Anchored curriculum
Session 1: God’s Story, My Story Introduction to Session: In this session, we will explore the “Big Story of God” and where we’re found within it. This session is designed to be 90 mins.Session Outcomes:Students will understand and develop a “group covenant”Students will explore the “Big Story of God” in an experiential wayStudents will be introduced to the idea of “journey of faith”Students will understand themselves as a “child of God” and as a part of the “whole family of God”To spend time in God’s Word together*To provide a safe space where young people are invited to question, explore, discover and discuss the session topic*To introduce students to prayer practices*Materials Needed:A set of “Zoom” cards from Zoom by Istvan Banyai Student Journals, Bibles, pens/pencils, felts for each studentLaptop & Projector + soundPost-it notesWhiteboard (or sheet of large paper on easel) & markerIce Breaker: “High 5 Mingle” - 5 minutes - Have everyone find a partner and give them a High-5. Their partner is now their “High 5 partner". Everyone is only allowed 1 High-5 partner, so remember who it is. ·?????? Next, ask them to find new partners and give each other a Low-5. These are their “Low- 5 partners”. ·?????? Next, ask them to find new partners, this time they will be finding their Fist-Bump Partners. These are their “Fist-Bump partners”. ·?????? By now they should have 3 “different” partners. You might have to make up numbers if there is an odd number of participants. ·????? Now ask the group to move around the room to find their “High 5 partners” (give them a High 5), then find their “Low 5 partners” (give them a Low 5), then find their “Fist-bump partners” (give them a Fist Bump).·????? Next, ask them to find new partners and give them an ankle shake (you might have to demo this using a willing volunteer… you should know who these people are by now). These are their “Ankle Shake partners”. ·????? Consider going back through the different partners again randomly to get people moving even more and to keep energy levels up.·????? Continue this sequence adding new partner activities as appropriate to the size of your group (e.g., a “fishing partner”— one is the reel and one the fish, “lumberjack”-together sawing a log of wood in unison, back & forth). ·????? You will witness laughter, positive interaction, and fun. Later, you can use the partners to form groups or have them run through this sequence to say goodbye to their partners as a closing at the end of this session.Prayer Practice: “Praying the Psalms”- 5 minutes - Begin with introducing your group to this session’s prayer practice, “Praying the Psalms,” OR open today’s session with a prayer of your own choosing. “Praying the Psalms” is a very ancient practice. Jews and Christians have prayed the psalms for centuries. They did this privately as well as together in community. As people learned to pray from the Psalms, they came to understand “the anatomy of the soul,” as John Calvin called it.?The Psalms invite us and encourage us to lift up all of our varied emotions to God. God hears us when we are joyful, upset, angry, uncertain, or any combination of these emotions and more!As a group, pray Psalm 139 together; with Voice 1 as the minister, or a volunteer student who’s comfortable reading aloud, and the rest of the group reading Voice 2 in unison.Psalm 139: The Omniscience Psalm (reworked and written by Rev. Silvia Purdie) A conversation with God…?Voice 1: My child, I have searched you and I know you. I see you, when you get up and go out, where you go, what you do, when you go to bed. I hear you, every word you say, even your secret thoughts.Voice 2: Lord, such knowledge is too much for me, it’s mind blowing! I feel your invisible touch, it’s over me, under me it goes in front of me and it wraps behind me. Could I run away from you? Where could I hide?Voice 1: Where could you hide? I can see in the dark!Voice 2: If I fly to the other side of the world or zoom in a rocket into space?Voice 1: I would be there!Voice 2:And when I die?Voice 1:I will run to embrace you! I knit you together in your mother’s womb I wove you in the dark before you were born.Voice 2:I am wonderfully made – you did a good job!Voice 1:You’re welcome!?Voice 2:How vast are your thoughts, O God! I try to count them but numbers run out. I come to the end of everything and there you are, still there, waiting for me.?Group Covenant:- 15 minutes -Set aside time to develop a “group covenant”. Use large paper & marker to create.What is a “group covenant”? It is much more than simply “ground rules”. It is a mutually agreed upon “way of being” together. We can recall the Biblical covenants as examples of the two-way agreement. A covenant invites each participant to make an intentional commitment that will “set the stage” for each time you meet together. Even if you have a covenant that is already being used in wider youth or church activities and events, it is important to develop a covenant for this particular journey together. It is essential to include all members of the group in coming up with the statements included in the covenant. When your “group covenant” is complete, invite all present to place their signature on the paper. Keep your “group covenant” in the common space, taping it to the wall, so that it can be referred to at the beginning of each session.“Building Faith,” a ministry out of Virginia Theological Seminary (USA), suggests that there are three categories of a “group covenant”: People, Place, and Purpose. Consider using these three categories as you develop your covenant together as a group:People: this category defines the ways in which people in the group (both leaders and students) will engage with one another (e.g. – “we will respect one another’s opinions,” “we will listen without interrupting,” “we will respect confidentiality in sensitive discussions”).Place: this category defines and establishes physical boundaries, time commitment, and expectations regarding meeting space. This category helps to ensure physical safety for everyone in the group (e.g. – “we will respect one another’s personal space,” “we will be committed to attending sessions,”)Purpose: this category defines the reasons and motivations in your group time and what your hoped for expectations and outcomes in your journey as a group (e.g. – “we covenant that group members may ‘opt out’ of an activity/discussion but cannot ‘drop out’ of an activity/discussion,” “we will hold one another in prayer through these weeks together,” “we will respect one another’s decisions regarding baptism and/or profession of faith”)In preparation, visit to read more on “group covenants”. There are some great “tips for creating a group covenant” listed.Session Content: - 45 minutes - “Zoom” experiential activity:*PLEASE NOTE: (Before facilitating the activity) do not give the solution away, allow the group to figure it out on their own. Try not to even mention the name of the game or else that may give it away.Directions: Have the group form a circle. Make sure the “Zoom” cards are shuffled. Then, hand out cards to each person (divide cards by number of people & hand out as evenly as possible). Ask them not to look at their cards. The students should hold the cards to their chest so that no one can see what is on their cards. After you have handed out the cards to everyone, ask the group to find their “high 5 partner” from the Ice Breaker earlier. If your group is large enough, then combine two “high 5 partner” groups to make groups of 4 (otherwise, keep them in groups of 2). Have the groups stand or sit in circles in separate areas of the room. Tell the group that they can each initially look at their own cards for 30 seconds. Then, they are to describe, in words only, what is on their cards to the other members of their group. They are not to show anyone what is on the cards, only describe it through their words. Also, no one in the group can ask any questions about the cards or even ask the member to repeat their descriptions. After everyone has described their cards to their group, everyone can now mingle around the room and look at the rest of the cards that others are holding. HOWEVER, they cannot talk during this time, they can only look. The group will hopefully take initiative, or at least someone in the group will take initiative, to begin putting this linear “Zoom” picture together (each card is linked together as if a camera lens was “zooming” out or “zooming” in). As the facilitator, let the group work together and give as little amount of input as possible. Make some good observations about the group’s ability to work together and the roles that each of the members play in this activity. Give encouragement when needed. After about 3-5 minutes, the group should have noticed connections between the pictures on their cards and the cards of others. Usually the group will begin to lay their pictures on the floor. When all cards are laid out on the floor side by side, they form a series of pictures that make a complete story that is either “zoomed out” or “zoomed in” – depending on if they start from the first card or the last card in the series.Once the group feels as though they have completed the activity and are happy with the order they have laid the cards, give them a few moments to take it all in. After that, ask the group to sit down.Debriefing notes: Ask the students for their initial reactions to the “Zoom” activity. Ask how they felt when they realised that the pictures were all connected to form one “big story”.Share with the students that together you will be looking at the “big story of God”. When we read the Bible, we see the “big story of God” unfolding like the “Zoom” activity, some parts are easily connected, while other parts may seem distantly connected. Everything we read from Genesis to Revelation is telling a part of the “big story of God” (side note: a reminder that all of the stories in the Bible aren’t chronologically placed!). The amazing and wonderful thing is that “the big story of God” is still being told and lived by you and me! We are each a part of the “big story of God”.Jesus’ Family Tree: One way to understand part of “the big story of God” is by looking at Jesus’ family tree. Another word for family tree is “genealogy”. We could also call it “lineage”. There are two places in the New Testament where we learn about Jesus’ family tree; in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Take a moment for students to find (or help one another find) the passages about Jesus’ genealogy; Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3: 23-38Invite the whole group to read to themselves (or scan over) the lists of Jesus’ family tree found in both passages We might expect that these two passages would be the same (or at least similar), however they are quite different (e.g. - the name for Jesus’ grandad appears to be different). Ask students what differences they noticed between the two passages.Part of the reason for the differences is due to the different gospel authors. Luke presents a more thorough list (in line with him being a doctor, maybe!). Matthew presents the “royal line” or “dynastic” lineage. Matthew’s motivation in writing the gospel was, in part, to make a “case” for Jesus’ legit Kingship. Matthew was a Jew and he believed that Jesus was the Messiah/the anointed one/the chosen one/the longed-for King. Mathew wasn’t as concerned with including every single name in the lineage.Show video clip: “Matthew 1:1-16, The genealogy of Jesus Christ” by Abbey Church (total time: 2:19) a group, consider any connections between Jesus’ genealogy and the “Zoom” activity (e.g. – at first, it is hard to see the connection between Jesus and Abraham (or anyone in between) just like at first it was hard to see the connection between some of the cards in our “Zoom” activity)The Story of Abraham: If we “zoom out” from the beginning of Jesus’ story in the New Testament, we can see parts of the “big story of God”. The story of Abraham and Sarah (or Abram and Sarai, as they were first known) is one of those parts. By looking at the story of Abraham, we are able to see a part of the story that eventually leads us to Jesus. First, let’s find where the story of Abraham begins.Take a moment for students to find Genesis 11:26; where Abraham’s story begins. Give students a moment to scan from 11:26 through the following chapters to 25:7-10 (account of Abraham’s death). As a group, list some of the stepping stones of Abraham’s life on post-it notes (chapter headings could help with this), involve the students in writing and placing the “stepping stones” in order on the whiteboard or large paper.Show video clip: “God builds a Nation” by Prince of Peace Lutheran Church AFLC (total time: 3:26) we look at the “stepping stones” of Abraham’s life, we are really looking at Abraham’s “journey of faith”. A “journey of faith” is Abraham’s “journey of faith” is marked by God’s call on his life, God promising him that he would be the father of many nations (and within that was the promise of Abraham and Sarah having a child of their own), and his response to God’s promise. At many points along Abraham’s journey, he had to follow God and trust in God’s promises no matter how hard it was. Just think how hard it would have been to go where God had directed him, when he knew nothing about the land to which God was directing him (Genesis 12:1)! For some of us, our dedication or baptism, may seem to us as the beginning of our “journey of faith,” however, we can consider all of our life as our “journey of faith,” since God created us and even before we know or choose God for ourselves, God has been working in our lives; through the families God has placed us within, as well as other special people (our ministers, Sunday school teachers, youth group leaders, etc.) that God has placed in our lives to lead and guide us, even our experiences of God at a young age point to significant parts of our “journey of faith”.As the facilitator, take a few minutes to share what “journey of faith” means to you, and share a few “stepping stones” on your own “journey of faith” to encourage the group in developing their own understanding of their “journey of faith”. *minister would have filled out Along with Abraham, we are each a part of the “whole family of God,” and within that we are called “children of God”. Each of us is a “child of God”. It doesn’t matter if we are young or old, we are each considered a “child of God,” for we are all made by God. Invite students to turn to one another and say: “you are a child of God!”As the facilitator, take a few minutes to share what it means to you to be a “child of God” as part of the “whole family of God”.Invite students to write these questions on their “This, I Believe” reflection pages: What does it mean to you to be a “child of God”? What does it mean to you to be a part of the “whole family of God”? “This I Believe” Journal time:- 15 minutes - Set aside some intentional “quiet” time for students to reflect on what has been discussed in this session, to write down any thoughts or questions they may have about what they’ve experienced in this session. Point out the reflection pages in their journals (Family Tree Reflection Page – Pg. 10 - and Journey of Faith Reflection Page – Pg.12) as well as the questions that may prompt their journaling during this time. Encourage them to use their journals at home as well as group time. Remind them to bring their journals to each session.Instructions/Questions included in the student journals:1) ‘Family Tree’ Reflection Page: In this session, we have looked at Jesus’ “family tree,” and a big family tree it is! Take some time now (and even at home) to complete the family tree picture for you and your family. Use the space provided on each apple to write names. Add more apples if needed! Talk with your parents, grandparents, as well as other family members to add details to your “family tree,” making it a “faith family tree”. Are your ancestors and relatives, people of faith? If so, include some short stories or notes from their lives that help give you an idea of how faith has been experienced in your family. 2) ‘Journey of Faith’ Reflection Page: Where are you in your “journey of faith”? Are you just beginning? Are you somewhere in the middle? Are you not sure? The great thing is that God sees you and knows you and loves you right where you are. Take some time with the “journey of faith” picture. Write the events from your life so far on the stepping stones in the picture. If there have been difficult times, you may want to add some drawings that represent that, or if there have been celebrations in your life, you could include some bright colours on that stone.Group Closing Prayer:- 5 minutes –(If reading as a group, this can be found on the first page of the student journal)God of our past, our present, and our future,Bless us as we journey together;as we search, as we learn, as we remember, as we reflectand as we grow in knowledge of ourselves, of each other, and of You.Thank You that every part of our story is in Your hands andthat Your hands gently lead us on the journey ahead.Remind us that we are Yours, this day and always.In Jesus’ name we pray,AMEN. ................
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