Theme:

THINK and Win the Kingdom

T – Is it TrueH – Is it HelpfulI – Is it InspiringN – Is it NobleK – Is it Kind

T – Is it True- Temptation on the Mount- Three Saintly Youth

H – Is it Helpful- St. Mary Helping Elizabeth- Elijah and the Widow

I – Is it Inspiring- St. Demiana- St. John the Short

N – Is it Noble- Jonathan and David- Joshua and Caleb

K – Is it Kind- Joseph Forgiving his Brothers- The Good Samaritan

Temptation on the MountGod sent Jesus on a mission. He sent him to us on earth to save us on the cross. But Satan, the evil one, did not want this to happen. Satan does not want us to be saved or to go to Heaven. So he set out to sabotage Jesus on His mission by giving him 3 temptations. Jesus was on a mountain and He had been fasting so He was hungry. The devil came to Him and said "If you really are the Son of God, you can make these stones turn into bread." Of course Jesus can turn stone into bread but this was a trick! Satan was just trying to distract Jesus from focusing on what God wanted Him to do. Jesus knew that and said "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" That means that even though Jesus was hungry, He knew God wanted Him to wait. When Satan saw that Jesus did not fall for the first temptation, he tried again. He took Jesus to the very top of the temple. It was a really high place. Satan said to Jesus "If you really are the Son of God, jump from this place and you won't get hurt." But this was another trick! Satan just wanted to make Jesus test God. Jesus saw through this temptation too, and said "It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" Since that didn't work either, Satan took Jesus on an even higher place, to a high mountain. He showed Jesus all the cities of the earth and all the great things they had, and said "I will give you all of these things if you worship me." But this was the biggest trick of all! Satan was just trying to get Jesus not to worship the one true God. Jesus answered him and said "Go away Satan! It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve.'" So Satan was frustrated that he couldn't trick or tempt Jesus and he left Him alone! Jesus continued on His mission as God intended and now He gave us a mission too! Our mission is to be with Jesus in his Kingdom. Satan does not want us to succeed. He is going to tempt us in every way, and he will lie to get us to go against God's commands. But we have to fight him like Jesus did. Every time Satan tried to trick Jesus with some temptation, Jesus fought him with the word of God. We know the word of God is the truth and we can find it in the Bible. We have to learn the word of God so we can fight Satan. If we remember what God tells us, when the devil comes to trick us we will not be tricked. Memory verse: "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." - Psalm 119:11

The Three Saintly YouthA long time ago, there was a King named Nebuchadnezzar. This king was not of the people of Israel and did not know the true God, the God of Israel. King Nebuchadnezzar decided to build a huge statue of gold, as tall as 15 men! After he built it, he told all the people that worked in his kingdom it was god and commanded them to come worship it. He said, "Every time you hear this music, you will fall down and worship this statue that I have made and if anyone does not worship it, they will be thrown into a fire!"Everybody was scared and worshiped the statue - everyone except three young men. These men were friends of Daniel and their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. They were Israelites who knew God and knew that this golden statue was not God. They refused to worship it!But friends of the king heard about this. They went and told him, "There are these three men in your kingdom who are disobeying you and not worshipping your statue." The King was so furious! He sent people to go bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to him. He asked them, "Why are you not worshipping the statue when I told you so? I'll give you one last chance now. Worship it or I will throw you in the fire." But the three young men were brave. They did not hesitate. The told King Nebuchadnezzar, "We do not serve your god and we will not worship this gold statue. We only worship the one true God. If you want to throw us in the fire, that's fine. We know our God can save us from it."The king was now even more furious. He told his servants to make the fire and make it even hotter than normal. Then he wrapped their arms and legs so that they could not move and threw the three friends into the fire.But they were not hurt by the fire. Instead, King Nebuchadnezzar saw a strange thing happen. As he was looking at the fire, he saw four bodies even though he only threw the three friends in there. And they were standing and walking normally, like their hands and feet were not tied. God had sent the Angel of the Lord to protect the three brave youth and that was the fourth person that the king saw.When King Nebuchadnezzar saw this he understood that he had made a big mistake and told the three friends to come out of the fire. He understood then that there was no god like the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and believed in Him. God commanded us to only worship Him, the one true God. He delivered the three saintly youth from the fire because they did not believe that some statue was the real God and were not afraid to say so! We have to be brave like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and only worship the true God, no matter what. Memory verse: "You shall have no other gods before Me." - Exodus20:3

St. Mary Helping Elizabeth Verse: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42)Luke 1:39 – 45Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Introduction Do you like to help others? Do you like to help your parents?Why do you help? How does it feel to help others?Which one is better, helping when you feel like it or helping when you’re tired? Archangel Gabriel came to St. Mary to announce the birth of Jesus. He also told her that her cousin Elizabeth is pregnant. St. Elizabeth was much older than St. Mary and because of this having a baby in her belly was very hard for her. Having a baby in your belly is hard for anyone but it was especially hard on St. Elizabeth. When St. Mary heard that St. Elizabeth was pregnant, she was also pregnant at the time with Jesus in her belly. Even though St. Mary was very tired herself, she decided to help her older cousin, Elizabeth. The bible tells us she even hurried to go help her; she didn’t waste any time to make that decision. Elizabeth is already pregnant with a child in her sixth month. Because St. Mary was very loving and caring and knew that St. Elizabeth is an old woman and will need help, St. Mary went quickly to see St. Elizabeth The VisitationWhen St. Mary entered the house of St. Elizabeth and saw St. Elizabeth she greeted her and maybe said congratulations for your pregnancy. When St. Elizabeth heard the voice of St. Mary immediately the baby moved hard in her belly. St. Elizabeth understood that her baby wanted to tell her something. She understood that the Holy Spirit of God moved her son to tell her that St. Mary is the mother of God. She immediately said to St. Mary “Blessed (St. Elizabeth is saying that St Mary is very good and her goodness comes from God, who made her very special) are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb (which means the baby that comes out from the belly)! But why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped (jumped) in my womb (the place that carry the babies in the mother’s belly) for joy.” Theotokos

St. Elizabeth called St. Mary the “Mother of my Lord” and we call St. Mary the Mother of God – the Theotokos- because she gave birth to Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ. The MagnificationSt. Mary gave a beautiful prayer to God. She taught us how when someone says something good about us, we should give the blessing to God: to say how good God is and how great is His love to us. She also showed us that we should thank God for everything that God gives to us. She said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His servant; for behold, that’s why all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the strong from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his children forever."St. Mary stayed with her to the end of her pregnancy then left back to her home. You Carry the BlessingLike St. Mary carrying our Lord in her womb, when we take the body and the blood of our Lord in the Holy Communion, we too carry the blessing to everyone we meet.

Elijah and the WidowIntroductionDo you know what a prophet is? Do you know what a widow is? LessonElijah was a prophet of God. During his time, there was a bad King named Ahab. King Ahab did not worship God, but worshipped idols instead. To teach him a lesson, God stopped all the rain from falling on his kingdom for several years.But there was a problem. When there is no rain, the plants won't get water and they won't grow. If the plants won't grow, then there is no food. The food people had started running out, and they started getting hungry. During this time, God told Elijah to go to this one city named Zarepath. Once he got to the gate of the city he saw a widow gathering sticks. What was she gathering sticks for?He asked her to get him a little water in a cup to drink. She went and got him the water.He also asked her for some food so Elijah asked the widow if he could have some food. The poor widow told him, "I have almost nothing in my house. I only have a little bit of flour and little bit of oil in a jar. These sticks I'm getting are to make a fire so I can use it to make the only food we have left for me and my son. After that we will have nothing and we will die."But Elijah told her, "Don't worry. Go make me some good first and bring it to me, and then make some for yourself."What do you think the poor widow did? She could have said no and kept the little she had for herself and her son. But instead, she decided to trust the Lord and help His prophet. She went home and used up the last of her flour from her flour bin, and the last of the oil from the oil jar and made the cake. There was nothing left in the house. She did not know how she could feed herself or her son that day or the next day, but she chose to be unselfish and gave the cake to Elijah as she had said she would.But then she and her son noticed something. The flour bin from her house was full again! And so was the oil jar! It was a miracle! The flour and oil never ran out until the Lord brought the rain back. The widow and her son never went hungry after all! What did we learn?The Lord blessed the widow because she helped Elijah and trusted that God will take of her. God loves it when His children help each other, and He always blesses us when we give. It doesn't matter if we have a little or a lot, we should always try to help others and we can be certain God will reward us if we do. Can you think of ways to help others? Memory verse: “God loves a cheerful giver.” - 2 Corinthians 9:7

St. DemianaStory: Have you ever met or heard of a someone and thought, "What a great person!" "I want to be like them." "I wish I had their courage."? Let me tell you about a young girl who inspired 40 of her friends to dedicate their lives to Christ; living a pure life of fellowship and worship until they all departed to live eternally with Jesus in heaven. This young girl's name is Demiana. St. Demiana was born in a Christian home and her parents loved her dearly. Though her father was a wealthy governor, he raised her up in the fear of God and His love. She loved to pray and read spiritual books and her love for Jesus grew day by day. When she was old enough to get married, she told her parents that she would rather dedicate her life to God instead of getting married. She asked her father to build her a house outside the city so that she could live in it as a nun, with her friends, away from the world and its distractions. Knowing her deep desire to live with God and serve him, her father built her a big mansion, which she later turned into a convent and lived in it with her friends. St. Demiana and her friends lived a pure life; worshiping God and serving him daily. She became a wonderful role model to all who heard about her. More girls were inspired to join her and her friends, until their number reached 40. At that time, the emperor was torturing Christians to force them to deny their faith in Jesus Christ. When he heard of St. Demiana and her influence, he came to her with his army to force her and her friends to deny Christ. When St. Demiana saw them from afar, she gathered her friends and comforted them. They prayed to God to strengthen their faith, so that they can face the emperor and his army with courage. The emperor tried many times to force St. Demiana and her friends to deny Jesus, but they stood for Jesus no matter what the emperor did. God was always with them; strengthening and comforting them throughout the way, until they all gave up their lives and went to live with Jesus in heaven forever. What we learn?

Find a good role model that inspires you and learn from them Have the courage to stand for the truth no matter what Know that God is always there to protect you, comfort you, and give that courage

Activity: Coloring or making an icon

St. John the ShortHave you ever been asked to do something and you didn’t really understand why? Sometimes your parents or teachers ask you to do things you don’t understand, such as “Don’t touch that,” and you wonder why you have to obey. Even though the requests seem strange, it is still very important for you to obey your parents’ instructions. For example, you might be asked to never eat more than one gummy animal each day, and you wonder why, they taste so good, I want more than one. Turns out they are vitamins and having too many can be harmful to your health. You might be asked not to drink the blue liquid in the garage, even though it looks like the blueberry drink your friend had the other day; turns out it’s a liquid to make the car run smoother…oops that could have been bad! Can you think of some of your own examples? Let me tell you the story of a saint that was asked to do something pretty crazy but he became famous for his obedience. Obedience is behavior that is respectful and mindful of the rules and laws. His story will inspire you to be obedient.

When he was 18 years old, he no longer desired the things of this world and wanted to follow a monastic life. He went to the desert of Skete and there met a holy man whose name was Abba Pemouah. Abba Pemouah directed him in one of his first lessons of monasticism and the holy life. Abba Pemouah instructed St. John to take a walking stick and plant it in the ground and water it twice a day until it bore fruit. St. John did so with great simplicity though the river was 12 miles away from where the stick was planted.When St. John the short had continued this task for well into 3 years the stick began to push forth leaves, and buds and produce fruit.Abba Pemouah, gathering the fruit, carried it to the church, and gave it to some of the brethren, said, ``Take, and eat the fruit of obedience''. When St. John drew near the end of his life, his disciples asked him to leave them some final lesson of Christian perfection. He sighed, and said, ``I never followed my own will; nor did I ever teach another what I had not first practiced myself''.Quite the story of obedience, Huh?So who exactly should we be obedient to?First and foremost…Obey God!Jesus teaches us in the Bible in John 14:23“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;”He also teaches us to obey our parents“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise(Ephesians 6:2) HOW? How should we obey when it’s so hard and we may not understand why?OBEY 1. Right away- don’t waste time, do what you are asked Right away2. All the way- Complete your task until the end

3. In a happy way- No Grumbling or complaining. Keep that smile on your FaceSo Remember…Right away, All the way, In a happy way! 😊

There is a song that can help us to remember to be inspired by the virtue of obedience (https://itun.es/us/p4BPQ?i=715505523)"Obedience is the very best way To show that you believe: Doing exactly what the Lord commands,Doing it happily. Action is the key--do it immediately, The joy you will receive! Obedience is the very best way To show that you believe. O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E (Yes, sir!) Obedience is the very best way To show that you believe."Obedience shows that you believe that God is in control of your life and that if you obey Him, He will work all things out for good. God gave you parents, teachers, and other people who care about you to obey and guide you along your way. God gave us His Word, The Bible, so we know what He wants us to do. Take a moment to consider: what do your actions show that you believe? Then ask God how you could improve in the area of obedience, and listen quietly for His response.May the prayers and Blessings of St. John the Short and the virtue of Obedience be with us all. Memory Verse: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;” John 14:23 Play a game of “Red light, Green Light” or “Simon Says” to practice your obedience.

Craft idea: These can be bought off Oriental trading or something like it can be made into magnets

Jonathan and DavidObjective:To learn of Jonathan's Nobility in his friendship to David. Memory Verse:As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. - (1 Samuel 18:1) Story: After David had killed Goliath, King Saul took notice of him and brought him into his household. Jonathan, Saul's son, became close to David and they were great friends. David, being a shepherd, had only his shepherd clothes, nothing fit to be a soldier in an army. Jonathan saw this and gave David his robe, armor, sword, and even his own belt! Jonathan loved David so much and the Bible says that Jonathan made a promise with David; to love him as his own soul (1 Samuel 18:3). God guided David in all his battles and no army could stop him. He became very popular in Israel and the people cheered: "Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands." - (1 Samuel 18:7) This made Saul jealous of David. Saul wanted the praise of the people but David had earned it. Saul's jealousy turned into hate towards David and Saul sought to kill David; hoping to win the praise of people again. Saul shared his plans with Jonathan, his son, hoping to get his help in capturing and killing David. Jonathan loves David and made a covenant with him, to protect him and never bring any harm to him. The decision to not betray David may come easy to us as we read the story. However, Jonathan is being asked to choose between father and friend. His father raised him and has a much stronger relationship between Jonathan than his friend, David. Jonathan, being noble, does not break his promise with David but also does not betray his father. He asks David to be careful and take care when he wakes up for fear that Saul would unjustly kill him. He then confronts his father and pleads for forgiveness from Saul towards David. Thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you. For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?”

So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed.” Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past. - 1 Samuel 19:4 Another war started and David went out to fight for Saul against the Philistines. After David was victorious against his enemies, he returned a hero in Israel. Saul's spirit is still filled with envy towards David which causes him to throw a spear towards David. David, fearing for his life, flees from Saul and goes to Samuel the Prophet. Knowing that Saul is chasing him, David finds his friend Jonathan and asks him why Saul is angry with him. Jonathan, knowing that David has done nothing wrong, tells David that he will plead with Saul for David's life. Should Saul still seek to kill David, Jonathan will send a message to David so he may flee. Jonathan promises this to David in front of God that he will not betray him and set him up for his father's soldiers to capture him. Jonathan honors his promise to David and asks Saul to stop his attempts on David's life. But Saul, being filled with hate, throws a spear against Jonathan. Jonathan understood this to mean that his father will not relent in his pursuit of David's life. Jonathan once again honors his promise to David and sends a message to David to flee, for Saul wants to kill him. What we learn?

Jonathan's nobility towards his friends and honoring of his promises Courage to stand up for the innocent regardless of the situation or who is asking us to

commit evil Jonathan giving Saul numerous chances to correct his decisions.

Joshua and CalebObjective:To know the consequences of following God fully and submitting our will to him. Memory Verse:“But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land where he went and his descendants shall inherit it. Numbers 14:24 Please Emphasize:

1. After the lord got his people out of Egypt, from slavery and abuse, God was helping them in the wilderness but the people were always complaining regarding some earthly matters, for example; the food and water.

2. One day, God spoke to Moses and asked him to send some spies to the land of Canaan and between these spies were Caleb and Joshua.

3. When the spies came back, they told the people how great the land is but all the spies, except Caleb and Joshua, were telling everyone that the land has very strong people and they won’t be able to conquer them. They totally forgot about God and his strength and how he was with them when they were in Egypt.

4. The people started complaining more except Caleb and Joshua who tried telling the people NOT to be scared from the people in Canaan because God is with them (Numbers 13:8-9). This really pleased the lord.

5. Later on, the lord was very upset how his people didn’t trust in him and he promised Caleb and Joshua ONLY that they will dwell the land that God promised them but whoever didn’t trust the lord’s promise, did not live in that land.

6. Sometimes, things appear to be very difficult and almost impossible but God always urges us to trust in him. By trusting in God’s promises to us, he will be pleased exactly the same way he was pleased with Caleb and Joshua and we saw how he rewarded them.

What do we learn from this lesson?1. We should not complain about anything to each other but rather, pray to God that he

always be with us, protect us and bless all of us. 2. God wants us to trust in him and in all his promises even if they seem to be impossible

to us.

Joseph Forgiving his BrothersObjective;To show the kindness of Joseph In forgiving his siblings.

Memory verse:And the lord was with Joseph and he is a successful man

Please emphasize;1. When Joseph's brothers treated him badly, he never treated them badly in return but he always tried to obey them and show them kindness. 2. The kindness of Joseph was one of the greatest. Even though his brothers sold him and they expressed how much they hated him, he treated them back with kindness. 3. The lord blessed him with so many blessings because Joseph knew how to follow god's commandments. 4. God always grant his children, especially the ones who follow him, a kind heart and he always helps them bear heavy burdens. The gentiles will look and say how are these people bearing this tough situations and that's when everyone sees god's glory. 5. When god sees how much we are trying to be kind, he will grant us with more and more kindness towards everyone. 6. Let's start by being kind to one another. Find someone today and do an act of kindness to him/her.

What do we learn from this lesson?

1. God always reward his children when they follow his commandments. 2. Kindness starts by us and God will always water it to grow more and more.

The Good SamaritanIntroduction:Who is your neighbor?What is the meaning of a neighbor? Lesson outline:One day a man asked Jesus a question: "Teacher, what should I do so I can go to Heaven and live forever?"Jesus replied, "What is written in the Bible? What do you think?" The man answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.""That is right!" Jesus said. "Do this and you will live forever in Heaven." But the man wanted to know more so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"Jesus decided to answer this question with a parable to help everyone who was listening understand. Jesus said: "There once was a Jewish man walking along a road. He was coming from Jerusalem and was heading to Jericho, which was a full day or two of walking.The road was rocky and there were small hills all around. The man was just humming to himself and enjoying the nice day when suddenly a group of men jumped out from behind a hill. They took all his belongings and tore off most of his clothes. They didn't want him to follow them so they beat him up very badly, and left him lying and bleeding on the side of the road.A few minutes later, a priest was walking down the same path and noticed the man lying on the side of the road. Do you know what he did? You'd think he would run over and help the man. Instead he crossed the road and walked on the other side and acted like he didn't see the man!About an hour or so later, another man was walking down the road. He was a Levite. Levites were people who assisted priests with their work. He would probably help the man. But you know what he did? He slowed down and walked a little closer to the man, but then kept walking without helping him at all.You might be thinking that maybe the man lying by the side of the road looked like he was resting or something and that is why the priest and the Levite didn't stop to help. But he wasn't! It was easy to tell he was badly hurt. The man was bleeding, had most of his clothes ripped off him, and he was bruised and hardly breathing.Just a few minutes later, another man came walking. He was a Samaritan. One thing you should know about Samaritans is that Jews didn't like them. Jews usually didn't treat Samaritans very well, so they never got along. The man who was dying on the road was a Jew. So, what do you think the Samaritan did? You would think he would walk by and maybe even laugh at the man.

But as soon as the Samaritan man saw the hurt Jewish man, he went over to him and felt compassion for him. He put bandages on his sores and poured oil and wine (which were quite expensive) on the sores to prevent them from getting worse. Then he lifted the man on his own donkey and took him to a hotel to take care of him.The next day the Samaritan took out enough money so the man could stay at the hotel until he was well enough to leave. He paid the man at the front desk and asked him to take care of the man. If he wasn't better after about two months the Samaritan would come back and pay for any extra cost."After Jesus finished the story, he asked, "Which of the three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was left beaten on the side of the road?"The man who asked him the question at the beginning replied, "The one who had compassion and helped him." Jesus told him, "Go and do the same."We should be kind and compassionate to everyone, even people we don't like. Memory verse: “Love your neighbor as yourself” - Luke 10:27 Craft