The Good Life Study: No Other Gods

The Ten Commandments aren’t laws so much as they are lenses. They are lenses that force us to stop looking only at ourselves and to consider the needs of our neighbor. They are the lenses that help us to not only see the good life, but to step into it. More importantly, they are lenses that pull our focus off the temporary things of this world and onto the eternal God. When we struggle to find our way in the darkness of this world, the Ten Commandments offer us a vision of who we were meant to be.

Join the SE Online team for Episode 1 of "The Good Life." We'll begin with the First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me." This commandment is first for a reason. These commands aren’t about rules and regulations; they are about relationship. They show us what it means to live with God as our chief priority and our first love.

Left to our own devices, we would turn these commands into mere morality. We’d be content to check off the boxes and try to skate by on our own goodness. This prologue, however, reminds us that the commandments grow out of commitment. We can’t hope to follow the laws without first knowing the Lawgiver.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What was your biggest takeaway from the video teaching time? What comes to mind when you think about the Ten Commandments? How do you think this study will change/expand your view of the Commandments?

2. Read Exodus 19:16-20:3. Try to imagine the scene when Moses and the Israelites first received these commandments. What stands out to you as you read this passage? How would you have responded had you been there? What do these commandments reveal to us about God’s power and nature?

3. Why do the Commandments first remind Israel of how God rescued them? Why is it important to remember that God’s grace comes before His commands? What happens if we get the order mixed up? How does God’s grace motivate us to live differently?

4. What are some of the “gods” of our culture? In what ways do we see these idols in our everyday lives? How are they similar to (and different from) the idols in Israel’s day? What do these idols require from people? What sacrifices do people make for them?

5. Read Psalm 115:3-8. Think about the idols of our culture. How do people become like them? In what ways do our idols change us? Has there ever been a time in your life where you could sense your idols changing you? If we become like the gods we worship, how can we make sure to keep the true God in His rightful place?

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