During class this time we talked about Moses, the great hero of the faith from the Old Testament.  Moses is a big character and we can't cover all his story.  The beginning of the story: Moses' birth, calling, and response is what we focused on.

Download this week's parent's page

Homework:  Pick out at least two things from the parent's page or below to do with students, parents and/or mentors.  Spend at least 20 minutes discussing faith form cards before our next meeting.

Here are some additional ideas and resources:

1. Slavery and deliverance are the central themes of the Exodus story.  These are themes that are not particularly familiar to our kids, but very important.  They may be familiar with them from a historic point of view (having studied slavery in the U.S. in school), but don't have personal experience with them.  The Bible deals with these themes in both an actual and a metaphoric way.  The story of Moses and Exodus are not just about the historic action of the Israelites being delivered from slavery in Egypt, but also the metaphoric message that tells us how God delivers us from our own bondage today.  Helping your student to see this will be critical to them finding value in this story.
   • To help your student understand how people might be in bondage today, compare and contrast historic slavery with something like drug addiction.  Develop a list of characteristics of slavery and another of drug abuse.  Then see which qualities are similar.  You might want to use a Venn Diagram - two interlocking circles.  Write the common characteristics in the space where the two circles intersect and the characteristics that are not common in the area of the circle that is unique to just drugs or slavery.
   • Remember people in bondage around the world by praying for them.  Watch for world news online, in the paper, or on TV.  Check out the ELCA website for news of programs that our church is doing to work for justice.
2. God calling Moses invites us to think of how God calls us too.  Sometimes we think that God only selects special people to do God's work.  People long ago like Isaiah, Peter, and Paul or people today like pastors.  We they they must be really special to be selected for God's work
   • Here are some other call stories in the Bible to read:
     • Genesis 17:1-22
     • Isaiah 6:1-10
     • Jeremiah 1:4-10
     • Matthew 4:18-22
     • Mark 10:17-22
     • Luke 1:26-38
     • Acts 9:1-19
   • God calls women too!  While all of the famous call stories in the Bible are about men.  Women play an important role in the life of Faith and the Church.  Mary Magdaline and other women supported Jesus in his ministry.  In the early church, Paul charges the church of Roman to support Phoebe, a deacon, and Junia (Romans 16) and Philippians 4, Euodia and Syntyche are mentioned as co-workers with Paul.  In addition, women served as prophetesses, evangelists, judges, leaders, and financial supporters.  God has always called women to work in the church and for Christ.  Though the church forgot this for a while, many denominations, including the ELCA, know remember it and ordain women as pastors and leaders in the church.
   • Moses helps us remember that you don't have to be perfect to be called by God.  In fact, God prefers to work with flawed people because they rely more on God.  That means we all have a calling from God.  Some of us are called to dedicate our lives to God and the Church and become pastors.  Others of us may be called to work for God in other jobs.  No matter what we do, God calls us to live our lives in service to God by loving God and our fellow humans.  How might God be calling you? Exploring a call to ministry begins by talking to Pastor and prayer.  You can learn more at the ELCA website about the various types of ministry to which people are called.
3. Is it ever OK to break the law?  The Story of Moses is filled with times when someone broke the Law: Exodus 1:15-22 tells of the Midwives who disobeyed Pharaoh's law to kill the male babies as soon as they were born.  Exodus 2:1-10 tells of Moses' Mother breaking Pharaoh's law by protecting her son.  Exodus 2:11-15 tells of the time Moses killed an Egyptian.  
   • Do you think it is ever OK to break a law?  Why or why not?  Give some examples of when it would be OK and when it wouldn't
   • Think of a law (like not stealing).  When would it be OK to break that law?  Even if it is OK to break it, should there still be consequences for breaking it?  How might it hurt someone else even though you think it's OK to break the law?
   • What kind of laws do you think God would want us to break?
   • Can there be a difference between the lawful thing to do and the moral thing to do?  Come up with some examples if you think there is?  In those cases where they are different, what do you think God wants us to do?
   • Sometimes people who feel strongly about something commit "Civil Disobedience" - something that they know is illegal but will make a point. During that 1960's many African Americans and others committed civil disobedience by protesting when the local government said they couldn't, sitting in seats on busseswhere blacks were not allowed, and eating in restaurants that refused to serve black people.  You might say that the Midwives in Exodus were committing Civil Disobedience or Moses when he kept returning to Pharaoh demanding that his people be released from slavery.  
     • Were they wrong to break the law, or did their actions help make better laws?  
     • Can you think of any places today where civil disobedience is being used? 
     • Can you think of any issues where civil disobediance might raise some awareness?
     • How do you think God views civil disobedience?
4. Moses is a main character in the Jewish faith.  If you know someone who is Jewish ask if you can go to synagogue with them.  Ask if the Rabbi (the Jewish name for a pastor) would be willing to answer some questions about Moses and show you the Torah scrolls.  Ask him to tell you about passover and what it means to them.
5. The story of Moses is a big one that spans several books of the Bible: Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  Using a Bible with section headings, thumb through these books reading the headings.  Pick out one or two stories you think sound interesting and read them together.  The story of Moses spans a whole lifetime, and 40 years of wandering in the desert.  Why do you think the story you picked was important enough to be remembered and included in the Bible?
6. A prayer from Moses. We usually think of King David as the author of all the Psalms.  While he wrote a lot of them, he didn't write them all.  Psalm 90 is a good example.  It is attributed to Moses as a prayer.  
   • After reading the Psalm, why do you think this would be a prayer that Moses would have prayed?
   • Sometimes Psalms are meant to remind us of something as well as tell God.  In Psalm 90, what do you think God was telling Moses to remember?
   • Try praying this Psalm in the morning and evening each day for a week.  How does that change how you look at the day and how you view this Psalm?