Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Hello to all, it is good to see you again! Do you remember what our video story was about last time? 

Yes, the Ten Commandments! God gave us good rules and guidelines for us to follow. So let’s stand up and praise Him as we sing Put Your Faith In Jesus.

Play Video 11: (Song) Put Your Faith In Jesus (3 minutes)

Be sure to preview the song so you can sing along and do the motions with the children.

Put Your Faith In Jesus

SuperTruth and Discussion (1 minute)

Today’s SuperTruth says: “I will love others.” Have you ever wondered how to treat someone in a difficult situation?

God’s laws give us clear guidelines to help us make the right choices.

Introduce Condensed Bible Story (1 minute)

If all children watched the Bible story video in the previous lesson, you may skip it here and go straight to the Bible Background Video.

In our last lesson, we saw how Chris ignored the park rules and put Joy, Gizmo and himself in a dangerous situation in the cave. Now, for all the children who haven’t seen our Bible story yet, let’s watch a short version to see how God gives the Ten Commandments to Moses. If you have already seen it, watch it this time to see why God told the people to stay away from the mountain.

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (8 minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo to meet the Israelites, who are freed from slavery in Egypt and on their way through the desert to the Promised Land. While Moses meets with God on the mountain, the Israelites endanger themselves by doing whatever they please—until Moses returns with the Ten Commandments.

Discussion (1 minute)

Why did God instruct the Israelites to stay away from mountain and not touch it? God is holy and without sin. We should show Him reverence and honor.

Introduce Bible Background Video (1 minute)

Now let’s watch our Bible Background video to learn more about The Ten Commandments. When Gizmo asks a question in the video, wait for him to suggest some answers, then call out the one you think is right!

Play Video 5: Bible Background (8 minutes)

Bible Background

Play Video 10B: SuperVerse Graphic 2

Graphic loops 2.5 minutes without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat verse.

SuperVerse Graphic 2

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

Our SuperVerse, Leviticus 19:18b, says:

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Who do you think your neighbor is? Others, everybody.

Let’s have all the girls say the SuperVerse. Girls say the SuperVerse. Boys, how do you think they did—and remember to treat the girls the way you want to be treated yourselves! Boys answer.

Okay, boys, now it’s your turn to say the verse. Boys say the SuperVerse. Girls, how do you think they did? Girls answer.

God wants us to treat others as we want to be treated—with love and respect.

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group.

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Let’s pray. Dear God, Thank You for loving us and wanting the best for us. Help us to show that same kind of love and kindness to others. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Now it’s time for Small Group where you’ll see what can happen when there aren’t any rules!

Teachers take children to Small Group classes for Grades 1–3 and 4–6. If the combined group is small, all children may stay together for Small Group time.

Game

Divide the class into two groups. Give each group a variety of balls.

We are going to play a really fun game called “Who Needs Rules?” Doesn’t it sound like fun? 

We will play for exactly 2 minutes, so you have to be really fast. We just need to make sure we don’t hurt anyone by throwing the balls too hard at them. After the time is up, we will see which group wins! Are you ready to play? Ready, set, go!

Begin timing the game. As children begin to ask questions about the game, don’t give them any answers—just keep encouraging them to have fun. See what they do with the balls. If one child tries to make up rules, remind them that there are no rules in this game. After time is up, stop the game and discuss what the children thought about the game. Discuss how difficult it was to play a game without any rules and how it would be impossible to determine a winner.

Now, let’s play another game with the balls, but this time I will give you some rules. I want everyone to make two rows in the middle of the room so you each face someone else. Then you each should take four steps back from each other. For 2 minutes you will each toss a ball to the person across from you. That means you will each be tossing a ball and catching the other one at the same time. To make this easier, say “Go!” before you throw the balls each time. Keep track of how many times you both catch the balls.

After 2 minutes, have the children call out their scores to see which pair scored the highest. If time permits, have children change partners, increase the distance between them, or catch and throw the ball with only one hand.

Can you imagine playing soccer without any rules, sidelines or goals? It would be very confusing—and a game without rules could even be dangerous! The same is true with how we live our lives. Our SuperVerse, Leviticus 19:18b, says:

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

That means we should treat others the way we desire to be treated. The Ten Commandments are more than just a list of rules and regulations. God loves everyone, and He gave His rules to protect and to guide all people. The world does not always agree with God’s laws, but He created us and He loves us, so He knows what is best for us! That’s why we need to trust Him and be obedient to our heavenly Father.

Teaching

The Bible tells us that a religious leader asked Jesus an interesting question. Read Luke 10:25b–28:

“Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

That scripture shows how the Ten Commandments are divided into two main parts—loving God and loving others. Last time, we talked about the first four commandments that have to do with loving God. Today, we will talk about the last six commandments that have to do with loving others.

Pass out the Ten Commandments Minibook Patterns, pencils, and scissors. Have the children cut the pages apart, put them in order, then fasten with staples or brass fasteners. Children should put their names on the Minibooks, as you will collect them and re-use them in Lesson 3.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Our SuperTruth last time was, “I will love God.” We talked about how the first four of the Ten Commandments all had to do with loving God. Our challenge for these three lessons is to learn all Ten Commandments. We started by memorizing the first four. Can anyone say them without looking? Allow children to try.

Let’s use our crafts to read those first four commandments out loud together.

1. You must not have any other god but Me. 2. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind. 3. You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. 4. Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Our challenge for next time is to learn Commandments 5 through 10. Today’s SuperTruth is, “I will love others.” Let’s see how the last six of God’s commandments teach us to love others.

Have children turn to each commandment in their Minibooks, read it aloud together, talk about how to re-state it in a positive way, and discuss its meaning. Below are suggestions.

5. Honor your father and mother.

Read Exodus 20:12:

“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

What does honor mean? To respect, obey, appreciate, etc.

What are some ways we can honor our parents?

Read Ephesians 6:1–3:

Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Honoring our parents brings God’s favor and blessing to our lives!

6.  Do not murder.

God values life, and He wants us to respect the gift of life He has given everyone. God created everyone in His own image, and we are to love one another as ourselves. We may not physically kill someone, but sometimes we may hate someone and wish them harm. Jesus’ disciple John talked about this. Read 1 John 3:15-16:

Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them. We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

7.  Do not commit adultery.

This means you should remain faithful to your husband or wife. When a man and woman get married, they make special vows, promising to love, honor, and be faithful to each other. God wants people to keep these promises, even when it is difficult.

OPTIONAL DISCUSSION FOR OLDER CHILDREN 

Read and discuss 1 Peter 2:11b:

Keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.

Read and discuss 1 Corinthians 6:17,19:

But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself.

8.  Do not steal.

Take only what belongs to you. God does not want us to take from others. Read Ephesians 4:28: 

If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

9.  Do not lie.

Read Exodus 20:16:

“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.”

Tell the truth. Testifying falsely means saying something that is not true about someone else—in other words, lying. John 8:44 tells us that the devil is a liar and the father of all lies. The devil lied to Eve in the Garden of Eden and deceived her into disobeying God’s rules. The devil will try to deceive and tempt us to disobey God’s rules, too! What is the opposite of a lie? The truth. 

In John 14:6, Jesus said,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

When we walk in the Truth—which is Jesus—we show our love for others and for God!

10. Do not covet.

Read Exodus 20:17:

“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor."

Be content with what you have. To covet means to desire in a wrong way something that someone else has. It means to be consumed or obsessed with having it for our own. Read Hebrews 13:5: 

Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

God wants us to be thankful for what we have and who we are in Him. God does not want us to be jealous about what possessions others have, but rather to keep our eyes focused on Him, and He will provide what we need.

Collect the crafts to use in Lesson 3. Challenge the children to use their Ten Commandments Wheels at home to learn the last six commandments about loving others. They will have an opportunity to say them all from memory next time.

OPTIONAL DISCUSSION IF TIME PERMITS

Today, some people say that the Ten Commandments were just for people in the Old Testament, and we don’t need to obey them anymore. This is not true.

Read Matthew 5:17b: Jesus said,

“I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”

Jesus did something that no one else has ever or will ever accomplish—He kept all of God’s commandments perfectly. He never broke even one commandment! By doing this, He fulfilled the law. Then, He died to pay the punishment for all the times that we break God’s laws. Instead of being condemned for our sins, we are forgiven when we trust in Jesus. We also have help from the Holy Spirit. Read Galatians 5:13-14:

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

When we love God, we will honor Him and respect His rules. Loving others is a way we show God how much we love Him, too.

SuperVerse

Our SuperVerse is found in the third book of the Old Testament, which is called Leviticus. Let’s read the verse, Leviticus 19:18b, aloud together.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Does this mean you only have to love neighbors who live on your street?

No, Jesus loved and died for all people, so we should love them all, too!

The Bible clearly tells us that we must love God and others. Read 1 John 4:19–21:

We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

What does the word “brother” mean in this passage? Other people; our fellow human beings.

Choose eight children to stand side by side in the front of the room. Give one sheet of the mixed up SuperVerse to each child. Starting on the far left, from the class’s perspective, have the eight children create a “wave” by holding up and reading aloud their words—which will be out of order—and lowering their papers when done.

Did that sound right to you? No!

Ask the rest of the class to guess which reader should be first, second, third, etc. Rearrange the eight children in that order and have them read their phrases again, creating another “wave” with their papers. Ask the rest of the class if the verse is now correct. If not, have the class rearrange the readers again until they can say the words of the verse in the proper order. Finally, have the entire class follow the “wave” to say the verse together two or three times, going faster each time.

Prayer

Gather the children in a circle. 

I’m going to read you something Jesus told His followers. Read John 13:34–35:

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”

As Jesus’ disciples, we are to love as He did! God loves to hear us pray from our hearts in our own words. Did you know that you can turn Scripture passages into prayers, too?

Today we will be saying a Passage Prayer based on our SuperVerse. What is the SuperVerse we just learned?

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Leviticus 19:18b

Let’s close our eyes, and as I say each sentence, repeat my words as your own prayer to God.

Dear God, You love all people in the world. Children repeat.

So, we want to love everyone, too. Children repeat.

Help us love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Children repeat.

Help us treat others as we want to be treated. Children repeat.

Help us be loving and respectful even when we are upset. Children repeat.

Give us Your strength to obey Your commands. Children repeat.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. Children repeat.

Write a Rap—Part 2

Today, we are going to work on creating a rap song about the six commandments on loving others.

If you did this activity in Lesson 1 for the first four commandments, ask children if they can share with the class their raps from that lesson. Challenge the children to have fun creating a rap song with lyrics about the last six commandments, about loving others, or about Moses and the Israelites. They may use the Ten Commandments Minibooks or Poster for a reference. Allow children to work with partners or in small groups. End the lesson with the rap performances.

Sample from Lesson 1:

God said: DO show Me much love.

Don’t—put any idols above Me.

DO—speak My name with respect.

The Sabbath is a day I made to be kept.

Tossing Game

In Matthew 22:35–40 ^nkjv, the Bible tells us how a religious leader asked Jesus a question.

Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus said that all the commandments “hang” on two great commands—loving God and loving others. So let’s play a game where we “hang” the ten commandments.

Divide the children into two teams, give the first team the set of socks in random numerical order, and have them line up at the starting mark.

Each sock is numbered 1–10, for each of the Ten Commandments. The first ten people on the team will get just one try to toss a sock so it hangs on the rope. But, before you throw the sock, you must shout out the commandment that goes with the number on your sock! Your teammates can help you identify the right commandment by using a Ten Commandments Minibook or the poster on the wall. After your turn, go to the back of the line—whether or not your sock lands on the line. Once all ten socks are thrown, we will count how many commandments are hanging on the line, and that will be your team’s score for the first round. Then the other team will have a chance.

Note: The socks do not need to be tossed or hung in numerical order. Play again until all children have had a turn.

Tape Object Lesson

Have children sit at tables with their Ten Commandments Minibooks made in Teaching.

Using your Ten Commandments Minibook, find commandment number nine and read it aloud. What does it mean to testify falsely?

It means to say something that is untrue or false about someone, which can hurt others and damage their reputation. It is basically telling a lie.

Proverbs 12:22 says: 

The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in those who tell the truth. 

Have you ever been lied to? How did it feel?

Let’s take a look at what often happens when we tell just one lie.

Loosely hang a piece of masking tape approximately 24" long on the edge of the table by each child. Hold up your own piece of tape and demonstrate as you do this teaching. Show them how to tear off a piece about 2" long, then stick it on the table.

That piece of tape represents one lie. It doesn’t seem very big, does it? But if we tell a lie and someone catches us, what are we tempted to do? We tell a second lie to cover up the first lie.

Have them tear off a bigger piece of tape and stick it over the first piece on the table.

What can happen after we tell a second lie? A third lie has to be told to cover up the other lies.

Tear off an even larger piece of tape and place it over the first two. Oh, my! We have to work hard to cover up our lies, don’t we?

Children continue placing all of their tape pieces on top of previous ones to create a stack. If we keep telling one lie after another, it’s hard to remember all the pieces of the story we made up!

Pick up a tape stack. How quickly one “little” lie grows into a big, sticky mess.

Our SuperVerse today says,

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

How many of you like to be lied about or lied to?

No one likes to be lied about or lied to! If we don’t like it, we should never treat others in that way, either!

It’s much better to tell the truth from the very beginning—even if it’s embarrassing, or if we face some discipline. It’s better to come clean right away instead of creating a mess that just keeps getting bigger and stickier!

Have the children pick up their stacks of tape, roll them into a ball and toss them into the trash.

Bible Study

Who can tell me our SuperVerse from memory?

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Leviticus 19:18b

Jesus was asked a question by an expert in the Jewish law. The expert was probably looking for a “loophole” in this verse so he did not have to show love or respect to people he didn’t like very much. Jesus answered the man’s question with a story. Let’s see what Jesus told him.

Have children look up Luke 10:25–37. Divide up the verses and have the children read the passage aloud. Lead a discussion using the questions below. Feel free to add any questions that you think will facilitate deeper discussion with your particular group.

²⁵One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking Him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” ²⁷The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” ²⁸“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” ²⁹The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. ³¹“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.³²A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. ³³“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. ³⁴Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.³⁵ The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ ³⁶“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. ³⁷The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

1. In verse 28, what does Jesus’ response tell us about the importance of loving God and others? The most important things we can do. If we do this, we will live.
2. What happened to the Jewish man? Attacked, robbed, left to die on the side of the road.
3. In verse 31, who was the first person to see the Jewish man; what was his reaction and what did he do? He was a Jewish priest, crossed the road, and passed by him.
4. Why is this a surprising and troubling response? Both are Jews, this is a priest who serves God! He did not have compassion.
5. In verse 32, who was the second person to see the wounded man? A temple assistant, Levite.
6. Did he help him? No, he saw him and crossed to the other side, too!
7. Did he follow our SuperTruth; why or why not?
8. Key point again—this was a Levite who worked closely with the priests in the temple.
9. Consider the two Jewish men’s response. What does this say about simply going to church and professing that you love God? We must love God and others. More than words or speaking, it is putting into action, showing God’s love. Hearing and doing!
10. In verse 33, why is it important to know the third man was a Samaritan? Samaritans were hated and looked down upon by the Jews. Prejudice between the two. They were avoided.
11. What did the Samaritan do; did he pass by like the others? No, he cared for him and showed compassion.
12. Looking at verse 36, in your own words, who would you say is our neighbor?