CELL NOTES 11/2/08

ICE BREAKER

Who laid down the law in your home? How did you try to bend the rules?

THEME

Rules for the game of life no.1.

Reading ; Exodus 20 : 1 – 17

SERMON SUMMARY

1) What do you associate with the Ten Commandments?

2) In the face of the many ways in which our society is challenged and fragmenting today, they are of increasing relevance.

3) The first commandment (vv1-3) is the basis on which all the others rest. This and the next four relate to our relationship with God. The second five relate to our relationship with each other.

4) God is God, both creator of everything from the furthest galaxy to the smile of a child, and who looks for a relationship with us. His love is seen in His role as deliverer.

5) If we simply see the Christian faith in terms of following moral rules, or a structure for a particular ethos, we miss the point – as you would if you simply thought of driving in terms of understanding road signs.

6) God creates, recreates ( from illness, broken relationships etc) and delivers – from things which hold us captive e.g. bad thought patterns, self-centredness, greed, lust, drink etc.

7) God is YOUR God – a personal response is demanded. Who or what sets the agenda in your life? It is best for us, and it is the proper place for God to have in our lives for it to be Him.

8) The illustration of the car.

QUESTIONS OF APPLICATION

1) Read the Ten Commandments. Which do you find the most challenging or difficult to relate to?

2) How would you describe your personal relationship with Jesus at present? How is it in relation to what it was like six months ago?

3) How would you rank : family, work, leisure pursuits, God, money, personal reputation as priorities in your life? Where is God in the car?

4) What would you like to be delivered from?