Confession, Repentance & Priesthood

OBJECTIVE

The objective for this grade is to learn about the sacraments and how they impact our life as Christians in this world. We are seeking to teach children how the liturgy and the sacraments should be implemented in their lives so they understand why we carry out this ritual on a regular basis. This week's lesson will focus on Confession, Repentance & Priesthood.

HOOK/INTRODUCTION - 10 Minutes

Candle and Penny Example

Materials for Servant:

  • Plate with Edge (so water doesn't spill)
  • Water with red food coloring (pre-mixed) in a pitcher
  • (1) Penny
  • Pre-lit Candle in a Jar
  • Clear Glass Cup large enough to go over the candle

(put the penny in the plate)

In this world, we sometimes feel alone in our thoughts. Sometimes we try to solve our own problems without turning for true help from our parents or the church. Maybe we are embarrassed or scared to tell someone what we did, and we end up making the problem even bigger. Or, our choices may cause us to fall even further into sin. When we look to ourselves for guidance instead of asking for proper help, we can end up in a pool of our own sins.

(pour the red liquid into the plate over the penny)

Well, what do you think we should do now? We need to ask God to forgive us How do we do that? Through repentance and confession.

(place pre-lit candle into the plate with the penny)

God is our light; we always need to turn to Him when we are in trouble. No matter how embarrassing, or upset we felt we have made God. When we ask God to forgive us our sins, it's almost like we have a weight lifted off of our shoulders.

(place glass cup over candle, slowly the red water will be sucked towards the candle, until the penny is left dry)

Our burdens are now taken away. Today, we will discuss the sacraments of Priesthood and Confession. Sacraments in our church are the way that we receive God's invisible grace, through visible ways.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

"I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will likewise perish"

Luke 13:3

CONTENT (Key Points) - 25 Minutes

Priesthood

Our Lord Jesus Christ granted His disciples the power to forgive the sins for the Christians. He told His disciples you have the power to forgive sins and whatever you allow on earth, I will allow it in heaven. Since then, the disciples ordained bishops and priests to continue their work as Christianity spread in different and far countries. That's why abouna has been given this gift of forgiving sins through the Holy Spirit, as it was passed on from generation to generation.

  • Can we all receive the sacrament of priesthood?
    • No, we can not. Only the ones that have been chosen by the Lord become priests.
  • Men who are not monks are called by God to become priests.
  • These priests are usually married and have their own families before they become a priest.
  • The congregation usually recommends this servant to the bishop to become a priest.
  • The congregation notices that a certain individual has been serving wholeheartedly, doing wonderful things for others and not asking for anything in return, serving the poor, never doing anything wrong, etc., so they go tell the bishop of the area that they found a suitable priest for their church.
  • The bishop always takes his time to consider that individual to become a priest, and he makes sure that this man has a good reputation, because the people need to see Jesus Christ in that person.
  • The bishop really needs to do his homework about this person, because after all, this person will also need to lead the people to Jesus.
  • A priest is only ordained by a bishop or the pope.
  • The ordination of the priest will always take place during the Divine Liturgy.
  • The bishop will then breath on his face, giving the new priest the Holy Spirit.
  • Priesthood is a great honor and a divine call from Above "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you." (John 15:16)

Repentance and Confession

Confession is one of the Holy Sacraments where the sinner returns back to God and stops doing the bad things that were pushing him/her away from God. Why do we confess and why did our Lord Jesus Christ granted the disciples to forgive our sins? Because once we confess we are given the forgiveness of our sins.

Our Lord Jesus Christ wants us to be always clean like the day we became Christians. The only way to do that is through confession. But before we confess, we need to repent first. But what is repentance? Everyone of us sometimes does something wrong. For example, like telling a lie or taking something from our brothers or sisters without telling them and many other things. If we go to abouna and tell him that we did this or that, but we don't feel like what we did was wrong, then that is not true repentance. Repentance means a change in behavior---knowing you did something wrong in front of God and wanting to change to be better. Once you sit with yourself and think about all the things that you did wrong and want to change, then you are ready for confession.

But why is confession called a sacrament? What is hidden that we cannot see? It is called a sacrament because we don't physically see the Holy Spirit forgiving our sins. We only see ourselves and abouna. Once abouna hears your confession and gives you advice on how to avoid doing the same thing again, he will pray the prayer of absolution for you and you will be washed clean

Repentance itself is not considered a sacrament, but it is a necessary step to take before confession with Abouna. Repentance actually goes hand in hand with confession, and they both bring us God's forgiveness.

  • Bad thoughts and feelings also need to be repented and confessed, so our father of confession can help us.
  • Sometimes the devil will try to have you forget all the sins that you have done since your last confession time, so it's a good idea for us to pray to ask God to reveal to us our sins.
  • It's a good idea for us to write down all the sins that we have committed, so we dont forget them when we go to see the priest to confess.
  • We must be very honest with ourselves on all the bad things that we have done, and we can't blame others on the things that we have done, we need to focus on ourselves.
  • This is also the time when we feel very bad for what we have done and we sit with God and tell Him how sorry we are for what we have done and promise Him that we won't do it again.
  • We have to also have really strong faith in Jesus Christ, and know that through His love He will forgive us.

Confession

  • We must confess to a priest and get absolved by the priest who was given that authority by God.
  • Once the priest absolves the person that is confessing, we are granted forgiveness of those sins and we are made like new again.
  • If we dont confess on a regular basis (at least monthly) our heart will become filled with many bad things that the devil helps put there.
  • Our heart can be filled with hatred, lies, fighting, saying bad words, cheating, stealing, etc.
  • Through regular confession, all the bad things are washed away from our hearts.
  • Jesus taught us about the Sacrament of Confession when He told the disciples "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be lost in heaven." (Matthew 18:18)
  • The Lord also told the disciples after the Resurrection, "So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:21-23)
  • This is when the Lord gave the disciples the authority to take the peoples confession.
  • Will the priest tell our parents what we confess? NO The priest made a promise to God that he will never tell your sins to anyone, not even your parents.
  • Will the priest think differently of us after we confess? No, again, the priest will actually love you even more because he knows that sometimes it takes a lot of courage to stand in front of someone and to tell them all the bad things you have done.
  • After you confess you will feel much better, like a weight lifted off your shoulders, but we also have to humbly repent.

LIFE APPLICATION - 5 Minutes

Select a priest to start confession if you haven't yet. This will be your father of confession. Someone that you go to and get advice from on a regular basis. Before you go to sleep, think about the things you did on this day and if you did something bad, you should pray about it and ask for forgiveness. But, you should also take note of it so that you can confess it to your abouna.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

Ask the following questions before children leave:

  • Can everyone become a priest? Who can?
  • What is the difference between confession and repentance?
  • Name one verse you remember from the lesson.
  • Why is it important to confess and repent?
  • How can the devil trick us?

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Play the repentance game. Please follow the directions provided in link below.

RESOURCES

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Hi Parents Today we talked about confession, repentance, and priesthood. We talked about what each sacrament is. Review the difference between confession and repentance and why it is important that we do both. The devil can trick us at times so it's very important to always pray and ask God to help us with our sins. Priesthood is not for everyone. A man must be chosen by God and only a bishop or priest can ordain someone. For an at home application, play the repentance game your child brings home