Priorities
WELCOME TO WEEK 1
What are some things you do first thing in thee morning? What do you do before you play in a game? What are some things you do before you go to a birthday party? We all have things we know we must do first or things we believe are important to do before we do anything else. We can show others what we consider most important based on what we make time to do. This week we will see if we are putting God first.
BIBLE STORY
The Israelites traveled through the wilderness so let’s pretend we are traveling too! When you take a trip, it is fun to play games in the car. Let’s play a popular car game. Play the game “I’m going on a trip…” and tell what you will bring. The items each person brings must start with their first name. For younger children you can tell them the rule of the game since thinking of objects with the start letter may be difficult. For older children, give several examples and see if they can figure out the rule that allows them to take the trip as well.
Was that game fun? It is fun to play car games on a trip to help pass the time. This game had a rule that you had to follow in order to join in on our pretend trip. While Moses and the Israelites were in the wilderness God gave them His law. Moses was the one who brought the law to the rest of the people.
Read or listen to the Bible verse for this week: Exodus 20:1-6
What did God say he did for his people? (Brought them out of slavery from the land of Egypt)
What did God tell them not to have? (Other gods besides God)
What should they not make for themselves? (Idols)
What shapes did God say their idols should not be made into? (Anything from the heavens above or the earth or waters below)
How did God describe himself as if his people made idols? (He is a jealous God)
How long does God show faithful love to those who love and obey Him? (For a thousand generations)
BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY
God’s law was not just a list of do’s and don’ts, but it was a guide to show that His followers would behave this way. God’s law was given in love and obeyed in love. If you follow God, you will behave in this way, the way His law describes.
Activity
Listen to the following actions and decide if it is violating one of the first 2 commandments or keeping the commandments. If it is violating the commandments, make a big X with your arms. If it is keeping the commandments, give 2 thumbs up.
Materials: commandment scenarios
Alternate
On road trips most people like to have several types of snacks available. I have several options for candy, when you pull one out of the bag listen fir the instructions you will follow. Put several or 3 different types of snacks into a non-see through bag. Have a child reach into the bag to pull out one type of candy. Determine ahead of time that each candy will receive a different type of response. Candy 1: give an example of someone putting other god’s before God. Candy 2: Give an example of someone who has made an idol for themselves. Candy 3: give an example of putting God first. Play several rounds giving several examples.
Materials: 3 types of candy, non see through bag
Independent activity:
We all spend our time doing many things each day. Some things take a short amount of time while others take much longer. We all have to use our time wisely so that we can fit everything in our day. God wants us to be sure to make time to spend with Him. No matter how busy we are, we can always make time for him. Sort the pictures of things that take a long time and things that take a short amount of time.
Materials: printed activity sheet, scissors, glue
ARTS & CAFTS
CRAFT 1
Make a 10 commandments expandable craft stick craft. Paint 11 craft sticks. Use a sharpie to label each stick with the ten commandments and label one “The 10 commandments”. Add a new stick each week as commandments are talked about or complete this craft in one lesson. Place tape along the backside of the craft sticks to secure them together.
Materials: 11 craft sticks, tape, paint, markers, sharpie marker, stickers for decoration
Craft 2
Coloring page
Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayons
FOLLOW-UP
How many commandments did God give to Moses?
What was the first commandment God gave?
What was the second commandment God gave?
Why did God not want Israel to have other gods?
What does it mean for God to be a jealous God?
How can you put God first?
Practical Application at Home
We have many things in our lives that we do each day, many things are important for our survival. We are usually sure to complete the tasks that we believe are most important first, and then we complete the other activities. What does God see as most important? What does he believe we should do above all other things. We can obey God by putting Him first. This may look different for everyone but putting God first means we make time for Him above all other things. We can still enjoy and like doing other things, but we choose not to sacrifice our time with God for those other things.
Make a list of things you do or enjoy each day. Then rank your list and recopy your list into the correct order of importance, keeping God first.
Additional Resources
Outings to Reinforce Lesson
Donate to a local food shelter or toy drive this Christmas season. As a family, volunteer together or pick out toys you think another child your age might enjoy.