8-The First and The Second Commandment

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen

Lesson No. (8)

References:
Ex. 20:2-6, Deut. 5:6-10.

Notes For Servants:
1. The Ten Commandments are the basics of life. We must understand
them memorize them and teach them to our children
2. We as servants should remember to apply them in our lives.

Objectives:
General: Learn why did God give us these Commandments and why should
we worship Him alone.
Specific:
1. We should understand who is God.
2. We must learn who are the other gods in the world.
3. We must choose to worship The Lord God only.
4. We must avoid fallen in the trap and worship the Gods of this
world.

Instructions:
1. Church occasion.
2. Introduce the topic by talking about how God save the Israelite from
Egypt
3. Talk about that God choose them to fulfil the salvation.
4. Explain the difference between following God’s way and the world
way.
5. Clarify why many people fall in worshipping other gods.

Bible Verse:
"If ye love me, keep my commandments."
(John 14:15)

Lesson:
Introduction:
When our parents are driving why there are rules they follow? Why there are
laws and legislation set by the government e.g. (Killing or stealing ....etc. each

has its own punishment and legislation) Why do schools have laws and
regulations we can’t surpass.?
Without laws human beings would have lived in a jungle. Laws always set
bounders for freedom and for not engorging upon the rights of others.
Why do we need the commandments: When Moses took the Israelites out of
Egypt, God gave him the ten commandments as a covenant between God
and human beings and to make things clear God Gave them to Moses written
with His Own Fingers. As if God is telling them that now that I have freed you
from slavery we have to agree on certain rules and laws, so that you as human
beings you should know what is right and wrong in the eyes of God. However
many commandments were known as the "moral law"e.g. when Cain killed
his bother he knew that he has done something wrong and tried to hide. Also
very clear in the story of Joseph when he said "How could I do this great
wickedness, and sin against God?"(Gen. 39.9)
Then we might ask ourselves why do we need these commandments: The
answer is simple God didn’t put these commandments to restrain our
freedom, but rather to tell us what is wrong and what is right so that when he
judges a human being He Would Tell him "I have said not to do so and
so....."He gave us the rules we should follow and gave human beings the
freedom to choose.
We will start a series on the ten commandments and we are going to discuss
each one and to see how practical and applicable it is till today.
1st commandment:
"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou should have no other gods before me.
[Ex. 20:2-6]
God starts this commandment by reminding us with Himself "I am the Lord
thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt" , in other words
God reminds us of His loving-kindness, so that when we remember His love,
His kindness, what he has done with us we would like to love Him in return
and accordingly love his commandments If ye love me, keep my commandments."(John 14:15). Also when God reminds us of His loving-kindness before giving us the commandments so that when they are given, we receive them as from a kind father to his beloved children not as orders from a master imposed on his servants.
But we ask a very crucial question here: how applicable is this commandment
till now?
★ One may say when reading this commandment, "These words ought to be
addressed to heathens, atheists or existentialist. As for me, I fast twice
a week, give the tithes, pray the hours, learn the hymns by heart and
attend the church regularly. Sure this commandment is not for me.”
★ Other gods are not only the statues made by man for worship...No...There
are many other gods worshipped. Some worship power, authority,
positions, money, beauty, or lusts.
★ Everyone has an idol, a god...but yet we deceive ourselves when we cry
loudly “Truly we believe in One God...”
Each one can have a frank interview with himself asking this question " what
is the most important thing in my life"? What if my friends ask me to go to out

in the same time when there is a certain ceremony or prayer at the church
whom should wait God or my own created god (having fun).
There are different kinds of man-made gods e.g.:
Worship of being popular and loved by others (worship of being cool):
★ It is good to be loved by others but when you turn that into an objective for
your life, then you are creating a god that you can’t get rid of over the
years. When at school you would like to be cool and would do
anything even if it doesn’t agree with the principles the church and
your family are trying to teach you, then you became a slave for the
environment you are living in and it will continue to grow with you,
that you have to go the same thing in any atmosphere you find yourself
in it.
★ When you are courteous to someone at the expense of God, you are
worshipping such a person instead of God.
Worship of money...
★ The Lord said in the Sermon on the Mount, “No one can serve two
masters; for a slave will either hate the one and hate the other, or be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
wealth.” [Mt. 6:24]
★ Again the Lord Christ said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on
earth.” [Mt. 6:19]
★ Money in itself is not evil but collecting money and treasuring over any
other things and having collecting money as the most important thing

in your life is a kind of money-
worshipping.

Worship of those who do good to us...
★ Many are those who worship the person who does them favours. If
someone showed kindness towards you or supported or helped you in
any way, you will worship him.
The world and all its desires...
★ The world is another god, whoever gets attached to it will forsake God’s
love and even the faith. St. James the apostle said, “Friendship with
the world is enmity with God...” [Jas. 4:4]
★ There are some that love material items such as clothes, cars, toys, etc.
★ Others are only concerned about eating and drinking.
★ For some, their god is in the form of a rock star, Hollywood star, or sports
figure.
★ Radio and television can also be forms of gods.Self-Worship...
★ The most dangerous of all idols is ones self. Man always desires to glorify
himself. He does not only worship himself but wants others to
worship him.
★ He wants to be adored by all, respected and awed by all...He wants people
to praise and admire him.
2nd
commandment:
Thou should not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any
thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou should not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children unto the third and fourth generation
of them that hate me;

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me,
and keep my commandments."

[Ex. 20:2-6]
One would say we don’t worship idols, But sometimes we do How many of you
have a poster of a famous rock star or movie star on the wall that there not a
space left for a picture of Jesus or Virgin Mary.?
How many of us prefer to listen to a music tape and is always up to date with
the latest trends in music (with all its kinds accepted or not by the church and
your family) and you don’t think of having a church hymnal tape??
Books magazines, how much money spent on them (some might be useful
which is ok but others are not) and we don’t have time or desire to read the
Bible or any spiritual book.?
By the way we don’t worship the pictures in the church but they are there to
remind us o these saints and to ask for there blessings. Moses the prophet
made two cherubim of olivewood and overlaid them with gold.

Conclusion:
How can we fulfill the first and second commandment:
1. We should always keep in our minds how much God loves us and
how much He has done for us.
2. In our turn we should not leave our hearts to get attached to earthly
things "that we can’t live without it"
3. We should strengthen our relation with God through praying,
appearing regularly in God’s house, reading the Holy
Scriptures and contemplating on them, fasting, .....etc.