(1) Words of Jesus from the Gospels
Leader: You shall have no other gods before me.
People: It is written: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him
only."
Leader: You shall not make for yourself an idol.
People: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in
truth.
Leader: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
People: "Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's
throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool. . . . Let your 'Yes' be
'Yes', and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."
Leader: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
People: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the
Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
Leader: Honor your father and your mother.
People: For God said, "Anyone who curses his father or mother must
be put to death."
Leader: You shall not murder.
People: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you
may be sons of your Father in heaven.
Leader: You shall not commit adultery.
People: Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.
Leader: You shall not steal.
People: For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery . . .
theft . . . . These are what make a man "unclean."
Leader: You shall not give false testimony.
People: For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. . . . For
by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.
Leader: You shall not covet.
People: Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's
life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
(2) From the Epistles
Leader: You shall have no other gods before me.
People: For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him
be the glory forever!
Leader: You shall not make for yourself an idol.
People: In Christ we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Leader: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord
will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
People: Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-- the
fruit of lips that confess his name.
Leader: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall
labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your
God.
People: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and
admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Leader: Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in
the land the Lord your God is giving you.
People: Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the
Lord.
Leader: You shall not murder.
People: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.
Leader: You shall not commit adultery.
People: You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore
honor God with your body.
Leader: You shall not steal.
People: He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,
doing something useful with his hands, so that he may have something to share
with those in need.
Leader: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
People: Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow
up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Leader: You shall not covet your neighbor's house or anything that
belongs to your neighbor.
People: I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
(3) From the Psalms
Leader: And God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God . . . .
You shall have no other gods before me.
People: Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in
your sight.
Leader: You shall not make for yourself an idol . . . . You shall not
bow down to them or worship them.
People: Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord
our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock
under his care.
Leader: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
People: O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Leader: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
People: How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! Better is
one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.
Leader: Honor your father and your mother.
People: Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.
Leader: You shall not murder.
People: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious
thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me.
Leader: You shall not commit adultery.
People: You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the
light of your presence.
Leader: You shall not steal.
People: Have mercy on me, O God . . . blot out my transgressions.
Leader: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
People: Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law.
Leader: You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet
your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or
anything that belongs to your neighbor.
People: Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
Save me from all my transgressions.
Leader: The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him
in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and
saves them.
People: My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature
praise his holy name for ever and ever.
(4) As a Teacher of Sin
Leader: Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways.
People: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Leader: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight
in his commands!
People: Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find
delight.
Leader: And God spoke all these words:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the
form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters
below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the
third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a
thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your
God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to
the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son
or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the
alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the
earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
People: Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from sin. For I know my
transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Leader: Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in
the land the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false testimony against your
neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his
manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor.
People: If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.
(5) As a Rule of Gratitude
Leader: Hear, O people of God, the law which the Lord speaks in your hearing
this day, that you may know his statutes and walk according to his ordinances.
People: Teach us, O Lord, the grace of your law, and give us life by
your Word.
Leader: The God who saved us in Jesus Christ gave this law, saying: I am
the Lord your God! You shall have no other gods before me.
People: We will worship the Lord our God and serve only him.
Leader: You shall not make yourself an image of anything to worship it.
People: Living no more in bondage to earthly gods, we will worship the
Lord our God in spirit and in truth.
Leader: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord.
People: We will use the holy name of God with reverence, praising him in
everything we do and say.
Leader: You shall observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy, for in six
days you shall labor and do all your work.
People: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in
it.
Leader: The first part of the law is this great commandment:
People: That we love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our
mind, and with all our strength.
Leader: The second part of the Law is similar to the first: you shall
honor your father and mother, that you may live long in the land the Lord your
God is giving to you.
People: As children we will be obedient to our parents in the Lord; as
parents we will correct our children and guide them in the training and
instruction of the Lord; we will respect the lawful authorities appointed by
God.
Leader: You shall not murder.
People: We will be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ God forgave us.
Leader: You shall not commit adultery.
People: We will use our bodies in ways that are holy and honorable, and
abstain from immorality and impurity.
Leader: You shall not steal.
People: We will do what we can for our neighbor's good, and work
faithfully so that we may share with the poor.
Leader: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
People: We will speak the truth with our neighbor in love, render
judgments that are true and make for peace, and not devise in our hearts any
evil against anyone.
Leader: You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.
People: We will be content whatever the circumstances through the
strength of Christ within us.
Leader: Thus we must love our neighbor as ourselves.
People: For the Lord requires of us to do justice, to love kindness, and
to walk humbly with our God. Amen!
(6) As Summarized in Matthew 22:37-40
Leader: What is the great and first commandment?
People: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.
Leader: What is the second commandment like it?
People: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Leader: What does this mean?
People: Love is the fulfilling of the law.
Leader: To what does this call us?
People: To a life of faith working through love.