BONUS SUNDAY SCHOOL TOOLS TO HELP US LOVE AND HAVE FUN APPLYING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS as laws of Love
Friday, December 23rd, 2022
By Warren Huff, now CedarS Executive Director Emeritus, St. Louis Missouri area
BONUS SUNDAY SCHOOL TOOLS TO HELP US LOVE AND HAVE FUN APPLYING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (as laws of divine Love).
[Warren: When groups visit CedarS Bible Lands Park, Moses (played by me) often asks them to make Ten Pledges (Downloadable from the online version). Based on The Ten Commandments, these pledges give freeing guidelines that end enslaving patterns of thinking, speaking and acting in order that we may be our best, God-reflecting selves. When Moses brought the children of Israel out from Egyptian slavery, God gave him the 10 Commandments to fully liberate them—not just from physical slavery, but also from mental slavery and all its heavy baggage. FYI, Jews take as their 1st Commandment: “I am the Lord, your God, who rescued you from… the land of Egypt, the place of your bondage.” (Exodus 20:2, what an assurance of I’ve got your back, so NO WORRIES!) Their 2nd Commandment is a combination of our 1st Commandment “You must not have any other gods before me” and our 2nd Commandment about not making idols or graven images (Exodus 20:3, 4)]
Top 10 Pledges to BE MENTALLY FREE to Receive ALL of God’s Blessings & so Be Your Best Self!
Like the Israelites, leave behind all physical & mental slavery, to enter your “Promised Land” of a best-yet YOU!
Overcome 10 thought patterns “going around” that break the 10 Commandments (Download hoop/ball pics)
#1 Whenever I’m worried, (ungrateful in advance,) about a feared lack, I pledge to keep God’s 1st Com. below
#2 Whenever I obsess with body worship & think most about things, I pledge to keep God’s 2nd C. below
#3 Whenever I say (out of habit) “OMG!” (“Oh, My God!”), I pledge to keep God’s 3rd C. below
#4 Whenever I forget that everything’s already perfect now! I take a pledge to keep God’s 4th C. below
#5 Whenever I feel disrespect for those in authority I pledge to keep God’s 5th C. below
#6 Whenever I’m tempted to be angry, to put other down or to bully, I pledge to keep God’s 6th C. below
#7 Whenever I’m tempted to feel dissatisfied & break promises, I pledge to keep God’s 7th C. below
#8 Whenever I’m tempted to take what doesn’t belong to me, I instead take a pledge to keep God’s 8th C.
#9 Whenever I’m tempted to say (think) what’s not REALLY true of another or me, I pledge to keep 9th C. #10 Whenever I’m feeling jealous of anyone’s possessions/accomplishments, I pledge to keep God’s 10th C.
I PLEDGE TO LIVE UP TO MY POTENTIAL ALL DAY AS GUIDED IN UNIQUE WAYS BY 10 LAWS OF LOVE.
(See pics of best-self, on-the-ball pledges to eliminate negativity & radiate a positive oneness with God)
Jesus says the greatest of the two great Commandments is to “love God with all your heart… soul & … mind” (Matt. 22:37). It’s lived by whole-heartedly putting into practice the 1st 4 Commandments, summed up below:
#1 I pledge to: Love God, good alone & celebrate examples of Love’s always freeing power whenever I’m tempted to be worried!** (Worry is really just ingratitude in advance. Christ’s way to heal that, & all issues, is gratitude in advance. John 6:11, John 11:41)
#2. I pledge to: Quit thinking most about material things and bodies that will never be “up to the job” of being God.
#3. I pledge to: NOT frivolously say O.M.G. (“Oh, My God!”) unless I am praying God’s name and expecting a quick answer!
#4. I pledge to: Remember, give loving attention to, the already complete, goodness God declared over me & all in Genesis 1:31.
(This enables us to work out from perfection, not up to it. We learn to affirm the “Scientific Statement of Being,” (468) Not of Becoming.)
#5. I pledge to: Respect and obey all RIGHT authority figures and boundaries in my life.
Jesus says the second of the “two great Commandments” is to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39).
It’s lived by whole-heartedly putting into practice the rest of the Commandments, summed up below:
#6. I pledge to: Refuse (re-fuse) to get angry, make fun of or put anyone down!
(Such unchecked ,”supposed superiority” leads to killing as Jesus tells us in Matt.5:21+)
#7. I pledge to: Seek deep satisfaction in all God’s given and keep my promises
(Unchecked looking with lust is adultery and leads to it… as Jesus tells us in Matt.5:27+)
#8. I pledge to: Stop trying to GET happiness & instead try to GIVE it!
Stealing is the opposite of (“impart(ing) truth, health and happiness, and this is… my reason for existing.” My. 165)
#9. I pledge to: Stop saying what’s not REALLY true of others or myself
(To bear true witness: “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God!”)
#10. Instead of jealously cutting myself off from the Source of all good, I pledge to: Feel & say of the good
of others: “Thank You God! That’s Mine Too! (T.Y.G.! T.M.T.! Is more powerful than T.N.T.! (And, that’s dynamite!)
You and your students (or family) may enjoy using Downloadable pictures of the homemade teaching aids I developed of a customized soccer ball and hula hoop. You could review (as written on a hula hoop) some thoughts and habits that are “going around” these days and see how each one is actually a tempting way to think or act that breaks a Commandment or law of God and so gets you to settle for a lesser potential version of yourself and of mankind. To help keep me “on the ball,” I have written on the ball above each temptation on the hula hoop, a pledge to counteract that temptation. This helps me be the best version of myself and to achieve high goals for God’s glory. You can take turns saying each pledge aloud (or as a silent prayer to yourselj) as a commitment to more practically keep each Commandment and so break away from being enslaved by any mental habits that would keep you from fulfill your highest potentials.
