in our life. Thus, we should choose
5325 our friends wisely.“[”Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good char-
5326 acter.](1 Corinthains 15:33). Friendship should also be based on love and
5327 trust just like the friendship of David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-5).
5328 Moreover, if we truely love our friends, we shouldn’t sit idly when they are
5329 making bad choices.( james 5:9-20).
188
WEEK 4. FRIENDSHIP
5330 Applications: • Take part in the spiritual fellowship through prayers,

5331 receiving Holy Communion, spiritual reading, and attending bible
5332 studies.
5333 • Find group of people who share the same Christian values and inter-
5334 ests as you and make them your friends.
5335 • Reflect on where and with whom you are spending majority of your
5336 time.
5337 Exercises:
5338 1. Can you think of other examples of good/bad friendships from the bible?
5339 What do you learn from them?
5340 2. How do you know whether or not you are involved in a bad friendship?
5341 How can we get out of bad friendship?
5342 3. Why is important for us to find good friends?
5343 4. Does it mean we need to completely cut off other people whom we don’t
5344 share the same faith with? How should we handle our relationship with
5345 such people? (Ans: Remember, we have a responsibility to lead others
5346 to know God with our life and speech. “consider this: Whoever turns a
5347 sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover
5348 over a multitude of sins”(James 5:20)).
189
5349 Part XI
5350 Lessons for the Month of July
190
5351
5352 Week 1
5353 The Calling of St. Paul

5354
5355 Objectives:
5356 • To learn the pleasant encounter of the Lord in our life and the possi-
5357 bility of change.
5358 References:
5359 • Acts 9:1-31, 22:1-21
5360 Memory Verse:

5361 You did not choose Me but I chose you and appointed you that you should
5362 go and bear fruit. (John 15:16)
5363 Introduction
5364 St Paul was converted from a persecutor of the church to a preacher and a
5365 great teacher in the Church. All of this through a meeting with the Lord
5366 who was able to change him completely.
5367 Lesson Outline

5368 I. Saul the Persecutor of the Church (Acts 9:1-31): A Pharisee young
5369 man appeared in Jerusalem. His name was Saul and he was a disciple
5370 of Gamaliel the teacher of the Law. He was a great fanatic to Ju-
5371 daism. He heard the Story of Jesus of Nazareth and the appearance
5372 of Christianity from the Jews. He was greatly annoyed and began
5373 to persecute the believers severely as he believed that in doing so he
5374 served God and his religion. He used to destroy and loot the Christian
5375 churches. When the Jews planned to stone St. Stephen the pious dea-
5376 con, Saul attended the process of stoning and heard him when he said:
5377 “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. He also saw his angelic face when he
191
5378 knelt down and cried out in a loud voice “Lord, do not remember
5379 this sin against them” and Saul approved of his murder (Acts 7:4-60).
5380 The Book of the Acts of the Apostles says that this fierce lion used
5381 to break into the churches and houses and draw men and women and
5382 take them to prison. The church endured Saul’s persecutions patiently
5383 and the Book of Acts says that those who were scattered because of
5384 persecution went about preaching the Word of God. In every house
5385 where a murder took place because of this fanatic man’s persecutions,
5386 many prayers were raised for him. Nobody thought of hurting him
5387 because the Lord says to the believers; “Look, I am sending you forth
5388 as lambs among wolves”. The lamb is devoured by the wolf but a
5389 lamb cannot devour, otherwise it will turn into a wolf. God never
5390 fails the prayers of His children. This moaning and those cries which
5391 rose continually from the catacombs “O Lord, remember Saul” got a
5392 wonderful response from the Lord of the church.
5393 II. A Meeting and a Change: Saul caused Jerusalem’s flock to scatter. His
5394 fanaticism led him to take letters from the chief priest to Damascus
5395 and to the synagogue of Damascus so that if he should find any of
5396 these followers of Christ, he would be able to arrest them, both men
5397 and women and bring them back to Jerusalem. He was armed with
5398 all the weapons of power, he had the power of the High Priest and
5399 strong men and soldiers, he had his zeal and fanaticism which were
5400 beyond description, all this was against a humble meek flock that
5401 cannot resist because their Lord prevented them from carrying a sword
5402 and demanded that they should learn lowliness from Him and leave
5403 vengeance to the Lord as He already told them “Vengeance is Mine”.
5404 On his way to Damascus, jealousy and fanaticism filled his heart. As
5405 Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from
5406 the sky flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice
5407 saying to him: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are
5408 you Lord,” he asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is
5409 hard for you to kick against the goads” (The goads is a piece of iron
5410 used for pricking a beast to urge it to run). Saul was frightened and
5411 confused. He said, “What shall I do, Lord?” The Lord said to him:
5412 “Rise, go your way into Damascus, and there you will be told about
5413 everything it is appointed for you to do”. The men who were traveling
5414 with Saul had stopped, not saying a word; they heard the voice but
5415 could not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground and opened his
5416 eyes, but could not see a thing. So they took him by the hand and led
5417 him into Damascus. For three days he was not able to see and during
192
WEEK 1. THE CALLING OF ST. PAUL
5418 that time he did not eat or drink anything.
5419 My Lord and my God, your power is filled with love . . . the wolf
5420 which devours Your flock you call it by its name and show him
5421 your love.
5422 My Lord and my God, Your power is filled with might . . . the lion
5423 before whom no one could stand collapsed before your glory and
5424 fell to the ground humiliated and asking You humbly “O Lord,
5425 What do you want me to do?”
5426 My Lord and my God . . . Your power is filled with glory the fiery
5427 sharp eyes that devoured the meek lambs, when they met you,
5428 they could see nothing . . . their fanaticism was no more . . . . You
5429 brought them back through meekness to enlightenment to see the
5430 Divine light.
5431 My Lord and my God, How great you are and how majestic. Saul the
5432 fierce man becomes Paul, the apostle of struggle and the chosen
5433 vessel and the great pillar of the church.
5434 My Lord and my God . . . turn me as you turned him, meet me and
5435 call me as you called him, O Lord.
5436 III. In the House of Ananias: There was in Damascus a certain disciple
5437 named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision; “Ananias”. He
5438 said, “Here I am, Lord”. The Lord said to him; “Rise, go to the street
5439 called Straight, and at the house of Judas look up a man called Saul,
5440 from Tarsus. For, look, he is praying, and in a vision he has seen
5441 a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands upon him that he
5442 might recover sight”. But Ananias answered; “Lord, I have heard from
5443 many about this man, how many injurious things he did to your holy
5444 ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests
5445 to put in bonds all those caning upon your name”. The Lord said
5446 to him: “Be on your way, because this man is a chosen vessel to me
5447 to bear My name in the nations as well as to kings and the sons of
5448 Israel. For I shall show him plainly how many things he must suffer
5449 for My name”. So, Ananias went off and entered into the house, and
5450 he laid his hands upon him and said, “Saul, brother, the Lord Jesus
5451 that appeared to you on the road over which you were coming, has
5452 sent me forth in order that you may recover sight and be filled with
5453 the Holy Spirit”.
5454 IV. The Persecutor becomes a Preacher: And immediately there fell from
5455 his eyes what looked like scales, and he recovered sight and he rose and
193
5456 was baptized and he took nourishment and gained strength. He got to
5457 be for some days with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately in
5458 the synagogues he began to preach Jesus, that this One is the Son of
5459 God. But all those hearing him gave way to astonishment and would
5460 say: “Is this not the man that ravaged those in Jerusalem who call
5461 upon this name, and that had come here for that very purpose, that
5462 he might lead them bound to the chief priests?” But Saul became
5463 Paul and he kept on acquiring strength and was confounding the Jews
5464 that dwelt in Damascus as he proved logically that this is the Christ.
5465 V. The Persecutions that the Apostle of the Nations Suffered: As the Lord
5466 Jesus Christ suffered in bearing witness to the Heavenly Father, each
5467 member bearing witness to the Lord Jesus has to suffer also. Every
5468 witness should be persecuted . . . persecuted by the world, the devil,
5469 and men and by the corrupt ancient man that lies in his nature. Thus
5470 the life of every faithful witness is composed of persecution forming a
5471 sad symphony outside him but inside him it is pleasant and enjoyable
5472 as St. Paul said: “For though tribulation is momentary and light, it
5473 works out for us a glory which is of more and more surpassing weight
5474 and is everlasting” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
5475 VI. Sources of Paul’s Troubles:
5476 • The Jews: They were shocked when they saw Saul change into
5477 Paul the preaching apostle so they resisted him severely in every
5478 synagogue and in every city. They flogged him five times, struck
5479 him many times and they stoned him once and at this time he
5480 was about to die.
5481 • The false brothers: Those are the Jews who became Christians
5482 but kept the Spirit of Judaism in their heart and tried to in-
5483 troduce Jewish beliefs in the Christian faith to dye it with the
5484 Jewish life. Those, Paul called “the false brothers”. They used
5485 to go to every church he established and arouse tribulations and
5486 spread rumors so Paul suffered a lot because of their behavior.
5487 • The Pagan Priests: Those caused the people to rebel against Paul
5488 because they felt that Paul’s preaching caused the loss of their
5489 resources and income. This happened in the city of Ephesus as
5490 an example. Besides, he faced many other troubles in his travels
5491 especially the thorn in the flesh and in this he entreated the Lord
5492 that it might depart from him but the Lord said to him, “My
5493 grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in
5494 weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
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WEEK 1. THE CALLING OF ST. PAUL
5495 VII. Paul the Apostle Explained Some of the Troubles He Faced:
5496 a. Lots of Tribulations (2 Corinthians 11:23-33): He was obliged to

5497 refer to them to confirm his evangelism before the stubborn who
5498 resisted him and who wanted to corrupt the service in the church
5499 of the Ephesians. With far greater labors, far more imprisonments,
5500 with countless beatings; I have received at the hands of the Jews the
5501 forty lashes less one. Three times I have been shipwrecked, a night
5502 and a day I have been adrift at sea. On frequent journeys; In labor
5503 and toil, in sleepless nights often; In dangers from highwaymen, in
5504 dangers from my own race, in dangers from the nations; In hunger
5505 and thirst . . . in abstinence from food many times . . . in cold and
5506 nakedness; The anxiety for all the congregations;
5507 b. Always faithful to the Lord: Concerning the message appointed to
5508 him and for the souls he loved, listen to him when he says: “Who is
5509 stumbled and I am not incensed?” (2 Corinthians 11:29). “When
5510 being reviled we bless, when being persecuted we bear up, when being
5511 defamed, we entreat” (1 Corinthians 4:12,13). “Nevertheless, I do
5512 not make my soul of any account as dear to me, if only I may finish
5513 my course and the ministry which I received of the Lord Jesus, to
5514 bear thorough witness to the good news of the undeserved kindness
5515 of God” (Acts 20:24). “Who will separate us from the Love of the
5516 Christ. Will tribulation or distress or persecution or hunger or
5517 nakedness or danger or sword?” (Romans 8:35).
5518 c. Why does God permit such persecutions to afflict his servants? In
5519 answer to this question St. Theodorus says: To protect us from
5520 falling in negligence and laziness and to make us always on our
5521 alert, on our guard and with open eyes. To look all the time to
5522 God pleading His mercy and help. So that we may not be proud
5523 but think humbly of ourselves. So that we may show that we are
5524 sticking to the glory of God, His love and faith till the end. So that
5525 continuous distress may give us the power to attain greater crowns.
5526 So that God may be glorified and the devil may be ashamed through
5527 our endless patience. So that we may show our faithfulness to God
5528 in spite of all tribulations.
5529 Conclusion
5530 How can I be one of the Lord Jesus’ disciples? Christ who directed His call
5531 to Saul is still directing it to each one of us. And the Lord who met him is
195
5532 on the way ready to meet with us on the way of our life and call us all to
5533 be His disciples . . . He expects us to respond to Him and answer His call.
5534 Applications:
5535 • Meditate on the following two verses:
5536 a. “This man is a chosen vessel to me to bear My name to the

5537 nations as well as to kings and the sons of Israel. For I shall
5538 show him plainly how many things he must suffer for My name”
5539 (Acts 9:15-16).
5540 b. “Lord, what will You have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
5541 • Spend time in prayer and reading the Bible to be able to meet with
5542 the Lord and talk to Him.
5543 Exercises:
5544 1. Read Philippians 3:4-6 and describe how devoted Jew was Paul before
5545 his conversion to Christianity?
5546 2. What were the sources of troubles of Paul?
5547 3. What are the sources of troubles of Christians in our time?
5548 4. List five troubles Paul faces as Christian.
5549 5. List three reasons why God permit persecution to afflict His servants?
196
5550
5551 Week 2
5552 Success in the Christian

5553 Concept
5554
5555 Objectives:
5556 • To learn that spiritual success should be our main goal in life.
5557 • To understand that any worldly success is granted from God.
5558 References:
5559 • The story of Joseph in Genesis 39: 1-6, 19-23, 41:37-43
5560 Memory Verse:
5561 The Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man. (Genesis 39:2)
5562 Introduction
5563 The youth period is the peak of human ambition and dreams of a prosperous
5564 future. The youth would usually have dreams of being very successful in
5565 different forms and aspects of life. Some of them may desire to be very rich,
5566 others may want to be very famous or they may have very high academic
5567 ambitions of being always the top of the class and having a PhD in the
5568 shortest time possible . . . etc. The servant may start the lesson by giving
5569 every student a chance to express what would he/she like to do for his/her
5570 career.
5571 Lesson Outline

5572 I. Spiritual Versus Earthly Success: The story of Joseph is a great ex-
5573 ample in the Bible that demonstrates the spiritually successful man
5574 whom whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper. Joseph was at the
197
5575 top of his spiritual success when he resisted the temptation of his mas-
5576 ter’s wife. However, his reward at that time was to be put in prison.
5577 If you think about it, a prisoner would probably not fit the earthly un-
5578 derstanding of success. However, that was a great success for Joseph
5579 in the eyes of the Lord. Joseph was actually being tested in different
5580 hardships and tribulations:
5581 • His brothers were envious of him so they threw him in a well.
5582 • He was taken to a foreign land where he was sold as a slave.
5583 • He was tempted by his master’s wife.
5584 • He was thrown into prison.
5585 • The chief butler forgot him after interpreting his dream of restor-
5586 ing his position again in pharaoh’s palace (Genesis 40:21-22).
5587 • In all these hardships, Joseph held strong to his faith and his
5588 purity although he was young and alone in a foreign land.
5589 II. The Reward Of Spiritual Success: Joseph did not ask the Lord for
5590 earthly success or seek any high ranks or position in Pharaoh’s palace.
5591 All what he probably looked for is to be safe in Egypt until he can
5592 return back to his father’s house. Yet, because he clinked to the Lord
5593 during the harsh testing of his spiritual strength, God blessed him with
5594 many blessing that he became the second man in Egypt after Pharaoh
5595 (Genesis 41:39-43) and he ruled over all the Egyptians. This support
5596 what our Lord Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount “seek first the
5597 kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be
5598 added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Job is another good example of
5599 a spiritually successful man through the severe testing by Satan and
5600 he was finally rewarded a multiple times on earth. Does this mean
5601 that every earthly success is the reward of spiritual success and every
5602 spiritual success results in earthly success? The answer is NO. There
5603 are many successful men whom do not even know God or believe in
5604 Him. Their success is pure earthly success, which may or may not lead
5605 them to eternal life. On the other hand, there are many spiritually
5606 successful characters who lead a miserable life e.g. the parable of the
5607 rich and Lazarus; Lazarus suffered on earth yet he was in the Bosom of
5608 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in heaven while the rich man was tortured
5609 in hill. Other examples are Anba Rewiss and Anba Paul . . . etc.
5610 III. The Secret Of Joseph’s Success: Since Joseph was such a successful
5611 man and probably all of us would like to be like him, then we must
198
WEEK 2. SUCCESS IN THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPT
5612 ask what was the secret of Joseph’s success? The secret is that God
5613 was with him. This is actually repeated multiple times in the story of
5614 Joseph (Genesis 39:2,3,21,23 and 41:16,38) to emphasize and confirm
5615 the fact that the sole reason for Joseph’s success was the presence
5616 of God with Joseph and the spirit of God in Joseph. Joseph also in
5617 return always felt the presence of God with him; therefore he refused
5618 to sin with his master’s wife.
5619 IV. Easier said: So we must obey God and seek to do His will in order to
5620 succeed. But there is a common saying that rings true in this case. The
5621 saying is, It is easier said than done. We know we should be looking to
5622 our Creator for guidance; we should look to Him for standards to live
5623 by. He created us and His inspired words are our user manual that
5624 we must live by. We know this, but we sometimes find it difficult to
5625 live by. The apostle Paul experienced this same frustration in his life.
5626 He had a strong desire to obey only God. However, he shared with us
5627 in the book of Romans that he, too, sometimes did things according
5628 to our societys standardsaccording to Satans standards.When Paul
5629 slipped up, he, too, felt like a failure. We can find his lament recorded
5630 in the Bible for our benefit. Paul said, For the good that I will to
5631 do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice (Romans
5632 7:19). He continued by describing how he felt like a failure. He said,
5633 “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of
5634 death?” (Romans 7:24). We all can relate to Pauls feelings of failure.
5635 For we, too, walk down this path from time to time. But Paul did
5636 not throw up his hands in defeat. He purposely asked the question,
5637 ”Who will deliver me from this body of death?” so that he could
5638 accurately answer it for us. “I thank Godthrough Jesus Christ our
5639 Lord!” (Romans 7:25). Paul recognized the absolute necessity to look
5640 to God our Father and Jesus Christ for direction in our life - based
5641 upon God’s truth. Satan has done such a thorough job of deceiving
5642 all of mankind (Revelation 12:9) that many have lost sight of Gods
5643 truth.
5644 Conclusion
5645 The Christian youth should seek first spiritual success with no compromise
5646 for the sake of earthly success or worldly achievement. They should place
5647 their career and life in the hand of the Lord who will grant them success
5648 according to His will.
199
5649 Applications: • Start with a prayer or Bible reading before studying
5650 everyday.
5651 • Meditate on what God tells you (not what our society tells you).
5652 • Turn away from the traditions of men. Turn instead to the holy
5653 commandments of God.
5654 • Develop the habit of giving the tithes at an early age even from part-
5655 time.
5656 Exercises:
5657 1. Mention two people from bible who had lead a successful life.
5658 2. What do you think you should do to have a successful life like Joseph?
5659 3. Do you think you are a successful person?
200
5660
5661 Week 3
5662 Christian Understanding of

5663 Success
5664
5665 Objectives:
5666 • To understand the meaning of success in Christianity.
5667 References:
5668 •
5669 Memory Verse:

5670 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as
5671 your soul prosper. (3 John 1:2)
5672 Introduction
5673 Success is a wish that every normal person seeks in fulfilling a certain target.
5674 • Some find success in obtaining high grades that will enable them to
5675 enroll in a certain university or college.
5676 • Some find success in getting a highly paid job.
5677 • Some find success in marrying someone who is attractive and wealthy.
5678 • Some find success in becoming famous and rich and obtaining the
5679 praise of people.
5680 • Some find success is in having internal happiness and peace.
5681 If you ask many people of their idea of success, you will get different
5682 answers according to the personal feelings and views of the individual. What
5683 is your understanding of success? It would be beneficial if you write it down
5684 specifically.
201
5685 Lesson Outline
5686 I. What is the understanding of success for the worldly people? For the
5687 worldly people, success is limited and does not involve the depth that
5688 would ensure the internal peace. Moreover, you will find that those
5689 who are successful according to the worldly standards are in ruins
5690 internally.
5691 • We heard in the news that a famous American actress is being

5692 blackmailed regarding her sons life because of her expensive jew-
5693 els. She is always frightened and in constant misery because of
5694 these jewels. Did fame and possessions guarantee her success?
5695 • We heard in the news about a famous rich man who chose to
5696 commit suicide rather than live unhappily. Is this success?
5697 • If we went back with our memories across history, we find Ahab
5698 the vicious king unhappy and “unable to sleep”, “So Ahab went
5699 into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which
5700 Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him” 1 Kings 21:4.
5701 How could it be that there is no happiness or internal peace with

5702 wealth, possessions and high grades. Is this success? Definitely not.
5703 The obvious reason is that if the person is made only of body then
5704 his success would be linked to these materialistic aspects. But being
5705 created from both body and spirit according to God’s image, these
5706 materials cannot guarantee his success. St. Augustine says “Lord,
5707 You created us in your liking, so we have no peace except with you.”
5708 The Psalmist says, “No peace for the villains” and he says, “The villain
5709 escapes and there is no one chasing him.” Therefore, success of the
5710 worldly people is phony and limited and does not ensure this person’s
5711 place, happiness and eternal life. It seems successful from the exterior
5712 but in fact it is loss and failure.
5713 II. What is the understanding of success for the Children of God? St.
5714 John the Evangelist says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in
5715 all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2).
5716 Accordingly, success for the children of God is not limited to one aspect
5717 but it is an ultimate success, “prosperity and health.”
5718 The ultimate success in the lives of the children of God includes the
5719 following:
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WEEK 3. CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF SUCCESS
5720 a. Success in the spiritual life: This ensures the internal peace. It
5721 appears in the love of others and the pure heart that loves God and
5722 hates sin.
5723 b. Success in studies and work: The Christian student is successful in
5724 his or her studies and the person who works succeeds in his or her
5725 job and is honest and admired by his colleagues.
5726 c. Success in physical health: Apart from the maladies that God per-
5727 mits in order to test our faith and spiritual growth, the successful
5728 Christian is also physically healthy. He eats wisely, keeps his body
5729 fit and gets rid of the bad habits that cause harm like smoking and
5730 drinking.
5731 d. Success in psychological health: The successful Christian is flexible
5732 in dealing with others, not stubborn but calm. Therefore, who is
5733 the successful Christian? One who is balanced with correct person-
5734 ality, spiritually, physically, emotionally and practically successful.
5735 Is this possible? Yes. “Therefore you shall be perfect just as your
5736 Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The perfection men-
5737 tioned here is comparative because the absolute perfection is in God
5738 only. “The things which are impossible with men are possible with
5739 God” (Luke 18:27).
5740 III. Is there an example for this personality? If we searched through his-
5741 tory we find many people who followed the way of God and were
5742 successful. A good example is Joseph who was a successful servant in
5743 the house of Potiphar. You can read his story in detail in the book
5744 of Genesis chapters 37 and 39 to 45. The deepest sentence said about
5745 Joseph was “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man”
5746 (Genesis 39:2). Also, “His master saw that the Lord was with him and
5747 that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand” (Genesis 39:3).
5748 If the secret behind Joseph’s success is that the Lord was with him,
5749 then this is the secret for the success of any person.
5750 IV. What does God give the person who follows Him to enable him of such
5751 success?
5752 a. He gives him the faith in Him which will take away all fear. “Be of
5753 good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50). The Lord was
5754 with Joseph so he did not fear the well nor his brothers’ hatred nor
5755 the job as a slave nor the power of his mistress. He was not afraid
5756 to fall in sin, nor face the criminals in prison, nor failure when he
203
5757 was responsible for the state. When a person has the faith in the
5758 presence of God with him, this is a valuable treasure. “If God is
5759 for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). The faith in God
5760 is the confidence that God is with me personally “They shall call
5761 His name Emmanuel which is translated, God with us” (Matthew
5762 1:23).
5763 b. He gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell in us, “Do you not know that
5764 you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
5765 (1 Corinthians 3:16). When the Holy Spirit dwells in us, He works
5766 by giving us the beautiful fruits of making my soul heavenly. “But
5767 the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness,
5768 goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol” (Galatians 65:22-
5769 23). These fruits have worked in Joseph’s heart so he was loving
5770 towards his enemies, his brothers, his fellow servants and his fellow
5771 prisoners. Joseph loved everybody and was a successful person. He
5772 was honest and diligent in his work without waiting for a reward.
5773 He loved purity and in the midst of the temptation he said “How can
5774 I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9).
5775 “Flee also youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22). Purity and chastity
5776 are a success and a triumph. No matter how successful a person is
5777 in all his deeds in front of others, if he is conquered by his desires he
5778 will feel beaten and unsuccessful. “He who rules his spirit is better
5779 than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32). Joseph was successful
5780 in his purity.
5781 c. He gives us the blessing of son-ship by sending His only Son to the
5782 world. He blessed our nature in the Incarnation of His Son through
5783 the Virgin Mary and through the Holy Spirit. He was like us in
5784 everything except sin. This is the blessing of the New Testament
5785 which was fulfilled by the coming of the Son, the Logos. “In this
5786 the love of God was manifested towards us, that God has sent His
5787 only begotten son into the world that we might live through Him”
5788 (1 John 4:9). “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed
5789 on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).
5790 Conclusion
5791 I discovered God’s love for me and this became a great power in my life, in
5792 fact, it is the source of my success because if God “He who did not spare
5793 His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, How shall He not with Him
5794 also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
204
WEEK 3. CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF SUCCESS
5795 In this lesson we learned that:
5796 • A true Christians is a successful individual in all aspects of life. Not

5797 only jobs or money or materialistic things, but a true Christian is
5798 successful here on earth as well as in having a place in heaven.
5799 • Success comes from faith in the Salvation that was offered by the Lord
5800 Jesus Christ.
5801 Applications:
5802 •
5803 Exercises:
5804 1.
205
5805
5806 Week 4
5807 Christian Means of Achieving

5808 Success
5809
5810 Objectives:
5811 • To learn how to achieve success in Christian way.
5812 References:
5813 •
5814 Memory Verse:
5815 I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more
5816 abundantly. (John 10:10)
5817 Introduction
5818 The blessing of Our Lord Jesus Christ in my life appears through 3 actions:
5819 1. His redemption on the Cross: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the
5820 just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). “The
5821 Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14).
5822 2. His Salvation: He gave us true peace “therefore, having been justified by
5823 faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans
5824 5:1). “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it
5825 more abundantly” (John 10:10). He ensured my salvation, “nor is there
5826 salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12). “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son
5827 cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
5828 3. He granted me to stand before God the Father not guilty, through His
5829 sacrificial intercession: “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the
5830 Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation
206
WEEK 4. CHRISTIAN MEANS OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS
5831 for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John
5832 2:1).
5833 For example, after Saul’s meeting with Our Lord Jesus Christ and be-
5834 lieving in Him, he changed from an unsuccessful person, filled with envy,
5835 co-operating with the murder of Steven, to a successful person leading a
5836 fulfilled life and his heart was full of peace even inside jail where St. Paul
5837 rejoiced at the salvation of Christ. “Who will separate us from the love of
5838 Christ?” (Romans 8:35). And he said, “As having nothing, and yet pos-
5839 sessing all things” (2 Corinthians 6:10). What do you think when you see
5840 someone like St. Paul saying that we possess all things; isn’t this complete
5841 sufficiency and true success? God was with St. Paul in prison, that was
5842 enough to make him succeed.
5843 Lesson Outline

5844 How can I be a successful Christian?
5845 I. The necessity to abide in Christ to ensure the true success “He who
5846 abides in Me, and I in him bears much fruits” (John 15:1). There are
5847 4 means to ensure my unity with Christ the Saviour:
5848 a. The Sacraments of the Church:
5849 • Baptism = Regeneration
5850 • Unction with the Holy Chrism = Acceptance of the fruits of
5851 the Holy Spirit
5852 • Repentance and Confession = Renewal
5853 • Holy Communion = Unity with Christ
5854 b. Prayer: “Men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).
5855 There are different types of prayers and a Christian needs them all:
5856 • Prayer with the Agpeya
5857 • Arrow Prayers, which are short and comes directly from the
5858 heart reaching the heavens
5859 • Prayer in Church
5860 • Family Prayers
5861 • Personal free prayers
5862 c. The Bible: Read the Bible daily to come closer to Jesus Christ
5863 and to learn how to deal in life through its teachings. “Your words
5864 are a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105).
207
5865 Your readings in the Bible should be slow, respectful and attentive.
5866 “This Book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you
5867 shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do ac-
5868 cording to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way
5869 prosperous and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
5870 d. Serving:
5871 • Serving in the family.
5872 • Serving in school by being a good example to others “That they
5873 may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”
5874 (Matthew 5:16).
5875 • Serving in Church and in social activities.
5876 II. The need for work and spiritual perseverance. “You have not yet
5877 resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin” (Hebrew 12:4).
5878 a. Serious positive work and studying diligently: God made work sa-
5879 cred by working Himself and He is always working. When He sent
5880 His only son to the world, He was going around doing good and
5881 he said, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been
5882 working” (John 5:17). And He said too, “I must work the works of
5883 Him who sent Me while it is day” (John 9:4). The Lord called His
5884 Disciples to follow Him from the midst of their jobs, like Peter and
5885 John when they left the fishing boats and followed Him.
5886 b. Resist the devil: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James
5887 4:7). We have to resist the devil and not surrender. “Be sober, be
5888 vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring
5889 lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We are able, with
5890 the power of God, to conquer the devil, because then God would
5891 not have asked us to resist him nor would He allow him to fight us.
5892 c. Control the five senses: Sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.
5893 These five senses are entrances to the soul and the human sen-
5894 sation. If we put them under control, with the help of God, then
5895 the temptation of the world would not reach the soul. “Each one
5896 of us is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and
5897 enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and
5898 sin when it is full-grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).
5899 d. Never lose hope: “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in
5900 due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).
5901 e. Fix your goals and press towards them forcefully: Make your goals
5902 clear and press towards them with force. Like the prodigal son
208
WEEK 4. CHRISTIAN MEANS OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS
5903 who fixed his goal clearly by returning to his father. He said, “I
5904 will arise and go to my father” (Luke 15:18). A young man has to
5905 choose his friends carefully because he could lose drive towards his
5906 goal if his friends do not have it.
5907 f. Meet failure with a spirit of courage: “Remember therefore from
5908 where you have fallen; repent and do the first works” (Revelation
5909 2:5).
5910 g. Have a positive outlook to life: “I do not count myself to have
5911 apprehended but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
5912 behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I
5913 press towards the goal” (Philippians 3:13-14).
5914 Conclusion
5915 Finally, dear brother, I submit to you what was written by my beloved late
5916 Father Bishoy Kamel in this respect:
5917 • Success is not in ranks but in the presence of God with you.
5918 • Your faith that God is with you grants you peace and takes away fear.
5919 • Your love to others is the measure of your success.
5920 • Your honesty in your studies and work is a sacred order for your
5921 success.
5922 • Your social relationships should be according to the Biblical teachings.
5923 • Purity in your youth is the certificate of your success.
5924 • Service is in the nature of the successful person and is the cause of
5925 that success.
5926 • The church pleads for you with St. John, “Beloved, I pray that you
5927 may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers”
5928 (John 3:2).
5929 Applications: If you want to achieve all success here on earth as well as
5930 eternal life, make a promise to yourself now to the “3 S program”:
5931 • Have a Spiritual Father. Regularly listen to and obey his directions.
5932 • Follow a Spiritual Program. Regularly keep it and give it priority.
209
5933 • Be in a Spiritual Surrounding. Spiritual friends, attend church regu-
5934 larly, visit monasteries and holy places.
5935 Exercises:
5936 1. What do you think about yourself from this lesson, are you good example
5937 in your house, school and church?
5938 2. What do you think when you see someone like St. Paul saying that we
5939 possess all things; isnt this complete sufficiency and true success? Do we
5940 have today in the church like him in this generation?
5941 3. What do you think we need should to work and spiritual perseverance
5942 in our daily life?
5943 4. What is it use having a Spiritual Father, Spiritual Program and a Spir-
5944 itual Surrounding in our daily life?
210
5945 Part XII

5947 August
211
5948
5949 Week 1
5950 The Transfiguration

5951
5952 Objectives:
5953 • To learn about the events and the nature of the transfiguration of our
5954 Lord Jesus Christ.
5955 • To know what kinds of bodies we will have when we depart from this
5956 world.
5957 References:
5958 • Mark 9: 2-8, Luke 9: 30-32, John 11:25-26, Luke 20:35-36, Romans
5959 6:8, John 5:24-25
5960 Memory Verse:
5961 “[”In the ressurection....they will be like the angels in heaven] (Matthew
5962 22:30)
5963 Introduction
5964 The Transfiguration, which is one of the Lord’s feasts, and the Church
5965 celebrates it on the 13th of the Coptic month Nehase, which is the 19th of
5966 August. The story of the Transfiguration is mentioned in the Holy Gospels
5967 of Mark and Luke (Mark 9: 2-8, Luke 9: 30-32).
5968 As for His divinity, it is evident that in a moment He was transfigured
5969 to this illuminating bright-full aspect, whose brightness was magnificent
5970 . . . and about which it was said: “His clothes became shining, exceedingly
5971 white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them” (Mark
5972 6:2). The Lord willed to show to His disciples that He had put on this
5973 human body, simply out of His humility, and His self-abnegation.
212
WEEK 1. THE TRANSFIGURATION
5974 Lesson Outline

5975 I. Graduation in the Transfiguration: Trasnfiguration is defined as a
5976 complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiri-
5977 tual state.The Lord Christ took steps in the revelation of His nature,
5978 even toward His saintly apostles. This Transfiguration on the mount
5979 of Tabor was the simplest image of His Transfiguration, in spite of
5980 its magnificence and its glory, in its light and in the testimony of the
5981 Father from the cloud. Another kind of the Lord’s transfiguration was
5982 in His resurrection and His ascension. That glorious Resurrection in
5983 which He rose with a glorious body and was able to come out of the
5984 tomb while it was closed, and was able to enter to the apostles while
5985 the doors were closed (John 20:19), in a calm way that would not ter-
5986 rify them. His ascension to heaven with a body that is over the level
5987 of the earth’s gravitation is like His transfiguration, “He was taken
5988 up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight ... while they looked
5989 steadfastly toward heaven” (Acts 1: 9-10). Our teacher the apostle
5990 saint Mark says about that: “So then, after the Lord had spoken to
5991 them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand
5992 of God” (Mark 16:19). This transfiguration in the resurrection and
5993 the ascension, happened in a manner, which amazed them and made
5994 them feel His divinity, but it did not terrify them. The last transfig-
5995 uration will be in His second coming when “the Lord comes with ten
5996 thousands of His saints” (Jude 14), “when He comes in His own glory,
5997 and in His Father’s and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26), He “will come
5998 in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward
5999 each according to his works” (Matthew 16:27), “When the Son of Man
6000 comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit
6001 on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him,
6002 and He will separate them one form another, as a shepherd divides his
6003 sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25: 31-32).
6004 II. With Moses and Elijah: Moses and Elijah in their transfiguration sym-
6005 bolized the whole human nature. In the same way the Lord gave us
6006 His Transfiguration with Moses and Elijah, as a symbol of the trans-
6007 figuration which the Lord will grant to all human beings in eternity.
6008 a. Elijah represents the virgins (of either sex), and Moses represents
6009 the married. Rather Moses married more than once. He married
6010 Zipporah the daughter of the priest of Midian (Exodus 2: 19-22).
6011 He also married an Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12:1), who was
6012 a symbol of the acceptance of the Gentiles. All this is a symbol,
213
6013 because the transfiguration will equally be the destiny of the virgins
6014 and the married.
6015 b. Moses represented those who were dead. And Elijah represented
6016 the living who have not yet died. That would symbolize, in the
6017 second coming of Christ, the dead who will rise, and the living who
6018 will be lifted up to the clouds, as saint Paul said in (1 Thessalonians
6019 4:15-17).
6020 c. Elijah represents those who have lived a life of ascetism in the
6021 mountains, as he was himself on the mountain of Carmel; and Moses
6022 represents those who have lived in the world with their families in
6023 a social life.
6024 d. One of them represents the life of monks, and the other represents
6025 the ministry and the guidance of crowds. One of them is in the style
6026 of Miriam, and the other is in the style of Martha, with the differ-
6027 ence in measuring . . . all of these two kinds will be transfigurated
6028 with the Lord.
6029 e. Moses represents meekness and Elijah represents the fiery jealousy.
6030 The one represents forgiveness, and the other represents punish-
6031 ment . . . (Numbers 12:3, 2 Kings 1:10,12).
6032 As if Christ our Lord says: “I shall assemble all of them to Me in the
6033 transfiguration”. Him who was married, and him who was a virgin;
6034 him who lived the life of meditation, and him who lived the life of
6035 service; him who was meek and calm, and him who was firm and
6036 strong; him who lived on the mountain, and him who lived in the
6037 city. The important thing is that they live a life of righteousness “who
6038 will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious
6039 body” (Philippians 3:21). What is it then that will happen to that
6040 human body in the resurrection? The apostle says: “So also is the
6041 resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised
6042 in incorruption. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power ... It is
6043 sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15: 42-
6044 44). “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also
6045 bear the image of the heavenly Man” (1 Corinthians 15:49). “For the
6046 trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we
6047 shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and
6048 this mortal must put on immortality”. Death will then be transformed
6049 into victory, and we shall say: “O Death, where is your sting? O
6050 Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15: 52-55). Then
6051 human beings will be “like angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30),
214
6052 as the Lord has said. Our glorified body in the resurrection, will be a
6053 body that does not hunger nor thirst, nor get tired nor become ill, nor
6054 will die nor will be corrupted; but rather will be elevated upward in
6055 the transfiguration of the human nature. How will be the new nature
6056 of our bodies that will become spiritual heavenly bodies? Will they
6057 move as the angels who pass on from heaven to earth in the twinkle
6058 of an eye? Will they possess the spiritual perception instead of the
6059 ordinary vision?
6060 III. Other Kinds Of Transfiguration: We mentioned before that the human
6061 nature obtains a kind of transfiguration in the general resurrection,
6062 when it will be clothed with spiritual heavenly incorruptible bodies,
6063 and human beings will become like the angels of God in heaven. But
6064 there are some kinds of transfiguration which happen here in life on
6065 earth such as:
6066 a. The transfiguration of thinking: Sometimes thinking is lucid and

6067 bright, bringing out extremely ravishing thoughts. That happens to
6068 a poet whose imagination and thinking becomes radiant in writing a
6069 poem of verse; or to a writer who composes a story or a novel while
6070 he is at the top of his creative capacity, in a state of transfiguration,
6071 in the depth of intelligence, and the depth of imagination.
6072 b. Transfiguration in the fields of many arts and gifts: It happens to
6073 an artist, or a designer, or a sculptor, or a musician, or a poet, or
6074 a novelist. Any one of these gifted people presents a marvelous
6075 masterpiece whose author is then described as being in a state
6076 of transfiguration in his feelings and senses and thinking, during
6077 the production of his artistic work. All these cases may be for a
6078 moment, during the production and the fabrication, and may be
6079 representing a case of perpetual transfiguration of gifts, and may
6080 appear even in infancy. Yes, undoubtedly, gifts are transfigurations
6081 that God grants to man. Because gifts are extraordinary capabili-
6082 ties that God gives, they are of many kinds, which the apostle St.
6083 Paul mentioned, in his first epistle to the Corinthians saying: “But
6084 the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of
6085 all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to
6086 another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another
6087 faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same
6088 Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to
6089 another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues,
6090 to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same
215
6091 Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually
6092 as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12: 7-11).
6093 c. Transfiguration as of the great works of grace in man: As the apos-
6094 tle St. Paul said: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and
6095 His grace toward me was not in vain , yet not I, but the grace of
6096 God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Extraordinary ca-
6097 pabilities and gifts are transfigured in man as a result of the work of
6098 grace. His image is granted a form that amazes those who see him
6099 as a result of transfiguration. It was said about St. Stephan in the
6100 story of his martyrdom, that during his trial before the congrega-
6101 tion of the Jews: “All who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at
6102 him, saw his face as the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). Sometimes
6103 it happens during certain dreams that we see a person whom we
6104 know, in a wonderful image or in a shinning form, although we did
6105 not see him like that in his earthly life. But he appears to us during
6106 the dream in a state of transfiguration.
6107 Conclusion
6108 Jesus’ transfiguration was the first fruits of the transfiguration of our human
6109 nature. “Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His
6110 glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). The story of transfiguration is a story of
6111 hope. It shows us that our life doesn’t end here on earth. Death is just
6112 a transformation from the weak body to a strong body, from a corrupt to
6113 incorrupt body, from a mortal to ethernal body.“[”For if we have become
6114 united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in
6115 the likeness of His resurrection](Romans 6:5). Since our life on this earth
6116 is just a brief transition point to a better ethernal life, we should always
6117 prioritize/glorify God in our life on earth. “[”But seek first the kingdom
6118 of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you]
6119 (Matthew 6:33).
6120 Applications:
6121 • Transfiguration of our lord shows us that we will ressurect from the
6122 dead during the second coming of our lord. Thus, give thanks to
6123 God about this amazing transfiguration. Also start desiring what is
6124 in heaven, not just what is on earth. “[”Therefore, since you have
6125 been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is
6126 seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds on things above, not
6127 on earthly things](Colosians 3:1-2).
216
6128 • Gifts of the Holy Spirit are also transfigurations. Ask God to bless
6129 you with his gifts to be able to serve his people in the church (1
6130 Corinthians 12:7-11).
6131 Exercises:
6132 1. Compare between re-incarnation and the appearance of Moses and Elijah
6133 with the Lord during the Transfiguration. What do Moses and Elijah
6134 symbolize?
6135 2. What is the importance of the transfiguration of our lord Jesus Christ?
6136 Why is it an important to us?
6137 3. During resurrection, are we going to rise with the same body that we
6138 carry now or with something different (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 1 Corinthi-
6139 ans 15:52-55?
6140 4. Write about what our glorious bodies will be able to do that we cannot
6141 do with our present earthly bodies.
217
6142
6143 Week 2
6144 The Book of Esther

6145
6146 Objectives:
6147 • To study the book of Esther and know its theme and content.
6148 • To learn from the courage of Esther.
6149 • To learn that God always protects His people.
6150 References:
6151 • The book of Esther
6152 Memory Verse:
6153 Fast for me; neither eat or drink for three days, night and day. (Esther
6154 4:16)
6155 Introduction
6156 God’s hand and deliverance to His people is evident throughout the book of
6157 Esther, though His name is not mentioned once. This is actually the theme
6158 of the book of Esther. The author of this book is not known. The book
6159 consists of 10 chapters describing a conspiracy plotted against the Jews in
6160 Persia during the reign of king Ahasuerus and how God saved them from it
6161 through the courage of the beautiful Esther and the wisdom of her cousin
6162 Mordecai.
6163 Lesson Outline

6164 The name Esther is taken from the Persian name meaning a ”star”. Her
6165 story fits between chapters 6 and 7 of Ezra, between the first return by
6166 Zerubbabel and the second return led by Ezra to Palestine. It provides
218
WEEK 2. THE BOOK OF ESTHER
6167 the only biblical portrait of the vast majority of Jews who refused to re-
6168 turn and chose to remain in Persia. God’s protective hand on behalf of His
6169 people is evident throughout the book of Esther. The clearly emerging mes-
6170 sage is that God uses ordinary men and women to accomplish His gracious
6171 purposes. Although God disciplines His people, He never abandons them.
6172 I. The Threat to the Jews The story begins in Ahasuerus’s winter palace
6173 at Susa. The king provides a lavish banquet and display of royal glory
6174 for the people of Susa, and proudly seeks to make Queen Vashti’s
6175 beauty a part of the program. When she refused to appear, the king
6176 was counseled to depose her and seek another queen, because it is
6177 feared that other women will become insolent if Vashti goes unpun-
6178 ished. Esther later finds favor in the eyes of Ahasuerus and wins the
6179 royal Beauty Pageant. At her cousin’s Mordecai’s instructions, she
6180 does not reveal that she is Jewish. With her help, Mordecai was able
6181 to warn the king of an assassination plot, and his deed was recorded in
6182 the palace record. Meanwhile, Haman became captain of the princes,
6183 but Mordecai refused to bow for him. When he learned that Mordecai
6184 was a Jew he plotted to eliminate all the Jews as his hatred grew.
6185 Through bribery and lies he convinced Ahasuerus to issue an edict
6186 to slain all the Jews in the Empire. The decree created a state of
6187 confusion, and Mordecai asked Esther to appeal to the king to spare
6188 the Jews. At the peril of her life, Esther decided to see the king and
6189 reveal her nationality to him in desperate attempt to dissuade him.
6190 Mordecai convinced her that she has been called to her high position
6191 for this purpose. Esther asked all the Jews to fast for three days.
6192 II. The Triumph of the Jews After fasting, Esther appeared before the
6193 king and wisely invited him to a banquet along with Haman. At the
6194 banquet she requested that they attend a second banquet, as she seeks
6195 the right moment to deliver her request. Haman was flattered but later
6196 enraged when he saw Mordecai. He took his wife’s suggestion to build
6197 a large gallows for Mordecai. That night Ahasuerus decided to treat
6198 his insomnia by reading the palace records. Reading about Mordecai’s
6199 deed, he wanted him to be honored. Haman, mistakenly thinking the
6200 king wanted to honor him, told the king how the honor should be
6201 bestowed, only to find that the reward was for Mordecai. At Esther’s
6202 second banquet, Ahasuerus offered her as much as half of his kingdom
6203 for the third time. She then made her plea for her people and accused
6204 Haman of his treachery. The infuriated king had Haman hanged on
6205 the gallows he built for Mordecai. Persian law sealed with the King’s
219
6206 ring cannot be revoked, but at Esther’s request the king issued a new
6207 decree to all the provinces that the Jews may assemble and defend
6208 themselves on the day when their enemies attack them. This decree
6209 changed the outcome intended by the first order and produced great
6210 joy. Mordecai was also elevated and put over the house of Haman.
6211 When the fateful day of the two decrees arrived, the Jews defeated
6212 their enemies in their cities throughout the Persian provinces, but did
6213 not take the plunder. The next day became a day of celebration and
6214 an annual Jewish feast called the feast of the Purim. The word is
6215 driven from the Assyrian word Puru, meaning lot referring to the lots
6216 that were cast by Haman to determine the day for the annihilation of
6217 the Jews. The narrative closed with the advancement of Mordecai to
6218 a position second only to the king.
6219 III. Emphasizing the Role of God in the Book of Esther: The God of Israel
6220 is the sovereign controller of history, and His providential care can be
6221 seen throughout this book. He raised a Jewish girl out of the obscurity
6222 to become the queen of the most powerful empire in the world. He
6223 ensured that Mordecai’s loyal deed is recorded in the palace records.
6224 He guided Esther’s admission to the king’s court. He superintended
6225 the timing of Esther’s two feasts. He was involved in Ahasuerus’s
6226 insomnia and the cure he used for it. He saw that Haman’s gallows
6227 will be utilized in an unexpected way. He gave Esther great favor in
6228 the sight of the king and He brought about the new decree and the
6229 eventual victory of the Jews.
6230 Conclusion
6231 God can use any of us to help other through salvation; we only have to be
6232 ready for it and courageous to do it. As he used Esther and Mordecai for
6233 the salvation of His people, He can use any of us for the service and help of
6234 others. God is the Pantocrator who arranges every event in our lives for the
6235 final salvation of the human race; we just have to surrender to His perfect
6236 plan.
6237 Applications:
6238 • Find other occasions when people fasted three days.
6239 • Find other occasions where God protected the Israelites.
6240 Exercises:
220
WEEK 2. THE BOOK OF ESTHER
6241 1. Pray that God protect your family
221
6242
6243 Week 3
6244 Some Virtues in the Life of the

6245 Virgin
6246
6247 Objectives:
6248 • The Virgin as a model for the humanity.
6249 References:
6250 • Luke 1, Mathew 2:13-23, John 14:15, 2 John 1:6, Luke 11:28, Psalms
6251 1:2, Psalms 119:9, Luke 1:46-55
6252 Memory Verse:
6253 Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be according to your word.
6254 (Luke 1:38) (Genesis 39:2)
6255 Introduction
6256 The Father looked down from heaven and he did not find any one like St.
6257 Mary. He sent His only begotten Son who came and incorporated from her.
6258 There is no doubt that the grace of God kept the Virgin as an example
6259 of perfect human being and a unique model of humanity. She found favor
6260 with the Lord, the Father chose her and the Holy Spirit came upon her and
6261 the Son became man and took flesh through her. With her humbleness, the
6262 Virgin responded without hindering the delivering grace of God.
6263 Lesson Outline

6264 I. The Virgin and the Life of Grace: The continuous sincere prayers of the
6265 Virgin to God in the temple and her contemplations on the kingly law
6266 made of her a chosen vessel for the Holy Spirit the source of perfection
222
WEEK 3. SOME VIRTUES IN THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN
6267 and all gifts. Being without any blemish and her complete response
6268 to the gift of grace made her bear the fruits of the Spirit in perfect
6269 love and deep rejoice and perpetual peace in lowliness, meekness and
6270 chastity. Her fullness made her a second heaven and a dwelling place
6271 of the Living God and a Paradise for the word. The Virgin?s life as
6272 a model reproaches us because we do not have the Spirit in us and
6273 because we neglect having Christ within our hearts although He gave
6274 us His body and His blood so that He may abide in us and we in Him.
6275 Each soul then must possess Christ inside her heart, mind and whole
6276 being and be occupied with that fullness all her life and in this way the
6277 soul will become a chaste virgin to Christ like St. Mary the mother of
6278 God.
6279 II. The Virgin and the life of Obedience: She was indeed the servant of the
6280 Lord. She obeyed the good news of the angel and subdued herself to
6281 the wonderful will of God who will be born in a manger. She escaped
6282 to Egypt in very severe circumstances and endured the life of poverty
6283 in Nazareth without murmur or complaint and in complete submission
6284 to the Lord she agreed that her only begotten Son would leave her to
6285 devote Himself to the message He brought from the Father to us. Her
6286 obedience was with understanding. She understood the purpose of
6287 God even if that Divine purpose was beyond human understanding.
6288 It was obedience out of love as it was the obedience of the children
6289 not that of slaves. It was the obedience that gains her power from the
6290 burning obedience of love that lives in the heart as the Son obeyed
6291 the Father and gave Himself for the Salvation of the world. It was the
6292 obedience within the frame of truth, as the Christian’s obedience is
6293 not for a certain man. It is obedience of the truth only. For this reason
6294 the Virgin obeyed her Son not because He was Her Son but because
6295 He Himself was the Truth and the Life. The Lord Jesus honored His
6296 mother not because she was His mother but because she knew His
6297 will and obeyed the Truth in Him. The fathers used to refer to the
6298 obedience of the virgin as a model contrasting that of Eve. The first
6299 woman was tempted by disobedience in the Garden of Eden but the
6300 Second Eve (Mary) opened the way for us to go to the Tree of life.
6301 III. The Virgin and the Life of Devotion: The word “devoted” means
6302 “separated for a certain task” and the virgin was devoted to the Lord
6303 God from birth and she was a Nazarite to God. The Divine words were
6304 directed to her: “A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a garden
6305 locked, a fountain sealed”. As the Tent of Meeting was devoted to
223
6306 the Lord, with all what was inside it and nobody could enter it but
6307 the Levites, the case also was true with the Virgin who was devoted
6308 to God and no one entered her or went out of her except the Son of
6309 God, the Word, the Second Hypostasis. Mary lived her childhood with
6310 God in the Temple and she lived a life of virginity and that is why she
6311 asked the angel Gabriel when he told her the good news of the birth of
6312 Christ, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” Thus she lived a
6313 virgin after giving birth to Christ; for this reason we call her the virgin
6314 of perpetual virginity. The church rejects the ideas of those who say
6315 that Mary married to Joseph after Jesus’ birth. Jesus’ brothers who
6316 were mentioned in the Gospel are the sons of Claupa and Mary (St.
6317 Mary’s sister. She was given the same name “Mary” after St. Mary
6318 left to the temple). He who contemplates Ezekiel’s prophecies knows
6319 how the virgin lived as a virgin all her life (Ezekiel 44:1,2). She is a
6320 model of true devotion. She was devoted in her body, in her virginity,
6321 in her mind, in her feelings and in her soul. She was an acceptable
6322 offering of life before the Lord.
6323 IV. The Virgin and the Life of Contemplation: Contemplation is devoting
6324 man’s mind and heart for the Love of God, keeping away from the
6325 worldly concerns, to unite with God so that the mind does not find
6326 pleasure in anything except in prayer and seeing God. The life of con-
6327 templation is a glorious connection with God through internal prayers
6328 and understanding of the scriptures. The Virgin was a blessed model
6329 so she “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).
6330 She was conscious of the Gospel’s prophecies with the Spirit of inspi-
6331 ration. In her hymn, she held fast to the Lord’s promises to Abraham.
6332 She remembered His mercy to His faithful ones through all genera-
6333 tions, and His support to Israel. She quoted Hannah’s hymn (the
6334 mother of Samuel). So the Virgin kept the spirit of the scriptures and
6335 the text too. The tradition tells us how she remembered all the events
6336 of the New Testament in silence and pondering as a holy vessel of the
6337 events of the church history of which she was eyewitness. The history
6338 and life of the virgin will remain a wonderful, splendid, calm model
6339 for contemplation and deep understanding that will call us always to
6340 understand the word of God.
6341 V. The Virgin and the Life of Suffering: The Virgin was adorned with
6342 pain and virtue. She was exposed to psychological pains when Joseph
6343 suspected her . . . she found no place where she could give birth to her
6344 Son. She spent two years or more in Egypt without shelter exposing
224
WEEK 3. SOME VIRTUES IN THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN
6345 herself to the dangers of robbers. She suffered from (bodily) physical
6346 pains and her heart suffered a lot under the cross when she knew
6347 that the disciples escaped and suspected Him and that one of them
6348 betrayed Him. The Jews at that time were able to crucify her only
6349 Son. She suffered a lot at the time of burial and at the garden when
6350 the stone was put to block the tomb. This is what Simon the elder
6351 prophesied: “A sword will pierce through your own soul also”. The
6352 physical pains were unbearable. The state of poverty when she was
6353 in Nazareth made her work to help the aged Joseph . . . the pains of
6354 the journey to Upper Egypt, giving birth to her son in an unsuitable
6355 place, etc. What is the Virgin?s attitude towards all this? She called
6356 all generations to magnify her. These pains were an offering of love
6357 and thanksgiving and an exercise of wonderful patience.
6358 VI. The Virgin and the Life of Purity: Her purity and virginity were not
6359 only in the flesh but that was also true in her soul and spiritual life. It
6360 was the purity of thought, life, heart and conscience. The Virgin is a
6361 model for anyone who wants to live the life of perfection in everything.
6362 She helps every young man and woman who suffers from the wars of
6363 the devil. She is their intercessor in their struggle. She is a model
6364 of holiness on earth. To honor and magnify the Virgin in our life, we
6365 must imitate her in her life and be inspired by her virtues. We must
6366 obey her Son so that we may be shining tapers before her icon.
6367 Conclusion
6368 St. Mary is the example and the pride of all human races. Through her the
6369 incarnation was completed and manifested. We magnify her for her special
6370 place at the right hand of the Father and for her place in our hearts. She
6371 also feels for us and intercedes for our sake in front of her Son day and
6372 night. We need to follow her exaples of humility, obedience, resilience, and
6373 purity.
6374 Applications: Follow the example of the life of the Virgin in the following
6375 situations:
6376 • Serve others in obedience, joy and love.
6377 • Subdue yourself to the will of God in your life in time of disease and
6378 temptation and endure that thankfully.
225
6379 • Put the picture of St. Mary the Virgin in your room and keep the
6380 picture as a model of purity. Remember her when you admire the
6381 physical beauty and ask her to intercede for you to God in times of
6382 troubles.
6383 • Read and meditate on St. Marry’s prayer found in Luke 1:46-55.
6384 Exercises:
6385 1. Make a wall magazine and write about the virtues of the Virgin. What
6386 qualities do you observe in the life of St. Marry?
6387 2. What do you learn from the life of devotion seen in the life of St. Marry?
6388 Do you obey God in your life? When Angel St. Gabriel came to tell
6389 her the good news, she whole heartedly accepted this saying “Behold the
6390 maidservant of the Lord! Let it be according to your word”(Luke 1:38).
6391 3. What do we learn from the life of contemplation of St. Marry? “But
6392 Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”(Luke
6393 2:19). In her prayers, she mentioned numerous events in the Old Tes-
6394 tament. Do you pay attention when you hear/read the bible? How
6395 can memorizing/contemplating on the word of God help you become
6396 a stronger Christian? “How can a young man keep his way pure? By
6397 guarding it according to your word”(Psalms 119:9).
226
6398
6399 Week 4
6400 St. John the Baptist

6401
6402 Objectives:
6403 • Concentrating on the Divine nature of Christ and Christ’s work as a

6404 Savior.
6405 • To learn St. John the Baptist mysterious life and God’s work
6406 References:
6407 • Luke 1 and 2
6408 Memory Verse:
6409 Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. (Luke 3:4)
6410 Introduction
6411 St. John was only 6 months older than the Lord Jesus Christ. St Eliza-
6412 beth was very old when she became pregnant with St. John but it was a
6413 miraculous conception. The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariahs the priest
6414 and told him about the conception of Elizabeth his wife. When Zechariahs
6415 questioned the angel, he was silent until Elizabeth gave birth for their son.
6416 When Zechariahs was asked what would he call the child, he wrote ”John”.
6417 Then, he was able to speak again (Luke 1 and 2).
6418 John the Baptist was a fascinating man. He ate locusts and honey in
6419 the desert. Crowds came to him, but he constantly told them that he was
6420 nothingthat the coming Messiah was everything. In the end, his life was
6421 cut short because he criticized a king for sinning. John the Baptist was
6422 an unusual character for sure. But incredibly, Jesus Christ called him the
6423 greatest of men (Matthew 11:11).
227
6424 Lesson Outline
6425 I. The voice of one crying in the Wilderness: Prepare the way of the
6426 Lord. The Heavenly Father’s plan was to prepare the way for the
6427 coming of Christ by sending John the Baptist who prepared the way
6428 before the heavenly procession. It was said about the great prophet
6429 that he would be great before the Lord, he would drink no wine nor
6430 strong drink, he would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his
6431 mother’s womb, he would turn many to the Lord, he would turn the
6432 hearts of the children to the Father, he would go before Him in the
6433 spirit of Elijah and his power . . . and that he would make ready for the
6434 Lord a people prepared. His father Zechariah predicted and said, “And
6435 you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go
6436 before the Lord to prepare His way, to give knowledge of salvation to
6437 His people in the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:76-77).
6438 II. The Preaching of John the Baptist (Luke 3:1-20): John preached in the
6439 Wilderness saying: ”Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
6440 Isaiah said about him, ”The voice of one crying in the wilderness.
6441 Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight”. John wore a
6442 garment of camel’s hair and a leather girdle around his waist; and his
6443 food was locusts and wild honey. To the multitude who came to be
6444 baptized by him he said, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to
6445 come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think
6446 to say to yourselves, ’We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say
6447 to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these
6448 stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore
6449 every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into
6450 the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10). Many sinners came to him . . . he drew
6451 their attention to their sins and made them repent. He taught them
6452 how to confess and correct their life. Tax collectors came and said
6453 to him, ”Teacher, what shall we do?” and he said to them ”Collect
6454 no more than is appointed you”. Soldiers also asked him, ”And we,
6455 what shall we do?” and he said to them, “Rob no one by force or by
6456 false accusation, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14). John
6457 reproached sinners and struggled against evil in every situation and on
6458 every occasion. He reproached Herod the tetrarch because of Herodia
6459 his brother’s wife (when Herod wanted to marry her) and because of
6460 all the evil deeds that Herod used to do.
6461 III. Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan (Luke 3:21-23): When Jesus was thirty
6462 years old, He came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by
228
WEEK 4. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
6463 St. John. When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from
6464 the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit
6465 descended upon Him in bodily form as a dove and a voice came from
6466 heaven, ”You are my beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased”. He
6467 needed no baptism by John but He was baptized because He emptied
6468 Himself and became Son of man who planned the way of Salvation for
6469 all human beings.
6470 IV. Christ’s fasting and His temptation (Luke 4:1-13): The Spirit led Jesus
6471 for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate
6472 nothing in those days and when they were ended, he was hungry. The
6473 devil said to him, ”If you are the Son of God, command this stone to
6474 become bread” and Jesus answered him, ”It is written: Man shall not
6475 live by bread alone but by every word of God”. And the devil took
6476 Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment
6477 of time, and said to Him, ”To you I will give all this authority and
6478 their glory for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I
6479 will. If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours”. And Jesus
6480 answered him, ”It is written: You shall worship the Lord your God,
6481 and Him only shall you serve”. And he took Him to Jerusalem and
6482 set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ”If you are
6483 the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written: He
6484 will give His angels charge of You, to guard You and on their hands
6485 they will bear You up, lest you strike Your foot against a stone”. And
6486 Jesus answered him, ”It is said: You shall not tempt the Lord your
6487 God”. And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed
6488 from Him until an opportune time.
6489 V. The temptation is the model of struggle against evil (Discussion): In

6490 the first temptation: The devil tempted Jesus by the desire for food
6491 when He became hungry. The devil may tempt us by the desires
6492 of the flesh (As greediness, pride, hatred and anger). The situation
6493 needs struggle for chastity, prayer commitment to the words of God
6494 with which man lives . . . Explain how this can be achieved. The second
6495 temptation was the temptation of richness, pride of life and corrupt
6496 luxury . . . In it man is enslaved to another god when he tries to attain
6497 the greatest benefit through the shortest way and by wrong means such
6498 as worshiping the devil. The third temptation was the temptation of
6499 the ego and it was an attempt to separate the will from obedience to
6500 the heavenly Father . . . The devil wanted to shake the belief in the
6501 truth of God’s words and promises and in this way lead to rebellion
229
6502 and disobedience. The means of testing God’s promises is through
6503 obeying His commandments and not through tempting Him. Discuss
6504 St. Paul’s commandment to Timothy his disciple and apply it to
6505 your life, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a
6506 snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in
6507 destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds
6508 of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness,
6509 and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man
6510 of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
6511 love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on
6512 eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good
6513 confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:9-12).
6514 VI. How did the Lord begin His mission then? He sent St. John to pre-
6515 pare people’s minds for repentance . . . and to inform them of another
6516 baptism that is different from the baptism with water. It is the bap-
6517 tism with water and spirit . . . a fiery baptism that purifies, washes
6518 and sanctifies. He made it the beginning of the spiritual way and the
6519 beginning of the Christian mission. Through fasting forty days and
6520 forty nights, through struggle and prayer, He in the flesh - resisted evil
6521 and won victory with spiritual armor (prayer, fasting and the word of
6522 God). With Him we begin our mission with baptism, true repentance
6523 and struggle against sin.
6524 Conclusion
6525 St. John the Baptist was the last of the prophets who prepared the way for
6526 the Lord’s coming. He was great in the sight of the Lord and was led by
6527 the Holy Spirit. He helped many people to repent and he baptized many
6528 with water in preparation for the real baptism by water and spirit after the
6529 Lord’s coming.
6530 Applications: • Make use of prayers and the word of God all the time,
6531 add to them fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays. These are weapons
6532 to be used against the devil.
6533 • Stick to them and pray to God to strengthen you through them.
6534 • Study aspects of greatness in the character of John the Baptist.
6535 • How can you make both ends meet: our need for food of the flesh and
6536 our need for spiritual food?
230
WEEK 4. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
6537 • As St John the Baptist unashamedly shared the good news of Jesus
6538 Christ; we shall too be filled with faith and eagerness to share the
6539 good news with others.
6540 Exercises:
6541 1.
231
6542 Part XIII
6543 Filler Lessons
232
6544
6545 Week 1
6546 Christian Self-Esteem

6547
6548 Objectives:
6549 • To have a Christian self-esteem and use it in our society.
6550 References:
6551 • The Holy Bible
6552 Memory Verse:
6553 Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
6554 Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)
6555 Introduction
6556 We have a built-in worth as humans, and that self-esteem is how we feel
6557 about our self-concept. Self-esteem means that we are to have respect and
6558 regard for ourselves, and to recognize our potential. But, what are some
6559 factors that will help us attain a good self-image?
6560 Lesson Outline

6561 I. We must have a sense of Aim. This aim comes from a proper under-
6562 standing of God and His Word. Our understanding of God enables
6563 us to understand who we are and why we are here on this earth. St.
6564 Paul, the apostle wrote of his aim: “Yet indeed I also count all things
6565 loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
6566 whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish,
6567 that I may gain Christ and be found in Him” (Philippians 3:8).
6568 II. We must have a sense of Belonging. The sense of belonging is essential
6569 to our well being as people. Our belonging to a family, friends or school
233
6570 club gives us the self-confidence that we belong and are accepted in
6571 our environment. St. Paul the apostle had a sense of belonging to
6572 God through Jesus Christ, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is
6573 no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now
6574 live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and
6575 gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
6576 III. We must have a sense of Competence. By that, we all must feel
6577 significant! Our competence grows as we think better of ourselves,
6578 which in turn changes our outlook on life. Solomon wrote: “For as
6579 he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Therefore, have
6580 full confidence that you can do a lot if you awaken your dormant
6581 mental faculties and put your mind attuned to God. Always remember
6582 the verse “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
6583 (Philippians 4:13).
6584 IV. We must have a sense of Worth. By this we mean a good self-worth.
6585 Christ has given us the greatest feeling of self-worth when He gave
6586 Himself up for me and you to give us our sense of worth. If He did
6587 not feel that you and I are worth this great sacrifice and this honored
6588 blood, He would not have done it “you were bought at a price, do not
6589 become slaves of men” (1 Corinthians 7:23). However, a person with
6590 low self-esteem and inferiority complex is bound and has imprisoned
6591 himself in a steel cage with the idea that he/she cannot escape.
6592 V. We must have sense of Security. Lack of security creates fear and
6593 worries. Both insecurity and fear can destroy self-esteem. King David
6594 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
6595 will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they
6596 comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
6597 VI. We must have a sense of Freedom. Freedom from sin is a source for
6598 high self-esteem. In contrast, sin lowers the self-esteem and may be
6599 followed by guilt feelings and hopelessness. This was clear in the case
6600 of Judas who betrayed Christ and then surrendered to hopelessness
6601 and suicide. Adam and eve also felt ashamed when they sinned that
6602 they hid themselves from God. Also, freedom from worshiping men
6603 is important. Fear of others’ opinion is the greatest threat that man
6604 has created for his self-esteem. By trying to impress others you are
6605 gradually giving the key to your self-esteem to others. St. Paul clearly
6606 says: “Do not become slaves of men” (1 Corinthians 7:23).
234
WEEK 1. CHRISTIAN SELF-ESTEEM
6607 VII. Sanctify the present for a Better Future. Accepting self-responsibility
6608 for your life and realizing that your thoughts, words and actions are the
6609 mould for your future can bring about a major change in your attitude
6610 towards yourself and life. You need not be slave in the hands of destiny.
6611 By exercising high self-esteem, positive thinking and making actual
6612 physical efforts with firm determination and will power against various
6613 obstacles; you can defeat the idea of destiny. Further, if you surrender
6614 yourself to God you will have divine help that is available to you
6615 at every step “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”
6616 (Matthew 28:20). In other words, learn from the past; not live in
6617 it! Again, listen to the Bible: “Brethren, I do not count myself to
6618 have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which
6619 are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I
6620 press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
6621 Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
6622 Conclusion
6623 God has created us and supported us with all the sources of a high self-
6624 esteem. A low self-esteem would be due to the works of the devil who
6625 always tries to put us down and separate us from the power, the glory
6626 and the might of the Lord. Remember that how we think and feel about
6627 ourselves will determine how we get along with others and ourselves in this
6628 world.
6629 Applications:
6630 • Always remember that we are the sons and daughters of the King.
6631 We are created in the image of God. And even when we sinned, we
6632 were bought with a price. These facts should elevate our self-esteem.
6633 • If you feel down or your self-esteem is low, remember you have a friend
6634 who is Jesus, “Talk to Him” and he will take your burden away. You
6635 can also confess to your priest, talk to your parents, and Sunday
6636 School teachers.
6637 Exercises:
6638 1. What is self-esteem?
6639 2. List two factors that help us acquire good self-esteem.
6640 3. List two characteristics of a person with good self-esteem.
235
6641 4. List two characteristics of a person with low self-esteem.
6642 5. How would you help the person with the low self-esteem to have good
6643 self-esteem?
236
6644
6645 Week 2
6646 Liberty with Responsibility

6647
6648 Objectives:
6649 • To learn that the Lord gave us liberty and Liberty is to shoulder
6650 responsibility.
6651 References:
6652 • 1 Corinthians 8:9; 1 Peter 2:16; Galatians 5:13.
6653 Memory Verse:
6654 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are
6655 lawful for me, but not all things edify. (1 Corinthians 10:23)
6656 Introduction
6657 Once I met a person who was smoking heavily. When circumstances were
6658 favorable for us to speak together I began to talk to him about the harmful
6659 effects of smoking as it is harmful to health and has a bad effect on spiritual
6660 life. I was astonished at his reply. He said, “I am fully convinced that what
6661 you say is right but this is my life which I own and it is my right to do what
6662 I like with it. I never interfere in the life of others and this is enough”.
6663 Here I wanted to explain to him the meaning of the phrase “One’s life is
6664 one’s own possession and one is free to do what one likes with it”. I gave
6665 him an example by saying, “Imagine that your father has bought you a new
6666 cassette recorder and gave it to you saying that it is for you and would be
6667 yours”. How would your feelings be like if he found that you broke and
6668 damaged the set? Would you say that the set was yours and nobody had
6669 any right to interfere in your affairs or freedom in doing what you like with
6670 the set? Suppose that your father accepted that way of thinking, could he
6671 trust you with any other thing or would he give you any other new present?
237
6672 Of course not as he knows well that you are not responsible enough to keep
6673 his presents to you safely.
6674 Are you like that person in that you feel that you own your life and no
6675 one has any right to interfere in it?
6676 Lesson Outline

6677 I. My life is not my own possession; it is a trust: As you know, you
6678 are the image of God and you were created out of the breath of His
6679 mouth and He gave you the breath of life with which you live. Not
6680 only this, but when you deformed this holy image, He descended from
6681 heaven and died for you and bought your precious soul and redeemed
6682 you with His precious blood. So your life is not yours but it is your
6683 redeemer’s who redeemed you with His blood. You may say, “But my
6684 life is still mine and Christ has not taken it yet but He leaves it to me
6685 to do with it what I like”, but I tell you that He left it to you as a
6686 trust so He asks you to keep it in good condition. If a friend of yours
6687 gave you a sum of money and asked you to keep it with you till he
6688 came back from a trip, could you spend that money? Of course not
6689 as it is not yours even if it was in your possession. In the same way,
6690 your life is not yours even if you live it.
6691 II. I do not live alone: As you know, you are not alone but you are
6692 a member of the body of the Lord Jesus and that there are other
6693 members in that body; you need them and they need you as each
6694 one integrates the other. In the same way, you cannot separate your
6695 life from the life of others. For example you cannot play football in
6696 the street at anytime without taking into consideration the cars which
6697 run in the street and the people passing the street and also the street
6698 dwellers as some of them may be sick, some are students who are
6699 studying their lessons and others are in need of rest. Another example
6700 is a person who smokes in a closed place. We say to him, “If you
6701 possess your health and your life and it is your right to do whatever
6702 you like with your life and health, this does not mean that you possess
6703 the health and life of others that are dangerously affected by the smoke
6704 of your cigarettes. Then how can I understand a man who says that
6705 he is free to do what he likes with his life? Truly you have that right,
6706 but you do what you like with your life for your happiness, joy and
6707 perpetual pleasure and this will not be achieved unless you have a goal,
238
WEEK 2. LIBERTY WITH RESPONSIBILITY
6708 which in achieving it you will be happy. So you are free to do what
6709 you like in your life but take the following points into consideration:
6710 a. Know your own interest and define your goal: Do not be deceived by
6711 any bright goal that may destroy your happiness. For example, it is
6712 necessary for you to study hard and get high marks in your exams.
6713 Do not say, “But I am free and I do not want to study”. Such a
6714 person does not understand the true meaning of freedom then. You
6715 should also know that your peace of mind, your happiness and joy
6716 are in your fellowship with Jesus Christ. Do not say: “but I am
6717 free in my decision whether to connect my life with Christ or not;
6718 it is I who should decide”. This is not right. You have to know
6719 where your happiness and peace lie and search for them”.
6720 b. Know the true means that will help you achieve your goal: For
6721 example you know that your success in mathematics depends on
6722 solving as many problems as possible. You are mistaken if you
6723 think that you can succeed without solving many problems and say
6724 “I am free. It is true that I know my goal, which is success but the
6725 means by which I can achieve that goal should be of my own choice,
6726 I am free to choose the means”. So you have to know your goal
6727 well and the means by which you can achieve that goal thus you
6728 can guarantee that you will live your life that trust which the Lord
6729 entrusted you with honesty and faithfulness. You should thank the
6730 Lord who redeemed your life with His precious blood. You must
6731 take into consideration the others who share this life with you.
6732 Joshua the Son of Nun is one of the greatest heroes in history as a
6733 leader. His courage was notable when he was young, when Moses sent
6734 him to explore the land of Canaan. He was not afraid of the enemy
6735 but he said that the Israelites would conquer them as the Lord was
6736 with them. He led the people and crossed the Jordan and won victory
6737 over Jericho when the walls of the city fell. At last he entered the
6738 Land of Canaan and achieved victory. He distributed the land and
6739 gave each tribe the part appointed to them by the Lord.
6740 At the end of his life, he stood before the people and said, “The Lord
6741 God, your God, fought for you. Whenever I remember the day when
6742 we crossed the Red Sea, the day we won victory over the Amalekites
6743 and our journey in the Mount of Sinai, when the Lord sent us food
6744 from heaven and water from the rock. With all faithfulness and zeal
6745 . . . tell me, do you intend to worship Him with faith or not? You have
6746 freedom of choice in that matter”. Here Joshua stood up and raised
239
6747 his eyes to heaven and said, “As for me and my house, we will serve
6748 the Lord”. And the people shouted, “How do you say that our leader
6749 Joshua? We shall never leave the Lord. Is it possible for us to leave
6750 Him after all those good deeds of His? No. He kept us safe in all
6751 roads where we walked. We also serve God because He is our God”.
6752 But Joshua again said, “Perhaps this will be difficult for you. You
6753 know that God is Holy and Jealous. He demands that your life be
6754 pure . . . and your behavior be straight before his eyes. You may not
6755 be able to do so”. The people said with a great shout, “No . . . No
6756 . . . We will serve the Lord”. Joshua said, “Beware, do not forget the
6757 Lord or what He did for you”. All the people said, “Amen”. Joshua
6758 said, “If you do that the blessing will rest upon you and your enemies
6759 will be unable to harm you”. The people said, “Amen”. Joshua said,
6760 “If you leave the Lord to serve idols, the Lord will severely punish
6761 you”. The People said, “Amen”. Joshua said: “Jehovah is great and
6762 there is no god like Him among the gods of the people of Canaan;
6763 those gods demand nothing but offerings”. The people replied, “We
6764 worship God with faithfulness and truth with all our hearts”. Joshua
6765 said, “You are your own witnesses to the fact that you have chosen to
6766 serve the Lord. You have chosen Him with your own free will so you
6767 have become responsible before God for that choice, is not that so?”
6768 They said, “We are witnesses, we shall worship God only and obey
6769 all His commands . . . Joshua made a covenant for the people that day
6770 and wrote this in the book of Law and set up a stone to be a witness
6771 against them. They were loyal to the covenant all the days of Joshua.
6772 III. Who are the people of God? They are those who believe in God and
6773 have great faith in Him. The Jews were the people of God in the
6774 past and all the other nations were pagans but now the people of God
6775 are those who believe in God the Redeemer. Whenever you read the
6776 words “The Children of Israel” in the Bible, take it with the meaning
6777 of “The Church” now where it is written “He came to His own, and
6778 His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them,
6779 He gave the right to become children of God, even to those believe in
6780 His name” (John 1:11,12)
6781 Conclusion
6782 Lord forgives us for the time when we chose to regard many things as most
6783 important in our life. Help us to fear and love You and be inclined to You
240
WEEK 2. LIBERTY WITH RESPONSIBILITY
6784 above all things in the name of Christ. Amen.
6785 Applications: Read Genesis Chapter 12 and answer the following ques-
6786 tions:
6787 • Did Abraham know his true interest when he obeyed the Lord’s call
6788 for him to leave his land and tribe?
6789 • What was the true goal for which Abraham went out of his land?
6790 • What was the promise that Abraham received from the Lord that
6791 made him leave his country?
6792 • Do you see, in Abraham’s obedience to the Lord, the true means that
6793 would enable him to reach his goal and achieve it?
6794 • Do you see in the Lord’s appearance to Abraham, a sign that the
6795 means he used to reach his goal was correct?
6796 • What did Joshua want the Israelites to do?
6797 • What was the model he set before the people?
6798 • What should your first choice be as a Christian?
6799 • In His teachings, Jesus gave us freedom and did not force us to do
6800 anything. Example: Matthew 16:20.
6801 • He made a new covenant with us to stand firm in His love. Example:
6802 Luke 22:20.
6803 • In the story of Jonah the prophet we notice clearly the clarity of the
6804 will of God compared with man’s thoughts and conscience. We also
6805 notice that God allows man to have freedom of choice so that he can
6806 disobey the will of God and this results in dangerous consequences but
6807 God, out of His love to us, sets hindrances in the way of our wrong
6808 will so that we may enjoy the blessings of obeying His will with our
6809 full freedom.
6810 • Each freedom has its own responsibility. In each of the following
6811 verses, identify the freedom and responsibility: John 6:53; 1 Corinthi-
6812 ans 10:23; Galatians 5:13.
6813 • Discuss the useful and the harmful effects of these opinions:
6814 – My life is my own possession.
241
6815 – I am free to do what I like.
6816 • Which of the following behaviors is expedient and which is not?
6817 – Going late to attend the weekly holy Mass.

6818 – Staying up late watching television, seeing films of violence and
6819 sex.
6820 – When someone insults me I do not answer him.
6821 – Giving excuses saying that there is no time for the Morning
6822 Prayer.
6823 – Obeying parents willingly.
6824 – Being stubborn or insisting on one’s opinion. Raise a hearty
6825 prayer to the Lord. Promise the Lord that you will do some-
6826 thing in your life and remember your promise to God “Accept
6827 my offerings of praise, O Lord and teach me Your ordinances”
6828 (Psalm 119:108).
6829 Exercises:
6830 1. Explain liberty from biblical perspective.
6831 2. Explain responsibility from biblical view .
6832 3. Mention three persons from the bible who balanced their liberty with
6833 responsibility.
6834 4. Mention three persons from the bible who failed to balance their liberty
6835 with responsibility .
6836 5. What consequences will happen to our life and others life if we start to
6837 abuse our liberty with out responsibility?
242
6838
6839 Week 3
6840 Choosing Friends

6841
6842 Objectives:
6843 • To learn that a bad company corrupts good manners.
6844 • To show the necessity of bearing witness to Christ in social life.
6845 References:
6846 • 1 Samuel 18:1-4 and 23:15-18
6847 Memory Verse:

6848 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (Proverbs
6849 17:17)
6850 Introduction
6851 • Who is a friend and what are the characteristics of a good friend?
6852 • A friend differs from a colleague.
6853 • A colleague is merely a companion at work or in the scientific domain.
6854 • A true friend is that whom you trust and love in purity, sincerity and
6855 internal relief.
6856 Lesson Outline

6857 I. How Important is Friendship to Man? Man was created as a social
6858 being in need of another person whom he trusts. Friendship is a do-
6859 main for achieving true Christian love that is devoid of Unitarianism,
6860 personal interests, selfishness and misunderstanding. It is a domain
6861 for cooperation in school life, social life and overcoming the problems
6862 of everyday life (e.g. David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 18-23).
243
6863 II. The Christian Behavior of Friends What you want him to do to you, do
6864 it to him. Do not concentrate on your personal benefits and interests
6865 as this attitude is against Christian love. Show respect to him and
6866 do not speak about weaknesses but endure them as God endures our
6867 weaknesses. Share with him his happy occasions and his sufferings
6868 and sorrows (Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who
6869 weep). Do not say your confessions to him as confessions should be
6870 said to the father of confession only. But general topics are liable to
6871 discussions, dialogues and frankness.
6872 III. Whom Should I Choose as a Friend? - Those with whom you feel
6873 spiritual, psychological, social and mental comfort or relief. Those
6874 who are NOT indifferent or whose character is bad whose mouths are
6875 full of repulsive words, sexual jokes and impure words. - The family
6876 must give agreement to that friendship so that your friendship with
6877 them should be within the frame of the family friendship so that all
6878 your movements would be in light not in darkness.
6879 IV. How to Win Others? - Show care to them. - Smile when you see
6880 them. - Be a good listener and give people a chance to talk about
6881 themselves. - Show respect and appreciation to others. - Talk in
6882 things that interest others.
6883 V. Good friends give good counsel. Proverbs 11:14 “Without wise leader-
6884 ship, a nation is in trouble; but with good counselors there is safety.”
6885 Proverbs 27:9 “Ointments and perfume encourage the heart; in a sim-
6886 ilar way, a friends advice is sweet to the soul.” Proverbs 24:6 “For
6887 through wise counsel you will wage your war, and victory lies in an
6888 abundance of advisors.”
6889 VI. Good friends tell you what you need to hear rather than trying to
6890 flatter you. Proverbs 28:23 “Whoever rebukes a man will later on find
6891 more favor than someone who flatters with his words.” Proverbs 27:5
6892 “Open criticism is better than hidden love.” Proverbs 27:6 “You can
6893 trust what your friend says, even when it hurts. But your enemies
6894 want to hurt you, even when they act nice.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
6895 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are
6896 already doing.”
244
WEEK 3. CHOOSING FRIENDS
6897 Conclusion
6898 You can win others to Christ by showing them the same love and care
6899 as Jesus Christ our Lord showed to you.
6900 Applications:
6901 • Examine if your friends are good friends and will strengthen your
6902 spiritual growth or not.
6903 • Show love and care to your friends.
6904 Exercises:
6905 1. Develop a good relationship with righteous people around you.
245
6906
6907 Week 4
6908 Dating
6909
6910 Objectives:
6911 • To clarify the meaning of dating.
6912 • To know how to mix with the opposite sex in a Christian manner
6913 suitable for the sons and daughters of God.
6914 • To demonstrate the correct timing and form of dating.
6915 References:
6916 • Genesis 39:1-12 and Genesis 29:9:30
6917 Memory Verse:

6918 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with
6919 those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22)
6920 Introduction
6921 The period of adolescence and teenage is a critical period in the lives of
6922 young youth. Many physical and hormonal changes are taking place during
6923 this period. One of the important characteristics of this period is seeking
6924 attention and attraction from the opposite sex. This becomes the center
6925 and the focus of the young youth self steam. This may push some of the
6926 youth beyond the acceptable limits to get this acceptance and attraction
6927 from the opposite sex. Dating can be used in the wrong time and beyond
6928 the acceptable Christian limits to attain attraction and relationships with
6929 the opposite sex. Some teenagers use dating just to be part of the crowd
6930 and to follow the stream of the surrounding society. It is usually easier to
6931 follow the stream than to stand against it, especially at a young age. Dating
6932 can also be practiced mentally only, when the young adult spends hours a
6933 day dreaming with all kinds of sexual thoughts even when he is physically
6934 alone.
246
WEEK 4. DATING
6935 Lesson Outline

6936 I. Dating in the Non-Christian Concept: It is an outing or a meeting
6937 between two persons from the opposite sex and frequently leads to
6938 physical intimacy or even pre-marital sex. Dating is usually for the
6939 sake of having fun in a very temporary relationship driven by peer
6940 pressure. Teenagers think that this is the way to prove their maturity
6941 especially when they are in a transition from childhood to adulthood.
6942 There is no projected goal or sense of responsibility toward the oppo-
6943 site sex in such a relationship. It also indicates the egocentricity of
6944 these relationships since the person cares only for his physical, social
6945 and ego satisfaction without caring for the consequences of such rela-
6946 tionship on the opposite sex. An example of such relationship was the
6947 behavior of Photiphar’s wife toward Joseph, which ended by placing
6948 him in prison (Genesis 39:7-20). Definitely, this kind of relationship is
6949 devoid of the true Christian love, which resembles the love of our Lord
6950 Jesus Christ to us. The love that gives and sacrifices without asking
6951 for what is for itself (John 15:13).
6952 II. Consequences of these Relationships:
6953 • Pre-occupation with the physical aspect of the opposite sex.

6954 • Degrading the image of the opposite sex when he/she becomes
6955 an object rather than a person created in God’s image (Genesis
6956 1:26).
6957 • Daydreaming and decreased concentration during studying and
6958 school leading to poor performance and results.
6959 • Pre-occupation with own physical appearance and dress in un-
6960 suitable clothing to emphasize the body features.
6961 • Inappropriate behavior in the presence of the opposite sex to
6962 attract attention and to gain acceptance from peers.
6963 The most important and the most serious consequence is neglecting
6964 and ignoring the adolescent spiritual and inner growth.
6965 III. Daydreaming, Sexual Thoughts and Mental Dating: Many of our
6966 youth may restrain themselves or are restrained by their families from
6967 actual physical dating but allow their thoughts to wonder freely in all
6968 kinds of sexual thoughts and dreams (Proverbs 6:25). Our Lord has
6969 placed the sexual immorality in the same level of physical adultery
6970 when he said “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already
247
6971 committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). In contrast
6972 the devil will always try to convince us that it is not bad to have sexual
6973 desires and thoughts as long as we are not practicing them.
6974 IV. Means of Spiritual Fights Against Non-Christian Dating and Sexual
6975 thoughts: Fill your soul with the love of God and make Him your
6976 best friend. Choose your friends carefully and surround your self with
6977 believers (Proverbs 13:20). Give equal care to your spiritual growth as
6978 you give to your body. Spiritual growth is achieved through prayers,
6979 church meetings and Bible reading. Discover the energies in your ado-
6980 lescence that can be directed towards the service in the church and
6981 others. Guard your senses including your eyes, ears, smell and touch
6982 against temptation (Proverbs 4:23-27). Flee from unspiritual environ-
6983 ment and surroundings (Proverbs 7:24-25). Never think that you are
6984 strong and will not be affected by bad company or bad surroundings.
6985 Always stay in the group and avoid one to one interactions at an early
6986 stage. Resist and expose sexual thoughts in confession so the devil
6987 would know that your mind is not his hiding place. Never give-up or
6988 lose hope in purity if you sin by thought or deed.
6989 V. Dating in the Christian Concept: Dating in the Christian concept is

6990 demonstrated in some pre-marital love stories that were mentioned in
6991 the Bible. The story of Jacob who was directed by his father Isaac
6992 to go and choose a wife from the House of his uncle Laban (Genesis
6993 28:1-2). Jacob obeyed his father and mother and went to his Uncle’s
6994 land to find a wife. There, Jacob met Rachel his cousin and he loved
6995 her and worked 7 years to marry her (Genesis 29:18-20). During the
6996 7 years Jacob has never been intimate with Rachel, since Jacob said
6997 to Laban “give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in
6998 to her” (Genesis 29:21).
6999 VI. The Characteristics and Consequences of the Christian Dating: Its
7000 goal is a serious relationship towards Christian love and marriage
7001 (Ephesians 5:30-33) Brings two souls, minds, and feelings closer to
7002 each other and to God. Physical intimacy is completely prevented
7003 in the pre-marital dating period. Usually blessed by the family and
7004 under the guidance of the father of confession.
248
WEEK 4. DATING
7005 Conclusion
7006 Discover the real maturity and growth when you say NO to non-Christian
7007 dating, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent” (Proverbs 1:10).
7008 Applications:
7009 • Reach out to your Bible and read a chapter or few psalms whenever
7010 you are tempted with a sexual thought.
7011 • Have company with pure Christians.
7012 Exercises:
7013 1. List two characteristics of a non-Christian dating.
7014 2. List two consequences of a non-Christian dating.
7015 3. What is mental dating? Is it wrong to have mental dating with the
7016 opposite sex?
7017 4. List two ways we can guard ourselves from a non-Christian dating.
7018 5. List two characteristics and consequences of a Christian dating.
249
7019
7020 Week 5
7021 Alms Giving

7022
7023 Objectives:
7024 • To develop the tendency of alms giving without limit or fanaticism.
7025 • To learn the blessings of alms giving.
7026 References:
7027 • Matthew 25:31-46
7028 Memory Verse:
7029 In as much as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did
7030 it to Me. (Matthew 25:40)
7031 Introduction
7032 A Jewish teacher stood up to put Christ to the test and asked Him: “Who is
7033 my neighbor?” During conversation, Jesus spoke about love for the neighbor
7034 (You shall love your neighbor as yourself). The Teacher asked Him, “Who
7035 is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem
7036 to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and
7037 departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down
7038 that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. Likewise,
7039 a Levite when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other
7040 side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when
7041 he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds,
7042 pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him
7043 to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii
7044 and gave them to the innkeeper, saying: Take care of him; and whatever
7045 more you spend, I will repay you when I come back. Which of these three,
7046 do you think proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? He
7047 said. ‘The one who showed mercy to him’. And Jesus said to him: Go and
7048 do likewise” (Luke 10:29-37).
250
WEEK 5. ALMS GIVING
7049 Lesson Outline

7050 I. Christianity Knows No Fanaticism: Christianity knows no fanaticism
7051 as she follows the example of the Good Samaritan in her attitude
7052 towards humanity. Anyone who needs my love, mercy and kindness is
7053 my brother regardless of race, language, religion or social class. The
7054 Lord Jesus considers the poor His brothers and He did not distinguish
7055 between a poor man and another. He did not limit His mercy to
7056 any race, religion or language. There are many examples which prove
7057 this stated fact in the life of the Lord Jesus. It is He who met the
7058 Samaritan woman and talked to her about His wonderful salvation. It
7059 is He who praised the faith of the woman of Canaan and healed her
7060 son. St. Paul the apostle says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
7061 is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are
7062 all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
7063 II. How to Give to the Poor:
7064 a. Give as brother and sister: We should give them as brothers and
7065 sisters for alms giving is not showing sympathy to people but it is
7066 the Christian love that motivates a man to give alms and compels
7067 the brother to open his heart to the poor: “But if anyone has
7068 the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart
7069 against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17) As
7070 true Christians, we has to share the suffering brother’s feelings, his
7071 sorrows and his joys and suffers with him as members of one body,
7072 i.e. Christ’s body. Our teacher St. Paul says: “Remember those
7073 who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who
7074 are ill-treated, since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).
7075 b. Give with love and generosity: Give him with love and generosity as
7076 alms giving devoid of inner love is rejected. The Pharisees offering
7077 was not acceptable before the Lord. When Ananias and Sapphira
7078 gave a part of the price of the field to the apostles and kept a part
7079 for themselves, St. Peter the apostle refused to accept their offering.
7080 But that who first offers his heart pleases God as the woman who
7081 offered two lepta (small coins). She offered her whole heart to God.
7082 Also, we see the woman who offered the Lord an alabaster flask of
7083 very expensive ointment as a sign of love. St. Paul the apostle says;
7084 “If I give away all I have . . . but have not love, I gain nothing” (1
7085 Corinthians 13:3), and the Lord Himself says: “I want mercy, and
7086 not sacrifice” (Mathew 9:13).
251
7087 c. Give the poor in secret: The Lord in His sermon on the mountain
7088 says: “Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you,
7089 as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they
7090 may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their
7091 reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know
7092 what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret;
7093 and Your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mathew 6:2-
7094 4). John Chrysostom says; “If you reveal your alms, the devil steals
7095 them from you as the Pharisee did”.
7096 III. The blessings of alms giving:
7097 a. Alms giving makes us like God in His mercy: St. John Chrysos-
7098 tom says “Alms are valuable and have power as they can loose the
7099 bonds, lighten the darkness, quenches the raging fire of Hell and its
7100 effectiveness qualifies alms givers to be like God in His mercy and
7101 the Lord says, ‘Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful”’.
7102 b. Alms deliver us from judgment: “In mercy and truth atonement is
7103 provided for iniquity” (Proverbs 16:6). This does not mean that
7104 alms giving in itself is able to atone for sin; otherwise there will
7105 be no need for redemption. Alms reveal a heart filled with love for
7106 Christ, a heart that loves the needy and those who suffer. How
7107 beautiful the prophet Isaiahs saying is: “Learn to do good; seek
7108 justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the
7109 widow. ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord,
7110 ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
7111 though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool”’ (Isaiah
7112 1:17,18). That who does not show mercy does not deserve mercy.
7113 c. We attain the heavenly treasure: The Lord of glory says: “If you
7114 want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and
7115 you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matthew
7116 19:21). The believer who gives to the poor will have great glory
7117 in heaven and the immortal things not mortal things. As we give
7118 alms to the poor among us, Christ receive our alms and keep them
7119 for us as heavenly treasure.
7120 Conclusion
7121 Alms giving is a great virtue for those who acquire it. It is also a great
7122 blessing. God considers it as caring for His brothers and sisters, since He
7123 considers the poor and his family.
252
WEEK 5. ALMS GIVING
7124 Applications:
7125 • Collect gifts for the poor in your class and distribute the alms gathered
7126 by visiting poor families and charity institutions that are concerned
7127 especially with the disabled regardless of any religion or belief.
7128 Exercises:
7129 1. Give evidence to show that Christianity knows no fanaticism in alms

7130 giving.
7131 2. Who is the poor indeed? What are the types of poverty in the life of
7132 men? What is the Christian’s duty towards these types?
7133 3. What is the Christian manner in alms giving? What characterized the
7134 true Christian in giving alms?
7135 4. What aspects corrupt the Christian’s alms giving to the poor? How can
7136 we avoid them?
253
7137
7138 Week 6
7139 Psychological Health

7140
7141 Objectives:
7142 • To learn that Christianity fulfills deeply the various psychological
7143 needs.
7144 References:
7145 • 1 John 4:7-21, 5:1-3; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8.
7146 Memory Verse:

7147 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves
7148 torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 John
7149 4:18)
7150 Introduction
7151 Psychological health implies the complete harmony and integration among
7152 psychological functions leading to a positive feeling of happiness. The mean-
7153 ing of harmony is the absence of inner conflict within a person and the
7154 presence of principles governing his life (religious, social, moral). These
7155 principles provide a way out of the conflicts. Being unable to resolve
7156 these conflicts properly leads to tension, anxiety, and loss of self-confidence.
7157 Christianity gives sufficient and fulfilling remuneration to the personality
7158 (2 Corinthians 12:9). This is true as the grace of Christ compensates for all
7159 deficiencies in man (Luke 3:5). Man possesses extraordinary power through
7160 Christ and through the salvation and redemption that has been granted to
7161 him in the New Testament.
7162 Lesson Outline

7163 It is possible to enumerate psychological needs as being:
254
WEEK 6. PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH
7164 I. The Need for Security: Christianity fills the souls with security and
7165 safety to an extent that is beyond the mind’s conception. This is
7166 due to the peace God grants to the soul thus shielding it from the
7167 penetration of anxieties or pain. Such peace filled the heart of St.
7168 Peter when he was in prison.
7169 II. The Need for Love and Tenderness:
7170 • A child can never have enough of his parents’ love for him . . . he
7171 loves himself and grows selfish and unable to love others.
7172 • Spiritual life fulfills the need for love: for God is love. And when
7173 God dwells in the heart. He fills it with love for others who would
7174 spontaneously love him in return.
7175 • Love is the mother of all virtues.
7176 III. The Need for Appreciation: A person grows with the need for others
7177 to appreciate him. A child deprived of being appreciated grows with
7178 weak self-confidence. He dreads new situations, and expects failure
7179 in any task he sets out to do. For the children of God the need for
7180 appreciation is fulfilled on the divine level. It does not matter if that
7181 need is or is not satisfied socially. The true Christian finds that the
7182 most honorable thing is to be considered the child of God and the
7183 heir of His kingdom. The Christian, consequently, disregards external
7184 appearance be it of position, status or authority. Although these are
7185 useful and could be exploited by God’s help, yet they do not fulfill the
7186 need of the soul for appreciation, since the Holy Spirit already inhabits
7187 it and satisfies all its needs.
7188 IV. The Need for Freedom: Freedom is an important psychological need
7189 that plays an essential role in the edification of a wholesome person-
7190 ality. There is the condition, however, that such freedom should be
7191 within a correct framework. God created man as a free being in His
7192 image. Hence, Youth, who call for freedom, express an internal yearn-
7193 ing implanted by God Himself within each person. Christ also clarified
7194 that there is an inner freedom that He spoke about in John 8:31-36.
7195 The Lord explained that when man fell, he enslaved himself to many
7196 inward and outward matters such as:
7197 • Sin: By committing sin, one is enslaved to it “Most assuredly, I

7198 say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34).
7199 St. Paul explains how God liberated us from sin (Romans 5 and
7200 6).
255
7201 • Fear: (Hebrews 2:14,15; Romans 8:15-17) In these passages St.
7202 Paul explains how the Lord liberated us from fear. Also St. John
7203 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,
7204 because fear involves torment” (1 John 4:18).
7205 • The Law: We were bound by the Law but now we have been set
7206 free from it (Romans 7).
7207 V. External Matters that Bind Us: External matters that bind us involve
7208 our surrender to Satan, the world, people, and different thoughts. A
7209 spiritually oriented person experiences in his life, in sublime ways, how
7210 the Lord has liberated us from such influences. We also observe this
7211 in the lives of the saints. St. Augustine explains this mystery in his
7212 words: “I have come to live above the world when I no longer fear
7213 things, or lust for anything.” Thus freedom is not an opportunity
7214 for the flesh (Galatians 5:3), but man is the one who controls himself
7215 (Hebrews 12:4). Moreover, the obedience of the law in one’s spiritual
7216 life does not bind a person’s freedom. Being generally religious does
7217 not confine one’s liberty. On the contrary, such matters assist the
7218 enjoyment of a liberty that is mature and free of weaknesses.
7219 Conclusion
7220 We, human beings, are a special creatures of the almighty God. We are
7221 created in the image of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We possess
7222 spirit, soul and flesh. Those three entities of human being could be kept
7223 healthy or sick depending on our free choices. But, the Lord always choose
7224 for us the right and healthy way to our flesh, soul and spirit so that we
7225 become the temple of His presence. The Lord always remind us by His
7226 words saying “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
7227 give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle
7228 and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is
7229 easy and my burden is light”(Matthew 11:28-30).
7230 Applications:
7231 • Study the Holy Word and experience its power: “for the word I speak
7232 are spirit and life.”
7233 • Persevere in confession, as it is a positive power in regulating the

7234 direction of our life, and also observe communion regularly.
256
WEEK 6. PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH
7235 • Be willing to take on some kind of responsibility and be involved in

7236 the weekly meetings of youth. This provides a friendly atmosphere.
7237 Also aim on channeling your individual effort with young people in
7238 order to help them and deliver to them the message of the Lord’s love.
7239 Exercises:
7240 1. How do you explain heavenly peace?
7241 2. How does influence our spirituality being to our psychological being?
7242 3. What will happen as the consequence of human beings failure of doing
7243 good things?
7244 4. How do you perform a positive feeling of peace and happiness?
7245 5. Define human being?
257
7246
7247 Week 7
7248 The Epistle of St. James

7249
7250 Objectives:
7251 • To introduce the epistle of St. James to the students.
7252 • To learn the characteristics of true faith.
7253 References:
7254 • The Bible, Epistle of St. James
7255 Memory Verse:
7256 Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath
7257 of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1:19-20)
7258 Introduction
7259 First review the order in which the New Testament is written. For example,
7260 first are the four gospels, then the book of the Acts of the Apostles, then
7261 the 14 Pauline epistles, then the 7 Catholic (Universal) epistles, and finally
7262 the book of Revelation. It would also be beneficial to mention that during
7263 the Coptic Orthodox liturgy we read a piece of each one of these sections
7264 except from the book of Revelation. However, the whole book of Revelation
7265 is read in the night of Apocalypse.
7266 This epistle is the first Catholic epistle in the bible. It addresses issues
7267 that we frequently face and temptations that we usually place ourselves
7268 in. It is almost like St. James is talking to everyone of us personally and
7269 helping withstand the trials that we sometimes go through.
258
WEEK 7. THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES
7270 Lesson Outline

7271 I. St. James: It is believed to be James the Just or Christ’s brother/cousin
7272 as mentioned in Galatians 1:19. In the Jewish tradition, cousins were
7273 called brothers and sisters and so when the Bible refers to Christ’s
7274 brothers, it doesn’t mean St. Mary’s children, but rather her nephews
7275 and nieces. St. James was one of the apostles, and he was the first
7276 bishop of Jerusalem. He was originally a very devout Jew that is why
7277 he was called the ”Just”.
7278 II. The Major Theme of this Epistle: The theme of this epistle is the har-
7279 mony of faith and works, in other words how faith relates to works. St.
7280 James does not teach that works saves us, but he does teach that dead
7281 faith, one without works, does not save. There is a distinction between
7282 faith and works but never separation. St. James explains that grace
7283 does not nullify personal responsibility. Basically St. James wants to
7284 instruct us on how to be true Christians. It is very important for the
7285 Servant to simplify this concept for the students. Giving examples
7286 would be very helpful to distinguish between faith and works. But
7287 what does grace mean? Explain what grace is . . . , i.e. Christ’s death
7288 that resulted in our salvation and washing of sins.
7289 Do you really want to be a true Christian or do you want to be a
7290 hypocrite just like the Pharisees were? A true Christian believes in
7291 Christ and has a close relationship with Christ. As a result of this
7292 relationship, he/she would act like a Christian. St. James points out
7293 that we see the poor and tell them God would provide for them, but
7294 yet we do not physically do something to help them (James 2:14-20).
7295 The other biggest example of dead faith is when we read the Bible, but
7296 we do not do what it teaches us to do. Let’s ask ourselves a question,
7297 are we doers as much as we are hearers or are we hearers only? If we
7298 were hearers only, it would be a shame because we would be missing
7299 the true meaning of being Christians. Let us pray to the Lord that
7300 He may help us do His will that is in His Holy Bible.
7301 a. Overview of the Epistle: Test of Faith (1:1 to 1:18) Characteristics

7302 of Faith (1:19 to 5:7) Triumph of Faith (5:8 to 5:20)
7303 b. Recipients of the Epistle: This epistle was written in elegant Greek;
7304 therefore it is believed that it was written to Jew and gentiles.
7305 Unlike typical epistles, the style of this epistle is more like a sermon
7306 instead of a letter. It is very similar to Christ’s sermon on the
7307 mountain. Also, one of the main advantages of this epistle is that
259
7308 it addresses everyday life issues, i.e. using profanity, the love of
7309 money, covetousness . . . etc. It would be beneficial to point out
7310 verses from the Bible, which states these issues.
7311 c. Historical Setting: St. James was addressing people that were expe-
7312 riencing several trials: persecution from Jews, deception, economic
7313 injustice and poverty, and divisions in the church. As a result of
7314 these trials, they were tempted by:
7315 • Depression from the persecutions.
7316 • Anger because their good will is being taken advantage of.
7317 • Bitterness because they were poor while the unrighteous were
7318 rich.
7319 • Impatient, waiting for the Second Coming of Christ.
7320 • Hypocrisy because they were having quarrels amongst them in
7321 church.
7322 St. James encourages his readers to patiently endure the sufferings
7323 of the present life in view of the future prospect of the coming of
7324 the Lord (5:7-12).
7325 Conclusion
7326 St. James’ epistle is a very practical epistle that has very beneficial guide-
7327 lines for the life of faith.
7328 Applications:
7329 • Read the epistle of St. James and identify two of his teachings. Start
7330 applying them in your life and monitor your progress about every two
7331 weeks.
7332 • With the help of your father of confession, continue to evaluate your
7333 performance and modify your efforts by which you are changing until
7334 you achieve your success in mastering that good behavior.
7335 Exercises:
7336 1. Pray faithfully.
7337 2. Remmeber things that God has answered your prayers and praise God
7338 for He has answered your prayer.
260
7339 Appendices
261

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ERITREAN ORTHODOX TEWAHDO CHURCH

DIOCESE OF NORTH AMERICA

Sunday School Curriculum

Compiled by the Educational Branch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church,

Adopted from the Coptic Orthodox Church, Diocese of Southern USA

Glory to Almighty God!!

I Lessons for the Month of September 1

1 Getting the Benefits of the Holy Bible 2

2 Introduction to the Old Testament 6

3 Introduction to the New Testament 10

4 Susanna and the Second Canonical Books 14

II Lessons for the Month of October 20

1 The Sermon on the Mount I 21

2 The Sermon on the Mount II 25

3 Faith and Patience 30

4 Christianity and Violence 37

III Lessons for the Month of November 41

1 Isaiah the Prophet 42

2 Jeremiah the Prophet 48

3 Ezekiel the Prophet of Renewal and Unity 52

4 Daniel the Prophet of the Messiah 57

IV Lessons for the Month of December 61

2 The Goal of Life 66

3 Youth and Identifying a Goal 69

4 Christianity is a Practical Life 74

V Lessons for the Month of January 78

2 My Need for Jesus Christ 83

3 Salvation in the Orthodox Understanding 87

4 Commitment in Spiritual Life 92

VI Lessons for the Month of February 101

2 Sin and Its Consequences 106

3 The Effect of the Softly Spoken Words 109

4 Fellowship among Believers 113

VII Lessons for the Month of March 118

3 Fast and Pray as Christ Did 128

4 The Eucharist 133

VIII Lessons for the Month of April 137

2 Holy Liturgy II 141

4 Building the Heavenly Kingdom 150

IX Lessons for the Month of May 153

2 The Church after the Apostolic Era 158

3 The Ecumenical Councils 162

4 The Orthodox Creed on One God 167

X Lessons for the Month of June 173

2 The Orthodox Creed on the Godhead of the Holy Spirit 178

3 The Council of Chalcedon 182

XI Lessons for the Month of July 190

2 Success in the Christian Concept 197

3 Christian Understanding of Success 201

4 Christian Means of Achieving Success 206

XII Lessons for the Month of August 211

2 The Book of Esther 218

3 Some Virtues in the Life of the Virgin 222

4 St. John the Baptist 227

XIII Filler Lessons 232

2 Liberty with Responsibility 237

3 Choosing Friends 243

5 Alms Giving 250

6 Psychological Health 254

7 The Epistle of St. James 258

2 Lessons for the Month of

6 Getting the Benefits of the

10 • To know the effectiveness of the word of God.