Epistles of St. John

OBJECTIVE

To gain a deeper understanding of the seven Epistles in the New Testament that will serve to guide students to a life of righteousness and holiness. This lesson will focus on the Epistles of St. John and practical ways we can live as Christians.

INTRODUCTION - 10 Minutes

These letters were written by John the Beloved (same person who wrote the Gospel) around A.D 85 and 90 from Ephesus. St. John was an older man and perhaps the only surviving apostle at that time. St. John is the apostle of love, and love is mentioned throughout the first letter. The first letter also features many examples of contrast such as: light and darkness, truth and error, God and satan, life and death, love and hate.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

1 John 1:4
2 John 1:1-3
2 John 1:4-6
2 John 1:7-9
3 John 1:5-8
3 John 1:9-11
3 John 1:12-14

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 5 Minutes

First Epistle: written to dispel doubts and to build assurance by presenting a clear picture of God as light, as love, and as life.

Second Epistle: written to a woman and her family who were involved in the church that John was overseeing. He was warning her of false teachers who were becoming prevalent in some of the churches.

Third Epistle: written to Gaius for his hospitality and to encourage him in his Christian life. Gaius was a prominent Christian in one of the churches known to St. John.

ACTIVITY - 30 Minutes

It's difficult to cover three epistles in one class period. Therefore, this lesson is structured so that you can choose ONE epistle to focus on. All three options are structured in the same way.

Option 1: I John
Option 2: II John
Option 3: III John

These options are found in Week 3 Activity and you will need to provide students with copies of whichever option you choose.

Lesson structure:

Part 1: Small group discussion
Part 2: Individual questions
Part 3: Teacher-led discussion question to summarize the epistle

After you briefly introduce the lesson and the main idea behind each epistle, you will split the class into groups, depending how large/small your class size. Each group will first answer discussion questions and write down their responses on their handouts. Then, individually, they will answer the next set of questions. Lastly, you will bring everyone back to focus by using the italicized/bolded discussion question found in the homework section of their handout.

Note: all groups are answering the same questions from whatever option you have chosen. It is not recommended you give each group an option in hopes to cover all three epistles.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION - 10 Minutes

Allow students to use any of the information they discussed in their small groups and/or from the questions that they answered individually.

If time permits, you may also use any of the Bible references to conclude the lesson.

RESOURCES

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Students will complete the third column that pertains to the epistles of St. John from Catholic Epistles chart attached to weeks 1 & 2.