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The Ten
Commandments
Copies of Luther’s Small
Catechism are available in the church sanctuary. You will need it
and your Bible for this at-home Lenten Study & Reflection Guide
Small Catechism Suggestions for Family Prayer:
Located toward the back of the Small Catechism-- Or use ELW-hymnal
pp 1166-1167
Table Blessings:
Several are listed, use any
“Table
Talk” Martin Luther used this term for talking about
faith, prayers, any conversation about our relationship with God and
our faith in God. Share some Table Talk at home this week.
1. Where
during the past week (or day) have you noticed that God caught your
attention?
2.
What does it mean to “fear, love, and
trust God above all things"
Suggestions
for Reflection and Bible Study this week:
Read Exodus 20:
1-17 What is the first commandment? Read Deuteronomy 5: 1-21 and
compare the two scriptures.
What is Luther’s
explanation of this first commandment in the Small Catechism?
Commandment #1: Luther wrote “That to
which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your
God.” To what is your heart clinging? Luther wrote: “Search and
examine your own heart thoroughly, and you will find whether or not
it clings to God alone.” (Large Catechism)
Pray to God
about this and notice what you learn from God in prayer.
Reflect
on your own tendencies toward idolatry
(worship of false gods): examples are
plenty: material things, security, need for attention, pride, fear
or worry, addictions of every and all kinds, self…
Read
each explanation of each commandment in the Small Catechism.
Write your thoughts about what each means to you today. Note the
phrase which Luther repeats in each explanation. Why do you think
Luther repeated “We are to fear and love God.” in each explanation
of each commandment?
LAW &
GRACE: The 10 Commandments give us the Law of God,
they show us where we fail to do God’s will, they accuse us of our
sin, they expose our sin. They also give us the GRACE of God,
in that they are given to us so we will trust God and learn to love
and obey God first. Beginning with fear, love and trust of God as
top priority, we will learn from the commandments, how to love and
treat one another in community. So the 10 Commandments are a
precious gift to us from God. They are not merely good advice, but
the COMMANDS of the Lord who loves and wants what is best for his
people.
Faith & The Commandments:
Luther said that doing the right thing stems from our
faith in God…that is why he kept saying “We are to fear and love
God…”
Faith in God is
what helps us be faithful to his commandments. Being faithful to
God’s commandments builds goodness of life for us, for others, and
builds a good community.
Distrust or
outright neglect and rejection of God is what leads us to be
unfaithful to his commandments. Being unfaithful to his
commandments, (ie breaking the commandments) also breaks us,
destroys our lives, and breaks/destroys community.
Read
Deuteronomy 6:4-8 How does this scripture
echo the first three Commandments?
Read
Matthew 22: 37-38 Do you hear all Ten
Commandments summed up by Jesus into his Two Commandments?
Read
John 13: 34-35: How will others know
we worship and serve Christ as Lord and Savior? Will they
know?--without our having to say we are “Christian”? And just
because we say we are Christian, does it really show? How will
others know? Here is a great question for our reflection and
action…”Do others know?”
With
children- Use numbers, number magnets,
blocks, numbers written large on paper. Talk with your child about
who is first, who is number 1? God is
#1. Tell your child why it is important that God is loved and
obeyed FIRST, before anyone or anything else. Keep that example
number 1 (magnet, paper or block with #1 on it) in the middle of the
dinner table, or in a predominant family gathering place, and talk
about thanking God and loving God first, as a family.
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