Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (2 minutes)

Welcome back for the third and final lesson of our Superbook adventure, where we have been learning about how God gave us the Ten Commandments. The commandments can be divided into two main parts. Can anyone name the two parts? Loving God, loving others.

God gave us rules because He loves us. He also understands that we will fail sometimes, so He sent His Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for when we disobey Him. Let’s stand up to thank and praise Him as we sing The Salvation Poem. As we sing, let’s really think about the words and dedicate our lives to Him in a fresh way.

Play Video 7: (Song) The Salvation Poem (3 minutes)

*Be sure to preview the song so you can sing along with the children.

The Salvation Poem

SuperTruth and Discussion (3 minutes)

Our SuperTruth for today is: “I will obey God’s rules even when the world says I don’t have to.” Let’s have grades 4–6 shout it out together one time. Children say SuperTruth.

Very good! Now, grades 1–3, do you think you can match that?

Okay, let’s find out—go! Children say SuperTruth.

The world has its own standards and rules. Many times, they are very different from God’s standards and rules. We must know what pleases God so that we can follow His rules to please Him! When we do, His blessings will fill our lives!

Introduce Condensed Bible Story Video (1 minute)

If all children watched the Bible story video in a previous lesson, omit it here and go straight to the SuperVerse.

Who can remember what happened when Chris chose to ignore the park rules? 

It is important to remember that our disobedience can result in negative consequences not only for us, but also others! Now for the children who haven’t seen our Bible story yet, we are going to watch a short version of the video. If you’ve already seen it, then this time as you watch, look for ways that this story shows how much we need a Savior!

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.

Play Video 10C: SuperVerse Graphic 3

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

SuperVerse Graphic 3

SuperVerse Discussion (2 minutes)

Our SuperVerse, Joshua 22:5, says,

“Love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, obey His commands, hold firmly to Him, and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

Do you think we can pick and choose what commandments are best for us follow? No, the verse says all His ways.

Have you ever tried to follow rules or guidelines and found it was too hard, so you gave up?

God requires our best effort in following His ways—but He also understands that we cannot obey Him in our own strength. God provides us a Helper—His Holy Spirit—who gives us strength and encouragement to hold firm to God and not to give up! Let’s say the SuperVerse again. Children repeat the verse.

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

Introduce Signposts Video (1 minute)

Now let’s watch our Signposts video to learn more about The Ten Commandments!

Play Video 6: Signposts Video (5 minutes)

Signposts Video

Prayer and Send-Off (2 minutes)

Let’s pray. Dear God thank You for giving us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to strengthen us and to guide us in Your ways. Help us to follow You, even if other people will not. Thank You for loving us and calling us Your children. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Today in Small Group, we are going to play a game about hitting the mark. Are you ready to play?

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

God has given us the Ten Commandments to guide us and protect us. We want to obey all of them all the time, but it can be very hard sometimes. Let’s play a game where we aim to be perfect and see what happens!

Divide the children into teams and have them stand in single file at the starting line, 15 feet away from the target. Allow each child four chances to throw a beanbag or ball into the hole or bucket. Have sixth grade helpers or volunteers retrieve the beanbags or balls and give them to the next person in line.

Did anyone get a perfect score? Probably not; if someone did, allow them to keep throwing until they miss.

Is anyone here perfect—never telling the tiniest lie, never being jealous, and always obeying your parents? No!

The Bible makes it clear—we all sin and disobey God’s commandments! One definition of sin is “missing the mark.” We have all sinned, haven’t we? Yes.

Read Ecclesiastes 7:20: 

Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

Read John 8:34:

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.”

Uh-oh, that sounds pretty serious! I don’t want to be a slave to sin! Has there ever been anyone in the whole world who never sinned at all? Jesus.

Jesus never broke a single commandment, not even once! He is the Son of God, He lived a perfect life, and He has the power to set us free from being slaves to sin! How? He died on the cross to pay the price for our sins.

When we ask Him to be our Lord and Savior, we have His promise in the Bible. Read John 8:36:

“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

Praise God! Through Jesus we receive forgiveness for our sin, and He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us hit the mark!

Teaching

Did you like the Signposts Video that we saw today?

Who can name a few of the comparisons between Moses and Jesus?

Let’s play a matching game to explore our lesson.

Divide the class into two teams. The first player on Team 1 walks to the cards and removes one “Moses” card and one “Jesus” card, then reveals the backs of both cards to the class. Ask both teams if they think that the “Moses” card relates to the “Jesus” card. If the cards are deemed a match, both cards are removed from play and Team 1 gets a point. If they do not match, both cards are put back into their original places and no point is scored. Next, a player from Team 2 chooses two cards, etc. Continue the game, alternating between teams, until all cards are matched. For Grades 4–6, use the material below to discuss each match, as time permits. The Discipleship Challenge for all grades is at the end of this activity.

HEBREW DESCENT: Moses was born a Hebrew but was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter as Egyptian royalty. Moses willingly chose to return to his own people and fulfill God’s will for him. Read Hebrews 11:24–26:

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.

Jesus left the splendor of heaven to be born a Hebrew baby and fulfill God’s plan of salvation. Read Philippians 2:6–8:

Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

GOD’S LAW: God wrote His law on stone tablets and gave them to Moses for the people. Read John 1:17:

For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

The law showed us how helpless we were to fulfill it. God showed His love by sending Jesus to fulfill the law for us! Read Matthew 5:17: Jesus said,

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”

MIRACLES: Moses performed miracles by the power of God while leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. Read Exodus 34:10:

The Lord replied, “Listen, I am making a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people around you will see the power of the Lord—the awesome power I will display for you.”

Jesus performed many miracles that proved He was sent by God and was God’s Son. Read Acts 10:38:

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

ESCAPED EVIL KINGS: Moses’ mother hid him from Pharaoh’s soldiers. Read Hebrews 11:23a:

It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born.

Joseph was warned by God to flee for safety with Mary and Jesus, because King Herod wanted to kill the baby. Read Matthew 2:13b:

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the Child and His mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”

SHEPHERD: Moses was a shepherd in the wilderness for 40 years when God appeared to him and called him to lead God’s people. Read Exodus 3:1–3:

One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd. He watches over God’s people, who are called His sheep. Read John 10:11: Jesus said,

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep.”

BREAD: God provided bread from heaven— manna - to feed Moses and the Israelites.

Read Exodus 16:4 nkjv:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.”

Jesus came to feed our spiritual bodies with the bread of life. Read John 6:35:

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.”

FORGIVENESS: Moses prayed that God would forgive the Israelite people when they disobeyed God. Moses did not want God to destroy the people for their disobedience. Read Exodus 34:9: 

And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with You, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as Your own special possession.”

The world’s disobedience and sin must be judged by God. We are helpless to save ourselves. God knew this and sent His Son to save us. Read 1 John 4:10:

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

GOD'S PRESENCE: Moses spoke with God regularly in a tent in the wilderness, where he received instruction to lead the people. Read Exodus 33:10–11:

When the people saw the cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, they would stand and bow down in front of their own tents. Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.

Jesus came from heaven and returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of God. He made a way for us to boldly enter into God’s presence! Read Ephesians 3:12: 

Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Hand out the Ten Commandments Minibooks from last week, and give the patterns to any children who did not receive them previously.

How many of you have learned all Ten Commandments?

What is the theme of the first four commandments? Loving God.

Who can say them without looking? Allow individuals to try to recite them; then have the class say them together out loud, using the Poster or Minibooks as needed.

What is the theme of the last six commandments? Loving others.

Who can say them without looking? Allow individuals to try to recite them, then say them out loud together. Keep working on learning the Ten Commandments—not just saying them, but obeying them every day! The Ten Commandments are important even today, regardless of what the world tells us! Read Joshua 22:5:

“But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, obey His commands, hold firmly to Him, and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

We must try, with the Holy Spirit’s help, to be obedient to God’s law. But the reality is that we will fail! Read Romans 3:23: 

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

The Good News is this: God had a plan. He sent His Son Jesus to live a perfect life on Earth to fulfill the law and set us free! Is there anyone who would like to be set free today? All you need to do is ask Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior and Lord. Remember, there is no sin too big for Jesus to forgive!

Have children bow their heads and close their eyes. Lead them in a prayer of repentance for their sins, asking Jesus to come into their hearts and to be Lord of their lives. Have the children take home their Minibooks as a reminder to continue memorizing the Ten Commandments.

SuperVerse

“Love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, obey His commands, hold firmly to Him, and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.” Joshua 22:5b

Ask the children to open their Bibles and read the SuperVerse, Joshua 22:5b, aloud.

What do you think it means to “hold firmly to Him”? Stay close to God through prayer and reading the Bible. Don’t be discouraged, be faithful.

Can you name all of the action verbs in this verse? Love, walk, obey, hold, and serve.

Being a child of God requires our full attention and devotion, doesn’t it! We don’t automatically love God, walk with Him, obey His commands, hold onto Him, and serve Him—we have to decide to do all these things—every day!

That’s why our SuperTruth today says, “I will obey God’s rules even when the world says I don’t have to.” Serving God is not always the easiest or most popular thing to do—but when we choose to follow God’s ways, His blessings follow us wherever we go!

Our SuperVerse has a lot of action words in it, so we are going to act them out!

Divide the children into two teams—girls versus boys, or whatever groups you choose. Have each team make up actions for each phrase—not each word—of the verse as they say it out loud. Then have the teams “perform” the verse for the rest of the class.

Note: If younger children are not able to memorize the entire SuperVerse, simple have them repeat it several times and be sure they understand its meaning.

Prayer

God is holy and His laws are perfect. God requires us to be holy and keep His laws perfectly. Yet no matter how hard we try, we will sin and fail to follow God’s laws perfectly. Can we keep our sins secret from God? No.

Read Psalm 90:8:

You spread out our sins before You—our secret sins—and You see them all.

God knows all about our sins. He is perfect and holy, so we cannot come into His presence with our sins. The good news is that God doesn’t want us to be separated from Him. That’s why He sent Jesus—His perfect, sinless Son—to take the punishment for our sins.

How did Jesus do that? He took our sins on Himself when He died on the cross.

What do we need to do to be forgiven?

Let me read you a wonderful promise in the Bible. Read 1 John 1:9:

But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

What does that mean? If we confess our sins to God, we can totally depend on Him to wash away our sins and forgive us for all the bad things we have ever done.

Lower your head, hunch your shoulders, and act as if you’re sad. I would like all of you to lower your heads and hunch your shoulders, acting as if you are sad and defeated. Do we have to walk around feeling depressed and ashamed because we have sinned? No! Lift your head up and smile. Let’s lift up our heads and smile! He washes our sins away so we can be happy and joyful! All we have to do is admit our failures and confess our sins to God, and ask Him to forgive us. Let’s close our eyes and do that right now.

Dear God, we want to silently confess our sins to You. Please forgive us for all the bad things we have thought, said and done. Allow a few moments for children to pray silently. Lord Jesus, we are amazed that You never sinned—not even once!—yet You took the punishment for all of our sins. Thank You, Jesus, for setting us free from sin! Now please give us Your strength to choose to follow Your commandments each day of our lives. We ask You to fill us with the power of Your Holy Spirit to live for You. In Your name, Amen.

Tossing Game

If possible, play this game in a gym or outside using the playground ball. If you play in a classroom, use a foam/sponge ball and be sure all chairs and tables are moved safely out of the way. Each child is given a number from 1 to 10. Throw or bounce the ball up in the air and call out a number from 1 to 10. The children move out of the way except for those whose number is called. The one who catches the ball says "STOP!" Everyone then freezes where they are, and the child calls out the commandment with the same number—referring to the Ten Commandments poster if necessary. The child then tosses the ball to the nearest person, who then throws it up in the air and calls out a different number.

Why is it important to know the Ten Commandments?

God gave us His laws for our protection and long life! He gave us guidelines and boundaries for our own good!

He doesn’t tell us to obey our parents to make life miserable for us. Instead, He gave us the fifth commandment to teach us to respect those over us and learn and grow from their experience and wisdom. God gave us the fourth commandment because we need to rest and be strengthened so we can live for His glory! The world will not tell us to rest and worship God, but God knows we get weary and need to recharge. He knows we need to spend time with Him. Read Psalm 16:11:

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever.

In God’s presence we find joy, rest and satisfaction. In His presence we receive instruction and our faith is renewed!

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I will obey God’s rules even when the world says I don’t have to.”

Discussion

Have children use their Ten Commandments Minibooks made in Lesson 2 or the Ten Commandments Poster to discuss different scenarios and determine which commandment applies to each situation. Encourage consideration and discussion if a child selects a different commandment than the one listed. Through this process, children can engage and the Holy Spirit can bring deeper understanding. Then have them say whether the commandment falls under “Loving God” or “Loving Others.” You may create your own scenarios and expand this activity if time allows.

Ready?

You find a wallet with cash in it at the mall. 8

When your parents take you shopping, you are satisfied with the shoes they can afford even though they are not the expensive brand that many of your friends wear. 5, 10

A friend says God’s name when he is mad about losing a game. 3

You quickly finish a chore your mother or father asks you to do. 5

You have to decide if you should join a soccer league that has games on Sunday morning. 4

You think angry and harmful thoughts against a group of people at school. 6

You download worship songs to worship God. 1, 2

You and two friends are caught breaking rules. You are tempted to blame them to escape punishment. 9

You decide not to wear a certain shirt because it has a picture of an idol on it. 2

A man and a woman have been happily married for 25 years. 7

You realize that the cashier gave you too much change back when you purchased an item at the store. 8

You are very careful and thoughtful when using the name of God and Jesus. 3

Someone tells you an untrue story about a friend that would deeply hurt them. You are tempted to share the gossip with others. 9

Your friend just received a new phone as a gift—the model you are saving to buy but won’t have the money for months! 10

Your friends invite you to a sleepover on Saturday night and you stay up all night. You are so exhausted on Sunday morning that you are tempted to skip church. 4

Recite the SuperTruth: “I will obey God’s rules even when the world says I don’t have to.”

Book Object Lesson

Ask a volunteer to read aloud James 2:10:

For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.

Sin is wrong in God’s eyes. It doesn’t matter if we’ve broken one commandment only once or many of them a lot of times. In God’s eyes we have missed the mark and are not perfect. We all sin and miss the mark—but because God is merciful and loves us, He will forgive us if we ask.

Display the paperback book and the heavy book.

The small book represents one sin, and the heavy book represents a lot of sins.

Hold the items straight out. Which book will hit the ground first?

Drop both items at the same time. They will hit the floor at the same time. Allow a few children to try the activity. Substitute other available items such pens and pencils.

This is how God weighs our sins. Some may seem bigger or smaller than others, but in God’s eyes they are all the same—they pull us down, away from Him. God doesn’t want anything to separate us from Him. He loves us and is eager to forgive us. That is why He sent His Son, Jesus, to fulfill the law and die for us so we can be forgiven. Until our next lesson, let’s remember to ask for God’s power to turn away from sin and turn toward Jesus, who gives us His power to obey. Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I will obey God’s rules even when the world says I don’t have to.”

Bible Study

What does the word consequence mean? 

A consequence is the result, effect or outcome of a choice or action. There can be both positive and negative consequences.

For instance, what might be the consequence if you don’t study for a test? Failing the test. 

Is that a positive or negative consequence? Negative.

What might be the consequence of helping your parents without being asked? Pleasing your parents.

Is that a positive or negative consequence? Positive.

Let me give you one more positive consequence. James 4:8a says,

Come close to God, and God will come close to you.

When we choose to seek God and be in His presence, He comes close to us—in fact, He lives inside us!

Have children look up Romans 6:20-23. Divide up the verses for volunteers to read aloud.

²⁰When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.²¹And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.²²But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

LEAD A DISCUSSION ON THE PASSAGE

What is the result or consequence of serving sin? Shame, regret, separation from God for eternity, spiritual death.

What is the result or consequence of serving God and living a holy life? Set free from sin’s hold, eternal life.

What do you think is meant by “wages of sin is death”? Payment or reward for sin is separation from God eternally, spiritual death.

Let’s take a look at the Ten Commandments and share some things that we think might happen if we obey—or disobey—each one.

Have the children use the Ten Commandments Poster or their Minibooks to read and discuss each commandment, one at a time.

After the discussion, suggest that the children read Deuteronomy 28—in class if you have time, or at home—to see the consequences of obedience and disobedience that God gave to the Israelites.