Confession

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the spirituality module is to teach the children how Christian spirituality should be implemented in their lives. Every week of this module it will focus on spirituality in different ways in their lives: Week 1 -- Repentance, Week 2 -- Confession, Week 3 -- Peace, Week 4 -- Purity. Week 5 is the capstone week to review.

INTRODUCTION - 10 Minutes

Ask the students: Have you ever smelled dirty laundry? Do you like the smell of dirty laundry? Do you think people in general like the smell of dirty laundry? Probably not... How do you think your house would smell me if you never washed your laundry?

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 10 Minutes

Tell the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32) and highlight the points below.

CONTENT (MAIN POINTS) - 10 Minutes

  • Sometimes we think we know what's best for us and then we make wrong decisions, just like the younger son in this story
  • He took his inheritance from his dad and left the house and had the time of his life, he may not have realized that his money will run out
  • Those people that he thought were his friends ended up just leaving when he ran out of money
  • After having everything he realized that he really needs to go back home and ask for forgiveness
  • He quickly went back to his father and told him "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son." Luke 15:21
  • The son knew that the only way he would be forgiven was to ask for forgiveness by confessing his sins
  • The father in this story teaches us how amazingly forgiving our Father in Heaven is and that no matter what we do if we are truly remorseful and confess our sins Our Father will forgive us
  • Confession is a great washing machine for our souls, it really cleanses us and makes us pure again
    • When we pray the Agpeya in every hour we read Psalm 50 (51) and it says "You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow." Psalm 50:7
  • Confession has to be done to a priest. We concess to Christ in the presence of the priest, and after we are finished, the priest reads the Absolution, in which the forgiveness comes from Christ Himself.
    • A great example of confessing to a priest was when King David confessed to Nathan the prophet and said, "I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin" " 2 Samuel 12:13
  • Don't worry, the priest will not go tell your parents or anyone else what you confess about. The priest is there to help you and guide you so don't fall again and make the same mistakes, he will hold us accountable

Remind the students that confession is one of the 7 sacraments in our church

  1. Baptism
  2. Confession
  3. Chrismation
  4. Eucharist (Communion)
  5. Unction of the sick
  6. Priesthood
  7. Matrimony (Marriage)

APPLICATION (Action) - 5 Minutes

Encourage the children to start confessing at least once a month.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

ACTIVITY- 10 Minutes

Ask one of your priests to come in for a presentation on what happens during confession. The servant and the priest can act it out. The servant can say something simple that the kids can relate to at this age like, "I lied to my mom or I pushed my sibling." The priest can then pray the Absolution.

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Remind the kids how important it is just as we need to keep our room clean and free of any dirty laundry; we also need to keep our hearts clean free of any sin. Confessing regularly will keep our hearts nice and clean for Jesus to come and stay. After all no one will ever come to visit you if your house is full of dirty laundry and Jesus will also not come into your heart if your heart is filled with dirty sins. So let's get cleaning Memorize 1 John 1:9 as a family.