Lesson: Fifth Commandment (No. CB74

Goal:

To teach the basic concepts of the Fifth Commandment.

Objectives:

1. Children will know the Fifth Commandment is the first commandment with a promise.

2. Children will identify the promised blessing for obeying their parents.

3. Children will identify which adults may also be included in this Commandment in addition to their parents.

4. Children will know that God is their Father and even if they are “fatherless” God will take care of them.

5. Children will learn their responsibilities to their parents as the parents become elderly.

Relevant Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 5:16; Proverbs 22:6; James 1:27; Colossians 3:20.

Reference Material:

The Ten Commandments No. CB17

The Creation of the Family of God (CB04)

Memory Scriptures:

Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you. (RSV)

Ephesians 6:1-3: Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your Father and Mother (which is the first command with a promise) that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. (RSV)

Format:

Open with prayer.

Poster Board Activity (Optional). If using the poster board from the previous lesson add the fifth commandment to the poster board.

Lesson on The Fifth Commandment.

Activity associated with the lesson

Close with prayer

Lesson:

1. Read through the paper The Fifth Commandment, No. CB74 unless it is read as a sermonette with the children present.

2. Children’s questions are in bold. This is a general review of the material covered in the lesson.

Q1. How many commandments are there and where can we find them in the Bible?

A. There are ten commandments. They are listed in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.

Q2. The ten commandments fall under two “Great” commandments. What are they?

A. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.

Q3. Which of the ten commandments make up the First Great? Second Great?

A. The first four commandments make up the First Great and teach us how to love God and the next six commandments make up the Second Great and teach us how to love our neighbor.

Q4. What does the fifth commandment say?

A. The fifth commandment says “honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”

Q5. What does honor mean?

A. Honor means regard with great respect, hold in high esteem, have high regards for.

Q6. What are some ways we can honor our parents?

A. We can follow their guidelines, allow them to teach us, take time to be with them, help out when needed, show them love and kindness, talk to them, be truthful…..etc. (Allow the children to come up with their own examples.)

Q7. How do we learn about the fifth commandment when we are young?

A. Parents are instructed in the Bible to teach their children the commandments at all times. When their children are young, parents are responsible to bring up their children according to God’s way of life.

Q8. Why should we obey our parents?

A. Our parents are acting in the place of God on Earth. Just like we show God we love him by keeping His commandments, we can show our parents we love them by obeying their rules.

Q9. What makes the fifth commandment special?

A. The fifth commandment is the first and only commandment that contains a promise!

Q10. What does God promise if we honor our father and mother?

A. God promises to extend our life and care for us. It says, “that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”

Q11. Who takes care of our parents as they get older and can’t take care of themselves?

A. We do! It is the children’s responsibility to take care of their parents as they age. Sometimes this is caring for them ourselves and sometimes we have others help us care for them.

Q12. Does the fifth commandment only apply to our parents?

A. No, it also includes people who are older than us and have responsibility to us like teachers, grandparents, mentors, etc. Honoring the other adults in our lives also helps us learn how to love and respect God.

Q13. What if someone doesn’t have parents who follow God’s way of life?

A. We are always required to honor our father and mother. If we believe differently than our parents, we can always be respectful of their beliefs and help them to understand what our beliefs are.

Q14. Who does the Bible say is the father of the fatherless?

A. God becomes the Father to the fatherless. He will provide for those that do not have a good physical mom or dad to care for them.

Q15. Should we help others that don’t have parents?

A. Yes! We are taught that pure religion is to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction. We should show love to those that are without one or both of their parents.

Activity Options:

Option 1: Puzzle activity

Supplies: Puzzles: 1 per child, Envelopes or snack zip-lock bags with child’s name or colour on the envelope or bag, Markers, Scripture references for puzzles, Optional puzzle glue if children want to seal their puzzle and keep it.

Set-Up: Use the blank rectangle puzzles which can be purchased at Wal-Mart (or your local craft store). If blank puzzles cannot be found, buy puzzles for under a dollar and spray the front side with Kilz paint; sometimes this takes 2 coats but it will typically cover all the pictures and gives a clean white surface to work with. On the back side of the puzzle print a relevant Scripture related to obeying or listening to our parents. On the front side write the child’s name and something that describes that child (for example: ______ is creative). Each child’s name is colour-coded. It is useful to lightly colour the entire side of each puzzle a different colour in case puzzle pieces become confused. This way they can easily be sorted and restored to the rightful owner. After making the puzzles, take each puzzle apart and each piece of the puzzle goes into a separate envelope or snack bag that has a dot of colour that matches the child’s name. Once all puzzles are done and pieces placed in envelopes, the envelopes are randomly hidden outside.

Activity: Take children outdoors to find their puzzle pieces. Make sure each child knows how many pieces they are looking for and which color is theirs! This activity can be done as a scavenger hunt with clues or simple hide and seek. Once all of the puzzle pieces have been found, return inside and give each child a stiff piece of paper to assemble his/her puzzle on. Have children take turns reading the scriptures that are on their puzzle, and discuss the meanings of the scriptures. Disassemble puzzles and place all pieces in a zip-lock bag or envelope with the child's name on it, or provide puzzle glue for those that want their puzzle permanently together.

Option 2: Blind trust walk

Supplies: Blindfold for each child, space to set up a maze of objects and/or paper “mines”

Set up: Clear a large space. Randomly place papers with various “sins” around the room. These can be paper on the floor or objects in the room such as chairs, shoes, trash cans, etc. (whatever is available). Examples would be lying, stealing, not obeying parents, etc. Set up an area to be the starting line and a separate area to be the finish line. Try not to let the children see the area before the activity starts.

Activity: Have the children pair up. One child will be the “parent” and one child will be the “child”. Blindfold the “child”. It will be the “parent’s” responsibility to lead the “child” from the starting area to the finish line using only their words avoiding any of the “sins”. They cannot touch each other. The “parent” will need to learn to be specific, have patience, and guide carefully so their “child” does not step on or run into the “sins”. The “child” will need to learn to listen and follow the instructions carefully. They will also learn to trust their “parent”. If the children are young, bring in some adults to be the “parents” and guide each of the children. After the pair makes it to the finish line have them switch roles. Before each child goes, move the “sins” around so they don’t know where they are if they’ve been watching the other groups.

Option 3: Glove family of God

Supplies: disposable gloves for each child, marker or pen, small items to pick up (penny, grains of rice, etc.)

Activity: Four fingers and thumb. Before putting on the glove, write the following on the thumb and fingers: thumb (different to fingers) = God; pointer finger = Christ as first begotten who points us to the Father; middle finger = father; ring finger = mother; 5th finger/pinkie = child, the littlest and weakest of all the hand. Just as the thumb can oppose and touch each finger, it is through God that all parts of the creation (spiritual and physical) are tied together. It is the thumb that truly makes us different from every other creature physically, just like we can do things with God’s help.

It might be helpful to do the demonstration of picking up a cotton ball with the pointer finger and middle finger and then move to grains of rice, and to do an analogy of how man thinks he can do things without God, but that in order to move things and get things done right we always need God. Other examples, i.e. buttoning, writing, cutting, all require the thumb; reinforce the concept of the hand working as a unit/family. Working as a unit is stronger and can get more done than each piece alone. You can do the activity where the children leave with a glove with the names written on the glove.

Close with prayer.

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PO Box 369, WODEN ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA

Q1. How many commandments are there and where can we find them in the Bible?

Option 1: Puzzle activity