Riverside Kids exists to establish a firm foundation in God’s word and to train disciples who will make disciples. Our volunteers will do this by teaching the entire Word of God. We believe it is important to teach God’s Word to children in an exciting yet practical way.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26 | The Ten Commandments
BIBLE PASSAGE: Exodus 19–20; 31
MEMORY VERSE: There is no one holy like the LORD. There is no one besides you! And there is no rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2
BIG PICTURE QUESTION: Why do we need to be saved? People are sinful and cannot save themselves.
STORY POINT: God gave commands to His people to show them how to love Him and others.
CHRIST CONNECTION: God gave His people commandments so they would know how to honour Him and live rightly. Because of sin, no one is able to keep these commandments perfectly. God sent His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect, sinless life. Jesus died and rose again so that sinners can be forgiven.
This week’s Scripture story takes place only three months after God delivered His people from Egyptian slavery. The Lord spoke to Moses concerning the way he was to lead Israel into their next season of life as God’s chosen and set apart people. They were to worship God through holy lives that honoured Him alone as God.
He instructed them to carefully listen to His commands, keep His covenant, and be His own special people. He decreed the Ten Commandments, explaining the lifestyle that would extend honour not only to Himself but also to their neighbours. He explained how they were to revere Him as God and to love one another in all they said and did.
The external threat of slavery was not the only obstacle stopping the Israelites from freely worshipping God; they had to combat their internal inclinations to sin against Him and one another. God took great care to deliver His law to the Israelites in a way that evoked awe and reverence toward Himself. He presented these statutes to show His people how they were to be set apart or live differently from other people who didn’t follow Him.
The giving of the law was never the end goal; it was always God’s plan to redeem a people for Himself through the death and resurrection of His Son. Help your children see that because they cannot measure up to the law’s requirements, our hope rests in Christ alone. Lead them to see God’s greatness and what He has done to offer them salvation.