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[T]he name "The Lord" is used exclusively to mean the Savior of the world,
Jesus Christ, and He is called the Lord without the addition of the rest of His names.
People in the New Church generally refer to God as "The Lord". This is the name used most often in the Heavenly Doctrine. It helps us think of the Lord in His Divine Human.
READ: "One Lord" by the Rev. Philip B. Schnarr
Read why the New Church refers to God as "The Lord" and how the idea of the Lord can form our minds to receive powerful inflowing spiritual light.
PROJECT: This Is Our God (all ages)
Make a picture of the Lord within a beautiful border with a quotation from the Heavenly Doctrine.
SING: The Lord God Jesus Christ Doth Reign
ACTIVITY: "I Am the Lord Your God" Biblical Research Activity (teens and adults)
Examine a few of the many places in the Word that the phrase "I am the Lord Your God" is used and reflect on its purpose and meaning for us.
COLORING PAGE: Looking to a Visible God
A beautiful line drawing which pictures the Lord reaching out to us.
POSTER: The Lord Is His Name (all ages)
Print out and display these quotes about the Lord from the prophet Amos.
God has many names, and each name involves and expresses His quality.
(Apocalypse Explained 959:2)
There are many names for the one God of heaven and earth. These names symbolize qualities of the Lord and help us think about all that He does for us.
READ: "Why the Lord Has Different Names" a family talk by the Rev. Roy Franson
Although the Lord is called by a many different names, He is One Lord. The reason why He is called by so many different names is because He does so many different things.
PROJECT: Names of the Lord Mobile (ages 3-6)
Little ones can color pictures of the Lord as our Father, Shepherd, and King. These can then be assembled into a simple mobile.
PROJECT: The Lord Has Many Names (ages 6-8)
Make a wheel that turns and shows many names for the one God of heaven and earth.
PROJECT: The Lord God Jesus Christ Mobile (ages 6-14)
This mobile pictures many of the ways in which the Lord connects to His people. Variations of this mobile are suitable for an individual or a group project and for many age levels.
ACTIVITY: Names of the Lord Wordsearch (ages 7-12)
A relatively easy wordsearch activity using 10 of the Lord's names.
ACTIVITY: Names of the Lord Wordsearch Challenge (ages 12 and up)
A more challenging wordsearch with over 50 names of the Lord.
PROJECT: Names of the Lord Matching Cards (ages 10-14)
Match the picture cards with the appropriate quotes from the Word.
SING: Father All Holy, Lord of Creation
PROJECT: Creation Chain (ages 5-12)
Make a paper chain with a link at the top picturing the Lord as the Creator, and with pictures or names of other things that the Lord has created on other links. Younger children may want to picture themselves, their parents, etc. Older children may want to focus on chains that illustrate the interdependence of the Lord's creation.
PROJECT: The Lord Is Our Heavenly Father (ages 5-8)
Make a picture of the Lord who is our Father in heaven, always looking out for us.
COLORING PAGE: The Lord Is Our Heavenly Father
PROJECT: The Lord Is My Shepherd (ages 7-9)
Create a sponge painting of the Lord as the Good Shepherd.
COLORING PAGE: The Lord Is My Shepherd
PROJECT: The King of Glory Shall Come In (ages 6-10)
This project pictures the Lord as King of heaven and earth.
PROJECT: Picturing the Lord As a Lamb (ages 3-6)
Use cotton balls to fill in the outline of the Lamb of God to picture the Lord as the Lamb (Level 1 of a Family Lesson on Revelation 5).
PROJECT: Lion and Lamb Pillow (ages 8-12)
Make a lion and lamb pillow to picture 2 of the Lord's names or make up your own wordsearch with various names of the Lord (Level 3 of a Family Lesson on Revelation 5).
NAMES REFLECT THE LORD'S QUALITIES
"Name" symbolizes quality for the reason that in heaven everyone is named according to his quality; and the quality of God or the Lord is everything that is from Him by which He is worshiped.
(Apocalypse Explained 959:4)
The names of the Lord reflect His many qualities and help us relate to Him in different ways. This is one reason why it is valuable to explore the many different names that are used in the Word to refer to the one Lord of heaven and earth.
READ: "And His Name Will Be Called: The Development of the Lord in Our Lives" by the Rev. Grant Odhner
The familiar prophecy in Isaiah 9 presents a series of images that represents the progression that the Lord went through on earth, and one that we too go through as our relationship with Him deepens.
ACTIVITY: Categorizing the Names of the Lord (ages 9 and up)
Identify which names of the Lord refer to something He does and/or which names relate primarily to His love and which primarily to His wisdom.
ACTIVITY: Reflecting on the Lord's Qualities (ages 12 and up)
Choose one of three activities to help you reflect on different aspects of the Lord.
READ: "Using the Whole Word to Develop a Concept of the Lord" by Sylvia Parker
The Word gives us wonderful successive pictures of who the Lord Jesus Christ is, in all His fullness and glory. None of these pictures is complete without an understanding and appreciation of the others, according to our age and state.
COLORING PAGE: The Lord and the Word
ACTIVITY: Names in Heaven (ages 11-16)
In heaven, people have names that represent their qualities. What would you like your heavenly name to be? How can you "claim your name" by making living out those qualities?
Everyone is allotted his place in the heavens in accordance with his idea of God.
For that idea is like a touchstone used to test gold and silver,
that is, it tests the quality of good and truth in a person.
(True Christian Religion 163)
Our idea of the Lord is the touchstone of our spiritual life. It guides us in our life here in the world and will eventually determine where we make our eternal homes.
READ: "Our Idea of God" by the Rev. Peter M. Buss, Jr.
Why is it so important for us to have a correct idea about God? Why is it that this one teaching - this one facet of belief - will determine our welfare to eternity?
PROJECT: Picturing the Lord (ages 6-9)
Visualize the Lord in the roles of some of His many names. Then choose one of His names to draw.
READ: "The Lord God Jesus Christ" by the Rev. Grant Schnarr
Developing a true and working concept of God can be a challenge. We want to see God through our own eyes, but how do we do this without creating God with our own hands, in our own image?
SING: Jesus Savior Mighty Lord
READ: "I Am" Quotations (ages 12 and up)
From Genesis to Revelation, the Word contains many places where the Lord directly tells us about Himself, using the phrase "I AM". Read and reflect on some of these quotations.
FOR REFLECTION: Mixed Up Priorities: The "I am it" Problem (teens and up)
The Lord is the one and only great "I AM". But how easy it is for each of us to think "I am it"! Using quotations from the Word, reflect on giving glory to the Lord, and not to ourselves.
KEEPING THE NAME OF THE LORD HOLY
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
(Matthew 6:9)
One of the Lord's commandments is not to take His name in vain - not to use the Lord's name without thinking of its meaning and not to use it in relationship to disorderly thoughts and feelings. Keeping this commandment helps us keep the Lord's name holy, reserving its use for times when we are thinking about the Lord and worshiping Him.
READ: "You Shall Not Take the Name of the Lord Your God in Vain" by the Rev. B. David Holm
When the Word says we are to fear the Lord's name, it means we are to use His many names only in holy ways - good ways. We should be afraid to use it in bad way - afraid because when we use the Lord's names in wrong ways we close our minds to the Lord and shut Him out.
SING: All Hail the Lord Jehovah's Name
LISTEN TO: "Hallowed Be Thy Name" a sermon by the Rev. Stephen D. Cole
An audio sermon on how to truly hallow the Lord's name in our lives.
ACTIVITY: Taking the Lord's Name in Vain - Becoming Aware (ages 12 and up)
Might you be coming close to taking the Lord's name in vain without even realizing it?
ACTIVITY: Blessings on the Lord's Name (all ages)
Say these blessings at mealtimes to help remind you to use the Lord's name in holy ways.
"Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
(Matthew 18:20)
When "My name" or the "name of the Lord" is mentioned in the Word, it symbolizes all of the Lord's wonderful qualities. So if we gather in the Lord's name or "walk in the name of the Lord", this implies that we are doing our best to honor His attributes.
READ: "In His Name" a family talk by the Rev. Kenneth Stroh
The Lord's name is so holy that in the spiritual world, evil spirits and devils cannot even say the Lord's name, because they do not think that the Lord is holy.
SING: Jesus Savior Heavenly Father
JOURNAL PAGE: In the Name of the Lord
Reflect on ways that you can walk in the name of the Lord by honoring one of the Lord's qualities in your life.
PROJECT: A Banner in His Name (ages 8 and up)
Create a banner showing some of the different names of the Lord to display.
FOR REFLECTION: Read the Prayers for Teens, Adults, or Children
READER RESPONSE: Isaiah 43 (teens and adults)
Reflect on what it might mean to be called by name by the Lord and to be a witness to His name.