God's Top Ten List

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Lesson 10 God’s Top Ten List

STORY FOCUS: After God saves the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He invites the newly redeemed nation of Israel to enter into a covenantal relationship with Him.

STUDENT TENSION: Are we willing to give everything to God?

BIBLICAL REFERENCE: Exodus 19-20

RESOURCES: _ Special guests _ Wedding day movie clip _ Chopsticks (optional) _ Basketball _ Pen and paper _ The Space Between song and lyrics by the Dave Matthews band Lyrics can be found at: http://www.letssingit.com/dave-matthews-band-the-space-between-hq3z36d.html (optional) _ God’s Top Ten--The Covenant handout _ Surrender chorus _ Castaway movie clip (optional)

LESSON SUMMARY The God Who Calls “Where is God?” Teenagers find themselves asking this question. With all the changes they are experiencing, it can be hard for your students to believe that God is present in the midst of them. Thankfully, God is not a stranger to questions and doubts. Just like the people of God on their way out of Egypt, your students need to know that God is calling them into relationship with himself. Students are concerned about their relationships with God and with each other. In the first four commandments, God helps us understand what He expects in our relationship with Him. In our relationship with others, it’s hard to know where to draw the line, where the boundaries are. Many times teens are asking, “How far is too far?” Believe it or not, the Ten Commandments offer a great chance to talk about boundaries in relationships.

Copyright 2003 Barefoot Ministries www.barefootministries.com The God Who Provides If the people of God weren’t so much like us, it would be a lot easier to condemn their actions and their attitudes. Even when it is clear that God is with them in powerful ways, they still manage to lose their faith in Him and find reasons to grumble and complain. In the 50 days since leaving Egypt, quite a lot has happened. First the Lord parts the Red Sea and then He leads them into the wilderness with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. Next, when the Israelites are thirsty, the Lord turns bitter water into sweet water and gives them bread from heaven (manna) when they are hungry. He also brings forth water from a rock when there is no water to be found. Just 50 days into their journey out of Egypt, with Moses leading them, the Israelites come to Mt. Sinai, the highest mountain in its range. It is here that God gives Moses the Ten Commandments and continues to reach toward His people in loving pursuit of covenant relationship. All the while, the people grumble about the desolate land they are in and how back in Egypt life was more normal.

The God Who Sets Apart In preparation for entering into the covenant, God asks the Israelites to consecrate themselves. They are to “set themselves” apart from various normal activities of daily life and focus specifically on this special time. They are to stop doing work and prepare to meditate, to pray, and wash their clothes, thus cleansing themselves both outwardly and inwardly. The final request God makes of them is to abstain from sex for three days. Perhaps this whole preparation can be summed up with the verses from Exodus 19:5-6 which says, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possessions. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” On the morning of the third day, there is thunder and lightning and Mt. Sinai is covered in smoke and cloud. As the people gather at the base they are reminded not to touch the mountain. Then Moses goes up to meet with God. It is a time of great wonder and mystery all at once. A trumpet sounds louder and louder; the voice of God is like thunder. The earth shakes and the power of God is visible to all who are gathered there. It is out of this scene that Moses is given the Ten Commandments of God.

The Heart of God The first four commandments deal specifically with how God wants His people to relate to Him; the last six deal with their relationship to each other. In giving us the Ten Commandments, God shows us His heart and what is important to Him. The Ten Commandments show the Hebrew people that covenant relationship includes not only a vertical component, but also a horizontal one. Loving God and being in relationship with Him has serious implications for how they love each other. God gives His people these commandments not as rules, but as boundaries to know how to live in covenant relationship with Him and others. Is some ways the commandments seem really basic, like something you would hear in kindergarten, and yet for the climate of those days they were very important. In fact, the commandments are still very basic and have perhaps even more meaning in today’s world. God wants to be clear about His expectations of this new people He is forming. There is space between Him and His people and He wants to “bridge” that space in a love agreement. If this sounds familiar, it should, because all through the Bible we see God acting in this way. He comes to broken people, sees space and distance and works to erase that space.

The Worship of God This passage concludes with God giving laws for building altars. God wants to be specific about altar building and wants to be specific about their use. He is forming a new people who really have little to go on in history or oral traditions. They are also surrounded by bad examples and idol worship and He wants to make sure worship is for the Architect, not the architecture. In this way, God shows He is concerned about worship and how worship happens. He also illustrates how easy it is for His people to get sidetracked, even with good intentions.

Copyright 2003 Barefoot Ministries www.barefootministries.com God With Us To be human is to at one time or another question whether God is with us. In studying the Story of God through the eyes of the Israelites, specifically during the Exodus, we see a people very much like us. Even when God is evident in our lives in powerful ways, we sometimes still share the Israelites attitude of, “What have you done for me lately?” Out of this environment of questioning and doubt come God’s expectations for our relationship with Him and others. Even though the Ten Commandments have been around for a long time and seemingly are understood and known by everyone, many of your teens probably can’t name even half of them. To understand the Ten Commandments is to understand what God feels is important about relationship with Him and others. How many can you name?

MY STORY

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Go over this list from the book by Robert Fulghum.

Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sand-pile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life-learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. (Taken from Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, New York: Villard Books, 1990, pages 6-7.)

Ask, How is it that rules made in kindergarten are still true for us today? Then say, Rules help us prepare for life, they help us know how to have healthy relationships. While rules definitely help when it comes to having healthy relationships, preparation and practice are also involved.

Wedding Bells are Ringing Have a recently married couple come in to your class and share what they did in the weeks, days, and hours before their wedding to prepare for this huge event. If you can’t get a couple, consider sharing your own experience, if you are married. Otherwise, show a scene from a movie where a bride is preparing for her wedding day. (Possible movies include: Father of the Bride, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Wedding Planner, or the opening scene from My Best Friend’s Wedding.) Say, As you can see, preparing for a new relationship of this significance is a big deal and one that is not to be entered into lightly. Before God gave His people the Ten Commandments, they were

Transition: Why do you suppose preparation is so important when it comes to receiving something special from God? (Possible answers may include: it focuses our attention on God, it helps us know that something significant is coming, our lives are so busy that we don’t take time to prepare, etc.)

Creative Option Bring to class enough pairs of chopsticks for each of your students. Give your students chopsticks as an illustration of slowing down. Hold a little competition to pick up various items in your class with the chopsticks. Point out that using chopsticks involves practice, commitment and patience, just like any relationship, and just like our relationship with God. Challenge your students to “practice” with their chopsticks and use them for one meal during the next week.

30-Second SkillBuilder Good teachers realize that silence is sometimes as powerful a tool as are words. Waiting for students to respond to questions, well-placed pauses in speaking, and time to think about what has been communicated are all good ways to use silence to educate. The bottom line . . . don’t be afraid of silence, it can be your friend. Allow your students time to think about the questions you have asked them and don’t assume they are tracking exactly with your every word. Use pauses after or before strong statements to let your students know that you have just said something important or that you are about to say something very important. And finally, allow time for the Holy Spirit to lead your students into all truth; allow time for God to speak to them quietly. You just may hear something yourself!

GOD’S STORY

Rules of the Game Bring a basketball to class and ask someone to define the basic rules of the game. After they have finished talking about scoring, dribbling, and the boundaries of basketball, say, Aren’t the rules of basketball sooo restricting? I mean why should only the shots that go in the basket count for 2 points, why not those that are CLOSE to the basket? And what about dribbling, why can’t you just carry the ball wherever you want, and why should you have to stay in the lines, why can’t you go into the locker room, or up into the stands? Then say, What do rules do for the game of basketball? (Possible answers include: they make it fun, they organize it so there isn’t chaos, they make it basketball and not rugby.) Say, Likewise, when God gave His people the Ten Commandments, it was more than just a set of rules, it was the deepening of a covenant relationship that had begun years before and would continue into the future. In our spiritual life, the Ten Commandments, or the top ten “rules” of God, make life fun, not restrictive. They help life have meaning and a purpose instead of just a free-for-all. Let’s see if we can name them all.

Name that Commandment Divide your class into two teams and give each of them a pen and a piece of paper. Say, God was surveyed and the top ten answers are in my hand to the following question: What commandments did you give to Moses on Mt. Sinai? Have each team write down as many of the commandments as they can and then submit their list to you for judging.

Copyright 2003 Barefoot Ministries www.barefootministries.com Answers: 1. You shall have no other gods before me. 2. You shall not make for yourselves any idols. 3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. 4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 5. Honor your father and your mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal 9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet.

After declaring a winner, ask the following questions:

How do the Ten Commandments show us that God loves us and wants to have a meaningful and healthy relationship with us?

How do the Ten Commandments show us how to love each other?

Transition: When God wanted to sum it all up for us, when He wanted to help us understand the basics for relationships, He gave us the Ten Commandments.

Creative Option The Space Between Play or read the lyrics to the song The Space Between by The Dave Matthew’s Band. This song talks about how the writer felt about unhealthy distance in a relationship that was important to him. Use this song as a metaphor for God’s love for us and desire to bridge “space between” us with the Ten Commandments. How does this song relate to God giving us the Ten Commandments?

GodTalk Covenant: In its most basic form, covenant means “contract, or agreement.” Typically, a covenant is struck between two parties, with both parties stating clearly what each will be and do in the relationship. With Noah, God made a covenant to never flood the earth again and always put a rainbow after a storm as a reminder of His faithfulness. With Abraham, the covenant read, “I will be your God and You will be my people.” The conditions of the covenant were that God would bless Abraham and his offspring, and that Abraham, as a sign of his faithfulness, would circumcise himself and all males of the Hebrew people.

Consecration: Many times throughout the Old Testament, God commands His people to prepare themselves for a sacrifice, a significant event, or a great act of God. The Bible records specific times of consecration for the Hebrew people: before they receive the Ten Commandments, before they enter the Promised Land, and before making sacrifices. God uses these times of consecration to illustrate to His people the importance of coming to Him with purity of heart and mind. Consecration is a way of signifying how living life sometimes makes us unclean, and the need to prepare ourselves before approaching God.

God’s Top Ten—The Covenant Using the information on “covenant” found in the “Lesson Summary” and “GodTalk” sections, give a short talk on the importance of covenant. Then pass out to your students copies of the handout entitled God’s Top Ten—The Covenant. Instruct your students to write out how each commandment shows the importance of God establishing a relationship, a covenant, with us. Ask for volunteers to read their work. If you have a larger class, divide into groups and have them rewrite the commandments as a group.

Learning to Surrender Have someone lead your class in the singing of the worship chorus, Surrender. If you do not want to sing, then just read the lyrics. (Worshipmusic.com is a great Internet resource and has this song available.) Say, Following God’s rules and ways means that we give up our wants and desires. This song speaks about that challenge and the first step in that direction.

If your students have a favorite worship chorus, feel free to use it instead of Surrender and then close the lesson in prayer. Encourage your students to participate in the prayer by thanking God for the possibility of being in a covenant relationship with Him. Also encourage them to articulate the things that they want to surrender to God.

Creative Option Show the scene from the movie Castaway, where Chuck (Tom Hanks) learns how to make fire. Begin where he cuts his hands to where he exclaims, “I have made fire.” Discuss how this scene relates to learning new rules about living and how as a result we can truly be free. Be sure to make comparisons about Chuck’s busy life before his plane crash and island experience.

Soul Food During the week of this lesson, encourage your students to fast something as a reminder of the Israelites’ “consecration,” ceremony. The fast could be something like secular music, television, the Internet, chocolate, or anything that has a hold on them and their attention. During the time they would normally use for the activity they are fasting from, encourage them to focus on their relationship with God. Suggest that they even keep a fasting journal of the things that God is teaching them through the fast.