2026-02-01 The Ten Commandments Show Us God's Ways
Introduction
Today’s lesson teaches the importance of the Ten Commandments. The purpose of the Ten Commandments is to show God’s holiness, goodness, and righteousness. It also shows how we fall short meeting God’s standards through our own efforts and our need for a perfect, law-keeping Saviour.
Praise and Worship (15 mins)
Parents: The parent and child scheduled for this week will lead us in singing on Sunday. Please take time to practice the songs together at home, helping your child feel confident and joyful as they prepare to lead.
Suggested Songs:
- Lord I Life Your Name on High
-
Jesus Loves Me
Prayer and Offering (5 mins)
Parents: Please encourage your children to bring an offering to church. You may help your child prepare by setting aside a coin for them to bring on Sunday. This is a great opportunity to teach them about giving to God with a thankful heart and trusting Him to provide.
What is Offering?
Offering is when we give something to God to show our love and thankfulness. In church, we often give money as an offering, but we can also give our time, talents, and kindness to God and others.
Why Do We Make an Offering?
To Thank God – Everything we have comes from God! Giving back is a way to say, "Thank You, God!"
To Trust God – When we give, we show that we trust God to take care of us.
To Help Others – Offerings help the church teach about Jesus, help people in need, and share God's love.The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7,
"God loves a cheerful giver!" That means God is happy when we give with a joyful heart!
Prayer for Offering
Dear God, thank You for giving us everything we need. We want to give back to You with joyful hearts. Please use our offering to help others and share Your love. Help us to always trust You. In Jesus' name, Amen!
Review
- Teacher: “We’ve been learning a about promises. We learned God makes lots of promises and He always keep them. What were some of the promises we learned?”
- Teacher: “Why did God send a flood over the whole world?”
- (Expected response: God never flooding the world again, God promising to give Abraham lots and lots of children and He will love them all forever)
- Teacher: “Last week, we learned about Abraham and Sarah. We learned that Abraham always trusted God even when it was hard to do so. What were some of the ways Abraham showed he trusted God?”
- (Expected response: left their home and moved to a new place, sacrificed Isaac)
- Teacher: “There is a special word for when we trust God with all our heart. Do you remember that word?”
- (Expected response: faith)
- Teacher: “Because Abraham had so much faith in God, God made a very special promise to Abraham: He promised to give Abraham many, many grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren- as many as there are stars in the sky. And God will bless everyone in Abraham’s family.”
- “Isn’t that wonderful? God is so powerful and great, He can love so many people at once!”
Bible Story (10 min)
Introduction (2 min)
Props Needed:
- Classroom rules
(Review class room rules)
Teacher: “Do you think it’s fair if I punished you for breaking these rules if I didn’t tell you about them first?”
(Expected response: No!)
Teacher: "How many grains of sand do you think is in the spoons? In this container? In this bucket?"
(Allow children to guess)
Teacher: “That’s right, it’s not fair at all. A good teacher should explain the rules. If someone does something that isn’t nice, but they didn’t know it wasn’t nice and was punished for it, that is not fair.”
“Rules are very important- they tell us how to think, say, and act. God gave us some very important rules.”
Story Telling (5 min)
Props / Visuals Suggested:
- Ten Commandments written on construction paper "tablets"
Teacher:
- “God kept His promise to Abraham and gave him many, many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. One of Abraham’s family members was a man named Moses.”
- “Moses was very special. God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into a special place God has prepared for them. God also chose Moses to give the people the special rules God had for them. These special rules are called the 10 Commandments.”
- “The Israelites needed to know what God’s rules were. Just like for us, it’s hard to know how to behave in class if we don’t know the rules, God needed to tell the Israelites the rules for how to think, say, and do. God gave these rules to Moses so he can teach it to the Israelites. There were 10 rules and we’re going to learn about them.”
- “Rule #1: There’s one God! Listen to Him.”
- (Hold up one finger for one God)
- “Rule #2: No fake gods. Sometimes, people try to make things that look like God and then they worship those things are pretend it IS God. That’s silly! Don’t make a pretend God.”
- (Hold 2 fingers like scissors, pretend to “cut” out pretend gods)
- “Rule #3: God’s name is special, don’t use it like any other word. We want to ‘watch our words.’”
- (Hold 3 fingers to form a “W” for ‘watch your words’)
- “Rule #4: Take time on Sunday to rest and focus on God. What is one way we can do that?”
- (Hold 4 fingers, say ‘we drive to church on Sundays, your car has 4 wheels’)
- “Rule #5: Respect your mom and dad”
- (Hold 5 fingers, moving to salute- we salute people we respect)
- “Rule #6: Don’t kill anyone.”
- (Hold up 5 fingers on one hand, 1 finger with the other. “Stab” someone with the single finger)
- “Rule #7: Respect marriage. When people like moms and dads get married, they make a special promise to love each other forever.”
- (Hold up 5 fingers on one hand, 2 fingers with the other. Point to eyes with the 2 fingers to “look only at the person you love”)
- “Rule #8: Don’t steal. We don’t take things without asking.”
- (Hold up 4 fingers on each hand, make “raking” motion as if taking something)
- “Rule #9: Tell the truth, don’t tell lies.”
- (Hold up 5 fingers on one hand, 4 fingers with the other. Cup your hands together as if whispering in someone’s ear.)
- “Rule #10: Be happy with what you have, don’t be jealous of others.
- (Hold up 5 fingers on each hand, make “gimme, gimme” motion)
- “After receiving the Ten Commandments, the people of Israel said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.’”
Wrap-up & Discussion (3 min)
(Gather children close for reflection.)
Discussion Questions:
Question 1: "Why do you think God gave us these rules?"
(Wait for responses.)
Expected Response: "So we know what to do!"
Teacher Follow-up: “God knows we need to be told what His rules are. Do you remember the rule He told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? He told them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve knew the rule and broke it so they were punished. If God had punished them without telling them the rule, that would not be fair.”
Question 2: (Show a cookies cutter) "If I were to use this to make cookies, what shape would the cookies be? Why?"
(Wait for responses.)
Expected Response: "Cookie cutters make everything the same shape!"
Teacher Follow-up: “Because God is holy, righteous, and good, His commands are going to ‘be shaped’ like His character. That means his rules are also holy, righteous, and good.”
Question 3: “What is the first commandment?”
(Wait for responses.)
Expected response: “There is only one God!”
Teacher Follow-up: “The first commandment says there is only one God and we should only love and worship Him. When we obey this commandment, we are showing God that we believe He is more special than any other thing or person. We are saying ‘God is the best, He is the greatest! I love God most of all!”
Question #4: “After hearing God’s rules, the Israelites said they would obey them. Do you think that really happened?”
(Wait for responses.)
Expected response: “Probably not!”
Teacher Follow-up: “Do you think God is OK if we only followed some of His rules and not all of them?”
Expected response: “No”
Teacher Follow-up: “God’s laws and rules are holy (perfect), right, and good- just like He is- so God expects that people obey all of His commands. Following God’s commands might seem like it is very hard to do, and it sounds like a lot of work- maybe even too much work for some people. Next week, we are going to find out if the Israelites really did say they would and obeyed all of God’s commands.”
Closing Prayer for Bible Story
(Invite children to bow their heads and fold their hands.)
Teacher leads prayer:
"Dear God,
Thank you for being holy, righteous, and good. Thank you for Your commandments. Help us see and understand why Your commandments are important and help us to obey them always.
In Jesus' name, Amen."
Memory Verse: Romans 7:12
Romans 7:12
"So the law is holy, and the commandment is is holy, righteous, and good."
Teacher:
- “Our memory verse today comes from Romans 7:12: ‘So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.’ “
- “Do you know what the word ‘holy’ means? It means perfect, without any mistakes, and special.”
- “This Bible verse is saying because God is holy, righteous, and good, His commands are also holy, righteous, and good.”
- (Before class, write the out the following on a whiteboard:
- S__ the l__w is ho__y, and the co__man__ment is __oly and righ__eous and __ood.
- Write the missing letters (o, a, l, m, d, t, h, g) on small pieces of paper and put in a bag. Invite children to pick a letter and tape it to the correct place on the whiteboard. Read the verse together once it is letters are filled in).
- (Repeat the verse several times)
Activity (10 mins)
Craft: "10 Commandments Puzzle"
Materials Needed:
- 10 Commandment Puzzle Handout
- Coloured pencils
- Scissors
Teacher: "We are going to make a puzzle to help us remember the 10 Commandments."
Instructions:
- Colour the puzzle pieces
- Cut out pieces (younger children may need assistance)
- Review 10 commandments by assembling puzzle
Response Song
"Before we close, let's sing a song to help us remember what we learned today! This song is about faith and trusting God."
Snack Time (10 mins)
Snack Prayer
(After the closing prayer, prepare for snack time. Have children stay seated or move to snack tables. Before eating, lead them in the snack prayer.)
Teacher: "Before we eat, let's thank God for our snack."
"Now, let us thank You for the snack we're about to enjoy.
We fold our hands.
We bow our heads.
We thank You, God,
for this daily bread.
Amen."
During Snack Time
Conversation Starters for Snack Time:
While children are eating, you can ask these casual questions to reinforce the lesson:
- "Can anyone tell me what we learned about today?"
- "Where can we find our memory verses?"
- "Which of the Ten Commandments do you think is the hardest to obey?"
- "What was your favorite part of today's lesson?"
Remember: Keep the conversation light and friendly during snack time. This is also a good time for children to relax and socialize.
Free Time & Children Pickup (15 mins)
Activity Suggestions:
- Free play with toys or blocks
- Review memory verses one more time with interested children
- Quiet reading of Bible story books
- Simple puzzles or games
- Drawing pictures of today's story
Parent Communication:
As parents arrive to pick up their children, briefly share one highlight from today's lesson. For example: "Today we learned about the 10 Commandments today. Because God is holy, righteous, and good, His commandments are also holy, righteous, and good." Encourage parents to review the memory verses at home and discuss what it means to have faith in God.