New Testament Module

OBJECTIVE

The Objective of this series is to delve deeply into the many important theological and practical topics presented by St. Paul in the Pauline Epistles. The students will gain a better understanding of how St. Paul's writings greatly influenced the creation of the church and of Christianity as they exist today.

MILESTONES

Scripture: The Holy Bible is composed of twenty-seven (27) books of the New Testament, fourteen (14) of them are Epistles of St. Paul. In other words more than half the books in the New Testament are written by St. Paul. The words of the Holy Spirit through the writings of St. Paul are indeed special and important.

Spiritual: There is a story of a Christian Missionary who went to preach on a remote island. For many years he lived with the people, serving them, and being Christ-like. When his service was complete, a new Missionary came to replace him on the remote island. The new Missionary had heard that the people lacked many of the basic elements of knowledge of the Christian faith. He began to preach to them from the Beatitudes found in the Gospel of St. Matthew chapter 5. After he completed his preaching, the people abruptly told him that they knew exactly who he was talking about. Expecting the people to say that he was describing our Lord Christ, to his surprise, they told him that he was describing the first Missionary. The first Missionary lived as our Lord Christ. The people were eager to know more about the faith that made the first Missionary Christ-like for them. The point of the story above is that we are to be as Christ-like as possible. So that when people see our good works, they glorify our Father in Heaven. (St. Matthew 5)

Social: There is little doubt that St. Paul was very zealous. But, his zeal without Christ was leading him to persecute and kill Christians; while his Zeal with Christ was leading him to save as many people as possible, even those whom his fellow Jews considered unclean (the Gentiles). Following the lead of St. Paul, we have a calling to preach Christ to all we meet by firstly being an example to them by our deeds and then by our words.

Rituals: The Coptic Church's Rituals include a reading from the Epistles of St. Paul at every reading of scripture. Every prayer Divine Liturgy (Liturgy of the Word), or Sacrament, the Pauline Epistle is read along with the Holy Gospel. The words of the Epistles of St. Paul have served as the greatest source for instructing the faithful.

TOPICS BY WEEK

Please read through all of the lessons in this module in preparation for this lesson.

• Week 1: Life and Journey of St. Paul
  • This lesson is an overview on the life of St. Paul. In the lesson, students should be able to understand how the life of St. Paul relates to their own lives.
• Week 2: Romans
  • Students should understand the difference between salvation by the law versus salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
• Week 3: Corinthians
  • Students will learn how St. Paul advises us to focus on implementing Christian Love and Wisdom in our lives and what these mean.
• Week 4: Ephesians
  • Students will understand St. Paul's definition of grace and will be introduced to the famous chapter about the Armor of God. Students will be able to understand not only what each piece of armor symbolizes, but also how they will be able to practically put those pieces on in their own lives.
• Capstone Activity

CHURCH CONNECTION

St. Paul's writings are read at every liturgy and it is important that our kids understand how much of an impact he has had on the church.

PARENTS CORNER

Please reread through the chapters presented in these lessons with your children at home and reinforce the teachings of St. Paul in a way that will be understandable to them. The writing of Paul can be intimidating for an 8th grader, so reading and explaining is invaluable.