Objective:

Students will know the meaning of the word “respect” and the word “life” in the context of Respect Life Day. Students will know respecting life includes the unborn, the elderly, and the disabled. Students will review basic fetal development facts and various stages of life.

Talking points:

1. Today we are having special events to celebrate Respect Life Day.

What does Respect Life mean? Well, first, let’s look at the word ‘respect.’ Respect means to show honor, care, and politeness towards someone. Showing someone they are important to you, and you would never do anything to hurt them, is showing them respect.

What does life mean? Life means all living things, but we are only talking about HUMAN life today. All human life: the unborn, the elderly, and the disabled human beings.

Why is it important to respect ALL human beings? (God tells us in His Word, the Bible, to respect all human life.)

Scripture tells us that we are all made in God’s image so we should respect everyone. (Have some students who are good readers read the Scripture passages below and discuss.)

• Genesis 1:26 (made in His image)

• Psalm 139:13-14 (unborn)

• Sirach 3:12-13 (elderly)

Life is a gift from God

2. Pass around the fetal models explaining the baby’s growth milestones at each stage. The children love to hold the models. We will review basic fetal development facts and various stages of the life-span.

• First Month: Eyes, ears, and mouth are forming

• Second Month: Grew to about 2 inches, nerve cells developing, starting to move.

• Third Month: Fingernails, eyelids, taste buds, size is about 3 inches long.

• Fourth Month: Brain develops, eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair

• Fifth Month: Hearing sounds, sucking thumb, gets hiccups, mother feels baby moving.

• Sixth Month: Memory, lungs developing, muscles developing.

• Seventh Month: Personality developing, sense of smell.

• Eight Month: Growing quickly; gains 1/2 lb per week until birth

• Ninth Month: Soon you will hold the baby in your arms.

3. Reflecting God: Bring a mirror. In front of the class, have a student close his/her eyes as you apply several dots of color to his face using washable marker. (Do not let him see what color you used)

Put away the marker and ask him to tell you what colors are on his face and where. Then place him/her in front of a mirror and ask him to tell you what colors he/she sees.

He cannot see his face, but he can see his reflection. This is called an image. When God made us, he made an image, or reflection of himself. The mirror shows who we are on the outside, but God made us to reflect his nature and image on the inside too. We are different from any of God’s other creations because we alone are made like him. When we love others, we reflect God.

4. Discuss how the most helpless among us (i.e., the unborn, the elderly, the disabled) have as much value and dignity as everyone else. Answer a few questions from the students. If they don’t have questions, ask them how they can show respect to their classmates. Their teachers? Their parents?

Conclusion:

God loves us all because He created us in His image. We also must respect all human beings because they were created by God. If you disrespect another human being, you are disrespecting God’s creation.