Week 1 -Kid's Club

Background to the Ten Commandments

Do any of you know the story of Joseph?

Joseph was a slave in Egypt

He interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream and became 2nd in command in Egypt.

A famine took place, and Joseph’s family came to Egypt.

Years later Joseph died.

Exodus 1:8 (NIV)

Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.

Go into the story.

God’s people were in slavery for almost 400 years.

When you think of slavery, what do you think?

They had to make bricks to build buildings, and some think they even built the pyramids.

So God heard their outcry and sent somebody to deliver His people.

Have you heard of Moses? What do know about him?

Talk about the burning bush and God calling Moses.

Exodus 3:1–7 (NIV)

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.

So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.

Exodus 3:10 (NIV)

So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

After Moses approached Pharaoh, Pharaoh made life much harder for God’s people, and even though God sent plagues Pharaoh refused to listen

Do you know what a plague is?

Do you any plagues that God sent?

Plague of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, plague on livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and finally the plague of the firstborn.

After the plague of the firstborn, Pharaoh commanded the people to leave Egypt.

He had had enough.

Exodus 14:5 (NIV)

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!”

They were his workforce, There were 600000 men plus women and children.

How could he let them go free?

Have you ever heard of the Red Sea? What happened at the Red Sea?

Now on the other side, free forever from their masters, what would they do?

They were used to Pharaoh telling them what to do, and now they had no law.

If we had no laws or rules in our society, what would that look like?

No traffic laws, no laws to govern between right and wrong. You could do whatever you want.

Would that be good or bad?

If you were going to make laws, what laws would you make?

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to talk about laws that God gave to Moses and to the people of Israel.

We call them the Ten Commandments.

Here’s our memory verse for next week.

Matthew 22:37–39 (NIV)

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

This is the first and greatest commandment.

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’