FAITH CHALLENGE

Paul’s Letters

March 14 – April 11, 2004

Nothing Can Separate Us From God’s Love

Week 1: Letters, Lent, and Prayers

Scripture: Romans 8:31-39 (CEV)

Memory Verse: I am God now and forever. No one can snatch you from me or

stand in my way. Isaiah 43:13

Concepts:

· God loves us.

· God is on our side

· Nothing can take God’s love away from us.

· Being Christian does not mean we will never suffer; it means trusting that when we suffer, God still loves us and is on our side.

Objectives:

· Students will learn about Paul as a letter writer, someone who cared about churches and wrote to them to teach them, correct them, and encourage them.

· Students will learn about Lent and understand it as a time when the church prepares for Easter by drawing closer to God.

· Students will engage in a variety of prayer practices to help them draw closer to God and understand how the passage from Romans can encourage them through tough times. They will have a choice of several prayer activities, some of which are self-directed, and some of which will be directed by the guide and/or coaches:

· Walk a labyrinth (mostly self-guided; but a guide or coach will need to help students get started and be available to answer any questions)

· Make a clay labyrinth (lead by guide or coach)

· Participate in a drawing meditation (self-guided)

· Learn about and engage in spiritual journaling (self-guided)

· Learn about and participate in lectio divina, or prayerful reading of Scripture (self-guided)

· Learn a body or movement prayer (closing prayer for both weeks; led by guide or coach)

Context for Guide and Coaches:

This lesson is the last of a series of lessons focusing on Paul. So far, our youth have learned that Paul:

· Was a Pharisee who had an encounter with the risen Christ that changed his understanding of God and gave him a new purpose for his life.

· Went on a series of missionary trips for the purpose of spreading the good news of the salvation offered to us by God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

· Founded churches all over the Middle Eastern world and into Europe.

In this unit, our youth will learn that Paul kept in touch with the churches he founded by writing letters to them.

Gathering Time

Begin this lesson in the City?/Country? room. You will move to other spaces later in the lesson.

1. As the youth arrive, have the calendars and “Liturgical Seasons” available on the tables along with pens and crayons or colored pencils. Invite the students to see if they can use the information provided in “Liturgical Seasons” to write the days in the appropriate places on the calendar (hint: begin with the first Sunday in Advent and Easter Sunday; calculate the others from these dates) and to color the days and seasons the appropriate color (another hint: “days” are individual days; “seasons” include not just Sundays, but weekdays as well). This is a good arrival activity. Students can work on it as they come in, and it gives the class some structure until everyone arrives. If students do not finish this activity, that’s OK. They will have other opportunities to work on it during the two weeks of this lesson.

2. The Coach leads the opening routine: snack, fellowship, Prayer Wall activity, and Prayer Chain. Name tags are available. (It would be OK to omit the prayer chain for this lesson. The closing prayer time is structured for this lesson and provides a time for sharing prayer concerns.)

Workshop Lesson Procedure:

Introductions (Coach):

1. The Coach reviews the timeline and the previous week’s workshop activity. Introduce the Guide who leads the Workshop Lesson.

2. Explain the purpose of this workshop. We are continuing our study of Paul. So far we have learned how Paul became a missionary for Jesus and we have learned that Paul spent his life traveling around spreading the gospel and helping to start churches all over the Middle East and in Europe. This week we are going to learn about the letters Paul wrote and, over the next two weeks, we will study one part of his letter to the church in Rome.

Scripture/Bible Story (Guide takes over from here):

Paul as a letter writer (15 minutes)

1. Hand out Bibles to all students and hand out the opening letters randomly, one to a student. There will not be enough letters to go around. This is OK. If you or the guide know who some of the stronger readers are, it might be good to hand them the letters.
2. Ask the student who gets letter #1 to open it and read it aloud to the class. Next open and read letter #2. Proceed like this until all letters have been read in order. You might use the points below to briefly discuss the letters after they have been read:
• Why did Paul write letters to churches? Paul wrote to different churches for different reasons, some of which he mentioned in the letter the class just read: to praise and encourage, to teach, to answer difficult questions, to help resolve disagreements, to introduce himself. If you have time, you can briefly summarize Paul’s reasons for writing each of his letters:

Romans – to introduce himself before a trip he hoped to take there.

1 & 2 Corinthians – to answer specific questions or to help resolve disagreements.

Galatians – to correct an error in thinking (someone was trying to convince the Galatians that they had to be circumcised to be truly faithful).

Philippians – to praise them and encourage them to remain faithful (the letter read in class was modeled after—and sometimes directly quoted—Philippians).

1 Thessalonians – to praise them and encourage them, and to correct a misunderstanding about those who die before Christ’s return (someone was trying to convince them that people who die before Christ returns are not saved; but Paul taught that all who have faith in Christ—whether they live or die—are saved).

Philemon – to help settle a dispute between a slave and his master.

· What did churches do with Paul’s letters? Paul’s letters were written to be read aloud to the congregation to which they were written, just like the letter the class read today.

· Why did Paul write a letter to the church at Rome? He was planning to visit Rome and wrote to them to introduce himself.

· How did Paul understand God’s love before he met Christ on the road to Damascus? He thought he had to earn God’s love by perfectly following the law.

· How did his understanding change? He learned that God’s love is a gift that cannot be taken away.

3. Ask students to find Romans 8:31-39 in their copies of the Bible. Ask a volunteer to read it aloud.
4. Briefly discuss the passage using questions like the following. You can come up with your own questions as well.

· Paul asks lots of questions in this passage. What are some of the questions he asks and how do you think he would answer them?

If God is on our side, can anything be against us? No!

If God did this [gave his Son for us], won’t he freely give us everything else? Yes!

If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? No!

Or can anyone condemn them? No, indeed!

Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? No!

· What are some of the things Paul mentions that cause people to suffer? Trouble, suffering, hard times, hunger, nakedness, danger, death.

· What are some of the things in our day and time that cause people to suffer? Just about any answers the students come up with will be acceptable.

· When these things happen, does it mean God is somehow angry with us or punishing us? No. These things have no bearing on whether God loves us. God loves us always.

Lent as a time for drawing close to God (5 minutes)

1. Ask students who worked on the arrival activity (liturgical calendar) to look at their calendars.
2. What liturgical (worship) season are we in right now? Lent.
3. What is the focus of our church life together during Lent? “In joy and sorrow, the church proclaims, remembers, and responds to the atoning death of Christ. Lent is a time of self-reflection, when the church attends to prayer and spiritual practices that draw us closer to God.”
4. In the passage from Romans 8, Paul assures us that God will always be near us and nothing can separate us from God’s love. During Lent, we respond to the love God showed us in giving God’s Son for us by drawing nearer to God in prayer.

New ways to pray (20 minutes)

1. Point out the list of prayer activities and where each is.

2. Invite the students to choose the prayer activities they want to participate in. They may have time for only one or two activities, but will have more time to do others next week. Point out that some of them are self-guided: there are instructions for doing them in the room. Others will be led by the guide or a coach. Tell the students how much time they have to do the activities. Encourage students to give each other plenty of space. If several of them are already at a table or using the labyrinth, or all the chairs in the meditation room are taken, look for another activity that is not so crowded. If students cannot do their first choice this week, they will have another chance next week.

Closing (Coach or Guide):

1. At 10:35, ask students to help tidy up:

• In the Country?/City? room put all materials away.
• In A8, blow out the candles and turn off the CD player.
• In the main room of the activities building, move everything off of the labyrinth to create enough space for the students to gather in a circle around it or on it.

2. Gather the students in a circle around or on the labyrinth. They need to be close enough to hold hands (eventually; they won’t start off holding hands).

3. Remind the students that they will have an opportunity to do more prayer activities next week.

4. Invite students to share prayer concerns around the circle.

5. Tell the students that the closing prayer will be a body or movement prayer set to music. It is not a dance, but involves hand and arm movement. Teach them the movements before playing the music.

6. Play the music and lead the students in the prayer.

7. Dismiss the students.

8. Move all class materials to the Country?/City? room. Turn off the lights and lock the door.

Guide preparation in advance:

1. For questions on this lesson plan, call Susan Mazzara, 387-0920.

2. Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located. This lesson will actually occur in three spaces:

· The City?/Country? room: You will need to set up three tables with stools. You will also need a CD player.

· Room A8: You will need chairs in a circle and a small table with some candles, a cross (the small Celtic cross that sits on the table in the office hallway would be good), and a CD player.

· The main room of the activities building. This is where the labyrinth will be set up.

3. Write the memory verse on a piece of flipchart paper and post it on the wall in the City?/Country? room.

4. Print the calendars and copy them onto card stock. Make enough copies for each student to have one. You can print small versions of the calendars, six to a page, by setting the following options on the print dialog in Word:

1. Select File > Print

2. In the Print dialog, under Zoom: Pages per sheet, select 6 pages.

3. Under Zoom: Scale to paper size, select Letter.

4. Make sure the Reverse print order option is not selected. (Check the value of this option by selecting the Options button.)

5. Print “Liturgical Seasons.” Make enough copies for each student to have one.

6. Print out one copy of the opening letter, put each page of it in a separate envelope, seal them, and address them to “Faith Challenge Students.” Number the envelopes 1, 2, 3, and so on, so that they are opened in the proper order. Each page of the letter is numbered accordingly.

7. Prepare a piece of flipchart paper with the list of letters Paul wrote and post it on the wall: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon.

8. Prepare a piece of flipchart paper listing the prayer activities available and where they are located.

9. Gather the materials you need for the prayer activities and set them up in the rooms where the activities will take place. See “Prayer activity set-up.”

10. Learn and practice the closing prayer so that you can teach it to the students. Do not try to lead it from the video tape.

Supply List

For arrival activity:

· “Liturgical Seasons and Days”

· Calendars

· Pens

· Crayons or colored pencils in various shades of red, green, purple, gold, and black

For “Paul as a letter writer:”

· Letters (attached to this lesson)

· Envelopes

· Bibles (available in the room)

· Flipchart paper

For Lectio Divina:

· Copies of the instructions for everyone

· Candles and matches

· A CD player and some very soft, meditative music

For Drawing Meditation:

· Drawing paper

· Colored chalk or oil pastels

· Hairspray to fix the drawings

· Newspaper to protect the floor from hairspray

· Copies of the instructions for everyone

· A CD player and some very soft, meditative music

· Bibles

For Journal Meditation:

· Pens or pencils

· Copies of the instructions for everyone

For Body Prayer:

· Tape player

· “The Prayer” sung by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli (from Susan Mazzara)

· Instructions for the prayer and the instructional videotape (Susan Mazzara has these.)

For Labyrinth

· The baptismal font from the Session room

· Two small tables

· A bowl

· Pouches to hold rocks

· Enough rocks for students to have 2 each

· Tea or votive candles

· A white pillar candle

· A taper candle

· The Lenten cross

· Note-sized paper and stickers for folding and sealing notes

· A mailbox

· Four or five copies of the labyrinth instructions

· Four or five envelopes

Prayer activity set-up

For Lectio Divina:

Set this activity up in room A8, the “Meditation Room.”

1. Place several chairs in a circle, no more than 8.

2. Place a table in the center of the circle.

3. Place a cross and a candle on the table.

4. Light the candle

5. Plug in a CD player and play a CD of soft, meditative music

6. Place instructions in a chair at the entrance of the room

For Drawing Meditation:

Set up this activity on a table in the City?/Country? room. Place the following supplies on the table:

· Drawing paper

· Colored chalk or oil pastels

· Copies of the instructions for everyone

· Bibles

Plug in a CD player and put on a CD with soft, meditative music

Near the table, spread out newspapers on the floor and place a can of hairspray near it for fixing the drawings.

For Journal Meditation:

Set up this activity on a table in the City?/Country? room. Place the following supplies on the table:

· Pens or pencils

· Copies of the instructions for everyone

For Labyrinth

Set up this activity in the main room of the activities building.

1. Spread out the labyrinth.

2. Place a mailbox at the entrance to the labyrinth. Put the labyrinth instructions in envelopes, but don’t seal them. Address the envelopes: “To a child of God.” Place the envelopes in the mailbox.

3. Place the baptismal font on the right side of the labyrinth. Fill the bowl with water. Label the font “Stations 1 and 7.” (An alternative is to place a bowl of water on a table.)

4. Place a small table at the far end of the labyrinth, fill a bowl with rocks and place some drawstring pouches on the table. Label this table “Stations 2 and 6.”

5. Place a small table on the left side of the labyrinth. Put a white pillar candle in the middle of the table. Place tea candles around it. Place a taper on the table. Light the pillar candle. Label this table “Stations 3 and 5.”

6. Place the Lenten cross in the center of the labyrinth. Place paper, stickers, and pens or pencils on the cross.

For Body Prayer:

· CD/ tape player (this is an end-of-class activity, so you can use the one from A8)

· “The Prayer” sung by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli

References

· Information for the liturgical calendar comes from Book of Common Worship, “Calendars and Lectionary: Sundays and Festivals” PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993), pp. 1035-1048.

· The closing prayer comes from Holy Motion (videotape and book), “Prayer,” Presbyterian Youth Connection, PC(USA), pp. 34-35.

· The “Spiritual Journaling” exercise was derived from Joyce Rupp, Fresh Bread (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1985), pp. 29-39.

· The benediction used in the “Drawing Meditation” is from Touch Holiness, ed. Ruth C. Duck and Maren C. Tirabassi (Cleveland: United Church Press, 1990), p. 242.

Liturgical Seasons

Season	Color	Date or Dates	Meaning or Focus
Advent	Purple	Begins on the Sunday closest to November 30. Continues for four Sundays before Christmas.	Rejoicing in Christ’s coming, the church eagerly looks forward to Christ’s coming again.
Christmas	White or gold	Begins on Christmas Eve and continues through Epiphany.	The celebration of Jesus’ birth.
Epiphany	White or gold	January 6	“Epiphany” means “showing,” “manifestation,” or “revelation.” It celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the world, times when God showed or told people that Jesus is the Christ: Jesus’ baptism, Jesus changing the water to wine at the wedding at Cana, God revealing the identity of the infant Jesus to the Magi (three kings).
Ordinary time	Green	Between the Baptism of the Lord and Ash Wednesday	Also called Sundays after Epiphany. Referred to as “ordinary” because the Sundays are ordered: first Sunday after Epiphany, second Sunday after Epiphany, and so on. Celebrates Christian growth.
Lent	Purple	Forty weekdays and six Sundays beginning on Ash Wednesday (February 25, 2004) and culminating in Good Friday and Holy Saturday (Holy Week).	In joy and sorrow, the church proclaims, remembers, and responds to the atoning death of Christ. Lent is a time of self-reflection, when the church attends to prayer and spiritual practices that draw us closer to God.
Good Friday	no color (black)	The Friday before Easter	Commemorates the day Christ died on the cross. Also observed on Holy Saturday.
Easter	White and gold	A fifty-day season of seven Sundays beginning with Easter Sunday (the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox) and lasting until Pentecost	Celebrates the resurrection of Christ.
Pentecost	Red	Forty-nine days after Easter	Celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church.
Ordinary time	Green	Following Pentecost and continuing until Advent.	Also called Sundays after Pentecost. Celebrates Christian growth.

From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, to all of God’s youth who belong to Christ Jesus at the Kirk of Kildaire, and to all of your guides and coaches.

I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

Every time I think of you, I thank my God. And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy. This is because you have taken part with me in spreading the good news from the first day you heard about it. God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.

You have a special place in my heart. As I defend the good news and tell about it here in jail, I pray that your love will keep on growing and that you will fully know and understand how to make the right choices. Then you will be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day, Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God.

My dear friends, I want you to know what has happened since I last saw you. Do you remember my servant Lydia and how Silas and I were jailed for preaching the gospel in Philippi? When we left there, we traveled to Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus. How I wish you could see what God is doing there! Many people are fearlessly spreading the message about Christ! As I travel from place to place, I keep up with these churches. When I hear good news--like the news of you and the work you do in Faith Challenge--I write to the churches--just as I am writing to you--to praise and encourage them. But some churches struggle with confusion or conflict. Then I write to teach them, to help them resolve their quarrels, or to correct their misunderstandings. I pray that whether I am with you or whether I am away from you, you will remember me as I remember you.

I want to share with you my dream of traveling to Rome. I have written to the church at Rome to introduce myself and to prepare the way for sharing the gospel with God’s servants there. I have completed my work in the East, and it is time for me to travel west. From Rome, I hope to journey as far as Spain and share the good news of Jesus Christ there.

This journey will be dangerous. But I want to assure you that I am not afraid. For I am confident—as I wrote to the church at Rome—that nothing can separate me from God’s love.

My dear friends, I do not need to remind you that I, Paul, was once a Pharisee. I once believed that God would love me only if I were perfect. And so as a young man I tried very hard to be perfect: I tried to obey God’s laws perfectly, to be without a single flaw and to never make any mistakes. I was very good at it too! No one knew as much as I about the law. No one stuck to the letter of the law as closely as I did.

You also remember how much I hated the followers of Jesus and how eagerly I persecuted them, binding their hands and feet and taking them before the council, standing by and approving when they stoned the followers of Christ. I was sure that they were wrong and that they deserved all of the suffering they received. I thought that their suffering was a sign that God despised them just as much as I did.

But one day as I was traveling to Damascus, Christ himself appeared to me and showed me that I was mistaken. And now I understand that God’s love is a gift that I do not have to earn and that no one or nothing can take from me!

Today in Faith Challenge, you will read part of my letter to the Romans. I pray that you will remember what you read and that you will understand that no matter what happens to you—whether you become sick or injured, whether you feel lonely, whether you sometimes struggle to keep up in school, whether you feel like you don’t fit in—nothing can take God’s love away from you.

You will use my letter to the Romans to learn new ways to pray. I hope these words will be written on your heart and you will know that they are true. I pray that they will comfort and reassure you just as they have helped me through difficult times!

Dear friends, I love you and long to see you. Please keep on being faithful to the Lord. You are my pride and joy.

Give my greetings to all who are God’s people because of Christ Jesus: to your parents, to your brothers and sisters, to your friends in youth group, to all the members of the Kirk.

All of God’s people send their greetings.

I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless your life!

Dear Friend in Christ,

You are invited to take a labyrinth walk. It is a single path that leads to the cross in the middle and back out again. It is not a maze. You cannot get lost, and you cannot get “stuck.” It is a journey that leads you, in your heart and in your imagination, to Christ.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul asked, “Can anyone separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death?” On this journey, you are invited to ask yourself this question. Your guide is Scripture. It will lead you through several stations along the way that will help you reflect on your life and where you have met Christ along the way. Begin with a prayer:

“God be in my heart. God be in my mind. God be in my soul.”

Follow the path slowly to Station 1 and stop there before reading further.

Station 1: Baptismal font

Reading Scripture: [Jesus] had to go through Samaria, and on his way he came to . . . the field that Jacob had long ago given to his son Joseph. The well that Jacob had dug was still there, and Jesus sat down beside it. . . . A Samaritan woman came to draw water . . . . Jesus asked her, “Would you please give me a drink of water?” “You are a Jew,” she replied, “and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink of water . . .?” Jesus answered, “You don’t know what God wants to give you, and you don’t know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would ask me for the water that gives life. . . . Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again. But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give is like a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.” (John 4:4-10, 14-15)

Thinking about your life: Think about the things that drain your life and energy. At these times, when you feel like you have no life in you, does God sometimes seem far away? Now think about the things that make you feel full of life and energy. At these times, does God seem closer? What does God want to give you? What do you want to ask God for?

Praying: When I feel drained of life and energy, O God, help me remember that you are still with me. Restore and renew my life, like a glass of fresh, cold water!

Follow the path slowly to Station 2 and stop there before reading further.

Station 2: A bowl of stones

Reading Scripture: After Israel had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua: “Tell one man from each of the twelve tribes to pick up a large rock from where the priests are standing. Then have the men set up those rocks as a monument at the place where you camp tonight.” Joshua chose twelve men: he called them together, and told them: “Go to the middle of the riverbed where the sacred chest is, and pick up a large rock. Carry it on your shoulder to our camp. There are twelve of you, so there will be one rock for each tribe. Someday your children will ask, ‘Why are these rocks here?’ Then you can tell them how the water stopped flowing when the chest was being carried across the river. These rocks will always remind our people of what happened here today.” (Joshua 4:1-7)

Thinking about your life: Pick up two rocks, place them in a pouch, and carry them on your wrist. One rock represents how your blessings: the things that make you realize how much God loves you. One rock represents your burdens: the things that make you feel lonely or frightened or angry. Think about your blessings and burdens.

Praying: Say a prayer of thanks for the blessings. Ask God’s help for the burdens.

Follow the path slowly to Station 3 and stop there before reading further.

Station 3: Candles

Reading Scripture: “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created received its life from him, and his life gave light to everyone. The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out.” (John 1:1-5)

Thinking about your life: Spend a few seconds looking at the Christ candle. Notice the halo of light around the flame. Think about the times in your life when you felt surrounded by the light of Christ. How has the light of Christ guided you?

Praying: Say a prayer of thanks for Christ’s guiding light.

Follow the path slowly to Station 4 and stop there before reading further.

Station 4: The Cross

Reading Scripture: We have a great high priest who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about him. Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Thinking about your life: Sit at the foot of the cross. Think about times when you felt like a failure, when you disappointed yourself or others, or when you neglected to do what you know you should have done.

Praying: Take a piece of paper and a pencil and write a prayer of confession. Ask God to forgive you and help you do better next time. Fold the paper, seal it, and place it on the cross.

Read the Scripture passage from Hebrews again.

Know that you are forgiven and say a prayer of thanksgiving for the mercy God has shown you in Christ. Forgive yourself.

Follow the path slowly to Station 5 and stop there before reading further.

Station 5: Candles

Reading Scripture: You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

Thinking about your life: Think about times when you know that you have done the right thing: when you have helped someone, told the truth, or followed Jesus’ example in your life. What are some of the times when you have reflected the light of Christ for others to see?

Use the taper candle to light one of the votive candles on the screen and then blow out the taper.

Praying: Say a prayer asking Christ to help you keep the light in your life and to be a source of light for others.

Follow the path slowly to Station 6 and stop there before reading further.

Station 6: A bowl of stones

Reading Scripture: If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you . Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Thinking about your life: Think about the stones you are carrying on your wrist. Remember that one of the represents blessings and the other one burdens. Think again about the burdens that make you feel far away from God. Which burdens can you place in the hands of Jesus?

Take a stone representing your burdens out of the pouch and place it in the bowl.

Praying: Say a prayer of gratitude to Jesus, who promises to lighten the burdens you carry.

Follow the path slowly to Station 7 and stop there before reading further.

Station 7: Baptismal font

Reading Scripture: “All of you are God’s children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes.” (Galatians 3:26-27)

Thinking about your life: Have you been baptized? If so, when? Do you remember it at all? You may have been baptized as a tiny child or you may not yet have been baptized at all. Baptism marks you as a child of God. It means you, or your parents, have promised that you will try to live by Christ’s example. Scoop up some water in your hand and let it trickle back into the font.

Praying: Say a prayer asking God to help you “put on Christ” and follow Christ’s example in your life.

Follow the path slowly out of the labyrinth and to Station 8 and stop there before reading further.

Station 8

Reading Scripture: “I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 8:38-39)

As you leave the labyrinth, say a prayer thanking God the love God has shown you in Christ.

Refold this letter and place it back in the mail box for the next person to use.

Spiritual Journaling: Hope gives us courage

Being Christian in Rome in the time of Paul took courage. Christians were not very well accepted in Rome at that time. Paul wrote his letter to the Romans to give them hope enough to live courageously. This spiritual journaling exercise will help you think about courage in your own life and in the lives of people you know.

1. Begin with a prayer: “Help me, O God, to see all of the courage and strength I have hidden inside me. When life seems difficult, help me draw from this well of courage to live hopefully and joyfully. Amen.”
2. Read Romans 8:31-39 putting your own name in the blanks, as if Paul had written it directly to you:

What can we say about all this? If God is on your side, __________, can anyone be against you? God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for you, __________. If God did this, won’t he freely give you everything else? If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? No indeed! Christ dies and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for you, __________. Can anything separate you from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? It is exactly as the Scriptures say: “For you we face death all day long. We are like sheep on their way to be butchered.” In everything you have won more than a victory, __________, because of Christ who loves you. I am sure that nothing can separate you from God’s love, __________—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate you from God’s love for you in Christ Jesus our Lord!

3. Write your answers to the following prompts in the spaces provided. There are no right or wrong answers.
1. What are the difficult or painful aspects of your life that beg for courage or hope?
2. At what moments in your life have you known the power of God working through you? When have you dipped deep inside you and relied on your inner courage to help you face a difficult time?
3. Draw a heart. In it, write the names of courageous people you know.
4. Write a prayer for these courageous people, thanking God for their witness of courage. Thank God also for the times when you have been courageous. Pray that God will keep you and them strong and full of hope.
4. Pray the following prayer silently to yourself. It is called “The Serenity Prayer” and has been used for many years to help people through difficult times.

“God grant me

Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage

to change the things I can, and

Wisdom

to know the difference.”

Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina, is “holy” or “prayerful” reading of scripture. It is a way to pray while you read a Bible verse. It is done very slowly and meditatively, with lots of time between readings to savor the words, the images, the feelings, and the ideas that come to you as you read. It is a way of meditating on the words of Scripture. You can repeat this exercise with any Bible verse.

1. Begin with a prayer: Help me, O God, to listen carefully to your words and to hear them so clearly that I will know how you are calling me to respond. Amen.”
2. Read Isaiah 43:13--the memory verse for this lesson--slowly and silently to yourself, taking time to savor each word:

I am God now and forever. No one can snatch you from me or stand in my way.

3. Pick a word from this verse that really stands out in your mind. Spend a couple of minutes thinking about this word. What does it mean? Where else have you hear it? Does it have good or bad associations for you? Say the word over to yourself several times.

4. Spend one or to minutes in silent contemplation of this word.

5. Read Isaiah 43:13 again, slowly and silently to yourself, taking time to savor each word:

I am God now and forever. No one can snatch you from me or stand in my way.

6. Pay attention to the feeling this verse creates in you. Does it make you feel safe? happy? confused? curious? sad? pleased? scared? disdain? jealous? unsure? secure? Think about other times when you have felt this way.

7. Spend one or two minutes in silent contemplation of the feeling this verse creates in you.

8. Read Isaiah 43:13 again, slowly and silently to yourself, taking time to savor each word.

I am God now and forever. No one can snatch you from me or stand in my way.

9. How does this verse relate to the events of your life right now? What is coming up in your life that this verse might help you through? Do you face any particular challenges? Is there a special event you are looking forward to? Is there a person whose company you are particularly enjoying right now? Someone you are having trouble getting along with?

10. Spend one or two minutes in silent contemplation of your particular life situation right now.

11. Read Isaiah 43:13 again, slowly and silently to yourself, taking time to savor each word.

I am God now and forever. No one can snatch you from me or stand in my way.

12. Pay attention to what you believe God is calling you to do right now. How is God calling you to respond to this verse? Is there a particular action you are called to take? A person you need or want to talk to? A task you have been avoiding and need to complete? A decision you need to make?

13. Spend one or two minutes in silent contemplation of God’s call to you.

14. Read Isaiah 43:13 again, slowly and silently to yourself, taking time to savor each word.

I am God now and forever. No one can snatch you from me or stand in my way.

15. Spend one or two minutes simply resting in God’s presence, watching the candles, or listening to the music.

16. Say a prayer thanking God for Scripture and for Sunday rest.

Drawing Meditation: Surrounded by God’s love

In Romans 8:31-39, Paul assures his readers that nothing can separate us from God’s love. We are always surrounded by God’s love. This spiritual exercise will help you connect your life to Paul’s message in Romans.

1. Begin with a prayer: “Help me to be so sure of your love, O God, that it shines in me like a light. Amen.”

2. Find and read Romans 8:31-39.

3. Think about the following questions. You do not need to write down answers.

a. What is the most precious possession you own? How would it feel to give it away? How do think it must have felt for God to give God’s only Son for us?

b. What if you received a gift from a friend, and you later realized it was your friend’s favorite possession? What does this say about how your friend feels about you?

c. Paul says that right now Christ is at God’s side speaking to God on our behalf. This means that Christ is standing up for us. Have you ever stood up for someone who was about to be harmed or blamed for something? Has anyone ever done this for you? How did it feel?

d. Read the following benediction, which describes how God’s love surrounds us:

Like a rock, God is under our feet.

Like a roof, God is over our heads.

Like the horizon, God is beyond us.

Like water in a pitcher, God is within us and in the pouring out of us.

Like a pebble in the sea, we are in God.

Let us go out and change our world as God has changed our lives.

4. Using chalk and drawing paper, draw a symbol representing God’s love over us, below us, beyond us, and within us.

Fixing your drawing

If you want to keep your drawing, you can fix it with hairspray.

1. Lay your drawing on the newspaper spread out near the table.

2. Spray it evenly with a light coat of hairspray.

3. Allow the drawing to dry before picking it up.