Commandments V-X 5 min: Open with prayer 10 mins: Review for test Read over review sheet and answer any questions they might have. If you want you can make a game out of the review. Collect the review sheet. 10-20 mins test: Have them remove everything from their space and hand out the test. They cannot use the review sheet for the test. (Someone usually asks!) You can correct the tests and let me know the scores or you can leave them in your folder and I will correct them for you. They have to have a 70% to pass. If they don t pass, they will need to take it again until they do. In order to keep the rest of the kids quiet while the others are finishing up, have a worksheet or a journal question for them to keep them busy. 5 mins: Introduction Today s class will be focusing on the last 6 commandments. Who thinks they can list the Commandments 5 through 10? 5. Thou shall not kill 6. Thou shall not commit adultery 7. Thou shall not steal 8. Thou shall not bear false witness 9. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor s wife 10. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor s goods. 25 mins: Commandments spend about 5 min per commandment. 5 th - Thou shall not kill (CCC2258) "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being." 56 Have a student read - Gen 9: 5-6 The 5 th Commandment is pretty clear about the physical death of the body. That we should protect it at all costs from conception to natural death. That life is a gift and grace from God that needs to be respected.
So this includes: Abortion, euthanasia, genocide, gendercide (aborting a baby due to the unwanted gender of the baby), murder, and suicide. This does not only fall to the person directly responsible but also those who are indirectly encouraging, supporting, or just simply standing by and allowing the act or action to occur. Protecting life is written on our hearts, it is very natural or in your nature to defend yourself, to fight for your life. We also fight through an illness to live and become healthy again. It is also in your nature to protect life. If you see someone drowning your natural reaction would be to help them. When someone dies we feel a loss and sadness even when we don t even know the person. Have a student read - Mt 5:21-22 At a different level this commandment speaks about the killing of the soul, the heart, and the self-esteem of another person. (Ref. CCC 2302-2305) Examples would be: Anger, revenge, hatred, bullying, gossip, calling names, pointing out the flaws, failures, and weaknesses of others that should be kept a private matter. Speaking truths about someone that are unnecessary to attract attention to yourself at the expense of others. 6 th Thou shall not commit adultery People usually think that this commandment is for only married adults, but it s for everyone. This commandment is really about respecting the gift of sexuality that God gave you. Yes, when a man and woman marry they should stay faithful to each other, in thought, word and action. If someone is thinking about another person inappropriately then they are cheating on their husband or wife with their thoughts. Have a student read Gen 1:26-28 Have another student read Gen 2:21-24 We are created in the image and likeness of God; that means we are made to love. However, to love someone means to put their well-being before your own, it means to respect them, not think of them as an object, or to use them for our own pleasure. It means reserving anything sexual only for the union and procreation of life in a marriage and not outside of it. 7 th - Thou shall not steal This commandment is very obvious; we are not to take things that do not belong to us. What else does it mean? We are to give an honest days work. Whether that means at home doing tasks (without pay), at school (giving your best to your studies and homework), while volunteering (with a good attitude), or when you are older at your place of employment (do you do your work or do you slack off wasting time, make personal phone calls, text, surf the internet, etc.)
Have you borrowed something and not returned it, or copied music or movies disregarding copyright laws? Do you take advantage of friendships by using them for what they can do for you like they have better video games, etc. This commandment also means caring for what we are given meaning the home you live in, your clothes, any electronics you use. Yet even on a larger scale what about respecting other people s property? Have you ever destroyed or vandalized someone else s property? Do you respect the earth & God s creatures, do you recycle or are you wasteful? How do you spend your time? God has given you 24 hrs every day! How much time do you spend watching TV, video games, hanging out with friends, sports, or other activities? Although these things can be good to a degree, but are you spending any time with God? Are you giving God an adequate part of your day; meaning in relation to the amount of time you spend on your hobbies, activities, and friends - are you being selfish with your time? Or are you spending time bettering yourself, challenging yourself or growing into a better person. Are you helping others, volunteering, or praying and getting to know God more? 8 th Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor Have a student read - 2 Tim 3:15-16 This commandment is a command to speak and live in truth! God is truth, His word and His laws are truth. His laws don t become outdated or irrelevant due to the falsehoods that our culture chooses to believe and promote. It s about our duty to live and witness to the life of Christ, to evangelize. We are to be truthful in all of our relationships and interactions. Do you misrepresent yourself, others, and what happened do you paint the truth differently to your advantage? Do you brag about yourself, glorifying yourself, put others down? Do you outright lie? Even a little white lie is a lie! It doesn t matter the size of the lie it is the harm suffered to the victim, the gravity of that lie may be maybe unknown to you. You may not think it s a big deal but you have no idea what the person has had to endure due to your lie. Have a student read - 2 Thes 3:11 Do you gossip? Gossip is lying about someone to bring attention to you, make yourself popular or important at the cost of someone else. (To be in the loop or in the know ) It is hurtful! If you have ever been the victim of gossip you know the pain of this sin. Think about this when you know people are playing games with you or lying to you, are you offended, hurt and maybe even mad? That is because it is a direct offense of truth and we are made in God s image of truth. Have a student read - Eph 5:4 How do we use our gift of speech and other ways of communication, is it appropriate? Does it glorify God? Are we building people up or pointing out their flaws? Do you blast people on Facebook? How do you represent yourself on Facebook? What are you saying when you text others?
Have a student read - Jam 3:1-18 9 th & 10 th Thou shall not covet thy neighbor s wife or goods Mt 6:19-21 This is a commandment about the sins of jealousy, greed, and lust. This commandment summarizes and completes all of the other commandments. If we are jealous of others and their goods then we can easily be lead to break the other commandments. Jealousy can confuse our intentions. Here is why. It follows that if you lust after things you break the first three commandments because you are putting them before God; this is a form of idolatry. This can also lead to stealing because your greed or desire for something can take over your rational thinking and you can make poor choices basically disrespecting all others for your own gain. (Your parents, friends, society, and God) The jealousy of the attention of others or a good reputation can lead us to gossip, lies, bragging, and wrong or inappropriate relationships. Have a student read - 1 John 2: 3-6 20 mins: Practice Next week they will be going to Reconciliation. Have them practice it with each other. Break into groups and have one of them be the priest and the other can be the sinner, confessing fake sins. They need to be prepared well because we will need to get 85 kids through reconciliation in 80 minutes. You will be assigned a time slot next week so you can plan your class lesson around that. There might be some anxiety for some children, try to reassure them that although it seems scary, everything will be just fine. They will have the choice of going face to face or behind the screen, and they can bring the sheet in with them. I have found the more prepared they feel the better the experience. Another thing to do is to focus on the freedom and love of the sacrament. Some objections that kids might have: Q: I don t know what to do, what if I forget what to do? R: It s okay if you aren t sure or if you forget, the priest will help you. Q: What if I haven t gone since 2 nd grade? R: It doesn t matter how long it has been, it matters more that you are going now. Q: I m afraid that the priest will recognize my voice. R: Unless you go face to face, the priest will not know who you are. The priest is busy listening to your confession and is not trying to figure out who you are. Q: What if he remembers my sins, I won t be able to look at him.
R: The priest will hear so many confessions that even if you went face to face, he won t remember what you said. Besides, there is no reason for the priest to remember your sins because they have been forgiven and they no longer exist. Extra time: Adoration Play a game choice of game see below Closing prayer Relay Race On a black or white board, write out the Ten Commandments twice, leaving blank spaces in each one. Divide your class into two teams. The two teams compete in a relay race to see who can accurately complete the commandments first. One member from each team runs to the board and places a word where he thinks it belongs. The next person can place another word or move the previous player's word. The team finishing first wins. Ten Commandment Dice Game Divide your class into two teams and create two sets of 10 cards. On each card, write a commandment on one side and the corresponding number on the other. Place the cards number side up. The teams take turns rolling the dice. After a student rolls, he must recite the corresponding commandment. For example: if a four is rolled he has to say what the firth commandment is, if he is correct his team keeps that card and then it s the other teams turn to roll the dice. If you roll an eleven you skip a turn, if you roll a twelve you can choose any number card and recite the commandment. If you are right you keep the card. The first team to obtain all 10 cards wins. To make it more challenging, place the cards number side up and instead of reciting the commandment, they can give an example of how this commandment is broken.
I AM the Lord your God, you shall have no strange gods before me. Thou shall not commit adultery. Thou shall not take the Lord you God s name in vain. Thou shall not steal. Keep holy the Sabbath day. Thou shall not bear false witness. Honor thy Father and Mother. Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor s spouse. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor s goods.
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