Pray to God

1. Brief and serious: Simple, direct and serious prayer is sufficient. It does not have to be long. Prayer is not meant to manipulate God or to ask for God’s blessings in return because God already know everyone’s needs.

2. Ask for matters regarding God’s Kingdom first: Ask for the coming of God’s Kingdom so that more people will know about God’s truth.

3. Ask for our daily needs: Ask God to provide us with our daily needs, and believe that God is the Provider who will satisfy us.

4. Ask for a forgiving heart: Pray for God’s forgiveness - not only ask for the forgiveness from God and from others, but also ask for the ability to forgive others.

5. Ask to win over temptation: Ask for protection from God and through His given ability to win over trials on faith and to maintain God’s truth.

True Piety Students’ References Material 3 2-2

The correct attitude and intention of praying:

Jesus taught us how to pray: (Mt: 6:9-13)

Prayer Areas Relationships

May your holy name be honoured;

may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Godly Matters

Regarding our relationships with God

Give us today the food we need.

Basic Needs Regarding our own daily living

Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.

Social

Relationships

Regarding our relationship with others

Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.

Spiritual Life

Regarding our relationships with God

References:

1. Barclay, William (1956). The Gospel of Matthew. Vol. I Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press. pp.214-216.

2. Viviano, Benedict T. (1990). The Gospel According to Matthew. In R. Brown & J.

Fitzmyer, (Eds.). New Jerome Biblical Commentary (pp. 641). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:

Prentice Hall.

3. Hagner, Donald A. (1993). Outward Vs Inward Righteousness. In Word Biblical Commentary (Vol.33A, pp.136-154).Texas: Word Books.

Attitude towards Life (1): Eternal Wealth Teacher’s Guide 2-1

1. Biblical reference: Matthew 6:19-24

2. Objectives:

y To learn about Jesus’ teachings on riches in Heaven and to cultivate good characters.

y To understand by studying the parable the lamp of the body, that people should share their wealth with others generously in order to establish a close relationship with God as well as with the others.

y To understand, through Jesus’ teachings on “no one can be a slave of two masters”, that people should not set riches on earth as their goal, otherwise they will become slaves of money and lose the chance to serve God.

y To learn the values of cultivating good characters, being generous to others, and serving God.

3. Teaching strategies Background

Information

y Jesus taught people to rectify their attitude towards riches on earth and not to devote themselves to storing up riches on earth. This is because riches on earth are merely earthly possessions that may easily be lost and have no everlasting values.

y Jesus used the parables of light, eyes and body to point out that if people commit themselves to following God’s will and generously share the riches on earth with others, they will be able to establish a close relationship with God. Their lives will be filled with light and happiness. On the contrary, if people crave for riches on earth, or even become jealous of others’ possessions, their lives will be filled with

darkness.

y Jesus reminded people that no one can serve God and money at the same time. If people choose to serve money, they will

Attitude towards Life (1): Eternal Wealth Teacher’s Guide2-2

Enquiry Questions y What are eternal riches in Jesus’ point of view?

y How is Jesus’ parable of the lamp of the body related to the teachings on riches?

y According to Jesus’ teachings, what should one’s goal be?

How will it affect the way people live?

Learning Activities y Through group discussion, help students understand Jesus’

views on eternal riches and find out the characteristics of riches in heaven and riches on earth.

y Through case study, help students understand Jesus’ parable of the lamp of the body, analyse how generous people and ungenerous people lead different lives.

y Through modern economic studies, lead students to reflect on their lifestyle and encourage them to seek God’s will, care for others, cultivate good characters in themselves, and develop their potentials.

Key Concepts y Storing up riches in heaven y The lamp of the body Generic Skills,

Values and

Attitudes Involved

y Refer to the ‘Generic Skills, Values and Attitudes’ tables included in the following activity sheets.

High-Order Questions

y How do people put Jesus’ teachings on eternal riches into practice and lead a life with God as the primary goal?

Extended Activities y Find out and comment on how people in Hong Kong use their money and decide the best ways of managing money.

Attitude towards Life (1): Eternal Wealth Activity One 4-1

Activity One

Enquiry Questions Generic Skills Values and Attitudes What are eternal

riches in Jesus’ point of view?

Collaboration skills,

communication skills, critical thinking skills

Equality, kindness, compassion, empathy, mutuality, self-reflection, well-being of humankind

Teaching Steps:

Step 1: Teacher does warm-up exercise with students by asking them to reflect on the