"The Ten" (Week 1)

What is “the Ten?”

   A few weeks ago Barkef started CBF on a journey in the book of Deuteronomy. He has reached the point in the book where Moses gives the ten commandments. Many of us have heard the ten commandments, but right now without looking, how many of them can you name? DO NOT TRY TO CHEAT, GOD IS WATCHING YOU! If you are anything like me, you still struggle to remember all ten off of the top of your head. In fact when I think of the ten commandments, I quickly see Charlton Heston saying in a deep voice, “Let my people GO!”

   Starting this past Sunday, Barkef is going to be preaching on each of the ten commandments. This past week, he started with Commandments one and two. If you have not heard the sermon yet, you can go to the church website (http://coppellbible.org/493781.ihtml?OrderBy=3&OrderDescending=1) & listen or download the podcast from ITunes. Each of the following weeks, Barkef will tackle the commandments individually. Along with this, there will be a devotional guide with daily Scripture readings and a prayer thought for your personal time with God. There is also a “family resource guide” that has the passage side by side in the New Living Translation, the New American Standard and commentary notes take from the Bible Knowledge Commentary.

   The challenge for the CBF congregation is to study these passages in your quiet time and take time as a family to talk about these verses. Recent statistics show that families discuss spiritual matters less than one hour out of the 168 hours in a week. One of the challenges that Barkef shared in his sermon is that we are supposed to pass these things on to the next generation. Think about how many hours a week you spend on homework, attending extra curricular activities and watching television! We wonder why children are walking away from the faith after they graduate high school. Less than one hour a week is not going to work. We need to change this number. I know you have to do homework to pass school but think about your schedule. Pray and ask God, “What could you move, change, give up so that you can spend time as a family and have these spiritual conversations?” Before you do that, be careful. God may ask you to give up something that you do not want to, so are you really up for the challenge? When you are ready to give up on the challenge, just remember 1/168!

How to use the family resource guide

   The family resource guide is a simple tool that is used to equip you in your quiet time and help assist you with faith talks with your child. If you do not know where to start, then begin by reading the passages and make five observations. Then pray through and look through those observations. Now write down one way that you could apply that passage to your life. Take a moment to pray, confess to God if you have been neglecting to apply this to your life and ask for God’s help as you apply this to your life.

How do I do a family devotion?

   I have painful memories of my parents trying to start family devotions when I was a kid. It seemed like my parents were trying to pull teeth out of all our mouths at once! When you feel this tension in your family, you have to press on through it. It is always hard to start a new habit. Here are a couple of other recommendations:

- Start with prayer

- Read the Bible

- Be creative (have family devotions at a child age level. There is not a 4 year old in the world who is going to listen to a 30 minute sermon on the first two commandments. Have them act out a Bible story, get on the internet and print out coloring pages for a passage, or apply a passage by doing something loving for your neighbor like bake cookies for them.)

- End with prayer

Extra Challenge (Couples Devotion)

   Make a list of things that are most important to your family (or if you are single, make a list of your own personal important things) and briefly write down why they are important. For example, one that you could put is mom or dad’s job because it pays the bills and puts food on the table. If you have children, ask their opinion of what they think is important to your family. Take a look at your list and ask, “Where does God fit in this list?” Is He at the top, bottom or middle of what is important to your family? Maybe your busyness or your schedule has become your idol. You are so consumed with work, social activities, your child’s extracurricular activities or your television shows (that includes what you have on TiVo) that you are too busy for God. I have heard the saying several times over the last few weeks that “if the devil cannot make you bad, he will make you busy.” Instead of asking “where does God fit in your schedule,” ask “where does my schedule fit in with what God wants to do in my life (and your family’s life)?”

   If God is not at the top of the list, evaluate your priorities to see what needs to change so that God can be at the top. You may need to stop participating in some activities, start praying with your spouse, or reading the Bible together as a family, or maybe all of the above.