Sunday School Grade 4

Grade 4 Sunday School

Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church (Northeast American Diocese)

Notes and Activities

Lesson 1: True Worship

Vocabulary

• praise, thanksgiving, repentance, supplication, and dedication

• grow closer to God 

• fruits of the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control

• Orthodox - right thinking, right practice, etc.

• Grace - God's grace shows his presence (all creation) in our midst, through worship, we aim to connect to God's grace.

• Sh'himo prayers - everyday prayers

Summary

"In reverence will I enter Your house and offer my vows to You." The altar and Holy Qurbana are replica of heaven.

Eucharist - Thanksgiving - Divine Liturgy -Why divine liturgy is thanksgiving?

Because the Lord was kind enough not to destroy all creatures for their sinful deeds, rather give them a way for salvation. 

There are five essential parts of Orthodox worship: praise, thanksgiving, repentance, supplication, and dedication.  By attending the Divine Liturgy every Sunday, we show our love and faith towards God and our brothers and sisters in Christ.  During our worship, 

• we sing praises to the one Lord our God, 

• we thank God for what He has given us,

• we say we are sorry for our sins and mistakes, 

• we ask God to take care of us, and 

• we recite our beliefs together.

By worshipping God, we grow closer to God and receive the fruits of the Holy Spirit. 

• The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). 

• Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

• During Holy Qurbana we celebrate the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What is special about orthodox way of worship? 

• We follow an Orthodox tradition of worship. The word orthodox means correct thinking. We believe Christ was both fully human and fully divine at the same time. We worship in unity with the early Christians, our faithful departed, saints, and the angels in heaven.
  

Identify

Parts of speech, tenses, singular/plural, similes, idioms, and hyperboles in textbook.

Memory Verse

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

Q and A

What is special about orthodox way of worship? 

Why is it important to attend divine liturgy?

What are the five essential elements of Orthodox Christian worship?

Fill in

• we sing ______________ to the one Lord our God, 

• we ___________ for what He has given us,

• we say we are sorry for __________________, 

• we ask God to __________, and 

• we recite our ___________together.

Prayer (Isaiah 6:3)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord god Almighty,

By whose Glory the heaven and earth are filled,

Hosanna in the highest!

Lesson 2: The Liturgy and Sacred Traditions

Vocabulary

• Liturgy - Worship to God

• Tradition - the practices received from forefathers

• Sacred  - Holy

• Holy Qurbana - Holy offering to God

• Anaphora - The liturgy of Eucharist - Worship to God, through raising mind, heart, and thoughts to God 

• Qauma - beginning of prayers 

• Martyrs - faithful killed for their faith

• Confessors - faithful tortured for their faith 

Summary

• The one most important tradition is the common prayers that everyone prays at their own home.
•  This includes, the Nicene creed, psalms of King David, and other beautiful prayers. Often, common prayers are done twice a day, in the morning and in the evening.
• Sunday Qurbana is a holy tradition that remembers the whole life of Christ from his birth to resurrection, ascension, and even focuses on inviting his glorious coming again.
• The Holy Qurbana was established during Pesaha, where Jesus and his 12 disciples broke bread and wine.
• Jesus spoke in Aramaic language. Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic.
• The original Qurbana started in Jerusalem calling it the Liturgy of Saint James. He was the first Archbishop of Jerusalem appointed by the rest of apostles.

• The Holy Qurbana has two parts:
• The Liturgy of the World
• The Liturgy of the Eucharist

Why did Jesus uses wine (which is alcohol) while celebrating Pesaha?

It is Jewish tradition and Jesus followed that. It demonstrates God’s desire to transform evil to good.

How does the bread and wine become Jesus' body and blood of Christ?

The priesthood is passed down from Jesus to disciples and to St. James and to the priests (achens). 

• In the Liturgy of Eucharist, achen calls down the Holy Spirit and the bread and the wine is transformed in a mysterious way that our eyes cannot see. 
• So only those whose heart, mind, and thoughts are lifted up to God and are free of lust (of wealth, power, and, all sensual pleasures) and evil thoughts should receive the Holy Qurbana.

Liturgical calendar

The liturgical calendar teaches us about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Seasons 1	Annunciation  Nativity	the first Sunday that falls between October 30 and November 5, a feast called Qoodosh Etho (Sanctification of the Church). This feast marks the start of the new liturgical year. Preparation time to receive the birth of Christ.
2	Epiphany	Begins with the visit of wise men
3	Great Lent	Begins with beginning of great lent
4	Resurrection	Begins with  Easter
5	Pentecost	Begins with the day of Pentecost
6	Transfiguration	Begins with the feast of  the transfiguration or metamorphosis of Christ on Mount Tabor, when our Lord appeared in His divine glory before the Apostles Peter, James, and John (August 6).
7	The Holy Cross	Begins with the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14th).

Memory Verse

Matthew 14:4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Q and A

Name a few of Orthodox Church traditions? 

What are the two main parts of the Divine Liturgy after Morning Prayers?

What is the name of original liturgy of the Church, which began in Jerusalem?

Prayer (Psalm 5:7)

"In reverence will I enter Your house and offer my vows to You." 

Lesson 3: The Holy Bible

Vocabulary

• Holy Bible  - the Holy Scripture used during Holy Qurbana and all other sacraments revealed through prophets, Holy Spirit, and through the life of Jesus Christ himself.
• Pentateuch -  the first five books of Bible also called the Torah.

Summary

The Bible has two parts - The New Testament and the Old Testament. The books of law which are the first five books in the Bible is called Pentateuch. The Old Testament books can be grouped into four different groups:

•  the books of the law
•  the books of History
•  the books of wisdom
•  the books of Prophecy 

The New Testament consists of:

    Gospels (life and teachings of Jesus Christ), 

    Epistles by Saint Paul the Apostle, 

    Epistles by other Saints, and 

    Finally the mysterious Book of Revelation by Saint John the Apostle.

The Old Testament describes the law and history before the coming of Jesus Christ. It's also a preparation time with regard to the promises in prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. The New Testament mainly consist of events that happened with the birth of the Christ and the beginning of the church there after.

Bible reading during Holy Qurbana

• At the end of morning prayers there are readings from the Old Testament.
• Next in the Liturgy of the word an altar boy reads the New Testament Epistles or letters from the north and south sides of the altar.
• Then the priest reads from one of the Gospels.

Many parts of our Holy Qurbana are taken from the Holy Bible. For example when we sing “Holy, Holy, Holy”- It is the song of the seraphim in heaven that the prophet Isaiah says which is described in Isaiah chapter 6.

Memory Verse

1Timothy 3:15 “If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” 3150

Q and A

What are the two main parts of the Bible? How are they different?

Give an example how the Holy Bible points to Holy Qurbana in heaven? 

What are the books known as pentateuch?

Prayer (Psalm 5:7)

"In reverence will I enter Your house and offer my vows to You." 

Lesson 4: Forgiving Father

Vocabulary

• Holy confession - Say what sins or mistakes we did to God in front of a priest.
• Repentance - To be sorry for the bad things that we did and turn away from those.
• Humility - Giving importance and respect to other people's opinions. Not prideful.

Summary

Parable of Prodigal Son - This parable is about a son who wanted to receive his inheritance before he passed away. So, he asked for it early and father gave it to him. He went off and spent it all carelessly. Soon he had nothing. He realized that his father's servants had more than him and that the pigs at his house had more to eat than him. So, he began his return to his Father with the plan to say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called as your son. Make me like one of your servants.”

Father was extremely happy that his son had returned and kissed him even before the son could say a word. God is like the loving Father here in this story. He created us and he loves us and is always eagerly waiting for us to return to Him for His grace and forgiveness.

Confession is an examination of our actions and trying not to make the same mistakes again. We must show repentance and the willingness to do right to have God's forgiveness.

God gave his priesthood to the apostles by giving them a special ordination to do it. He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Q and A

What did the prodigal son plan to tell the father? Did he say that? Why?

Why is God willing to forgive and to whom?

What is confession?

Why should we respect our parents, priests, and elders?

Memory Verse

John 20: 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Lesson 5: Holy Matrimony

Vocabulary

• Holy Matrimony - One of the sacraments of the Orthodox Church in which a man and woman are united by the Church to follow the preaching of Christ and raise up a faithful family.
• Covenant - An agreement over promise.
• Genesis - the first book in the Old Testament.
• Minnu - a small gold pendant with a cross on it.
• Manthrakodi - The bridal sari given by the groom's family, which serves as the veil for the bride.

Summary

God created Adam in his image. When God saw that he was lonely, he wanted to give him a companion, so he put the man into deep sleep and made the woman Eve out of him.

When Adam saw Eve for the first time, he said, “This is now one of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore, when a man leaves his father and mother and joins his wife, they shall become one flesh.” 

St. Paul compares the love between the husband and wife to the love between Christ and the Church. So, Christ is like the bridegroom, and the church is like the bride. And in marriage a husband is to be like Christ offering himself to his wife and serving her, and the wife is to be like the church, following her husband's guidance.

Two parts of the Holy Matrimony service

The orthodox marriage service is divided into two main parts, the blessing of the rings and the blessing of the crowns. A ring has no loose ends. It signifies the permanency and the lifelong nature of the relationship expected from the couple. The goal is to love each other always. The blessing of the crowns is the central part of the marriage ceremony. The couple is given crowns as they are now king and queen of their own Kingdom on earth, their new royal family which they rule in love. These crowns are to be worn by the husband and the wife forever.

In Malankara Orthodox tradition, the groom ties the minnu around the neck of the bride. The minnu is suspended on seven threads drawn out of the Manthrakodi. The seven strands represent the bride, the bridegroom, the couple's parents, and the church. It remains there for one week until the groom's mother cuts the thread and the minnu is moved into a chain. It represents that the groom is accepting her as his own and their lifelong inseparable bond. 

Then towards the end, the Achen places the Manthrakodi upon the bride's head. It symbolizes Rebecca, who took a veil and covered herself when she first saw Isaac. It is a symbol of groom's acceptance of his responsibility to care for and cherish his bride. The priest stands as the mediator between God and the couple, while the congregation stands as witness. 

Q and A

How many parts are there for the Orthodox Holy Matrimony service?

What does the ring symbolize?

Why do the couples receive the crowns? 

What do the seven threads drawn out of the Manthrakodi represent?

Who is the mediator between God and the couple in holy matrimony? 

Why is Manthrakodi used to cover the bride's Head?

Memory Verse

Mark 10: 7-9 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”