NO FALSE WITNESS

The first application of the 9th Commandment is in the courtroom. A solemn legal context in which we must not bear false witness about our neighbor. Yet, while not all of us have appeared in a court of law, everyone will stand in the court of God - the Righteous Judge "who never lies" (Tit 1:2). He’s set us apart to be a people who tell the truth. But, if we're honest with ourselves, we struggle to handle the truth. We live in a world filled with deception and lies. We misconstrue others to paint ourselves in a better light. We make excuses for why we were late. We mute or deny the clear words of God. All this is why Truth himself took on flesh and dwelt among us. To be falsely accused by us and to pay the penalty that false witnesses deserve. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

NO STEALING

We may not think it, but we're all thieves. Every one of us has taken something that didn't belong to us. Not returning something to a friend. Shoplifting. Helping ourselves to some supplies from the office. Squandering the precious resources we've been given. Up to the biggest theft of all: stealing the glory that's meant for God alone. The 8th Commandment challenges us to turn away from sinful taking and embrace lives of generous giving. We can do this. We should do this. We are compelled to do this because Christ gave himself for us. He came to this earth, did not demand what was rightfully his, and was crucified between two thieves in order to set us free from being slaves to stuff. And now, because we have him, we can gladly give anything else away.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

NO ADULTERY

Infidelity should be serious to God’s people, because fidelity is so serious to God. The God who makes covenant at Sinai is the God who never breaks covenant with his people. Because of this, we should be the kind of people who keep our covenants to each other. And the most significant covenant relationship we ever make is that of marriage. We should be the kind of people who keep our vows to our spouses and do everything we can to respect and esteem the marriages of others. But to do this we must depend on the faithfulness of Jesus. The perfect husband to his imperfect bride. The One who will honor his vows even when we fall short of honoring him. The Savior who forgives all our unfaithfulness.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

NO MURDER

At first glance, this seems like the easiest command to keep. More than halfway down the scenic route through the 10 Commandments we could be saying, "Finally here's one I haven't broken!" But each one of these words strikes beneath the surface. Because, far before this word is about what we do with our hands, it’s about what’s happening in our hearts. The bad fruit of murder, violence, neglect, and harm to another image-bearer grows out of the soil of sinful anger in our hearts. Jesus took this hatred head on as his body was beaten, bloodied, and torn up upon the cross in order to tear down the wall of hostility that divides us.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

IMMEDIATELY AFTER SERVICE AT THE LEE HOME

Join us at the Lee home after church this Sunday, 6/14 to celebrate the baptism of new believers and have a hotdog lunch.

If you are interested in being baptized, have questions about baptism, or want to place your faith in Jesus, talk to a member of the pastoral team. They’d be happy to help you take the first step of the Christian life.

HONOR YOUR FATHER & MOTHER

The 5th Commandment kicks off what's been called the Second Table of the Law. The first 4 commandments lay out what it means to love God with everything we've got. The remaining 6 teach us what it looks like to love our neighbor as ourselves. As we move into what God has to say about loving our neighbors, we consider the very first neighbors we ever have in life: our parents. Parents are God’s first and foremost representatives in our lives. Humanly speaking, we owe everything to them. They give us all we have. They teach us how to live in this world. They shape us like no one else can. Because of this, we should honor them for all their lives - and all our lives too. Not because they're perfect, but because our Father in heaven is perfect and he's attached his blessing honoring the God-appointed authorities in our lives.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

HONOR THE SABBATH

The 4th Commandment could be the best "no" God has ever given. But…it just might be the hardest one for us to say "yes" to. The command that 1 day in every 7 “you shall not do any work,” but keep a day of holy rest. It’s meant to be a blessing, but it can seem like a burden. Like something that frustrates our freedom. Like something highly impractical in a world that never seems to stop. We might even think that something about what Jesus has done lessens the need or removes the obligation to keep to this 1 in 7 pattern of work and rest. But, the Bible teaches us that Jesus does not do away with the Sabbath, but deepens our experience of it. Because of what he's done, we should Sabbath even harder. We should eagerly, intentionally, and joyfully spend each Sunday resting our bodies and souls in God.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

BAPTISM SUNDAY, JUNE 14

Join us at the Lee home immediately after church on Sunday, 6/14 to celebrate the baptism of new believers and enjoy a hotdog lunch.

WHAT IS BAPTISM?

Baptism marks the beginning of the Christian life. It’s that moment in which we confess with our mouth what we’ve believed in our hearts. Standing in the presence of God and his people to profess our faith in the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of Jesus. Signifying our personal share in his dying and rising as we’re immersed into the water and buried with Christ and then raised up with him to walk in newness of life.

If you are interested in being baptized, have questions about baptism, or want to place your faith in Jesus, talk to a member of the pastoral team. They’d be happy to help you take the first step of the Christian life.

EXODUS 20:7

God’s name is the most valuable thing there is. It’s the revelation of who he is, the story of what he’s done, and the means by which we personally relate to him. There’s nothing more precious, but each and every one of us has treated it like it’s worthless. We’ve taken the name of the Lord in vain and made light of the most glorious and weighty thing in the world. The 3rd Commandment calls us to take God seriously. Teaching us we must not mar his good name through our bad actions. Forbidding us not to misuse his holy name through careless or empty words. But instead, calling us to treat his name with reverence.T o bear his mark as faithful representatives. And be ambassadors for the “name above all names” - the name of King Jesus.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

NO IMAGES OR IDOLS

The first commandment requires us to worship the right God. The second is all about worshiping the right God the right way. When we bow down in worship, we must not bow down to idols. We must not remake God in our image. We must realize that we are God's imagers. We must have that image restored in us through Jesus Christ - the One True Image of the Invisible God (Col 1:15). 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE