Aim to prepare for God’s Day to make an offering table

Aim
* to prepare for God’s Day
* to make an offering table

Materials
– Materials to make an offering table – white table cloth, picture of True Parents, cushions or
chairs, holy candle, flowers, dishes, fruit, nuts, candy, banner
– Pledge of the Blessed Children, by In Jin Moon (adapted)
– Children’s worksheet
– Picture to colour

Lesson Outline
1. Background Information about Holy Day
2. Questions to Discuss
3. Pledge of the Blessed Children
4. Activities – worksheet, draw/colour picture, make an offering table, recite pledge
5. Review the lesson aims
6. Prayer

1) Background Information about Holy Days
* In the Uniﬁcation Church we celebrate 8 Holy Days each year:
1) True Parents’ Day (established March 1st 1960)
2) True Children’s Day (October 1st 1960)
3) Day of All True Things (May 1st 1963)
4) True God’s Day (January 1st 1968)
5) True Parents’ Birthday (January 6th 1920 & 1943)
6) Foundation Day for the Nation of the Uniﬁed World. (1988)
7) Declaration Day of God’s Eternal Blessing. (1991)
8) Declaration of the Realm of the Cosmic Sabbath for Parents of Heaven and Earth. (1997)

*The are 4 major Holy Days:
1. True God’s Day
2. True Parents’ Day
3. True Children’s Day and
4. Day of All True Things
God

Parents Children
All Things
*They are only celebrated in the Unification Church. One day the whole world will celebrate them.

*If Adam and Eve had not fallen, these 4 days would have been declared on the day of their Blessing

*In order to restore the lost days, a new Adam and Eve have to be blessed and a heavenly family established centering on God’s love.

*The Blessing Ceremony of True Parents in 1960 marked the day of restoration. It was the first time God blessed an ideal couple. Because of this, all 4 Holy Days could be established. This happened between 1960 and 1968

*Throughout history, God, parents, children and all things were separated from each other. Each Holy Day means we can celebrate parents, children and all things together with God.

*A few years ago Father added the word ”True” to each of these 4 Holy Days:
”Today is Children’s Day, but what kind of children are we talking about? We are talking about true children. True children must be born in the realm of God’s love, grow up there and marry there, becoming perfected children of God.”

*Father’s words about God’s Day
“What kind of day is God’s Day? For God, it is a joyful and good day. He wants to encounter good people on this day. He wants to bless you and celebrate this day with you. All around the world, people are celebrating this ﬁrst day of the year, but only members of the Uniﬁcation Church celebrate it as God’s day. Therefore, God wants to be with you this day.”

2) Questions to Discuss
1. What do we normally do on a God’s Day?

prepare an offering table,
say family pledge at midnight,
make a donation.
in the morning we have a celebration.
we listen to a speech,
hear the new year’s motto
celebrate with food and entertainment

2. What things are needed for the offering table.

white table cloth
picture of True Parents
cushions or chairs
holy candle
flowers
dishes
fruit
nuts
candy
banner

3. What can you do to prepare for God’s Day externally and internally?

EXTERNALLY
a) clean your home
b) buy food for an offering table
c) have a shower
d) prepare clean and smart clothes

INTERNALLY
a) Pray a few days before God’s Day and reflect about this year.
b) Write a letter to God, reflecting about your year
c) Repent for the things you have done wrong or for any bad attitude you have had. If you have had quarrels with in your family, make peace with each other. Forgive others for their wrongdoing and repent for your own wrongdoing. Create harmony in your family before the new year begins. In the Bible Jesus taught that before a person makes an offering before God, he or she must first go and settle differences with others, otherwise he or she is unworthy of making an offering

d) Make a new year’s resolution (a firm decision to do or not do something) to be a better person

4. What can you do to be a better person in the new year?
You can read the Pledge of the Blessed Children together to discuss this question. The children could choose one point from the list to make a new year’s resolution. Or use the ideas below.

a) The 4 main Holy Days are to do with God, parents, children and all things. With each one there is something we can improve. For example:

God – pray everyday to keep a pure heart and a good attitude
Parents – obey, listen, love, help, respect
children – be kind and loving brothers and sisters, look for the good in each other, not the bad.
all things – keep things neat and tidy

b) Make a new start and promise to get rid of a bad habit and develop a good habit

3) Pledge of the Blessed Children
1. We will pray in the morning and at night. By doing that we make and keep our hearts pure, righteous and high-spirited.
2. We will obey and listen to our parents as the representatives of True Parents. We will love our parents and help them.
3. We will take care of ourselves. We will be cheerful in getting up in the mornings and while preparing ourselves and while going to school. We will keep things neat and tidy.
4. We will keep a righteous heart, keep a right attitude and do the right action to become like God, True Parents and True Children. We will never be influenced by evil. We will separate from evil within ourselves.
5. As boys, we never touch any girl’s body. As girls, we never allow our bodies to be touched by boys. We will keep our body and clothes neat, modest and clean.
6. We will take care of our health, we will not be picky about our food and be grateful for any meal

5) Activities
* Complete worksheet
* Make an offering table
* Draw / colour a picture of offering table
* Recite “Pledge of the Blessed Children”

6) Review the lesson aims
* to prepare for God’s Day
externally – clean home, buy food, shower, clean & smart clothes
internally – pray, reflect, letter to God, repent, settle differences, new year’s resolution

* to practice laying an offering table
white table cloth, picture of True Parents, cushions or chairs, holy candle, flowers, dishes, cushions, fruit, nuts, candy, banner

7) End with a prayer