I Am Who I Am

Exodus 32:1-20

The Big Idea: God wants to be everything to us.


Opening Prayer

L: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever.


L: O give thanks to the God of gods,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever.


L: O give thanks to the Lord of lords,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever;


L: who alone does great wonders,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever;


L: who by understanding made the heavens,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever;


L: who spread out the earth on the waters,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever;


L: who made the great lights,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever;


L: the sun to rule over the day,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever;


L: the moon and stars to rule over the night,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever;


L: O give thanks to the God of heaven,

C: for his steadfast love endures forever.


My Faith Story

Share a time when you did not trust God to be God, or did not want to let God be God.

Open the Catechism

The Ten Commandments begin with the answer to a question so big that we hardly ask it: Who is God? We do want to know who is making these 10 demands of us and why we should pay attention. Well, God is like nobody else, nobody. Our God IS, and we need look nowhere else for guidance—not to mention love and wisdom and strength!


Open the Catechism to the First Commandment and read it with its meaning. This Commandment calls us to faith with an announcement of God's identity. It is a rock-solid foundation for all that we believe. Let's memorize the Commandment, substituting "I" for "You," by saying it together several times as a group. Could you remember to repeat it as we begin each new day?


Read Exodus 20:1-2 aloud. What does it say about why God is the one true God for us? What does exodus mean? What else God has gotten us out of?


Verses 4-6 explain how serious God is that we get our priorities right. The idol Aaron made for the Israelites was solid gold, but it was worthless compared to the Lord. So, who (or what) comes first in your lives yesterday and today. Who (or what) will it be first tomorrow?


Bible Connection: God is the One who...

Turn to Exodus 32:1-20. Read aloud. Here are some main questions about the story.


• Why do the people create the golden calf?


• Do they think they are worshiping a false god?


• Does God think they are worshiping a false god?


• How does God react?


• How does Moses respond to God's reaction?


• How does Moses respond when he sees the calf in person?


• Is God's and Moses' anger justified? Why?


Turn to 1 Kings 18:21-40, and read.


• What's going on here?


• Who is "competing"?


• How many people are on each side?


• What does each side do to prepare?


• Why is this story in the Bible?


Turn to Acts 17:16-34 and read.


• Why is Paul upset?


• To whom is Paul speaking?


• To what is Paul responding?


• What qualities does he attribute to God, and to what is God being contrasted?

Lesson: Our Idols

Martin Luther once said


“A 'god' is the term for that to which we are to look for all good and in which we are to find refuge in all need.”


What are other things we look to for all good and find our security in? How do we make idols of them.


God Alone

• When the First Commandment is fulfilled, the keeping of the other nine will follow.


• Full trust in God recognizes that all things, from daily bread and breath, to the past and future of creation, come from God.


• God allows no one or no thing in his place.


• We create other gods, but mostly we become our own gods, acting like we're in charge of our own future.


• God's promise in the First Commandment: He will be your comfort and your savior. Your past is forgiven and your future is good.


Closing Questions

• Is God still creating? Or is that something God was done with at creation?


• If God is Lord and Creator of all, did God create evil? Is God responsible for evil in the world today?

• Talk about a time when God was clearly your God.


• Talk about a time when trusting God or believing in God was hard.


• What things or people do you put ahead of God? What things or people do you rely on more than God?


• What do you think of the whole creation/evolution debate?


Closing Ritual

L: I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come?

C: My help comes from the Lord,


L: The Lord, who alone made heaven and its hosts,

C: who made the earth and the seas and all that is in them.


L: The Lord is your keeper,

C: the Lord is your shade at your right hand.


L: The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in

C: from this time on and forevermore.