Confirmation 2005
Lesson 3– Sunday 22nd May, Bentleigh
The
Temple Society
Prayer
followed by silence
Let’s
take the time, just to be
Let’s
feel time, slowly passing by
Let’s
make time, to gain understanding
Let’s
use time, wisely
Let’s
not waste the time given to us by life
Amen
Discussion
topic:
“What do you know
about the Temple Society?”
·
Have you ever been
asked what church you belong to?
·
What do you say?
·
What is the
reaction?
·
How do you explain
the Temple Society?
Today’s
lesson is designed to help you answer the question “What is the Temple
Society?”
What
is the Temple Society?
·
A religious society
o
concerned
with values and goals of life
o
striving
for a complete and satisfying life
o
concerned
with the BIG and DEEP questions of life (as were discussed last week)
o
awareness
of the divine, the creative God-being within us
·
Christian society
·
Community
·
Free Christian community
·
Independent community – not affiliated with any other Christian church
What
does it mean to be Christian?
·
Follow the teachings of Jesus
·
His main teaching of love: love
God with all your being and you’re your neighbour as yourself (Matthew
22:37-39)
·
We differ from other Christian churches by focusing on:
o
only
on what Jesus taught, rather than on Jesus as a god or son of God
o
our
personal behaviour and actions, rather than on rituals and liturgy (ceremonies
and sacraments practiced in church)
o
taking
responsibility for our own behaviour, and not expecting forgiveness
from God via a Priest
o
our
own individual, direct relationship with God, rather than needing intermediaries
(such as priests)
o
individual’s
search for faith in a God, rather than set creeds or dogmas (teachings that
everyone has to know and believe in)
Why
are we called the Temple Society?
·
A Temple, from ancient times, is a dwelling for God
·
Reconsider some of the names for God, that were used in the last lesson: the divine, the life-force,
‘The Force’, spirit, energy, power…
·
God (how ever you describe her) is in each one of us, part of every
human being
·
Templers act together as building stones of God’s spiritual temple
These
last two ideas come from these Bible texts (find
them in your Bible, and mark them)
1
Corinthians 3:16
1
Peter 2:5a
1
Corinthians 6:19
Ephesians
2:19-22
What
is the aim of the Temple Society?
·
To put Jesus’ teaching of love into everyday life
·
Create the world that Jesus envisaged – Kingdom of God
·
Work towards a balanced personal and collective development in harmony
with each other and the environment
·
Create the Kingdom of God on earth – enhancing the quality of life
The
motto of the Temple society Set your
mind on God’s Kingdom and his justice before everything else, and all the
rest will come to you as well (Matthew 6:33) will be dealt with in a
session on its own, it is so important.
All
read the brochure: About the Temple
Society
Further reading: The second menu item on www.templers.org
titled: Religious Perspective.
The
second half of the lesson will be run like a trivia competition on the
information contained in the About the
Temple Society brochure and what was discussed earlier. You will be able to
join a team vie telephone.