Destruction of Jerusalem

Destruction of Jerusalem (45minutes)
(To be presented as an epic story.)
Read Matthew 24:1-28

Jerusalem, 70 AD. The city, it's name meaning 'city built by the God of Peace' had been established 2100 years before by a mysterious man named Melchizedek. Melchizedek was both a king, and a priest, and as a priest he honoured the one true God.

1000 years later, King David made Jerusalem the capital city of his empire. Israel was united under this one king. He was the wealthiest and most powerful king in the entire region. His was succeeded by his son, Solomon, who added to the glory of this kingdom. He built the temple there- the center for Jewish worship. It was believed that the most high God actually dwelt in the temple, in the Holy of Holies.

For another 1000 years, Jerusalem would be subject to wars and insurrections, overun in turn by Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. The city walls and Temple would be destroyed by war, its people deported. Then they would return, rebuild the city and it's temple. Its people would look with hope to the day a ruler, descended from David, predicted by the prophets and scribes, and anointed by God, would arise who would rule the whole world from Jerusalem. He would overthrow these foreign powers.

By 70 AD, Jerusalem had a population of 60,000. It was under the iron fist of the Romans, the greatest empire in history. Puppet kings were set up, since Jews were difficult to rule, and demanded that they live by their own rules. They spoke their own language, obeyed their own laws, worshiped their own God. The temple was one of the greatest structures in the world- known as one of the seven wonders. Jerusalem was the center of the world for all Jews. It was believed that when God separated the land from the sea, he did so by pulling up on the mountains upon which Jerusalem was built,and the rest of the world came up with it.

Jerusalem was the political, financial, spiritual and cultural capital for the Jews. To a modern day Catholic American, Jerusalem was the equivalent of New York, Washington DC, Hollywood and the Vatican, all rolled into one.

New sects were arising in Jerusalem. One, known as “The Way” or “Christians”, claimed that the Messiah had already come, and that the victory he had intended was not a political one. The Jewish hierarchy suppressed this sect. It undermined their very culture and reason for being.

Another one gaining momentum were the Zealots. Zealots hated the Romans, and all non Jews, or Gentiles. They felt that Jews alone were the chosen people, and that they should fight against foreign rulers with violence. Christians, who taught that all people of every race were welcomed by God, were perverting the faith. But the real enemy was the Romans, the foreign oppressors.

Strange signs had been seen in and around Jerusalem for some time. A comet flew over the city for several months, that looked like a sword. Heavy iron gates in the temple would suddenly swing open of their own accord, and require several men to close. There was a piece of scarlet thread which hung in the temple, which would turn white when the atoning sacrifice was made, indicating that God had accepted the sacrifice. It had ceased to do so for the past 40 years, since the time when the curtain which separated the holy of holies from the people had been torn in two by a great earthquake. Some took this to mean that God no longer dwelt in the temple. Christians pointed out that these things had taken place just at the moment that their Messiah, Jesus, had died.

Eleazar was a priest, the son of the High Priest. As such it was his job to offer sacrifices in the temple. Foreigners often offered sacrifices to God, because though they were not Jews, they respected the temple and the God it housed. However Eleazar had been influenced by the Zealots, and he refused to offer sacrifices for gentiles. So that when Caesar himself wished to offer a sacrifice in the temple, it was refused. This was considered a great affront to the Romans. Several high priests and other officials tried to persuade Eleazar to offer sacrifice, but he refused. He surrounded himself with like minded Jews, and formed a small army, which occupied the temple.

Around the same time, the Zealots managed to take Massada- a fortress on a high hill outside of Jerusalem. They killed the Romans who were there, and occupied it themselves. These two acts were construed as acts of war. The leaders of the Jews knew that Eleazar and his men must be put down- so they sent word to neighboring officials in Syria to send armies to fight Eleazar. They did send Syrian armies, who then warred against the Zealots throughout the country. The dead were piled up in all the cities in the country, but Eleazar and his men remained in the temple.

A Roman by the name of Cestius laid siege to Jerusalem with several legions of soldiers. Eleazar and his men were terrified, and ran away- at which point the Jewish leaders prepared to open the gates and welcome in the Romans, to put an end to the war. However, for no apparent reason, Cestius suddenly ordered his men to retreat. As they did so, Eleazar and his men were emboldened. They began to pursue the Romans, killing those who were in the back of the retreat. Before long, Zealots from all over the country were joining in the fight, throwing the Roman ranks into dissorder, and killing several commanders. Cestius realized that the army of his enemies was growing even while his own was shrinking, and so he knew that he would have to flee from the whole region as quickly as possible. He and his men boarded boats on the lake of Galilee, in order to cross it and escape. But the zealots pursued them, and engaged them in battle on the lake.

However, here the Romans found that they had the advantage, both in numbers, and in weapons. There were many more Romans upon the water than there were Jews, and while the Jews threw stones at the Romans, the Romans had archers who fired arrows at the Jews. As the arrows flew further than the stones, The Jews were unable to even get close enough to make an attack. The Roman ships were also equipped with a long, sharp pole at the front. which was used to puncture and sink the Jewish boats. The Jews were left to swim for it- but on the shore, there were more Romans. Some of them attempted to swim towards the Roman ships, but the Romans would use their swords and cut off the heads or the hands of these.

In the end, the lake of Galilee was so full of blood that it was said that the water had turned to blood, and the shores were lined with shipwrecks and corpses, bloated and purifying in the sun. All, whether Roman or Jew, were punished by the stench.

In the end, Eleazars army had grown in numbers and in confidence. His army consisted now not only of religious zealots, but also of robbers and mercenaries, who took over the temple and the surrounding area. Lawlessness reigned, and there was no one who could stop it. And Rome considered itself to be at war.

It was the time of the passover, and Jews from all over were pouring into Jerusalem, such that the city now contained well over 2 Million people. A new army, men known as Idumeans, under the command of a man named Simon, came to Jerusalem in response to the leaders who had asked for assistance against Eleazar. However, upon arriving at Jerusalem with some 10,000 soldiers prepared for war, they were denied entrance to the city. And so they were forced to camp outside.

While in their tents, a massive thunderstorm arose. All night violent winds shook the city, with an onslaught of rain, ongoing lightning and thunder all through the night. There was also an earthquake, and it was thought that the thunderstorm itself was so powerful that it had caused the earthquake.

By this time, many in Jerusalem realized that war was coming, and wanted to get out before it would happen. However, the Zealots saw to it that all of the gates were guarded, so that no one could desert. The rich were able to bribe their way out of the city, but the poor were trapped. Should they try to leave, the zealots would kill them. Then, they would pile their bodies in the streets as a statement to those who would resist or would desert. Anyone who attempted to bury the dead would end up dead themselves. It should be noted that there were over 1 million people in the city who did not even live there. Between the extraordinary crowds and the number of dead, disease broke out in the city.

While Eleazar and his men continued to rule over the temple region, and Simon and his soldiers were camped outside the wall, yet a third army rose up within Jerusalem! This one was composed of Galileans, under the leadership of a man named John. These men took advantage of the lawlessness in the city, and began looting and robbing and taking whatever they wanted for themselves. In fact, they abandoned all scruples and morality, and began crossdressing, and committing homosexual acts all over the city. They would dress as women, and walk in effeminate fashion, and make advances on men, but suddenly draw swords and kill those who resisted them!

Those that fled from John found Simon outside the city walls, and he would kill them lest they defected to the Romans.

Eventually the people in Jerusalem invited Simon and his army to come into the city walls, and to fight against the armies of John and Eleazar. Simon managed to secure the upper and much of the lower city. John found himself fighting armies on two fronts. Eleazar and his men were above him, on the Temple Mount. Simon and his men were below. Of course, it is easier when using arrows and catapults to fight the people below, rather than above, therefore Eleazar had the same advantage over John as John had over Simon. However, John had powerful engines of war, such as catapults, which could fire rocks and arrows right over the walls of the temple and into its courtyards. Thus the priests in the temple who continued through all of this offering their sacrifices did so in danger of being struck down at the altar. And many were struck down, and mingled their blood with that of their sacrifices.

Those in the temple were given to drinking binges. When they would get drunk, this would free John enough to be able to focus his armies on Simon. On one such occasion John succeeded in burning the buildings that housed Simon's grain supplies. In retaliating, Simon burned Johns supplies. In the end, all of the grain storehouses, which were kept in the event of a famine or a siege, were destroyed. There had been enough food in the storehouses to feed the entire populace for several years. But now a severe famine set in.

In the meantime, the Romans had gathered no fewer than 10 legions of soldiers under the command of Titus, and laid siege to the city. No more food would come in. In fact, the Romans destroyed the surrounding forests and gardens to such an extent that to this day Jerusalem is surrounded by desert.

In time John succeeded in taking the temple, while Eleazars men hid in subteranean passages under the Temple. Many of Eleazars men joined Johns army, including Eleazar himself, giving John a combined army of 8000 men. Simon meanwhile had 15000 men. The two factions continued to war with each other in the city, while the Romans camped outside. The romans had set up their engines of war, and they began to hail down stones weighing as much as 100 pounds on the city.

As the famine grew deeper, the soldiers inside the city began to go mad. They would search a house for food, and if they found it, eat it, leaving the occupants of the house to starve. If they did not find it, they would torment the occupants on the assumption that they had hidden it exceptionally well. There was no difference now between the rich and the poor, except that the rich were more likely to have food, and thus more likely to have their homes torn apart in search of it. If people looked healthy, it was assumed that they had food somewhere hidden. Only those who were clearly starving were left alone. Eventually they realized that people might pretend that they were dying, in order to be left alone, and so these were searched as well.

After this had gone on for some time, in one home the soldiers could smell that some sort of meat had been cooked. They confronted the woman in the house about it, and she showed them where she hid the meat. She had already eaten half of it. She had killed and cooked her own infant.

In desperation even the soldiers in the city began eating their shoes and their loin cloths, their leather shields and their dung. Many tried to escape the city and find food. Those the Romans caught were crucified outside the city wall. There so many crucified that eventually the Romans ran out of crosses and room.

Some of the starving actually managed to escape from the city, and made their way to Arab and Syrian cities. There they were given food, but some ate so much from great hunger, while their stomachs had shrunk, that they literally burst open. Upon doing so, it was discovered that they had smuggled gold out of the city by swallowing it, in hopes and getting it out of their dung later. Once that was discovered, it was assumed that all of the Jews escaping the city contained gold, and so the Syrians and Arabs cut them open to find it. In one night about 2000 Jews were thus dissected.

Meanwhile, those inside the walls had begun to throw dead bodies outside the gates. It is reported that from one gate alone, 600,000 corpses were thrown out. There were so many dead everywhere that the stench prevented the Romans from invading the city.

Another strange sign appeared. At sunset one day, horsemen and chariots were seen racing around the sky over Jerusalem. A man claiming to be a prophet told the people that they must go to the temple where God was going to save them by a miracle. He turned out to be a false prophet. Several other false prophets arose, set up on purpose by the armies of John and Simon. They were set up in order to give the people hope, so that no one would try to escape, and to reaffirm the idea that one of the two men was the messiah.
In the end, the Romans did invade. They brought their ensigns, their flags, and the symbols of their country into the temple and offered sacrifices to them as idols. They utterly destroyed the city, burning down the temple, plundering all of the wealth, removing every stone and digging up the very foundations so that you wouldn't even know there had ever been a building where the temple had stood. Those that were not killed became slaves, or were sent to the provinces to be killed by gladiators or wild beasts in the stadiums. Even among the slaves, there were so many, and so few buyers, that they went for very cheap, and many of them were denied food from their captors and died of hunger afterall.

Thus the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, and a new era began.

Gods Gift to Women

Gods Gift to Women (90 minutes)

The 'chick flick phenomenon.'
1. Why are girls into boy bands and chick flicks, etc? Why do they swoon and literally feel like they are falling in love?
1. Guys may like to see movies with hot girls, but they don't want to marry them- they just want to have sex with them.
2. Girls actually daydream about marriage, and wan to know things like how many pets the actor has, and what his favorite colour is. They will even write letters to ask these questions!
2. Oxytosin.
1. Oxytosin is a hormone formed in women that creates a bond.
1. It is formed by breatfeeding, romance, sex, etc.
2. Movies and boy bands may actually create oxytosin in a woman, and make her want to “marry” people they don't even know!
3. Men and women were created for each other.
1. Women, even much more than men, go through their lives wondering who they will marry, what he will be like, etc.
2. When you get married, you will 'give yourself' to your wife.
3. If you were a father, and your daughter was getting married, what kind of guy would you want her to marry?
4. God who is all good and all knowing and loves your future wife more than anyone else in the world ever could... has chosen you to be the most important person in her life!
5. You are Gods gift to women! (Or, at least, to a particular woman!)
We were created to be a gift for women. We are supposed to give ourselves to them. This is love- giving yourself to another. The opposite of this is Lust- taking the other for yourself.
1. Theology of the body
1. JPII taught a lot about sex. He said that the way the human body was made reflects deeper realities about our spirits.
2. God chose to use sex to create more humans- which he could have done without sex. But he wanted to create humans from an intimate act of love between humans.
3. In sex, the man literally gives himself to the woman and she literally recieves him. Man is supposed to be a gift!
2. common struggles with lust.
1. Instead of giving ourselves as a gift, we try to take women and use them.
2. A lot of Christian men who are saving sex for marriage still struggle with lust in other forms.
3. Masturbating or looking at pornography may seem harmless, in that there is no victim, but we are still using women for ourselves rather than making sex a gift.
“virtue” as manliness
1. What starts out as a thought or one time action eventually becomes a habit.
2. If we have poor self discipline about sex when we are single, then we will have poor discipline when we are married.
3. As men, we need to develop virtues. The word 'virtue' comes from the Latin word “vir” which means 'man'. So to be virtuous is to be manly!
4. To become virtuous we must train ourselves. A lot of men will fast for example to gain self control.
5. If you struggle with lust, you may have to take drastic steps to protect yourself. You may even have to take the TV or computer out of your room!
Transformation in Christ.
1. Christ was 'fully God, fully man'.
2. Some say he would not really be fully man, because he never sinned
3. Everytime we sin, it takes something away from our manliness.
4. So Christ was actually the only 'real man' ever!
5. By being a Christian, praying, receiving sacraments and growing in virtue, we are becoming like Christ.
6. Christ was to transform us completely so that to be “Christian” will mean to be “other Christs.”
Honouring women.
1. lust- this is clearly dishonouring to women, because we treat them like objects.
2. flirting- Flirting and dating can be OK in the right circumstances, but we have to remember the oxytosin. Girls get a much bigger emotional bond through these things, which means it hurts them more when you don't end up dating.
1. Guys sometimes wish girls would just take them at face value, and see flirting as fun without reading too much into it. But girls can't because of their oxytosin! So flirting and dating without leading to a commitment is bound to hurt girls more than it hurts us. So if you want to honour women, make sureyour actions towards them communicate the truth.
3. respect
1. Men ought to honour women in a way that is even higher than the respect we give each other. Not only are we a gift to women, but they are the most precious gift that God can give us. So we should never take them for granted.
2. Look for little ways to honor women daily (let the guys brainstorm. Be sure to suggest that they carry the luggage for the ladies when it is time to go home on Friday.)
3. (have a plan ahead of time for how you can honour the ladies with the guys.)
4. Be a gift to women n everything you do.
Gods gift to women bracelettes.
1. Have bracelettes that say “Gods gift to women” for each of the guys. Challenge the guys to wear them, and to let them be reminders that they are a gift, and should live as such!

Jesus as Lord and Saviour

Jesus as Lord and Saviour (Peter)

introduction
1. You may have heard the question “Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour?” or something like it. Even though that quote is not exactly found in the Bible, it is widely considered to be the thing that sets Christians apart from everyone else. If you are a Christian, you will accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour.
Jesus as Lord
1. Saying Jesus is Lord basically means he is the Boss.
2. In the Old Testament, the word “Lord” usually meant God.
3. Jesus is God.
4. Some people debate who Jesus actually was. Some say he was just a good teacher or a prophet. However;
1. Jesus claimed to be God- this is why he was put to death.
2. Jesus said other things which actually a good teacher would never say;
1. “Be like me, because I am humble.”
2. Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do to me.
3. Wherever there are two or three gathered in my name, there am I in their midst.
5. “Come follow me.” Rabbis in Jesus' time would say this to people, as if to say “Come be my disciple, I will make you into a Rabbi just like me.”
1. Rabbis could choose how hard to make it for their followers. The things they would have to do would be called their “Yoke”. (A yoke is the thing you but on oxen when they till the ground in old farms. It's like something they have to carry/drag)
2. Jesus said “My yoke is easy”, as in, it's not hard to be my follower.
3. He also said “Whoever follows me will have to take up their cross”. In other words, the 'yoke' of Jesus is his cross.
4. If we say Jesus is Lord, we make him our Rabbi- which means we will become like him. But he died because he loved people. We may have to do the same if we want to be his followers!
Jesus as Saviour
1. Joke;
1. The Devil went to God with this complaint. “Jesus is totally out of date, he can't relate to the people at all anymore. He doesn't have facebook, or MSN- he can barely even type. I can prove that I am better than He is.” God agreed and I was decided that both Jesus and the Devil should have to compete to create a document which presents their case. They would have to use computers, and have a time limit.
2. So, the competition began. The Devil was working hard and fast, getting quotes on line, and citing them, creating graphics, even developing a power point in order to explain his brochure. Meanwhile, Jesus was doing the old two finger type. It was almost the end of the allotted time- the devil had created a sharp, full colour two sided document and accompanying multimedia presentation, and had nothing left but to print his document. Jesus had about 3 lines, with typos.
3. Suddenly there was a power failure. When it came back on, the Devil discovered that he had lost everything, but Jesus had not. Then God came in and said “Ok, lets see what you've got!” The devil protested, asking for more time, explaining that there was a power failure. But God declared Jesus the winner, due to his 3 lines. “That's not fair!” the devil cried, I had so much more!” “yeah,” God said, “but Jesus saves.”
2. We are “Saved by grace through faith”
1. Grace means “Gods free gift.” We don't earn salvation. It doesn't matter how good you are, you can never save yourself! No one deserves to go to Heaven!
2. We are saved through faith- this does not mean that if you choose to believe in Jesus that he will automatically save you. Jesus himself warned that a lot of his followers would not get into Heaven. On the other hand, it is possible that many no Christians will get there. To have faith means to believe that God can and will do what he promissed, and not to give up hope.
3. Saved from what?
1. When we say we are saved, we don't mean just saved from Hell.
2. The word in the bible that gets translated “saved” is also translated “healed,liberated, forgiven”
1. Healed- sin hurts us. Our own sins, those of others. Jesus can heal you from the dammage that sins have done to you. Some of you may have had serious sins committed against you- you may have been sexually abused, or bullied, or threatened, or had to choose between two parents in a divorce. Or you mayy have had an abortion. Jesus can heal you from the dammage of all of these things!
2. Liberated- Sins trap us. We might be addicted to sex or porn or drugs or alcohol or cutting or occult things. By the power of God, we can be set free from our sins! It may take time- Jesus never promised that it would be instant. But again, we are saved by faith, so we need to just keep on believing and hoping.
3. Forgiven- we might hate ourselves for what we have done. Again, you may have had an abortion, or maybe you had sex, or almost had sex, even just once and you hate yourself for it. Maybe you're ashamed because of your sins, and you think that no one who really knew you could ever love you. But God does. He will forgive you!

Freedom
1. Jesus wants to give us lasting freedom from sin. He does this not by forcibly preventing you from sinning, but by working with your free will to strengthen you and over time give you freedom!
2. Once you are set free, you will not even want to do the things you used to do. That is the degree to which Jesus can transform you!
Conclusion
1. In order to be a Christian, you have to make Jesus your own Lord and Savior. Make him your master, and let him save you from all sin! (End the talk with a prayer service, whereby you have people stand and be prayed over for each of the following things. Call out an issue, have those people who it applies to stand, and say a quick prayer of healing an freedom for them. They should not feel pressured to stand if they are embarrassed. Get someone to play background music and create the mood! People may stand for more than one issue)

Reconciliation

Reconciliation (1 hour including examination)

We are all sinners in need of grace
1. The word 'sin' means to 'miss the mark'. In other words, it means being imperfect.
2. God created us to be in a perfect relationship with him- sinning hurts and eventually kills that relationship. Since God is love, life and truth, sin can eventually kills love, life and truth in us.
3. Just like any relationship, we need to be reconciled to God, and have our relationship restored.
4. God gives us grace, which means he forgives our sins and makes it possible for us to resist sin. Without grace, it would be impossible to not sin- and to sin seriously.
1. St Clement of Alexandria wrote in about 190 AD “A man by himself, working and toiling at freedom from passion, achieves nothing. But if he plainly shows his great desire and complete sincerity in this, he will attain it by the addition of the power of God. Indeed, God conspires with willing souls. But if they abandon their eagerness, the spirit which is bestowed by God is also restrained.”
1. In other words, it is impossible to defeat sin by your own power, but that does not mean that you do nothing and God just does it for you. Grace builds on nature, and God helps those who help themselves. If you want to be free from your sin, God wants to make it happen, and working together you will be!
Jesus instituted the sacrament of penance for the remission of sins. Through this sacrament, and others, you get the grace you need.
1. When Jesus forgave sins, people wee astonished, because no one has the right to do that but God. They didn't realize that Jesus was God. But Jesus passed that power on to his disciples, and so on to the Church.
2. Matthew 16:19 (Jesus speaking to Peter) “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.”
3. Since the earliest times, Catholics believed that in saying this, Jesus gave the Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church alone, the authority to forgive sins.
1. Tertullian wrote in about 220 AD “'But', you say, 'the Church has the power of forgiving sins.' this I acknowledge.”
2. Firmillian wrote in 256 AD “Therefore the power of forgiving sins was given to the Apostles and to the Churches which these men, sent by Christ, established, and to the Bishops who succeeded them by being ordained in their place.”
some kind of external confession is required.
1. Despite the fact that Jesus gave the Church this power, a lot of people think they can just go straight to God for forgiveness. But the church has always taught that especially in serious matters an external confession is necessary.
2. Tertullian wrote “Thus, confession is a discipline for man's prostration and humiliation....Therefore, while it abases a man, it raises him; while it covers him with squalor, the more does it cleanse him; while it condemns, it absolves. In so far a you do not spare yourself, the more, believe me, will God spare you!”
3. In other words, we may find confession embarrassing- but this is exactly why it is so effective. We have to humble enough to admit, out loud, to another person, all of our sins, so that God can not only forgive us, but also help us to stop sinning.
4. Some people avoid confession because they are embarrassed. Or they don't tell all of their sins, or they kind of gloss over them. They might say stuff like “I was not nice to my sister” or “I didn't use my time well.” in order to say “I bully my sister and take her stuff and put her down in front of her friends, and I look at pornography on the internet and masterbate.” If it is embarassing, it is more important to say it! And you should go at least twice a year.
5. If you want to be right with God, you should go more often- at least once a month. But if you want to be a saint, try to get to confession every week!
Confession made to a priest followed by private penance.
1. On ocaision in the early years, people would say their confession in front of the whole church. And if, the sin was serious enough, they may even have to do some public act of penance. This would mean doing some sort of good work, or fasting, or even wearing sackcloth or something, to make up for the sin.
2. More commonly, confession happened one on one with a priest, like it does now. And your penance would be something less severe for sins that were less severe.
3. One of the Church Fathers, called Aphraates the Persian Sage had this to say about confession; “For anyone who has been wounded in battle ought not be reluctant to put himself in the care of a wise physician, because he was overcome and lost the battle. And when he has been healed, he will not be rejected by the king, but will again be counted and reckoned in his army. So also he who has been struck by Satan ought not be ashamed to bewail his folly, and to give it up, and to seek a remedy in repentance.” In other words, the priest is not going to judge you- he is like a physician, and you like a soldier. You need to keep fighting for God, trying to establish his kingdom on Earth. If you are too ashamed to admit that you are wounded, than you don't give the physician the opportunity to heal you and get you back into battle.

In a little while, you will have the opportunity to go to confession. Priests from all over Alberta will be here. Before hand we will have an examination of conscience, which will allow you to see what areas of your life you have sinned in.
1. We challenge you to take this seriously- this is your chance to be totally cleaned of all the sins you have ever comitted!
2. If you don't know what to do, or if you have never been to confession before, we want you to go anyway, and tell the priest that. He will walk you through, so don't be afraid.
3. Make a real and honest confession- don't leave anything out, or try to gloss over your sins so it is less embarrassing. That way you will receive a fuller healing.
4. Priests do this every day. They will not be surprised by your sins, or even likely remember them. They will not judge you, and are absolutely forbidden to tell anyone or treat you any differently for what you said!
1. Even if you confessed that you conspired with a terrorist who was going to hijack a plane and crash it into the Sears tower, the priest could do nothing to prevent this from happening! (But once you have repented, maybe you should do something!)

Theotokos

Theotokos (45 Minutes)

Introduction to the era
1. Legalization of Christianity under Constantine
2. Heresies! A heresy is a belief that is based in Christianity, but is in dissagrement with the official teachings of the church.
1. Gnostics
1. This was one of the major heresies. They taught that Jesus was not really a man, but rather that he only pretended to be a man, but was actually pure spirit. This would mean that he didn't really die or rise from the dead- he just faked it.
2. Arianism
1. Arianism had a saying that went “There was when He was not”. In other words, they didn't believe that Jesus was God, but said that he was a created being
Councils- The Church would call councils, where all the bishops in the world who were able to would come together and try to settle issues. Jesus had promissed the Church through the popes and councils that the Holy Spirit would guide her to make the right decisions. Here are some examples of councils.
1. Council of Jerusalem- This is the first council, and took place in Jerusalem when the apostles were still alive. You can read about it in Acts 15. The debate was whether gentiles (non Jews) would have to become Jewish before they could become Christian, which would mean getting circumsized. They decided that that was no necessary.
2. Nicea- The council of Nicea settled the debate about whether or not Jesus was God. It took place in ????????. It is from this council that we get the Nicene Creed, which is why the Creed goes on so much about how Jesus is 'God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten not made, one in being with the Father.”
3. History of Bible; At first when St Paul and St John and others were writing their letters and Gospels, they had no idea that their writings might and up in Sacred Scripture. A lot of other Christians were also writing letters, and some even wrote Gospels and put the name of apostles on these Gospels (like the Gospel of Thomas) in order to make them look authentic. The Church had to decide which books actually belong. They did this in Church councils at the end of the 4th century. So anyone who thinks that the Bible is an authority should also agree that Church Councils are since they gave us the Bible.

Theotokos
1. Theotokos means “Mother of God”. Some Christians gave this title to Mary from early times, but others debated whether it was appropriate. They said it implied that Mary came before God, when she had clearly been created by God.
2. It was decided at the council of Ephesus in 431 AD that the title was appropriate.
3. “Mother of God”- Mary is Jesus' mother, Jesus was God, therefore she is Mother of God.
4. Does not imply that she came before God.
5. She did not give birth only to Jesus' humanity (human body and soul) but also to His divinity since Jesus is only one and cannot be separated.
6. This title was another way to honour Mary!
Honour of Mary in early church
1. Christians have always taught what the Church still teaches about Mary-
1. Immaculate conception- the teaching that Mary was created sinless and remained sinless
1. Consider this ancient hymn to Jesus, written in Nisibis in about 350 AD:
You alone and your mother
are more beautiful than any others
For there is no blemish in you ,
nor any stains upon your Mother.
Who of my children
can compare in beauty to these?
2. Mary remained a virgin after Jesus was born- some people today contest this.
1. St Athanasius referred to Mary as the “Ever Virgin” as early as 358AD.
history of Rosary
1. It is popularly believed that the Rosary was given to St Dominic, who introduced the devotion in the 13th century. However, historians point to even earlier origens, going back all the way to the desert fathers, who used prayer chains with 150 beads to keep track of their prayers. It is likely that Mary did appear to Dominic and have him pass on the devotion.
Conclusion
1. Since the earliest times, Christians have honoured Mary as their mother and mother of the Church. We must never worship anyone other than God. However, honouring his mother is honouring to God.

Thy Kingdom Come

New Covenant/ Thy Kingdom Come. (1 hour)

Meaning of Covenant
1. We are in a covenant relationship with God.
2. A covenant is a type of relationship where two people give themselves to each other. A marriage is a covenant,
3. In a marriage, a husband gives himself to his wife, and vice versa. With God, He has given himself to us by being our God, by loving us, forgiving us, answering our prayers, etc.
4. We give ourselves to God by trusting Him, living our lives for him, praying, acknowledging him in public, etc.
Description of Old Covenant
1. The Old Testament is a description of the Old Covenant. It was very legalistic. The deal was this.
1. God would give the Jews special priveledges among humans, and let them live in Israel, and make them wealthy.
2. The Jews would obey everything God said, andbe different from the rest of humans by being circumsized, not marrying non Jews (Gentiles), never working on Saturday, not worshiping idols, and keeping a very particular diet.
1. This diet is known as “Kosher”. It means no pork or pig meat, ll blood must be drained from meat before it can be eaten, you can't have meat and dairy in the same meal (No cheese burgers), etc.
3. The Jews did not live up to their end of the bargain.
4. God allowed their country to be invaded and them to be deported, and did not defend them.
Promise of a new Era
1. Prophets promissed that one day a new covenant would be made- where God would include people of every race, and give them power to heal the crippled and the blind, and there would be peace.
2. A new Jewish King would rule the whole world.
3. Everyone in the new covenant would be prophets.
4. A Messiah would come who would start this new Era.
Establishment of new covenant, Messianic age.
1. This new Covenant was established by Jesus.
1. Jesus is the Messiah. The Greek word for Messiah is “Christ.”
2. Instead of being slaves like we were in the Old Covenant, in the New Covenant we are made children of God.
3. God loves us as a father. Like a perfect father, he forgives us when we screw up, but he wants us to keep trying.
4.
“Thy Kingdom Come”
1. Jesus taught us to pray, calling God 'Father'- something which had never been done before, and was considered blasphemy.
2. He said we should pray “Thy Kingdom Come.”
3. As messiah, Jesus is the Jewish King who would rule over everybody.
1. In ancient days, years would be counted from the beginning of a kings reign, so people would say “It was the 25th year of King David, or whatever.
2. This year is 2009 AD- AD stands for Anno Domine, or “year of our Lord.” Jesus' kingdom was established 2009 years ago!
4. As Christians, we are citizens in his kingdom.
5. This means that all the things that were promissed- that we could heal people and even raise people from the dead- applies to us!
6. If all the Christians in the world really lived out our faith, then we would eliminate poverty and hunger, and there would be peace.
7. Eventually everyone would realize that Christianity is true, and so the whole world would be part of the kingdom.