Ten

Here is an overview of what we’re talking about. Listed below the summary is a “windsheild time” to help you dialog with your child about the session. The question is intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God is teaching you as well.

Series Overview

Thirty-five hundred years ago Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with a short list of rules that has shaped the values of people and nations for centuries. We know them as the Ten Commandments, but do we really know them? Many people believe that the rules are a condition for a relationship with God, things we must do to get in His good graces. But just the opposite is true. The relationship came before the rules. And the commandments were meant to not only reveal God’s heart, but to keep His people free.  

Week One: The Rules

Bottom Line: Relationship always precedes rules with God.

To many, Christianity is about following a set of rules. And if you asked them “Why?” they would point to a single source—the Bible. Specifically, they would probably mention the Ten Commandments. But what most people miss is the whole context for that list. God established a relationship with the Israelites long before He even gave them the rules. He wanted them to know they were His people. The reality is that following the rules will never make God love us more. In fact, when you try to live them out, you begin to see just how much you need Him. With God, the relationship always precedes the rules. Always.

Windshield Time:

The relationship and rules connection is something that you live with in your role as parent/child.

Does relationship always precede rules in your home?

            Ask your student what they think and invite them to be honest.

                        (They may not be receiving or perceiving what you perceive you’re sending)   

 

Week Two: One & Only

Bottom Line: The most important decision you make is what you place in the center of your life.

The first four commandments have to do with our relationship with God. In them God carefully lays out how we are to relate to Him, walk with Him, and talk with Him. We miss the relationship and the beauty of God if we think this is a line drawn in the sand. Instead, if we look at them through the lens of relationship, we see that what God is doing, is telling us who He is, and how he wants to live with us. 

Windshield Time:

What are some things that are other “gods” in our world? How about in your own life?

Making God the center DOESN’T mean you can’t have (for example) friends, cell phones, money or fun.

     So how do we know when other things or people become more important to us than God? 

 

Week Three: Unto Others

Bottom Line: God places value on each person, and desires for everyone to be free.

The final six commandments illustrate a key truth about God—He cares a great deal about how we treat each other. In fact, these commandments were so revolutionary at the time because they showed that everyone had worth and value. God gave us these laws, not as some type of admissions test into heaven, but as instructions on how to live and be free in Him. He knows that not only is our relationship with Him important, but so are the relationships He has placed in our lives.

Windshield Time:
Go through the final six commandments (Exodus 20:12-17) and discuss how these commands are about valuing other people.

Do you think we “steal,” or “murder” one another in other ways? How?

When have you felt “stolen” from or “murdered”? 

Why do you think our world is like this?

    Let your student offer their opinion

    Take this question deeper than a textbook answer. Ultimately, yes it is Sin, but still, why is our world like this?