Aim to show the progression of man’s understanding of God
Aim
To show the progression of man’s understanding of God
Materials
Picture cards of Bible characters
Moses’ 10 Commandments
Jesus’ 2 Commandments
Large pictures of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Sun Myung Moon
worksheet
Lesson Outline
God’s Ideal
The Fall of Adam & Eve
The History of Restoration
Man’s Understanding of God
Activities – picture cards, Simon Says, worksheets, Commandments
Conclusion
Prayer
1) God’s Ideal
In the beginning God created Adam and Eve as His children. He wanted them to obey His commandment, grow in love and be blessed in marriage. He wanted them to have a family and become true parents for all people. From this first family the whole world would be one family filled with God’s love, happiness and peace.
2) The Fall of Adam & Eve
Instead Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s commandment and they became separated from God.
Instead of learning God’s love, their love became very self-centred. Then their son Cain killed his younger brother Abel. From this first family a world of suffering developed.
2) The History of Restoration
From that point God has been trying to bring the world back to Him. Because Adam and Eve lost their position as God’s children, God needed to find a new Adam and Eve and start again, but it has been very difficult, because people were very far away from God. All of history is the history of God teaching people the way back to restore His ideal and find a new Adam and Eve.
The Bible is the history of God’s chosen people. These were the special people God chose in the Old Testament stories, before the time of Jesus.
- Noah
- Abraham
- Jacob
- Joseph
- Moses
- Joshua
- Samson
- Samuel
- David
- Solomon
- Elijah
- Daniel
4) Man’s Understanding of God
A. God of Judgement – Man must make Offerings
God wanted to restore His ideal as soon as possible, but because people were very far way from God it has taken a long time for man’s understanding of God to develop. To come to God people
had to make offerings, especially animal sacrifices. Abel offered a lamb, Noah built an ark and Abraham even had to offer his own son, Isaac. This was their responsibility to come closer to God.
There was no book to teach people. They were not ready to receive God’s words. God was a God of judgement who had to be obeyed God needed one family who would completely trust and obey Him. God chose Abraham’s family. From Abraham the chosen people of Israel came..
B. God of Judgement – Man must obey God’s Word – At the time of Moses, instead of animal sacrifices God gave rules to live by called the 10 commandments. Man’s responsibility was to obey
these rules. God promised to bless the Israelites when they obeyed, but would punish them when they didn’t. God was a God of judgement. It was like a master-servant relationship.
Read aloud the 10 commandments
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make any idols or pray to other gods
3. You shall not misuse the name of God
4. You shall keep the seventh day as a holy day and a day of rest
5. Honor your father and your mother
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not lie
10. You shall not be jealous of other people
C. God of Love – Man must love God – God promised the Israelites that He would send a saviour or Messiah if they obeyed Him. This was Jesus, who came as the new restored Adam. He gave a
deeper understanding of God. He said God is our Heavenly Father and we are His children. He still said we must obey God’s word, but our understanding has to go beyond obedience.. He said God is a God of love. It is more important to love a person than obey laws. He even said we should love our enemies and forgive others when they do wrong. He also said we must also believe God’s word.
When we believe God’s word God can do great things in our life. He gave two commandments
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself
Unfortunately, the Israelites couldn’t understand Jesus and they didn’t believe him. Instead they said he was a false prophet and he died on the cross.
A New understanding of God – Man must live for others – Today True Father, Sun Myung Moon, has been chosen as the new Adam to finish what Jesus started and finally build a world of peace and happiness. Father also brings new words from God; The Divine Principle. He still says we must obey and believe in God’s word. He still says God is a God of love, but the Divine Principle explains things more clearly. To believe is not enough. We live in a scientific age and we need an explanation that makes sense.
Father talks about two words in particular: true love. This means to live for the sake of others.
When we live for others God will be with us. We could say this is one commandment that puts all the others together:
Live for the sake of others.
4) Activities
* Put the Bible characters in the correct order
* Children act out different ways to approach God – Make an offering. Recite the 10 commandments. How do they show they love God and their neighbour? How do they show they live for others?
* Play “Simon Says” as an obedience game, linking it to obeying the commandments
* Complete the worksheet
1. Fill in the missing words for the commandments.
2. Write words to show man’s understanding of God and his responsibility.
Abraham –God of judgement. make offerings to God
Moses –God of judgement, obey God’s words.
Jesus –God of love, believe God’s word and love God
Sun Myung Moon – God is a God of heart, we must live for others
5) Conclusion
Ask each child what they could learn from today’s lesson. Refer to the lesson aims:
* to show the progression of man’s understanding of God
6) End with a prayer
