My God Is a Mighty God

Why We Must Keep the 1st & 2nd Commandments

Who Is God? God is our holy father that lives in heaven, which is high up above the sky. He is strong,

powerful & mighty, so much that he created the heavens, this earth & both you and me. You may not be able to see him face to face or touch him but God is real. The earth that we live in, the fact that we live and breathe, remind us that

God does exist.

We Must Obey GodAs a child, you live with your parent(s). They provide for you, giving you clothes, food & a place to live. Your parents also have rules that you must obey. It is important for you to listen to your parents because they are older, wiser and care for you everyday. Think of God as your parent in heaven. He is much wiser and stronger than your parents; therefore you must obey God’s rules too!

Wiser: having or showing experience, knowledge, and the ability to make good decisions

What Are God’s Rules?God’s rules are the 10 commandments, which he created at the beginning of time. These commandments tell us how we SHOULD behave & how we SHOULD NOT behave. The commandments are found in the B .I. B. L. E. When we do not obey God’s commandments we are sinning.

Exodus 20: 1- 17 to be exact!

The 1st & 2nd CommandmentsFor this month we will focus on the 1st & 2nd commandments

1st Commandment

“Thou shalt have no other gods before”

A “god” can be ANYTHING or ANYONE that you give MORE attention, love, respect & obedience to than God. But God is number 1! This means that the love & obedience we have towards our Lord is more important than the love we have for our parents, brothers or sisters, friends & other loved ones. Common things like school & play time should never come before obeying God.

Attention: taking notice of someone or considering them to be important

Respect: to have deep admiration for or to honor

Obedience: the act of keeping someone’s laws & rules

Example How can you disobey the 1st commandment

Your best friend in the whole wide world has a birthday party coming up. This birthday party happens to be on the seventh day Sabbath. But the Sabbath is the day we keep holy by worshipping God, which is the 4th commandment. Everybody knows how fun birthday parties are so of course you want to go. Why should you miss out on the fun. However, if you were to go to this party not only would you be disobeying the 4th commandment but the 1st commandment as well. How? Because you are putting your friend as well as your own need for fun ABOVE God and his commandments.

The 1st & 2nd Commandments2nd Commandment

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt 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 showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

Jealous: to have feelings of anger and resentment when something that rightfully belongs to you is taken away

The 1st & 2nd Commandments2nd Commandment

God does not want us to MAKE or WORSHIP idols or as he says “graven images.” Idols are physical objects such as pictures or statues that may be worshipped by a person. This is a very big world with many people who believe in different religions. Not all people believe in worshipping God in heaven. They may choose to worship the sun or moon in the sky. Others might worship fairytale like creatures such as a unicorn or dragon. God becomes jealous when people worship idol gods because only he deserves this kind of praise. Worship: to show feelings of love & honor through songs, prayer & testimonies

Religion: a set beliefs or practices that are agreed upon and supported by a group of people

The 1st & 2nd Commandments2nd Commandment

We are not to create any artwork including paintings, statues and computerized photos that show what we may imagine God or the angles to look like. No one really knows how God or the angels look. They live in heaven and are far too holy to be showcased on common artwork.

Symbols of God A symbol is a mark or object that stands for someone, an object or an idea

God has many symbols that you may have seen before. Symbols are DIFFERENT from “graven images” because they do not try to show God’s face or body but stand for his power, works and who he is.

The next slides will show some appropriate symbols of God

Cross This symbol represents the time when Christ was nailed to a cross in order to

die for our sins.

Lamb Christ is also called the Lamb of God. Why?

Long, long ago, God instructed that his people offer an animal, such as a lamb, when they did NOT

obey God’s commandments. When Jesus died on the cross he was like an offering for our sins.

TrumpetThe trumpet is a symbol of the voice of

God that calls or warns his people.

Water No living creature can survive without water including humans, animals and the plants. We also use water to help keep us nice and clean. Did you know that water is also a symbol of God? None of us can survive on this earth without the Lord. Water will be one of the things that He will use to cleanse us from our sins.

The End!