CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD

CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM MANUAL

pg. 4
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 5
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

MODULE 1: THE BASIC TRUTHS OF

CHRISTIANITY

pg. 6
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 7
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM DYNAMICS FOR SESSION 1

DYNAMICS:
1. Service Team Meeting
1.1 Registration and information sheets
1.2 Grouping of participants
1.3 Check equipment, videos, music,
lighting, sound system
1.4 Prayer to take authority
1.5 Pray-over of speakers (Orientation
and Session 1)
1.6 Group discussion guides
1.7 Participant’s handout
2. Play romantic love songs, prepare
powerpoint slides of lyrics
3. Worship: One song
4. CLP orientation by Team Leader
5. Introduce the speaker; Make powerpoint
6. Speaker to conduct activity: “Love is…”
7. Talk proper
8. Video: “A Love Letter from God”
9. Speaker ends with a prayer.
10. Group discussion. Distribute
Participants handout.
11. Video teaser for the next session.
12. Post Session.
12.1 Evaluation for Session 1

pg. 8
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

12.2 Prepare for Session 2

12.3 Remind Service Team to encode
participants in OGD

SPEAKER’S PROFILE
A HOLD Unit Head or up who recognizes
with awe and gratitude her experiences of
God’s (Trinitarian) love; she should be able
to clearly relate this profound truth to her
audience with joy.
CLP ORIENTATION

Welcome the participants to the CFC:

Handmaids of the Lord Christian Life
Program. Before we start, may I introduce
myself: __________________ and with me are
the service team:
_______________________________.

pg. 9
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Explain the meanings of the acronyms CFC,

HOLD and CLP. Briefly explain what
Couples for Christ is.

The Couples for Christ is a family-oriented

community that aims to involve all members
of the family into the ministry of families in
the Spirit renewing the face of the earth

The Handmaids of the Lord is a community

whose members are widows, separated or
divorced, wives of overseas workers, single
mature women, single mothers and wives

pg. 10
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

whose husbands are not or is unable to join

CFC.

The CLP is divided into 2 modules with a

total of 8 sessions. We will be doing 1
session per week. We will be able to
complete the CLP in 2 months. You might
think that 2 months is too long. Just take it
one Saturday at a time.

But do not worry, we will be having fun. We

can meet new friends and most of all we can
discover so many new insights about our
faith and the talks will inspire us and

pg. 11
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

strengthen our faith. Before youknow it, the

2 months will be over.

So friends, let us get started. I would like to

introduce our speaker for today………

pg. 12
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

SESSION 1: GOD’S LOVE

OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION

ANCHOR VERSE:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son, so that everyone who believes in
him might not perish but might have eternal
life. For God did not send his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the
world might be saved through him.” John
3:16-17 (NABRE)
GOAL:
To communicate the truth that God loves us
and to provide a better understanding of
God’s love
CORE MESSAGE:
God is love. For Christians, the concept of
“love” is expressed in the sacrificial manner
by which the Father offered His one and
only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for
the forgiveness of our sins and for our
salvation. It is the kind of love that creates,
saves, and sustains.

pg. 13
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TENOR: Affirming and enlightening

SESSION 1: GOD’S LOVE

THE EXPANDED TALK OUTLINE
Greet the participants

Today, we will be talking about love. Let us

start with an activity. We will try to define
what love is through the “Love is…activity. I
will start a sentence by giving the first few

pg. 14
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

words and then you finish the sentence by

filling in the blanks.
Example: My chair is ______________.
I will flash a slide with the beginning of a
sentence and you fill in the blanks. Just put
in the first words that come to your mind.
We don’t have to overthink. Are we ready?

Invite participants to share what they

have written. Keep interaction lively.

pg. 15
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Let participants answer the second

round. Then let them share their
answer.
Proceed to the 3rd round. Explain the
what they can write here maybe a
person, a thing, a place or an activity
they love). Let them share their answer.
Thank the participants for their
responses and proceed to the talk
proper with the following connecting
statement:

INTRODUCTION

pg. 16
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Did you notice or can you recall the songs

we heard when we started? Those were
songs that expressed many thoughts,
emotions and sentiments about love. The
activity we just finished was also about love
– your ideas and experiences of love. Based
on your responses, we can see that love
cannot be defined in a single and uniform
manner. Love has many manifestations. Love
has effects on your life that you cannot
ignore and for which you are either very
grateful for or maybe even sorry for.
So, what about love? Love is the reason for
our existence because we were created by
God out of love. And God Himself is love.

“God is love, and he who abides in love

abides in God, and God abides in him.”
(1John. 4:16) Love is a universal feeling.

pg. 17
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

There is no one in this world who has not

received love nor has not given love. God is
the source of that love. In this CLP, we will
learn that God’s love creates, saves, and
sustains.

1. God’s Love Creates

a. God is the master creator of all. For five

days, God created the heavens and the
earth, the water and the land, the animals
and the
plants, and in Genesis 1: 31 “God
looked at everything He had made
and He found it very good.”

pg. 18
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

b. On the sixth day, God created His

greatest masterpiece: man. It was God’s
deliberate act of love to create man and to
set him apart from all of His creations. God
so loves man that He created him to be like
Himself – “God created mankind in his
image; in the image of God he created
them; male and female he created
them.” (Genesis 1:27) He created them in
His image and likeness. Doing so, God has
lovingly infused man with dignity. We mirror
His nature. We represent Him. What an
honor! Created out of God’s love, we,
humans, are meant to have a loving

pg. 19
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

relationship with God, to be in communion

with Him.
c. God created man and gave him life. But
He did not stop there. He went on to provide
all their needs. God placed the first man and
woman, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of
Eden, a paradise that had everything they
needed. More significantly, God gave them
free will - the freedom to think, to act and to
choose what to do or not to do.

Unf
ortunately, in the exercise of his God-given
free will, man defied his Creator. Tempted
by the devil, man disobeyed God’s command
not to eat the forbidden fruit in paradise.
With this disobedience, Adam and Eve
committed the first sin, the “original
sin.” Since then, man has continued to sin
and offend God. Sin drives us away from
God, our creator. However, the Creator’s

pg. 20
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

love for man has never waned despite his

sinfulness.

2. God’s Love Saves

a. The consequence of sin is eternal
suffering in the fires of hell. But there is
hope. Because of God’s love, a sinner can be
saved from this situation. God’s love saves; it
forgives and redeems.

We see this in the Parable of the Prodigal

Son (Luke 15:11-31) which describes the
forgiving and saving love of God. It tells of a
father’s extravagant, lavish and generous

pg. 21
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

love, not just for the younger prodigal son

but for the older jealous son as well (Luke
15:11-31).
In the parable, the younger son demanded
and took his inheritance as if his father had
already died. He left home, led a wanton life,
squandered all his fortune, suffered hunger
and misery, and ended as a slave who fed
pigs. Destitute, he envied his father’s
servants who were better off in his father’s
house. Coming to his senses and admitting
his sins, he decided to return with a firm
resolve to say to his father:

1) “Father, I have sinned against heaven

and against you,” (Lk 15:18);
2) “I no longer deserve to be called your
son,” (Luke 15:19a) and 3) “Treat me as

pg. 22
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

you would treat one of your hired

workers.” (Luke 15:19b)
On his return, his father, who probably
waited for him every single day, saw him
from afar.

The father then ran and rushed to meet him

with so much love, showering him with hugs
and kisses (Luke 15:20c). As the son
stammered with his prepared statements,
the father asked his servants to put on his
son the best robe, to put a ring on his finger
and sandals on his feet (Luke 15:22-23).
This, to restore his dignity and status as a
son and not a slave.

pg. 23
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

The older son became jealous of the younger

brother and refused to enter the house. He
questioned why he, who never abandoned
and had always obeyed his father, was not
treated with as much love and honor.

The father reached out to him and assured

him, “My son, everything I have is
yours.” (Luke 15:31) This parable
illustrates how God passionately loves us.
God’s love keeps the faithful ones like the
older son, and saves repenting sinners like

pg. 24
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

the prodigal son. Can you relate with any of

them?
b. When we sin, we damage our relationship
with God. But God is not indifferent or
distant from us. Like the father in the
parable, God constantly draws us back to
Himself to restore our failed relationship
with Him. How? It was God’s love that
drove Him to send His only Son Jesus
Christ to die on the cross to pay for our
sins, to save us from the fires of hell.

c. St. John Paul II tells us that God’s love is

expressed in the offering of His only Son,
Jesus.
“For God so loved the world that he
gave his only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life. For God
did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the

pg. 25
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

world might be saved through him.”

(John 3:16-17) This is why we call Jesus
Christ our savior, our redeemer. Our God,
Jesus Christ, forgives our sins and
restores us to communion with Him.
Jesus saves. We will learn more about
Jesus Christ next week.

3. God’s Love Sustains

a. God is the giver of life. And since life
came from Him, it is also through Him that
we are sustained in life.

pg. 26
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Thus, He gives us the Holy Spirit. Jesus

spoke of the Holy Spirit before He ascended
to heaven to calm His worried disciples:
“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the
Father will send in my name…Do not let
your hearts be troubled or afraid.” (John
14:26-27)
b. Despite Adam and Eve’s disobedience, our
loving God empowers man through the Holy
Spirit to enable us to face life head on. With
the Holy Spirit, we can overcome
temptations, wrongdoings, sins and the work
of the evil spirits. The Holy Spirit intercedes
for us in our prayers. The Holy Spirit dwells
in us, and because of Him and through Him
we can share in the love between the
Father, who is Love, and the Son who is
Jesus, the beloved.

pg. 27
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

c. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God that

sustains our Christian life and makes it
flourish. The Holy Spirit leads us to the path
of holiness. How? If we are open to the
promptings of the Holy Spirit, we encounter
the voice of God. God, through the Holy
Spirit, counsels us in silence, or shows to us
through events and situations, how we
should think, feel, act and behave as good
Christians. The Holy Spirit is God Himself
opening our eyes or jolting us to see
temptations and sins for what they really are
so we can avoid falling into them. Through
various ways, the Holy Spirit is God
reminding us of the commands and
teachings of Jesus so we will not go astray.
The Bible clearly states this in John 14:26
“…he will teach you everything and
remind you of all that [I] told you…” The
Holy Spirit strengthens our resolve to be
good people of God. So the Holy Spirit is
God Himself working within us – sustaining,
molding, renewing and recreating our lives
so that we may become the persons that
God had originally intended Adam and Eve
to be – sinless and united with Him.

pg. 28
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Friends, let us listen to this video recording.

It is a love letter from God. Listen to the
words as if He is speaking directly to you.
VIDEO SHOWING:

CONCLUSION

God’s love is reflected in his creation. God’s

love is described in the parable of the father
and his two sons.

pg. 29
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

But the fullest revelation of God’s love is the

sending of His Son, Jesus, whom you will get
to know more in the next session.

Let us all sit down in a prayerful position.

Let us prayerfully thank God for His
amazing love. Close your eyes and silently
repeat after me
Prayer:
Dear God in heaven, thank you for Your
compassionate and merciful love. Grant me
the grace to
remember at all times, that Your love
creates, Your love saves, and Your love
sustains. I invite
You to come into my life. I open myself to
your blessings, forgiveness and graces. I
offer to You
the areas in my life that I am asking for Your
love to manifest. Father, grant me the grace
to know
and love You more. Today I declare that I am
your beloved child. Amen

pg. 30
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

A LOVE LETTER FROM GOD

My beloved in whom I delight, -Matthew
12:18
You are precious in my eyes and honored.
And I love you. – Isaiah 43:4
I formed your inmost being. I knit you in your
mother’s womb.- Psalm 139:13-14-
You are wonderfully made. - Psalm 139:14
I know you. I Know when you sit and when
you stand. I understand your thoughts from
afar … - Psalm 139:9

pg. 31
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Come to me You who labor and are burdened.

I will give you rest. - Matthew 12:8
I am with you and I will protect you.
Wherever you go. I will never leave you until
I have done what I promised you. - Matthew
12:8
Do not fear I am with you. Do not be
anxious I am your God. I will strengthen you. I
will help you. I will uphold you with my
victorious right hand. - Isaiah 41:10
I know well the plans I have in my mind
for you … Plans for your welfare and not for
woe. So as to give a future of hope. -
Matthew 12:8
When you call me, and come and pray to me …I
will listen to you. - Jeremiah 29:12
Remain in Me, as I remain in you. - John
15:4
I gave my only begotten Son to the world so
that everyone who believes in Him might not
perish but might have eternal life. This is how
much I love you. - John 15:4
Come to know and believe in love I have for
you. I am your God who is Love. Whoever
remains in my love remains in me and I in
him. - 1 John 4:16
You love because I first love you. - 1 John
4:19

pg. 32
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Turn to me and be safe. For I am God; there

is no other! - Isaiah 45:22
Behold, I am with you always. - Matthew
28:20
Will you be with me? With age old love I
have loved you. - Jeremiah 31:3
Will you love me too?
Love,
Your Heavenly Father

pg. 33
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 34
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 35
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM DYNAMICS FOR SESSION 2

DYNAMICS:
1. Service Team Meeting
1.1 Registration and information sheets
1.2 Review grouping of participants; any
new participants?
1.3 Check equipment, videos, music,
lighting, sound system
1.4 Pray-over of speaker/sharer
2. Worship: One song
3. Recap of last session then introduce
speaker
4. Talk proper
5. Video Showing “I Am”
6. Briefing of sharer
7. Reflection: Prepare Reflection Song
8. Group discussion. Distribute Participants
handout.
9. Post Session.
9.1 Ask Session 3 speaker f she will do
the sharing or is there need to assign
a sharer.
9.2 Tech Team to prepare video or
powerpoint presentation featuring
HOLD families in fellowship or doing

pg. 36
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

activities or chores together or

bonding together
SPEAKER’S PROFILE
HOLD Unit Head or up who can share on
her journey of an ongoing, life-giving and
loving relationship with Jesus. She considers
herself as a friend, a believer and follower of
Jesus who can relate facts and stories about
Him.
SHARER’S PROFILE
A HOLD member or CFC wife who can share
about how her life changed for the better
when she committed her life to Jesus as her
savior and friend.
SESSION 2 : WHO IS JESUS CHRIST

OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION

ANCHOR VERSE:
“Now Jesus and his disciples set out for the
villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way
he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say
that I am?’ They said in reply, ‘John the
Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the

pg. 37
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

prophets.’ And he asked them, ‘But who do

you say that I am?’ Peter said to him in
reply, ‘You are the Messiah.’ Then he
warned them not to tell anyone about him.”
Mark 8:27-30 (NABRE)
GOAL:
To provide a better understanding of Jesus
Christ and draw participants into a loving
relationship with Him.
CORE MESSAGE:
“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27)
This was the question that Jesus posed to
Peter. It is the same question that Jesus asks
us today. Who is He in our lives? He is our
savior, the One who forgives our sins, our
friend. He is our Lord, who by the Father’s
extravagant love was sent so that we may be
reconciled with God and know His love.
Jesus is our model of holiness so we might
grow in faith, hope and love as His Christian
followers.
TENOR:
Enlightening

pg. 38
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM LEADER’S INTRO

Last session, our speaker (state speaker’s
name) we were reminded about how God
loves us. Our sinful nature separates us
from Him. But His love is so great that He
want us to seek Him and forever be united
with Him. This is the kind of love so great
that He offered His only Son, Jesus Christ, to
take our punishment by dying on the cross
for our salvation.
Today, we will know Jesus Christ better:
Who He really is, who He is in our Life and
how we can follow Him as good Christians.
Let us start by watching this video.
Our speaker will explain this further. She is
--- (Introduce the speaker)

pg. 39
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

SESSION 2: WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

THE EXPANDED OUTLINE
Greet the participants.

Today, we will be talking about a man who I

think everybody knows. But who really is
Jesus Christ? Before we proceed, let us

pg. 40
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

have an activity called Two Truths and One

Lie About Jesus.
ACTIVITY: “Two Truths and One Lie
About Jesus”

I will flash 3 description about Jesus. Please

identify which of the 3 options is a lie, then
tell me how to make it true.

Round 1 - CHOICES:
1. Born in Nazareth
2. Son of a Carpenter
3. Born in a Manger

pg. 41
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

LIE:
Jesus was born in Nazareth. Jesus of
Nazareth, that’s what people call him, but
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the
days of King Herod. His birth was foretold,
even the wise men from the East came to
Bethlehem to give him homage. (Matthew
2:1-2)
TRUTHS:
Son of a Carpenter. Jesus was raised by His
adoptive father, Joseph, who was known to be
a carpenter. In Jewish culture, the father
trains his child into his profession and Jesus
learned this trade during their private life in
Egypt. (Matthew 2:14)
Born in a manger. She gave birth to her
first born son. She wrapped him in swaddling
clothes and laid him in a manger ,because
there was no room for them in any inn in
Bethlehem (Luke 2:7). They went to Bethlehem
to register in a census which was required of
citizens of Bethlehem, like Joseph. It was also
the time for Mary to give birth (Luke 2:3-6).

pg. 42
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Round 2 - CHOICES:
1. He forgives sins
2. He never gets angry
3. He performs miracles

LIE:
He never gets angry. Did you ever wonder
if Jesus also got angry? Yes He did. In
Matthew 21:12-13, Jesus entered the temple
area and saw that the people turned the
temple into a market place. He overturned
the tables of the mone y changers and seats
of those selling doves. He said to them, “It
is written: ‘My house shall be a house of
prayer,’ but you are making it a den of
thieves.” He did get angry but it was a
righteous anger.

pg. 43
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TRUTHS:
He forgives sins. One example is in the
healing of a paralytic at Capernaum, one of
the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels in
Matthew 9:1 –8, Mark 2: 1–12, and Luke 5:
17 –26. When Jesus saw their faith, he said
to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are
forgiven… know that the Son of man has
authority on earth to forgive sins.”

He performs miracles. The first miracle of

Jesus was during the wedding feast in Cana
when Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1-
11). He performed many signs and
miracles, he restored the sight of the blind
man (Mark 10:46-52), cleansed the leper
(Mark 1:40), healed the paralytic (Mark 2:5),
cured a demoniac (Mark 1:21), cured
Simon’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29), calmed
the storm at sea (Mark 4:35) and others.

pg. 44
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Round 3 - CHOICES:
1. He died on the cross.
2. He resurrected after 3 days.
3. He will never come again.

LIE:
He will never come again. He (Jesus) will
come again in glory to judge the living and
the dead. But no one knows the exact time
when Jesus is coming again, not even the
angels in heaven except the Father. (Mark
13:32)

TRUTHS:
He died on the cross. All the four Gospels
agreed on the account of Jesus’ crucifixion
that led to his death on the cross. Jesus cried
in a loud voice, “Father into your hands I
commend my spirit” and breathed his last.

pg. 45
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

(Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:37, Luke 23:46,

John 19:30)

He resurrected after 3 days. All four

Gospels spoke of Jesus’ resurrection.
(Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-
12, John 20:1-10) This is why in the Nicene
Creed or its shorter version, “The Apostles
Creed,” we recite, “Jesus was crucified,
died and was buried, and rose again on
the third day in accordance with the
scripture.”

Round 4 - CHOICES:
1. Jesus is the Son of God.
2. Jesus is fully man, fully God.
3. Jesus is half God and half Man.

LIE:

pg. 46
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Jesus is half God and half Man.

No. Jesus is 100% God, fully divine and
100% God.

TRUTHS:
Jesus is fully man, fully God.
Jesus is 100% God, fully divine. In the
Nicene Creed, we recite, “I believe in
Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Begotten not made, consubstantial with
the Father.” In Luke 1:35, Jesus is called as
the Son of God; in Matthew 3:17, a voice
came from heaven and said, “This is my
Beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased.” Jesus is 100% man, fully human.
He walked where we walked, He felt what
we felt, He was tempted in every way like
us.

Jesus is the Son of God. John 3:16 “For

God so loved the world that He sent His
only begotten Son, so that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have
everlasting life.” When Jesus was baptized
by John in the Jordan River, God the Father
confirmed Jesus as His Son. God declared,

pg. 47
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

“This is my beloved Son with whom I am

well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

Round 5 - CHOICES:
1. Jesus is our Savior,
2. Jesus is Risen,
3 Jesus is just an ordinary prophet

LIE:
Jesus is just an ordinary prophet. Jesus
is no ordinary prophet. At a young age of 12,
even the scholars of the laws and the High
Priests listened to him and were amazed at
his wisdom. “He grew and became
strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor
of God was upon him.” (Luke 2:40)

pg. 48
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TRUTHS:
Jesus is our Savior. An angel appeared to
Joseph in a dream and said that Mary would
bear a son through the Holy Spirit, and He
shall name Him Jesus, because He will save
His people from their sins.

Jesus is Risen. We all heard of the

resurrection of Jesus in the Gospels of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He
appeared to His disciples a number of times
before He ascended to heaven.

Round 6 - CHOICES:
1. He is a lunatic
2. He raises people from the dead
3. He performs miracles

LIE:

pg. 49
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

He is a lunatic. Jesus is not a lunatic,

instead he healed a lunatic in Matthew 17:
14-16.

TRUTHS:
He raises people from the dead. Jesus
raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-
44), Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus
(Matthew 9:25), Jesus raised back to life the
only son of a widow in Naim (Luke 7:14-16).
He performs miracles. Another great miracle
of Jesus was the multiplication of the 5
loaves and 2 fish with which He fed about
five thousand people. (John 6:1-14).

That was a good exercise. We know about

Jesus. Today we will know Jesus in a deeper
and personal way. Let us proceed with our
topic for today. “Who is Jesus Christ?”

pg. 50
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

INTRODUCTION
“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:
27) This was the question that Jesus posed
to Peter. Who is Jesus Christ, whom millions
claim to be following, whom countless men
and women have given their lives to and
been martyred for their faith in Him? Who
is He who won for us our salvation, who
restored us to a relationship with God in
order that we can experience a full and new
life?

We will answer these questions: “Who is

Jesus Christ?“ first according to how He is

pg. 51
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

described in history, according to how we

honor Him in our faith, according to how
others describe Him. Then we hope that
before we finish, we will be able to answer
the question “Who do you say I am” in a
more personal way according to how He
impacts your life.
I. JESUS OF HISTORY AND THE
CHRIST OF FAITH

Jesus of History
a. History is full of men and women who
claimed that they came from God.

pg. 52
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Jesus is the only person in history whose

coming was pre-announced. The prophecies
made in the Old Testament centuries before
Jesus was born point towards Jesus. (Isaiah
7:14; Isaiah 9:5, Numbers 24:17) Jesus is an
absolutely unique figure in human history.
He struck history with such impact that He
split it in two: “BC” and “AD.” “BC” means
“Before Christ.” On the other hand, “AD”
refers to the Latin words “Anno Domini”
which is translated in English as “Year of the
Lord.” It refers to the year when the Lord
Jesus appeared on earth. The calendar that
we are familiar with reflects this impact.

pg. 53
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

b. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of a virgin

named Mary. (Luke. 2:1-20)

His foster father, Joseph, was a carpenter.

He grew up as a young carpenter in
Nazareth.

pg. 54
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

For three years, He became an itinerant

preacher. He was never more than 150
kilometers from his home. He had never
been to cities with populations larger than
50,000.

He was not a known scholar or philosopher

like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. His short
ministry attracted only a modest number of
disciples, mainly uneducated fishermen and
their relatives.

pg. 55
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

He showed tenderness, compassion and

personal concern; expressed anger and grief
as well. Yet He was an impressive person
who had an influential personality. He was a
magnetic leader and a man of extraordinary
authority.

Christ of Faith

c. What did Jesus do and say about himself

that, despite His humble and short human
life, created such an impact on history?

pg. 56
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

i. Jesus forgave sins. (Mark. 2:5-7) –

He claimed that he could forgive sin,
something only God can do. “ When
Jesus saw their faith, he said to
the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins
are forgiven.’ Now some of the
scribes were sitting there asking
themselves, 7 ‘Why does this man
speak that way?[ He is
blaspheming. Who but God alone
can forgive sins?’” (See Annex for
more insight)

pg. 57
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

ii. Jesus claimed to possess all

power in heaven and on earth.–
He proclaimed with great conviction
that he had power not just on earth
but also in heaven. “Then Jesus
approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on
earth has been given to me.”
(Matthew 28:18-19)

iii.Jesus claimed straightforwardly to be

God. In John 8:58, Jesus said to them,

pg. 58
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

“Amen, amen, I say to you, before

Abraham came to be, I AM.” In John
10:30, 37-38, Jesus claimed “The Father
and I are one.” – His contemporaries
came to the realization that he was God:
Simon Peter (Matthew 16:13-16), Martha
(John 11:27), Nathanael (John 1:49),
Thomas (John 20:27-28), the centurion
(Matthew 27:54), even the evil spirits
(Matthew 8:29, Mark 1:24, Mark 3:11,
Luke 4:41).

II. LIAR, LUNATIC or LORD

a. Jesus’ claim to be God must be either
true or false. If false, then we only have
two alternatives. Either he knew it was
false, in which case he would be a liar, or
he did not know it was false, in which
case he would be a lunatic.

pg. 59
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

b. Could Jesus have lied? If he lied, then

he would have been deliberately
deceiving his followers. But we need only
look at his person, his words and his work
to deduce that he could not have been a
liar. Look at his moral purity, dignity,
sound intellect and air of truth. Consider
his character that is so original,
consistent, perfect and high above human
greatness. He carried out a plan of
unparalleled beneficence, moral
magnitude and greatness, and sacrificed
his own life for it. Would he die for a lie?
The results of his life and teachings were
lives changed for the better, thieves made
honest and spiteful individuals becoming
channels of love.
c. Could Jesus have been a lunatic? In
Jesus we do not see any abnormalities or
imbalances that usually go along with
being deranged. In fact, his composure
and thought process were amazing to
have spoken some of the most profound
sayings ever recorded. Such a man cannot
be a lunatic.

pg. 60
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

If not a liar or a lunatic, the only

alternative left to us is that Jesus did
speak the truth.

He was, and is, the Son of God as he

claimed He is Lord! This is why it is
important for us to know Him, to follow
Him and to have a relationship with Him.
This is why it is important to be a
Christian.

pg. 61
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

III. KNOWING JESUS AND

BECOMING A CHRISTIAN

a. Jesus’ entire life is salvific, meaning,

the purpose of His entire life is to save
and redeem mankind. Sin separated
man from God when Adam and Eve
committed the original sin. Yet, God
wants mankind back in His fold, but
without the stain of sin. His only son
Jesus Christ has made this possible.
How? In the Old Testament, the Jews
offered animals to be sacrificed and
killed in rituals for the forgiveness of
sins and removal of guilt – the Burnt
Offering, the Peace Offering, the Sin
Offering. When Jesus came to earth,
His death on the cross became the
singular offering that replaced all the
killings in the burnt offerings, the

pg. 62
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

peace offerings and the sin offerings.

God Himself gave His only Son to be
the ultimate sacrifice for the
forgiveness of our sins and the removal
of guilt. His crucifixion and death
revealed His true identity: our Savior
and Redeemer.

The cross is the means by which we can

truly know Jesus. Only when we fully
realize the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice
on the cross can we begin to truly know
Jesus. But Jesus’ death on the cross
would have been meaningless without
His resurrection. It is the most
conclusive proof that Jesus is Lord and
God. (John. 20:26-29)

pg. 63
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

b. Jesus Christ, true God and true man,

invites us to love, repent, forgive and
celebrate, confident that He is involved
in our daily struggles.

When we truly know Jesus, when we

take him as our Lord and God, when we
develop a personal relationship with
Him, then we become truly Christians.

pg. 64
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

“It is Jesus that you seek when you

dream of happiness; he is waiting for
you when nothing else you find satisfies
you; he is the beauty to which you are
so attracted; it is he who provoked you
with that thirst for fullness that will not
let you settle for compromise; it is he
who urges you to shed the masks of a
false life; it is he who reads in your
heart your most genuine choices, the
choices that others try to stifle.” – St.
John Paul II

pg. 65
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

c. What does it mean to be a Christian?

i. For some people, Christianity is a
mere religious system, a mere moral,
social or humanitarian system, or an
escape from the realities of life. But the
truth is that Christianity is a
relationship initiated by God, through
Jesus Christ, out of his mercy and love
for us.

ii. To be a Christian means having a

loving personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. We become followers of Christ.

pg. 66
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

We become transformed. We take on a

new identity, one that is identified with
Christ, hence “Christians.” We become
His disciples.

iii. Being Christ’s disciple means living

in faith, hope and charity (CCC 1813)
● A Christian is a person of faith.
(Hebrews 11:1) A true Christian is one
who believes and has faith in Jesus
Christ. He freely and boldly expresses
his faith in Him to other people so that
they may also believe.
● A Christian is a person of hope.
(Romans 8:24-25) Hope is an attitude of
confident expectation. A true Christian
is one who lives full of hope, trusting

pg. 67
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

that the will of God will happen and His

plan will come to completion.
● A Christian is a person of love. (John
13:35) Love for one another is what
distinguishes the disciples of Jesus. A
true Christian is one who loves his
family, friends, neighbors, fellowmen,
strangers and enemies alike as Christ
loves.

Friends, I will now call a sister who will

share about how her life was turned around
for the better when she committed her life to
Jesus as her savior and friend. She became
a person of faith, hope and love. Let us
welcome Sister ________.

CONCLUSION

pg. 68
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Jesus now raises the same question to you:

“Who do you say that I am?”
He is inviting you to be His friend and to be
in a close and loving relationship with Him.
Will you accept Him as your Lord and
Savior? Will you take him as your dear
friend, savior and redeemer?
“The Lord knows those who are His.” (2
Timothy 2:19a) He is waiting for you to
embrace Him with all your heart, and for
you to be called His, an authentic Christian.

ANNEX

pg. 69
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES FOR STUDY

FOR THE USE OF THE SPEAKER
1. In reference to “Jesus forgave sins”
C.S. Lewis, in his book “Mere Christianity,”
gives the most compelling commentary on
these verses:
“Jesus’ claim to forgive sins, any sin, is really
so preposterous or comic unless he is God
himself. One can understand how a man can
forgive offenses against himself. You step on
my toe and I forgive you. You steal my money
and I forgive you. But what do you make of a
man, himself unrobed and unhurt, who
announces that he forgives you for stepping
on somebody else’s toes and stealing
somebody else’s money? Asinine fatuity is
the kindest description we can make of such
a man. He forgives sin without consulting the
people adversely affected by the offenses.
This makes sense only if he really is God
whose very laws were violated by the
offenses…”
4. On Christ’s Divinity and Humanity

pg. 70
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Pope Leo I stated it very clearly, “It is as

dangerous an evil to deny the truth of the
human nature of Christ as to refuse to
believe that his glory is equal to that of
the Father.”

5. On the full Identity of Jesus

Father Raymond Brown states it very

elegantly in his book An Introduction to
New Testament Christology that the issue
of the full identity of Jesus is ultimately a
question of the love of God for human
beings. He says: “If Jesus is not ‘true God
of true God.’ then we do not know God in
human terms. Even if Jesus were the most
perfect creature far above all others, he
could tell us only at second hand about
God who really remains almost as distant
as the Unmoved Mover of Aristotle. Only
if Jesus is truly God do we know what God
is like, for in Jesus we see God translated
into terms that we can understand. A God
who sent a marvelous creature as our
Savior could be described as loving, but
that love would have cost God nothing in
a personal way. Only if Jesus is truly God

pg. 71
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

do we know that God’s love was so real

that it reached the point of personal self-
giving.

Unless we understand that Jesus was also

truly human with no exception but sin, we
cannot comprehend the depth of God’s
love. If Jesus’ knowledge is limited, as
indicated prima facie in the biblical
evidence, then one understands that God
loved us to the point of self-subjection to
our most agonizing infirmities. A Jesus
who walked through the world with
unlimited knowledge, knowing exactly
what the morrow would bring, knowing
with certainty that three days after his
death his Father would raise him up,
would be a Jesus who could arouse our
admiration, but a Jesus still far from us.
He would be a Jesus far from a
humankind that can only hope in the
future that must face the supreme
uncertainty of death with faith but
without knowledge of what is beyond. On
the other hand, a Jesus for whom the
detailed future had elements of mystery,
dread, and hope as it has for us and yet,

pg. 72
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

at the same time, a Jesus who would say,

“Not my will but yours” – this would be a
Jesus who could effectively teach us how
to live, for this Jesus would have gone
through life’s trials. Then his saying, “No
one can have greater love than this: to lay
down his life for those he loves” (John
15:13), would be truly persuasive, for we
would know that he laid down his life with
all the agony with which we lay ours
down. We would know that for him the
loss of life was, as it is for us, the loss of a
great possession, a possession that is
outranked only by love.

Jesus Christ is true God and true man.

Being God, we can pray to him and ask
him to heal us, to bless us, to protect us,
to forgive us, and to provide for all our
needs. But being also human, we can have
a very personal relationship with him.
Having walked on earth and suffered,
Jesus is acutely conscious of the
difficulties, frustrations, uncertainties,
and fears that we all experience. Being
human, he feels our feelings, he suffers
our pains and he understands our

pg. 73
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

loneliness. Being human, he can be

passionately involved in our lives

pg. 74
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 75
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM DYNAMICS FOR SESSION 3

DYNAMICS:
1. Service Team Meeting
1.1 Registration and information sheets
1.2 Make final grouping and facilitator
assignment
1.3 Check equipment, videos, music,
lighting, sound system
1.4 Pray-over of speaker (and sharer if
sharer is not the speaker
1.5 Reflection. Prepare reflection music
and powerpoint of discussion guide
1.6 Group discussion guides
1.7 Participant’s handout
2. Worship: One song
3. Recap of Session 2
4. Introduce speaker. Speaker will be the
one to call the sharer (in case speaker is
not the sharer)
5. Talk proper
6. Reflection: Prepare Reflection Song and
powerpoint of discussion guide.
7. Group discussion.
8. Distribute Participants handout.

pg. 76
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

9. Team Leader will explain one-on-one

sessions with facilitators.
10. Post Session
10.1 Facilitators to schedule one on one
with participants
10.2 Walk thru on how to do the one-one-
one after session 3
10.3 Remind facilitators to follow up
examination of conscience of
participants and encourage them to
go to confession
10.4 Remind Tech Team on Video of
HOLD families

SESSION 3 : REPENTANCE AND FAITH

OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION

ANCHOR VERSE:
“This is the time of fulfillment. The
kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and
believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15
(NABRE)

pg. 77
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

GOAL:
To lead people to repent for their sins and
turn to a renewed faith in Jesus Christ.

CORE MESSAGE: The only proper response

to all that God has done for us is repentance
and faith. “Repent, and believe in the
gospel” is precisely what Jesus calls for
from the beginning of His ministry.
Repentance and faith go together. It is a
double-action response. But repentance is
not just being sorry for sin because of
adverse consequences. It is also not
dependent on feelings. True repentance is
metanoia, a change of mind, a change in
direction. Repentance is turning away from
sin and evil and surrendering to Jesus as
Lord of our life. And if Jesus is Lord, there is
no room for being lukewarm. True
repentance requires honesty, to admit that a
sin is a sin; and humility, to admit that we
are weak and we need help. True
repentance requires faith in God.
Faith is not a feeling or wishful thinking or a
blind leap. “Faith is the realization of

pg. 78
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

what is hoped for and evidence of things

not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. It is man’s
response to God. It is belief in the gospel, a
personal act and decision. Most of all, faith
is a pure gift from God. The result of
repentance and faith is a promise of
salvation from sin and death, and at a
personal level, freedom from fear of death.
Jesus sounded the call to repentance and
faith two thousand years ago. It is the same
call to us today. Like the Blessed Virgin
Mary, let us have complete faith in God and
say, “May it be done to me according to
your word.” Luke 1:38

TENOR: Enlightening and moving

SPEAKER’S PROFILE
A HOLD unit head or up who had a Spirit-
driven transformation, from a life away from
God to a life filled with God’s presence and
love through repentance and faith. She shall
communicate this transformation in light of

pg. 79
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

God’s powerful mercy and abundant second

chances.
TEAM LEADER INTRO
Last session, we learned more about who
Jesus really is. That He is not a distant God
but the only begotten Son of God who He
sent to bring us back to the Fathers
Embrace. He is our Redeemer, our Lord and
Savior. We were also invited to have a more
intimate relationship with Him as we grow
in faith, hope and love. But for us to be able
to do this, we need to follow Him as our
model for holiness. We are called to be
Christians. But for us to be able to fully
become followers of Christ, we need to do
our part. Today, we will listen to a talk that
will bring us closer to holiness. Our topic
for today is Repentance and Faith. Our
speaker for today is a _________________.
SESSION 3: REPENTANCE AND FAITH
THE EXPANDED OUTLINE

Greet the participants.

pg. 80
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

INTRODUCTION
“This is the time of fulfillment. The
kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and
believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15
(NABRE)
God loves us. And the love of God is most
clearly revealed in the sending of the Son
that we may have life eternal. This Son is
our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has done so
much for us. Now it is time for us to
respond. Our proper response is repentance
and faith.
Repentance and faith go together. It is a
double-action response. We cannot just have
one without the other. We need to believe in
Him and in His plans and promises. To
simply believe without doing anything to
reform our lives to become pleasing to God

pg. 81
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

is also inadequate. Faith needs to be

manifested in our way of life. Faith
necessarily needs to be connected to
morality. In other words, faith without works
is dead. (James 2:14-17)

I. WHAT IS REPENTANCE?
1. In Greek, the word for true repentance is
metanoia, which is literally translated as a
change of mind.

● Repentance refers to a change in

direction. It is not just a simple

pg. 82
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

confession of wrongdoing. Neither is it

being sorry for sin because of the fear
of the adverse consequences of sin
(punishment, etc.). We should not
confuse sorrow for sin with sorrow for
the consequences of sin. Fear of the
possible punishment may serve as our
first step towards true repentance; but
to be truly repentant, we must hate sin
itself because it offends God.
● It is a significant change in the way
we live our lives: dropping an old set of
ideals and values by which we live our
lives and adopting new ones.
● Repentance affects the way we think
and act, our attitudes, motives, thought
and behavior.

pg. 83
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

11. It means when we are with Christ, we

turn away from sin, evil and wrongdoing.

It means asking God for forgiveness and

availing of the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, i.e. going to a priest for
confession. We need to renounce sins.
Sins, whether big or small, are totally
incompatible with a relationship with God.
Examples of big or serious sins are:
- involvement in cults such as
Freemasonry and New Age;
- practicing the occult such as
witchcraft, fortune telling, and séances;
- sexual wrongdoing such as sex outside
marriage, adultery, active
homosexuality;
- murder,
- abortion,

pg. 84
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

- rape,
- kidnapping,
- theft, robbery, corruption;
- drunkenness, drug pushing and drug
abuse.

12. It means surrendering our lives to Jesus

as our Lord. If we accept Jesus as Lord,
then there is no room for being lukewarm.
(Revelation 3:15-16) We cannot be
halfhearted when approaching God for
forgiveness. Repentance becomes
complete only under the Lordship of
Jesus.

pg. 85
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

4. There are two essential characteristics of

true repentance: honesty
and humility.

a. When we ask God for forgiveness, we

must be honest enough
to admit that we made a mistake. If it is
a sin, we must be honest enough to
admit that it is a sin.

● If we are practicing artificial birth

control, which we know is not allowed
by the Church, we must be honest

pg. 86
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

enough to admit that it is a sin and

resolve to correct the situation.
● If we are not properly married in
Church, we must be honest enough to
admit that it is against the teaching of
the Church and we should not
rationalize the situation.
● If we are carrying on an affair, we
must admit that it is seriously wrong
and cut it off immediately.
b. When we come to God to say how
sorry we are for our
mistakes, we also should be humble
enough to ask Him for
help so that we can change.

● We must admit our weakness and

not expect that we are capable of
changing only through our own efforts.
● We must also be humble enough to
seek the help of others,
our parish priest or our elders in
CFC HOLD.

pg. 87
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

True repentance requires faith in God.

II. WHAT IS FAITH?

1. “Faith is the realization of what is
hoped for and evidence of things not
seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Faith is not just a
feeling or wishful thinking. Faith is man’s
response to God, who reveals Himself and

pg. 88
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

gives Himself to man, at the same time

bringing man a superabundant light as he
searches for the ultimate meaning in life.
(CCC 154-155)

2. Faith is a grace from God. It is not

something that we can earn or acquire by
ourselves. It is a pure gift from God.
3. Faith is belief in the Gospel, which is the
good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Faith
is belief in both the messenger, Jesus, and in
the message that He brings. It means not
just believing with our minds (an intellectual
belief) that Jesus is the Savior, but believing
in our hearts that He came to be our
personal Savior.
4. Faith is a personal act and decision. It has
several aspects: (Revelation 3:20)

pg. 89
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

● It is a definite act – we must open the

door if Jesus is to come into our lives.
● It is an individual act – we need to
decide on our own to open the door. No
one can decide for us.
● It is a deliberate act – we do not have
to wait for a supernatural light to flash
upon us from heaven or an emotional
experience to overtake us. We already
know that Jesus came into this world
and died for our sins. He is now
standing outside the door of our hearts,
knocking. The next move is ours.
● It is an urgent act – the future is
uncertain and time is passing by.
● It is an indispensable act – it is part
of our double-action response. It is the
step needed to receive all that God had
promised. Faith is relying on all that
God had said.

pg. 90
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Repentance and faith is the double-action

response to God’s love. Indeed, we cannot
have one without the other.
III. REWARDS OF REPENTANCE AND
FAITH

1. The reward of repentance and faith is

forgiveness and salvation. (Acts 16:31)
2. At a personal level, one reward of true
repentance and profound faith is freedom
from fear of death. If indeed we believe that
death is nothing but a passage from a life of
fleeting joy on earth to a life of eternal

pg. 91
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

happiness in heaven, then we should not

fear it. We are unable to overcome our fear
because we have not fully repented and our
faith is weak.
CONCLUSION

Jesus sounded the call to repentance and

faith two thousand years ago. It is the same
call to us today. We are called to turn away
from sin and to accept Jesus as Lord.

Like the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us have

complete faith in God and say, “May it be

pg. 92
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

done to me according to your word.”

Luke 1:38

Prepare for reflection. Let the music

ministry play instrumental reflection music,
or let the technical team play canned
instrumental music for reflection.

REFECTION:

Will you accept the call to repent and

believe in Jesus?
(wait for their reply)
Let us have a moment of reflection. In a
prayerful mood, let us put ourselves in the
presence of our Lord and Savior and ask
forgiveness for our shortcomings.

pg. 93
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Pause for 1 minute

Let us reflect on the areas of our life that we
need to change and lift them up to the Lord.
Pause a few seconds
Let us recognize that we are weak and we
need the grace of God to help us through
this time of change. We need the strength
and grace of God to see us through.
Pause a few seconds
Let us also resolve to grow in faith. Ask God
to increase our faith. Let us offer to God our
commitment to do our best to repent and
believe that He is here to be our Lord and
Saviour, and hope in the promise that He
will always be there for us.
End with a short prayer of thanksgiving and
commitment.
Glory be…
TEAM LEADER’S SUMMARY
SUMMARY OF MODULE 1
Congratulations, we have just finished the 3
sessions of the first Module.

pg. 94
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

How amazing it is to know that God loves us

so much. He is our loving Father. Our sinful
nature separated us from Him, yet He made
a beautiful gesture of inviting us to reconnect
with Him. He gave us His Son to be the Way
for us to go back in the holy presence of God.
We learned more deeply about Jesus, He
allows us to know the Father better. He died
on the cross to redeem us, to take the
punishment of sin for us. He is our Lord and
Savior, our Redeemer, our Friend. He gives
us the example how to be holy. And He is
inviting us to repent our sins and believe in
the Good News of Salvation. He wants us to
follow Him because He is the Way. And it is
only by following Him that we will know the
truth because He is the Truth. And as
Christians following Him, we are invited to
live a holy life…and experience the fulness of
life.
The Session this afternoon invites us to
Repent and Believe. The reflection we just
had is giving us the first steps that we need
to do, which is to review our life and look at
the aspects of our life that we need to

pg. 95
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

change. Which spect of our faith that we

need to improve on.
So far sisters, the sessions on Module 1 is a
story of the offer of God to be with Him. He
needs our response sisters.
Anytime next week, your facilitator will call
you for a one-on-one meeting. Maybe there
are areas in your life you are not yet
comfortable sharing to your discussion
group, this is the time that you and your
facilitator can talk in a more private way. If
you think you are not ready to share your
situation or experiences, it is okay, your
facilitator will not force you too. Just use
your one-on-one time as bonding moments
with your facilitator. This is also a chance
for you and your facilitator to know each
other better. Always remember that your
facilitator is like a big sister to you.
So after your group discussion, you can
agree with your facilitator on the date and
time of your one-on-one.

pg. 96
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 97
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM DYNAMICS FOR SESSION 4

DYNAMICS:
1. Service Team Meeting
1.1 Quick checking on how the one-on-
ones went with each facilitator
1.2 Check equipment, videos, music,
lighting, sound system
1.3 Pray-over of speaker and sharer
1.4 Group discussion guides
1.5 Participant’s handout
2. Worship: Two songs. Include service
team to say thanksgiving prayer and
petitions (not participants yet)
3. Recap of Session 3 and introduce new
session
4. Introduce speaker
5. Talk proper
6. Group discussion.
7. Distribute Participants handout.
8. Announcement before closing:
Participants must bring their family
picture next session
9. For post session: Make sure that video
or powerpoint presentation featuring
HOLD families is ready for next session

pg. 98
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

SPEAKER’S PROFILE
The speaker is a HOLD unit head or up who
can explain the Christian ideals of loving
God and neighbor without sounding preachy
or boastful, but inspiring our participants to
respond to God’s invitation.
SHARER’S PROFILE
The sharer is a HOLD or CFC sister who can
testify to her faith journey in learning to love
God and neighbor.
SESSION 4 : THE CHRISTIAN IDEALS:
LOVING GOD AND NEIGHBOR

OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION

ANCHOR VERSE:
Jesus summed up the whole law in these two greatest
commandments: “You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on

pg. 99
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

(NABRE)
GOAL:
To explain the meaning of the Christian ideals of loving
God and loving neighbor, and inspire participants to
practice it.
CORE MESSAGE:
Loving God and loving neighbor form the inseparable
core of the Christian life. These two go together. Loving
God with our all heart, mind, soul and strength is our
highest ideal. This is the first and greatest
commandment. But we cannot love God without loving
our neighbor. We love our neighbor not only as we love
ourselves, but as God loves us.
TENOR: Inspiring

TEAM LEADER INTRO

Hello Sisters, I am sure all of you had a
beautiful bonding moment with your
facilitator, right? How did it go? Sisters, I
hope you will continue to have strong bond

pg. 100
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

with your facilitator. You can consider her

as your friend, or your Ate.
Another important thing I want to ask you
about is our action point after last week’s
session. I don’t want to be pushy but I do
hope that you already did a good
examination of conscience. We still have a
long way ahead of us and we will be with
you all the way.
We are now starting the second phase of our
CLP. From Session 1 until Session 3 last
week, we had Module 1 where we talk about
the Basic Truths About Christianity. The
previous session Talks about God’s love and
how He shows this love to us.
Today will be the beginning of a new phase
in our Christian Life Program. In Module 2,
our sessions will be on How to live an
Authentic and Spirit-led Christian Life.
This will be about our response to God’s
immense love for us beginning with
Repentance and Faith. Today we will
proceed with another way of showing our
response to God’s love for us. These are
called Christian Ideals: Loving God and

pg. 101
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Neighbor. To give us an in-depth discussion

on the topic, let us welcome _____

SESSION 4:
THE CHRISTIAN IDEALS:
LOVING GOD AND NEIGHBOR
THE EXPANDED OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

pg. 102
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Loving God and loving neighbor form the

inseparable core of the Christian life. These
two go together. Loving God is our highest
ideal, the first and greatest commandment.
But we cannot love God without loving our
neighbor. We love our neighbor not only as
we love ourselves, but as God loves us.

I. LOVING GOD

When one of the scribes asked Jesus which

is the first of all commandments, He replied,

pg. 103
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

“The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The

Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall
love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind, and with all your strength.” Mark
12:29-30

1. Loving God with all our heart

pg. 104
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

To love God with all our heart means to be

totally committed to Him. It is a
commitment to seek the Lord first and
foremost. It is a decision to put God first,
to be loyal to Him, to place His will and
interest above our own.

How do we put the Lord first and

foremost in our lives? By deciding to obey
Him. “If you love me, you will keep my
commandments.” John 14:15
Furthermore, we need to develop a

pg. 105
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

personal relationship with Him that is

alive and dynamic, as His daughters. We
should spend time daily praying to God,
talking and listening to Him, and reading
the Bible. We should show our devotion to
Him by our fervent participation in the
Eucharist, and coming to Him in
confession (the Sacrament of
Reconciliation).

2. Loving God with all our mind and soul

pg. 106
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

We love God with all our mind and soul by

keeping our mind clean and holy, free
from evil and impure thoughts, from
uncharitable thoughts, from suspicions
that damage relationships, from doubts
about our faith and God’s promises, and
from worries knowing that God will take
care of us.

Our decisions and choices must be guided

by God’s Word and not by the ways of the
world.

We should be preoccupied with how we

can be holy and not how we can amass
wealth or attain high status in society;
with how we can please God and not how
we can please people or gain their praises
or become popular.

pg. 107
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

We can love God with all our mind and

soul by protecting and preserving our
mind from unholy influences so that God
can use us for His purposes.
● We should be very discerning in
the use of television,
internet and other media that can
influence our minds,
exposing us to information and
images not consistent with
Christian living.
● We should fill our mind with
thoughts of God by reading
the Bible and other Catholic
literature which can help form
our Christian mind.

We can love God with all our mind and

soul by using our mind for God’s purpose.
We should always think of ways to serve
God’s purpose in our business, family,
peer group, etc. God must be in our daily
activities.

pg. 108
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

3. Loving God with all our strength

Loving God with all our strength means

giving God all our resources: time, talent,
and treasure, as what we call “ours” is not
really ours but His.

We do not own our time, we merely

manage it. Thus, we must seek God’s
direction on how we can spend it
generously for His purposes like doing

pg. 109
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Christian service, visiting the sick, serving

the parish, feeding the hungry and many
more.

We should use our talents to glorify God.

● If you are a singer, you must ask

yourself, do I use my voice to praise
and glorify God? If you are a painter,
you must ask yourself, does my work
portray the goodness and greatness of
God? If you are a physician, you must
ask yourself, do I have the same
compassion and love of Christ for the
sick, the suffering and the dying?

● In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus

teaches us that if we do not use our
God-given talents for the kingdom of
God, then whatever talents we have
will be taken away and given to those
who will use them rightfully. (Matthew
25:28-30)
Loving God with all our strength means
having the right attitude toward our

pg. 110
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

treasure, our wealth and material

possessions.
The right attitude is believing that
everything belongs to God. He created
everything. There is nothing in heaven and
on earth that does not belong to God. What
this means is that we are mere stewards of
what belongs to God. Therefore, we must
use these resources wisely, unselfishly and
in accordance with the plan of God, who is
the rightful owner.
God asks for our treasure, wealth and
possessions not because He needs them, but
in order to see the disposition of our hearts.
God asks us to return to Him what is His so
that He might pour out even more blessings
upon us. He asks us to give tithes and alms.
(Matthew 6:21, Malachi 3:10)

pg. 111
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Our perfect models for loving God are Jesus

and Mary.
● Because of His love for the Father,
Jesus dedicated Himself to
accomplishing His mission (John 4:34),
was obedient unto death (Luke 22:42),
and constantly sought the Father’s will
(Mark 1:35).
● Because of her love for God, Mary
gave her fiat: “May it be done to me
according to your word.” Luke 1:38
She gave her eternal “Yes” to God in
everything, from the Annunciation up
to the foot of the cross.

II. LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR

1. Loving our neighbor is not an option. It is
God’s commandment.

pg. 112
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

And Jesus commanded us to love others

not only as we love ourselves but as He
loves us: “I give you a new
commandment: love one another. As I
have loved you, so you also should
love one another.” John 13:34

2. Jesus showed the example of Christian

love when He washed the feet of His
disciples. When He finished, He told His
disciples to do likewise. John 13:12-15.

 The feet that Jesus washed were the

feet of men who had spent most of
the day walking long, crowded, dusty
roads. They were very dirty feet. In
the Jewish culture of Jesus’ time, the

pg. 113
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

servant washed the feet of the

guests. But Jesus took a towel and a
basin of water and washed them
Himself.
 What Jesus is teaching is that we
should be servants to one another.
Loving others as Jesus loves means
serving others.

3. The full depth of the meaning of Jesus’

teaching on loving our neighbor is
revealed in the Parable of the Good
Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37).

The story begins with a lawyer among the

crowd wanting to test Jesus by asking:
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?” Jesus responded with a
question, “What is written in the Law?”

The lawyer answered by quoting

Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18,
respectively,

pg. 114
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

“Therefore, you shall love the Lord,

your God, with your whole heart, and
with your whole being, and with your
whole strength” and, “Take no
revenge and cherish no grudge
against your own people. You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.”

The lawyer goes on, “Who is my

neighbor?” So, Jesus related the parable
to them.

pg. 115
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

A man fell victim to bandits as he was

travelling the winding and treacherous
road from Jerusalem to Jericho. He was
stripped of his clothing, beaten and left
half dead along the road. First a priest
then a Levite passed by, but they both
avoided the traveler. A third man came
along. “He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds
and bandaged him, lifted him up on
his own animal, took him to an inn
and cared for him.” Luke 10:34 This
third man, who was moved with
compassion to help the traveler, was a
Samaritan.

The crowd who was listening to the story

thought that this third man must be a
Jewish layman who would help the victim.
But wait! What was he saying? A
Samaritan helping a Jew? But this is
impossible! The Jews and the Samaritans
hated and despised each other. Jews
considered the Samaritans as their pagan
enemies, who were not worthy to be
called “people.”! How could a Samaritan
do any good? And to a Jew at that?

pg. 116
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

At the end of the story, Jesus asked the

lawyer: “Which of these three was
neighbor to the victim?” The lawyer was
left with no option. He had to say the
Samaritan. But being a Jew who bitterly
hated the Samaritans, he could not utter
the word “Samaritan”. So he answered,
“The one who treated him with mercy.”
And to this Jesus replied, “Go and do
likewise”. (Note to speaker: see
historical note-Annex 1)

Jesus took pains describing in great detail

the Samaritan’s specific actions to help
the victim. He approached the victim. He
poured oil and wine and bandaged him.
And then he lifted him up, took him to an
inn where he continued to care for him.
This conveys the message that being a
neighbor entails doing things for others
and not merely wishing them well.

“Who is my neighbor?” Indeed in the

story, the Samaritan was neighbor to the
traveler.

pg. 117
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

The neighbor can be an enemy, a person

who needs forgiveness, compassion, care
and love. This person can be a friend, a
relative, a bystander, a stranger; it is
anybody and everybody.

The responsibility of being a neighbor is

upon us. The perspective is not to ask
others but to ask ourselves:

Am I being a neighbor to others? Am I

being compassionate and loving to
others?

pg. 118
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

4. Characteristics of Christian Love

In his first letter to the Corinthians, St.

Paul describes the characteristics of
Christian love and how to love others.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not
jealous, it is not pompous, it is not
inflated, it is not rude, it does not
seek its own interests, it is not quick-
tempered, it does not brood over
injury, and it does not rejoice over
wrongdoing but rejoices with the
truth. It bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, and endures
all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

pg. 119
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

a. To love others is to be patient. We

should be slow to anger. We should
give ample allowance for the
shortcoming of others.
b. To love others is to be kind. We should
avoid an attitude of criticism. We
should have a posture and speech that
is upbuilding and encouraging.
c. To love others is not to be jealous. We
should not covet what others have or
begrudge another for possessing
something we do not have.

pg. 120
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

d. d. To love others is not to be pompous

or inflated. We should be humble and
think not of our own importance. We
should be conscious of our own
unworthiness rather than our merit.
e. To love others is not to be rude. We
should accord honor and respect to one
another, praise them if they do well and
console them if they do badly.
f. To love others is not to be self-seeking.
We should not focus on having our
rights met but focus rather on our
duties to others.

g. To love others is not to be quick-

tempered. We should master our
emotions and feelings, slow to frown
but quick to smile.

pg. 121
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

h. To love others is not to brood over

injury. We should not hold grudges or
resentments but rather be forgiving
and understanding of the weakness of
others.
i. To love others is not to rejoice over
wrongdoing. We should always seek the
good in others, even with people that
we find difficult to deal with.

j. To love others is to rejoice in the truth.

We should always be sincere and
honest and tell the truth to one
another.
k. To love others is to have forbearance.
We should patiently and humbly bear
insults, injuries and disappointments
without taking counter action.

pg. 122
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

l. To love others is to have trust and to

believe in the best about other people.
We should have a positive attitude
towards others, always seeking their
good side.

m.To love others is to have hope. We

should have a positive attitude towards
life and other people and remain joyful
and peaceful under any circumstance.
n. To love others is to have endurance. We
should develop an ability to bear
things, not with passive resignation but
with a triumphant attitude.

We are able to assume the

characteristics of Christian love if we
can honestly substitute the word “I” for

pg. 123
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

the word “love” in St. Paul’s letter to

the Corinthians
(ask the participants to read
together loudly the cited verses but
substitute “I” for “love”).

I am patient, I am kind. I am not

jealous, I am not pompous, I am not
inflated, I am not rude. I do not seek
my own interests, I am not quick-
tempered, I do not brood over injury,
and I do not rejoice over wrongdoing
but I rejoice with the truth. I bear all
things, believe all things, hope all
things, and endure all things.

CONCLUSION

pg. 124
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Loving God and loving neighbor have

been likened to the vertical and the
horizontal parts of the cross. One
directs us upward to God, while the
other directs us horizontally toward our
fellowmen.

But we cannot love God with all our

heart, mind and strength by merely
deciding to do so. What will make it
possible is the power of the Holy Spirit.

And loving our neighbor is not an easy

task. In fact, it is impossible without
God’s grace. But God will give it freely
and generously if we sincerely ask for
it.

pg. 125
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Jesus said that we should love one

another as He loves us. He loves us
regardless of who we are. He does not
care if we are rich or poor, educated or
not, Samaritan or Jew. He died for all of
us. He is “neighbor” to us all.

ANNEX 1:
ADDITIONAL REFERENCE FOR
STUDY ONLY AND NOT TO BE
INCLUDED IN THE TALK
FOR THE USE OF THE SPEAKER

HISTORICAL NOTE

pg. 126
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

The Jews and the Samaritans hated and

despised each other for many
generations. It all started after the
death of Solomon in 922 BC. Israel was
divided into two, the kingdom of Israel
in the north and the kingdom of Judea
in the south. In 721 BC the Assyrians
occupied the northern kingdom. Then
in 857 BC, the Babylonians conquered
the southern kingdom of Judea. But in
529 BC, the Persian emperor Cyrus
defeated the Babylonians and allowed
the exiled Jews to return to Judea.

In the meantime, the northern kingdom

remained under Assyrian occupation.
The Assyrians, who were pagans,
intermarried with the native
population, including the Samaritans.
And these intermarriages went on for
many generations. Thus in the eyes of
the Jews who had returned from exile
in Babylon and who considered
themselves as the only faithful
interpreters of Israel’s religious
traditions, the Samaritans were half-

pg. 127
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

breeds and half-pagans. As a result, the

Samaritans were prevented from
worshiping in the Temple of Jerusalem.
The Samaritans, therefore, built their
own temple on Mt. Gerisim. Then
around 6-9 AD, a group of Samaritans
defiled the Temple court in Jerusalem
by strewing it with human bones. This
action led to further division and even
more bitter hostility between the Jews
and the Samaritans. This hostility and
hatred between Jews and Samaritans
were so intense that we read in the
book of Sirach 50:25: “My whole
being loathes two nations, the third
is not even a people.” Those who live
in Seir and Philistia, and the
degenerate folk who dwell in Shechem.
Mt. Seir is in the territory of the
Edomites. The Edomites and the
Philistines were enemies of the Jews.
Shechem is a city in Samaria. As stated
in the book of Sirach, the Jews did not
even want to call the Samaritans
“people” (the third is not even a
people…the degenerate folk who dwell
in Shechem). The Jews hated the

pg. 128
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Samaritans more intensely than the

Edomites and the Philistines, whom
they had fought with regularly in their
long history.

pg. 129
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 130
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM DYNAMICS FOR SESSION 5

DYNAMICS:
1. Service Team Meeting
1.1 Check equipment, videos, music,
lighting, sound system
1.2 Pray-over of speaker and sharers
1.3 Prepare Group discussion guides &
participants handout
1.4 Gathering song: “Living Together,
Growing Together”
2. Worship: Two songs.
Team Leader encourages participants to
join the service team in thanksgiving
prayer and petitions (not necessarily all
participants)
3. Recap of Session 4
4. Show video of HOLD families
5. Alternate activity where participants show
their family bonding pictures and call 2
volunteers to describe it in 2 or 3
sentences.
6. Introduce speaker
7. Talk proper with sharing
8. Group discussion.
9. Distribute Participants handout.
10. Post-session:

pg. 131
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

10.1 Instruct facilitators to have the

second one-on-one with participants
taking note of concerns, issues,
aspirations and petitions that the
participant wants to be included in
the prayer. Encourage participants
to have a good confession if she has
not done this after Talk 3. Remind
participants about Talk 3 especially
about involvement in occult practices
and having amulets and trinkets such
as habak, crystal trinkets nga
pangpa-swerte
10.2 Remind facilitators of things to bring
for the pray-over altar, bring prayer
partners
10.3 Remind Team to be spiritually
prepared for next session. Enjoin all
chapter members to offer mass and
prayer for the success of the Pray-
over session

SPEAKER’S PROFILE
The speaker is a HOLD unit head or up who is a
strong, Spirit-filled Christian witness in building
a home centered on Christ. Being a member of
a family, she strives to make it a truly Christian

pg. 132
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

family. Preferably, she has members of her

family who are also members/leaders of the
CFC and its Family Ministries for a stronger
and more relevant witnessing.

SHARER’S PROFILE
There are two sharers: a child of a HOLD
member and a HOLD member. They will
share about their life as a family, how they
deepen their faith, and highlight how God
moves faithfully and powerfully in their
imperfect family circumstances. Video
sharing of the child sharer can be shown if
the child cannot come.

SESSION 5 : CFC HOLD AND THE

CHRISTIAN FAMILY
OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION
ANCHOR VERSE:
“If it is displeasing to you to serve the
Lord, choose today whom you will serve,
the gods your ancestors served beyond
the River or the gods of the Amorites in

pg. 133
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

whose country you are dwelling. As for

me and my household, we will serve the
Lord.” Joshua 24:15 NABRE
GOAL:
To stress the importance of the Christian
family, and to give practical advice for
building up a strong Christian family
CORE MESSAGE:
In God’s plan, the Christian family is a
community of life and love. It has a mission
to guard, reveal and communicate love.
However, God has lost His central place in
the family as it is under serious attack on
many fronts. Many have redefined both
marriage and family and this has caused
great confusion in our society and in the
world today. Let us fulfill our mission by
being present in our own families through
three simple yet enriching ways: eating
together, praying constantly and loving each
other unconditionally.
TENOR: Inspiring

TEAM LEADERS INTRO

pg. 134
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Last week we talked about loving God and

neighbor as our basic ideals as Christians.
God instructed us to love our neighbor not
only as ourselves but to love them as God
loves us.
But our closest neighbors are members of
our family. How do we show Christian love
for members of our family? We will talk
about this today. The Couples for Christ
Handmaids of the Lord puts a great
importance for us to nurture the Christian
family as a community of love and love.
Our session today is special because the
topic is close to our heart. Especially
because most of us are mothers or
daughters. Our speaker will give us insights
about how we can ply a central role in
fulfilling God’s plan for families.
Let us welcome _____

SESSION 5: CFC HOLD AND THE

CHRISTIAN FAMILY
THE EXPANDED OUTLINE

pg. 135
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

INTRODUCTION
Love begets love, and it begins in the family.
The family is life’s first school. In a bigger
and general sense, the family is the building
block of society, of the Church, and is the
cradle of every vocation.
As an institution, the family is under serious
attack in many fronts. Marriages are being
broken and the traditional definition of
family is being challenged. Many have
redefined both marriage and family that has
caused great confusion in our society and in
the world today. In almost all countries,
except in the Philippines and in the Vatican
City, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church,
divorce is legal. In many countries, abortion
and same-sex unions are accepted and
legalized.

pg. 136
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

But our model to protect our family from

these worldly realities is Joshua. He did not
conform to what other people’s choices.
Rather, He commits His family to serving
the Lord.

Note: This is an alternate activity in case

the team does not have a video of families of
HOLD doing bonding activities together. If
this activity needs to be done, the speaker
will instruct the participants to draw or
illustrate activities that their family do
together. Call 2 volunteers to explain the
drawing.
I. GOD’S PLAN FOR THE FAMILY

pg. 137
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

In the beginning, God intended the family to

be beautiful. Now, the family is imperfect,
yet it remains a beautiful gift from God.

Pope Francis affirms this in Amoris Laetitia

(2016): “I thank God that many families,
which are far from considering themselves
perfect, live in love, fulfill their calling and
keep moving forward, even if they fall many
times along the way (AL 57). Pope Francis

pg. 138
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

also points out that there is no such thing as

an ideal family. The world is made up of
families with different realities and
situations, different “joys, hopes and
problems.”

1. God has intended the family for

the transmission of life.

In God’s plan, the Christian family is

a community of life and love. It has a
mission to guard, reveal and
communicate love. Each family is
the home of God, and its members
belong to God. Parents must regard
their children as children of God and
respect them as human persons. As

pg. 139
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

partners in God’s continuing

creation, the parents’ main task is to
propagate and nurture life, and
through God’s grace, mold their
children in His image. It was meant
to be so from the very beginning
(Gen 1:27-28, Gen 2:18-24). It made
sense therefore that God created
humans as male and female, with
their physiology so formed as to
enable them to increase, multiply,
and fill the earth. God intended man
and woman to be one, not
independent individuals producing
babies, but husband and wife raising
a family.

2. The family is a place for teaching

children and training leaders.

pg. 140
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

The family is a place to transmit

wisdom and values of life.

The overall education of children is a

“most serious duty” and at the same
time a “primary right” of parents.
This is not just a task nor a burden,
but an essential and inalienable right
that parents are called to defend and
of which no one may deprive them
of.

“Parents have the first responsibility

for the education of their children.
They bear witness to this
responsibility first by creating a
home where tenderness, forgiveness,
respect, fidelity, and disinterested
service are the rule.” Teaching is
not formal, but rather comes in the
everyday activities in the home. The
spiritual formation of their children
is also their primary responsibility.
How about single mature women? What
about aunts and grandmothers? They
are members of a family, too. Do they

pg. 141
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

have the same primary responsibility

over the children in their household?
Not primary, perhaps, unless they are
acting as the legal guardians or default
caretakers in case the children’s
parents are at work or abroad. But
having children in a household or in an
extended family can be taken as a
shared responsibility. They can also
share in their training or education by
being role models, sources of correct
information and advice, when asked. Of
course, they must defer to the
preferences of the parents. They are
not there to take the place of the
parents nor to shoulder their
responsibilities, but they can be a
loving support for both the parents and
the children in the family.

In households of single parents,

separated mothers, wives of overseas
workers, as well as those with extended
families living with them or nearby,
adults within this family community
should be a reliable and loving support
system. As much as possible, they

pg. 142
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

should strive to be united in their

values as a family and as Christians.
This is especially important when it
comes to raising children with good
moral values or in relating well with
and supporting all the members of the
family, young and old alike. The family
is the “school of humanity,” where joys
and trials, deep love and relationships
are experienced, and, where
woundedness can be healed. It is of
utmost importance to help children
grow in maturity through an
outpouring of love, discipline and
education in virtues.

3. The family is a domestic church.

pg. 143
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

“In all families the Good News needs to

resound, in good times and in bad, as a
source of light along the way” Husband
and wife, father and mother, both
“cooperate with the love of God the
Creator, and are, in a certain sense, his
interpreters”. Parents, especially the
fathers, are to be the priests in their
families. They present God to their
families—by their example of a living
Christianity and by diligently teaching
Scripture. They present their families
to God through family prayer and by
blessing the children. In a household
where the father is not present or
cannot shoulder this responsibility, this
role can be taken by the mother or
another capable family member. With
modern technology, fathers who are
not physically present (e.g., OFWs) can
continue exercising their roles as such
with their wives supporting them.

pg. 144
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

“The family, like the Church, ought to

be a place where the Gospel is
transmitted and from which the Gospel
radiates. In a family which is conscious
of this mission, all the members
evangelize and are evangelized.

The parents not only communicate the

Gospel to their children, but from their
children they can themselves receive

pg. 145
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

the same Gospel as deeply lived by

them. As such a family becomes the
evangelizer of many other families, and
of the neighborhood of which it forms
part.”

II. WHY GOD’S PLAN FOR FAMILIES IS

NOT HAPPENING

1. God has lost His central place in the

family.

Parents no longer bring up their children

in the discipline and instruction of the
Lord. Many parents themselves are not
interested or knowledgeable in spiritual
matters. They look more and more to
psychology as a source of wisdom for
raising their children.

pg. 146
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Husbands and wives do not follow God’s

order for them. There is confusion of
roles. Their commitment is shaky. They
cannot be depended on, and they become
insecure. Even the influence of extended
families, though still present, is not strong
either in assisting in the spiritual
formation of the members of the family.
Oftentimes, the spiritual formation of the
adults in the extended families is also
inadequate. There is too much importance
given to acquiring material possessions
and having an easy and comfortable life.

2. The family itself is losing its

importance.
The pace of modern life has become very
fast, making it difficult for lasting
relationships to develop. The culture of
busyness, where we fill our schedules
with too many activities, takes us away
from the essential. The responsibility of
educating children starts in the home.
However, even at an early age, this has
been increasingly shifted to daycare
centers and then to schools. Now, more
parents feel the need for double-income

pg. 147
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

households to cope up with expenses and

this takes away from time with their
children. The little time they have left for
bonding have been set aside to pursue
individual interests.

Marriages are being broken – separations

and divorces are now easier to obtain. The
traditional definition of family is being
challenged (e.g. same-sex marriages,
long-distance marriages and live-in
relationships). There has been a great rise
in the number of broken or single-parent
families. In many cases, the children are
left to the care of grandparents, aunts and
uncles, or left to fend for themselves. The
throwaway culture is evident even in the
way we deal with each other. Pope
Francis says in Amoris Laetitia, “We treat
relationships the way we treat material
objects and the environment: everything
is disposable; everyone uses and throws
away, takes and breaks, exploits and
squeezes to the last drop. Then,
goodbye.”

pg. 148
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

3. The family is under attack by evil

forces. (1 Pet 5:8)

Marriage and family life have always been

under attack, but threats in the recent
years have reached extraordinary heights.

The devil wants to break up the family

and promotes many things to undermine
the family, such as secularism (taking God
out of the picture in everyday life
including educational systems and
government), relativism (belief that there
is no absolute truth, and that truth is
subjective), and spreading indifference,
among others. Pope Francis notes that
rampant individualism makes it difficult
today for a person to give oneself
generously to another. In fact, many
young adults are focused on career-driven
lives opting to indulge instead in fleeting
relationships or live-in partnerships or if
married deciding to postpone having
children.

pg. 149
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

III. WHAT CAN WE DO?

St. John Paul II exhorts families: “Family,

become what you are.” It is imperative
that as a family, we decide to make God the
center of our family life. People will know
that we are Christians by the love in our
hearts expressed in our homes.

pg. 150
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

1. Eat

Pope Francis reminds us: “A family that

hardly ever eats together, or that does
not talk but watches television, or looks at
the smartphone, is a ‘barely familial’
family. When children are engrossed with
a computer at the table, or a mobile
phone, and do not talk to each other, this
is not a family, it is like a boarding
house.”

Eating is a symbol of togetherness. At the

table, we talk and listen to one another.
We nourish our relationships in table
fellowship with the members of our
family.

2. Pray

pg. 151
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Consecrate our family to God. Pray as a

family. Fr. Patrick Peyton reminds us:
“The family that prays together, stays
together.” Pray the rosary as a family.
Pray over your children. Pray for healing
of family members. Intercede for each
other’s needs. Celebrate the Holy Mass by
attending regularly together as a family.
This does not only apply to young families
but also to families with adult children.
This is one way we pass on our Catholic
faith to them. Encourage each member of
the family to serve the Lord in a
community like the CFC and its Family
Ministries or perhaps in the parish.

3. Love

pg. 152
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Create opportunities for love to flourish.

Make time for the task of building a
strong family. The Lord’s presence dwells
in real and concrete families, with all their
daily troubles, struggles, joys and hopes.

Let us examine our daily life to ensure

that our family has enough quality time
together. Be ready to reduce other
activities, if necessary. Plan regular family
recreations, vacations and other activities.
Let us know, understand and fulfil our
role as the pastor, provider and protector
of our family. Fathers should model
themselves after St. Joseph, and his
example of spiritual fatherhood to Jesus
and his steady parental presence.
Mothers, whether biological or from the
heart, should look to Mother Mary for
inspiration to be constant nurturers and
life-givers in their homes. They should be
the light of their homes with
unconditional love in all aspects of family
life.

CONCLUSION

pg. 153
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Every family, despite its weaknesses, can

become a light in the darkness of the
world. We look to the Holy Family for
inspiration. Can you imagine how Jesus,
Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth back
then? They can teach us the meaning of
family life and the beauty of simple and
peaceful living; a family life with a sense
of what is sacred. We can learn from the
way they related with each other in total
love, as we strive to make our home the
perfect place for preparing our young
ones for their important roles in society.
Yes, the family has a basic, fundamental
and incomparable role in building an
orderly society. (Amoris Laetitia, 66)

SHARER(S) (Introduced by speaker)

(a) Child of a HOLD member (Video

sharing in case child sharer will not be
able to join)

pg. 154
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

(b) HOLD member or leader.

PRAYER TO THE HOLY FAMILY (

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we

contemplate the splendor of true love. To
You we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our

families too may be places of communion
and prayer, authentic schools of the
Gospel and small domestic churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth, may families

never again experience violence, rejection
and division. May all who have been hurt
or scandalized find in You ready comfort
and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth, make us once

more mindful of the sacredness and
inviolability of the family, and its beauty
in God’s plan.

pg. 155
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, graciously hear

our prayers. Amen.

pg. 156
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 157
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 158
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM DYNAMICS FOR SESSION 6

DYNAMICS:
1. Service Team Meeting
I.1. Prayer to Take Authority,
Consecrate place for the Pray-over
session
I.2. Check equipment, videos, music,
lighting, sound system
I.3. Pray-over of speaker
I.4. Prepare Group discussion guides &
participants handout
2. Worship: Two songs. Thanksgiving
prayer and petitions
3. Recap of Session 5
4. Show Pentecost video
5. Introduce Speaker
6. Talk proper -
7. Play reflection song on speaker’s cue
8. Group discussion.
9. Distribute Participants handout.
10. Individual Pray-over session
11. Speaker gives Mini Talk and
exhortation on vocal prayer
12. Full worship. Service Team joins
speaker in front during worship

pg. 159
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Note: for online CLP, there will only be a

general pray-over. No individual pray-
over of prticipants, no mini-talk, no Full
worship.
(recommended to hold this as a face to
face session. In case a participant is from
another province/country, then explain to
her that she may have an individual pray-
over session once she is in town)
13. Post session

SPEAKER’S PROFILE

A HOLD Chapter Head or up, who by her

experience of fullness of life in, through and
by the Holy Spirit, can explain with clarity
and inspiration what it means to be
empowered by the Holy Spirit.
SESSION 6 : EMPOWERED BY THE
HOLY SPIRIT
OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION

ANCHOR VERSE:

pg. 160
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

“But you will receive the power when

the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
(NABRE)

GOAL:
To lead people to understand and to have an
utmost desire for a fuller release in them of
the power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

CORE MESSAGE:
The Holy Spirit is the third person in the
Holy Trinity, “…the Lord, the giver of life.” It
is the Holy Spirit who unites us with God,
gives us a new nature and empowers us to
be witnesses of Jesus to the ends of the
earth. There are different charismatic gifts
from the Holy Spirit. One of the charismatic
gifts is the gift of tongues, which is a gift of
praise. It is a means to enrich our prayer
life. There will be laying-on of hands to pray
with and for participants, specifically about

pg. 161
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

their concerns and the gifts they wish to

receive. We hope for a fuller release of the
Holy Spirit through this pray-over.

TENOR: Empowering and Encouraging.

TEAM LEADER’S INTRO
Today is a very exciting day, Sisters. This is
the highlight of our CLP. In Session 1, we
got to know of the love of God, our heavenly
Father. Then we know who Jesus Christ, the
Son, who is our Redeemer, Lord and Savior
in Session 2.
Today, our speaker will re-introduce us to
the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Holy
Trinity, who is “…the Lord, the giver of life.”
As we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, we
will experience the fullness of life living an
authentic and Spirit-led life.

Our speaker for this session is __________....

Before we start, let us watch this video….

pg. 162
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Play Pentecost video

We too will be renewed, transformed and

empowered by the Holy Spirit, Sisters….
This is the day that the Lord has made!
Let us now welcome our speaker _______.

SESSION 6: EMPOWERED BY TH HOLY

SPIRIT
THE EXPANDED OUTLINE

PART 1

pg. 163
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

INTRODUCTION

Life in the Holy Spirit is the life that God

wants for all of us. It is the very same life
that our loving Father wanted for his
Apostles and disciples. And why is this so?
The years spent by the Apostles and
disciples with Jesus Christ were not
enough to transform them or embolden
them. In fact, we recall that they went
into hiding after Jesus Christ was
crucified. The big change came on
Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended
upon them in tongues of fire, invigorating
them and empowering them to speak the
word of God in many languages. Three
thousand were baptized and converted
that day.

pg. 164
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

This Pentecost experience of early

Christians can also happen to all of us. We
will experience the same vigor and
dynamism in our faith once we are able to
understand fully how the Holy Spirit
works in our Christian life. The Holy Spirit
enables us to have a deeper relationship
with God, to love Him even more and to
experience Him in the many ways that He
brings us to Himself. Sadly, however, a lot
of us do not know the Holy Spirit today
the way we know God the Father and the
Son, Jesus Christ.

Much of Christianity today looks weak

and lifeless. It lacks the power and
effectiveness of what the early Christians
had in their daily lives.

pg. 165
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

The early Christian movement was

dynamic, strong and attractive.
The source of power was the Holy Spirit.
In the Book of Acts, we see the Holy Spirit
acting among the Christians, guiding
them, speaking to them and empowering
them through His gifts to bring
unbelievers to faith in God.

I. WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

pg. 166
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

1. The Holy Spirit is God, the Third

Person in the Holy Trinity.

“To believe in the Holy Spirit is to

profess that the Holy Spirit is one of
the persons of the Holy Trinity,
consubstantial with the Father and the
Son: ‘With the Father and the Son he is
worshipped and glorified.’” (CCC 685)

“Holy Spirit” is the proper name of the

one whom we adore and glorify with

pg. 167
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

the Father and the Son. (CCC 691) The

Church teaches us that although there
is only one God, yet, somehow, there
are three Persons in God. The Father
is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit
is God, yet we do not speak of three
Gods, but only one God with the same
nature, substance, and being. This is
what consubstantial means.

Even though the Three Persons are One

God, they are distinct: for the Father
has no origin, He came from no one.
But the Son is begotten, He comes from
the Father alone. The Holy Spirit comes
or proceeds from both the Father and
the Son. These different relations of
origin tell us there are three distinct
Persons, who have one and the same
divine nature.

pg. 168
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

2. The Holy Spirit is the Lord and Giver of

Life.

We profess our faith in the Holy Spirit

in the Nicene Creed as we say, “I
believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the
giver of life.”

In a General Audience, St. John Paul II

said that, “In the history of salvation,
life always appears as linked to God’s
Spirit.” He added that man became a

pg. 169
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

living being through the divine breath.

The divine breath is the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 2:7 tells us, “Then the Lord

God formed man of dust from the
ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living being.”

In particular, St John Paul II explained

that the Holy Spirit manifested His life-
giving power in the incarnation of
Jesus. “Now this is how the birth of
Jesus came about. When his mother

pg. 170
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but

before they lived together, she was
found with child through the holy
Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18)

3. The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete.

“I shall ask the Father, and he will

give you another Paraclete to be
with you forever, …” (John 14:16)

pg. 171
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, which

means the “one called alongside” us to
help, exhort and encourage us.

He strengthens us as we fight
temptations, as we endure trials and as
we oppose the accusations of the devil.

pg. 172
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

He teaches, leads, guides and helps us

make decisions.

He intercedes and prays for us. “In the

same way the Spirit too comes to
the aid of our weakness; for we do
not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit itself intercedes with
inexpressible groanings.” (Romans
8:26)

When we have the Holy Spirit in us,

pg. 173
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

● We have union with God “For through

him we both have access in one Spirit to
the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18). And we
experience a new relationship with Him as
Father that is deep and personal. “The
Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God, …” (Romans
8:16).
● We receive a spiritual power to live the
Christian life. This has two dimensions.
1. The Inward Dimension.
This enables us to put off our old nature
of sin and put on a new nature of
righteousness and holiness.
“So whoever is in Christ is a new
creation: the old things have
passed away; behold, new things
have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

pg. 174
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

“I say, then: live by the Spirit and

you will certainly not gratify the
desire of the flesh. For the flesh has
desires against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh; these are
opposed to each other, so that you
may not do what you want. But if
you are guided by the Spirit, you
are not under the law. Now the
works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity,
licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery,
hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts
of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of
envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and
the like. I warn you, as I warned
you before, that those who do such
things will not inherit the kingdom
of God. In contrast, the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control. Against
such there is no law.” (Galatians
5:16-23)
2. The Outward Dimension.

pg. 175
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

We are emboldened to serve as Jesus’

witnesses. “But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and you shall be my witnesses in
Jerusalem and in all Judea and
Samaria and to the end of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8)
For us Christians, this will not be the first
time we will receive the Holy Spirit. We
already received the Holy Spirit during our
Baptism and Confirmation. Rather, what we
will experience is a fuller release of the
power of the Holy Spirit in our lives by
asking God the Father in faith. (Luke 11:9-
13)

II. THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

pg. 176
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

A. The Holy Spirit has blessed the Church

with so many gifts. Among these are the
hierarchical gifts that are conferred to the
clergy through the Sacrament of
ordination, and the charismatic gifts that
are freely distributed by the Holy Spirit to
those who ask. They are both essential to
the Church.

B. Hierarchical gifts ensure the continuing

work of salvation of Christ. These were
first bestowed on the apostles and passed
on to their successors. These gifts are
related to the Sacraments and priestly
authority. For example, the priests can
turn bread and wine into the body and
blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the
Holy Eucharist. They can absolve sins.

pg. 177
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

They can solemnize the union of a couple

in a Church wedding.

Charismatic gifts enable the faithful to

evangelize, discern the signs of times and
interpret them in the light of the Gospel.
They are gifts not meant only for
ourselves but for us to use in bringing the
good news (the Gospel) and God’s love to
the world.

C. In the Couples for Christ community,

however, we specifically ask for the nine

pg. 178
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

(9) charismatic gifts. These charismatic

gifts are introduced by St. Paul in his first
letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians
12:1, 4-11). These gifts may be divided
into 3 groups: two teaching gifts: word of
wisdom and word of knowledge; three
sign gifts: faith, healing and miracles; and
four revelational gifts: prophecy,
discernment of spirits, tongues, and
interpretation of tongues.

The nine (9) charismatic gifts:

1. Word of Wisdom - concerned with the

best way to live. God’s guidance on how
to live as a Christian.

pg. 179
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

2. Word of Knowledge - more of doctrinal

teaching. Speak an understanding of
the truth of the mystery of Christ.

3. Faith - The charismatic gift of faith

seems to be a special gift of prayer.
Praying with God-given confidence,
which produces extraordinary results.
It’s knowing that what one asks for will
be given. Mark 11:23-24.

pg. 180
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

4. Healing – the Holy Spirit can manifest

this special gift through any believer so
He can then heal someone of any kind
of disease, illness, or sickness.

5. Miracles - supernatural activity from

Him. (E.g. Jesus turning water into
wine at the wedding of Cana, Jesus
feeding 5000 people by multiplying 5
loaves of bread and two fish, God
parting the Red Sea for Moses and the
children of Israel).

pg. 181
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

6. Prophecy - the gift by which God

speaks through a person a message to
an individual or a whole community.

7. Discernment of spirits - the gift by

which a person can tell whether in a
situation what is at work is the Holy
Spirit, an evil spirit, or just man’s own
spirit. A kind of a vision or a sense.

pg. 182
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

8. Tongues – a gift of praise that is meant

to enrich our prayer life.

9. Interpretation of Tongues - does not

refer to the abilities of an interpreter of
languages. The one who exercises this
gift does not even understand the
tongues. What is spoken in tongues
may not even be an actual language.
Like in prophecy, there is an urge to
speak words. What is spoken is an
accurate interpretation.

pg. 183
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

D. We give special mention to the gift of

tongues. We should all desire and ask for
the gift of tongues.

Tongues is a gift of praise. Desire and ask

for the gift of tongues. Ask for it in faith.
Once you receive it, it can have great
consequences in your spiritual life,
especially in your prayer and worship.

Cooperate with God’s Spirit and yield to

the leading and prompting of the Spirit by
speaking out. Begin by just praising God
in your own words. You may repeatedly
say “Alleluia” or even utter meaningless
sounds (e.g., la-la-la-la). The Holy Spirit
will form these sounds into tongues. Do
not analyze the sounds or focus on the
experience. Just focus on the Lord and

pg. 184
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

offer to Him your utterances as prayers of

praise. Resist the temptation to think that
it is just you and not the Holy Spirit
forming the sounds.

The gift of tongues is a common

experience when we receive the Holy
Spirit, just like the experience of the
disciples described in Acts. But unlike the
other spiritual gifts, ‘tongues’ is a gift that
may not immediately manifest, and it is
okay. We will not expect nor force
ourselves to have it for it is only the Holy
Spirit that will have a say whether we can
have the gift of tongues or not. Once we
receive it, it can have great consequences
in our spiritual life, especially in our
prayer and worship

pg. 185
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

III. ENKINDLING THE POWER OF THE

HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS GIFTS

In a pray-over session we will pray for a

fuller release in you of the power of the
Holy Spirit and His gifts. Your
facilitators will lay hands on you to pray
for you, specifically about your
concerns and the gifts that you want to
be manifested in your life. This pray-
over is basically between you and God.

pg. 186
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

We enkindle the gifts and power of the

Holy Spirit when:

● We strengthen our prayer life

by being faithful to a regular
prayer time. We study the Sacred
Scriptures which are God’s words
to us
● We render whole-hearted
service to God and others. ● We
actively participate in our
respective parishes.

This is not a baptism, not even a second

baptism. We should refrain from using the
term “baptism” to avoid confusion and
misunderstanding. This is a prayer session

pg. 187
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

for the fuller release of the power of the

Holy Spirit.

Different things will happen to different

people. Do not seek a particular kind of
experience. Just turn to the Lord and receive
the new life of the Holy Spirit from Him.

CONCLUSION

God offers each of us a new life in the Holy

Spirit. It is the true Christian life. And God
desires it for all.

pg. 188
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Thus we need to be open to it, better yet,

desire it with all our heart. And have faith
that we will receive it, because God has so
promised.

Sisters, let us look forward with excitement

to this new life, experiencing our own
“Pentecost” and allowing God’s wonders to
happen in our lives.

Let us pause for a moment of reflection.

Breakout for Group Discussion

After Group Discussion, go back to plenary.

Speaker will resume with Part 2
PART 2

GUIDELINES FOR THE PRAY-OVER

pg. 189
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

I. FOR AN ONLINE CLP:

(if CLP is online, Hide slides for
Physical CLP)

After the group discussion, the

speaker will proceed as follows:
1. Mention that the following will be
done when a physical gathering is
already allowed.
● Explanation on the pray-over
● Commitment to Christ
● Individual pray-over
● Mini talk / exhortation on vocal
prayer
● Full Worship

These can be done together with the

Dedication Ceremony and the Lord’s
Day (conducted only on Saturday

pg. 190
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

evenings). Details about when this will

happen will be given by the Team
Leader.

3. In the meantime, there will be a general

pray-over, which will be led by the
speaker.
II. FOR A CLP WITH PHYSICAL
GATHERING:
(if CLP is Physical gathering, hide
slides for online CLP)

A. EXPLANATION ON THE PRAY-

OVER

1. Before the pray-over

Explain the procedure and what will
happen during the pray over session

pg. 191
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

 It will start with an opening prayer

 We will sing “Create in Me”
 We will have a general prayer,
then proceed to
 Commitment to Christ. - explain
that this is the same commitment
we had during our baptism with
our parents acting as our proxy
 Then we will invoke the Holy
Spirit to pour out His power on us

2. During the pray-over

 Wait for your turn to be prayed-
over
 While waiting, you can either pray
or silently listen to or join the
singing of hymns
 Somebody will pick you up; She
will escort you to the pray-over
area
 Once there, your facilitator will
give you instructions to sit down.
She will do the pray-over. Just be
open to the Holy Spirit as he pours
down His power on you. Be
receptive…you may join her in the
praising. (Remember what I told

pg. 192
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

you… repeatedly utter Alleluia

Lord Jesus or Sweet Jesus or Abba
Father)
 We will lay our hands on you and
pray with you. But it is basically
between you and God. We are just
instruments. You have to ask God
to give you what He promised.
And in faith expect it to happen!

Right attitudes during the pray over

session:

a) Relax. The more relaxed you are,

the easier it is to receive God’s gifts.
Open your hands and place them on
your lap with palms facing upward. It is
harder to receive something in a

pg. 193
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

clenched fist than in a relaxed and open

hand.

b) Do not be afraid. The Lord is here

with us, and he loves you very much.
He wants you to experience His love in
a new way.

c) Do not be concerned about how you

might act as you respond to the
promptings of the Spirit.

● Do not entertain thoughts that you

might look or sound foolish if you begin
to praise God in a new way, raising
your hands or speaking in tongues.
Remember, Angels sing praises to the
Lord unceasingly.

● Nobody will laugh at you. Instead, we

will rejoice and be glad with you. We
love and care for you.

3. After the pray-over

 You will be escorted back to your

seat. Just continue, praying or

pg. 194
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

praising God silently or you may join

the singing.
 Wait for everyone to be prayed-over.
 Maintain an atmosphere of prayer
and reverence and refrain from
doing anything that will disturb
those being prayed over.
 We will have some closing remarks
and then we will all end the session
together.

10 minutes break for participants to

prepare themselves for the pray-over….

THE PRAY-OVER SESSION PROPER

Note: the following opening prayer is
just a sample. The speaker is
encouraged to listen to the guidance of
the Holy Spirit as she prays.

pg. 195
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

We will begin our pray-over session. Please

let us maintain a prayerful silence
throughout the session.
Let us all acknowledge the presence of the
Lord in our midst and give Him due honor.
Let us invoke the Holy Spirit to guide us as
we approach this beautiful day that He has
made for us as we all stand up and sing Let
the Fire Fall.
Music Ministry leads the singing….
We may sit down and bow our heads as we
continue to pray…
Lord God, we come into your presence.
We acknowledge that you are the Lord of
Light and it is your desire to bring us to your
Light.
Thank you for today is the day that you have
set to change our hearts of stone to hearts of
flesh. We thirst for you Lord. Thank you for
giving our thirst the satisfaction so that we
may be made complete in You Lord.
We ask for anointing all of us in the service
team, O Lord, that we may be worthy
instruments to minister to our sisters.

pg. 196
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

We thank you Lord for your invitation for

our sisters present here today to be
empowered by the Holy Spirit using the gifts
they have received during their baptism.
Grant us the humility of heart that we may
receive you Lord with all our heart. Take
away all obstacles that will hinder us from
receiving your Power. Renew us Lord,
change our hearts O lord and forgive us of
all our sins. Create in us a new heart O
Lord.
Music Ministry sings “Create in Me”
Let us all stand as we renew our
Commitment to Christ
Proceed with Commitment to Christ
Prayer
Thank you Lord for your invitation so that
our sisters present here today will be
emboldened by the power of your Holy Spirit
and may they be empowered through your
guidance to resolve to change their lives and
obey the will of the Father to be holy as the
Father is holy, to strive to know You, love
You and serve You with all their heart…with
all their mind… and with all their strength

pg. 197
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

and to love their neighbors as themselves.

We ask you O Lord to open their eyes to see
Your glory and open their hearts to welcome
You once more into their hearts, into their
lives. This we pray in the Holy and Mighty
name of Your Son, who reigns with You and
the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever.
Amen.

Music Ministry starts singing songs for

the pray-over.
Sisters start escorting participants for
the individual pray-over.
Inform the speaker once all participants
have been prayed over.

CLOSING EXHORTATION

pg. 198
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

1. Different people have different

experiences.

a. Feeling is not the important thing.

Rather, look for the new ways that God
is at work in you and respond to it (e.g.
a new desire for prayer, for Scripture,
etc.).

b. If you did not speak in tongues, do

not worry about it. Do not equate
receiving the Holy Spirit only with
receiving the gift of tongues.

c. In your prayer time this week, give

plenty of time to praise and
thanksgiving. Do this aloud, if you can,
without disturbing others. And continue

pg. 199
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

to be open to the Lord forming your

praise into tongues.

2. Be aware that Satan can tempt you to

doubt.

a. Satan is seeking to rob everyone of

God’s gift. For him the next best thing
to keeping you from getting it is to
keep you from using it.

b. Do not let feelings of doubt bother

you. Just remember the fact that God
promised it and that you asked for it.

3. Do not expect all your problems to go

away all at once, though many will. The Holy
Spirit will make a big change in you, and you
will see it. But not everything will change.
Some things will take a while to get worked
out. But now you have a new power to use in
working them out.

4. Be faithful to a regular time of daily

prayer. Spend a good portion of your prayer
time in praise and thanksgiving in your own
words. Pray in tongues every day.

pg. 200
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

5. What just happened is only a beginning.

6. Let us now learn about vocal prayer.

MINI TALK / EXHORTATION ON VOCAL

PRAYER
Note to the speaker: The following mini
talk will explain to the participants what
vocal prayer is. At the same time it
should be used by the speaker as an
exhortation to lift the hearts of the
participants to God and to lead them to
rejoice, thank and praise God vibrantly
with singing, shouting, clapping, etc.
during the full worship that follows
immediately.)

A. Today we want to introduce to you all

another way of praying from what we

pg. 201
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

are used to. Typically, most

Christians today are only used to
quieter ways of praying, e.g. in silence
or just one person praying out loud.
Singing is one exception to the quieter
approach most people take.

B. The Bible shows other ways that are

more varied, expressive and
demonstrative for prayer and worship.

1. We can learn from how the

Israelites, God’s chosen people,
praised God.

a. Psalm 95:1-2. Singing and crying

out.
Come let us sing for joy to the
Lord
Let us shout to the Rock of
salvation
Let us come before Him giving
thanks
And extol Him with music and
song

pg. 202
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

b. Psalm 81:2-4. Singing, shouting,

and playing instruments.
Shout for joy to God our
defender
Sing praise to God
Start the music and beat the
tambourines
Play pleasant music on the harps
and the lyres
Blow the trumpet

c. Psalm 150:3-6. Playing

instruments and making a loud
noise.
Praise God in His temple
Praise his strength in heaven
Praise Him for the mighty things
he has done
(loving us, saving us,
Protection, providence)
Praise his supreme greatness.
(good, strong, wonderful,
majestic, faithful, savior,
shepherd, prince of peace,
counselor, God, Father,
Messiah, Firm Foundation)

pg. 203
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Praise him with trumpets

Praise him with harps and lyres
Praise him with drums and
dancing
Praise him with harps and flutes
Praise him with cymbals

2. In these passages, the Lord is being

acclaimed like a king
with shouts, songs, playing of
instruments and dancing.

When a king entered his throne room

or appeared before an assembly of his
people, all would stand and acclaim
him with shouts and songs to express
their love and loyalty, like, “Long live
the king!”

3. This is a good way to worship the

Lord.

4. The angels and saints in heaven

worship God in the same way.
(Revelation 19:1, 4-6)

pg. 204
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

C. A key element of this type of prayer is

simultaneous praising. This is when people
praise God in a loud voice and all at the
same time.

1. We praise God by acclaiming who He

is.
Our God, our Creator, Our Father,
Our Divine Providence
Our Savior, Our redeemer. Our
Justification
He is the Way, the Truth and the Life
He is our King, the King of Kings, the
Lord of Lords

2. We praise Him because of His

attributes
He is good, He is generous, He is
kind and merciful
He is glorious, majestic, everlasting
He is wonderful, compassionate,
loving

3. We thank Him for what He has done

for us
Thank you for your love
Thank you for taking care of us

pg. 205
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

Thank you for your generosity

4. We want to exalt Him

I exalt you
I exalt Your Holy Name
I magnify your greatness
I lift your name on High
Jesus taught us to pray this way in “The
Lord’s Prayer”
First part - praise and thanksgiving
Second part - petition

This type of prayer can help us enter into

the throne room of God, where we can truly
feel His presence in our midst. We are
brought into the presence of God.
This type of prayer also allows us to worship
actively as a community, in a way that is
enjoyable, inspiring and faith building.

D. We are going to do some vocal prayer in

a short while.
This is the worship culture of the Couples
for Christ.

pg. 206
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

At first it may seem strange or chaotic. But

it is neither. Or to others, it might be a turn
off. Please just be open to it. It is new and
will take some getting used to. After a few
times doing it, it will feel much more natural
and you will be able to see its benefits.

1. First we will sing a song of praise.

2. Then we will all praise the Lord
simultaneously for a few seconds
3. We will sing a second song followed by
another round of simultaneous praising
4. Then we will sing a worship song,
speaking directly to our Lord who is
present in our midst. After the song, we
will sing our praises to Him in a singsong
manner. (the Psalms instruct us to sing
our praises to the Lord).
(The speaker can do a sample singing of
praises)
5. Then we can have prayers of thanksgiving
or petition, like we have been doing up to
this point.

It may be a turn off. Please be open to it.

Later, you will see its benefits. You can

pg. 207
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

see how it can bring you closer to the

Lord and be one with Him.

So Sisters… are we ready to worship the

Lord?
Remember: we are coming before the Great
King of the universe, our King who loves us
and who sent His Son to die for us and rise
from the dead. Let us acclaim our King and
worship Him
FULL WORSHIP, with singing and praying
in tongues (to be led by the speaker)

pg. 208
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM DYNAMICS FOR SESSION 7

DYNAMICS:

pg. 209
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

1. Service Team Meeting

1;1 Check equipment, videos, music,
lighting, sound system
1.2 Pray-over of speaker/sharer
2. Full Worship
3. Recap of last session then introduce
speaker
4. Activity: The Hub of My Life
5. Talk proper
6. Briefing of sharer
7. HOLD Primer Video
8. Reflection: Prepare Reflection Song
9. Group discussion. Distribute Participants
handout.
10. Announcements for Session 8
11. Post Session.
SPEAKER’S PROFILE:
A HOLD Unit head or up who continuously
grows in the faith recognizing that it is
brought about by the fuller release of the
Holy Spirit in her life and with the
assistance of the tools for Christian growth.
SHARER’S PROFILE:

pg. 210
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

A HOLD sister who can testify on the value

of these Christian tools necessary for
deepening one’s faith.

SESSION 7 : GROWING IN THE SPIRIT

OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION

ANCHOR VERSE:
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk
by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25 (NABRE)
GOAL:
To teach the basic tools needed for our
growth and maturity as Christians.
CORE MESSAGE:
The Christian life can be pictured as a wheel
that has three components: the outer rim,
the hub, and the spokes. The outer rim
represents the daily Christian life; the hub,

pg. 211
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

our Lord Jesus Christ, and the spokes, the

tools through which the Holy Spirit is
transmitted from the hub to the outer rim.
There are five spokes which correspond to
the five tools that we can make use of to
grow in the Holy Spirit: Prayer and Word,
Witnessing and Fellowship, and the
Sacraments. Our prayer must be faithful, led
by the Holy Spirit, and centered on Jesus.
We study the Word to know more about God
by reading the Scriptures and Christian
publications, and attending teachings. We
witness by living out our Christian life and
by serving, making ourselves and our
resources—time, talent, and treasure—
available for God’s work. Fellowship is the
expression of the spiritual reality that we are
brothers and sisters belonging to one family
and doing things together. The sacraments,
particularly the Sacrament of Reconciliation
and the Sacrament of Holy Communion, are
the most important means to grow in the
Spirit. If we are faithful in using these tools,
we will grow in the Holy Spirit and be more
blessed in our family life.
TENOR: Enlightening

pg. 212
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

TEAM LEADER’S INTRO

Sisters, at last we are nearing the end of our
Christian Life Program. But I think you
know by now that it is getting more exciting.
Last meeting we renewed our commitment
to our Lord Jesus Christ and we have been
empowered by the Holy Spirit. Let us
nourish this new life in the Spirit so that we
will be more aware of how the Holy Spirit
works in us.
As Christians, we need to continuously grow
and enjoy the fullness of life. This can be
made possible if we grow in the Spirit.
Today we will learn how to live and grow in
the Spirit.
Our speaker for this session is ________.

pg. 213
 CFC HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD
CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM V2.0

pg. 214