Use this easy-to-teach Bible lesson for Sunday school or ministry classes. This lesson can be used as presented here, or adapted to fit any curriculum.
Lesson Overview and Objectives for the Ten Commandments Story
This Sunday school lesson plan is age-appropriate for elementary children. It takes about 45 minutes to reach and requires a few inexpensive supplies. By the end of this lesson, children know the laws God gave the Israelites and understand why He gave them.
This lesson builds on previous Sunday school lessons about the life of Moses the prophet and lawgiver of Israel. Here is a list of supplies needed to teach this Sunday school lesson.
- Bible or text of Exodus 20: 1-17
- Ten Commandments worksheet
- Moses and Ten Commandments coloring page
- Crayons, paint, markers, and colored pencils
The Ten Commandments Lesson for Children
The theme of this Bible lesson is God gives rules to protect, not to punish. Ask the children to name some of their family rules and list the answers on the whiteboard. Discuss how their parents make rules to keep them safe and establish harmony in the home. It is the same way in the world. Governments make rules and policemen enforce them. The laws benefit everyone.
Ask the students to name as many of the Ten Commandments as they can from memory; write each one on the board. Read or tell the story from Exodus 20:1-17 and use these discussion questions:
- Where did Moses go to meet with God?
- What other important event took place at Mt. Sinai?
- Where were the Israelites to wait while Moses and God were talking?
- What did Moses write the laws on?
- How many laws did God give Moses?
- Why did God give the Israelites rules to follow?
Lesson Activities for the Ten Commandments
Prepare the worksheet by copying and pasting the information below into a word processing program and make copies.
Put the commandments below in the correct order. Write the numbers one through ten to show the proper order of the laws.
_______ You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.
_______ You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.
_______ You shall have no other gods before me.
_______ You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
_______ You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.
_______ You shall not steal.
_______ You shall not murder.
_______ Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
_______ Honor your father and mother.
_______ You shall not steal.
Give each child a copy of the worksheet and let them fill in the blanks. When everyone is finished, ask the children to compare their lists to the answers given earlier.
Art Lesson Activities for Moses and the Ten Commandments
Hand out the Ten Commandments coloring pages and let the children decorate them using various art media. Send the page home to remind them to obey God’s laws wherever they are.
By the end of this Sunday school lesson plan, the students know the story of the Ten Commandments and why laws are a good thing. They completed a lesson worksheet and coloring page.
For other lesson plans about Moses and the Israelites, read Moses Parting the Red Sea, The Story of Passover, or Moses and the Ten Plagues.
Donna Cosmato - Donna is a Certified Image Consultant, author and public speaker, whose first book Buying Your First Home? will be available in bookstores ...
