Sermon
The Ten Commandments
Theme
Obeying God's commandments
Object
"The 10 Commandments Coloring Page" - two copies (link below); crayons
Scripture
Exodus 20:1-17
Activities + Resources
Children's Sermon: The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
Color one picture carefully, staying in the lines. Color outside the lines on the other picture, making a colorful mess.
Do you remember when you first started to learn how to color? If you were like most children, you probably colored all over the page without staying in the lines. I imagine that some of your pictures looked a lot like this. (Show kids the messy picture.)
As you got older, your pictures probably looked more like this. (Show kids the neat picture.) You began to stay in the lines and your color choices were much better too.
These pictures remind me of the way some people live their lives. God gave us the Ten Commandments to tell us the things that we should and should not do. (Show the neat picture.) Some people don't pay any attention to these guidelines that God has drawn for them. (Hold up the messy picture.) They just do whatever they want to do; that’s called sin. Often their choices are not very good. They color outside the lines. They think their life is beautiful, but when God looks at it, He sees that it’s just a big mess.
(Hold up the neat picture.) There are other people who read the Bible and follow God's rules. They try to stay within the guidelines that God has set. Oh, they may still get outside the lines at times; getting outside the lines is called sin. That is why we all need Jesus. None of us stay inside the lines 100% of the time.
Do you want your life to be like this one? (Hold up the neat picture.) Or do you want it to look like this one? (Hold up the messy picture so you’re holding up both.)
God wants us to obey His Ten Commandments. The great news is we have a Savior in Jesus who loves us even when our lives are messy. When we trust Him as Savior He is our help and gives us strength to obey His laws. Let's ask God to help us obey Him.
Dear Lord, help us to remember that You set boundaries for us. Help us to stay within those boundaries so that our lives will be pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
