FAITH CHALLENGE

Psalm 137

Week 2: Lament

Scripture: Psalm 137

Memory Verse: If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 (CEV)

Concepts:

· Remembering past crises helps us to avoid future crises.

· Expressing grief and anger with in prayer helps us defuse our feelings so that we do not act them out.

· Even when our prayers express feelings that are unpleasant or scary, God hears us and loves us.

· It is often children who suffer most from war.

Objectives:

• Students will review Psalm 137.
• Students will interview and discuss the life of the refugee with our special guests.
• Students will create Gift of the Heart Health bags for children in Iraq.

Gathering Time/Introductions (Coach)

1. At the beginning of each class, the Coach greets arriving students and supervises snacks.

2. The Guide and Coach remind students to write prayer joys and concerns on the Prayer Wall and to place their offering in the offering jars.

3. As students gather, play the song “On the Willows” from Godspell.

4. The Coach introduces the Guide who leads the lesson.

Workshop Lesson Procedure: (Guide takes over from here)

Introduction:

Note to Guide:

The companion lesson for this unit is a “crime-scene investigation” lesson in which the students are to look for clues and gather information about what happened in Judah between 597 and 586 BCE. Because some students will have the Psalm 137 lesson first, it is very important not to give away too many details about the exile itself. The following are two separate introductions: one to introduce the lesson to students who have not done the crime scene investigation and one to introduce it to students who have. The “Pre-CSI Introduction” provides an opportunity for review of the Kings and Prophets lessons (done in FC just before this unit). The “Post-CSI Introduction” provides an opportunity to review what the students learned in the crime-scene investigation lesson.

Throughout this lesson, the destination of the exile will be presented as “a faraway land/Babylon.” Use “faraway land” for pre-CSI students and “Babylon” for post-CSI students. The Babylonians will be presented as captors/Babylonians. Use “captors” for pre-CSI students and “Babylonians” for post-CSI students.

Scripture/Bible Story

1. We are studying the exile of the Israelites from Jerusalem to a faraway land/Babylon. This story occurs in the Old Testament during the timeline period of “God judges and redeems a nation”.

Pre-CSI Introduction:

The Israelites saw this forced exodus as the result of their lack of faith in God and had been warned that they would have to leave the promised land if they did not worship God faithfully and obey God’s laws. Review with the students some of the ways the Israelites had been unfaithful and some of the people who had warned them about impending punishment. Conduct this review as a question-and-answer session to see how much from previous FC lessons they can recall:

From King David:

· God had never intended for Israel to have a king, but the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. Samuel agrees to anoint a king (Saul), but warns the people that God will one day judge them for their unfaithfulness.

· King Saul proves to be unfaithful and God regrets having made him king. God tells Samuel to anoint David king.

· David is a very powerful and successful king and he establishes his throne in Jerusalem and longs to build a temple there. But God says that it is David’s son, Solomon, who will build the temple instead. Solomon builds a magnificent temple and becomes very wise and rich, but also very corrupt: he marries many foreign wives and allows them to worship their gods in the temple.

From Elijah and Josiah:

· David and Solomon’s glorious kingdom is divided after they die into a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom. One of the northern kings, Ahab, continues to allow other gods to be worshipped. God sends Elijah to warn Ahab that God will surely punish him unless he changes his ways. Ahab refuses to do so.

· One of the southern kings, Josiah, discovers the book of the law of Moses (Deuteronomy) in the temple in Jerusalem. He consults the prophetess Huldah about this book. She tells him that Judas has sinned very seriously. He is very sad that the nation has been so unfaithful for so long and decides to change things. He restores temple worship, removes idols from the temple, and tears down the “high places” where other gods are worshipped. He has all of Judah rededicate itself to the service of God. But it is too late, and the people of Judah must leave behind the promised land and the beautiful temple.

Post-CSI Introduction:

The kingdom of King David has undergone many changes. The nation is no longer united. After King Solomon, it was divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC The southern kingdom survived until 600 BC when it was crushed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The temple was destroyed and thousands of people were exiled to Babylon. Many were killed. As warned by the prophets, the Israelites understood the collapse and exile of Judah as a decisive move by God. The people of Judah and Jerusalem had made the Lord so angry that he finally turned his back on them. That’s why these horrible things were happening. The Lord warned that someday the treasures would be taken from the royal palace and from the temple, and now they were living the nightmare.

2. Recite the memory verse. Why is this verse appropriate for us and the Israelites?

3. Last week, we experienced the exile to a faraway land/Babylon. What were some of your feelings and reactions to the situation? (despair, fear, homesickness, revenge, anger)

4. Distribute Psalm 137 (make sure you distribute copies suitable for pre-CSI and post-CSI students). Read the Psalm with drama and emotion.

5. Play the CD from Godspell, On the Willows

6. Discussion: Based on your experience last week in the refugee game, what you do think life is like for a refugee today? (Any answers will do) You may use the definition of a Refugee at the end of this lesson to introduce the topic and our guests.

Activity 1 – Discussion with Refugees

We have invited guests who are refugees from their country. They are here to tell their story and we are here to listen and learn.

Why do they tell their stories? For the same reason the Israelites wanted to remember their home of Jerusalem. They did not want to repeat past grievances. They wanted to be faithful to God and their homeland. They wanted to learn from past experiences. That is why we must listen to the experiences of others – even today.

Please welcome our guests. Ask questions and expand your understanding of what it is like to be a refugee from your own country.

Break into small groups, each with a guest. Each guest will introduce him/herself and answer the first few questions that we provide. The youth may then ask their own questions and continue the conversation.

As incentive for the students to listen respectfully to the guest, distribute lollipops. These lollipops will encourage the kids to be quiet for the guest to speak.

Activity 2 – Gift of the Heart mission activity (10:30)

Our guests may participate in the mission activity and continue discussion with the youth. This activity will provide us an opportunity to show God’s love. We will make health bags for Iraqi children sponsored by Church World Service (the CROP walk organizer). Each youth makes one bag. Steps in making the school supplies bag:

1. Get a gallon Zip-lock bag.

2. Fill the bag with supplies according to the list. Provide a poster or flip chart with the supplies.

· One hand towel

· One washcloth

· One comb

· One metal nail file or nail clipper

· One bar of soap (bath size)

· One toothbrush

· One tube of toothpaste (4-7 ounces)

· Six Band-Aids

3. Make a card to include in the bag. Provide card stock paper cut into 4X6 pieces. Youth may write something on it. The Iraqi children will not likely be able to read English, but the thought is nice. Something like: “ Packed especially for you by (name) in Cary, North Carolina, U.S.A.”

4. Collect the bags for mailing in a large box.

Reflection:

Provide each youth with a copy of the Brief Statement of Faith. Recite it together. Youth may take their copy home to use as a bookmark.

A Brief Statement of Faith

9 Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:

10 preaching good news to the poor

11 and release to the captives,

12 teaching by word and deed

13 and blessing the children,

14 healing the sick

15 and binding up the brokenhearted,

16 eating with outcasts,

17 forgiving sinners,

18 and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.

Closing (Coach):

1. Distribute Gift of the Heart flyers for youth to take home. Encourage students to use the flyers to explain our lesson and mission project to parents.

2. Recite the memory verse.

3. The Coach conducts the closing prayer time.

4. Close/lock the door and turn off the lights.

Guide preparation in advance:

1. Preparation instructions for this lesson plan –

· Gather supplies for health bags and prepare a visible list to hang in the room.

· Prepare one bag as an example including a gift card enclosure.

· Prepare the memory verse on poster to display in class (from Lesson 1).

· Prepare copies of the statement of faith.

2. Go to the Church World Service web site (listed under “References” and print out the information on the Gift of the Heart Project. Use this information to explain to the children the purpose and use of the health kits they will be making. Print and copy the flyer included with this lesson. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to print the Gift-of-Heart-Iraq.pdf file.

Supply List

· Card stock paper for card enclosure

· Pencils, markers

· Blow-pop Lollipops (they last longer)

· Copies of NRSV Psalm 137 from last week’s lesson. Be sure to hand out the appropriate copy: one that mentions Babylon for students who have done the CSI lesson and one that does not mention Babylon for students who have not done the CSI lesson.

· Flyers for Gift of the Heart

Supply List for Health Kits - Church World Service

· One hand towel

· One washcloth

· One comb

· One metal nail file or nail clipper

· One bar of soap (bath size)

· One toothbrush

· One tube of toothpaste (4-7 ounces)

· Six Band-Aids

· One gallon Zip-lock bag

References

· Church World Service http://www.churchworldservice.org/kits/health-kits.html

Note to our Guest Speakers.

Thank you for sharing your experience with our Middle school children. We are grateful for the opportunity to listen and learn. Remembering is one way to be faithful to God. Remembering past crises and sharing that experience with others helps to avoid future crises.

Please carefully read over the concepts at the beginning of the lesson. These are the main ideas that we would like the students to understand from the lessons in this unit. Through sharing your experience and that of others, you contribute to their learning experience in a very specific way. Here are some ideas and questions to guide your discussion with the youth.

Tell us about people living as refugees in the world today. Who, where, how many?

Why did you leave?

What is it like to be a refugee living away from your homeland. Do you get homesick?

What do you miss from your home?

What did you bring with you? What/who did you leave behind?

What was hardest about leaving?

Describe your journey. How is your experience similar or different from others?

What was it like to arrive here? What was difficult?

What surprised you about your new surroundings? What did you learn about the United States?

If you could take the best from your homeland and the best from your adopted home, what would they be?

What do you want us to understand about what it is like to be a refugee?

What can we do to help others in your situation? (Gift of the Heart health kits is one mission project we can do.)

What is a Refugee?

As refugees, we are victims of violence and war.
We left our motherland

because we were being mistreated in many ways.
We ran to get protection in other countries.
But as a refugee, you are always simple in front of anybody.
You are subject to prejudice and mistaken always.
You can pass through any disaster

and nobody will care about you.
Oh! What is lovely like our homeland?

In your own country you are free,
free like a butterfly when it flies from flower
to flower,
free like a fish moving in the water.
Homeland is a second heaven…

Andrew Mayak, the Sudan, written in Kakuma refugee camp.
“For TILTINGcages: An Anthology of Refugee Writings”,
Naomi Flutter and Carl Soloman, ed., Pyrmont, Australia, 1995