Confession & Repentance: Gr. 6 - Gr. 8

Lesson Objectives

Resources

The problem with sin

In John 17:21, God calls us to be one with Him by living a life of holiness and perfection (Mattew 5:48, 1 Peter 1:16.) Sin, however, separates us from God. It literally means “missing the mark.” It is against our nature to hate, to not forgive, to sin, etc.
Since God is the Creator and source of life. By committing sin, we are separating ourselves from Him and moving away from eternal life and towards life.
It is like a phone when it is plugged in, it receives charge and power. The moment we unplug it and start using it, the power starts to drain, eventually reaching a dead battery.
The snowball effects of sin

James 1:14-15: " But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."
When we get tempted, satan picks up on our desires and provides an opportunity for us to fulfill the (negative) desire. However; it is only when we actually follow through with the opportunity do we commit sin.

Why we need to confess and the significance of the absolution

People sometimes question why they need to confess to a priest, and why can’t they confess in prayer and on their own. Firstly, having a father of confession helps hold us accountable for our actions. We still need to confess to God when we have our own personal prayer. That is the first part of repentance. We complete our repentance during confession.
God instituted confession and He alone can forgive our sins. In the New Testament, He extended His authority through the Holy Spirit to His disciples after the resurrection. This same authority is also extended to priests. Hence why the Priesthood is its own sacrament.
As such, we need the power of the absolution - the prayer Abouna prays over us after we have confessed - to be able to receive the Grace and help of the Holy Spirit to be made clean again, to gain the strength to overcome our sins
We cannot go about life and our struggles on our own. We will, without a doubt, fall and fail. The only way we can get up is through the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit through the sacrament and specifically through confession, where we are made new again whenever we fall into sin.

How to get a father of confession

If you don’t have a father of confession, it is never too late to get one. You can always go up to any of our priests in the church and ask them to be your father of confession/take of your confession.
You can also ask any of your servants to get you in touch with one of our priests.

Maybe add a slide or printout in the presentation with the contact information of AA, AJ, and AA.

How to prepare for confession

To reap the full benefits of confession, we must prepare ourselves through self-examination. We should dedicate alone time to reflect and evaluate ourselves:

Evaluating our behavior against the ten commandments and the Beatitudes.
Evaluating our behaviors at home, at school, at church
Evaluating ourselves with respect to the Passions such as: Pride, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Greed, Envy, Sloth, Despair
Evaluating the sins of commission (as previously listed), or sins of omission (James 4:17)
Evaluate the practicing of your canons: reading the bible, praying the Agpeya etc.

Some people find it helpful to write down their sins to not forget them when they go to confession.
After examining our sins we need to repent: confessing our sins to God through personal prayer.
Then we verbally confess our sins before a priest. Remember, it is not the priest taking your confession and guiding you but rather God working through the priest.