Preschool - Kindergarten

Creative Arts Festival 2005
PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN
Lesson Plan Provided by the
Department of Christian Education

Theme: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

GOAL: To participate in the 2005 Creative Arts Festival

OBJECTIVE: To enhance understanding of Romans 12:2 in order to interpret this verse in art, prose, poetry, or photography.

TIME: 30 minutes

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Icon of Christ
Candle or votive in the icon corner
New Testament Bible - Romans 12:2
Icon of St. Paul (alternate picture 1, 2)
Chalkboard and chalk or large sheets of paper and markers
Drawing paper and crayons for each child

Note: In the lesson plan, suggested words for the teacher to speak are in italics. Read the lesson ahead of time so you may present it in your own words. Do not read to the students or you will lose their interest.

FOR THE CATECHIST:

Read The Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 12:1-2 and footnotes.

As catechist, you know your students. You can observe their behavior. You can see and hear their happiness and pain. You know their hearts. In deciding how to prepare them for the Creative Arts Festival, you can consider what they need in order to grow in their spiritual life.

As young—and wonder-filled—Christians, what do they need to be transformed, to be renewed? Must they learn to be less aggressive, to share, to show more respect to one another and to adults? Are they defiant and, therefore, disobedient? Or do their actions and words personify purity of heart? You might assess how much they are willing to pray. Do they know God’s love for them? Do they feel the sorrow of Christ’s suffering on the Cross? Or the joy and excitement of His Resurrection? As you discern what is needed for the children in your care, you have an opportunity to help them take one step farther in their Christian formation.

INTRODUCTION:

1. Tell students about entering the Creative Arts Festival, along with requirements and deadlines as needed.

2. Show an icon of St. Paul and tell students that the verse used in the Festival is from a letter St. Paul wrote t the people in Rome. Explain that St. Paul wrote the letter to teach the Romans how they should live as Christians. St. Paul wanted them to live the way that Jesus Christ wants us all to live. You might say, This is what St. Paul wrote and it is the verse we are using for this year’s Festival.

3. Read the verse from Romans 12:2. You might say Let’s talk now about what this verse means.

CONTENT:

1. Read the verse from Romans 12:2 again. Explain it slowly.

St. Paul is telling us: Don’t do bad things, even though other people around you do bad things, or you see bad things on TV or in your neighborhood. Instead, you need to do what God wants you to do because He loves you and wants you to be a good Christian. . . . Let’s talk about some bad things that people might do or say and then talk about the good things we should do instead.

2. How many of you can think of a bad thing to do? I don’t want you to tell me who does bad things, just tell me what a bad thing to do is.

3. Write the children’s responses on the chalkboard or large paper. Such responses might include the following: [Leave room on the right side of the paper to list the corresponding good action.]

• Fighting
• Hurting another person or animal
• Taking someone’s toys and not sharing
• Talking back to parents/teachers
• Not obeying what parents say to do
  (“Lying” at this age may not really be purposeful since the child doesn’t always perceive a situation as adults do. It would be better to concentrate on the behavior of “telling the truth” instead of using the word lying.)

4. Contrast what your students know as “bad” behavior with what God would want us to do instead. You might say, Does God want us to fight? Then go through the responses on your list and ask the children to counter each with a positive behavior, such as showing good manners or doing what parents ask.

5. Now, let’s talk about making a mess. How many of you have made a mess of your clothes? Did they come clean again? How?

Think about your clothes after they came out of the washing machine. They were made new, or clean. We can say they were renewed.

When St. Paul asks us to renew our minds, he is asking us to clean out all the bad thoughts that lead to bad actions. He wants us to have only good thoughts. Now, there is no washing machine for our minds. So, what can we do to change the bad thoughts to good?

Here is one idea, and then I want you to help me with the list: “Say prayers at night.”

• Say prayers at night, at meals
• Receive Holy Communion in church
• Show kindness to someone—ask for concrete examples
• Say “I’m sorry” if we do something that hurts another person
• Stand and listen to the Gospel reading in church
• Kiss the icons and the cross
• Help people when they need something such as food or someone to talk to
• Thank God for the good things He gives us and be happy with what we have, not always wanting more
• Listen politely to parents (Don’t talk back) and do what they say.

6. Even though we might make a mistake and do something bad, we can always go to God and say “I’m sorry” and try to do better. Emphasize that God loves us all the time, that we are Christians because we’ve been baptized, and that we want to be good Christians.

RESPONSE:

Option 1: If students are to do their projects for the Festival right after this lesson, you might arrange students at their workspace with art materials. Be ready to demonstrate what you are asking them to do.

Fold your paper in half and then open it again. Let’s look at our list of bad and good behaviors. I’d like you to choose one of these, and on one side of your paper draw the bad behavior and on the other side, the good behavior. I’ll show you what I mean. [Demonstrate.]

There might be that one student who wants to tell a story about bad and good behavior. Be ready to record the story for submission in the writing festival.

Option 2: If students will do their projects at another time, you might arrange them in a circle for role-playing, with your listing of bad and good behaviors visible.

Let’s have some fun with pretending. I’ll need someone to hold the icon of Jesus. [Choose one person, and ask them to stand with the back to the group.] We’ll act out one of the bad behaviors, and then our icon holder will turn to face the group. When we see the icon of Jesus, our actions will change, and we will act out the good behavior. [Decide if you will ask only a few children to participate, or whether the whole class will act together.] Let me show you what I mean. [Demonstrate.]

CLOSING:

Let’s listen to the words of the verse again. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” St. Paul is telling us to change our bad actions to good. What is one example of a bad action? What does St. Paul want us to do instead? What is one way we keep our mind renewed, or close to God?

Gather children around the icon and sing “Alleluia” or another hymn or prayer customary for your parish.

Grades 1-3

Creative Arts Festival 2005
GRADES 1-3
Lesson Plan Provided by the
Department of Christian Education

Theme: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

GOAL: To participate in the 2005 Creative Arts Festival

OBJECTIVE: To enhance understanding of Romans 12:2 in order to interpret this verse in art, prose, poetry, or photography.

TIME: 30 minutes

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Icon of Christ
Candle or votive in the icon corner
New Testament Bible - Romans 12:2
Icon of St. Paul (alternate picture 1, 2)
Icon of The Theotokos
Adult white shirt, or dalmatica, to serve as reminder of our baptismal garment.
Chalkboard and chalk or large sheets of paper and markers
Two groups of index cards to record
     1) bad behaviors, and 2) ways to stay close to God.
One safety pin
7 small posters for vocabulary:

To conform: To copy what others say or do
Do not be conformed to the world—
     Do not be shaped according to the world;
     Do not follow the world’s ways.

To Transform – To change shape or form

Transformed – changed into something different, usually better

To Renew - to make new, to be made like it used to be

Renewing – being made new

Mind – The part of you that can think or reason things out; The part of you that can make choices;

FOR THE CATECHIST:

Read The Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 12: 1-2 and footnotes.

If the children are capable of benefiting from the definitions of the hard words of the verse, prepare the vocabuly chart as noted in the lesson plan.

If not, the lesson should convey the general understanding that we are told to give up bad thoughts and actions and turn toward good thoughts and actions. They are being asked to reject the ways of a fallen world and to accept the ways of God for a life transformed by the Holy Spirit and aimed toward sanctification, toward holiness. This is explained well in 1 Peter 1:13-16.

Christ, by His death and resurrection, has restored the fallen world and given us the potential for life eternal. We struggle constantly toward this goal. We cannot do it alone. We achieve our salvation in the Church, through the sacraments, and in particular by receiving Holy Communion. In so doing, we are increasingly conformed to the image of God—we become more godlike, which the Orthodox Church calls “theosis,” or “deification.” You may wish to consult 2 Peter 1:3-4, and the page previous which offers an explanation of deification.

INTRODUCTION:

1. Tell students about entering the Creative Arts Festival, along with requirements and deadlines as needed.

2. Show an icon of St. Paul and tell students that the verse used in the Festival is from a letter St. Paul wrote to the people in Rome. Explain that St. Paul wrote the letter to teach the Romans how they should live as Christians. St. Paul wanted them to live the way that Jesus Christ taught us all to live. You might say, “Here is what St. Paul wrote, and it is the verse we are using for this year’s Festival.”

3. Read the verse from Romans 12:2. You might say “This is a hard verse to understand for a lot of people, but now we are going to talk about what this verse means.”

CONTENT:

1. Read the verse from Romans 12:2 again. I’ve written the hard words on these vocabulary cards. Here is what the words mean. [Go over the vocabulary.]
Let’s see if I can help you understand it. St. Paul is saying:

Don’t be shaped by the bad things in the world, even though other people around you do bad things or you see bad things on TV or in your neighborhood. Instead, be transformed—changed—by doing what God wants you to do and by making up your mind to follow what Jesus teaches.

2. Let’s talk about bad behavior. I don’t want you to tell me who acts badly, just tell me the behavior. [Write the children’s responses on the small cards.You might have some responses written on the cards in advance and pull them out as the children respond. Such responses might include the following:]

• Being angry
• Wanting always to be first
• Fighting or arguing
• Hitting another person
• Destroying someone’s belongings on purpose
• Tormenting animals
• Not taking care of pets
• Saying mean things to someone or about someone
• Tattling
• Talking back to parents/teachers
• Not obeying what parents or teachers say to do
• Boasting
• Being a bully
• Not saying thank you; not wanting to give thanks
• Not sharing
• Not telling the truth

5. St. Paul was thinking of these bad behaviors when he said, “And do not be conformed to this world….” [Point again to the word “conformed” on your oak tag.] St. Paul meant, “Do not do or say bad things, even if people around you do them, because God doesn’t want you to do or say bad things. You belong to God.”

Let’s talk about belonging to God. Is it true? When we were baptized, we wore a white garment. Everyone sang, “All you who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.” [Ask a child to come forward, and place white shirt on the child.] “Putting on Christ” means we belong to Christ—we are His followers, and we do as He taught us.

6. St. Paul tells us: we are to be “transformed by the renewing of our mind….” [Review definitions on poster board.]

St. Paul wants us to follow Jesus. Sometimes we don’t follow Jesus. Then it is like we fell in the mud. [Have child wearing the white garment “fall down.” Pin one of the “bad action” cards to the child’s robe.]

• What would the white garment look like then?
• What would we need to do to the white garment?

When we wash the white garment it is “renewed,” or “made new again.” Let’s think about our lives, and when we mess up by doing bad things.

• What do we do to make things right again?

We also come to Church, and to the Mystery of Confession. When we confess what we’ve done wrong, God forgives us, and we come out of Confession new again. It is like we have put on our baptismal robe once again. [Have child stand, kiss icon of Christ. Remove the pinned card.]

7. Jesus wants us to stay close to Him. Sometimes we feel ourselves about to do something wrong. That is called temptation. When we feel that, we can pray to the Holy Spirit, and say, “Holy Spirit, please help me to do the right thing.”

8. Discuss how we can renew our minds so that we follow God’s perfect will for us in good, acceptable ways. This renewal is done in the Church.

The Church gives us different ways to help us follow Jesus; to help us keep our baptismal robe white and clean. Can you think of any of these? I’ll give you an example, “Receive Holy Communion.” [Record answers on second set of index cards.]

• Receive Holy Communion.
• Receive another sacrament such as Confession or Healing.
• Say prayers at night, at meals, or when we want to talk with God.
• Worship God in church services.
• Say “I’m sorry” if we do something that hurts another person.
• Go to confession to tell God we are sorry for not doing what we know He wants us to do or say or think.
• Stand and listen to the Gospel readings in church because in the Gospels Christ tells us how to live according to God’s will.
• Read the Bible or listen to Bible stories at home.
• Be part of a faith community that worships God and helps all people in need.
• Fasting not just in food but in a spirit of giving up things not pleasing to God.
• Help people when they need something such as food or clothing or just someone to talk to.
• Be willing to give God our time and something of our own as an offering
• Thank God for the good things He gives us and be happy with what we have, not always wanting more.

St. Paul wants us to stay close to God, to renew our minds, so that we will choose to do the right thing.

RESPONSE:

Option 1: Drawing. If students are to do their projects for the Festival right after this lesson, you might arrange students at their workspace with art materials. Be ready to demonstrate what you are asking them to do.

Fold your paper in half and then open it again. Let’s look at our list of bad and good behaviors. I’d like you to choose one of these, and on one side of your paper draw the bad behavior and on the other side, the good behavior. I’ll show you what I mean. [Demonstrate.]

There might be that one student who wants to tell a story about bad and good behavior. Be ready to record the story for submission in the writing festival.

Option 2: Skits. If students will do their projects at another time, you might arrange them in a circle for role-playing. Have ready your index cards of 1) bad behaviors, and 2) ways to stay close to God. Decide ahead of time if you will have two, or more, students in a group. Although the plan involves you as the one who reads the way to stay close to God, you may wish to have the students who can read take turns announcing these.

Let’s see if we can do some skits to remember this lesson. I have the bad behaviors listed on these cards. On the other cards I have the ways we can stay close to God, so we can change, or transform, our bad thoughts and acts into good thoughts and acts.

I’ll give a card from the bad behavior stack to each group of three students. One [or more if you are working with several students in each group] student will be the Christian who is doing something bad to the other student. Each group will decide how to act out what the bad behavior is. They will act it out until I read one of the ways we stay close to God so we can change, or transform our behavior. Then the person who acted badly will show how to change to act as God wants. Let’s walk through this so we all understand it.

[Demonstrate with verbal explanations. When the students are doing their skits, you will read one of the cards that tells a way we stay close to God. Each time the child changes their actions to good, say, “Great! You changed, or transformed, your bad action into good.” In this way the students may come to understand the word “transform” in the context of the lesson.]

CLOSING:

Let’s review what we learned today.

We follow Christ because we belong to Him. We say that “put on Christ.”

• When did we “put on Christ,” and how was it symbolized? (At baptism, with the white garment.)

Even though we have “put on Christ,” and belong to Him, sometimes we think about, or do bad things.

• What does St. Paul tell us we must do to the bad thoughts and actions? (Change or transform them into good thoughts and actions.

St. Paul says we can transform our actions when we stay close to God.

• What is one way we can stay close to God? (Refer to children’s responses from the lesson.)

Gather children around the icon and sing “Alleluia” or another hymn or prayer customary for your parish.

Grades 4-5

Creative Arts Festival 2005
GRADES 4-5
Lesson Plan Provided by the
Department of Christian Education

Theme: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

GOAL: To participate in the 2005 Creative Arts Festival

OBJECTIVE: To enhance understanding of Romans 12:2 in order to interpret this verse in art, prose, poetry, or photography.

TIME: 30 minutes

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Icon of Christ
Candle or votive for the icon corner
New Testament Bible Romans 12:2
Bibles for each student or Copies of Romans 12:2
Icon of St. Paul (alternate picture 1, 2)
Paper and pencils
Index cards
Poster with the title, “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
Chalkboard and chalk or large sheets of paper and markers
Poster with key words and definitions:

Conformed to this world: To be identified with and shaped by the world’s values and pleasures.

The World: When God created the world, He said it was good. Since the Fall, evil entered the world and distorts it. St. Paul uses the term “the world” to refer to all that is bad in the world.

To transform: To change shape or form
Be Transformed: Be changed in character or appearance; Usually means a major change in character or appearance or shape.

To renew: To make new; to restore to what it was originally
Renewing: Made something like new; restoring to freshness. Renewing means restoring what once was faded so that it becomes like new.

Mind: The highest faculty of human nature. (Dictionary definition)
The ability to think or reason things out; includes the ability to choose freely (free will).

Optional: Prayer of St. Ephraim (You might use this prayer, which is said during Great Lent, to increase understanding of Romans 12:2.)

FOR THE CATECHIST:

Spirituality (Vol. IV, The Orthodox Faith) by Fr. Thomas Hopko. Look at Chapter III, “The Virtues,” and Chapter IV, The Greatest Virtue is Love.”

See Ephesians 1:18 and 1 John. Also, 2 Peter 1:4 “partakers of divine nature.”

See the Orthodox Study Bible, pp. 335-336--background about Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. The outline notes suggest that chapters 12-15 refer to “Living out a faithful relationship with God.” The opening remarks about Romans tell us that “righteousness is the basis of a faithful relationship between God and humanity.” (p. 335)

For the Festival, students are not required to work with the entire verse as found in St. Paul’s Epistle. However, consider this paraphrase of Romans 12:2:

Do not be shaped by what this world believes, but be changed by the renewing of your mind (the eyes of your heart) so you may prove yourself to be what God’s perfect will desires of you.

God wills that we be sanctified; that is, be made holy by the power of the Holy Spirit. Orthodox Christians have the potential to be deified, to have union with God. The Orthodox Church calls this deification or theosis.

OPENING:

Begin with a prayer, such as “O Heavenly King.”

INTRODUCTION:

1. Introduce the purpose of the lesson as preparation for the annual Creative Arts Festival, describing the requirements and deadlines, as needed.

2. Show an icon of St. Paul and tell students that the verse used in the Festival is from a letter St. Paul wrote to the people in Rome. Explain that

St. Paul wrote the letter to teach the Romans how they should live as Christians. St. Paul wanted them to live the way that Jesus Christ wants us all to live.

3. Perhaps you can provide some background about Paul’s epistle to the Romans so that students can understand the culture in which the Roman Christians lived.

CONTENT:

Tell students that you will help them define the more difficult but important key words in this verse. Using the prepared poster, discuss each definition with students. Next, offer more explanation as follows.

1. Do not be conformed to this world . . . Rejecting behavior we know is wrong is what St. Paul meant when he said, “Do not be conformed to this world….” Don’t do or think or say bad things, even if people around you do them, because God wants you to live a good and righteous life.

Let’s talk about bad behavior. I don’t want you to tell me who acts badly, just tell me the behavior. [Write the children’s responses on the small cards. You might have some responses written on the cards in advance and pull them out as the children respond. Such responses might include the following:]

• Being angry
• Wanting always to be first
• Fighting or arguing
• Hitting another person
• Destroying someone’s belongings on purpose
• Tormenting animals
• Not taking care of pets
• Saying mean things to someone or about someone
• Tattling
• Talking back to parents/teachers
• Not obeying what parents or teachers say to do
• Boasting
• Being a bully
• Not saying thank you; not wanting to give thanks
• Not sharing
• Not telling the truth

We’ll use these later.

2. The World. There is a difference between “the world” before and after the fall. [Determine if students need to review the story.] Before the fall--before Adam’s sin--the world was good, since it was created so by God. After the fall, evil entered the world. We call it now a “fallen world.” It has been distorted. Although God created the world and said it was “Good,” humankind has distorted that original world through sin.

3. Transformed: We are transformed by the Holy Spirit back into that divine image God intended for us all along. This is a process—one that we work at all our lives. We cannot do it alone. We need to be constantly renewed by the Holy Spirit. We receive this help in the Church.

4. The Mind. Before talking about “the renewing of the mind,” students need to understand what the Church means by this highest of human faculties

With our minds we 1) can think; 2) have free will and can choose between good and evil; and 3) are able to rule over animals, plants, and the earth.

5. Renewing. Refer to the definition of “renewing” as “restoring something from its faded condition so that it becomes like new.”

We are made in the image of God. Yet, because of the Fall, we sin. When we sin, we tarnish the image of God that is in us. When we repent, and return to
God, the tarnish is removed. We are renewed. We can then continue to grow more and more like Him. The Holy Spirit makes this possible.

RESPONSE:

Place the large poster board in front of the students, and read the title.

There are many ways that we can renew our minds. We renew our minds each time we draw close to God. What are ways that we can be close to God? [Have a student with a correct response write it around the edge of the poster board, as a border.]

Some ways are:

• Receive Holy Communion.
• Receive another sacrament such as Confession or Healing.
• Say prayers at night, at meals, or when we want to talk with God.
• Worship God in church services.
• Say “I’m sorry” if we do something that hurts another person.
• Go to confession to tell God we are sorry for not doing what we know He wants us to do or say or think.
• Stand and listen to the Gospel readings in church because in the Gospels Christ tells us how to live according to God’s will.
• Read the Bible or listen to Bible stories at home.
• Be part of a faith community that worships God and helps all people in need.
• Fasting not just in food but in a spirit of giving up things not pleasing to God.
• Help people when they need something such as food or clothing or just someone to talk to.
• Be willing to give God our time and something of our own as an offering.
• Thank God for the good things He gives us and be happy with what we have, not always wanting more.

These are the ways we can stay close to God and renew our minds. Earlier, we made a list of bad behaviors. Let’s take a look at one of them: “being angry.” What is the opposite of being angry? (Being patient, or being kind.) God wants us to transform, or change our bad thoughts or actions into good ones. If we feel anger coming on, we should pray to the Holy Spirit to transform us so that we are patient or kind.

The Holy Spirit wants us to become people who lead others to God. We are to bear the spirit of holiness. When we do so, we will find that we have certain qualities—that our desire for holiness has brought forth results, or has borne fruit. These qualities, also called the fruit of the Holy Spirit, are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. [Write these on chalkboard or paper.] Earth would be like heaven if everyone had these qualities.

Let’s try an exercise. We’ll split into two teams. Each team will have some of the cards noting bad behavior, which we wrote earlier. Each team will also have some blank index cards. Team “A” will place one of their “bad behavior” cards on the poster board. Team “B” will have six seconds to write on one of their response cards, what the bad behavior could be transformed into. For example, a few minutes ago we spoke of “being angry” and its opposite, “being patient,” or “being kind.”

When the second card has been written, it will be placed on top of the first one on the poster board. I will judge if the second card takes out the first. If it does, then Team B picks up both cards, and places them in their “win” pile. If it doesn’t, Team A takes it back again. Let’s give it a try.

CLOSING:

Let’s review so you can begin thinking about what you want to do for the festival. The first part of the lesson, and the quotation, talks about not being conformed to the world.

• What does that mean?

The second part talks about being transformed.

• Who can give me an example of something bad, and how it can be transformed?

The third part talks about the renewal of our minds.

• How can this happen?

Think about your life and the ways in which you go along with what is bad instead of what is good. If you tend to always be impatient with your brother or sister, for example, rehearse in your mind words of kindness to use the next time you find yourself being angry. We want to have the spirit of holiness. We want to have love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and selfcontrol. We want to be holy, for our sake, but for the sake of others. If we have these qualities, others may want to know about God, and may come to be saved.

Gather students around the icon corner and sing a hymn customary for your parish.

Grades 6-12

Creative Arts Festival 2005
GRADES 6-12
Lesson Plan Provided by the
Department of Christian Education

Theme: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

GOAL: To participate in the 2005 Creative Arts Festival

OBJECTIVE: To enhance understanding of Romans 12:2 in order to interpret this verse in art, prose, poetry, or photography.

TIME: 30 minutes

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Icon of Christ
Candle or votive for the icon corner
New Testament Bible - Romans 12:2
Bibles for each student or copies of Romans 12:2
Chalkboard and chalk or large papers and markers
Paper and pencil
Poster with key words and definitions:

Conformed to this world: To be identified with and shaped by the world’s values and pleasures.

The world: The world after the Fall when sin and death entered the world. The Church Fathers often refer to the passions of the flesh as “the world.” The Orthodox reject the ways of the fallen world, but still see the imprint of God and appreciate His glory and majesty as shown in the beauty and order of creation.

To transform: To change shape or form
Be Transformed: Be changed in character or appearance; implies a major change in character or appearance or structure.

To renew: To make new; to restore to what it was originally
Renewing: Being made like new; being restored to freshness. Renewing implies a restoration to what once was faded so that it becomes like new.

Mind: The highest faculty of human nature. (Dictionary definition) As used in the Church, more than the ability to think or reason: the “eyes of your heart” by which you see and comprehend God; includes free will.

FOR THE CATECHIST:

See Spirituality (Vol. IV, The Orthodox Faith) by Fr. Thomas Hopko. Look at Chapter III, “The Virtues” and Chapter IV, “The Greatest Virtue is Love.”

See I John and Ephesians 4:17-24.

See The Orthodox Study Bible, pp. 335-336 for background about Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.

For the Festival, students are not required to work with the entire verse as stated by St. Paul. Consider this paraphrase of Romans 12:2.

Do not be shaped by what this world tells you to do or be, but be changed by the renewing of your mind (the eyes of your heart) so you may prove yourself to be what God’s perfect will desires of you. God wills that you be sanctified; that is, be made holy by the power of the Holy Spirit. (See Peter 1:13-16. “Be holy for I am holy.” Verse 16)

Orthodox Christians have the potential to be deified, to become like God, and to have union with God The Church teaches that deification or theosis is possible in this life.

You will want to help students analyze what they need to do to be transformed into Christians who behave in good, acceptable ways that conform not to the world but to the perfect will of God. How do we forge the mind—the eyes of one’s heart—that will comprehend what God wants for us and from us? Let it be known that the renewing of our minds comes not by our efforts alone but by grace. The baptized Christian who receives the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit in Chrismation, is nourished in the Eucharist and then works in synergy with God toward deification. Humans cannot do it alone; God and humans work together in cooperation (synergy). “God became man so that man could become like God.” (St. Athanasius)

You can talk about the divine image in man, which though tarnished by sin in a fallen world, can be transformed. We can renew our minds by participation in the sacraments and by choosing to practice the virtues as defined by the Church. As St. Gregory of Nyssa has written,

“You must then wash away, by a life of virtue, the dirt which has clung to your heart like plaster, and then your divine beauty will once again shine forth.”

On the Beatitudes, Sermon 6

OPENING:

Begin with a prayer, such as “O Heavenly King.”

INTRODUCTION:

1. Introduce the lesson as preparation for the annual Creative Arts Festival, giving requirements and deadlines as needed.

2. Ask students to locate St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans in their Bibles. Ask a student to read the verse from Romans 12:2. Read it aloud again for students to hear.

3. Point out that the theme for the Festival contains only the first part of the verse. Students may want to consider the entire verse as they prepare for their projects.

4. Provide some background about Paul’s epistle to the Romans so that students can understand the culture in which the Roman Christians lived.

CONTENT:

1. On the chalkboard or poster paper, write each of the following words from the scripture, one at a time, using one color of marker. Write so that the words have space around them. After writing each, ask the students to say words they associate with that word, as a way of defining, or describing it. Write their responses with a different color marker.

• Conform
• World
• Transform
• Renewal
• Mind

2. Discuss the following explanations, bringing in the students responses as listed on the poster board, when appropriate.

“Do not be conformed to this world….” We are not to be shaped or conformed by the world’s values; it is important to understand what St. Paul means by “the world.”

The World. The Church has a specific understanding of the term “the world.” 1) God created the world as good; 2) Adam, a human being, sinned, and now evil has entered the world. We call the world “fallen” now. “The world” is a phrase used to mean the fallen world, the world with evil, and is used to describe anything that pulls us away from God.

“World is a collective name embracing what are called passions. When we speak of passions collectively, we call them the world….” Spiritual Training (Sixth century)

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him….” 1 John 2:15-17

When St. Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world,” he is saying “Don’t be shaped or influenced by the negative passions that can destroy you and
take you away from God.”

Transformed. God created us in His image and likeness. When we sin, we tarnish that image. When we repent, the tarnish is wiped away, and we are
made new again. We can be transformed by the Holy Spirit back into that divine image God intended for each of us. The transformation is a process
which must occur throughout our lives. We need to be constantly renewed by the Holy Spirit. We receive this help in the Church.

We can also be transformed by keeping God’s commandments. The Greatest Commandment is Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Mind. With our minds we can 1.) think and reason; 2) express our free will to choose either good or evil; 3) rule over the natural world such as animals, plants, and the earth and outer space.

Think about these words of Jesus from the The Beatitudes. “Blessed are those who are pure in heart for they shall see God.” In ancient times, the heart was considered the decision-making faculty of a human person. Now we know it is the mind, technically. Hence, the phrase may be interpreted as, “Blessed are those who are pure in their thinking, for they shall see God.” If our hearts are pure--if our minds are pure--we can see and comprehend God as He chooses to reveals Himself to us.

However, we can never see God as He is. We can see God only as He chooses to reveal Himself to us. The Orthodox Church, based on the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas, teaches, that we cannot know God in His essence but only as He reveals Himself through His energies, his actions in the world.

Renewal of the mind. We are made in the image of God. Yet, because of the Fall, we sin. When we sin, we tarnish the image of God that is in us. When we repent, and return to God, the tarnish is removed. We are renewed. We can then continue to grow more and more like Him. We are to be vigilant and always close to God. What are some ways we stay close to God?

Here are other specific means toward Christian renewal:

• Receive sacraments of Confession, the Eucharist, and Healing.
• Say prayers at night, at meals, or when we want to talk with God.
• Worship God in church services.
• Say “I’m sorry” if we do something that hurts another person.
• Not abuse our bodies through neglect, gluttony, or addiction
• Be part of a faith community that worships God and helps all people in need.
• Fasting not just in food but in a spirit of giving up things not pleasing to God.
• Help others in physical need.
• Be willing to give God our time and something of our own as an offering.
• Thank God for the good things He gives us and be happy with what we have, not always wanting more.

RESPONSE:

What choices are you making to grow in holiness and be transformed with the renewing of your mind?

Let’s take a look at another section of the epistles. This is from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians. He places what is bad, and what is good, against each other so we may see clearly what we are to aim for. Just as we learned “the world” is a term for what is evil, so is “the flesh,” keep this in mind as you listen to the words. [Have a student read Galatians 5:16-21. Have another student read Galatians 5:22-25.]

Let’s think about the fruits of the spirit. Who remembers one? [Write on the board as they are mentioned.]

Think about all that is evil in the world. Think about the qualities in your life that need to be transformed. Can the Holy Spirit match any evil? Let’s put this idea to the test. Let’s split into two sides. I will suggest something that is evil in the world, and the sides will take turns mentioning some fruit of the Holy Spirit, or another good quality that works to prevent or transform that evil. Each side will have six seconds to respond. A point will be given for a correct response.

Here are several ideas for you to choose from.

• Conforming to the world. (Following media and ad hype; destructive behavior that is popular in society such as substance abuse or sexual permissiveness; behavior that is clearly evil as in warmongers, killing, torture; Putting one’s energies into “false idols” such as cults or following media or sports heroes to degrees of obsession.
• The world as anything evil. (Passions such as anger, gluttony, hate; lust. (Harsh or destructive words against another person or animal; aggressive behavior; murder. Eating disorders, gorging oneself on food; wanting too much of something such as money or possessions; false idols. Excluding people from your circle of friends; ethnic cleansing; hatred of those who are racially different or different from your “group.” Obsession with sex and immoral behavior; participating in degrading activities as in initiation ceremonies for clubs or gangs.)

CLOSING:

Think about evil in general, or specifically in your life, as you prepare for the festival work, and how we are to fight against evil, and be transformed. In your own life, keep in mind that we always have the Mystery of Confession to help us overcome evil. Keep in mind that God has the victory, even when we are surrounded by darkness.

We want to have the spirit of holiness. We want to have love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We want to be holy, for our sake, but for the sake of others. If we have these qualities, others may want to know about God, and may come to be saved.

Gather students around the icon corner and sing a hymn customary for your parish.