Session 3: Teach All Nations
The
purpose of this session is
to familiarize participants with the apostles’ travel throughout the world,
proclaiming the Good News and establishing new Christian communities.
Objectives:
By the end of this session participants will be able to . . .
1.
Explain how
the early Christians lived their faith, even in the face of danger.
2.
Identify preaching,
teaching, and healing as the major responsibilities of the apostles as they
traveled throughout the world
3.
Define an apostle
“sent out” in terms of Jesus’ words in Matthew 28 as the ones who were
sent out to share the good news of Jesus Resurrection.
4.
Identify Antioch,
Greece, Rome on a map as places where the apostles preached
Useful Texts for Leader Reflection/Preparation
(Scriptural,
Liturgical, Lives of Saints, etc):
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- Acts
3, 4, 5:12-16, 11:19-30
|
|
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Materials:
Passports,
traditional dress for Antioch, Greece and Rome(togas), materials for making
buttons; pens, markers, 3.5 inch paper circles, rubber stamps (or different
colored stickers) for each country, pita bread, travel posters showing ancient
and modern sites of the three countries.
Note
to Leader:
Set
up separate spaces for each of these countries. Have one adult or teacher
dressed in the traditional outfit from each country.
A:
Younger Children
1.
Opening prayer
2.
Review the meaning of “apostle” and the definition of Pentecost as the birthday
of the Church, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles.
Opening
discussion: Tell the students, “Today we are going to visit some of the places
where Jesus’ apostles preached the Good News and started new churches.
Explain
how the participants should behave during their “trip” [i.e., no pushing,
shoving, unnecessary noise, etc.]
Tell
students that we need our passports to visit each country. Distribute passports.
Tell all students, “We are going to visit Antioch, Greece, and Rome. Ask older
students to find these places on the map, so that no one gets lost during
the journey.
3.The
First Journey: Antioch
a.
When passports have been distributed, take students to their first country:
Antioch in Syria.
b.
A teacher, dressed in Middle Eastern garb, should be in the first space.
As the students enter the
space, the teacher welcomes them to Antioch and gathers them together.
c.
When the students are settled, the “Antiochian teacher” says:
GOOD
MORNING! I’M SO HAPPY TO MEET ALL OF YOU, AND I WANT TO WELCOME YOU TO OUR
BEAUTIFUL CITY OF ANTIOCH!
ANTIOCH
IS A VERY IMPORTANT CITY. IT IS THE CAPITAL OF THE GREAT COUNTRY OF SYRIA.
HAVE ANY OF YOU EVER HEARD OF SYRIA? [Pause while students raise their hands,
or be prepared to show its location on a world map.]
WE
HAVE MANY CHRISTIANS IN ANTIOCH. IN FACT, NOT LONG AFTER THE DAY OF PENTECOST,
A GROUP OF MEN CAME TO ANTIOCH TO TEACH US ABOUT JESUS CHRIST.
THEY
TOLD US THAT JESUS WAS THE SON OF GOD, AND THAT HE CAME INTO THE WORLD TO
TELL US AND SHOW US HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US. THEY ALSO TAUGHT US THAT JESUS
DIED ON THE CROSS, AND THAT HE WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD TO GIVE US NEW LIFE.
CAN
ANYONE TELL ME SOME OF THE THINGS JESUS SAID OR DID? [Pause while students
give their answers.]
THANK
YOU! GREAT ANSWERS! WE WERE TAUGHT MANY OF THE THINGS YOU JUST SAID BY TWO
OF THE APOSTLES, BARNABUS AND PAUL. WHEN THEY VISITED US, THEY WERE VERY KIND
TO US. THEY TAUGHT US TO LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL OUR HEARTS. THEY ALSO TOLD
US THAT WE SHOULD HELP OTHERS, ESPECIALLY THE POOR.
NOT
LONG AGO, WE HEARD THAT THERE WERE MANY POOR PEOPLE IN JERUSALEM. WE DECIDED
THAT ALL THE CHRISTIANS IN ANTIOCH SHOULD COLLECT FOOD AND MONEY AND SEND
IT TO THE NEEDY. WE SHOWED THEM OUR LOVE, JUST AS JESUS SHOWED US HIS LOVE
FOR US. WOULD YOU LIKE TO TASTE SOME OF THE BREAD WE SENT?
[Give
each student a small piece of Syrian bread - pita, pocket bread, olives, feta
cheese.]
I’D
LIKE TO TELL YOU ONE LAST THING BEFORE YOU LEAVE: ANTIOCH IS THE FIRST PLACE
WHERE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVED IN JESUS WERE CALLED “CHRISTIANS” SO, WHENEVER YOU
TELL SOMEONE THAT YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, REMEMBER US HERE IN ANTIOCH! TO HELP
YOU REMEMBER US, WE WILL PUT THE OFFICIAL ANTIOCHIAN SEAL IN YOUR PASSPORTS.
[Place Antioch stickers/stamps in appropriate box on passports.]
Students should be led out of the classroom and directed to the next room
for their visit to Greece
4.
Second Journey: Greece
a.
A teacher, dressed in Greek garb, should be in the second classroom. As the
students enter the
classroom, the teacher welcomes them to Greece and gathers them together.
b.
When the students are settled, the “Greek teacher” says:
WELCOME
TO GREECE! TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CITIES IN GREECE ARE THESSALONICA AND
ATHENS. WE ARE VERY LUCKY THAT PAUL AND HIS FRIEND SILAS CAME TO GREECE AFTER
THEY LEFT ANTIOCH. THEY TOLD US THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST.
PAUL
TOLD US THAT WE SHOULD LIVE AS “CHILDREN OF GOD.” CAN ANY OF YOU TELL ME WHAT
YOU THINK IT MEANS TO LIVE AS “CHILDREN OF GOD?” [Pause for responses.]
VERY
GOOD ANSWERS! LIVING AS A CHILD OF GOD MEANS THAT WE SHOULD LOVE GOD MORE
THAN ANYTHING ELSE. IT ALSO MEANS THAT WE SHOULD LOVE OTHER PEOPLE, TREAT
EVERYONE AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND HELP THEM.
WE
HEARD THAT THE CHRISTIANS IN ANTIOCH RECENTLY HELPED SOME NEEDY PEOPLE. HAVE
YOU BEEN TO ANTIOCH? [Pause for their answers.] HOW DID THE PEOPLE IN ANTIOCH
HELP THE NEEDY? [They sent money and food to the needy in Jerusalem.]
VERY
GOOD! WE TRY TO HELP EACH OTHER ALSO, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT JESUS WANTS US
TO DO.
I
HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR VISIT TO GREECE. SO THAT YOU’LL REMEMBER YOUR TIME HERE,
I’D LIKE TO GIVE YOU ONE OF OUR OFFICIAL SEALS. [Place Greece stickers in
appropriate box in passports.]
Students
should be led out of the classroom and directed to the last room for their
visit to Rome.
5. Third Journey: Rome
a.
As you take students to their next destination (Rome), hurry them along. Tell
them to be very, very quiet because there are some people who do not like
Christians.
b.
The Roman classroom should be dark. A teacher, dressed in Roman garb, should
be in the third classroom. She/he should hurry the children in, creating
a sense of anticipation.
c.
When the students are all in the room and settled, the “Roman teacher” should
lock the door and say in a very soft voice:
I’M
SORRY THAT IT IS SO DARK IN HERE! WE HAVE TO BE VERY QUIET BECAUSE THERE ARE
SOME PEOPLE WHO HATE US CHRISTIANS AND WANT TO ARREST US AND KILL US, SO PLEASE
BE VERY QUIET!
PAUL
VISITED US IN ROME AFTER HIS TRIPS TO ANTIOCH AND GREECE. HE TOLD US ALL ABOUT
JESUS, AND MANY OF US BECAME CHRISTIANS. HE ALSO WROTE LETTERS TO US AND GREETED
THE GOOD WORKERS IN OUR CHURCH. BUT MANY PEOPLE IN ROME TOLD LIES ABOUT US
CHRISTIANS. SOME PEOPLE WANT US TO LEAVE. OTHERS WANT TO KILL US. SOME OF
US HAD TO HIDE AND PROTECT PAUL WHILE HE WAS HERE BECAUSE OF THEM.
Note:
Periodically during this presentation, someone should knock on the door and
say, “Are there any Christians in there?” The teacher should instruct the
students to be very, very quiet.
WE
EVEN HAVE TO CELEBRATE THE LITURGY SECRETLY! WE CAN’T PUT CROSSES ON OUR MEETING
PLACES, BECAUSE THE NON-CHRISTIANS WILL KNOW WHERE WE MEET.
SO,
INSTEAD, WE PAINT OR CARVE A PICTURE OF A FISH ABOVE THE ENTRANCE TO THE PLACE
WHERE WE ARE GOING TO MEET FOR LITURGY. THE REASON WE USE A FISH IS BECAUSE
THE FIVE LETTERS IN THE GREEK WORD FOR FISH STAND FOR JESUS CHRIST SON
OF GOD SAVIOR.
CAN
YOU THINK OF OTHER SYMBOLS THAT WOULD HAVE HELPED THE CHRISTIANS IN ROME SHOW
THEIR BRETHREN THAT THEY WERE CHRISTIANS.
6.
How can we let people know we are Christians
Second
Note: While students are working on this project, someone should knock on
the door again and ask if there are any Christians in the room. This will
heighten the sense of danger and excitement.
Start
out by thanking the “Roman teacher” and then say, “We just learned that one
way the early
Christians
in Rome would inform each other that they were Christians and could be trusted
was by drawing a fish symbol.” Draw the fish symbol on a large visible
surface and reinforce how the Greek letters that spell fish can also signify
“Jesus Christ Son of God Savior.” (You can find small plaques or bumper
stickers with this symbol in most Christian bookstores.)
Ask
“What did we learn about how the Romans used the fish symbol?” [To find out
where Church was on Sunday.] What might be some other situations that Christians
would use this symbol?” [To inform other Christians about persecutions going
on, etc.]
"Let’s
pretend that we were living in Rome and that we needed secret ways of letting
other people know that we are Christians.” Brainstorm ideas. “What
might be some other symbols that they could have used?” Go over with participants
how these symbols tell someone that they are Christians.
Pass
out 3.5 inch diameter circles to each participant (large button size). Have
participants design their own Christian symbol on spare paper and then have
them draw it on their circles. Provide participants with markers, colored
pencils and other art materials. Reassure participants that ideas don’t have
to be completely original. Before the next class make buttons out of their
symbols and hand them out next time or you can hang the symbols as a mobile
in class.
7.
Take them back to where you began class. Collect passports and stamp their
passports, telling students that they will need them again next time, when
they visit some of the other places to which the Church spread.
8.
Close the session saying, “I hope you see how the early Christians lived and
how the apostles shared the Good News with everyone they met even when people
might make fun of them or pick-on them.”
9.
Closing prayer
B:
Pre-teens
1.&
2. See above.
3.
Discussion of Acts 3-4, 5:12-16, 6:1-15; 11:19-30 and Romans 12:1-19 (see
compilation included)
Read
the scripture compilation included.
Say,
“One of the reasons the Gospel spread throughout the world was because the
apostles were persecuted as they preached the Good News of Jesus. While many
who heard the Good News came to believe in Jesus, others became angry and
would threaten to kill them. When this happened the disciples would often
flee and go to another place and preach the Gospel there.”
4.
Bible Search: The Church in Antioch and Greece
Hand
out the bible search questions to all participants (see Bible Search handout).
Split participants into groups. Groups are to read the passages aloud and
work together to answer all the questions. When all the questions are correctly
answered for Antioch everyone in that group gets a passport sticker for that
country and moves on to the questions on Greece.
5.
Rome: The Church in Hiding
Say,
“We already mentioned that the apostles were persecuted by the Jewish authorities
for preaching about Jesus’ death and resurrection. In Rome it was even worse.
The government of the Roman Empire decided that Christianity was illegal and
would kill people who called themselves Christians.
Questions
to discuss:
-
What are some reasons that people decide to pick-on or make fun of
other people? [They look different. They do things that are different which
people don’t always understand.]
In
general, is it possible that one person’s good news could make someone else
angry? [Yes.] Why? Go back to the ideas discussed in the first session
about “good news” and use those examples to discuss why people might react
differently.
Why
do you think the Good News about Jesus might make someone angry? [It challenges
their religious beliefs. It challenges their social beliefs (No one is supposed
to hurt other people). It challenges their moral and ethical behavior. They
might be an important person in their religion and not want to lose their
prestige] Try to make participants be as specific as possible. Follow up answers
with, “But why do you think that would make someone angry?”.
Do
you think the apostles were cowardly for fleeing? Why, or why not? [Their
goal was to follow Jesus’ commandment to tell as many people in the world
as possible about the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection. By fleeing, they were
able to go and tell more people. It would be difficult to mark the apostles
as cowards since they continually risked their lives as they traveled and
preached. In the end, almost all the apostles ended up being killed as martyrs
for the Faith.]
Say,
“In order to mark the places where they worshiped and to identify themselves
to other Christians, people would use the sign of a fish as a kind of secret
symbol or password.”
Draw
a fish on a large visible surface.
Ask,
“Why do you think they would use this as their symbol?” Wait for a few responses.
If no one knows explain how the letters in the Greek word for fish can be
used as an acronym for Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior. If you are
unsure of the Greek letters, check with your parish priest. Many Christian
book and gift shops sell plaques with the fish sign containing the Greek letters
that begin each word describing Jesus.
a.
See activity #6 above, or
b.
Have participants try and come up with English acronyms that could be used as
a secret symbol or password for Christianity. [C.L.O.C.K.- Christians Love Others
Christ’s Kingdom, T.A.C.K. - Teach About Christ’s Kingdom, etc.]
Note:
Make sure you put the Rome sticker in their passport once they have made their
button or come up with their acronym.
Conclusion
Discuss
briefly what were the key characteristics about the first Christians that
showed that they were following Jesus Christ and continuing His work? [“Look
at the Christians, how they love each other. They prayed as He taught them
to pray. They showed their love for others in concrete ways by helping the
poor and hungry. They changed the way they lived. They treated others as they
wanted to be treated regardless of who they were.]
Go
around the group and have each person say one way they will try to continue
the work of the apostles during the coming week. Encourage them to be creative.
It can be something as simple as eating lunch with someone at school who is
always eating alone.
C:
Teens
1.
& 2. (See above)
3.
Follow step 3 as indicated above but instead of reading the enclosed scripture
compilation, give the following texts to different participants and ask them
to summarize their passage for the class: Acts 4:1-22; 5:12-42; 6:7-60; 8;1-8;
11:19-30 and Romans 12:1-19.
4.
a.
The Road to Antioch and Greece
See
step # 4 as outlined for section B above, or
b.
Depending upon your local situation you may wish to have the teens coordinate
and act out the “travel” sections for group A.
5.
Rome: a Church in Hiding
See
activity #5 in section B above.
6.
See activity #6 in section A or option in section B.
Conclusion
ALL
SECTIONS
In
Preparation for next meeting:
Have
participants bring in as many examples of different types of crosses as possible.
Have
students take a poll in their parish to discover the various types of crosses
people own. Give them the following question to ask: “We’re doing a project
for Church school. We are interested in what style of cross you wear and why
you chose that style, or why you think it was chosen for you?” [Russian style
– “It was my grandfathers”; Greek style – “I went to Greece and saw it there”;
etc.]
Have
them be prepared to present their findings to the group with visuals (graph,
illustrations, etc.).
Bible
Story
(The
following compilation is taken from Acts 3-4, 5:12-16, 6:1-15; 11:19-30; and
Romans 12:1-19)
Jesus’
apostles were very busy. They gathered with the people everyday for prayers
and they shared the teachings of Jesus with the new Christians. But they also
went out into the city each day to tell more people about the new life that
Jesus gives to everyone who believes in him.
One
day Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray. They saw a man who
had been crippled from birth. Everyday his friends carried him to the gate of
the temple so he could beg for food or money to live. When he saw Peter and
John going into the temple, he asked them for money. Peter and John looked into
the man’s face and said: “Look at us!” The man looked, hoping to get something
from them, but Peter said: “I have no silver or no gold, but I will give you
what I have.” Then he said to the man: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
walk.” He took the man by the right hand and raised him up and immediately his
ankles and legs were made strong. The man jumped up and down and praised God.
The people watching him were amazed and wondered at what had happened to him.
Then Peter told the people who were standing around and staring all about the
works that Jesus had done. He told them to stop sinning and believe in Jesus
Christ.
The
apostles healed many others. Hundreds of people became believers. They brought
sick people with them so that Peter could heal them. Many other people, however,
were jealous and had the apostles arrested and put into prison, but an angel
came at night and released them. So many people joined the Church that the apostles
needed helpers to help distribute food and other kinds of help to those who
needed help. They chose seven good men and prayed over them to do this work.
They were called deacons or servers, for their job was not to preach but to
help by serving others. Soon after, the deacon Stephen was killed for his belief
in Jesus Christ and for the good work he was doing. Many Christians had to leave
the city because people wanted to kill them for their belief that Jesus had
risen from the dead and that He was God.
Because
of the persecution, the Christians scattered to other countries and began to
teach and preach about God to people in Cyprus and Antioch, to Greece and to
places far from Jerusalem — even as far away as Rome at the other end of the
Roman Empire.
Bible
Questions