unit 5: life of moses ot5.9 the ten commandments...we will see how jesus summarized these laws in...

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OT5.9 The Ten Commandments ©Beverly Wilson 2017

Unit 5: Life of Moses OT5.9 The Ten Commandments

Scripture: Exodus 20; Matthew 22:37-40

Lesson Goal: With His mighty power God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was the leader of God’s people. In this lesson we will learn how the Ten Commandments are a guide for living in obedience to God. We will see how Jesus summarized these laws in the Greatest Commandment.

Introduction: This is the ninth lesson in Unit 5: Life of Moses. With His mighty power God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses was the leader of God’s people. In this lesson we will learn how the Ten Commandments are a guide for living in obedience to God. We will see how Jesus summarized these laws in the Greatest Commandment. The lesson is found in the second book of the Bible called Exodus. Exodus is in the Old Testament. Exodus is a word that means exit because it tells how Israel left Egypt. Exodus follows the Book of Genesis and is one of the books of Law. The books of the Law are the first five books in the Old Testament. Let's say the books of Law together: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Attention Getter: “Cake Mix” (Bring to class a picture cookbook and let children read through the book and find something that they would like to learn to bake. Discuss what ingredients you would need to make the food.)

What if I took you to the kitchen and I gave you some sugar, some flour, baking powder, eggs, and milk. Then I said, “Will you bake me a cake?” What would you say? You would probably say, “What? I can’t make you a cake! I need a recipe!” That’s right! Just having the ingredients would not work! You need instructions on how to mix the cake, what size of pan to use, and how hot the oven should be! You would even need to know how long to bake the cake!

Having the recipe for a cake is important! You might be able to make a cake even if you didn’t have the instructions but we probably would not want to eat it! However, if we carefully follow the instructions of a good recipe, the cake would be good to eat! A recipe is the rules for making a cake. Did you know that rules are also important for other parts of our lives?

In this lesson we are going learn how the Ten Commandments are a God’s rules for living in obedience to Him. We will see how Jesus summarized these laws in the Greatest Commandment. The Ten Commandments are found in the book of Exodus.

Opening Prayer: Let’s pray. “Dear Father in heaven, Thank You, Lord, for sending Jesus to take the punishment that I deserve. Lord, if you hadn’t made a way of escape for me I’d be doomed to spend all of eternity apart from You. Help me to live my life worthy of your gift of salvation. I want every thought I think, every word I speak and everything I do to bring your name honor and blessing. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Matthew 22:37-40 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/JUfodYb3huw Thousands of years ago God chose the Israelites to be His special people. They had been slaves in Egypt and cried out to God for help. God heard their prayers and sent them a leader named Moses to rescue them.

https://youtu.be/JUfodYb3huw

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God promised Moses that He would bring the children of Israel from Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land. God's reason for rescuing the Israelites from slavery was that He wanted Israel to become a model for everyone else in the world to follow. He said I want you to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

About three months after they left Egypt, they reached Mt. Sinai. They camped there for about one year. And it was here that God gave them detailed instructions about how to live and how to worship Him.

The people had to prepare themselves for God's appearance. They needed to wash their clothes to be ready to meet God. This would remind them how pure and clean they needed to be in the presence of God. They were to set themselves apart from their daily routine in order to dedicate themselves to God.

Sometimes God speaks to his people with a majestic display of power; at others times he speaks quietly in a still small voice. At Mt. Sinai God spoke with thunder and lightning and with the sound of a trumpet.

God was showing Israel His great power and authority. He wanted the people to know how important the Ten Commandments were. Only then would they listen to Moses and Aaron. The people were trembling with fear when God spoke.

The Law is made up of ten rules to live by. That's why we call it The Law or "The Ten Commandments." The first four have to do with our duties to God. The last six have to do with our duties to our fellow-man. The order that God gives us the commandments is important. We need to put God first.

The first commandment is “You shall have no other gods before me.” This is the first commandment because if you obey it by truly loving God and putting Him first, you will find yourself obeying the other nine commandments.

The Israelites had just come from Egypt, a land of many idols and many gods. Because each god represented a different aspect of life, it was common to worship many gods in order to get the maximum number of blessings. When God told his people to worship and believe in him, they just thought that God was just one more god to add to the list.

But when God said, "You shall have no other gods before me," that was difficult for the people to accept. They had to learn that the God who led them out of Egypt was the only true God. Otherwise they could not be his people — no matter how faithfully they kept the other nine commandments.

By honoring and loving God, you learn to honor and love others. The one true God, Creator of heaven and earth, deserves your love, worship, and obedience far above anything or anyone else.

Today we can allow many things to become gods to us. Money, school, play, sports heroes, singers, TV and movie stars, friends — none of these should be as important to you as God. No one sets out with the intention of worshiping these other things. But by the amount of time we devote to them, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts and energies.

Letting God hold the central place in our lives keeps these things from turning into gods. Jesus said, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." (Matthew 4:10)

Because people do not always keep the first commandment, God gave the second The second commandment is “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.”

A carved image is an idol made from wood or stone or metal. It may be a huge statue or even a tiny good luck charm. It may look like something God has made — an animal, bird, fish or human form. God cannot be reduced to an idol. And people who make idols come to believe that the idol itself is a god. They trust the idol rather than look to God.

Psalms 115:3-8 says “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. 4 But their idols are silver

and gold, made by human hands. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.

6 They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.

7 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet,

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but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be like

them, and so will all who trust in them.”

The third commandment is “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” Taking God's name in vain means using it in an empty way.

When you or I use the name of God or His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in a thoughtless way or as a swear word, we dishonor God. God's name is special because it carries his personal identity. Using it carelessly or in a curse is so common today that we may fail to realize how serious it is. The way we use God's name conveys how we really feel about him. We should respect his name and use it appropriately, speaking it in praise or worship rather than in curse or jest.

Simply pretending to pray or praise when you are with others can also be using God's name in vain. You should say God's name only in ways that show your love and respect. Ask God to help you honor His name and to protect it, too. Jesus said, "Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne..." (Matt 5:34)

The fourth Commandment is “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” The word Sabbath comes from a Hebrew word meaning to "stop or to rest from work." Holy means "to set apart."

God was telling the people to set aside a special day each week for rest and worship. Israel observed the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, our Saturday. Because Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, His followers began to set aside Sunday as their special day of worship.

As a day of rest, the Sabbath was God's gift to His people. God knew that doing ordinary work seven days a week would be too tiring for us. When we use one day in seven as a day of rest and worship, we demonstrate how important God is to us and it gives us the extra benefit of refreshing our spirits.

Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27, 28)

As we have seen the first four commandments have to do with our duties towards God: his being, his worship, his name, and his day. Now we will look at the commandments that have to do with our duties towards others.

The fifth commandment is “Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” This was the first commandment with a promise attached.

This commandment was repeated in the New Testament for Christians. Ephesians 6:1-3 says “Children, obey your parents; this is the right thing to do because God has placed them in authority over you. Honor your father and mother.

The promise is that if you honor your father and mother, yours will be a long life, full of blessing. To honor means to prize highly, to show respect, and to treat as precious or valuable.

Why are your parents valuable to you? They are God’s gift to you. Think of all they do and have done for you. They protect you from many dangers. They provide things you need like food and clothing. They even give you things you do not need but like to have — toys, bikes, special treats. You can honor them by obeying them, by being kind to them, by speaking to them and about them with respect.

Even if you don’t live with your parents all the time, honor them in every way you can. People who honor their parents are people who please God and receive His promise of blessing. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37)

The sixth commandment is “You shall not murder.” Murder is taking someone’s life in an unlawful way. Life is precious.

God breathed His life into the first man, Adam. So everyone’s life is important — your life, the lives of those you love, the lives of strangers, the lives of unborn babies. Life is God’s gift. We should not take someone’s life and we should protect the lives of others.

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Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.... whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:22)

The seventh commandment is “You shall not commit adultery.” Adultery is when a married man or woman doesn’t stay faithful to their wife or husband.

This commandment shows how God looks at marriage. God planned the first marriage. He created Eve especially for Adam and planned that they should stay together (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5, 6)

After you are married, you should be true to your own husband or wife. People joined together in marriage must be careful not to “fall in love” with anyone else. Marriage vows say, “Till death do us part” or “As long as we both shall live.” Committing adultery is breaking those vows by doing something with someone else’s husband or wife that only a married couple should do.

Disobeying this command causes great unhappiness. While you are young, learn to turn from sinful things like listening to dirty stories, looking at evil pictures, watching films that cause wrong thoughts. Determine, with God’s help, to keep yourself pure. And begin praying that, at the right time, God will bring in to your life the right person for you to marry. Then trust Him to do what’s best for you. If you obey God’s laws, He will help you to enjoy life, married or single.

The eighth commandment is “You shall not steal.” Stealing is taking or keeping something that is not your own. Robbing a bank and shoplifting are not the only ways to steal. Borrowing something from a brother or sister or friend and failing to return it is stealing.

Copying answers from somebody else’s school paper is stealing. Cheating in a game is stealing another’s chance to win. The Bible says we should love our neighbors as ourselves. If we love others as we love ourselves, we will want the best for them and will not steal in any way.

The ninth commandment is “You shall not bear false witness.” Giving false testimony means lying. This commandment means that we should always tell the truth.

We give “false testimony’” by leaving something out of a story, telling a half-truth, twisting the facts, or inventing falsehoods.

God’s Word tells us to, “put away lying” (Ephesians 4:25). What is a lie? It is anything that deceives or tricks someone into believing something that is not true. You can tell a lie by the way you act as well as by what you say.

Often gossip is lying — saying something unkind about someone when you aren’t sure it is true. Exaggeration is lying — telling a story better than it really happened. It is lying to make promises you know you cannot keep.

The Devil is the “father of lies” (John 8:44), but Jesus said, “I am the...truth” (John 14:6). Deception is a way of life for many people, but God’s children must not give in to it. Ask the Lord to help you tell the truth. (Psalm 119:29)

The tenth and last commandment is “You shall not covet.”To covet is to wish to have the possessions of others. It goes beyond simply admiring someone else’s possession or thinking, “I’d like to have one of those.”

Coveting includes envy — resenting the fact that others have what you don’t. To covet means to want something that you cannot afford to buy or something that belongs to someone else. When you feel you just have to have something and you will not be satisfied until you get it, that is coveting.

When we do not let God control our wants, our coveting will lead us to break other commandments, too. God has promised to meet all your needs. Happiness won’t come by getting what you want. Happiness comes by being content with what you have (Hebrews 13:5). Are you thanking God for all that He has given you?

The Ten Commandments tell us how to live so that we don’t offend God or hurt other people. God gave us the Ten Commandments for our own protection. He knows that if we obey all these laws we

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will be happy. He wants us to obey them. But, if we could be saved by keeping The Law we would have to keep every single commandment all the time for our entire life.

No one but Jesus Christ could ever do that! According to Galatians 3:24, the purpose of the law was not to save you, but to show you what sin is, and to point you to Jesus who took the punishment for your sin.

Jesus summed the Commandments up in our Memory Verse for today: Matthew 22:37-40 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

By fulfilling these two commands, a person keeps all the others. Jesus says that if we truly love God and our neighbor, we will naturally keep the commandments. We should always do all we can to show our love for God and others. We can ask God to give us the desire to always do the loving thing.

God’s people tried to keep all the commandments (rules) but even the best people made mistakes. God had a plan. He knew that because people do wrong, there was only one way for them to get to Heaven. It was through His Son, Jesus.

Jesus died for all the bad and wrong things we have done. He died in our place for our sins. He came back to life three days later! This shows that God is powerful and He can help us get to Heaven. We must believe in Jesus and ask Him to come into our hearts.

Remember Obey God's Rules--the Ten Commandments!

Review Questions: “Colored Beads” Preparation: Small bag with colored beads—red, green, yellow, blue, orange, pink, white, black, purple. Make sure there is an equal number of each color or bead in the bag. Procedure: On the white board, write the names of each of the colors of beads. Beside each color name write three numbers from 1-26. (Number 26 can be put in each bag for students to name one of the Ten Commandments.) Students are to take turns drawing a colored bead from the bag. They can then select one of the numbers from the list beside the color that they choose. Whatever number they select is the review question from below that the leader will ask. You can record the number of correct answers by individual or divide into two teams and record the team score. 1. Why did God choose the children of Israel to be “His Chosen People”? (He wanted them to be an

example to the rest of mankind. He wanted them to be spiritual leaders and show everyone else God’s way.)

2. Why did God tell Moses to have the people wash their clothes before He could speak to them? (Washing their clothes would remind them how pure and clean they needed to be in the presence of God. They were stop their daily routine in order to hear what God had to say.)

3. What happened when God descended on the mountain? (there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud over the mountain. There was the sound of a loud trumpet blast and everyone was afraid and trembled.)

4. Why did God speak to the people with a majestic display of power? (He wanted to show the people just how awesome and important the Ten Commandments are. He wanted them to know that He was the Sovereign God.)

5. What do the first four Commandments have to do with? (Our duties towards God.) 6. What do the second six Commandments have to do with? (Our duty to other people.) 7. In order to be perfect as God is perfect how many of the Commandments do we need to keep?

(All of them all the time.)

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8. Why do you think, "You shall have no other gods before me" is the first commandment? (God wants us to put Him above all things. Before our toys, TV, even before our friends.)What does it mean to honor your father and your mother? (To prize highly, show respect, treat as precious or valuable.)

9. What is an idol? (Anything that keeps you from spending time with God.) 10. Why should we not have any graven images or idols? (God does not wanting us to worship

objects or His creation instead of Him.) 11. What does "You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” mean? (The Lord is holy. Using his

name in an unholy manner brings judgment to that person.) 12. Why should we “Keep the Sabbath day holy?” (God wants us to follow His example by resting on

the seventh day and taking time to worship Him.) 13. Why are your parents valuable to you? (They are God’s gift to you.) 14. Why is it wrong to murder? (God said not to do it. Life is God’s gift; only He has the right to take a

life.) 15. Is being angry with someone the same as murdering them? (Jesus said it was!) 16. What is adultery? (Doing something with someone else’s husband or wife that only a married

couple should do.) 17. Name some ways people steal things besides robbing a bank and shoplifting? (Borrowing

something and not returning it; copying answers from someone else’s paper; cheating in a game.) 18. What does it mean to bear false witness against someone? (To lie. To leave something out of a

story, telling a half-truth, twisting the facts, or inventing a falsehoods.) 19. What is a lie? (Anything that deceives or tricks someone into believing an untruth.) 20. Who is the Father of Lies? (The Devil.) 21. What does it mean to covet? (To wish to have someone else’s possession to the point of envy.) 22. Who is the only person that ever kept the Ten Commandments perfectly? (Jesus!) 23. Why did God give us the Ten Commandments if He knew we couldn’t keep them? (He wanted us

to realize our own inability to be righteous. To humble us and to be thankful that He sent Jesus.) 24. Why can’t we get to heaven by keeping His laws? (You are not perfect. You could not get to

heaven by yourself even if your life depended upon it. You could never be good enough. You have to accept Jesus’ death on the cross to pay for your sins; there’s no other way to heaven.)

25. What is the punishment due a person for not keeping one of the Ten Commandments? (The punishment is death. God’s Word says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23)

26. Name the Ten Commandments. (1) “You shall have no other gods before me." (2) “Don't make anything to be worshipped or bow down and worship anything but the Lord God." (3) "Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God." (4) "You are to work for six days but the seventh day is a rest day set apart for God.” (5) "Respect your father and mother so you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." (6) “You shall not murder." (7) "You shall not commit adultery. (8) "You shall not steal." (9) "You shall not tell lies." (10) "You shall not envy after anything belonging to someone else."

Bible Memory Verse Activity: “Commandment Stones” Poster Our memory verse is Matthew 22:37-40 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Procedure: Print a copy of the stones template below on tan or light brown construction paper for each child. Have the students write the first part of the verse on the first stone: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. On the second stone write “And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Glue these two stones to a large sheet of drawing paper. Write the memory verse location as the title.

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Group Learning Activity: A-maze-ing Grace (Grades K-3) Purpose: The children will learn that the purpose of the law is to lead them to Christ by following an obstacle course to Christ. Preparation: Print the stone tablets template below on cardstock one for each student in your class. Cut out the stone tablets. Punch two holes at the top and run yarn through them so they can be worn as a necklace. Use classroom furniture to set up a maze. The children can wander between rows of chairs and crawl under tunnels of tables. Procedure: Place a picture of Jesus at the end of the maze. Next to it lay a piece of paper that reads, “God gave us loving laws to keep us safe. They lead us to Jesus.” Gather the children together and say, “How many of you have obeyed all of God’s commandments? How many of you have always obeyed your parents? Why did God give us laws if He knew that we couldn’t keep them? The Bible says, “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.” (Galatians 3:2a) A school master is someone who watches over your safety.” Have the children work in teams of two. The first child will wear the Ten Commandments around his or her neck and will hold the hand of the second child whose eyes will be closed. The first child (the Ten Commandments) will lead the second child safely through the maze to the picture of Jesus. The first child will read the paper that says, “God gave us loving laws to keep us safe. They lead us to Jesus.” Give each child a chance to go through the maze.” At the end of the activity, say, “Where did the guide lead you? (To Jesus) What does Jesus do when we come to him? (He leads us to heaven when we believe and trust in Him.) God gave us loving laws to keep us safe. His loving laws lead us to Jesus. Only Jesus can forgive us for the times we do break God’s laws.)

Group Learning Activity: “Tic-Tac-Toe” Commandments (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need Bibles, construction paper, markers, and masking tape. Print paraphrases of the Ten Commandments on construction paper. (1) “You shall have no other gods before me." (2) “Don't make anything to be worshipped or bow down and worship anything but the Lord God." (3) "Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God." (4) "You are to work for six days but the seventh day is a rest day set apart for God.” (5) "Respect your father and mother so you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." (6) “You shall not murder." (7) "You shall not commit adultery. (8) "You shall not steal." (9) "You shall not tell lies." (10) "You shall not envy after anything belonging to someone else." Also print “free” on one paper. Use masking tape to make a life size tic-tac-tow grid on the floor. Place one paper with the words facedown in each section of the grid. Procedure: Divide the class into two equal teams. Volunteers from each team take turn choosing sections of the tic-tac-toe grid to stand in, reading aloud the commands. Teams continue taking turns until one team has three students standing in a row or until all the sections of the grid are occupied. Invite a volunteer from the winning team or the team who had the last turn to choose one of the commands on which a team member is standing. Other students on the team tell situations in which kids can obey that command. Discuss situations by asking questions such as “When are sometimes that kids your age might be tempted to disobey this command?” “How can obeying this command help you?” “What does our

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memory verse tell us we should do?” Repeat game as time permits changing the cards and their placement for each new game. Table Alternative: Make a tic-tac-toe game board on a large sheet of paper and write the commandments on small index cards. Divide the class into two teams. Each team chooses a symbol (x or O). Teams play game as above writing their symbols in sections on game board instead of standing in the sections.

Group Learning Activity: “In the Bag” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need Bibles, index cards, markers, and three paper bags. On separate index cards print the paraphrases of the Ten Commandments. (1) “You shall have no other gods before me." (2) “Don't make anything to be worshipped or bow down and worship anything but the Lord God." (3) "Don't misuse the name of the Lord your God." (4) "You are to work for six days but the seventh day is a rest day set apart for God.” (5) "Respect your father and mother so you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." (6) “You shall not murder." (7) "You shall not commit adultery. (8) "You shall not steal." (9) "You shall not tell lies." (10) "You shall not envy after anything belonging to someone else." Place cards in a labeled bag. Repeat process with place names (classroom, park, street, kitchen, principal’s office, etc.) and objects (book, bike, soccer ball, ice cube, pencil, etc.) Print as many commands, places and objects, as needed so there is at least one card in each bag for each student. Procedure: Invite several students to choose a command card from the bag. Students take turns reading commands. Say: “How can paying attention to these directions from God’s Word help you? What does our memory verse Exodus 24: 3 say we should do?” Students are to sit in a circle. Pass one of the bags you prepared around the circle. Each student takes one card from the bag. Repeat with other bags you opened so that each student has one command, one object, and one place card. Then call out a category such as “objects.” At your signal students move around the room and trade object cards with other students. After a few moments, call time. Students keep the cards they are holding at that time. Invite a volunteer to tell what is written on his or her card. Say: “Think of how a kid your age could use that object in that place to obey that command.” Student tells a situation or asks another student to help him or her think of a situation. Say: “How would a kid who wants to obey this command act in this situation? What might happen if he or she didn’t obey? What could a kid your age say or do to encourage a friend to obey this command?” Continue with other students as time permits.

Group Learning Activity: “The Ten Commandments” Skit (Grades K-5) Purpose: To help students remember and know the meaning of the Ten Commandments Preparation: For this skit a narrator is needed who can be a child who reads well or an adult (may be needed for younger classes). Several children can rotate being narrator if there are many eager volunteers. One to three children are needed to act out each commandment; most children will act in more than one scene. Group children into threes and assign one or more commandments to each. One way to organize would be to write the commandment number and acting directions on index cards and give the card to the group of children who will be acting out that commandment. Practice the reading and acting two or three times then film with video camera. Be creative, feel free to add, subtract, or change the actions. The older children may want to make up their own actions to dramatize the commandments. A student or shepherd can be the camera person.

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The Ten Commandments Skit Narrator: The first commandment says, “Do not worship any god except me”. Action: 3 or more children fold their hands in prayer and say “Thank you God for giving us rules to

help us be good Christians, Amen,” Narrator: The second commandment says, “Do not make idols. This means that you should worship

and love God, not things or statues.” Action: One or two children pretend to pray to a “silver statue” (stuffed animal covered with foil to

look like a statue or other statue prop). Another child steps in, removes the statue and says, “We can talk to God without fancy statues. God always hears us.”

Props: statue Narrator: The third commandment says, “Do not misuse my name which means do not say bad

things about God or use God’s name in a bad way” Action: One child pretends to be angry (balled up first, mad face, sputtering and about to curse, etc).

Other children pretend shock/surprise and cover their mouths, then one child says to the angry child, “When you are mad instead of cursing we can ask God for help.” All children pretend to pray.

Narrator: The fourth commandment says, “Remember the Sabbath Day which means that we should set aside time to rest and remember all that God has done for us.”

Action: Children pretend to be a family, gather Bibles and get in car and drive to church. Props: Bibles, chairs Narrator: The Fifth commandment says, “Respect your father and mother which means we should

listen to our parents and learn from them.” Action: One child pretends to be a parent to two other children and tells them, “Today I am going to

teach you how to make bread so that when you are older you will know how”. Props: cooking supplies Narrator: The sixth commandment says, “Do not murder”. Action: One child holding a toy sword pretends to be angry with another child. A third child steps in,

takes the sword away and says, “Killing is wrong. “ Props: toy sword Narrator: The seventh commandment says “Be faithful in marriage” which means a husband and

wife should love and be true to each other. Action: Two children pretend to be bride and groom. Another child is the minister and says, “You are

now husband and wife”. Bride and groom shake hands. Props: veil, top hat Narrator: The eighth commandment says, “Do not steal”. Action: One child dressed as robber (stocking cap or stocking over face etc.) pretends to steal

something and is apprehended by police officer who says “Stealing is wrong and against the law”. Props: hat or stocking etc. Narrator: The ninth commandment says “Do not tell lies about others.” Action: One child pretends to whisper a secret to several others, one of the children responds by

saying “that isn’t true, we shouldn’t tell a lie.” Narrator: The last commandment says that we should not want anything that belongs to someone

else which means we should not be jealous of other people. Action: One child is carrying several toys; another child has only one toy. The child with one toy

says, “Hey, you have a lot of toys and I just have this one. That’s okay though, I like my toy. Do you want to play?”

After taping the action, gather the children together to watch their creation!

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Group Learning Activity: “Finger Play to Learn the Ten Commandments”

Purpose: To learn a finger play as a method to memorize the Ten Commandments Procedure: Say: “The Ten Commandments are ten rules that God made. He wrote them down on stone tablets. We are going to learn a finger trick to help us memorize these ten rules.” Hold up 1 finger. This means that God comes first so the first commandment is “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Hold up 2 fingers. Two gods is too many gods! If you have two gods, one of them is an idol. So the second commandment is “Do not worship idols.” Hold up 3 fingers. It looks like a “W” W is for “Watch your words.” God’s name is holy, and we should only use it when talking to Him or about Him. We should never use God’s name in a bad or silly way. So the third commandment is “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.” Hold up 4 fingers. What is the thumb doing? He’s resting! So the fourth commandment is to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” Hold up 5 fingers. It looks like I’m making a promise. So the fifth commandment is “Honor your parents.” Hold up 6 fingers. It looks like the finger is shooting the hand. So the sixth commandment is “Do not murder.” Hold up 7 fingers. The fingers look like people are getting married. When people get married they make promises. So the 7

th commandment is “Do not commit adultery.”

Hold up 8 fingers. (Hold them close to your eyes.) It looks like bars to a jail cell. So the 8

th

commandment is “Do not steal.” Hold up 9 fingers. It looks like the thumb is telling lies about the fingers on the other hand. So the ninth commandment is “Do not bear false witness.” Hold up 10 fingers and wiggle them. It looks like I’m coveting. That means “Give me this! Give me that!” So the 10

th commandment is, “Do not covet.”

Craft Learning Activity: “Rock Tablets” (Grades 2-5) Purpose: To help students to learn the Ten Commandments Preparation: Purchase or collect smooth decorative stones; OR purchase ceramic tiles at hardware store; 80 grit sandpaper; 180 grit sandpaper; dish or bowl with water; small pieces of denim cloth; powdered polish; holy cow stone polishing compound. Procedure: Give each student several decorative stones. Have students polish the stones by wetting the rock and using the 80-grit sandpaper to roughly shape and round the corners of the stone. Keep a bucket of water nearby so that you can continue to wet the rock as needed. Continue this until the rock has been shaped to your satisfaction. Use the 180-grit sandpaper to further refine the shape of your rock and to remove any heavy scratches. Make sure to keep the rock wet throughout this process as well. With the rock still wet, use the 600-grit sandpaper to get rid of any lighter scratches on the rock's surface. Rinse the rock with water often during this step.

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Place a bit of powdered polish on a damp denim cloth. Polish the rock with the cloth until you are satisfied with the result. Depending on the rock, you may have to keep adding polish to the damp cloth at regular intervals. Using a permanent marker have students write one of the Ten Commandments on each stone.

Craft Learning Activity: “Tablets of Ten Commandments” (Grades 2-5) Purpose: To make a wall hanging with the Ten Commandments Tablets Preparation: You will need a brown paper grocery sack for each child, markers, scissors, and paper towels. Procedure: Say: “Let’s name the Ten Commandments.” (Review each commandment and explain what the commandment means. Talk about ways to obey God.) “We are going to make a beautiful way to display these laws in your home so you will be reminded to obey God’s loving rules.” Give each student a brown paper grocery sack. Cut open the bag with scissors. Turn the bag so the inside faces up. Use a marker or crayon to draw two tablets with rounded tops. Cut out the tablets. With a ruler, mark evenly spaced lines on each tablet with a pencil. With markers write the Ten Commandments on the paper bag using the pencil lines to keep words even. Erase the pencil lines. To create an aged-paper look, crumple the paper tablets into balls. Lightly dampen the paper with water. Unfold the tablets and lay them flat on paper towels to dry. If any of the written words are blurry, go over them with your markers. Find a special place in your home to display the Ten Commandments.

Craft Learning Activity: “Ten Commandments RX” (Grades K-5) Purpose: To reinforce the application of God’s commandments to our everyday lives. Preparation: You will need empty plastic prescription bottles (washed and dried with original labels removed); glue or tape; printed copies of RX template below; printed copies of the Ten Commandments coloring sheet; scissors. Procedure: Give each student a plastic prescription bottle. Have students color the Ten Commandments sheet below. Cut apart the Ten Commandments into individual slips. Have students roll the slips of paper around a pencil to form ten “pills.” Have students place their ten commandment pills into the plastic bottle. Give each student a copy of the RX sheet. Cut apart. Glue or tape labels to the bottles. Say: “God has given us a prescription for living happy and fulfilled lives. He wants us to be happy serving Him. Inside the bottle is the cure of purposeful lives that are blessed by God. Let’s use this prescription bottle to remind us to obey the Ten Commandments.”

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Snack Learning Activity: “Edible Commandment Tablets” (Grades K-3) Preparation: Make edible commandment tablets. Mix 1/2 cup Brown sugar, 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1 tablespoon of granola. Shape into tablets. Write a commandment on the tablet using a toothpick (or you can just make pretend lettering.) Enjoy! Optional: Serve graham crackers (tablets) with white icing (writing.) Optional: Cut bread into a shape of a tablet and spread with butter or jam.

Life Application Challenge: “Promise Board” Preparation: Take a long sheet of paper and write the following title: “Obey God’s Rules.” Provide sticky notes in various colors for students to write their promises on. Procedure: Say: “God wants us to live happy lives by serving Him. We have studied the Ten Commandment as a way God has taught us to live. God want the Israelites to promise that they would serve Him. We too can promise to serve God by obeying His rules. Think about the Ten Commandments that we have studied. Write a way that you want to promise to obey Him this week on your colored sticky note. You do not have to write your name on them. Just write what you want to do this week to follow the Ten Commandments and obey God. When you are finished writing your promise place the note on the “Obey God’s Rules” board.

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Stone Tablets

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unit 5: life of moses ot5.9 the ten commandments...we will see how jesus summarized these laws in...

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