class overview:
- REVIEW: Sign of the Cross, Free Will, Original Sin
- LEARN: God's Laws- the 10 Commandments
- PRACTICE: At the end of this lesson take a few minutes to say the following prayers out loud:
- The Sign of The Cross
- Hail Mary
the 10 commandments
Today we will talk about Moses and how God gave him special rules to teach the Hebrews how to live according to God's laws. The Hebrews had been living in Egypt as slaves and had been treated very poorly. After Moses led them out of Egypt, they need to know what God expected from them. They were not used to being free to make their own choices. they were not used to following any law but Pharoah's. God wanted the Hebrews to be set apart from all the other people in the world. He wanted them to be shining examples of goodness and justice. So He wrote out ten commands on stone tablets and told Moses to teach them to the Hebrews. We still follow these rules today. When we want to learn what our sins are, we need to know what God considers a sin first.
|
1-YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME
In Genesis we read about the battle in heaven between the good angels and the bad angels. When the bad angels were casted down to Earth they were mad at God. They wanted to pretend to be like Him so that they could take souls away from Him. They became known as "gods". They deceived many people by making false religions.
Most people do not believe in these gods anymore so the devil has cleverly replaced the old gods with new ones. Anything that takes us away from worshipping God, especially on Sundays, could be considered as a "god". This is the most important commandment.
2-YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD IN VAIN
JESUS CHRIST! OH MY GOD!
When we say these things casually, or in anger or jest, we are taking His name and His title as God in vain. We can alter our speak just a little by saying "Jimminey Crickets" and "Oh my Gosh!" This commandment reminds us that words really do matter. We need to be careful with the things we say. Proverbs 29:11 "A fool says everything that is in his mind: but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards."
3-KEEP THE SABBATH DAY HOLY
What is the Sabbath? In old days it began Saturday night at sunset and lasted until sunset of Sunday. It was the one day out of seven that God wanted everybody to rest like He did on the last day of creation. We rest and honor God on Sundays by going to church and spending time relaxing with our family. It is a sin to miss church on Sundays.
4-HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER
Who picked you to be born of your parents? God did. He knows what He is doing. He wants you to honor them by being obedient, supportive, loving and grateful...no matter how old you are.
5-YOU SHALL NOT MURDER
I think everyone knows what this means. Don't kill anyone. Is it ok for army guys to kill? God allows us to defend ourselves, our family and our nation from people who want to hurt us. If we have evil intentions in our hearts than we are committing this sin.
6-YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
This is not really something that children your age deal with. It is more of an adult thing. It is when God brings a man and woman together in marriage and one of them sneaks off and pretends to be married with someone else. God does not like this. It hurts everyone, especially God.
7-YOU SHALL NOT STEAL
Everyone knows what this one means. Don't take what doesn't belong to you. It's pretty simple. God gives you everything you need. If you steal from someone else, you are telling God that you don't trust Him.
8-YOU SHALL NOT LIE
Lies hurt people. There are all kinds of lies...big ones and tiny ones. How do you know when a lie is really bad? When it hurts someone. God does not want people to hurt each other.
9-YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBORS WIFE
What does the word COVET mean? It means to be obsessed with something that you want and you are willing to do anything to get it. It is a type of selfish jealousness that desire to possess something. In this commandment God is warning us not to want to be with people that we don't belong to.
10-YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBORS THINGS
Again, what does the word COVET mean? It means to be obsessed with something that you want and you are willing to do anything to get it. It is a type of selfish jealousness that desire to possess something. We should not desire what God has given to someone else. God ALWAYS gives us exactly what we need.
In Genesis we read about the battle in heaven between the good angels and the bad angels. When the bad angels were casted down to Earth they were mad at God. They wanted to pretend to be like Him so that they could take souls away from Him. They became known as "gods". They deceived many people by making false religions.
Most people do not believe in these gods anymore so the devil has cleverly replaced the old gods with new ones. Anything that takes us away from worshipping God, especially on Sundays, could be considered as a "god". This is the most important commandment.
2-YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD IN VAIN
JESUS CHRIST! OH MY GOD!
When we say these things casually, or in anger or jest, we are taking His name and His title as God in vain. We can alter our speak just a little by saying "Jimminey Crickets" and "Oh my Gosh!" This commandment reminds us that words really do matter. We need to be careful with the things we say. Proverbs 29:11 "A fool says everything that is in his mind: but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards."
3-KEEP THE SABBATH DAY HOLY
What is the Sabbath? In old days it began Saturday night at sunset and lasted until sunset of Sunday. It was the one day out of seven that God wanted everybody to rest like He did on the last day of creation. We rest and honor God on Sundays by going to church and spending time relaxing with our family. It is a sin to miss church on Sundays.
4-HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER
Who picked you to be born of your parents? God did. He knows what He is doing. He wants you to honor them by being obedient, supportive, loving and grateful...no matter how old you are.
5-YOU SHALL NOT MURDER
I think everyone knows what this means. Don't kill anyone. Is it ok for army guys to kill? God allows us to defend ourselves, our family and our nation from people who want to hurt us. If we have evil intentions in our hearts than we are committing this sin.
6-YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
This is not really something that children your age deal with. It is more of an adult thing. It is when God brings a man and woman together in marriage and one of them sneaks off and pretends to be married with someone else. God does not like this. It hurts everyone, especially God.
7-YOU SHALL NOT STEAL
Everyone knows what this one means. Don't take what doesn't belong to you. It's pretty simple. God gives you everything you need. If you steal from someone else, you are telling God that you don't trust Him.
8-YOU SHALL NOT LIE
Lies hurt people. There are all kinds of lies...big ones and tiny ones. How do you know when a lie is really bad? When it hurts someone. God does not want people to hurt each other.
9-YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBORS WIFE
What does the word COVET mean? It means to be obsessed with something that you want and you are willing to do anything to get it. It is a type of selfish jealousness that desire to possess something. In this commandment God is warning us not to want to be with people that we don't belong to.
10-YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBORS THINGS
Again, what does the word COVET mean? It means to be obsessed with something that you want and you are willing to do anything to get it. It is a type of selfish jealousness that desire to possess something. We should not desire what God has given to someone else. God ALWAYS gives us exactly what we need.
a cute video to help you learn the Ten Commandments:
extra credit handed out in class:
moses 10 commandments |
The 10 Commandments worksheet |