Title: Prophecy of Light and Names
Age: 3 to 10 years
Subject: Messianic Prophecies
Liturgical time: Advent
Doctrinal Content:
Direct Aim: The direct aims include becoming acquainted with the prophecy of Isaiah and to identify roles of prophets: they listen to God; they pay attention to His message; and they tell His message to everyone. This lesson also aims to explore the mystery of Jesus as the Great Light.
Indirect Aims: This lesson is also a preparation for the Feast of Nativity of our Lord. Indirect aims include for the student to achieve greater participation in the life of the Church; enhance preparation for prayers; open our minds to God's message; to introduce the Messianic quality of the Jewish and Christian faiths; to introduce the idea that God has a plan; to further develop the children's understanding of the nature of Jesus, to address His incarnation, and to further wonder, "Who is this Jesus?" This lesson also emphasizes the holiness of waiting and that God is faithful.
Scripture Sources:
Materials for the Lesson:
Candle, matches, snuffer, Prophecy cards: Isaiah 9:1 & 9:6 printed on a piece of paper mounted on red 8x11 card stock (red for the color of Advent), and stands for cards.
Prayer table with its articles, including: a statue of Good Shepherd, a book of matches, candles, snuffer, etc.
Note: These prophecy cards should be matted on red, the color that is used for the Advent season.
The Lesson Plan:
Invite children to the prayer table. Begin the presentation by talking about the new season. For example, say, "We are coming up to a season to celebrate when Jesus was born." If it is age appropriate, discuss what to do in the classroom to mark the changing of the season (i.e. changing an altar cloth/fair linen, getting out an advent wreath, etc.). Review the doctrinal content above.
Emphasize the idea of prophecy and of waiting in Advent. A prophet is a special messenger of God. Isaiah was one of these special prophets. Isaiah spoke about Jesus before Jesus was born. These are some of his prophecies about Jesus. A prophecy is a saying about future events before they happen. Prophets like Isaiah listened to God, and because of what he said, people also began to wait for a special baby to be born. Long ago, they were waiting like us, except today we know Who it is they were waiting for and we know His name, Jesus.
Continue the presentation by saying, "Before Jesus was born, people knew that He was coming. People were waiting for Him, because Prophets told them that Jesus was coming."
Explain who Prophets are and what they do by saying, "Prophets are very close to God. They hear special messages, prophecies, from God. They listened to God's message and they told everyone they knew about it." Prepare to read the Prophecies of Isaiah by saying, "I am going to read two of the messages. These Prophecies were told by the Prophet Isaiah."
Introduce or review the preparation for reading from Bible, by saying, "These words are from the Bible. I am going to light a candle." Light a candle and dim the light. (If you are not already on the floor with children,) Sit with children and get ready by sitting up straight.
Read Isaiah 9:1 and 9:5. Then read them again.
Discussion questions, depending on ages of the children:
Explain the meaning of different names
Activity:
Have the children pick one of the prophecies of Isaiah and make out a prophecy card. Using nice construction paper, markers, etc., have them decorate one of the prophecies to be hung or displayed in their home prayer corners. You may want to provide the script for the children or you can have them write out the prophecy themselves.
Close with a prayer.
For the individual lessons mentioned in the synopsis, see the Related Assets below.
Notice: This lesson plan utilizes training and the general philosophy/method of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program. Materials found in this document, however, have been created specifically to incorporate the theology and dogmatic teaching of the Orthodox Church. The author of this lesson offers special recognition to Mrs. JoAnne Padget, CGS Instructor, who provided instruction and guidance in the CGS method. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program requires intensive study and strongly recommends that teachers using their program enroll in and complete coursework through an authorized CGS instructor. More information about CGS is available at http://www.cgsusa.org.