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St. Paul's Servant Preparation Course�Course Overview

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I. Welcome

  • Welcome to St. Paul’s Servant Preparation Course!

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  • This a comprehensive course covering various aspects of Christianity presented via a lecture (PPT) format that will last two years and will include projects, quizzes, and tests

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  • Press here to access The YouTube Channel which has all the lectures recorded!

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II. The Participants

  • Who should join and participate?
    • Anyone who is interested in serving God and The Church
    • Servants who are looking for a refreshing course
    • Anyone who is interested in growing in knowledge and spirit

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III. Course Instructor

  • I am Dr. Atef Labeeb, MD
  • I am a Servant Preparation instructor at St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Norristown (Philly), PA and at St. Mary and St. Kyrillos Coptic Orthodox Church in Hatfield, PA
  • I have been serving this course for many graduated many generations of servants
  • I am constantly updating the course content and materials

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Course Structure

  • I reviewed the available servant preparation courses in the United States and Canada and selected the best explained topics from each course and combined them together in addition to adding new topics to cover the missing areas

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The Distinguishing Features

  1. Topics from Old Testament and their correlation to Jesus Christ
  2. Sacrifices from The Old Testament and their relations to Jesus Christ
  3. The Jewish Feasts and their relations to Christian Feasts
  4. The different symbols of Jesus Christ in The Old Testament
  5. The Titles of Jesus Christ

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The Distinguishing Features Cont.

  1. Church History
    • A study of the history of the Coptic Church in the first 6 centuries highlighting the most important events, popes, and saints
    • A study of the renaissance of the Coptic Church lead by Pope Peter the 7th and Pope Cyril the 4th

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The Distinguishing Features Cont.

  1. To study the biography of St. Paul and his missionary trips and use him as role model for all servants by focusing on his constant and sincere effort for ministry
  2. To study the Christology seen in St. Paul’s Epistles

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The Distinguishing Features Cont.

  1. To study the Church Canons throughout history and their applications

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The Distinguishing Features Cont.

  1. A brief Series on Psychology
    • Personality disorders
    • Serving those with special psychological needs

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The Distinguishing Features Cont.

  1. Participant Engagement
  2. Group Projects
    • The participants are divided into separate groups – each with a leader
    • The leader delegates tasks to each member
    • When each member finishes their part, the leader complies the work into one cohesive presentation
    • During the presentation, the leader will introduce their team and the project topic and the entire group shares their work with the class and answers questions

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Group Projects

  1. The Four Gospels covering miracles, prophecies, and parables
  2. Famous church saints – The 3 Macariis, The 3 Gregorys, etc.
  3. Jesus' parables with deep meditations and insights
  4. The lives of The Prophet Samuel, King Saul, and King David
    • I and II Samuel
  5. The biographies of the Jewish Kings
    • 2 Chronicles

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The Distinguishing Features Cont.

  • Active participation via examinations
  • A written test will be administered after the completion of each group of lectures
    • Dogma, comparative theology, church history, etc.
  • A passing score is that equal to or higher than a 75%
  • Those who fail or miss the first test should take an alternate test before moving on to the next series of lectures

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The Distinguishing Features Cont.

  • Active participation via Biblical quizzes

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  • The class gets a weekly, open note, Biblical quiz to do at home which is to be returned each week
  • Prizes/Awards will follow the completion of each Book

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IV. The Course

“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is” (I Corinthians 3:11-13)

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  • Objective: Graduate Spiritual and Knowledgeable Servants
  • Course: Two-year program
  • Format: PowerPoint lectures

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1. Ministry from The Biblical Perspective

  • What is the ministry from The Biblical point of view?
    • Examples form John the Baptist, The Disciples, Jesus Christ, etc.
  • What is the goal of ministry according to St. Paul?
  • How is the servant prepared for Godly ministry?
  • What is the role of The Holy Spirit in preparing and sustaining the servant?
  • What are genuine and bad motivations for service?
  • What are the rewards for the servants?
  • What is the relation between the servant and the leadership in the church
    • Bishop, priest, senior servants, etc.
  • How does the servant interact with their family?

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2. The Spirituality of The Servant

  • The servant as a spiritual leader in the ministry
  • Analogies regarding the servant
    • Jacob’s Ladder - display to the world, people, and angels
  • The servant carries a golden plate on their head
    • Consecrated to God
  • The role of spiritual means in the servant’s life
    • Prayer, liturgy ,confession, fasting, Bible readings, Agbeya, prostrations, donations, etc.
  • The criteria of The Successful Servant

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3. Spiritual Topics

  • Dwelling of God’s Love in your heart
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Holiness
  • Faith - types and levels
  • The Acceptable prayer
  • Confession and Repentance - The Parable of Prodigal Son
  • The Fear of God
  • Fervent in The Spirit
  • The Life of Nehemiah
  • The Sunday Gospels of The Holy 50 Days
  • The current challenges to Christianity
  • Spiritual Warfare

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4. Dogmatic Topics (Our Belief)

  • -The presence of One God and disproving of Atheism
  • The Holy Trinity (The Triune God)
  • Godly Traits
  • The refutation of Darwin Evolution theory
  • The Divinity of the Son
  • The Divinity of The Holy Spirit
  • The Original Sin and its Consequences
  • Sin and its effect on humanity
  • The Incarnation and blessings

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4. Dogmatic Topics (Our Belief) Cont.

  • Redemption and Salvation from The Orthodox Perspective
  • Judgment Day and Eternal Life
  • Intercession (Redemptive and Petition)
  • The three major Ecumenical Councils
  • Non-denominational Christianity

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5. Comparative Theology

  • Why am I a Coptic orthodox ?
  • How did The Church divided into so many denominations?
  • What is the differences between Coptics and Catholics
  • The protestant movement and the rise of Lutheranism and Methodism
  • The Church of England and The United Church of Christ

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5. Comparative Theology Cont.

  • Jehovah’s Witness
  • Mormonism
  • The Amish
  • The Mennonites
  • Islam (4 lectures)
  • Religions of the East
  • Judaism

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6. The Holy Bible

  • Classification of The Books in The Old and The New Testaments
  • The preservation of The Bible from corruption/change
  • The journey in the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation
    • The Whole Bible Series on YouTube
  • Spiritual meditations in The Bible with examples

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Specific Topics in The Old Testament

  • Sacrifices in The Old Testament as symbols of Jesus’ sacrifice
  • The Jewish Feasts and their relationship to Christ and The Church
  • Symbols of Jesus Christ in The Old Testament
    • Persons, events, signs, prophecies, etc.
  • The Tabernacle’s structure as a foundation for the church
  • The life of Fr. Abraham as a Father of Faith

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Specific Topics in The New Testament

  • Panorama of The New Testament
  • Similarities and comparison of the four Gospels
  • Highlights of the Book of Acts
  • Sampling of The Pauline and Catholic Epistles
  • Study and contemplation on The Epistle to the Philippians
  • Study and contemplation on The Epistle of St. James
  • Study and contemplation on The Epistle 1 and 2 Epistle to The Thessalonians

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7. Church Sacraments

  • Introduction to church sacraments
  • Emphasis on the four redemptive sacraments
    • Baptism, chrismation, communion, and confession/repentance
  • Study the other sacraments
  • Study the comparison between different Christian denominations

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8. Liturgy

  • The rite of praying the liturgy (2 lectures)
  • Spiritual mediations on The Liturgy (1 lecture)
  • The dogmatic facts in the liturgy

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9. Coptic Church History

  • Study the first 6 centuries
    • The famous popes and different heresies
  • Study the three main Ecumenical Councils
    • Niacea, Constantinople, and Ephesus
  • The development of The Creed
  • Meetings of unity with other Churches lead by Pope Shenouda III

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10. The Church�Rite of The Church’s Structure and its Spiritual Meanings

  • 1) Rite of The Church’s Structure and its Spiritual Meanings
  • 2) The main books in The Church

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11. St. Paul’s Life and Ministry

  • An example of a fervent servant
  • Study the three main missionary trips
  • His life of prayer, struggles, and miracles
  • Highlights on the 14 Epistles
  • Leadership to others
    • St. Mark and St. Luke
  • Jesus Christ in St. Paul’s Epistles

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12. Patrology

  • Introduction and different classifications of Patrology
  • Study their lives and famous quotes of
    • St. Athanasius the Apostolic
    • St. Cyril The Pillar of Faith
    • St. Jerome

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13. The Servant’s Guidelines

  • How to prepare and deliver a good lesson
  • General and individual service
  • How to take care of the personal needs for everyone
  • How to reach out to the youth / kids during weekdays

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14. Psychological Topics

  • Personality disorders
  • How to serve those with special needs

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15. Research Projects

  • Form groups to encourage teamwork on the following topics:

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  1. Study the 4 gospels searching for
    • Prophecies about Jesus
    • Jesus’ miracles
    • Jesus’ parables
    • Proofs of His Humanity and Divinity
    • Witnesses of His resurrection

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15. Research Projects Cont.

  1. Study and meditate on some of the famous church saints
    • The three saints Abba Macarii
    • The three saint Gregorys
    • Anba Pachom the Father of Fellowship and Anba Shenouda The Archimandrite
    • Pope Peter the 7th and Pope Cyril the 4th recent church history

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15. Research Projects Cont.

  1. Study and meditate on The Parables of Jesus Christ - covering the 4 gospels
    • The symbolic meanings in each parable
    • Spiritual exercises aiming to develop deep understandings and meditations on The Bible
  2. Study the biography of the following characters in I, II Samuel:
    • Samuel
    • King Saul
    • King David
  3. Study the Biography of the Kings of the Jewish Nation (2 Chronicles)

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16. Tests/Examinations

  • Administer a test after completion of each category:
    • Dogma
    • Comparative Theology
    • Church History
    • Etc.

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17. Extracurricular Activities (Outside of Class)

  • Weekly Biblical Quizzes that go chapter by chapter covering The Gospels, The Book of Acts, and other books

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  • Midweek Bible Studies on ZOOM or in-person

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  • YouTube Channel: The Whole Bible Series

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Resources: Books & Sermons

  • Pope Sheouda III
  • Bishop Greogory
  • Bishop Youannes
  • Bishop Moussa
  • Bishop Raphael
  • Habib Girgis

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V. Selection of The Candidates

  • Participants enter in 10th or 11th grade
  • The candidate must fill an application and be recommended to the course by their spiritual/confession father

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  • The student will graduate and start service at the beginning of their senior year in high school

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VI. The Application

  • The application cover the following areas
  • Demographics
    • Age, DOB, phone, email, etc.
  • Why do you want to join the course?
  • What do you want to take away from this course and what are you most interested in?
  • A recommendation from a spiritual/confession father

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VII. Class Schedule

  • A weekly meeting on a specific day
  • Lessons will be in series on specific topics
  • The course will last for two consecutive years
  • Attendance should exceed 75% in order to graduate
  • The instructor will monitor the attendance, understanding, and participation of each participant
  • One-on-one meeting will take place 3 times during the course
    1. At the beginning to assess readiness and motives
    2. During the course to assess understanding and progress
    3. Before graduation to assess growth and preparedness
    4. As needed

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VIII. Graduation!

  • After the participant demonstrates active growth in spiritual knowledge, excellent participation in projects, quizzes, tests, a development of spiritual virtues/team spirit, the graduate will shadow senior servants in the service for six months prior to graduate

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  • An individual session in the presence of the priest for review and approval to enter the service

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  • A graduation ceremony on a Sunday after sermon in front of the congregation

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The Lord’s Blessing is the Foundation for All Services

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