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    • Today's Theme:
    Never make your own gods.

     

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     Today's Story:

    		The 10 Commandments and the Golden Calf
    Exodus 20 & 32
    Optional Memory verse: Exodus 20:3 &4a
    "You must not have any other gods except me.
    You must not make for yourselves any idols."
    International Children's Bible, New Century Version
    • Materials Needed:
    		Promised Land mat,
    Paper Egypt mat,
    Moses figure,
    Fisher Price or similar type man to represent Aaron,
    4 or 5 Fisher Price or similar type figures to represent God's people,
    blocks,
    toy cow (Optional: spray paint it gold),
    A rock to be Mt. Sinai (big enough for Moses to stand on),
    masking tape
    10 Commandment tablets made from a scrap of gray construction paper.
    		Cut the construction paper into the shape of the stone tablets as illustrated in the table below:

     

    • 10 Commandment tablets:
    		Cut from gray construction paper as illustrated to about 2"X 1.5" (5cm X  4cm),
    Label with one of the following:
    		The numbers 1-10, or
    The words, "Never make your own gods," or
    The words, "You must not have  any other gods."

    wpe2.jpg (4209 bytes)

     

    • Once the game starts, the kids should end up running into each other at the crossroads.

    • Action Game: Street Wise
    		Make a crossroads on the floor with masking tape as illustrated.
    Have the kids line up in 2 lines at 2 ends of the crossroads.
    Each line has to run to a designated spot at the opposite end of their line, touch it, then return to  the end of their line.
    Both lines must start at the same time when you give the signal.
    They must stay within the lines of tape.
    Stop them and have them think up some rules to prevent them from bumping into each other at the crossroads.
    		Example: each could have to stop at the crossroads and take turns as if there was a stop sign.
    Proceed with the game following the rules the kids made up.
    wpe2.jpg (10719 bytes)

     

    • Closing Discussion:

    • Close in Prayer:  

    • Telling the Story:
    		Discuss the following questions with the kids:
    		What happened in our game before we made the rules?
    What was the game like after we made the rules?
    Why do we have rules?
    		  To keep us from getting hurt
    Put the Promised Land mat at a distant spot in the room
    After Moses and God's people crossed the sea, God led his people into the desert.
    		Designate the area where you're telling the story as the desert area where God's people were.
    They traveled until they came to a mountain.
    		Add the rock
    Put Moses and some Fisher Price or similar type figures near the mountain.
    God didn't want to lead his people to the Promised Land until he gave them some very important rules.
    God commanded his people to stand back away from the mountain.  Only Moses could get close to the mountain. 
    		Put Moses at the base of the rock facing the people.
    Put the Fisher Price type people in a cluster facing Moses and the mountain.
    God covered the mountain with smoke and made the mountain shake.
    Then God spoke to Moses and the people.
    God gave the people His 10 most important laws.
    Do you know what those 10 most important laws are called?
    		The 10 commandments.
    The most important law is called the 1'st commandment.
    It says that we must not worship any other gods. 
    And it says that we must never, never make our own gods.
    Lets read this most important commandment in the Bible.
    		Read Exodus 20:2-4.
    Do you know what an idol is?
    It's a statue that a person makes out of wood or stone or metal.   
    Then he pretends that it's a god and he prays to it and asks it to help him.
    Can a statue hear our prayers? 
    No! That's foolish.  That's why God gave us his most important rule:   
    Never, Never make your own gods. 
    God wants to be our helper.  
    He doesn't want us praying to statues that can't help us.
    After God gave the people the 10 commandments, he told Moses to go up on the mountain.
    		Put Moses on the rock.
    While Moses was on the mountain, God wrote the 10 Commandments onto 2 stone tablets
    		Set construction paper tablets at Moses' feet.
    But Moses stayed on the mountain for a long time.  And the people couldn't see him up there.
    He was there for so long that they thought something happened to him and he might never come back.
    So the people started to grumble and complain to Moses' brother, Aaron.
    		Place a Fisher Price type figure in front of the people to be Aaron.
    The people gathered around Aaron and said, "Make us a god to lead us."
    Do you think Aaron followed God's most important rule?
    Lets say that rule together.  Never, never make your own gods.
    Well I'm sorry to say that Aaron did not follow God's most important rule.
    Aaron told all the people to give him their jewelry.
    Then he melted it down and made a golden statue of a cow. 
    He put the golden statue up on an altar so the people could worship it.
    		Place the cow figure on some blocks.
    Gather the people around the cow.
    Then he told the people, "Here is the god who took you out of Egypt."
    Then he led the people in worshipping the golden cow.
    Did that cow lead God's people out of Egypt?
    No, of course not.
    Well, up on the mountain,   God told Moses about the golden cow.
    Moses came right down the mountain. 
    		Move Moses figure and the stone tablets off the mountain to the people.
    When he got down to the people he saw them dancing around the cow and worshipping it.
    Moses was so angry that he took the stone tablets that God had given him and threw them down so hard that they broke. 
    		Tear up the paper tablets and throw them down.
    Then he reminded Aaron and God's people of his most important rule.
    Let's say it together:  "Never, never make your own gods."
    Then he took the golden cow and smashed it to bits and ground it to powder.
    		Have the kids stand in their places and pretend they are  Moses smashing the cow with sledge hammers and grinding it to powder with their feet.
    Remove the cow and have the kids sit back down.
    Can people make a god?  
    		No people can't make a god.  
    People can only make statues.  
    But statues can't even see or hear let alone help us.
    How is God different from a statue?  
    		God is the one who made people, the world and all the living things.  
    And He can see, and hear and he wants to be our best friend and to help us in everything.
    Thanking God that He is the one who made us and everything there is. 
    Thank him that he sees us and hears us and always wants to help us.  
    Ask Him to help us to never worship anyone but him.

     

    • Optional Snack: Graham cracker commandment tablets:
    		Give kids:
    		a graham cracker,
    some alphabet cereal.
    Have them:
    		Bite the edges of their crackers to look like the stone tablets with the commandments.
    Add cereal and try to spell words

    wpe2.jpg (3808 bytes)

    Supplemental Bible Readings:
    (Suggested daily readings)

    • Optional Snack:

    • Materials Needed for Next Week:
    		Promised Land mat,
    Moses figure,
    Joshua figure,
    5 Index cards
    blocks
    8 or 9 Fisher Price or similar type figures to represent God's people,
    Grapes,
    Optional: bring in figs or a pomegranate for the kids to try.

    Next week  we will focus on Joshua, Israel's first Judge.

    		You will need:
    		A Joshua figure 

    © 1999 Linda Lawler.  
    Permission granted to copy for personal use only.  Not for resale.

    Home Sower 12    Lesson 1    Home Sower 1    Lesson 2     Home Sower 2 

    Lesson 3    Home Sower 3    Lesson 4    Home Sower 4     Lesson 5     Home Sower 5    

    Lesson 6   Home Sower 6      Lesson 7    Home Sower 7    Lesson 8     Home Sower 8

    Lesson 9    Home Sower 9    Lesson 10    Home Sower 10    Lesson 11     

    Home Sower 11

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    Lessons 41-46    Lessons 47-52