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November 7th Family Lesson

Bible Story: God give his commandments to his people (Exodus 20:1-21) Theological Application: God knows and wants what is best for us. Memory Verse: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Lesson Background: Last week we learned about Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Even when the Israelites got scared and questioned the plan, God kept them together and moving toward freedom because God knows and wants what is best for His people. The Israelites had lived in fear in Egypt and obeyed Pharaoh’s rules for a very long time. Moses led them into the wilderness and as they wandered, God was teaching them how to live in a new way. When they wanted bread, God rained bread from heaven fresh each morning. When they wanted meat God gave them quail, when they were thirsty God poured forth water from a rock, and when they were in danger God protected them. God was teaching Israel to live in love and to trust him. The Israelites were learning how to be in relationship with God through his constant presence and lovingkindness. Today we will learn that God also gave the Israelites new rules to live to live by. These commandments were given to foster a right relationship with God and to develop and maintain right relationships among the people. Pharaoh’s rules only prospered Pharaoh. God’s rules prospered God’s people. The objective for this Sunday is for the kids to understand that God knows what is best and wants what is best for us.

LESSON

Opening Question Today we are learning about the 10 commandments. The purpose of this opening question is to set the stage for how rules help us within a context that the children can understand and identify with

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What you need: Soccer visual, football visual, lacrosse visual (at the back of this lesson) What you do:

• Show: The soccer and the football pictures and ask your child(ren) to narrate what is

happening in them. (Pulling on another players shirt to hold them back is an illegal move

in soccer. Most children have a keen sense of “cheating” particularly when someone cheats against them. Use this sense of indignation as a base for appreciating the

structure that rules provide. Grabbing a face mask in football is not only against the

rules of the game, it is quite dangerous for the player whose mask is being pulled on.

Rules not only make games possible; they keep us safe.)

• Show: The lacrosse picture. Ask your child(ren) if they can imagine what may happen if

these kids played lacrosse without their helmets and padding. This is a small hard ball

that moves very fast as it is thrown and caught with metal sticks. No gear to protect the

body would result in many hurt children! The commandments God gave were like the

gear the Israelites needed to keep them from hurting each other and they lived together

in community.

Bible Story The purpose of this activity is twofold: To share scriptural narrative with the children, and to encourage their memory of the story through play.

What you need: Bible, context/scripture page (provided at the back of this lesson),10 commandments memory page, printer. What you do:

• Context:

• Start by printing out the context/scripture page. Explain to younger children that as the scripture is read to them they must listen very carefully because every time “You must not” is read, they must stand up, Shout “10 commandments”, and sit back down.

• Read the story context aloud to begin.

• Ask an older child to start reading the 1st section of today’s scripture aloud. Section by section. Sections: 20:1-3, 4-6, 7, 8-11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18-21.

• Spend some time discussing what these commandments mean. o What does the commandment tell us to do? What does the commandment tell us

not to do? Give an example of what happens when we are obedient to the commandment. Give an example of happens when we are not obedient to the commandment.

• Discussion: o Ask: Which of these commandments would be easiest for your child(ren) to

follow and which are the most dificult? (If anyone says not murdering someone or

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not committing adultery would be the easiest to follow, take the opportunity to drill down deeper by finding (or inviting them to find) Matthew chapter 5 and read Matthew 5:21-26 and or Matthew 5:27-28. Jesus made it very clear that these commandments are about having a right heart, not simply right behavior)

Memory Verse Craft Activity The purpose of this activity is to memorize scripture through creative play.

Memory Verse “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6) What You need: Verse pages, markers, craft example, printer What You Do:

• Learn and pray a scripture passage. Draw around the words and create a beautiful picture while saying the verse over and over again silently to themselves. This is a creative exercise of prayerfully meditating on God’s word while they memorize the verse.

Prayer Open in a prayer of gratitude and praise and Invite the children to pray about whatever is on their heart. Please be aware that some children may prefer to pray silently or have the lead pray on their behalf.

Reflection Question For Parents:

• How does Exodus 20:1-21 relate to Exodus 19:6?

• Up until this point, God had communicated with his people through Moses. In Exodus 20:1-21,

God is speaking directly to the people. What is the significance of this?

• Re-read Exodus 20:13-13 followed by Matthew 5:21-30. What are the theological implications

of Jesus interpretation of these two commandments?

• Why was it important to God that he have a kingdom of priests?

The Theological Point of The Children’s Lesson

Today your children are learning that God knows what is best for his people and wants what is best for

his people. Our understanding is limited which is why it is so important that our trust in God’s wisdom, power, and goodness be without limit.

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Context Page

The Israelites had lived in fear in Egypt and obeyed Pharaoh’s rules for a very long time. Moses led them into the wilderness and as they wandered, God was teaching them how to live in a new way. When they wanted bread, God rained bread from heaven fresh each morning. When they wanted meat God gave them quail, when they were thirsty God poured forth water from a rock, and when they were in danger God protected them. God was teaching Israel to live in love rather than fear, and to trust him. The Israelites were learning how to be in relationship with God through his constant presence and lovingkindness. Today we will learn that God also gave the Israelites new rules to live to live by. These commandments were given to foster a right relationship with God and to develop and maintain right relationships among the people. Pharaoh’s rules only prospered Pharaoh. God’s rules prospered God’s people. The Israelites had been wondering in the desert wilderness for three months and are now camped around the base of Mount Sinai. Up until this time, God communicated to the people through Moses, but now God told Moses that the people of Israel must prepare themselves because He was going to speak to them directly. All the people washed themselves and put on clean clothes and nervously waited near the mountain for God to speak to them. They were nervous because even though God had shown them how much he loved and cared for them, they had also seen how powerful God is and it frightened them. On the appointed day a thick cloud covered the mountain and there was thunder and lightning and the sound of a very loud blast from a trumpet. All the people stood at the foot of the mountain and Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire and the whole mountain shook wildly.

Today’s Scripture Exodus 20:1-20

1“Then God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves. 3 “You must not have any other gods except me. 4 “You must not make for yourselves any idols. Don’t make something that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. 5 You must not worship or serve any idol. This is because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. A person may sin against me and hate me. I will punish his children, even his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 6 But I will be very kind to thousands who love me and obey my commands. 7 “You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly. The Lord will punish anyone who is guilty and misuses his name.

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8 “Remember to keep the Sabbath as a holy day. 9 You may work and get everything done during six days each week. 10 But the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, or your men or women slaves. Neither your animals nor the foreigners living in your cities may work. 11 The reason is that in six days the Lord made everything. He made the sky, earth, sea and everything in them. And on the seventh day, he rested. So the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother. Then you will live a long time in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land. 13 “You must not murder anyone. 14 “You must not be guilty of adultery. 15 “You must not steal. 16 “You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court. 17 “You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife or his men or women slaves. You must not want his ox or his donkey. You must not want to take anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 18 The people heard the thunder and the trumpet. They saw the lightning on the mountain and smoke rising from the mountain. They shook with fear and stood far away from the mountain. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself. Then we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 Then Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so you will not sin.”