Opening Activity

• Recap the 2 commandments the children learnt yesterday.
• Name Game: Have some volunteers stand in a circle, facing inward. The volunteers go around saying their name with a simple action. The first volunteer says their own name and action. The second must say their name and do their action, and then the name and action of the first volunteer. The third must first do their own, and then the second, then the first. As play moves through the circle, volunteers must repeat more names and actions, until play returns to the first volunteer.

Bible Story

•  First, let’s look at the third commandment.“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Exodus 20:7.
• When we talk about the third commandment,we talk about not using God’s name as a cuss word. Sometimes, when people are angry or frustrated, they will say God or Jesus in a way that is not kind, sometimes with other words that God does not want us to use because they are not kind or helpful. God does not want us to say unkind, hurtful things when we are upset.
• Saying things like that shows that we don’t really respect God. His name is holy, special, and that’s how we should treat it.
• Another way to think about God’s name is to think about more than just his name, Yahweh. When people talk about names, sometimes they don’t mean what to call them, but they mean a reputation, a way of thinking about someone.For example, Eunice Njeri has a reputation as a Christian musician. Churchill has a reputation as a comedian.
• We now see that we break the third commandment, “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God,” when we use the name of our Lord in hurtful, angry ways, and when we act in ways that damage God’s reputation by showing the world around us that we do not really believe that it is important for us to obey the Bible.
• Next we are going to look at the 4th commandment
  Freeze Game: Tell the children to spread out with their arms out. Explain that when you start the music, they will dance nonstop. Explain that when the music stops, they must drop to the ground and relax. They can pretend to sleep, or just close their eyes and smile.
• That was a fun game! I loved dancing with you all. It is fun to be active and to play. Sometimes I wish we could do that all the time! Wouldn’t it be nice if we never had to sleep, or take breaks? If we could just keep going, nonstop, all the time? It may sound fun, but that is not how we were created. God created us to rest. Do you know why we need sleep? (Allow the children to answer.)
• Sleeping is how our brains and our bodies recharge. It’s like plugging in a phone that has a low battery. We grow best and learn best when we sleep well. Did you know that rest is so important, that God made it one of his commandments?
• The fourth commandment tells us “remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) So God is basically telling us, don’t forget to take a day for special rest to worship him every week.
  The word Sabbath means to stop and rest and Holy means set apart for a special use.
• Now of course we are to worship God every day. We should read our Bibles every day and pray every day and do kind things every day. But this commandment tells us we are supposed to take one day out of every week and make it a special time for God.
• Most Christians choose Sunday as their Sabbath day, since that’s the day they go to church. Some choose Saturday. Other families may choose other days of the week for a special day of rest.It doesn’t really matter which day your family chooses to rest. What matters is that you use that day as a chance to recharge your spiritual batteries so you will be ready to serve God by serving others the rest of the week.
• Even God himself rested! Remember, when God created the Universe, he created everything in six days, and then rested on day seven. Of course, God did not NEED to rest. He’s God! He never even sleeps! (Psalm 121:4). God rested to give us an example of what our weeks should look like: six days of work and one day of rest.
• The Sabbath day is a special day for us to recharge our batteries, so we can be calmer, kinder people for the rest of the week. The Sabbath is a special gift from God.(Mark 22:27)

Questions

1. What is the 3rd commandment/ rule?
2. Give examples of how we can misuse God’s name?
3. What is the 4th commandment / rule?
4. Why do we need to sleep?
5. What is the meaning of “Holy”?
6. Sabbath is __________________