7th Grade Confirmation Curriculum

Seventh Grade Confirmation Class Outline Fall 2007

Click on the highlighted topics to access class notes and discussion questions.

September 12: Introduction and Orientation. This class is for both parents and. students. We will discuss the schedule for the year, the program’s guidelines and requirements, and the year’s curriculum.

September 19: Introduction to the Bible and the Creation Story in Genesis. We will address questions such as “What is the Bible?”, “Why is the Bible still relevant to our lives today?”, and “Who wrote the Bible?”. We will also talk about what it means to be created in the image of God.

September 26: Adam and Eve. We will look at this timeless story to find what it tells us about God, humans, and the relationship between the two. We will also look at how this story relates to our present lives, seeking answers to questions such as, “Are there any serpents in your life”.

Oct. 3: Abraham: The beginning of the relationship between God and his chosen people. We will discuss the meaning of covenant. God’s covenant with His people will be an ongoing theme throughout the year.

Oct. 10: Jacob and Esau: We will dramatize the story of Jacob and Esau.

We will discuss sibling rivalry and the very human character of the people whose stories are told in the Bible. We will continue our discussion of God’s covenant with his people.

Oct. 17: Moses and the Burning Bush: We will ask ourselves, “Can we expect to come across a burning bush?” If not, in what way might God call to us? We will discuss what kind of people God called on to be his leaders on earth and what characteristics made Moses a good leader.

Oct. 24: The Ten Plagues and the Israelites Exodus From Egypt: We will look carefully at the story of how God through Moses freed the Israelites form slavery and perhaps dramatize parts of it. We will discuss the difficult question, “How could the God of love have been directly involved in such nastiness and death?”

Nov. 14 The Ten Commandments: We will talk about why did God give the Ten Commandments to his people? We will consider the first four commandments as relating to our relationship with God and the following six as relating to our relationships with each other. We will also explore the perspective that if we are in solid relationship with God, it follows that we will naturally live out the commandments. We will also talk about the difference between laws and the spirit of these laws.

Nov. 21: No Class. Thanksgiving break.

Nov. 28: Judges and Kings: We will talk about the transition in leadership from Moses to Judges and then Kings and what happened as man claimed more and more power for himself. We will explore what constitutes good leadership and bad leadership. We will share thought about what leaders both good and bad can we can identify in our lives. We will challenge ourselves as to whether or not we are leaders in our own lives. If we are not leaders how do we live that out? If we are not leaders, what holds us back, what might encourage us to assume leadership roles?

Dec. 5: Psalms: What are the psalms? Who wrote them? What makes this book of the Bible unique and popular book of the Bible? We will write psalms of our own. And...Advent.

Dec. 12 : Wisdom Literature: A brief overview of the parts of the Bible that make up wisdom literature. We will discuss proverbs and how something written so long ago can still be meaningful and accurate today. We will look at the story of Solomon and ask ourselves how we would respond if God told us that we could have anything to make our lives happier and He would give it to us.

Dec.19: Christmas Story Part 1. We will talk about how we prepare today for the celebration of Christ’s birth. We will also discuss the meaning inherent in traditions of all kinds and especially in our liturgy.

Seventh-Grade Confirmation Class

January – May 2008

The New Testament

1/9 The Christmas Story, Part II

1/16 Exam Review, essay assigned

1/23 Exam Review

1/30 Exam, essays due

2/6 Class cancelled; attend Ash Wednesday service! (required)

2/13 The Gospels & Jesus

2/20 Class cancelled

2/27 Parables

3/5 Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness