Introduction
Today we are going to continue our journey through the Ten Commandments as we seek to build a foundation that will be of benefit to us when we are searching for stability in this life, especially when we find ourselves in a vulnerable state. Three weeks ago as we began this journey we looked at the idea of Sabbath; specifically, what it is, the dangers of distorting it, and why it is so important in our lives. Two weeks ago, we looked at the aspect of reverence that is conveyed by the first three commandments and why exactly does our self-described jealous God demand these ideals, then and now, and how we can emulate that attitude. Last week we spent our time reflecting on the idea of honor in the fifth commandment; what is honor, who should we honor, and how can we honor. Today we are going to examine all of those “thou shalt not” commandments to better see if those are simply extinct laws for an ancient time or do they still have any bearing upon us today.
They'll Never Know
Several years ago on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, there was a painting by Leslie Thrasher showing a woman buying her Thanksgiving turkey. The turkey was lying on the scales, and one side is the butcher, apron pulled tight, looking over the rim of his glasses at the scale. On the other side is a lovely lady of about 60, watching the weighing in from her side. Each of them had a pleased look as if each knew a secret joke. There’s nothing unusual about a butcher and a customer watching as a turkey is being weighed. The expression on their faces however indicated that something unusual was going on. Thrasher lets us in on the joke by showing us their hands. The butcher is pushing down on the scales while the woman is pushing up on them, neither of them aware of what the other is doing.
Both the butcher and the lovely lady would resent being called thieves. The little lady would never rob a bank or steal a car. The butcher would be indignant if anyone accused him of stealing, and he might get very angry if a customer gave him a bad check. But neither saw anything wrong with a little deception that would make a few cents for one or save a few cents for the other.
That picture gives us a visual glimpse of how we sometimes seek to live life, manipulating it for our advantage. And that’s what the Ten Commandments are all about, to remind us that there are eternal laws in the universe by which we must live if our life is going to be found pleasing to God.
No Killing
Today we are going to cover a multitude of commandments, commandments six through ten that show us how to live if our life is going to be found pleasing to God. So I just want us to spend just a brief moment looking at each of them and what they meant for the ancient Israelites.
This sixth commandment simply says, “You shall not murder”. The aim and scope of the commandment was primarily aimed at not killing those God did not want you to kill. If we look through the Old Testament, killing was something that both God and the Israelites did more than once, however only with God's approval. So this commandment takes aim at those killings that were done without God's approval, regardless of justification.
Biblical scholar, W. Harrelson puts this commandment in a helpful perspective, “In short, the sixth commandment stakes out the claim of God over all life and serves notice to all human beings – but especially those who claim the biblical heritage as binding upon them – that God's claim upon life is to be given priority in the decision taken by a community of its individual members”.
Even though killing was still a part of life for these ancient Israelites, God still wanted them to understand the supreme importance of life. God did not want them to take God's place as judge and jury. God wanted them to understand that life is paramount and not to be taken lightly.
No Adultery
Next up is the seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery”. The ancient Israelites had an understanding of this commandment that you may not be aware of. For them adultery was only committed when the bonds of marriage were broken by the woman. If a married man had a relationship with an unmarried women, the man simply took another wife, as polygamy was not against Old Testament Law. This speaks to the culture of that era and is not meant to be applied today, since polygamy is illegal now. But, the importance of marriage was at the crux of this law. The New Testament often uses the image of the church being the bride of Christ, so here we find God setting the early foundations for this metaphor. It was an institution that humanity could understand to help us understand how God feels about God's relationship with us. God valued the bonds of marriage as sacred and God wanted the Israelites to understand that.
No Stealing
The eighth commandment deals with theft, “You shall not steal”. Stealing was understood by the ancient Israelites as kidnapping, taking other people's animals, as well as material things. There is not a whole lot to say about his commandment but it does give us the impression that ownership was an understood quality of this culture.
No Lying
The ninth commandment has a legalistic tone as we read, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor”. Primarily, this was not intended to cover all circumstances but to focus on legal proceedings. Back then there were no security cameras, DNA testing, or fingerprints. The only way to uncover any mystery of events or a crime was through eye witness testimony. So to have people lie, to give false witness, directly compromises any legal purity for this new community.
We know, of course, that the real reason we should not be lying is that lying comes from Satan or the Devil, who, according to John 8:44, is known as the Father of Lies. The first lie came from Satan to Adam and Eve, and it has been an ongoing historical reality and phenomenon in every generation.
No Coveting
This leaves us at commandment number 10, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor”. This one is a bit longer in length and I think that is because out of all of these this is the only one that cannot be accurately measured. You can see a person kill another, take another's spouse, or take another's possessions, and you can uncover with concrete evidence when a person lies. But to see matter's of the heart is a different story. You cannot simply look at someone and see covetousness. Our inner ponderings and emotions and thoughts are just that inner and only for us and God to know.
Why?
But we look over these commandments and all of these acts and tendencies that God decreed God's people should abstain from and we wonder “why?”. Why are these bad, why are these thought of as detrimental, and what is the worst that could happen?
Remember, the nation of Israel had just been delivered from the harsh life they had experienced in Egypt. It all started when a Pharaoh came to power who did not know Joseph. All sorts of false things were told about the Jews. They became a scapegoat for all the problems of Egypt. They were stripped of their dignity and eventually were enslaved. The people whom Moses delivered were hardly saints or Sunday school students. They had been influenced by the degrading system of slavery.
This fledgling community, in the last 400 years, never had to live without a dictator. They never, in their lives, had to make decisions on their own and thereby live or die by those decisions. These people were learning how to be a family, how to be a community, and how to be God's chosen people. Basically you can boil all of this down to trust. If these people cannot trust one another then they cannot live with one another. And if they do not live with one another, then there is no “God's Chosen People”.
God had to be sure they would not pull each other down, but build a caring, compassionate people. To build a different kind of nation required a different kind of people. There was to be a different building code. In this building code everybody was a son and daughter of Abraham. Everybody was a child of the covenant. Even the sojourner in the land--like they had been once--was to be cared for in a gentle way.
What Does This Mean For Us Today?
So fast forward to the present. What do all these “thou shalt nots” mean for us today? I think these are still very important for us. There are tremendous lessons and God-given advice to be had here.
In looking through these it struck me that each one of these five commandments are centered on trust. When people do not trust each other, it can lead to all of these things we are not to do. If we cannot trust each other, then we lie to each other and say things about one another that are not true. If we do not trust each other, maybe it is because we have stolen from each other. And if we get angry enough and the trust is broken bad enough, we might even kill each other.
For example, look at the idea of covetousness. “Coveting [someone's spouse] will lead to adultery and the breaking of the seventh commandment. Coveting...[someone's] property will lead to breaking the eighth commandment. One act and two commandments broken. These ideals, these standards are not independent of one another. They are connected and inform each other.
And we have something that those ancient Israelites did not have. Christ. Our first Scripture lesson from Philippians 4:13 tells us that, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Christ is your ever present help when you are faced with these temptations.
God gave the ancient Israelites these rules so help them build a foundation that would allow them to seek God, live for God, and be blessed by God.. They are still applicable today because they do the same thing. They allow us to work together to seek God, live for God, and be be blessed by God because Christ strengthens us for this purpose.
Conclusion
Dr. Robert Kopp tells the story of a young boy who was walking on a beach. He saw a very old man preparing to catch crabs. The young boy had never seen anyone catch crabs. So he sat in the sand and watched. The old crabber worked his strings and nets and pretty soon began to catch lots of crabs. He threw them into a big bucket. It wasn't long before the little boy noticed crab legs inching over the top of the bucket. "Mister," the little boy said to the old crabber, "you better put a top on your bucket or all of your crabs are going to get away!" "Not a chance," the old crabber said to the little boy, "because whenever one of them gets to the top, the other crabs just pull them back down." Sound familiar? That is the problem when we do not follow these commands. It can only pull people down--it can never lift them up. It serves no Godly purpose.
These people, these ancient Israelites were called by God to a higher purpose. These Ten Commandments have, “...vertical and horizontal dimensions, and obedience to God is required on both fronts. After all, if the Israelites cannot behave properly toward their God and cannot treat each other as 'special people,' as God treats them, how can they ever be a light to the Gentiles? How can they ever be a kingdom of priests in a world that does not know the true God?”
That is our challenge today. We are called to be a kingdom of priests in a world that does not know the true God. If we are consumed, sidetracked, and deceived by all of these 'thou shalt nots' how can we be priests? How can we live up to being the people we were created to be?
God has entrusted each of us with a responsibility. A responsibility to each other and to all humankind. We are to create amongst ourselves a community built on faith and trust in each other. A community that will withstand the test of time and of evil. A community where we do not keep each other down. A community of love, respect, second chances, and humility. A community that we are to take to the world. Therefore, since you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, go. Go and live humbly, live in love, and live in treating others better than you treat yourself. Go and show this world that God is here, God is alive, and God is love. Go.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Bible Challenge 02/27 - 03/05
Greetings Bible Challenge Readers!
I pray you have enjoyed reading all of Paul's letters. It is always interesting to me to see how we still struggle with some of the same issues today that our early Christian brothers and sisters faced.
This week we move right along and get into the last book of the New Testament. We begin with 2 Peter and move through 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude, and into Revelation.
Remember, if you miss any days, do not feel like you have to go back and catch up. At four chapter a days that can pile up fast and be discouraging. Just pick up with the current day get back on track. This is something to be treasured not dreaded.
Here is the schedule:
2/27, Sunday: 2 Peter 2 - 1 John 2
2/28, Monday: 1 John 3 - 2 John 1
3/1, Tuesday: 3 John - Revelation 2
3/2, Wednesday: Revelation 3-6
3/3, Thursday: Revelation 7-10
3/4, Friday: Revelation 11-14
3/5, Saturday: Revelation 15-18
Be Blessed!
I pray you have enjoyed reading all of Paul's letters. It is always interesting to me to see how we still struggle with some of the same issues today that our early Christian brothers and sisters faced.
This week we move right along and get into the last book of the New Testament. We begin with 2 Peter and move through 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude, and into Revelation. Remember, if you miss any days, do not feel like you have to go back and catch up. At four chapter a days that can pile up fast and be discouraging. Just pick up with the current day get back on track. This is something to be treasured not dreaded.
Here is the schedule:
2/27, Sunday: 2 Peter 2 - 1 John 2
2/28, Monday: 1 John 3 - 2 John 1
3/1, Tuesday: 3 John - Revelation 2
3/2, Wednesday: Revelation 3-6
3/3, Thursday: Revelation 7-10
3/4, Friday: Revelation 11-14
3/5, Saturday: Revelation 15-18
Be Blessed!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday Fives
2. Wanna Help? – Have you been looking for a way to volunteer here at Druid Hills? Are you just not sure where to start or who to ask? This Sunday, February 27th we will host the second and final week of our Ministry Fair here at the church. We will open up all the volunteer ministries of the church and give all of you a chance to sign up and get connected. After worship stay for lunch and take a trip around all the displays to see where you feel God leading you to volunteer.
3. Five Way Chili Dinner - On Saturday, March 5, 2011 from 5 to 7 pm, in Fellowship Hall we will host a Five Way Chili Dinner. The profits from this dinner will help to fund our Easter Tableau. Tickets are available for sale in the Church Office, may be purchased from Eunice Reid on a Sunday morning, and will also be available at the door. Advance ticket purchase would be appreciated to help determine how much chili will be needed. Price is $8 per person. 
There will also be a Variety Show immediately following the 5 Way Chili Dinner at approximately 6:30 pm. Got a talent you can share? We want to see it! For additional info, please ask Peggy Sue. Mark your calendars and I hope to see you there!
4. Got Grandkids? – The Florida United Methodist Youth Camp is hosting their annual Grandparents and Me Summer Camp this year on June 27-30 and July 18-21, at the Warren Willis Youth camp in Leesburg. The theme this year is "Got Spirit? WE DO!" If you have grandkids and are looking for a fun and exciting way to spend some time together I encourage you to consider this. You can find out more information by stopping by the office to pick up a registration form, visiting them online at www.lecretreats.org, emailing Lori at lbuonasera@flumc.org, or calling Lori at 352-787-0313.5. Salty Service - A few months back I asked everyone to consider joining up together in groups to venture out and visit some of the residents in the many assisted living and rehab facilities around our church. There are many people there that get no visitors, and we are so good with fellowship, I see a need and a spiritual gift that can easily be paired up. I wanted to give everyone an update on how this budding ministry is progressing. We have three members that have reached out and began weekly visits to three different facilities. We also have a group of people that have formed to begin visits with a fifth facility. We have several contacts at area facilities, all we need is volunteers. Many people make light work. If you are willing to spend just a few hours a month visiting with people and sharing the love of Christ please contact the office and we can help you get connected. Please consider reaching out to the people in our area and let them know we care and in the name of Jesus Christ that they are loved.
Have an incredible weekend and see you Sunday!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Ten Commandments: Honor – Ephesians 6:1-4 and Exodus 20:12
Introduction
Today we are going to continue our journey through the Ten Commandments as we seek to build a foundation that will be of benefit to us when we are searching for stability in this life, especially when we find ourselves in a vulnerable state. Two weeks ago as we began this journey we looked at the idea of Sabbath; specifically, what it is, the dangers of distorting it, and why it is so important in our lives. Last week, we looked at the aspect of reverence that is conveyed by the first three commandments and why exactly does our self-described jealous God demand these ideals, then and now, and how we can emulate that attitude. Today I want us to spend our time reflecting on the idea of honor in the fifth commandment; what is honor, who should we honor, and how can we honor.
Be Careful...You Are Being Watched!
Once there was a little old man. His eyes blinked and his hands trembled; when he ate he clattered the silverware distressingly, missed his mouth with the spoon as often as not, and dribbled a bit of his food on the tablecloth. Now he lived with his married son, having nowhere else to live, and his son's wife didn't like the arrangement.
"I can't have this," she said. "It interferes with my right to happiness." So she and her husband took the old man gently but firmly by the arm and led him to the corner of the kitchen. There they set him on a stool and gave him his food in an earthenware bowl. From then on he always ate in the corner, blinking at the table with wistful eyes.
One day his hands trembled rather more than usual, and the earthenware bowl fell and broke. "If you are a pig," said the daughter-in-law, "you must eat out of a trough." So they made him a little wooden trough and he got his meals in that.
These people had a four-year-old son of whom they were very fond. One evening the young man noticed his boy playing intently with some bits of wood and asked what he was doing. "I'm making a trough," he said, smiling up for approval, "to feed you and Mamma out of when I get big."
The man and his wife looked at each other for a while and didn't say anything. Then they cried a little. They then went to the corner and took the old man by the arm and led him back to the table. They sat him in a comfortable chair and gave him his food on a plate, and from then on nobody ever scolded him when he clattered or spilled or broke things.
This story actually came from one of Grimm's Fairy Tales but I think it still speaks to us today about the importance of honor and how our actions today can influence the actions of future generations.
What is Honor?
So for us to spend our time talking about honor we need know what honor means in this context. The Hebrew word for honor is kabod, which means “to be heavy or impressive.” This idea of heavy applies to the weight and amount of honor. Whomever the object of honor is, is to have great amounts of it heaped upon them. This person or persons are to be considered sacred and absolutely worthy of an enormous amount of glory and honor. For our purposes today, our object is our fathers and mothers. That person or persons that at the very least gave you life, but the very most gave you love. And the honor we are talking about is not a surface allegiance or obligatory respect. Rather we are commanded to heap great amounts of unmitigated adoration and esteem and greatness upon our mothers and fathers in the way we honor them.
But This Does Not Apply to Me!?!
Looking at all ten commandments I believe this one to be one of the more difficult ones to stomach. Realistically, the first three deal with our relationship with God and how we are to view, understand, and act in relation to God. No big news there. The fourth one tells us to rest and spend time with God. Fairly easy to understand, a little harder to enact. The one we are talking about today is the fifth. Six through ten are the “Thou Shalt Nots”, which we will look at next week, but I believe murdering, stealing, and the rest are not hard ones to understand why we should not commit those. This fifth one though, this one is directly related to how we interact with another person. This one is relational with another imperfect human and can have a lasting impact not just on us but those around us.
Now I realize most of you think I am too young to remember Leave It to Beaver and June and Ward Cleaver. And you're right, I am! But I did watch it in re-runs and really enjoyed it. When I think of idyllic role models for parents they come to mind. I do not like their rigid portrayal of 'stay at home mom' and 'earn all the money dad'. But the respect Ward had for June, June for Ward, and Wally and the Beav had for their parents, I really admired. Especially when I really messed up and my dad was strongly encouraging me to not make that mistake again. But when I think of this commandment, if all parents were like June and Ward Cleaver, I do not think there would be a need for me to speak about this.
But I do not believe any of us had a June and Ward set of parents. Partly because none of us were a Wally type of kid. All of us had parental figures that made wrong decisions. However, by and large I would like to believe that the majority of us had parents that were loving, supportive, and nurturing as we were growing up. Parents that we had a solid relationship with that we still remember fondly and hopefully still have the opportunity to enjoy today. Some of us had parents that treated us with a firm hand, and made sure we understood who was in charge. It reminds me of that phrase, “My dad always gave me a pat on the back...some days it was just lower than normal.” Others of us had absentee parents that never paid much attention to what we did or where we were. Others of us had may have had mentally and physically abusive parents. And yet others of us had parents that we never knew for a myriad of reasons. Dealing with other people, especially ones that occasionally disappoint us, can make it very hard to keep this commandment.
But the words are clear, “honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). There is no performance based stipulations that say honor your father and mother if they acted like June and Ward. Or honor your father and mother only when you feel they honor you. This commandment stands irregardless of how you parents performed their duties in your eyes or anyone else's. I understand that how our relationship is or was with our parents will and does affect the vigor and enthusiasm of how we will keep this commandment. But it does not affect the central reality that you must obey it whether they were good parents or not!
Ah...The Flip Side
As we look at this commandment, we are called to treat mom and dad with respect all the time, in all circumstances. As they raise us, as we leave and gain our independence, and as they age and are in need of assistance. One day when Wesley was a baby, maybe a month or two old, Parker was standing next to me as I was changing Wesley's diaper. Never saw Ward Cleaver do that by the way. Parker, about three years old at the time, watched very intently and then asked me why was I doing that. I told him very seriously that I changed his diapers when he was a baby and I would change Wesley's why he was a baby, all in the hopes that they would change mine when I got older. Parker got a big kick out of that but it is a very undeniable reality today. Children often have to assume the parental role as our life expectancy grows longer and longer.
Therefore, this commandment has a flip side that we need to be aware of. We are called to honor our father and mother not just while they are in control but when they age and need our care and we are in control. Just like that father in the Grimm Fairy Tale. As the grandfather aged and eating became more difficult, the parents, his son and daughter-in-law, tried to discard him, devalue him. However, they were quickly reminded in the mimicked actions of their son, the grandson, of the folly of their ways.
They Are Always Watching!
How we treat our parents is part of a cycle. A cycle that our children and those children that look up to us will adopt.
Malcolm MacGregor, an accountant and speaker, has always stated that his family is his second priority in life, right after his relationship with God. Like any normal male, he feels the pressure to succeed in business at the expense of his wife and children. Our culture doesn't value family half as much as it values wealth and power. But Malcolm has never regretted choosing family over business obligations.
One day a scheduling mix-up forced Malcolm to choose between an important meeting with two clients or a Scouting event he had promised to attend. Malcolm called up the clients and asked to re-schedule his meetings. Both men were upset and threatened to find another accountant. But Malcolm wouldn't budge. He only prayed that God would honor his decision to put his family first.
Later that afternoon, one of Malcolm''s clients discovered new information about his taxes that would have made their earlier meeting useless. And the other client got a call from his brother, who was passing through town. Both men were so grateful that Malcolm had canceled their meetings that they called him up and apologized.
Sometimes life works out like that. Sometimes it does not. Often parents have to make some hard choices indeed. Choices that at the time we may not understand. If we remember that and show honor to our parents then our children will repeat that cycle. This cycle will be repeated, it is just up to us if if it is done in the proper way or not.
Do We Honor Just Mom and Dad?
This brings us to a logical question, that I very briefly want to address, about whether or not we honor just our mom and dad or all adults. This commandment does not say. But looking at the example of how Christ treated the people He interacted with I say it is safe to assume the latter. We are called to not only honor our parents but I believe all people. The kicker here is that if we fail to honor our parents then chances are we will not know how to honor others. If we honor our parents and treat them with heavy amounts of adoration, then it will be much easier to treat all people that way.
How Do We Honor?
Equipped with the knowledge of what honor in this context means, the manner in which we are called to honor, the cycle that is created, and who we are to honor, I want us to turn our attention to how to honor. All of you adults are either parents to your own children or are looked at as role models by others. And I believe the best way to bring honor on ourselves as parents and role models is by giving honor to our children. Our first Scripture lesson today gives us very good advice. Hear the words again from Ephesians, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise — “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:1-4, NIV).
Again we are told to honor our parents, mother and father equally, but what I want to focus on is the last verse, verse 4: Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Here is yet another angle in which to look at this commandment. We are told to honor our parents, heavily and with great adoration, but I believe there is a level of work to be done on the parents part. Specifically, do not make it hard on your children to honor you. Do not jump to anger, James 1:19-20 tells us, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” Do not make it difficult for your kids to succeed. Set easy goals so they can be encouraged. Do not say harsh words to them because your temper is short or your patience thin. By all means, hold your children accountable, give them high standards to achieve, and demand only their best. But we can do that with love and support and encouragement.
Conclusion
This commandant is only one verse long and I have isolated it today because there is so much in it. We have only scratched the surface of what it entails, but I believe we have hit on the main ideas. You know God calls all of us to definitely treat our parents, and I believe our elders and children, with respect. That respect that God has already given to us. We are not called to model anything that God has not already done. God does not owe you a thing. There is nothing that you have that God needs for survival. But you do have something God wants. You! When you treat other people, especially your parents and parental role models, with respect and honor, you are treating God with respect and honor. You are opening yourself up to receive the blessings God wants to give you. Honor your parents, honor your children, and in doing so...honor God.
Today we are going to continue our journey through the Ten Commandments as we seek to build a foundation that will be of benefit to us when we are searching for stability in this life, especially when we find ourselves in a vulnerable state. Two weeks ago as we began this journey we looked at the idea of Sabbath; specifically, what it is, the dangers of distorting it, and why it is so important in our lives. Last week, we looked at the aspect of reverence that is conveyed by the first three commandments and why exactly does our self-described jealous God demand these ideals, then and now, and how we can emulate that attitude. Today I want us to spend our time reflecting on the idea of honor in the fifth commandment; what is honor, who should we honor, and how can we honor.
Be Careful...You Are Being Watched!
Once there was a little old man. His eyes blinked and his hands trembled; when he ate he clattered the silverware distressingly, missed his mouth with the spoon as often as not, and dribbled a bit of his food on the tablecloth. Now he lived with his married son, having nowhere else to live, and his son's wife didn't like the arrangement.
"I can't have this," she said. "It interferes with my right to happiness." So she and her husband took the old man gently but firmly by the arm and led him to the corner of the kitchen. There they set him on a stool and gave him his food in an earthenware bowl. From then on he always ate in the corner, blinking at the table with wistful eyes.
One day his hands trembled rather more than usual, and the earthenware bowl fell and broke. "If you are a pig," said the daughter-in-law, "you must eat out of a trough." So they made him a little wooden trough and he got his meals in that.
These people had a four-year-old son of whom they were very fond. One evening the young man noticed his boy playing intently with some bits of wood and asked what he was doing. "I'm making a trough," he said, smiling up for approval, "to feed you and Mamma out of when I get big."
The man and his wife looked at each other for a while and didn't say anything. Then they cried a little. They then went to the corner and took the old man by the arm and led him back to the table. They sat him in a comfortable chair and gave him his food on a plate, and from then on nobody ever scolded him when he clattered or spilled or broke things.
This story actually came from one of Grimm's Fairy Tales but I think it still speaks to us today about the importance of honor and how our actions today can influence the actions of future generations.
What is Honor?
So for us to spend our time talking about honor we need know what honor means in this context. The Hebrew word for honor is kabod, which means “to be heavy or impressive.” This idea of heavy applies to the weight and amount of honor. Whomever the object of honor is, is to have great amounts of it heaped upon them. This person or persons are to be considered sacred and absolutely worthy of an enormous amount of glory and honor. For our purposes today, our object is our fathers and mothers. That person or persons that at the very least gave you life, but the very most gave you love. And the honor we are talking about is not a surface allegiance or obligatory respect. Rather we are commanded to heap great amounts of unmitigated adoration and esteem and greatness upon our mothers and fathers in the way we honor them.
But This Does Not Apply to Me!?!
Looking at all ten commandments I believe this one to be one of the more difficult ones to stomach. Realistically, the first three deal with our relationship with God and how we are to view, understand, and act in relation to God. No big news there. The fourth one tells us to rest and spend time with God. Fairly easy to understand, a little harder to enact. The one we are talking about today is the fifth. Six through ten are the “Thou Shalt Nots”, which we will look at next week, but I believe murdering, stealing, and the rest are not hard ones to understand why we should not commit those. This fifth one though, this one is directly related to how we interact with another person. This one is relational with another imperfect human and can have a lasting impact not just on us but those around us.
Now I realize most of you think I am too young to remember Leave It to Beaver and June and Ward Cleaver. And you're right, I am! But I did watch it in re-runs and really enjoyed it. When I think of idyllic role models for parents they come to mind. I do not like their rigid portrayal of 'stay at home mom' and 'earn all the money dad'. But the respect Ward had for June, June for Ward, and Wally and the Beav had for their parents, I really admired. Especially when I really messed up and my dad was strongly encouraging me to not make that mistake again. But when I think of this commandment, if all parents were like June and Ward Cleaver, I do not think there would be a need for me to speak about this.
But I do not believe any of us had a June and Ward set of parents. Partly because none of us were a Wally type of kid. All of us had parental figures that made wrong decisions. However, by and large I would like to believe that the majority of us had parents that were loving, supportive, and nurturing as we were growing up. Parents that we had a solid relationship with that we still remember fondly and hopefully still have the opportunity to enjoy today. Some of us had parents that treated us with a firm hand, and made sure we understood who was in charge. It reminds me of that phrase, “My dad always gave me a pat on the back...some days it was just lower than normal.” Others of us had absentee parents that never paid much attention to what we did or where we were. Others of us had may have had mentally and physically abusive parents. And yet others of us had parents that we never knew for a myriad of reasons. Dealing with other people, especially ones that occasionally disappoint us, can make it very hard to keep this commandment.
But the words are clear, “honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). There is no performance based stipulations that say honor your father and mother if they acted like June and Ward. Or honor your father and mother only when you feel they honor you. This commandment stands irregardless of how you parents performed their duties in your eyes or anyone else's. I understand that how our relationship is or was with our parents will and does affect the vigor and enthusiasm of how we will keep this commandment. But it does not affect the central reality that you must obey it whether they were good parents or not!
Ah...The Flip Side
As we look at this commandment, we are called to treat mom and dad with respect all the time, in all circumstances. As they raise us, as we leave and gain our independence, and as they age and are in need of assistance. One day when Wesley was a baby, maybe a month or two old, Parker was standing next to me as I was changing Wesley's diaper. Never saw Ward Cleaver do that by the way. Parker, about three years old at the time, watched very intently and then asked me why was I doing that. I told him very seriously that I changed his diapers when he was a baby and I would change Wesley's why he was a baby, all in the hopes that they would change mine when I got older. Parker got a big kick out of that but it is a very undeniable reality today. Children often have to assume the parental role as our life expectancy grows longer and longer.
Therefore, this commandment has a flip side that we need to be aware of. We are called to honor our father and mother not just while they are in control but when they age and need our care and we are in control. Just like that father in the Grimm Fairy Tale. As the grandfather aged and eating became more difficult, the parents, his son and daughter-in-law, tried to discard him, devalue him. However, they were quickly reminded in the mimicked actions of their son, the grandson, of the folly of their ways.
They Are Always Watching!
How we treat our parents is part of a cycle. A cycle that our children and those children that look up to us will adopt.
Malcolm MacGregor, an accountant and speaker, has always stated that his family is his second priority in life, right after his relationship with God. Like any normal male, he feels the pressure to succeed in business at the expense of his wife and children. Our culture doesn't value family half as much as it values wealth and power. But Malcolm has never regretted choosing family over business obligations.
One day a scheduling mix-up forced Malcolm to choose between an important meeting with two clients or a Scouting event he had promised to attend. Malcolm called up the clients and asked to re-schedule his meetings. Both men were upset and threatened to find another accountant. But Malcolm wouldn't budge. He only prayed that God would honor his decision to put his family first.
Later that afternoon, one of Malcolm''s clients discovered new information about his taxes that would have made their earlier meeting useless. And the other client got a call from his brother, who was passing through town. Both men were so grateful that Malcolm had canceled their meetings that they called him up and apologized.
Sometimes life works out like that. Sometimes it does not. Often parents have to make some hard choices indeed. Choices that at the time we may not understand. If we remember that and show honor to our parents then our children will repeat that cycle. This cycle will be repeated, it is just up to us if if it is done in the proper way or not.
Do We Honor Just Mom and Dad?
This brings us to a logical question, that I very briefly want to address, about whether or not we honor just our mom and dad or all adults. This commandment does not say. But looking at the example of how Christ treated the people He interacted with I say it is safe to assume the latter. We are called to not only honor our parents but I believe all people. The kicker here is that if we fail to honor our parents then chances are we will not know how to honor others. If we honor our parents and treat them with heavy amounts of adoration, then it will be much easier to treat all people that way.
How Do We Honor?
Equipped with the knowledge of what honor in this context means, the manner in which we are called to honor, the cycle that is created, and who we are to honor, I want us to turn our attention to how to honor. All of you adults are either parents to your own children or are looked at as role models by others. And I believe the best way to bring honor on ourselves as parents and role models is by giving honor to our children. Our first Scripture lesson today gives us very good advice. Hear the words again from Ephesians, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise — “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:1-4, NIV).
Again we are told to honor our parents, mother and father equally, but what I want to focus on is the last verse, verse 4: Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Here is yet another angle in which to look at this commandment. We are told to honor our parents, heavily and with great adoration, but I believe there is a level of work to be done on the parents part. Specifically, do not make it hard on your children to honor you. Do not jump to anger, James 1:19-20 tells us, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” Do not make it difficult for your kids to succeed. Set easy goals so they can be encouraged. Do not say harsh words to them because your temper is short or your patience thin. By all means, hold your children accountable, give them high standards to achieve, and demand only their best. But we can do that with love and support and encouragement.
Conclusion
This commandant is only one verse long and I have isolated it today because there is so much in it. We have only scratched the surface of what it entails, but I believe we have hit on the main ideas. You know God calls all of us to definitely treat our parents, and I believe our elders and children, with respect. That respect that God has already given to us. We are not called to model anything that God has not already done. God does not owe you a thing. There is nothing that you have that God needs for survival. But you do have something God wants. You! When you treat other people, especially your parents and parental role models, with respect and honor, you are treating God with respect and honor. You are opening yourself up to receive the blessings God wants to give you. Honor your parents, honor your children, and in doing so...honor God.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Bible Challenge 02/20 - 02/26
Greetings All!
This week we get to Hebrews. I hope you will enjoy this book, or more aptly described, sermon. I encourage you to look for the ways your faith can be strengthened and the joy that is contained in this message.
Here is the schedule for next week. We move through Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, and begin 2 Peter.
2/20, Sunday: Titus 1 - Philemon 1
2/21, Monday: Hebrews 1-4
2/22, Tuesday: Hebrews 5-8
2/23, Wednesday: Hebrews 9-12
2/24, Thursday: Hebrews 13 - James 3
2/25, Friday: James 4 - 1 Peter 2
2/26, Saturday: 1 Peter 3 - 2 Peter 1
Be Blessed!
This week we get to Hebrews. I hope you will enjoy this book, or more aptly described, sermon. I encourage you to look for the ways your faith can be strengthened and the joy that is contained in this message. Here is the schedule for next week. We move through Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, and begin 2 Peter.
2/20, Sunday: Titus 1 - Philemon 1
2/21, Monday: Hebrews 1-4
2/22, Tuesday: Hebrews 5-8
2/23, Wednesday: Hebrews 9-12
2/24, Thursday: Hebrews 13 - James 3
2/25, Friday: James 4 - 1 Peter 2
2/26, Saturday: 1 Peter 3 - 2 Peter 1
Be Blessed!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday Fives
1. Preaching Series - This Sunday we will continue our preaching series focusing on the Ten Commandments. Each week we will take a portion, see what they have to say to us now in this era, and wrap the series up by looking at Christ's response to these Mosiac Laws. This week we going to take a look at the idea of honor; specifically its nature, who we should honor, and how we can honor. Invite a friend and I hope to see all of you there! 2. Wanna Help? – Have you been looking for a way to volunteer here at Druid Hills? Are you just not sure where to start or who to ask? On February 20th and 27th we will host a Ministry Fair here at the church. We will open up all the volunteer ministries of the church and give all of you a chance to sign up and get connected. After worship stay for lunch and take a trip around all the displays to see where you feel God leading you to volunteer.
3. Five Way Chili Dinner - On Saturday, March 5, 2011 from 5 to 7 pm, in Fellowship Hall we will host a Five Way Chili Dinner. The profits from this dinner will help to fund our Easter Tableau. Tickets are available for sale in the Church Office, may be purchased from Eunice Reid on a Sunday morning, and will also be available at the door. Advance ticket purchase would be appreciated to help determine how much chili will be needed. Price is $8 per person. There will also be a Variety Show immediately following the 5 Way Chili Dinner at approximately 6:30 pm. Got a talent you can share? We want to see it! For additional info, please ask Peggy Sue. Mark your calendars and I hope to see you there!
4. Free on Wednesday? – This Wednesday, February 23, from 7-9pm, Tony Campolo will be speaking at the MTI Auditorium. The topic is Tough Issues Thoughtful Christians Face and this is in line with the Bible Study that we just completed here. The event is free but you are required to have a ticket. For ticket orders of more information, please contact Grace Church at 352-622-7881.
5. Salty Service - A few months back I asked everyone to consider joining up together in groups to venture out and visit some of the residents in the many assisted living and rehab facilities around our church. There are many people there that get no visitors, and we are so good with fellowship, I see a need and a spiritual gift that can easily be paired up. I wanted to give everyone an update on how this budding ministry is progressing. We have three members that have reached out and began weekly visits to three different facilities. We also have a group of people that have formed to begin visits with a fifth facility. We have several contacts at area facilities, all we need is volunteers. Many people make light work. If you are willing to spend just a few hours a month visiting with people and sharing the love of Christ please contact the office and we can help you get connected. Please consider reaching out to the people in our area and let them know we care and in the name of Jesus Christ that they are loved.
Have an incredible weekend and see you Sunday!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Ten Commandments – Reverence: Exodus 15:1-2, 11-12 and Exodus 20:1-7
Introduction
Today we are going to continue our journey through the Ten Commandments as we seek to build a foundation that will be of benefit to us when we find ourselves searching for stability and in a vulnerable state. Last week we looked at the idea of Sabbath, specifically, what it is, the dangers of distorting it, and why it is so important in our lives. Today I want us to spend our time looking at the aspect of reverence that is conveyed by the first three commandments; You will not worship other gods, have idols or graven images of any kind, nor take My name in vain. In other words, why exactly does our self-described jealous God demand these ideals, then and now, and how we can emulate this attitude.
Father Knows Best
One day a little four-year old boy and his friends were playing outside in the back yard. The dad of the little boy is supervising the whole thing and as they begin to play, the dad lays out the rules. The most important of which is not to go near the pool. They all agree and set off playing. After a while they have migrated over to the pool and just as they reach the edge the dad yells, “BE STILL!” They all freeze stricken with fear. The dad runs over and reminds them that they do not know how to swim and had agreed to stay away. The dad tells them to go back into the grass and he turns to start leading the way. Well, in an effort to make his friends laugh the little boy begins to walk along the edge of the pool, sticking out his finger at his friends, while shaking his hips, all in an effort to mock his dad. Just as his dad takes a few steps he hears this “splash”. The boy slipped and fell in the deep end. In one movement the dad turns and jumps in to grab his son. The friends all stand there in shocked silence as the dad pulls his son out of the water. After a few coughs, the boy begins to cry, obviously scared at what just happened. The father's immediate reaction was to yell at his son, but seeing how frightened he was he just hugged him. After a few minutes the boy apologized and the dad got him cleaned up, dried off, changed, and back playing with his friends. This little boy in an attempt to gain the acceptance of this world got himself into some real trouble. So I ask you this morning, how many of us are just like this little boy? How many of us seek to gain acceptance by the standards of this world at great risk to ourselves?
These Ten Commandments we are looking at over the next several weeks are not another set of fun-stealing, boredom inducing restrictions. These are commandments from God that when adopted and followed place each one of us in a position not only to avoid unnecessary heart ache, but to be blessed beyond our wildest imaginations. God gave these out of a sense of love, not demand; out of compassion, not control; out of grace and mercy, not power.
Rev What?
Now some people question those validity of those motives being attributed to God in light of what these first three commandments ask of us. Listen again to the first three commandments: “Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not have any graven images of any kind.” Some people look to these first three commandments as God's way of stroking an ego. But I want us to look at them just a bit differently. Instead of focusing on the words that we are forced to use to convey these ideas, I want us to bring out the intent behind these ideas.
These first three commandments are asking for and demanding our reverence to God; that attitude of deep respect tinged with awe. Now before we can begin to understand what that means for us today, we need to understand what that meant for the Israelites back then. Remember, these people had just been freed after 400 years in captivity. None of these people had ever made a decision of any consequence for themselves in their entire lives. Now they are free, in this desert, no idea of how to function as a community. Kind of scary huh? So God reaches out to them and gives them these commandments. Not to control but to ease their fear and apprehension. God speaks to them in a way they can relate to and understand. One of the first things to happen in any circumstance where there is a sudden lack of leadership is many people, and consequently many voices, begin to emerge in an effort to restore order.
The Reverend John Brokhoff tells of a Kansas City Royals baseball game when a dog walked onto the playing field and wandered around. The game had to be stopped so that the dog could be removed. The umpires yelled at the dog and tried to shoo him off. The players yelled and hollered at him, "Get out, go home, get away" The dog by this time was thoroughly confused, ran here and there, and finally laid down on third base, refusing to move. A sports reporter summed up the situation when he wrote, "The problem was that the dog could hear no dominant voice."
So God sets out to be the dominant voice by reminding them where they came from, captivity in Egypt, and that God was the one that rescued them from all of that. God granted their freedom, God guided them in the desert, God parted the Red Sea allowing them to pass and closed it up again trapping their pursuers. By pointing all of this out God is saying to them, look, all those gods of Egypt that you have been around and building monuments for, I just defeated at their own game, on their own turf. I alone am worthy of worship. I alone are the one you should direct reverence too, that attitude of deep respect tinged with awe. I alone need to be your dominate voice. God is revealing himself to them in a way that they can understand in their new found infancy. Again, not out of a sense of ego, but because God has their best interests at heart.
No Pictures Please!
God continues to help them by setting forth the commandment that you will have no graven images or idols. The culture they were just rescued from was chock full of idols and they were no match for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Old Testament scholar Peter Enns, explains the second commandment like this. “Thus, I suggest that this command has a twofold thrust: Israel is not to do as other peoples do by worshiping the idols of their gods, nor are they to do as other nations do by worshiping their own God that way.” God does not want us to define God with a graven image. We run the very tempting risk of ceasing to worship God and worshiping the image. God cannot be defined by anything found on this earth. God is bigger that all of that. God does not want to be reduced to an image, nor should we do that to God.
Why? Because God is self-described as jealous. Dr. R. Maurice Boyd writes, "When we read that God is jealous, it is the zeal of His love that makes Him so...He is jealous of anything that menaces our well-being, not for His sake but for ours. He is jealous of others gods, not because they threaten Him, (He really is very secure) but because they threaten us. When Israel was guilty of idolatry it was Israel who suffered, and God's jealousy was His distress at her folly and His sorrow at her suffering. His desire was to have her worship only the highest and the noblest. He was jealous of the false gods she went after because they were not worthy of her. He thought more highly of His people than they did of themselves. They were too easily pleased. It was only in Him, their Creator and Savior, that they could know their chief end and greatest good...What He wished to give them, and what He wanted them to want, was Himself." God knew the good and the blessing that God could provide them if they would just trust.
God even takes it one step further to help them follow Him by declaring the punishment that will follow if you break either of these two commandments. God says not only will you be punished, but I will punish your children to the third and fourth generation. Now those of us that miss the love in these commandments stop right here, just beside ourselves that a loving and just God would punish the children for the sins of the parents. But God did not stop here and neither should we. God continues by saying that those who abide by these commandments God will bless to the thousandth generation. Now math is not my strong suit but too me a thousand is much larger than three or four. But, the point I think God is trying to make here is that God does not have to punish children for the sins of their parents. We usually do a good enough job of that ourselves. Remember Proverbs 22:6, “train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it”. It works both ways. If we treat each other with contempt and malice and thereby teach it to our children, when they are old they will not depart from it. I believe God is trying to stress not numbers, but sentiment. Follow my laws so that I can bless you. Follow my laws so that I can always be a part of your life. Follow my laws so that our relationship is so strong there nothing in this life will ever defeat you!
What Did You Say?
This takes us right into our third and final commandment for today, you will not take the name of your Lord in vain. Today many Jewish people do not even pronounce or write the name Yahweh, rather they use the word Hashem, Hebrew for name, or write YHWH. They do not want to take a chance at misusing the name of God. We are a more risky type of people. Today, we often say this commandment means that you are not to say God's name when you curse. The Hebrew word give us more of an idea of 'misuse' rather than curse. J.I. Durham says, “Yahweh's name...must be honored, blessed, praised, celebrated, invoked, pronounced, and so shared. To treat Yahweh's name with disrespect is to treat His gift lightly, to undermine His power, to scorn his Presence, and to misrepresent the family of humankind His very nature as 'The One Who Always Is' “. What God did then, and what God does now, deserves our reverence to the point of honoring God's name. Each week we pray, “hallowed be thy name” The blessings and work of God are so incredible that our allegiance, respect and reverence are the only proper response.
This Rev Thing Again
That naturally brings us to the question of how can we be reverent today. When I think of reverence I think of these young men and women we honor today. How many of you were in Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts? How many of you earned your Gold Award or Eagle Scout Award? Then you know what I am talking about. These Scouting programs are founded on a set of principles, high principles. They voluntarily bound themselves to certain oaths and laws that speak to a character of reverence and respect. You heard them this morning as they recited them for us. The Cub Scouts seek to help other people and give good will. The Girl Scouts pledge to be considerate and caring, to help other people at all times, to respect authority, and make the world a better place. The Boy Scouts, on their honor, pledge themselves to be morally straight, obedient, and reverent. These young people are being taught the importance of being honorable, considerate, and reverent.
Conclusion
If we all sought, on our honor, to do our best, to place God at the forefront of our lives how different would this world be? If instead of speaking a mean word to someone when we are angry with them, justified or not, we spoke kindly. Instead of giving someone the cold shoulder or speaking ill of them behind their backs we treated them with dignity and respect, deserved or not. What if we defeated our egos and let God be the ruling force in our lives, rather than some contrived form of justice we create? Do you know what ego stands for? It stands for “edging God out”. So my challenge to all of us, is to defeat the ego. Let God take center stage in your life. Let God show you the way to act. Let God bless you because you have no other gods, no idols, and give God your respect and reverence. Not so you can be controlled, but so that you can be blessed so much that you can bless others out of that abundance!
Prayer:
God, I come to you humbly; to ask for strength.
Help me to align my life; according to you.
When I lose my way; bring me home again.
Help me to defeat my ego; and make your will, my will. Amen.
Today we are going to continue our journey through the Ten Commandments as we seek to build a foundation that will be of benefit to us when we find ourselves searching for stability and in a vulnerable state. Last week we looked at the idea of Sabbath, specifically, what it is, the dangers of distorting it, and why it is so important in our lives. Today I want us to spend our time looking at the aspect of reverence that is conveyed by the first three commandments; You will not worship other gods, have idols or graven images of any kind, nor take My name in vain. In other words, why exactly does our self-described jealous God demand these ideals, then and now, and how we can emulate this attitude.
Father Knows Best
One day a little four-year old boy and his friends were playing outside in the back yard. The dad of the little boy is supervising the whole thing and as they begin to play, the dad lays out the rules. The most important of which is not to go near the pool. They all agree and set off playing. After a while they have migrated over to the pool and just as they reach the edge the dad yells, “BE STILL!” They all freeze stricken with fear. The dad runs over and reminds them that they do not know how to swim and had agreed to stay away. The dad tells them to go back into the grass and he turns to start leading the way. Well, in an effort to make his friends laugh the little boy begins to walk along the edge of the pool, sticking out his finger at his friends, while shaking his hips, all in an effort to mock his dad. Just as his dad takes a few steps he hears this “splash”. The boy slipped and fell in the deep end. In one movement the dad turns and jumps in to grab his son. The friends all stand there in shocked silence as the dad pulls his son out of the water. After a few coughs, the boy begins to cry, obviously scared at what just happened. The father's immediate reaction was to yell at his son, but seeing how frightened he was he just hugged him. After a few minutes the boy apologized and the dad got him cleaned up, dried off, changed, and back playing with his friends. This little boy in an attempt to gain the acceptance of this world got himself into some real trouble. So I ask you this morning, how many of us are just like this little boy? How many of us seek to gain acceptance by the standards of this world at great risk to ourselves?
These Ten Commandments we are looking at over the next several weeks are not another set of fun-stealing, boredom inducing restrictions. These are commandments from God that when adopted and followed place each one of us in a position not only to avoid unnecessary heart ache, but to be blessed beyond our wildest imaginations. God gave these out of a sense of love, not demand; out of compassion, not control; out of grace and mercy, not power.
Rev What?
Now some people question those validity of those motives being attributed to God in light of what these first three commandments ask of us. Listen again to the first three commandments: “Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not have any graven images of any kind.” Some people look to these first three commandments as God's way of stroking an ego. But I want us to look at them just a bit differently. Instead of focusing on the words that we are forced to use to convey these ideas, I want us to bring out the intent behind these ideas.
These first three commandments are asking for and demanding our reverence to God; that attitude of deep respect tinged with awe. Now before we can begin to understand what that means for us today, we need to understand what that meant for the Israelites back then. Remember, these people had just been freed after 400 years in captivity. None of these people had ever made a decision of any consequence for themselves in their entire lives. Now they are free, in this desert, no idea of how to function as a community. Kind of scary huh? So God reaches out to them and gives them these commandments. Not to control but to ease their fear and apprehension. God speaks to them in a way they can relate to and understand. One of the first things to happen in any circumstance where there is a sudden lack of leadership is many people, and consequently many voices, begin to emerge in an effort to restore order.
The Reverend John Brokhoff tells of a Kansas City Royals baseball game when a dog walked onto the playing field and wandered around. The game had to be stopped so that the dog could be removed. The umpires yelled at the dog and tried to shoo him off. The players yelled and hollered at him, "Get out, go home, get away" The dog by this time was thoroughly confused, ran here and there, and finally laid down on third base, refusing to move. A sports reporter summed up the situation when he wrote, "The problem was that the dog could hear no dominant voice."
So God sets out to be the dominant voice by reminding them where they came from, captivity in Egypt, and that God was the one that rescued them from all of that. God granted their freedom, God guided them in the desert, God parted the Red Sea allowing them to pass and closed it up again trapping their pursuers. By pointing all of this out God is saying to them, look, all those gods of Egypt that you have been around and building monuments for, I just defeated at their own game, on their own turf. I alone am worthy of worship. I alone are the one you should direct reverence too, that attitude of deep respect tinged with awe. I alone need to be your dominate voice. God is revealing himself to them in a way that they can understand in their new found infancy. Again, not out of a sense of ego, but because God has their best interests at heart.
No Pictures Please!
God continues to help them by setting forth the commandment that you will have no graven images or idols. The culture they were just rescued from was chock full of idols and they were no match for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Old Testament scholar Peter Enns, explains the second commandment like this. “Thus, I suggest that this command has a twofold thrust: Israel is not to do as other peoples do by worshiping the idols of their gods, nor are they to do as other nations do by worshiping their own God that way.” God does not want us to define God with a graven image. We run the very tempting risk of ceasing to worship God and worshiping the image. God cannot be defined by anything found on this earth. God is bigger that all of that. God does not want to be reduced to an image, nor should we do that to God.
Why? Because God is self-described as jealous. Dr. R. Maurice Boyd writes, "When we read that God is jealous, it is the zeal of His love that makes Him so...He is jealous of anything that menaces our well-being, not for His sake but for ours. He is jealous of others gods, not because they threaten Him, (He really is very secure) but because they threaten us. When Israel was guilty of idolatry it was Israel who suffered, and God's jealousy was His distress at her folly and His sorrow at her suffering. His desire was to have her worship only the highest and the noblest. He was jealous of the false gods she went after because they were not worthy of her. He thought more highly of His people than they did of themselves. They were too easily pleased. It was only in Him, their Creator and Savior, that they could know their chief end and greatest good...What He wished to give them, and what He wanted them to want, was Himself." God knew the good and the blessing that God could provide them if they would just trust.
God even takes it one step further to help them follow Him by declaring the punishment that will follow if you break either of these two commandments. God says not only will you be punished, but I will punish your children to the third and fourth generation. Now those of us that miss the love in these commandments stop right here, just beside ourselves that a loving and just God would punish the children for the sins of the parents. But God did not stop here and neither should we. God continues by saying that those who abide by these commandments God will bless to the thousandth generation. Now math is not my strong suit but too me a thousand is much larger than three or four. But, the point I think God is trying to make here is that God does not have to punish children for the sins of their parents. We usually do a good enough job of that ourselves. Remember Proverbs 22:6, “train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it”. It works both ways. If we treat each other with contempt and malice and thereby teach it to our children, when they are old they will not depart from it. I believe God is trying to stress not numbers, but sentiment. Follow my laws so that I can bless you. Follow my laws so that I can always be a part of your life. Follow my laws so that our relationship is so strong there nothing in this life will ever defeat you!
What Did You Say?
This takes us right into our third and final commandment for today, you will not take the name of your Lord in vain. Today many Jewish people do not even pronounce or write the name Yahweh, rather they use the word Hashem, Hebrew for name, or write YHWH. They do not want to take a chance at misusing the name of God. We are a more risky type of people. Today, we often say this commandment means that you are not to say God's name when you curse. The Hebrew word give us more of an idea of 'misuse' rather than curse. J.I. Durham says, “Yahweh's name...must be honored, blessed, praised, celebrated, invoked, pronounced, and so shared. To treat Yahweh's name with disrespect is to treat His gift lightly, to undermine His power, to scorn his Presence, and to misrepresent the family of humankind His very nature as 'The One Who Always Is' “. What God did then, and what God does now, deserves our reverence to the point of honoring God's name. Each week we pray, “hallowed be thy name” The blessings and work of God are so incredible that our allegiance, respect and reverence are the only proper response.
This Rev Thing Again
That naturally brings us to the question of how can we be reverent today. When I think of reverence I think of these young men and women we honor today. How many of you were in Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts? How many of you earned your Gold Award or Eagle Scout Award? Then you know what I am talking about. These Scouting programs are founded on a set of principles, high principles. They voluntarily bound themselves to certain oaths and laws that speak to a character of reverence and respect. You heard them this morning as they recited them for us. The Cub Scouts seek to help other people and give good will. The Girl Scouts pledge to be considerate and caring, to help other people at all times, to respect authority, and make the world a better place. The Boy Scouts, on their honor, pledge themselves to be morally straight, obedient, and reverent. These young people are being taught the importance of being honorable, considerate, and reverent.
Conclusion
If we all sought, on our honor, to do our best, to place God at the forefront of our lives how different would this world be? If instead of speaking a mean word to someone when we are angry with them, justified or not, we spoke kindly. Instead of giving someone the cold shoulder or speaking ill of them behind their backs we treated them with dignity and respect, deserved or not. What if we defeated our egos and let God be the ruling force in our lives, rather than some contrived form of justice we create? Do you know what ego stands for? It stands for “edging God out”. So my challenge to all of us, is to defeat the ego. Let God take center stage in your life. Let God show you the way to act. Let God bless you because you have no other gods, no idols, and give God your respect and reverence. Not so you can be controlled, but so that you can be blessed so much that you can bless others out of that abundance!
Prayer:
God, I come to you humbly; to ask for strength.
Help me to align my life; according to you.
When I lose my way; bring me home again.
Help me to defeat my ego; and make your will, my will. Amen.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Bible Challenge 02/13 - 02/19
Greetings All!
Paul's letters can be quite challenging to get through sometimes. I pray you are seeing the love of God as Paul works to uplift those early Christians.
This week we move deeper into the New Testament as we wrap up Ephesians, move through Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, and end up in 2 Timothy. Here is the schedule:
2/13, Sunday: Ephesians 5 - Philippians 2
2/14, Monday: Philippians 3 - Colossians 2
2/15, Tuesday: Colossians 3 - 1 Thessalonians 2
2/16, Wednesday: 1 Thessalonians 3 - 2 Thessalonians 1
2/17, Thursday: 2 Thessalonians 2 - 1 Timothy 2
2/18, Friday: 1 Timothy 3-6
2/19, Saturday: 2 Timothy 1-4
Be Blessed!
Paul's letters can be quite challenging to get through sometimes. I pray you are seeing the love of God as Paul works to uplift those early Christians.This week we move deeper into the New Testament as we wrap up Ephesians, move through Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, and end up in 2 Timothy. Here is the schedule:
2/13, Sunday: Ephesians 5 - Philippians 2
2/14, Monday: Philippians 3 - Colossians 2
2/15, Tuesday: Colossians 3 - 1 Thessalonians 2
2/16, Wednesday: 1 Thessalonians 3 - 2 Thessalonians 1
2/17, Thursday: 2 Thessalonians 2 - 1 Timothy 2
2/18, Friday: 1 Timothy 3-6
2/19, Saturday: 2 Timothy 1-4
Be Blessed!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Friday Fives
1. Preaching Series - This Sunday we will continue our preaching series focusing on the Ten Commandments. Each week we will take a portion, see what they have to say to us now in this era, and wrap the series up by looking at Christ's response to these Mosiac Laws. This week we going to taking a look at the idea of reverence; specifically why reverence is called for by God, the benefits of it, and ways we can practice it. Invite a friend and I hope to see all of you there!
2. Scout Sunday - This Sunday, February 13th, we will celebrate Scout Sunday. Each of the scouting troops that we sponsor will take part in the service as we take this chance to show our scouts how proud we are of them. I encourage you to come on out and support these young people in a time of worship and celebration. Mark your calendars and I hope to see you there!
3. Bible Study – Next week we will conclude our Bible Study called, When Christians Get It Wrong, by Adam Hamilton.
Have you ever wondered why people do not go or have stopped going to church? Have you ever considered that it may be because of the people inside? Please join me in this study as we examine those attitudes and beliefs that drive people away.
As followers of Christ our impact can be so much stronger when we get it right. To this point we have looked at when Christians get it wrong, how to speak about science and politics, how to speak to people of other faith traditions, our response when things go bad, and homosexuality. Next week we will look at what it looks like when Christians get it right. Please join me in learning how we can be advocates and rather than stumbling blocks in bring people to Christ.
This study meets every Thursday through February 17th. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall at 11AM and if that does not fit your schedule I will offer it again at 7PM as well. I hope you will come and join us in what is always a great time of learning and fun!
4. Salty Service - A few months back I asked everyone to consider joining up together in groups to venture out and visit some of the residents in the many assisted living and rehab facilities around our church. There are many people there that get no visitors, and we are so good with fellowship, I see a need and a spiritual gift that can easily be paired up. I wanted to give everyone an update on how this budding ministry is progressing. We have three members that have reached out and began weekly visits to three different facilities. We also have a group of people that have formed to begin visits with a fifth facility. We have several contacts at area facilities, all we need is volunteers. Many people make light work. If you are willing to spend just a few hours a month visiting with people and sharing the love of Christ please contact the office and we can help you get connected. Please consider reaching out to the people in our area and let them know we care and in the name of Jesus Christ that they are loved.
5. Wanna Help? – Have you been looking for a way to volunteer here at Druid Hills? Are you just not sure where to start or who to ask? On February 20th and 27th we will host a Ministry Fair here at the church. We will open up all the volunteer ministries of the church and give all of you a chance to sign up and get connected. After worship stay for lunch and take a trip around all the displays to see where you feel God leading you to volunteer.
Have an incredible weekend and see you Sunday!
2. Scout Sunday - This Sunday, February 13th, we will celebrate Scout Sunday. Each of the scouting troops that we sponsor will take part in the service as we take this chance to show our scouts how proud we are of them. I encourage you to come on out and support these young people in a time of worship and celebration. Mark your calendars and I hope to see you there!
3. Bible Study – Next week we will conclude our Bible Study called, When Christians Get It Wrong, by Adam Hamilton.
Have you ever wondered why people do not go or have stopped going to church? Have you ever considered that it may be because of the people inside? Please join me in this study as we examine those attitudes and beliefs that drive people away.As followers of Christ our impact can be so much stronger when we get it right. To this point we have looked at when Christians get it wrong, how to speak about science and politics, how to speak to people of other faith traditions, our response when things go bad, and homosexuality. Next week we will look at what it looks like when Christians get it right. Please join me in learning how we can be advocates and rather than stumbling blocks in bring people to Christ.
This study meets every Thursday through February 17th. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall at 11AM and if that does not fit your schedule I will offer it again at 7PM as well. I hope you will come and join us in what is always a great time of learning and fun!
4. Salty Service - A few months back I asked everyone to consider joining up together in groups to venture out and visit some of the residents in the many assisted living and rehab facilities around our church. There are many people there that get no visitors, and we are so good with fellowship, I see a need and a spiritual gift that can easily be paired up. I wanted to give everyone an update on how this budding ministry is progressing. We have three members that have reached out and began weekly visits to three different facilities. We also have a group of people that have formed to begin visits with a fifth facility. We have several contacts at area facilities, all we need is volunteers. Many people make light work. If you are willing to spend just a few hours a month visiting with people and sharing the love of Christ please contact the office and we can help you get connected. Please consider reaching out to the people in our area and let them know we care and in the name of Jesus Christ that they are loved.
5. Wanna Help? – Have you been looking for a way to volunteer here at Druid Hills? Are you just not sure where to start or who to ask? On February 20th and 27th we will host a Ministry Fair here at the church. We will open up all the volunteer ministries of the church and give all of you a chance to sign up and get connected. After worship stay for lunch and take a trip around all the displays to see where you feel God leading you to volunteer.
Have an incredible weekend and see you Sunday!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Ten Commandments: Sabbath – Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 20:8-11
Introduction
Today we are going to begin a journey through the Ten Commandments. This culture is demanding of us, wanting all that we can possibly offer and many times even more than that. Subsequently we are usually operating in a deficit; lacking energy, focus, purpose, or enthusiasm and that can and does leave us vulnerable and searching for stability. With that in mind, I want us to spend the next several weeks looking at how the Ten Commandments can help us find that stability while growing closer to God. During this journey we will look at the institutions of Holy Sabbath, reverence to God, honor of God and other people. As well as the need for us follow all of these rules, and then wrap it all up with what Jesus has to say about all of these ideals. So, today I want us to spend our time talking about Sabbath; specifically, what it is, the dangers of distorting it, and why it is so important in our lives.
Sabbath is by Design
One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did." "But you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."
Sabbath is not an excuse made up by the Christians so we can be lazy. Sabbath is a practice modeled by God for us to experience the grace and mercy God desires to show us. Sabbath is that opportunity to “sharpen your ax” so that you are tune with God, ready to listen, eager to obey, and better prepared for what life will throw at you.
The Early Beginnings
In order for us to more easily understand how the Sabbath can do all of that we first need to have just a bit of background about the Sabbath. Sabbath has been around since the beginning of well... everything. God observed Sabbath in the creation of the Heavens and the Earth. However, in spite of that fact this fourth commandment is still the center of great controversy. When to take it, why to take it, and what are we to do when we take it.
The word Sabbath is derived from the Hebrew word, shabbat, which means “to cease or rest”. Now if we look to the verses from Exodus that Frank read for us today we are also told not only to rest, but to keep the Sabbath holy and we know holy to basically mean different. Therefore, we could read the fourth commandment as, “Remember the day of rest and keep it different from other days.”
The Sabbath was designed by God as a very special day. A day to be different from any other. At this time in Scripture the Israelites have been freed and are at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses is at the top, in the presence of God, receiving these laws, the Ten Commandments. The whole purpose of these laws were to express to Israel the love and guidance of God and set them up in way so they could not only enter the Promised Land but to also receive the fullness of God's blessings. Part of those blessings was God's desire to return this creation back to its perfect, original state. God was seeking to re-establish that perfect rhythm of creation; work then rest, work then rest. Just as it was in the Garden of Eden, that type of perfection. Our ancestors, as Eugene H. Peterson reminds us, went four hundred years without a vacation in Egypt. Never a day off. The consequences were tragic. They were no longer persons, but slaves. They were hands, units of work, not real citizens. Because they were not permitted to observe Sabbath, this restoration was now necessary because the face of God''s creation had become defaced and devalued. Now the Israelites are poised to enter the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the new Garden of Eden. God wanted to the day-to-day life of the Israelites in this new Garden to mirror God's actions when God created the original Garden. God wanted that re-connection, that re-establishment, that intended order God desired from the beginning.
However, the Sabbath continued to be distorted. The Israelites took to this idea in a way not intended by God. Sabbath was meant to be a day of connection with God, a day of worship to God, a day of remembering God and all that God has done for us. It was meant to be day different from all the others, where we rested from work and in God. But in the pursuit to make sure no work was done, many laws were created, over 1500 to be exact, about what was considered work. Now, instead of resting in God, you were being watched, racking your brain to make sure that whatever you did was not considered work. There is no rejuvenation in that, only fear. Do you know the punishment for working on the Sabbath in this era? Death. If you spend all of your time trying to follow over 1500 laws, living in fear of death if you break one of them, how can you possibly find rest? Do you see how the intended design was distorted?
But We Worship on Sunday!?!
That distortion today often centers on which day to observe the Sabbath. One view is that the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday. Looking through Scripture, the Sabbath is always on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. Genesis tells us that God worked the first six days and rested on the seventh. When Christ was buried, the Gospels tell us that Mary returned on the first day of the week, the first day after Sabbath. There are many more examples, all pointing to the Sabbath being on the seventh day, Saturday. Most Jewish people, to this day, still observe the Sabbath on Saturday, specifically from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The entire faith of the Seventh-Day Adventists is based upon the Sabbath being on Saturday and they worship on Saturday rather than Sunday. It is us as Christians that have altered that view. We have shifted our observance of the Sabbath to Sunday because Christ rose on a Sunday. Each faith has it's own interpretation of when the Sabbath should be and I bring this up because I want us to understand its history and not be trapped by it. Yes the Sabbath, according to Scripture, is Saturday. And yes, observing it on Saturday does preserve its original tradition. But to get lost in a day is to forfeit the mercy and grace that the Sabbath is intended to provide. Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians, “having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:14-17, NIV) I believe that our observance of Sabbath's grace and mercy is far more important that the day we celebrate it.
Why we need to observe Sabbath
It has been said our great-grandfathers called it the holy Sabbath; our grandfathers, the Sabbath; our fathers, Sunday; but today we call it the weekend. Sabbath has lost some of its impact in today's culture. We get so busy, so distracted, so scheduled, that Sabbath has simply become the weekend and not a day of renewal. It used to be that “blue laws” helped us observe Sabbath by prohibiting stores to be open or certain items to be purchased. But now stores are opening earlier and earlier. It used to be that no amateur sports leagues played on Sunday but now most of them do. Sabbath has turned into just the weekend and I cannot tell you how many times I have heard or read someone remarking they need a break from the weekend.
I heard one preacher remark, “in a very real sense the Fourth Commandment is God’s Maintenance Commandment. It’s God way of saying, 'If you don’t slow down, you’re going to kill yourself.' The Sabbath is meant to take us back to Eden, back to life as it was meant to be. On the Sabbath we are set free from deadlines, demands, projects, payrolls, memos, time lines, and all the rest. On that one holy and sacred day, we remember that what we are is more important than what we do. For six days each week we are judged on our performance. For one day out of seven we aren’t judged at all!”
The Sabbath gives us that chance to stop and remember why we were created. A chance to realign ourselves with God, re-connect with God, and re-connect with each other. God did not rest on the seventh day because God was tired. God rested because God was modeling for us a lifestyle we need to imitate. A lifestyle that we literally cannot survive very long without. Did you know lack of rest can cause increased accidents, decreased ability to think and learn, increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, increased chance for depression, and increased risk of death. Even our patience thins as we tire and all of this contributes to us losing sight of what it means to be a Christian, why we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Does that sound like the life God intended for us as a part of creation? Sabbath is not only necessary spiritually but physically as well. Our spirits need it and our body cannot live well or long without it.
And Sabbath is for everyone. Scripture says there are no divisions for Sabbath observance. God observed Sabbath and this commandment says everyone shall participate in Sabbath renewal, “On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns” (Ex 20:10b, NIV).
How we can observe Sabbath
So knowing how important observing the Sabbath is I want to offer a few ways to do it. Remember to observe Sabbath is to dwell in the grace and mercy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to find peace.
So one way is to spend time with our Triune God. Since the vast majority of us observe Sabbath on Sunday, Sunday School and Worship are wonderful places to start. Be recharged by other believers, spending time singing, worshiping, and in fellowship with other believers. Sunday should be our high point of the week. That day every week that we look forward to and if missed our week just does not feel the same. This is the day that we celebrate the Risen Savior, the day that is holy and kept differently from all the others. We need to understand that and go to great lengths to be here, not be here when we have nothing else to do. God is here in a unique and wonderful way and we need to be here too!
Another way is to spend time with loved ones, with family and friends. Go to each others house, play board games, go to the park, share a meal, wrestle on the carpet. Spend time strengthening those bonds between yourselves by spending memorable time together. For those family members that do not live nearby, send an email, write a letter, Skype. Recount memories of loved ones and in all cases celebrate the goodness you have because of God.
Regardless of how you do it, and there are many ways, just do it. Find that time, that day, that method where you will be consistent in this practice. If Sunday works best for you, observe the Sabbath on Sunday. If Sunday does not work and you have another day where you can intentionally rest in the grace and mercy of God use that day. Just pick a day and do this weekly. This is not meant to another “to-do” on our already exhaustive lists. It is not meant to be boring and drive us away but something to look forward too and draw us nearer to God. Restore the rhythm of the perfect creation where we work and rest, work and rest.
Go and Do Likewise
That magnificent preacher from Georgia, Charles Allen, likes to tell about some American explorers who went to Africa. They employed some native guides. The first day they rushed to cover as much distance as possible. They did the same thing on the second, third, and every day. On the seventh day they noticed the guides sitting under a tree. "Come on," they shouted, "Let's go." One of the guides replied, "We no go today. We rest today to let our souls catch up with our bodies."
For many people today the drug of choice is a ceaseless pattern of work that resembles slavery. A 70-hour work week, a cell phone that makes us accessible at every moment. And if that is not enough we have taken to seeing those things as status symbols, as signs of success. From a different perspective they might be seen as signs of oppression. A world which does not acknowledge the need to rest is an enslaved world. This morning we read about the Israelites who were escaping an oppressive Egyptian Pharaoh that gave them no rest. So I ask you, who has become your Pharaoh? Has your office, your life become your Egypt? God has modeled Sabbath, built our bodies to require Sabbath. I urge you to find Sabbath this week and every week from now on.
Today we are going to begin a journey through the Ten Commandments. This culture is demanding of us, wanting all that we can possibly offer and many times even more than that. Subsequently we are usually operating in a deficit; lacking energy, focus, purpose, or enthusiasm and that can and does leave us vulnerable and searching for stability. With that in mind, I want us to spend the next several weeks looking at how the Ten Commandments can help us find that stability while growing closer to God. During this journey we will look at the institutions of Holy Sabbath, reverence to God, honor of God and other people. As well as the need for us follow all of these rules, and then wrap it all up with what Jesus has to say about all of these ideals. So, today I want us to spend our time talking about Sabbath; specifically, what it is, the dangers of distorting it, and why it is so important in our lives.
Sabbath is by Design
One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did." "But you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."
Sabbath is not an excuse made up by the Christians so we can be lazy. Sabbath is a practice modeled by God for us to experience the grace and mercy God desires to show us. Sabbath is that opportunity to “sharpen your ax” so that you are tune with God, ready to listen, eager to obey, and better prepared for what life will throw at you.
The Early Beginnings
In order for us to more easily understand how the Sabbath can do all of that we first need to have just a bit of background about the Sabbath. Sabbath has been around since the beginning of well... everything. God observed Sabbath in the creation of the Heavens and the Earth. However, in spite of that fact this fourth commandment is still the center of great controversy. When to take it, why to take it, and what are we to do when we take it.
The word Sabbath is derived from the Hebrew word, shabbat, which means “to cease or rest”. Now if we look to the verses from Exodus that Frank read for us today we are also told not only to rest, but to keep the Sabbath holy and we know holy to basically mean different. Therefore, we could read the fourth commandment as, “Remember the day of rest and keep it different from other days.”
The Sabbath was designed by God as a very special day. A day to be different from any other. At this time in Scripture the Israelites have been freed and are at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses is at the top, in the presence of God, receiving these laws, the Ten Commandments. The whole purpose of these laws were to express to Israel the love and guidance of God and set them up in way so they could not only enter the Promised Land but to also receive the fullness of God's blessings. Part of those blessings was God's desire to return this creation back to its perfect, original state. God was seeking to re-establish that perfect rhythm of creation; work then rest, work then rest. Just as it was in the Garden of Eden, that type of perfection. Our ancestors, as Eugene H. Peterson reminds us, went four hundred years without a vacation in Egypt. Never a day off. The consequences were tragic. They were no longer persons, but slaves. They were hands, units of work, not real citizens. Because they were not permitted to observe Sabbath, this restoration was now necessary because the face of God''s creation had become defaced and devalued. Now the Israelites are poised to enter the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the new Garden of Eden. God wanted to the day-to-day life of the Israelites in this new Garden to mirror God's actions when God created the original Garden. God wanted that re-connection, that re-establishment, that intended order God desired from the beginning.
However, the Sabbath continued to be distorted. The Israelites took to this idea in a way not intended by God. Sabbath was meant to be a day of connection with God, a day of worship to God, a day of remembering God and all that God has done for us. It was meant to be day different from all the others, where we rested from work and in God. But in the pursuit to make sure no work was done, many laws were created, over 1500 to be exact, about what was considered work. Now, instead of resting in God, you were being watched, racking your brain to make sure that whatever you did was not considered work. There is no rejuvenation in that, only fear. Do you know the punishment for working on the Sabbath in this era? Death. If you spend all of your time trying to follow over 1500 laws, living in fear of death if you break one of them, how can you possibly find rest? Do you see how the intended design was distorted?
But We Worship on Sunday!?!
That distortion today often centers on which day to observe the Sabbath. One view is that the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday. Looking through Scripture, the Sabbath is always on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. Genesis tells us that God worked the first six days and rested on the seventh. When Christ was buried, the Gospels tell us that Mary returned on the first day of the week, the first day after Sabbath. There are many more examples, all pointing to the Sabbath being on the seventh day, Saturday. Most Jewish people, to this day, still observe the Sabbath on Saturday, specifically from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The entire faith of the Seventh-Day Adventists is based upon the Sabbath being on Saturday and they worship on Saturday rather than Sunday. It is us as Christians that have altered that view. We have shifted our observance of the Sabbath to Sunday because Christ rose on a Sunday. Each faith has it's own interpretation of when the Sabbath should be and I bring this up because I want us to understand its history and not be trapped by it. Yes the Sabbath, according to Scripture, is Saturday. And yes, observing it on Saturday does preserve its original tradition. But to get lost in a day is to forfeit the mercy and grace that the Sabbath is intended to provide. Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians, “having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:14-17, NIV) I believe that our observance of Sabbath's grace and mercy is far more important that the day we celebrate it.
Why we need to observe Sabbath
It has been said our great-grandfathers called it the holy Sabbath; our grandfathers, the Sabbath; our fathers, Sunday; but today we call it the weekend. Sabbath has lost some of its impact in today's culture. We get so busy, so distracted, so scheduled, that Sabbath has simply become the weekend and not a day of renewal. It used to be that “blue laws” helped us observe Sabbath by prohibiting stores to be open or certain items to be purchased. But now stores are opening earlier and earlier. It used to be that no amateur sports leagues played on Sunday but now most of them do. Sabbath has turned into just the weekend and I cannot tell you how many times I have heard or read someone remarking they need a break from the weekend.
I heard one preacher remark, “in a very real sense the Fourth Commandment is God’s Maintenance Commandment. It’s God way of saying, 'If you don’t slow down, you’re going to kill yourself.' The Sabbath is meant to take us back to Eden, back to life as it was meant to be. On the Sabbath we are set free from deadlines, demands, projects, payrolls, memos, time lines, and all the rest. On that one holy and sacred day, we remember that what we are is more important than what we do. For six days each week we are judged on our performance. For one day out of seven we aren’t judged at all!”
The Sabbath gives us that chance to stop and remember why we were created. A chance to realign ourselves with God, re-connect with God, and re-connect with each other. God did not rest on the seventh day because God was tired. God rested because God was modeling for us a lifestyle we need to imitate. A lifestyle that we literally cannot survive very long without. Did you know lack of rest can cause increased accidents, decreased ability to think and learn, increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, increased chance for depression, and increased risk of death. Even our patience thins as we tire and all of this contributes to us losing sight of what it means to be a Christian, why we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Does that sound like the life God intended for us as a part of creation? Sabbath is not only necessary spiritually but physically as well. Our spirits need it and our body cannot live well or long without it.
And Sabbath is for everyone. Scripture says there are no divisions for Sabbath observance. God observed Sabbath and this commandment says everyone shall participate in Sabbath renewal, “On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns” (Ex 20:10b, NIV).
How we can observe Sabbath
So knowing how important observing the Sabbath is I want to offer a few ways to do it. Remember to observe Sabbath is to dwell in the grace and mercy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to find peace.
So one way is to spend time with our Triune God. Since the vast majority of us observe Sabbath on Sunday, Sunday School and Worship are wonderful places to start. Be recharged by other believers, spending time singing, worshiping, and in fellowship with other believers. Sunday should be our high point of the week. That day every week that we look forward to and if missed our week just does not feel the same. This is the day that we celebrate the Risen Savior, the day that is holy and kept differently from all the others. We need to understand that and go to great lengths to be here, not be here when we have nothing else to do. God is here in a unique and wonderful way and we need to be here too!
Another way is to spend time with loved ones, with family and friends. Go to each others house, play board games, go to the park, share a meal, wrestle on the carpet. Spend time strengthening those bonds between yourselves by spending memorable time together. For those family members that do not live nearby, send an email, write a letter, Skype. Recount memories of loved ones and in all cases celebrate the goodness you have because of God.
Regardless of how you do it, and there are many ways, just do it. Find that time, that day, that method where you will be consistent in this practice. If Sunday works best for you, observe the Sabbath on Sunday. If Sunday does not work and you have another day where you can intentionally rest in the grace and mercy of God use that day. Just pick a day and do this weekly. This is not meant to another “to-do” on our already exhaustive lists. It is not meant to be boring and drive us away but something to look forward too and draw us nearer to God. Restore the rhythm of the perfect creation where we work and rest, work and rest.
Go and Do Likewise
That magnificent preacher from Georgia, Charles Allen, likes to tell about some American explorers who went to Africa. They employed some native guides. The first day they rushed to cover as much distance as possible. They did the same thing on the second, third, and every day. On the seventh day they noticed the guides sitting under a tree. "Come on," they shouted, "Let's go." One of the guides replied, "We no go today. We rest today to let our souls catch up with our bodies."
For many people today the drug of choice is a ceaseless pattern of work that resembles slavery. A 70-hour work week, a cell phone that makes us accessible at every moment. And if that is not enough we have taken to seeing those things as status symbols, as signs of success. From a different perspective they might be seen as signs of oppression. A world which does not acknowledge the need to rest is an enslaved world. This morning we read about the Israelites who were escaping an oppressive Egyptian Pharaoh that gave them no rest. So I ask you, who has become your Pharaoh? Has your office, your life become your Egypt? God has modeled Sabbath, built our bodies to require Sabbath. I urge you to find Sabbath this week and every week from now on.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Bible Challenge
Greetings Bible Readers!
This week we continue in Paul's letter as we finish up 1 Corinthians, move through 2 Corinthians and Galatians, and move into Ephesians. Here is the schedule...enjoy!
2/6, Sunday: 1 Corinthians 12-15
2/7, Monday: 1 Corinthians 16 - 2 Corinthians 3
2/8, Tuesday: 2 Corinthians 4-7
2/9, Wednesday: 2 Corinthians 8-11
2/10, Thursday: 2 Corinthians 12 - Galatians 2
2/11, Friday: Galatians 3-6
2/12, Saturday: Ephesians 1-4
Be Blessed!
This week we continue in Paul's letter as we finish up 1 Corinthians, move through 2 Corinthians and Galatians, and move into Ephesians. Here is the schedule...enjoy!
2/6, Sunday: 1 Corinthians 12-15
2/7, Monday: 1 Corinthians 16 - 2 Corinthians 3
2/8, Tuesday: 2 Corinthians 4-7
2/9, Wednesday: 2 Corinthians 8-11
2/10, Thursday: 2 Corinthians 12 - Galatians 2
2/11, Friday: Galatians 3-6
2/12, Saturday: Ephesians 1-4
Be Blessed!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday Fives
1. Preaching Series - This Sunday we will begin a new preaching series focusing on the Ten Commandments. Each week for the next five weeks we will take a portion, see what they have to say to us now in this era, and wrap the series up by looking at Christ's response to these Mosiac Laws. This week we going to begin by taking a look at the Sabbath; specifically what it is, why we need to observe, and ways we can practice it. Invite a friend and I hope to see all of you there!
2. Scout Sunday - Next Sunday, February 13th, we will celebrate Scout Sunday. Each of the scouting troops that we sponsor will take part in the service as we take this chance to show our scouts how proud we are of them. I encourage you to come on out and support these young people in a time of worship and celebration. Mark your calendars and I hope to see you there!
3. Bible Study – Next week we will continue our Bible Study called, When Christians Get It Wrong, by Adam Hamilton.
Have you ever wondered why people do not go or have stopped going to church? Have you ever considered that it may be because of the people inside? Please join me in this study as we examine those attitudes and beliefs that drive people away.
As followers of Christ our impact can be so much stronger when we get it right. To this point we have looked at when Christians get it wrong, how to speak about science and politics, how to speak to people of other faith traditions, and our response when things go bad. Next week we will look at the issue of homosexuality. Please join me in learning how we can be advocates and rather than stumbling blocks in bring people to Christ.
This study meets every Thursday through February 17th. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall at 11AM and if that does not fit your schedule I will offer it again at 7PM as well. I hope you will come and join us in what is always a great time of learning and fun!
4. Salty Service - A few months back I asked everyone to consider joining up together in groups to venture out and visit some of the residents in the many assisted living and rehab facilities around our church. There are many people there that get no visitors, and we are so good with fellowship, I see a need and a spiritual gift that can easily be paired up. I wanted to give everyone an update on how this budding ministry is progressing. We have three members that have reached out and began weekly visits to three different facilities. We also have a group of people that have formed to begin visits with a fifth facility. We have several contacts at area facilities, all we need is volunteers. Many people make light work. If you are willing to spend just a few hours a month visiting with people and sharing the love of Christ please contact the office and we can help you get connected. Please consider reaching out to the people in our area and let them know we care and in the name of Jesus Christ that they are loved.
5. Wanna Help? – Have you been looking for a way to volunteer here at Druid Hills? Are you just not sure where to start or who to ask? On February 20th and 27th we will host a Ministry Fair here at the church. We will open up all the volunteer ministries of the church and give all of you a chance to sign up and get connected. After worship stay for lunch and take a trip around all the displays to see where you feel God leading you to volunteer.
Have an incredible weekend and see you Sunday!
2. Scout Sunday - Next Sunday, February 13th, we will celebrate Scout Sunday. Each of the scouting troops that we sponsor will take part in the service as we take this chance to show our scouts how proud we are of them. I encourage you to come on out and support these young people in a time of worship and celebration. Mark your calendars and I hope to see you there!
3. Bible Study – Next week we will continue our Bible Study called, When Christians Get It Wrong, by Adam Hamilton.
Have you ever wondered why people do not go or have stopped going to church? Have you ever considered that it may be because of the people inside? Please join me in this study as we examine those attitudes and beliefs that drive people away.As followers of Christ our impact can be so much stronger when we get it right. To this point we have looked at when Christians get it wrong, how to speak about science and politics, how to speak to people of other faith traditions, and our response when things go bad. Next week we will look at the issue of homosexuality. Please join me in learning how we can be advocates and rather than stumbling blocks in bring people to Christ.
This study meets every Thursday through February 17th. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall at 11AM and if that does not fit your schedule I will offer it again at 7PM as well. I hope you will come and join us in what is always a great time of learning and fun!
4. Salty Service - A few months back I asked everyone to consider joining up together in groups to venture out and visit some of the residents in the many assisted living and rehab facilities around our church. There are many people there that get no visitors, and we are so good with fellowship, I see a need and a spiritual gift that can easily be paired up. I wanted to give everyone an update on how this budding ministry is progressing. We have three members that have reached out and began weekly visits to three different facilities. We also have a group of people that have formed to begin visits with a fifth facility. We have several contacts at area facilities, all we need is volunteers. Many people make light work. If you are willing to spend just a few hours a month visiting with people and sharing the love of Christ please contact the office and we can help you get connected. Please consider reaching out to the people in our area and let them know we care and in the name of Jesus Christ that they are loved.
5. Wanna Help? – Have you been looking for a way to volunteer here at Druid Hills? Are you just not sure where to start or who to ask? On February 20th and 27th we will host a Ministry Fair here at the church. We will open up all the volunteer ministries of the church and give all of you a chance to sign up and get connected. After worship stay for lunch and take a trip around all the displays to see where you feel God leading you to volunteer.
Have an incredible weekend and see you Sunday!
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