FAITH CHALLENGE

God Redeems Israel

Lesson A Week 2

Bowling and the Ten Commandments

Scripture:          Exodus 20:1-17

 

Memory Verse:         God spoke all these words, saying,

I am the Lord your God.

1. You shall have no other Gods before me.

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.

3. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.

4. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

(PC[USA] Book of Common Worship)

Concepts:

·        God has given us a community to help us be faithful.

·       God asks us to trust and obey God.

·       God has given us laws to order our lives according to God’s purpose.

Objectives:

·       The students will discuss and learn the Ten Commandments as they play Bible Bowling

 

Gathering Time

The Coach leads the opening routine: snack, fellowship, Prayer Wall activity, and Prayer Chain.  Nametags are available.

 

Workshop Lesson Procedure:

Introductions (Coach):

  1. Review the timeline.  Remind the class of the science experiments and Ten Commandments from last week.  Remind them where this happened on the overall classroom timeline. 
  2. Introduce the guides for today. 

 

Scripture/Bible Story (Guide takes over from here):

  1. Briefly review the background Bible story.  Remind the class of where the Hebrew people were and what was happening to them at the time they received the commandments.  Spend only as long on this as is necessary to assure students have a basic understanding of the context for the Ten Commandments. 
  2. Ask the class to read the Ten Commandments from their Bibles or from the posted memory verse in the room. 

3.     Prepare 10 flipcharts with one commandment as the heading per sheet. Ask the kids to brainstorm ideas for rewriting the commandment, such as:

·       in a positive way (Do this...) instead of the negative way (Don’t do this...)

·       in modern language

·       as brief as possible

·       Try to get at least 3 or 4 variations per commandment. Ask the kids to be scribes for you. Here are some suggestions to get ideas flowing if needed.

1.     You shall have no other Gods before me. Love only God, God is #1, Keep God first. Allow nothing to be more important than God

2.     You shall not make yourself idols. Don’t love other stuff. Don’t worship anything else.

3.     You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God. Respect God’s name. Keep God’s name holy.

4.     Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Keep the Lord’s day holy. Keep Sunday special.

5.     Honor your mother and father. Honor your parents. Respect your Mom and Dad

6.     You shall not murder. Killing is not an option. Don’t kill. Value life.

7.     You shall not commit adultery. Don’t be unfaithful. Be faithful.

8.     You shall not steal. Don’t take other people’s stuff. Respect what belongs to others.

9.     You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Don’t lie. Always tell the truth. Speak the truth. Don’t lie and gossip. Speak well of others.

10.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Don’t be jealous of other people’s things.

4.     As the kids generate ideas, write them on the flipcharts.  Tell them that their ideas will be used in an activity during the fifth week.

Application:

    1. This week we are going to play Bible Bowling.  The object is to reinforce your knowledge and understanding of the Ten Commandments.
    2. Divide the number of players evenly into 2 teams
    3. Set up 10 “bowling pins” as in a bowling alley (triangle shape)Ask the first player a question (see list of questions, attached).  If the question is answered correctly they get to bowl 2 balls and their score would be 1 point for every pin knocked down.  If they have to get help with the answer from their team they only get to roll 1 ball and their score would again be the total number of pins knocked down. If the player bowls a strike then the pins are set up and the second ball is bowled (no strikes are carried over) the sum of the 2 balls is recorded.  Continue this format with the second team then continue as time allows.

Wrap-up:

1. Ask students to tidy up.

3.     Bring closure to the activity. Restate the lesson’s key concepts. 

  1. Review the Ten Commandments.  Try reciting them together as a class.  Remind students to continue memorizing them.

Closing (Coach):

1.     The Coach conducts the closing prayer time.

2.     Close/lock the door and turn off the lights.

Guide preparation in advance:

1.     Check out the room before your first Sunday workshop so that you know where everything is located.

2.     If you did not prepare a visual for the first lesson, prepare one now that can be left on the timeline throughout the year. 

3.     You might consider reproducing the questions (only, not the answers) on strips of paper that students can draw out of a bag when it’s their turn.

4.     Prepare flipcharts for Ten Commandments for brainstorming ways to put the Ten Commandments into the children’s own words.

Supply List

1.  Ten 2-liter soda bottles and two small balls that can be used for the bowling set. 

References

www.rotationworkshop.org

 

Ten Commandments Bowling Questions

(Here are twenty suggestions.  Feel free to write some of your own.)

  1. Recite the 1st Commandment.

You shall have no other Gods before me.

  1. Recite the 2nd Commandment.

You shall not make for yourself an idol.

  1. Recite the 3rd Commandment.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.

  1. Recite the 4th Commandment.

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.

  1. Recite the 5th Commandment.

Honor your father and your mother.

  1. Recite the 6th Commandment.

You shall not murder.

  1. Recite the 7th Commandment.

You shall not commit adultery.

  1. Recite the 8th Commandment.

You shall not steal.

  1. Recite the 9th Commandment.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

  1. Recite the 10th Commandment.

You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

  1. Why are God’s laws important?

(Any or all of these answers are acceptable.  Others are good too.  These emphasize the lesson concepts: )

They teach us how to live according to God’s purpose.

They help make us into a strong community.

They help us learn to trust and obey God

12.  What do the first four commandments have in common?

They teach us about our relationship with God.

13.  What do the last six commandments have in common?

They teach us how to treat each other.

14.  Name one way you can remember the Sabbath.

(Again, lots of good answers.  Here are a few examples.)

Come to Faith Challenge and worship.

Spend time with your family and friends.

Come to Youth Group.

Get your homework done so that you can have a day to relax and play.

Do something fun with your friends.

15.  What does it mean to not bear false witness against your neighbor?

Do not tell lies about other people.

Do not gossip or spread rumors.

16.  What is an idol?

Anything that we worship that is not God.

17.   What does it mean to make wrongful use of the Lord’s name?

To use God’s name for the sake of personal gain or to be disrespectful of God’s name.

18.  List three ways you can honor your mother and father.

Be obedient to them.

Speak respectfully to them.

Behave in ways that will make them proud of you.

(There are probably plenty of others that the kids may come up with.)

19.  What is another way of saying “You shall not commit adultery.”

Be faithful in marriage.

20.  In the tenth commandment what does “covet” mean?

To want something that does not belong to you.