Starter:
For the next several weeks we’ll be looking at the Ten Commandments. These were God’s rules for the Israelites. The Ten Commandments begins with the most important commandment. The Lord God was to be their only god. The people all around them worshiped idols, but they were to destroy all idolatry. We don’t worship graven images today, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have our own idols. An idol is anything you put ahead of God. So an idol could be your favorite video game, a sport you really like, a celebrity, the TV or the Internet, etc.
Weekly Memory Verse:
You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:3
Discussion Questions:
Beginner: What is the first commandment?
Intermediate: What is an idol? Are there other idols besides graven images made of gold or stone or wood? What are some potential idols for you?
Advanced: Is it wrong to enjoy things like video games or the Internet? Is it wrong to have a favorite sport or hobby? Is it wrong to admire a famous celebrity? What makes those things idolatrous? How do we keep ourselves from being trapped by those idols?
Recommended Activity:
Song: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.