Here is the video that accompanies this lesson
Session 7 – Jesus is fully God and fully human
– Prayer – ACTS (Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication)
Main points of lesson:
Jesus wasn’t half-God and half-human, but rather 100% God and 100% human. Jesus experienced the same emotions and challenges that we do. He was 100% human but never chose sin. He also was 100% divine – one person, two natures. Why did the incarnation have to happen? Why did God become man? It was man who offended, so man should pay the price, but only God truly could pay the price, so in Jesus the two natures become one. Jesus paid the price for our sin through is death on the cross.
“Understanding that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine is very important. The church has consistently defended this teaching against attempts to present one or the other as somehow less. If the Crucifixion and Resurrection were events that involved God only, then we are not saved. If Jesus was not divine, he would have been just another good man whose death and Resurrection would not have saved us. It is necessary to believe that the mystery of the Incarnation mans that Jesus was both fully God and fully man.” (USCCA, pg. 83)
For more information:
– CCC 461-469, 512-534
– USCCA Chapter 7
– Catholic Update: The Creed http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/preview.aspx?id=229
From those who have gone before us:
“The son of God… worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like us in all things except sin. (Gaudium et Spes, #22)
Lesson Plan:
– Gathering & Opening Prayer (5 minutes)
– Lesson Introduction (15 minutes)
- Break the large group into small groups of 3-5 teens each. Ask each group to select a recorder. Supply each recorder with a paper and pen.
- Tell the group that sometime during last night, aliens arrived here at the parish and they wish to understand humans better. They’ve already gleaned that we consider an individual who is called Jesus to be pretty important. Your group assignment is to write up an explanation of who Jesus is. Remind the teens that they need to be fairly specific as aliens have no previous knowledge about Jesus.
- Give each group 5 minutes to come up with points describing who Jesus is.
- Call upon each group to share their points, write the points for all to see.
- When all of the groups have had the opportunity to share, examine the points made. Point out similarities between groups, and also point out which items describe Jesus’ humanity and which describe His divinity
– Video Segment and Discussion (15 minutes total)
- Show the video (0:00-8:12)
- Discuss the video with the teens, drawing out that Jesus is 100% divine and 100% human (not 50/50!) and that he was like us in all things but sin. He is one person with two natures.
– Creed Activity (15 minutes)
- Explain to the teens that our understanding of the two natures of Jesus has taken centuries to develop. There have been individuals who have put forth a number of ideas about the nature of Jesus which the Church has demonstrated to be incorrect. Parts of two of our creeds were composed in response to incorrect ideas about the nature of Jesus.
- Distribute copies of the Apostles’ Creed to the teens. Explain to the teens that parts of the Apostles’ Creed were written to support the belief that Jesus was truly human. Help the teens find lines that would emphasize Jesus’ humanity.
- Distribute copies of the Nicene Creed to the teens. Explain to the teens that parts of the Nicene Creed were written to support the belief that Jesus was truly divine. Help the teens find lines that would emphasize Jesus’ divinity.
- Review with the teens the necessity for Jesus to be 100% God and 100% man.
– Closing Prayer – ACTS (10 minutes)
- Talk to the teens about the ways that they pray. Explain that at times prayer can be difficult. We can use the acronym A.C.T.S. to help us with the prayer. The “ACTS” technique can be a wonderful way to pray at night before going to sleep.
- Explain the steps of the “ACTS” prayer technique. After each step explanation, ask the teens for examples of elements that would be included for that step.
- A – Adoration – God is deserving of our praise and it pleases God to hear us offer prayers of adoration. When offering praise, be specific – tell God why you think that He deserves our adoration.
- C – Confession – God knows our sins, but our confession of the things that we have done wrong that day can help our own self-awareness and help us to change our future behavior. You don’t have to be elaborate in your confession, just truthful and to the point.
- T – Thanksgiving – What are you especially thankful for today? Talk to God about the little things as well as the big things. Expressing our thankfulness on a regular basis helps us to realize how much we depend on the Lord.
- S – Supplication – Supplication is a humble request for help. Now is the time to ask God for your needs and for the needs of others.
- After the explanation, call the teens to prayer, calling out each of the steps and letting the teens pray silently through the steps.
- Close this prayer time with Philippians 4:6 – Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God
- An appropriate handout today would be cards with “ACTS” written on them. Distribute the cards to the teens and challenge them to set the card on their bedside table as a reminder to pray before going to sleep.