World prepared for incarnation
Who misused their free will? How did they misuse it?
Adam and Eve. They ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
There were three servants who received talents, how much did each servant receive?
Five talents to one servant, two talents to another servant, and one talent to the third servant.
Where was St Samuel the Confessor born?
He was born in a district called “Melig Al Nassarah” in the Province of El Menoufiya.
What is David's fathers name? Where is he from?
Marteeros. It is also the same in the Greek language.
God waited until the fullness of time for Christ to be incarnate. What is the fullness of time?
The fullness of time is when God prepared the world to receive the Savior Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sins.
Why did Jesus tell His disciples about this parable? What is this parable talking about in a bigger sense?
Christ told His disciples about this parable to teach His disicples and us on how to be ready to enter the Kingdom of Heaven during the Second Coming.
Did St Samuel's father want him to become a monk? What eased his mind to allow his son to become a monk?
He didn't want St Samuel to become a monk. His father wanted him to get married. But when an angel appeared in his dream and told him, “Your son Samuel will be a chosen monk and he will have a lot of disciples.”
What does David's name mean? Explain how it connected to his personality?
His name means "the beloved". This is because David was very willing to serve everyone around him and loved everyone.
Explain how the martyrs felt when they were defending the word of God. Why did they feel like this?
What are three ways that God prepared His people for the fullness of time?
Hint: The people had to know about him and be able to spread His word.
1. Preparing the people by telling them who God is
2. Preparing new routes
3. Preparing specific people to receive the Savior
Why did each servant get a different amount of talents? Does it mean that the master loved each servant differently?
No. The talents are not related to how much the master loves his servants. The master gave his servants talents based on their abilities. He know what each one of them is able to do and gave according to that decision.
During the time of St Samuel, there was a document going around that people were forced to follow. What was this letter called? What did the letter say?
The letter was known as the Tome of Leo. The document stated false teachings about Christ's nature. It said that Jesus Christ the Human is separate from Christ the God.
What are the four roles that David had in his lifetime?
He was a poet, leader, king, and shepherd.
What is our original home? When did it become our original home?
Heaven is our original home. It becomes our home when we are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Who are the three people who were prepared to receive Christ?
Bonus point: Explain how 1 of those people were involved in the story of Jesus being incarnate?
1. St Mary
2. St Joseph the Carpenter
3. St John the Baptist
What did each servant do with their talents? What happened when the master came back?
The servant with 5 earned 5 more talents. The one with 3 earned 3 more. The first two were ready for the master's return. The one with 1 buried it and didn't invest. When the master came back he was equally happy with those servants who invested and gave the 1 talent to the one who had 10.
What is a confessor? How does a confessor differ than a martyr?
A confessor is someone who faces torture but is not killed in the name of Christ. A martyr also faces torture but is killed in the name of Christ.
Can you list the 5 ways that David served others?
1. David served his father's house
2. David served King Saul
3. David serves God and his people
4. David serves the outcasts and the weak
5. David serves his kingdom
There are ranks in Heaven and martyrs have a special rank. We know this because the Bible tells us that in the trial of St Stephen, he saw the Heavens open up.
What is the verse that explains that God waited until the fullness of time to fulfill the prophecies that Christ would be incarnate to redeem us?
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman" (Galations 4:4)
What is the lesson we are to learn from this parable? Who is the master? Who are the servants?
The master is Jesus Christ and we are the servants. We must learn to use our talents to be prepared for the Second Coming.
What is the main lesson from the story of St Samuel? What do we learn from his story? (You must relate it with an example from the story)
We must be prepared to reject false teachings and spread the true word of God. If someone tries to make us believe or follow something that we know is wrong, we should not follow.
Example from story: St Samuel was forced to follow the false teachings about the nature of Christ, but he ripped the Tome of Leo and rejected the false teachings.
Can you explain at least 3 of the ways that David served others? Explain them with the stories we previously learned.
1. David serves Jesse by taking care of his father's flock of sheep.
2. David serves King Saul by playing his harp for him.
3. David serves his people by fighting Goliath
4. David serves the weak and outcast by taking care of the 400 men in the cave of adullam (all those who were running away from King Saul)
5. David served his kingdom by returning the kingdom of Israel back to God's word. He looked for the Ark of Covenant and appointed leaders, scribes and priests.
1. Our Coptic Church calendar
2. Doctrine of intercession
3. Name our churches after our saints
4. Celebrate their feasts, keep their bodies and anoint them with fragrant oil.
5. Icons to narrate the saint's lives
6. Abouna offers incense to our saints
7. Specific hymns dedicated to the martyrs
8. The synaxarium contains the collected biographies of the martyrs.