Beware Desire!

Finally, we come to the 10th Commandment! We might have hoped that this last Word would be less demanding, but if anything it is more so. We have seen something of a crescendo, a climax, as we have neared the end. From an attention to actions, we have moved to the realm of speech (false witness) and finally, now, to attitudes of the heart. From prohibitions against doing, we moved first to a Word against saying, and now to a commandment against even thinking about harming our neighbor. The terrain for the race has changed, and not for the easier. It as if we have left the flats, moved through the hill country, and are now cycling through the mountains. The final leg of the journey is uphill all the way to the finish line!

Listen to the Podcast!

No Taking!

This week we consider the Eighth Commandment. It is the fourth in a series of commandments that focuses on loving our neighbor.

Honor Marriage!

This week we consider the Seventh Commandment. It is the third in a series that focuses on loving our neighbor. After having dealt with our first neighbor (our parents, the neighbors we are born with) and our neighbor's life, The Second Table of the Ten Commandments shifts focus to the most intimate aspect of our most intimate relationship--the one we leave mother and father for, the one we take vows to protect.

"Honor thy father and thy mother!"

This week we consider the Fifth Commandment. It is the first commandment that focuses on loving our neighbor, and it is a commandment with a promise attached. The Second Table of the Ten Commandments begins at home, where vital relationships are already established and likely to need attention, rather than with the stranger or enemy. We discover along the way that our expectations about who is addressed are being turned upside down. The commandment is addressed to the strong, the adults, so that children may learn and the aging, the vulnerable, and the poor be cared for.

This week, we take things a little out of order. The sermon was about the Sixth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill!" The theme is appropriate to a weekend on which we commemorated the events of 9/11, especially given the conflict that surrounds the building of a mosque at Ground Zero and the threatened burning of the Qur'an by a Florida pastor. According to Jesus, the command to "Protect Life!" includes a requirement to seek reconciliation with, and to pray for and to feed, our enemies.

No Ordinary Appointment

Just imagine! The same God who spoke the worlds into existence without a lot of fanfare, is speaking a creating word directly to us. God's purpose in these commands is to establish an exclusive, dynamic, respectful, intentional relationship with us! Today we come to the Fourth Commandment. It is the final word written on the first of the two tablets inscribed by the finger of God on stone. In these first four commands, taken together, we now have a complete picture of the quality of the relationship that God wants to have with us:

A Passionate Relationship is:

• Exclusive (The First Word)
• Dynamic (The Second Word)
• Respectful (The Third Word)
• Intentional (The Fourth Word)

(Engraving by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld [March 26, 1794 - May 24, 1872] Illustration was published in "Die Bibel in Bildern" [1860]. Scan by Ivan Burmistrov.)

The Third Word: Treasure the Name!

This week our Small Group Fellowship and Bible Study groups take on the commandment that many people think of as the commandment against cussing. However, as we have learned about both the First Commandment and the Second Commandment, there is more at stake for believers in this commandment than appears at first glance. This Third Commandment is also intended to safeguard and preserve our lives. The LORD our God desires a relationship with us that is living and passionate. God wants to be close enough to us that we know his name and call on it frequently. Join us this week as we learn to keep the Third Commandment!

(Baal from Ugarit. Image source, http://www.historywiz.com/images/neareast/baal-lg.jpg)

The Second Word: No Images!

This week our Small Group Fellowship and Bible Study groups take on the prohibition against the making of images. This Second Commandment, like the First Commandment, is intended to safeguard and preserve our lives. The LORD our God desires a relationship with us that is living and passionate. Join us this week as we learn to keep the Second Commandment!

Fellowship and Discipleship Groups

It is not too late to receive help and support in your journey of discipleship from a group of believers who are trying to put the 10 Commandments into daily practice. Groups are meeting on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday evenings. Even if you are only able to attend for four weeks out of the ten weekly sessions, that's enough to begin forming a habit of "Commandment Keeping"! Grab the study guide for the week at www.10WordsToLiveBy.com and call one of our hosts to let them know you want to attend their group this week.

MONDAY

TUESDAY

FRIDAY