Unit 2: God Is Great and Good

Goals

• The children will understand some of the characteristics of God.
• The children will respond to God with love and respect and desire to be with God.

Chapter 6: We Believe in God
God promised to free the Israelites, who were held as slaves by the Egyptians. In this chapter the children learn that God kept this promise through Moses. Realizing that God is always faithful to promises, the children are led to trust God and to pray with confidence for God's help. They become aware that just as the Israelites celebrated God's faithfulness during the Passover, so we celebrate it in the Eucharist.

Chapter 7: God Is Powerful and Loving
God manifested his promise throughout the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land. Considering the incident at the Red Sea, the children learn the wisdom of relying on God, the all-powerful one. They recognize God's love in feeding his people with manna, and compare it to the Holy Eucharist. Realizing that God calls them to enter into a covenant of love, they are encouraged to respond as the Israelites did: “Everything the LORD has said, we will do.” (Exodus 19:8)

Chapter 8: God Is Holy and Great
God revealed himself as the holy one when speaking to Moses in the burning bush. The children come to know God as holy, great, all-knowing, and all-present. They grow in reverence for God and for God's name, as well as for other holy things as they review the Second Commandment. As their faith in the living God deepens, the children should strive to reflect God's holiness by acting more like Jesus.

Chapter 9: God Is Just and Merciful
Justice and mercy are both characteristics of God's everlasting love for us. In this chapter the children learn that God is always as just and merciful with us as God was with the Israelites. They become aware of the Father's justice and mercy as revealed by Jesus and as practiced by the saints. They review the unit.