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Christmas Pack #14
Gifts of Peace: Senior High

Welcoming the Prince of Peace

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Welcoming the Prince of Peace

A Four-Session Activity Guide

For Leaders of Senior High Groups (Ages 15-18)

by Karl D. Lehman with Christie A. Ryan

Introduction

By the tender mercy of our God
The dawn from on high will break upon us,
To guide our feet in the way of peace.

Luke 1: 78-79 (NRSV)

Messages of peace surround us at Christmastime. Our hymns for the season convey messages of "comfort and joy" and images of Jesus sleeping in "heavenly peace." Christmas is also a time of excitement and celebration. From our churches to our living rooms, festive decorations are everywhere. People from all continents and nearly every nation pause to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace.

Yet the world in which we live is not at peace. In the midst of Christmas celebrating, the morning papers and evening news programs proclaim ongoing problems of war and violence. Racism, sexism, poverty and famine abound. For many, the excitement and expectations of Christmas turn into the post-holiday blues.

What does the coming of the Prince of Peace mean for people living in 20th century North America? How can high school students come to know the peace that Jesus brings? How can they share this peace with their family, community and world?

PURPOSE: The four sessions of this activity guide have been created to help senior high youth experience the peace promised by the birth of Christ. The activities will help them learn to share this peace with those in their households, communities and world.

DESIGNING THE SESSIONS: Each session of this study guide is designed to last one hour. The sessions can be used in Sunday school classes or in special youth gatherings during the four weeks of Advent. A classroom with a blackboard and movable chairs makes an ideal setting.

EARLY PREPARATION: Read over all of the sessions before you begin. Some of the sessions require you to gather materials and background information ahead of time. Pay particular attention to the questions for discussion.

Session One: Peace With Myself

INTRODUCTION: Our self-image begins with our body. It defines who (or what) we are: female, male, tall, short, heavy, thin, physically strong, weak, etc. The bodies of young women and men, ages 15 to 18 have undergone tremendous change and development. Their minds are struggling to process these changes as a new self-image begins to emerge.

As a teenager's self-image develops, individuals and groups attempt to apply pressure, causing uncertainty and often great strain. Pressure from peer groups can create behavior and/or fashion boundaries. In order to fit in or be accepted an individual must learn to live within these norms. Parents and siblings can also affect an emerging self-image. Innocent jokes or criticism can often do harm.

In addition, advertisers exploit the insecurities and the need to "fit in" so common at this age. Advertisers fill the airwaves and magazines with images of the perfect body, the coolest clothes and the right hairstyle. In a very real way, advertisements create a standard, usually impossible to reach, against which young people measure themselves. Much of the inner turmoil (and lack of inner peace) young people have comes from a sense of not measuring up to these artificial standards prescribed by advertisers and fostered by peer groups and others.

GOALS:

MATERIALS NEEDED: a Bible (preferably the New Testament in Modern English, translated by J.B. Phillips); consumer products, such as a shirt, a tube of acne medication, toothpaste, etc.; poster board; markers; and some teen magazines, such as YM, Seventeen, etc.

PREPARATION: Before the class, read through the role-playing session. Watch television commercials to get a feel for the methods advertisers use to sell products. Soft drink or clothing advertisements are good places to start. Look at the images and body types presented. Review the Bible passages for this week. You may also want to look up "Advent" in a liturgical or theological dictionary.

SESSION PLANS:

Opening (5 min.): Ask class members to complete the following sentence, "Advent is a time to...." If you get no response, offer suggestions: "Advent is a time to prepare for Christmas," or "...a time to examine ourselves." Next, ask them to identify the Prince of Peace. Give the class an overview of all four sessions.

Activity (40 min.): "Consumers and Marketers" Role-Play

1. Divide the group into "consumers" and "marketers." Depending on the size of the class, try to have one consumer for every three marketers. Show the sample consumer product(s) to the whole class. Then hand the items out to the marketers.

2. Tell the marketers they are to come up with an advertising campaign to convince the consumers why they absolutely must have the product they are selling. Guide the marketers as they come up with slogans or reason why the consumers would want or desire a product (i.e., they'd be cool or happy with it). Encourage them to avoid reasons related to actual need (a shirt to stay warm; toothpaste to have clean teeth, etc.). Have them draw pictures and write slogans on poster board with colored markers. They may want to cut pictures from magazines and include them in their ads. Give them about 15 minutes to complete their campaigns.

3. While the marketers are developing their advertising campaigns, have the consumers discuss why they buy products. Do they buy a product because they need it? because they want it? (i.e., do they purchase toothpaste for clean teeth or for sex appeal?).

4. When the marketers are ready, have the consumers sit face forward in a line. Then have the marketers present their advertisements.

5. Have the class discuss how the advertising played on their self-images.

6. With the class, look at some actual advertisements from teen magazines. (You can also record television commercials and watch them in class.) What body types are presented? What types of clothes are people wearing? What activities are they doing? How are men and women relating to each other in the ads?

Bible Reading (10 min.): Read Romans 12:1-2. Talk about how and why marketers and advertisers attempt to "squeeze" us into their molds. Consider the following questions: Are advertisers part of the "world around" us mentioned in this Bible passage? Do they influence our self-image? Do ads make us feel bad about the way we look? Do we try to be like the people in the T.V. commercials or magazines? How does the Prince of Peace transform our lives and the way we think about ourselves? What does it mean to have our minds renewed? Who decides what clothes we should wear or how our bodies should look? What can the Prince of Peace teach us about self-acceptance?

Closing (5 min.): Ask the class to think about changes they want to make in their own lives.

Pray: Creator God, we give you thanks for the peace you bring to our lives. Help us to see the pressures that come from commercials and advertisements. Open our hearts and minds to your love and total acceptance. Amen.

Session Two: Peace In My Family

INTRODUCTION: Early on, the 1980's were designated the "Decade of the Family." Politicians and church leaders often advocated "family values." Yet, in this same period, the family was under assault as it never had been before. Increasing numbers of North American families began facing a growing list of problems: lack of insurance and/or affordable health care, under-employment, substandard housing and crime. In truth, the 1980's was a decade of decline for many households.

A group of high school students in Maryland were recently asked to name the most pressing family problems. In order of frequency, they responded as follows: 1. Lack of communication; 2. Not enough quality time; 3. Favoritism; 4. Family members not trying to get along with others; 5. Sibling rivalry; 6. Parents got married for the wrong reason; 7. Parents work too many hours; 8. Father/Mother too domineering; 9. Divorce and break up of the family; and 10. Incest and child abuse.

At first glance this list may appear unrelated to the problems noted in the first paragraph. In reality, they reflect many of the same issues, but from different perspectives. The combination of rising housing and health care costs and declining real wages often translates into parent(s) spending more time at work (often at two jobs) and less time at home. Many young persons may see the problem as "not enough quality time" or "parents work too many hours." Households face social and economic pressures as they try to maintain the high standards of living we've come to expect in North America. These pressures directly affect peace as it is experienced in the home.

GOALS:

MATERIALS NEEDED: a Bible; a copy of the Guidelines for Alternative Giving (available from Alternatives); blackboard or large pad of paper on an easel; chalk or markers; paper; and pens or pencils

PREPARATION: Review the Bible passages for this week. Become familiar with the Guidelines for Alternative Giving.

SESSION PLANS:

Opening (5 min.): Remind the class about Advent: what it is and why we observe it. Ask them if their attitudes towards advertisements changed any in the past week. Ask them to complete the following sentence: "Jesus is called the Prince of Peace because...."

Activity (20 min.): Becoming Peacemakers in the Home

1. Break the class into small groups (not more than five persons per group). Ask each group to come up with ten problems facing families today. Make sure all participants are given the chance to share ideas. Tell the groups their responses do not necessarily have to reflect their own families. One person in each group should record the answers.

2. Gather the groups together and ask one person from each group to read their list aloud. On a blackboard or large sheet of newsprint record the answers from the groups making note of the most frequent answers. Then compare this list with the one from the Maryland high school students noted above.

3. Using the same process, have the groups come up with ten best qualities a family can have. Compile a list of the top ten answers of the groups, writing the list on a blackboard or newsprint.

4. Ask the students to ponder how their list compares with their own homes.

Bible Reading (10 min.): Read John 13:1-15 and John 14:27. How or what does Jesus give? Consider the following: at Christmas we often focus on the gifts we will get. And we usually see gifts as things purchased from a store. Are there other gifts we can give at Christmas? Like Jesus, can we give gifts of time or service to our family? Can gifts be a way to convey messages of peace and love to our families?

Activity (20 min.): Gifts of Peace

1. Challenge the class members to think of gifts as a means to communicate their feelings or dreams to their family. This is one way the Prince of Peace can come to our homes at Christmas: as we ourselves become makers and givers of peace. Look over the list of family qualities. Tell the participants that gifts of peace can be a way to create bridges between the way things are and the way they could become.

3. Ask the class members to return to their groups. Encourage them to brainstorm about gifts of time, talent or love they can give to their families at Christmas. They can use copies of the Guidelines for Alternative Giving for suggestions. Have one person from each group record their ideas.

Closing (5 min.): Ask for volunteers from the groups to share their ideas for gifts of peace. You may want to share some of your own.

Pray: Creator God, teach us to be makers and givers of peace. Teach us to share the peace of Christ with our family on Christmas Day and throughout the year. Amen.

Session Three: Peace In My Community

INTRODUCTION: What is community? For many teens, community does not extend beyond their high school. For others it includes their city, hometown or county. For some, there are people next door or across the street who are not considered to be a part of their community.

The group of high school students mentioned in last week's session was asked to name the biggest problems facing their communities. The top ten responses were: 1. Neighborhood not safe at night; 2. Drugs; 3. Pollution; 4. Nowhere to go, nothing to do; 5. Vandalism; 6. AIDS; 7. Litter/trash; 8. Fighting; 9. Theft of personal property; and 10. Alcohol abuse. Nearly every problem named relates directly or indirectly to violence.

What are the causes of violence in our neighborhoods and communities? Do we as individuals participate? Is pollution, for example, a type of violence against the environment? Are racial or degrading jokes a form of violence against minorities or women? Do we stereotype people in our communities (the poor are lazy; people who live in cities are violent)? How do we recognize when we are victims and when we are contributors to the problems that victimize us? How can the Prince of Peace come to communities at Christmastime?

GOALS:

MATERIALS NEEDED: a Bible; a map of your city, town, county or local community; a blackboard or large pad of newsprint on an easel; and chalk or markers

PREPARATION: Before you begin, review the session plan. Make sure you are familiar with the location of the schools students attend. Read the Bible passages for the week. Think about how you yourself define community. Tape or pin the community map to a wall in full view of everyone.

SESSION PLAN:

Opening (5 min.): Ask the students if they are planning to use the gift-giving ideas from the previous week. Allow time for experiences to be shared. Ask them to complete the following sentence: "The reason the Prince of Peace has come is to...."

Activity (20 min.): What Is Community?

1. Have the students define what their local community is. Encourage volunteers to come up to the map (one at a time) and indicate what the boundaries are.

2. Ask them: What or who makes these boundaries? Are their other ways to define community? Does anyone define their local community along religious, racial, ethnic or class lines?

3. Discuss: Our local communities are beset with problems. We often avoid them by changing community boundaries (i.e., creating lines other than geographic ones). AIDS is a good example. Many people have defined this disease as a problem affecting the "gay community" and, in a sense, remove it from their own.

4. What are the problems facing your geographic local community? Have each student name two or three and compile a list of the top ten. Compare this list with the one by the Maryland high school students.

Bible Reading (15 min.): Read Ephesians 2:14-19 and Galatians 3:26-29. How is community defined here? What is the household of God? Have the students ponder these questions: As we increase the boundaries of our local communities, what new problems will we be faced with and what problems will be removed? Are there in reality problems created by boundaries (and do we participate in the creation of those boundaries)? Are there also serious social and health problems our communities face that are made worse by the creation of boundaries?

Group Discussion (15 min.): In small groups or as a whole, using what was learned about gifts of peace from the previous session, have the participants discuss ways they can celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace in their community. Are there specific ways gifts at Christmas can actually break down artificial boundaries we create?

Closing (5 min.): Pray: Creator God, expand our sense of community. Teach us to eliminate the boundaries which exclude or degrade people. Teach us to be peacemakers in our communities. Amen.

Session Four: Peace In The World

INTRODUCTION: With the cold war finally over, many people believe "it is peace for our time." Yet violence is erupting all over the world. Bosnia, Iraq, and Somalia made the headlines. Rwanda, Malawi, Mozambique, Georgia, Sudan, Liberia, Zaire, Togo, Mali, Northern Ireland and Palestine were less frequently in the news. We were reminded of the words of Jeremiah, "They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace." (Jeremiah 6:14 NRSV).

What a contrast to the "tidings of comfort and joy" we wish each other at Christmastime. In reality, not much has changed since that day in Bethlehem when Christ was born. Like today, it was a time of great turmoil. Jesus' mother gave birth in an animal stall and used a feeding trough as a cradle. His country of birth was occupied by Roman troops. The ruler of Palestine had all the children born in and around Bethlehem killed in a ruthless attempt to murder this new born Prince of Peace. The very circumstances surrounding the nativity reveal a God who is not disconnected to the violence of our world.

What can we do? Our inability to answer this question creates a sense of disconnection to events physically so far away. Perhaps the first question to consider is not "what can we do?" but, instead, how can be become connected to the world. In a sense we already are: the clothes we wear, the carpet on our floors, the food we eat, the paper we often use are from countries struggling with poverty and disease. We touch the same things and enjoy products created by the hands of people from all parts of the world.

GOALS:

MATERIALS NEEDED: a Bible; a large wall map of the world (or outlines of the continents on large sheets of paper); "post-it" note pads; paper; and pens or markers; a world atlas

PREPARATION: Review the Bible passages and questions for discussion. You will also need to know in what countries the clothing you will be wearing this session were made (consider planning ahead and wearing different articles of clothing from as many places as you can). Before the class begins, tape or pin the map on a wall in full view of everyone.

SESSION PLAN:

Opening (5 min.): Review what was learned in the previous three sessions. Ask someone to describe what Advent is and if their understanding of the season has changed. Ask them to complete the following sentence: "The Prince of Peace has come into the world to...."

Activity (25 min.): Making Connections

1. Separate the class into several groups (three to five persons in each). Make sure each group has a sheet of paper, something to write with and a person designated to record answers. Consider participating in one of the groups.

2. Ask everyone to look at their shoes, shirt labels, book bag labels, and other things they are wearing or have with them. Tell each group to write down the name of the countries where their things were made. Also, have them write down the country of origin of the car or bus in which they came to church.

3. Next to the country name, have each group record anything they know about that particular country (what continent it is on, what language is spoken there, whether it is rich or poor, etc.). You may need to help the students locate particular countries on the map or describe what they are like. A world atlas can be helpful.

4. Give each group a pad of "post-it" notes. Ask them to record each country's name and the things that were made there on separate "post it" notes.

5. Ask a representative from each group to come up to the large wall map and place the "post-it" notes on the appropriate places. Have someone from each group share what countries they came up with and anything they know about them.

6. Have the class members close their eyes and imagine the people in these countries who made their particular consumer products. What might they look like? What languages would they speak? What would their voices sound like? What would they wear? What might they eat?

Bible Reading (15 min.): Read John 1:1-14 and Luke 2:1-7. Through the nativity, God has become connected to poor and homeless persons all around the world. In a very real way, from the cars we drive to the clothing we wear, we are also connected to communities throughout the world. Read John 13:15. How does our connection with the world compare and contrast with what happened the very first Christmas?

Group Discussion (10 min.): Together or in groups, have the class members talk about how they can deepen or broaden their connection to the world (and in the process carry gifts of peace). You might offer suggestions, such as: raising money for hunger programs; obtaining pen pals in other nations; keeping informed about events in the world.

Closing (5 min.): Ask the students if their understanding of Advent and Christmas has changed. How do they feel about their role as peacemakers or partners with the Prince of Peace?

Pray: Creator God, help us to see our connection to people all around the earth. Teach us always to be aware of ways we can be peacemakers in our homes, in our communities and in the world. Amen.

About the Authors

Karl D. Lehman is former Outreach Coordinator for Alternatives. Christie A. Ryan is a high school student in Rockville, Maryland.

Make copies of this resource under the Creative Commons attribution, not-for-profit license.

Page updated 11 Sept. 2013

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