Bible Discovery Zone Lesson Plans

Transcription

1 Bible Discovery Zone Lesson Plans The 10 Commandments Memory Verse: These Commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. (Deuteronomy 6:6) Learning Centers Overview: Holy Word Cinema: View the Nest DVD Not So Golden Calf and answer the review questions. Computer Bible Lab: Explore the meaning of the 10 Commandments and visit Mt. Sinai via software Discovery Destination: Play 10 Commandments Bowling Game and 10 Commandments Today Game to better understand the 10 Commandments and their meaning. Creation Station: Create a mosaic frame to go around a picture of the 10 Commandments to take home. Bible Background Originally posted by member "Barbara in Portland" in 2002, it was titled "Teaching the Ten Commandments in Kid-Friendly Language." Forum reviewers really liked it This is a background sheet written by the pastor, Jim Fletcher, of State Street Church, United Church of Christ, in Portland Maine. It was prepared for a Design Team meeting we had for our 10 C. rotation. Resource for Teaching the Decalogue (The Ten Commandments) Purpose: 1. Glue-Used to hold Israel together (like our constitution) 2. Reminder-Used to remind Israel of their covenant with God 3. Descriptor-Used to describe or explain God's ways 4. Gift-A gift given to Israel to remind them that God is a gift -giving (gracious) God.

2 5. W arning-used to warn Israel not to take on the ways of the world around them. (Just because everone else is doing it doesn't mean you have to do it.) Historical Context In their present literary form, the writing dates from around 630 BC, however, there is absolutely no historical evidence to say that they do not date from the time of Moses. The Ten Commandments for Kids Exodus 20: First-No other gods This commandment does not deny the existence of other gods. It simply is a call to absolute loyalty to the One God. Second-No human-made image of God. This commandment is given to prevent the tem ptation to try to manipulate God for human's own purposes. God's ONLY image in the world has two feet and walks upright. In other words, God does not choose to live in the mountanis, but in humans and in human history. Third-Don't say 'God' lightly In the ancient world, to have a person's (god's) name was to possess that person's (god's) power. Therefore, humans can NEVER have God's name or use it lightly. God MUST remain in mystery. Fourth-Take some time out! There is both spiritual and physical reason f or taking a rest on a regular (seven-day) cycle. There is a need to spend time 'smelling the roses.'(after being slaves in Egypt, this commandment give the people control over their lives, even servants and slaves deserve time to worship and renew their spirits.) Fifth-Honor your mom and dad This commandment was given to make sure that inheritances passed in an orderly way. (It also helped set up the family unit as the preeminent unit of society, to whom our allegiances lie, as opposed to the state, ie Egypt.) It also speaks of God as Eternal Parent who, like earthly parents, must be honored. Sixth-Don't kill people-ever! This commandment makes no difference between state-santioned killing (capital punishment) and murder. Both are wrong BECAUSE God dwells in humans through God's covenant. To kill another human is to kill a covenant partner with God. Seventh-Don't commit adultery Again, God relates to humans through covenants. When covenants (promises) are broken, God's heart is broken. Honor your spouse the in the same way God honors you. Eighth- Don't take things, honor, and hope away from people This commandment has a much deeper meaning than 'make sure you count the silver after

3 shifty guests leave.' It means 'don't harm people or invade their space.' Don't steal what belongs to them because this also belongs to God. To steal from others is to steal from God. Ninth-Let you word be a true reflection of yourselves! Be a person of your word! If you are rich, don't hire false witnesses to get yourself o ff. Let justice be equal BECAUSE God's justice is equal for all. Tenth-Don't think Others are better than you Believe that who you are and what you have is enough. Be grateful for God's gift of life to you. Don't be consumed by envy BECAUSE it takes away from being consumed by the spirit of God! Holy Word Cinema Memory Verse: These Commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. (Deuteronomy 6:6) Video: The Not So Golden Calf: Commandments 1 & 2 (Note: this DVD does not come with onscreen interactive review questions. You will need to used the questions printed below.) Run Time: 24 min 1. The First Commandment states that you shall have no other what before us? a. Idol b. god c. Leader 2. The Second Commandment states we should not make an image out of anything and do what before it? a. Bow & worship b. Farm the land c. Play nearby 3. Where did the Israelites camp after wandering in the desert for many years? a. Red Sea b. Jericho c. Mount Sinai 4. Who did God appoint to write the 10 Commandments? a. Jacob b. Moses c. Aaron 5. Who did Moses leave in charge while he was gone on Mount Sinai? a. Aaron b. Seth c. Jacob 6. While Moses was gone, why were the Israelites worried? a. They were bored b. Little food & water c. They missed Moses 7. The Israelites wanted to worship a god who was visible, what type of idol did they build? a. Camel b. Goat c. Calf 8. What was the idol made of? a. Wood & Gold b. Rock & Gold c. Cloth & Gold 9. Who destroyed the golden calf idol? a. Moses b. Aaron c. Seth

4 Computer Bible Lab Memory Verse: These Commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. (Deuteronomy 6:6) See Handout for The Ten Commandments software Teaching Tips and Suggested Lesson Hikes for lesson outline. It is important that you as a teacher spend some time previewing the software program prior to teaching the class so that you can easily navigate students through the lesson. Discovery Destination Memory Verse: These Commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. (Deuteronomy 6:6) Supplies: 10 Bowling pins 2 rubber balls 2 sets of large 10 Commandment cards numbered 1-10; (one commandment printed on each) Game buzzer system 10 Commandments Bowling Game SUMMARY: 10 Commandment's Bowling Game to help children learn all Ten Commandments. Objective: after the workshop the children will be familiar with the Ten Commandments through having fun and through repetition. Supplies: - 10 bowling pins and 2 balls. - 2 sets of large cards, numbered 1-10, each with the matching commandment printed on it. Advance Preparation: - Set up the 10 pins. - Put the two sets of commandment cards on a side table, arranged in number order. Welcome the children, have news, light candles, take collection. Have prayer time. Opening:

5 Remind the children that we are talking this month about God's rules, as they w ere given to Moses when the people of Israel were wandering in the wilderness. Make the point that we all mess up sometimes. If we sincerely say sorry to God he will always forgive us. Vocabulary: Go through with the children the meanings of some of the difficult words: Sabbath - the day of the week set aside to rest and think specially about God - for Jewish people this is Saturday, for Muslims Friday, and for us Sunday. Covet - to want something that someone else has, and to want it so badly you woul d like to take it from them. Adultery - not being faithful to your husband or wife (be sensitive here, as children may come from broken families. Graven Image - a model or statue that is worshipped as a god. Read the story from the Bible to remind them - Exodus 20 v Tell the children that we are going to play a game today. Directions to Play the Game: Divide the children into 2 teams, with equal spread of age and ability. Each team takes it in turns to try to knock down the pins. Smaller children get to stand closer to the pins, and older ones stand further away for their turns. They count how many pins they have knocked down, and then go and get that numbered commandment and the team reads it out. The team keeps the card. They need to get each of the numbers at least once, and the team that has managed all 10 commandments first is the winner. It gets harder as the game goes on, as they have to knock down a specific number of pins to win each of the cards (it can be really difficult to get only 1 pin down!). The Ten Commandments Today Game Separate kids into two or three teams, each team with a buzzer in front of them. Ask one of the questions: the first team to buzz gets to answer. If the first team to ring their bell gets it wrong, it goes up for grabs with the other team(s). Whatever team answers correctly first gets a Skittle. Questions (or you can make up your own): Bill cares about money more than anything else. What commandment is he breaking? (No idols)

6 All during school, and sometimes at home, Sharon thinks about how popular and pretty Betsy is. What commandment is she breaking? (covetousness) Sam likes to say, If you don t give me your sandwich, God is going to hit you with a truck! What commandment is he breaking? (taking Lord s name in vain) Jake is a real jerk. Heidi wishes that Jake were dead. What commandment is she breaking? (taking Lord s name in vain) Aaron votes that his soccer team should have regular practices on Sunday mornings. What commandment is he breaking? (Sabbath rest) Jesse is really angry with her mom, and slams the door in her face when she is trying to talk with Jesse. What commandment is she breaking? (Honor your parents) Ted told Mary he wanted her to only go out with him, but he goes b ehind her back and asks Jennifer to go to the movies with him. What commandment is he breaking? (Adultery/faithfulness) Sarah didn t study for her Spanish test, and if she gets a bad grade her parents are going to ground her. So she peeks at Cathy s ans wers during the test. What commandment is she breaking? (Stealing) Sarah s parents get suspicious about the unnaturally good grade she got on the Spanish test. Sarah tells them that she had just studied extra hard and had gone in early to ask the teacher questions: that s why she did so well. She doesn t tell them about cheating off of Cathy s test. What commandment is she breaking? (Lying) Terry thinks he s better than everyone else, and he s always telling other kids that they re dumb and they should do what he tells them. What commandment is he breaking? (I am the Lord your God; there are no other gods besides Me! Not even you, Terry!) Harry really wants to be class president, but Caitlin is getting more votes. Harry starts telling other kids that Caitlin is really stuck up, and says bad things about her friends behind their backs. What commandment is Harry breaking? (false testimony) Every time she opens her mouth, Jessica says Oh my God! (OMG!) What commandment is she breaking? (taking the Lord s name in vain) Mack just got a new gun for Christmas. He wants to use it, so he goes out a nd has target practice on the squirrels in t he back yard just for fun. What commandment is he breaking? (Don t kill) Heather s best friend Susan is going to a different music camp, and Heather is jealous, so she starts hanging out with other friends and won t text -message Susan back when

7 Susan asks what the problem is. What commandment is she breaking? (Adultery/Faithfulness) Sean put off doing the research for his final paper on Hinduism all term. It s due tomorrow! He s desperate! So he googles Hinduism - Term Paper Helps and downloads someone else s paper. What commandment is he breaking? (Stealing) Dana s really good friend Morgan wants to work at the coffeeshop with her, but Stan got hired first. Stan is royally annoying, and no one at the coffee shop likes him, while everyone likes Morgan. Dana tells her boss that Stan goes to the storeroom and just hangs out there listening to his ipod while she has to take all the orders and make all the coffee, so that Stan will get fired. What commandment is she breaking? (False witness) More than anything, Rob wants to be the lead player in his band. He spends all his money getting new amps and speakers and woofers and tweeters. Every hour, he s either practicing his guitar, or earning money to get more accessories. What commandment is he breaking? (Love God first/ No idols) Whenever Marie s father asks her to do the dinner dishes or pick up her room, she turns away and says WHATEVERRRR. What commandment is she breaking? (Honor your parents) Scott s father is always working- even on the weekends. Even on Sunday. It seems like he never takes a day off. What commandment is he breaking? (Sabbath) It seems like Shannon s older sister, Bess, gets to do whatever she wants to, while Shannon always has to stay at home, which REALLY BUGS Shannon! What commandment is she breaking? (Covetousness) Review with this month s memory verse and close with prayer. Creation Station Scripture: Exodus 19:1-20:20 Memory Verse: Deuteronomy 6:6 These Commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. PURPOSE: The children will use bean mosaic to decorate a mat framing the Ten Commandments.

8 Additional objectives: At the end of the session, the students will recognize that the first four commandments are about our relationship with God and the last six regulate our relationship with other people. Teacher preparation in advance: Read the scripture passages and lesson plan. Prepare the retelling of the story Egermeirer s Bible Story Book. Prepare a closing prayer. Learn the memory verse. Confer with the Shepherd on age level adjustments needed each week (those included in the lesson plan and your own). Consider the Stretchers you can use, especially with the youngest children. Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located. The bin with supplies is located in the Sunday School room. Room set-up: Set up tables and chairs for everyone. Cover the tables with art room table cloths. Write the memory verse and Mark 12:30-31 on the whiteboard so all can read it. Supply List copy of the Ten Commandments for each child mat board or cardboard cut bigger than the Ten Commandments for each child dried beans (a variety of colors and textures for mosaics) bowls or paper plates to hold the beans and plates for the glue glue (gold bottle tacky glue is best; it is easiest to use if you pour some onto a paper plate and encourage the children to use a cotton swab to put a big dot of it where they want to stick each bean) cotton swabs glue sticks wet wipes for cleaning sticky fingers when they are done hair dryer Memento: heart stickers Egermeier s Bible Story Book

9 Welcome and Introductions: Greet the children and introduce yourself. We had an opening prayer during the gathering time, but you may open with prayer if you feel led to do so. Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today you will hear the story of how Moses was given the Ten Commandments. Then you will frame and decorate a copy of the Ten Commandments to take home as a reminder of how God wants us to live. Scripture/Bible Story: The giving of the Ten Commandments to the people is part of a much longer story in the book of Exodus. We heard part of the story over the summer when we learned about Moses leading God s people through the Wilderness during VBS. Who can tell me something your learned from VBS? [Don t take much time for this, but make sure Moses, the parting of the Red Sea and God sending food from heaven are mentioned.] Read the story of God giving the 10 Commandments from pages from Egermeier s Bible Story Book When author Brian Wildsmith retold our Bible story briefly, he did not list the Ten Commandments in his book. Let s find them in the Bible. They are in the book of Exodus with the rest of the story of Moses leading God s people out of Egypt. The word Exodus means a large group of people departing or leaving. Exodus is the second book of the Bible. Genesis (which means beginning) is first. Read the scripture: Open your Bibles to Exodus 20: [Encourage the children to use their Bibles in looking up verses. For example, To find Exodus, open the Bible to the beginning and you will find Genesis. Exodus is the second book of the Bible. Turn until you find it. Our passage is in chapter 20. We restate information about Bible organization in each workshop to be sensitive to visitors and new children in the class who may not have any knowledge of the Bible. We never want a child to feel like he does not belong because he does not know this information before he came to class.] Older children: Ask for volunteers to read a paragraph or a verse. Younger children: Have them close and set aside their Bibles and listen as you read to them. DIG:

10 Application: If you have ever been to a museum or art gallery, you will have noticed that most works of art are framed. Today you are going to create a decorative frame for important words from God to all of us. You will use dried beans to make mosaics. You can put them down in some sort of pattern or design, or you can just randomly glue them to the frame to make a colorful textured frame. Each of you can design your own work. We are using dried beans to replicate the natural colors of art supplies available to artists in Moses day. Give each child a copy of the Ten Commandments and a piece of mat board. Have them use the glue stick to attach the Commandments to the center of the board. Have them write their names on the backs of their boards before they glue on any beads. Have bowls of beans and glue where each child can reach them and encourage them to work. Pour some glue onto a paper plate and encourage the children to use a cotton swab to put a big dot of it where they want to stick each bean. After they have had a few minutes to plan what they are doing, discuss the commandments. Draw the children s attention to the words they are framing. For each commandment, ask what they think God means for us to do to follow the commandment. Let the children explain in their own words what each commandment means to them. Let them mention ways they can act to follow God s laws. If they don t know the meaning of a commandment, explain it or give examples of following or breaking it. [If time is getting short and some children are still glueing on beans, go into the memory verse discussion. The children can listen and participate and work too, if necessary.] REFLECT: *Pulling it all together (closing discussion): This discussion took place when the questions were asked while the children were working. If you did not have a chance to ask the questions then, ask them now. Review the memory verse. Can anyone tell me which of the Ten Commandments is the most important? Why did you choose that one? [accept all answers] Someone once asked Jesus which command is the most important. His reply was Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31) Let s say it together. [Read the verse together from the whiteboard.] Is Jesus response one of the Commandments you just framed? I wonder why not?

11 Look at the first four commandments. Do they have anything in common with each other? [about God] Look at the last six commandments. Do they have anything in common with each other? [about how we treat others] So you see, Jesus response is a sort of summary of all of the Ten Commandments. If we love God and if we love others, we will be living the Ten Commandments and won t have to worry about the details of the rules because we will automatically be obeying them. Let s say our memory verse together again. If time permits, ask for volunteers to say the verse alone. Or say it together as a group without looking at the words.