Unit 4:          The Ten Commandments (prayer book p. 846): 8—15 October

Q. What are the Ten Commandments?

A. The Ten Commandments are the laws given to Moses and the people of Israel.

Go back and read Exodus 20.1—17 aloud. Compare any difference you find at Deuteronomy 5.6—21.

Q. What do we learn from these commandments?

A. We learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to our neighbors.

Discussion: If our duties to God are “vertical”, and those to our neighbors “horizontal”, how do these duties meet at the Cross?

1. What if either of the dimensions of the Cross are off-balance?
   1. If the “vertical” is tilted, what happens to the “horizontal” and vice versa?
      1. Think about a situation in which you might be tempted to really help a friend, and it would be the wrong thing to do.

Exercise: Draw a picture of Jesus on the cross. If you prefer, use the attached image to color. See attachments.

Q. What is our duty to God?

A. Our duty is to believe and trust in God;

1. To love and obey God and to bring others to know him;
2. To put nothing in the place of God;
3. To show God respect in thought, word, and deed;
4. And to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God’s ways.

Discussion: How do we live into/express our love of God, and our obedience to Him in Sunday worship?

1. Relate your answer to the Ten Commandments.
   1. Describe your own experience of Sunday worship as an act of obedience; as an act of love.

Q. What is our duty to our neighbors?

A. Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves, and to do to other people as we wish them to do to us;

• To love, honor, and help our parents and family; to honor those in authority, and to meet their just demands;
• To show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all the creatures of God;
• To use all our bodily desires as God intended;
• To be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people; and to use our talents and possessions as ones who must answer for them to God;
• To speak the truth, and not to mislead others by our silence;
• To resist temptations to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in other people’s gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God, who has called us into fellowship with him.

Exercise: Letter and draw your own copy of the Ten Commandments (like two tablets of stone). If you prefer, use the attached image to color.

See attachments.

Q. What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments?

A. The Ten Commandments were given to define our relationship with God and our neighbors.

Discussion: Tell the story of a time when you became aware that somebody had violated one of the commandments (V—X).

1. How did this affect you?

• How did this affect someone you knew?
• How did this affect the person who violated the commandment?

Q. Since we do not fully obey them, are they useful at all?

A. Since we do not fully obey them, we see more clearly our sin and our need for redemption.