CHAPTER 1: THE SOURCE OF ALL LIFE
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeeting on 9/26/2022
Please complete the chapter test in the textbook. Keep this test to be turned in at our next meeting.
Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:
Scripture Discovery: What's the Word
Use your Bible to read an account of creation as found in Genesis 1:1—2:4. Identifying each day’s act of creation and the passages from Scripture that describe it.
CHAPTER 2: THE TRUTH REVEALED
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeeting on 9/26/2022
Please complete the chapter test in the textbook. Keep this test to be turned in at our next meeting.
Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:Scripture Discovery: What's the Word
Read each psalm. Discuss the questions that follow.
Psalm 143:10
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
May your kind spirit guide me on ground that is level.”
Question: What does it mean to be on “ground that is level”? What things make life uneven? How does God provide a steady hand?
Psalm 51:12
“A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.”
Question: What does it mean to have a “clean heart” and a “steadfast spirit”?
What distracts us from setting our hearts on God? How does God bring us strength and encouragement?
Psalm 139:14
“I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works!”
Question: Think about the wonderful works of God. Which ones make you thankful?
How has God made each of us “wonderfully”?
CHAPTER 3: THE BLESSED TRINITY
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeeting on 9/26/2022Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:Scripture Discovery: What's the Word
Narrator: Let’s listen to two disciples who are talking about the teachings of Jesus. They know the words of the Great Commandment, which calls them to love God, their neighbors, and themselves, but they are now trying to figure out the cost of such love.
Joshua: It’s strange. All my life I heard the commandment, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). When I listen to Jesus teach us, I feel excited but also a little afraid. Do you know what I mean?
Anna: I am so relieved to hear you say that. I feel the same way. I am inspired by the love that I feel when I listen to Jesus. I find it hard to hear the second part of the Great Commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). Some people are difficult to love.
Joshua: I know what you mean. There is someone in our town who told a terrible lie about my father. How am I supposed to love him? It is sometimes hard to love others, especially if they hurt my friends or family.
Anna: It helps to talk to someone else about this. When I see how Jesus reaches out to those around him, I feel encouraged. He inspires me to try to live the Great Commandment each day.
Narrator: The two disciples decided to meet each week to talk about what they learned from Jesus, and to offer each other support. They decided that, even if living a life of love is sometimes difficult, it is worth the cost.
Reflect on the words of the Great Commandment. What motivates you to live the words of Jesus? Where do you find support and encouragement?
CHAPTER 4: GOD OUR LOVING FATHER
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeeting on 10/24/2022
Please complete the chapter test in the textbook. Keep this test to be turned in at our next meeting.
Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:Scripture Discovery: What's the Word
Download Activity Sheet
CHAPTER 5: JESUS CHRIST THE GOOD NEWS
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeetin on 10/24/2022
Please complete the chapter test in the textbook. Keep this test to be turned in at our next meeting.
Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:Scripture Discovery: What's the Word
After reading the leatter below, read Mark 10:17–31. Talk about the rich young man. What opportunity did he miss in not choosing to follow Jesus?
Dear Stephen,
Since I last wrote to you, life has been pretty exciting. My brother, John, and
I continue to travel with Jesus. Each day something different happens that
is often hard to understand. Yesterday, for example, we were getting ready
to leave Capernaum when a young man threw himself on the ground before
Jesus and asked what he needed to do to receive eternal life. The man is very
rich and famous in this area so it drew the attention of the people in the
marketplace. Soon a small crowd gathered around us, eager to hear what
Jesus had to say. You should have been there. Everyone was surprised when
Jesus told the man to “Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you
will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). This was not
the news a man with lots of money and land wanted to hear. He turned and
walked away.
John and I spent the night talking about the whole thing. After the rich man
left, Jesus told us “…how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24).
We have no land and very little money, and yet Jesus seemed to say that
we, too, would have to give up all that we have to follow him. Our reward,
he assured us, would be great. I believe him. It might sound crazy, but I feel
sorry for the rich young man. He turned his back on the greatest opportunity
of his life.
Your friend,
James
CHAPTER 6: HOLY SPIRIT, HELPER AND GUIDE
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeetin on 11/28/2022
Please complete the chapter test in the textbook. Keep this test to be turned in at our next meeting.
Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:Share and Discover
Everybody in one sense or another has gotten lost at one time in their lives! One can be “lost”
physically, morally, spiritually, or intellectually. Emphasize that this chapter’s Big Question is an
important question for everyone.
The contemporary youth culture is very connected technologically but can be very disconnected in terms of relationships. Social networking sites allow young people to have cyber “friends” whom they have never met or spoken to face to face. And many modern modes of communication—instant messaging, e-mailing, and texting—further remove the personal connection from many
relationships. It is easy for young people to feel disconnected and lonely—and perhaps without a guide—in today’s world.
Talk with young people about the Holy Spirit. Scripture affirms that the Holy Spirit is present
and active in the Church community. Explain that the Holy Spirit can be a guide in finding one’s way in a society that is often more technological than personal. Share your own story or another’s story about ways we can rely on the Holy Spirit.
Scripture Discovery: What's the Word
Use your Bible to look up the following passages. Then discuss Holy Spirit’s action in each of these accounts.
1. Luke 1:26–38
2. Luke 3:21–22
3. Acts of the Apostles 2:1–4
4. Acts of the Apostles 9:1–18
5. Acts of the Apostles 9:31
CHAPTER 7: THE PROMISE OF SALVATION
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeetin on 11/28/2022
Please complete the chapter test in the textbook. Keep this test to be turned in at our next meeting.
Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:Share and Discover
Remind the young people that God's promise of salvation is for all people. This good news is particularly relevant to junior high school students, who may feel rejection quickly and
deeply. Hold Jesus up as an example of God keeping his promise by helping us in difficult times.
Remind the young people that they can always turn to Jesus for help and friendship. Finally, remind the young people to reach out to others by helping and serving others.
Share how you hgave experience God reaching out to you and others in your life. This may be in the actions of others or stories shared with you.
Scripture Discovery: What's the Word
The infancy narratives contained in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell the story of Jesus’ birth and childhood. Use your Bible to find which Gospel contains the following parts of the narratives.
CHAPTER 8: JESUS, THE PROMISED MESSIAH
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeetin on 11/28/2022
Please complete the chapter test in the textbook. Keep this test to be turned in at our next meeting.
Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:Scripture Discovery: What's the Word
Read the account of The Boy Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41–52). If you were in the Temple that day, what question would you ask Jesus?
CHAPTER 9:THE COMING OF GOD'S KINGDOM
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeetin on 12/19/2022
Please complete the chapter test in the textbook. Keep this test to be turned in at our next meeting.
Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:Prayer Discovery: The Lord's Prayer
Activity Sheet Download
Read the Lord's Prayer and review with the student what the words of the prayer mean.
Family Activity: Stewardship
Emphasize to your student that they can make a big difference and help to spread God’s Kingdom by what they say and what they do every day. Remind them that whenever they volunteer, reach out to a friend in trouble, or thank their parents for their love and support, they are making a
difference. Look for ways to volunteer or help in your community.
CHAPTER 10: JESUS THE HEALER
End of Chapter Test: due for completion by our next meeetin on 12/19/2022
Please complete the chapter test in the textbook. Keep this test to be turned in at our next meeting.
Chapter Goals
In this chapter the children will learn:Family Activity: The Power to Heal and Forgive
Talk about Jesus’ ability to heal and forgive. You may remind them of a Gospel story, or you may share another story that demonstrates Jesus’ power to heal and forgive. With Jesus as a model of compassion and forgiveness, young people can begin to understand how they are called to imitate Christ, as difficult as it may be to get beyond hardships and hurts.