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  • The Ten Commandments--they're in the news. Are they on your mind?
  • Why are the Ten Commandments in the news?
  • Hear what some Founding Fathers have to say about the value of the Scriptures as a foundation for the Law.

Things to pray for
President Bush went to visit a nuclear power plant in Lusby, MD earlier this week and had to wear this special hardhat for his protection. Image courtesy of the White House.

  1. Pray for the President as he continues to meet with world leaders. Just this week he met with many key leaders, including some from the EU and the Prime Minister of Vietnam. In each of these meetings, the leaders called for big changes that will help people, so pray that the resolutions they decided upon will truly make a difference for people around the world, especially those in Africa and Vietnam.
  2. Pray also for the President as he meets with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at the White House on June 27. The two leaders will discuss working together on a number of global issues.
  3. Pray for the lawmakers in America to be guided by the Ten Commandments every day, just the way that our first lawmakers followed them.
  4. Pray for Rev. Billy Graham as he leads what might be his last crusade ever. Millions of people have started a life-long friendship with Jesus Christ because they heard Billy Graham preach the Good News. Now, he is speaking this weekend in New York City. Pray that he will have the strength and energy he needs, pray for safety and protection over the whole event, and pray that many people will come to know Jesus personally through his preaching and the efforts of his team.
  5. Pray for our troops as they work hard for freedom around the world. Pray especially for those who have left great jobs and loving families in order to preserve freedom for so many, including you and me!

Leaders to pray for

Secretary of State—
Condoleezza Rice
Photo courtesy of the State Department.

Dr. Condoleezza Rice has been serving our nation and our president for the past four years as the National Security Advisor. Now she has a new job as Secretary of State in which she is leading our country's relationships and negotiations with other countries (nations of the world are also known as states, in case this wording confused you!). She takes over for Colin Powell who did a fantastic job during President Bush's first four years.

In her job as Secretary of State, Dr. Rice has already gone to the Middle East to help Israel and the Palestinians stop fighting each other and make peace.

The mission of the State Department is to work with other nations of the world to ensure peace, prosperity and security all around the world! That's a big job that may seem nearly impossible, but when you think about the tremendous influence America has with most all the countries of the world, you can see what a really important job it is! In fact, that's why The Presidential Prayer Team has so many members around the world—because they know that America's policies and plans affect everyone everywhere!

Since the President has just said in his State of the Union Address that he wants to help strengthen and grow democracy all around the world, Dr. Rice and her team will be working very hard with other nations and leaders to help this happen.

Dr. Rice is single and is very close friends with President and Mrs. Bush. She often spends time with them, both at Camp David, MD and at their Crawford, TX ranch. She works out regularly, loves sports and carefully follows the athletic teams of Stanford University where she taught and served as provost for several years before coming to Washington, D. C. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Denver and her doctorate is from Stanford University.


Secretary of Commerce—
Carlos Gutierrez
Photo courtesy of the Department of Commerce.

The Secretary of Commerce oversees the important areas of business and manufacturing in our nation, helping small and large companies thrive. His department is very involved in strengthening trade with other nations and in helping all Americans, especially minorities, to start and grow their own small businesses. In his job, Secretary Gutierrez works to create a great climate for business to thrive while providing encouragment and help for those entrepreneurs who wish to start new businesses.

Secretary Gutierrez follows in the footsteps of Secretary Don Evans who served faithfully for the last four years. Mr. Gutierrez comes to the office from a very successful career with Kellogg Company—that's right, the folks who make cereal. He has served as its CEO for several years.

Secretary Gutierrez emigrated from his homeland of Cuba in 1960 and joined the Kellogg Company after getting a job delivering cereal in Mexico City. Ten years later, he was running the Mexican business. Fifteen years after that, he was appointed its CEO. President Bush hailed Carolos Gutierrez as a fantastic American success story. Our country is very fortunate to enjoy his gifts and talents in leadership.

Secretary Gutierrez has been married to his wife, Edi for 25 years, and together they have three children, Carlos, Erika and Karina.

Bible Verses of the week

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.
—Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Listen to my prayer and my request, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is making to You today.
—I Kings 8:28

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

This photo shows what the Ten Commandments might have looked like after they were broken. Image courtesy of catholicsupply.com.

Since you are a kid who loves to pray, you probably know a bit about the Ten Commandments. They are found in your Bible, in both Exodus 20:2-17, Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

The Ten Commandments are great words that every kid should know! Here is a simplified version of the Ten Commandments:

  1. Worship only God, no other.
  2. Do not make anything into an idol.
  3. Do not misuse the name of God.
  4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy and resting.
  5. Honor your father and mother.
  6. Do not murder.
  7. Do not commit adultery.
  8. Do not steal.
  9. Do not lie.
  10. Do not covet what others have.

SCRIPTURE CHECK

This painting shows one artist's idea about the powerful moment when God gave the commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
Image courtesy of McGill Fine Art.

Though you may be used to hearing the Ten Commandments all by themselves, they are a part of the Old Testament Scriptures, and they come, as do all God's instructions, to help us live a good and happy life. Click here to read the full passage of Scripture that contains the Ten Commandments:

GET TO KNOW The Ten Commandments

This is one artist's idea of what the Ten Commandments might have looked like when they were inscribed on stone tablets. The figures are Hebrew letters and each one represents one of the commandments. Photo courtesy of shavuot.com.

Here are some reasons you should know all about the Ten Commandments:

The Ten Commandments are God's rules to live by. If you follow them, you cannot go wrong.
The principles found in the Ten Commandments have guided many civilizations and societies as they decided what their laws should be.
The Ten Commandments guided our Founding Fathers as they wrote the first laws for America. They continue to guide lawmakers today.
The original 13 colonies relied on the Ten Commandments as they wrote their state constitutions.
God gave the Ten Commandments to His children at a time when they really needed them. He saw His people struggling, and He sent them a wonderful code to lovingly follow and obey.
If the Ten Commandments were a good thing for God's children thousands of years ago, it makes sense that they are a good thing for God's children today!

ESPANOL!

Because the Ten Commandments God's Word, they come in every language! Perhaps you never thought of that before. Here are the Ten Commandments in Spanish:

  1. Adorar únicamente a Dios, a ningún otro.
  2. No hacer de nada un ídolo.
  3. No utilizar mal el nombre de Dios.
  4. Recordar el día Sábado manteniéndolo santo y descansando.
  5. Honrar a mi padre y a mi madre.
  6. No asesinar.
  7. No cometas adulterio.
  8. No robes.
  9. No digas mentiras.
  10. No codicies lo que tienen los demás.

Click HERE to see the Ten Commandments in Korean:

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR CONSTITUTION

This painting shows what a home in the early Jamestown Colony might have looked like. Image courtesy of Carmel Art.

In 1610, very soon after they arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, the earliest settlers laid down a legal code. This code was meant to guide them in their new life. They relied heavily on the Word of God.

Here is a bit of their legal code. Read it and see if you can see how very much early Virginians wanted to honor God as they let His law influence their new society.

First, since we owe our highest and supreme duty, our greatest, and all our allegiance to Him from whom all power and authority is derived and flows as from the first and only fountain, and being especial soldiers impressed in this sacred cause, we must alone expect our success from Him, who is only the Blesser of all good attempts, the King of kings, the Commander of commanders, and Lord of hosts.

The person writing this legal code had definitely read his Bible! Hover here to read a Bible verse that uses some of the same words as this part of the Virginia legal code:

QUESTION 1

First, since we owe our highest and supreme duty, our greatest, and all our allegiance to Him from whom all power and authority is derived and flows as from the first and only fountain, and being especial soldiers impressed in this sacred cause, we must alone expect our success from Him, who is only the Blesser of all good attempts, the King of kings, the Commander of commanders, and Lord of hosts.

Read the paragraph above once more. Where did these early Virginians think their power came from?

  1. They came from a big fountain that they found when they landed in Virginia.
  2. Their power came from the soldiers who enforce the laws.
  3. Their power came from God who alone is the source of all power and authority.
This painting shows what the village of Jamestown
might have looked like. Image courtesy of Carmel Art.

QUESTION 2

Read the next section of the Virginia legal code. It talks about the rules for officers in the military:

I do strictly command and charge all captains and officers, of what quality or nature soever, whether commanders in the field or in town or towns, forts or fortresses, to have a care that the Almighty God be duly and daily served and that they call upon their people to hear sermons, as that also they diligently frequent morning and evening prayer themselves by their own exemplar and daily life and duty herein, encouraging others thereunto, and that such who shall often and willfully absent themselves be duly punished according to the martial law in that case provided.

True or False: In the Jamestown Colony, everyone was required to attend church except for soldiers. They had more important work to do.

  1. True
  2. False

QUESTION 3

True or False: A person might be punished if they didn't follow the rules and attend daily prayers and worship services.

  1. True
  2. False

These Puritans prayed to God throughout their first months in the New World. The Scriptures were the source they used as the basis for their new government. Illustration courtesy of Oberlin College.

As you probably know, when the earliest settlers came to America, they were people who were guided by God's Word. They wanted to establish a new nation where God would be fully honored and His Word would be valued so much that the principles in the Word would shine through everything they did as a community.

As the generations passed and the idea of independence for a whole new nation with completely new laws arose, the reliance on the laws of God continued. The people who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were devout believers in God. They knew His Word well and they trusted in it. They knew that if our government were founded on the principles God laid out in the Scriptures, their country would have a very good start.

Here are some great quotes from some of the earliest lawmakers in America. As you read these quotes, try to see how the speaker expresses his belief that God's Word should guide our rules for government.

James Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution. When you read his words here it is easy to see how our government came to be founded on the God's Law in the Ten Commandments. Portrait courtesy of the National Gallery of Art.

"We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
--James Madison, 4th president

In these words, Founding Father Noah Webster expresses his belief that much crime and heartbreak could be avoided if people would only follow the teachings of the Scriptures. Portrait courtesy of christianlaw.org.

"All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."
--Noah Webster

President John Quincy Adams loved the Scriptures and believed they should be honored in the way America is governed. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

"The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code...laws essential to the existence of men in society and most of which have been enacted by every nation which ever professed any code of laws."
--John Quincy Adams, 6th president

John Adams, our nation's 2nd president believed that the rules of the Ten Commandments were the ideal principles to properly govern America and Americans. Portrait courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

"If 'Thou shalt not covet,' and 'Thou shalt not steal,' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."
--John Adams, 2nd president

Have you noticed that the Ten Commandments have been in the news for quite some time? There have been some big court cases about the public display of the Commandments. Some feel they should be shown in every public building because they are the foundation of our legal system. Others say they directly represent the Christian and Jewish faiths and therefore shouldn't be displayed?

What do you think? Do you like to see the Ten Commandments in your school or town hall? In a public park or other building? God's Word is so vital to our laws, it seems like a great idea to have it everywhere.

Commandments Ruled "OK" in Maryland

This picture shows the Ten Commandments monument that is now allowed to stay in a public park in Frederick, MD.

Just this week a federal district court in Maryland ruled that the Ten Commandments statue in a public park in Frederick is okay. This story goes all the way back to 1958 when the Fraternal Order of Eagles placed the Ten Commandments monument outside City Hall. Later it was moved to a city park where it stood with war memorials, a George Washington plaque and other historical markers.

Though some groups tried really hard to have the display removed, a judge has now ruled it can remain, in part because the Ten Commandments have a secular message as well as a religious one. They are the basis for most western law, and that's how the judge saw it.

Parents and Kids Protest
Commandments' Removal

A large crane was brought in to remove the Ten Commandments monument from an Ohio school. Photo courtesy of AP.

In one case that happened just last year, a school district in Ohio had to ask the police to remove protesters who were sitting on a granite memorial that showed the Ten Commandments. The school district had been told to remove the memorial from school property, but the protesters didn't think that should happen, so they sat down on the large granite memorial. As they sat there, they prayed. They believe that the Ten Commandments are the perfect thing to have on school property because they would help kids know how to act which in turn will help them stay out of trouble.

Eventually, the police removed the protesters and a large crane was brought in to remove the big granite replica of the Ten Commandments. It lifted them high into the sky and then put them on the back of a truck. As the truck drove away, the people gathered and prayed again.

Judge Wanted Commandments to
"Speak" at His Courthouse

This is a picture of the monument that Judge Roy Moore placed at the entrance to his courthouse in Alabama. It portrays the Ten Commandments as given to Moses by God. Photo courtesy of reclaimamerica.org.

In Alabama, a Judge named Roy Moore wanted to show everyone who came into his court how important the Ten Commandments are to the law of his state and our country. So he had a large monument made with the commandments on them. He had it placed in his courthouse where it could easily be seen by everyone because he believes that the Ten Commandments are the foundation of our laws.

Some people brought a lawsuit against Judge Moore, seeking to have the commandments removed from his courthouse. Sadly, the decision was made to remove the monument.

The Ten Commandments are everywhere! They really are. They adorn the entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court and several areas in the Capitol. They are written in courthouses and public buildings and parks all over our country. It's great to get the news that they are not being taken away from all our public places. But the most important thing to consider is, are the Ten Commandments written on your heart? Because that's where God wants them, you know! He wants you to love and obey Him in everything. That's why He gave us the Ten Commandments-so we would have really good, clear rules to live by.

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