​ 
October 22, 2023
 
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
· Please join us in Calvin Hall following worship today for a time of fellowship.
· Beginning in October:  A Butterfly ministry in our basement!  You are invited to come help paint butterflies of grace to remind our hurting neighbors of God’s care and of our prayers.  Call Shirley Darsidan at 563-613-2850 for more information.
· This month we receive the Peacemaking offering.  25% of this money remains with us to be used by our “Gathering Place.”  The remainder is used at multiple levels of our denomination to fund programs that promote peace and well-being around our world.
 
PRAYER REQUESTS 
· JoAnn Grimm who struggles with health problems.
· Joan Pinkston, on hospice.
·  Keith and Ellen Miller who are struggling with health issues.
· For our Nominating Committee who are working to fill 2 elder positions, as well as Clerk of Session.
 
CALL TO WORSHIP    Psalm 96:1-4, CEB
 
Leader: Sing to the Lord a new song!
    Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
 
People:  Sing to the Lord! Bless his name!
    Share the news of his saving work every single day!
 
Leader: Declare God’s glory among the nations;
    declare his wondrous works among all people
 
People: because the Lord is great and so worthy of praise.
  He is awesome beyond all other gods
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
 
God of all nations, we come to worship you. We sing your songs of praise. We glorify your name. We remember your saving mercy. We declare your goodness.
Receive our worship and go with us into our daily lives that we might continue to honor and follow you every day. Amen.
 
*HYMN  Sing Praise to God  #483
  (You may be seated.)
CALL TO CONFESSION    Deuteronomy 13:4
 
“It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.”
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
 
God of mercy and grace, forgive us the times we fail to follow where you would lead us, when we fail to hold you in reverence, to keep your commandments, or to serve you with heart, soul, and strength. God, when we stray from your path to follow the ways of the world or the things that tempt us or simply distract us, we ask you to guide us back to your way, not only for ourselves, but also that we might be the best examples of what it means to truly follow Jesus Christ. Amen.
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE    Luke 4:18-19, GW
 
Leader: This is how Jesus understood his mission in the Word from Isaiah’s scroll as he read it in the synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord is with me. He has anointed me
to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin and the restoring of sight to the blind, to forgive those who have been shattered by sin, to announce the year of the Lord’s favor.”
 
Through Christ we are forgiven.  People: Thanks be to God!
 
SONG OF PRAISE  Gloria Patri  #579
 
PASSING THE PEACE
  Leader: May the peace of Christ be with you. People: And also with you.
 
INTERLUDE
Word
 
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
 
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON    Exodus 33:12-23, NLT
 
12 One day Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Take these people up to the Promised Land.’ But you haven’t told me whom you will send with me. You have told me, ‘I know you by name, and I look favorably on you.’ 13 If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this nation is your very own people.”
 
14 The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest--
everything will be fine for you.”15 Then Moses said, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. 16 How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”17 The Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.”18 Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.”
19 The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. 20 But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21 The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. 22 As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.”
 
GOSPEL LESSON    Matthew 22:15-22, NCV
15 The Pharisees got together and planned how they could trick Jesus into saying something wrong. 16 They sent some of their followers and some of Herod's followers to say to him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest. You teach the truth about what God wants people to do. And you treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. 17 Tell us what you think! Should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?”
18 Jesus knew their evil thoughts and said, “Why are you trying to test me? You show-offs! 19 Let me see one of the coins used for paying taxes.” They brought him a silver coin, 20 and he asked, “Whose picture and name are on it?” 21 “The Emperor's,” they answered.  Then Jesus told them, “Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God.” 22 His answer surprised them so much that they walked away.
 
NEW TESTAMENT LESSON    1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, NCV
From Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
 
To the church in Thessalonica, the people of God the Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that God will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!  2 We thank God for you and always mention you in our prayers. Each time we pray, 3 we tell God our Father about your faith and loving work and about your firm hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 My dear friends, God loves you, and we know he has chosen you to be his people. 5 When we told you the good news, it was with the power and assurance that come from the Holy Spirit, and not simply with words. You knew what kind of people we were and how we helped you. 6 So, when you accepted the message, you followed our example and the example of the Lord. You suffered, but the Holy Spirit made you glad.
7 You became an example for all the Lord's followers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 And because of you, the Lord's message has spread everywhere in those regions. Now the news of your faith in God is known all over the world, and we don't have to say a thing about it. 9 Everyone is talking about how you welcomed us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God.  10 They also tell how you are waiting for his Son Jesus to come from heaven. God raised him from death, and on the day of judgment Jesus will save us from God's anger.
 
SERMON  Follow the Leader
 
Have you played the game Follow the Leader? I remember following other students around the classroom or playground. Not only did we go wherever the leader went, we also did whatever the leader did along the way. There are circle versions of following someone’s actions as well. These seemed easier to me than something like Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light especially a recent version in which players had to strike a particular pose at “Red Light!” It’s harder for me when there are only words rather than an example.
 
What kind of leader do you want to follow? I thought of a couple of my grandmother’s standard sayings representing two kinds of leaders.
 
“Do as I say and not as I do.” This leader may talk a lot and have good things to say, but it’s like a boss who sends down orders from the head office or a commander who barks orders from behind the lines.
 
The second saying was this, “Pretty is as pretty does.” Just as with the games, I prefer a leader who shows me how it’s done. It’s the manager or supervisor who comes alongside an employee and solves the problem or teaches them an easier way to do the job. It’s the officer at the front of the lines leading the charge, someone in the thick of it with the rest.
 
I want a leader who is well informed, trustworthy, and has the greater good in mind, not just his or her own personal agenda. But good leaders are often hard to find, and I need to remind myself they are just human after all. This is why ultimately, I want a leader who is a follower, a follower of God in whatever way that leader understands our Creator.
 
One such leader is Moses. Bob and I began studying Moses a couple weeks ago in our Wednesday morning Bible Study. We’ll pick that up again this Wednesday, and anyone is welcome to join us. Our lesson began with God’s people being called out of Egypt, the place they had known all their lives, to go into the desert. (Ray Vanderlaan, “Fire on the Mountain”) On the one hand Egypt was a place of slavery for them. Their life was hard. But on the other hand, the desert represented chaos and the unknown. That wasn’t easy either.
 
Why did God lead them there and by the longer route? Moses gives us the answer in his farewell speech before the new generation entered the promised land. It’s recorded in Deuteronomy Chapter 8, “Remember the long road on which the Lord your God led you during these forty years in the desert so he could humble you, testing you to find out what was in your heart: whether you would keep his commandments or not.” (v.2)
 
Notice two things. First, Moses is clear that God was the one leading. Second, note that the people were being tested. We tend to think of tests as a pass/fail crisis whether in school or even the doctor’s office, and especially when they are referred to as temptations in scripture. But I suspect the teachers in our congregation know a different purpose. Exams are meant to teach.
 
Exams tell you how much you have absorbed the necessary material so far, and what parts of the lessons still need more work from you. You learn where you went wrong when you review the correct answer. You see where you need to ask for more help. Medical tests help figure out what is causing a physical problem, and those answers point doctors toward possible corrections. This is what God was doing with those Hebrews in the wilderness, testing them to help them learn a better way.
 
God used tests to teach them not to rely on their own lacking wisdom or past experiences, not to complain, and not to take even the basics for granted. God wanted them to learn to trust God completely and to obey God’s Word, to follow faithfully wherever God led them. God gave them three such tests even before they reached Mount Sinai where they would worship God and receive God’s commandments. The first test comes early in the story at Exodus 15 right after celebrating in song the crossing of the Red Sea.
 
 
 
A couple days into the desert, the Hebrews started to get thirsty. When they found one well, they expected everyone would get to drink fresh water, but the well was Marah which means bitter. They couldn’t drink it. Marah has a deeper meaning than even that well; it can mean deliberately disobedient. Trying to quench the thirst of a nation at one well, the people weren’t listening to God’s leading but their own solution to the problem. God taught them and Moses a lesson by telling Moses to throw in a nearby stick, not the staff that Moses lifted when God parted the sea, but a different piece of wood. This time Moses did as God said, and the water drawn next was good.
 
But God would have to repeat some version of this lesson many times over the next 40 years before the next generation could enter the promised land, and to be honest many more times with the generations that followed even up to today. Perhaps in your own life, when you are honest with yourself, perhaps you will recognize times God has tried to teach you to listen, trust, and follow directions obediently rather than go your own way trying to solve everything by yourself. I know it’s true for me!
 
Just as it is difficult to find a good leader, it isn’t easy being a leader either. I’ve had lots of experience to back up that statement. It can be physically or mentally exhausting. It can be emotionally and spiritually draining. Some days you feel like you are really getting somewhere, and other days nothing is going as intended. The people around you may disagree with you or with each other, and even machinery and weather are uncooperative. Some days everyone has questions, and you don’t have enough answers. There may be disruptions and distractions, and you feel like you are pushing a heavy boulder up a steep hill. Moses experienced all of that and more.
 
We come to today’s reading after many years in the desert. Moses threw his hands in the air and boldly made this frustrated but honest declaration to God.
 
“You have been telling me, ‘Take these people up to the Promised Land.’ But you haven’t told me whom you will send with me. You have told me, ‘I know you by name, and I look favorably on you.’ If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this nation is your very own people.” Ex. 33:12-13
 
To which God replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” Ibid 14.
 
There was a bit more to the discussion before this marvelous scene of God allowing His Glory to pass by Moses for a moment of reassurance. I get how precious that moment must have been, how it nourished Moses with confidence and strength to go on leading God’s people.
I get it because during a time of struggle recently, God granted me a moment of visualizing life’s troubles pushed out of the way while I beheld a bright white light that filled the room, pulsating with life, and resonating with a spark of light within me. It was the Christ Light, and my own soul responded to God’s Glory. That gave me the peace and trust to keep going.
 
Moses came back down the mountain ready to lead God’s people once more, because Moses had been reminded of the majestic glory and trustworthy presence of the One whom he followed, God. In my meditation, so had I.
 
The stories of the Old Testament are filled with ordinary people, many of whom became leaders of one kind or another. Some were good leaders like Joseph or Deborah, Samuel or David, Elijah and Elisha, Josiah and Hezekiah. Some chose not to follow God and there were consequences for Jonah or Lot’s wife, for Ahab and Jezebel, for King David when he sinned, for King Saul when he did things his own way, for the kings who led God’s people away from God.
 
After other long periods of testing, God came to earth to reclaim God’s people. God came as Jesus.
 
Today’s gospel lesson mentions other human leaders. There were leaders among the Pharisees, but they only led one of various groups within Judaism. King Herod was technically a leader of the Jews but was to some extent a puppet of the occupying Romans. The Emperor was their leader. Jesus was a very different kind of leader from all of these. Jesus led by teaching and example. Take today’s lesson as one example. He answered the Pharisee’s question to pay the taxes with the Emperor’s coin. On another occasion when it came time to pay those taxes, Jesus told Peter where to find a proper coin to pay them.
 
Jesus’ followers on earth back then were a ragtag bunch, but he taught them how to be a community that is not only faith filled but faithful as well. This is the same lesson God wanted to teach the Hebrews in the desert. Some of Jesus’ students became leaders themselves to carry on that mission, just as Joshua (Jesus’ namesake) carried on leading God’s people after Moses.
 
Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica gives us another example of how this learning to live and to lead continues. Paul once thought he was following God’s plan by arresting those who chose to follow Jesus. But God changed Paul’s mind on the Damascus Road and trained Paul to be a powerful leader for Jesus’ Way instead. As Paul wrote to one of the churches he had taught, he reminded them of the example he set for them to follow.
 
”… when you accepted the message, you followed our example and the example of the Lord. You suffered, but the Holy Spirit made you glad. You became an example for all the Lord's followers in Macedonia and Achaia.” (1 Thess. 1:6-7)
 
Like the Hebrews of the Exodus, new Christ-following churches also suffered. But if they persevered, the Holy Spirit comforted them, encouraged them, and gave them strength to become leaders by example themselves.
 
The question I really want to ask you today is not which human leaders you will choose to follow though I have given some criteria to consider. My real question is what kind of leader will you be? For everyone one of us is a potential leader/teacher for someone else. Will you lead by example? Will you demonstrate in your life what it means to be a faithful follower of Jesus?
 
Those outside the church often see us as hypocrites, and too often that’s a fair assessment. Too often Christians are guilty of do as I say, not as I do. But pretty is as pretty does! Rather than claiming to be a Christian in name only, be a true follower of Jesus who learns from God’s lessons for God’s people in the Old Testament. One who learns from the teachings and example of Jesus or Paul or other faithful followers in the New Testament like Lydia or Dorcas or Mary or Peter or Andrew or John. Be a follower who does your very best to trust and obey, so that when another follows your example, God will be proud of you both.
 
 
 
*HYMN  The Summons  #2130, Sing the Faith
  (You may be seated.)
PASTORAL PRAYER
 
LORD’S PRAYER
 
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now and forever. Amen.
 
OFFERING OUR LIVES
 
*DOXOLOGY  Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow  #592
 
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH  Brief Statement of Faith  Section 1, back of hymnal
 
*HYMN  I Have Decided  #2129, Sing the Faith
 
Sending Forth
 
*CHARGE & BLESSING  
 
POSTLUDE
 
* Sections of the service preceded with * are times to stand if you are able to do so.
Bold text is to be read together aloud as a congregation.
 

​ 
​October 8, 2023
19th Sunday after Pentecost
 
Gathering
 
MUSICAL OFFERING
 
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
· Please join us in Calvin Hall following worship today for a time of fellowship.
· Beginning in October:  A Butterfly ministry in our basement!  You are invited to come help paint butterflies of grace to remind our hurting neighbors of God’s care and of our prayers.  Call Shirley Darsidan at 563-613-2850 for more information.
· Ladies Lunch Bunch will gather on October 11 at 11:30 AM at Applebees. Please add your RSVP to the sign up sheet at office door.
· This month we receive the Peacemaking offering.  25% of this money remains with us to be used by our “Gathering Place.”  The remainder is used at multiple levels of our denomination to fund programs that promote peace and well-being around our world.
· We are invited to a free community meal sponsored by the Salvation Army and the family of Colonel Joel Jones.  Oct. 19th from noon to 6 PM at Information, Referral and Assistance Center (219 1st Ave.)  Menu:  Chili, cornbread, mac & cheese, chili dogs, chips, apple crisp, pumpkin bars, coffee and water.   Non-perishable food items will be gratefully accepted.
 
PRAYER REQUESTS 
· JoAnn Grimm who struggles with health problems.
· Joan Pinkston, on hospice.
·  Keith and Ellen Miller who are struggling with health issues.
· For our Nominating Committee who are working to fill 2 elder positions, as well as Clerk of Session.
 
PRELUDE
 
*GATHERING PRAYER
God, with great gentleness and care, you call us to be your people and to do your work.  Be here with us today, for we come asking for your support in all that we do.  We need your love, transforming our lives in hope.  Be with us we pray.  Amen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*CALL TO WORSHIP
We gather today, seeking the peace Christ gives.
 
We gather, in spite of many a conflict, many a doubt, within our souls.
 
We gather, longing for the breath of God’s Spirit to give us courage and renewal.
 
All:  Come, Christ Jesus, be our guest.  Bless us through the power of your Spirit, and give us the courage to live as your disciples day by day.  Amen
 
 
*HYMN                                          Just As I Am                                                        #370
                                                   (You may be seated.)
 
 
CALL TO CONFESSION 
How often we feel confined and confused by the darkness of our own sin!  We don't know how to move forward. But Christ has shown us the way.  We are invited to come to the cross and offer our whole being to the one who is able to set us free.  Let us together confess our sin and seek the release of God's incredible grace.
 
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Eternal God, from the beginning you have called your children into communion with you and with one another. Yet we confess that like all the rest, we have turned to our own way and refused your love and grace.  We have acted on our own interests, ignoring our brother and sister.  Restore us to the joy of knowing you, of being a caring part of the world you have created.  Let us recognize your reign among us.  Through Jesus Christ, bringer of good news. Amen.
 
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
In Christ we are given new life.  The old is gone away.  The new is on our doorstep.  We are freed to fully live into this wonderful grace and to know the joy of God’s love that sets us free.
 
 
SONG OF PRAISE  Gloria Patri  #579
 
 
PASSING THE PEACE
 
May the peace of Christ be with you.
And also with you.
 
 
INTERLUDE
 
Word
 
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION 
God of Wisdom, God of Hope, Holy One, help us to recognize your truth in the words we hear today.  May the experiences of those men and women who heard your voice like a trumpet’s call be ours, as well.  Grant that we may experience the meaning and the joy to be found within your commands.  Amen
 
 
 
SCRIPTURE LESSONS     
Exodus 19: 9b-11, 16-19
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
 
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
 
                                              Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9, 12-20
20 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
 
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.  8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
 
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 “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.”  18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
SERMON                              When God Speaks
 
In 2001 Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court, installed a 5000 pound block of granite with the ten commandments in the Court House Building.  An uproar ensued with multiple voices saying that it violated the separation of Church and State clause of our constitution.  It also planted concerns about whether non-Christians would get equal justice in those courtrooms.  Judge Roy argued that we need to return to the principles of our Christian Faith and this would be such a reminder.  Well, after lots of battles back and forth, including the good judge refusing to comply with higher court’s rulings, both the stone AND the judge were removed late in 2003
It just goes to show the passion on both sides of the debate around these fundamental rules that God handed down the mountain.  For some people, their faith centers on their attempt to follow these rules.  I won’t argue that they are good and important rules, BUT maybe there’s more here.  I wonder what Moses would have said to Judge Roy.  Moses was pretty clear that God’s gift of the law had as much (or maybe more) to do with our personal relationship with a living God, and maybe less to do with a stone tablet with strict prohibitions or mandates on our actions.
Let’s review.  These people had been slaves with very little personal autonomy.  Their lives had been subject to the whims of their slave masters.  Decision making and freedom had been sharply curtailed.  Now all of a sudden they were out from under those constraints.
Imagine a 14 or 15 year old who had grown up in a strict and controlling household who suddenly got absolute freedom.  Movies are full of such disasters!  Well, these people had the advantage of being adults with fully developed brains.  They had that going for them, but they had very little experience in self-governance or constraint.  It had always been external.  It had come from outside and was based on fear and punishment. Now their decision making needed to move to an internal locus and they needed to BE a community that cooperated and was functional.  They needed to be a people who were loyal to God and who came to trust that God would lead and guide them forward.  They would also represent God to those they met along the way.  They were representatives of our Lord.  They needed to get it right.
Now Moses could have gone up that mountain and got those tablets of stone and brought them down to the people.  We see lots of Sunday School posters of that image.  But that’s the ending of the story AFTER what we read here.  That’s so they would remember what had happened right here.  Now God would speak to the people in God’s own voice so they would know that these were truly from God, and not just something Moses made up on his own.  They needed to experience God in a personal way.  AND they needed to know that Moses was truly speaking God’s words to them.
So the people were gathered after the three days of preparation, cleansing themselves and making themselves pure.  They were given strict orders on how to prepare for this holy meeting.  Don’t touch the mountain was one of those rules.  So here they are on Day 3.  They’re at the base of the mountain and a spectacle opened before them.  Smoke, thunder, and lightning all around.  Then comes the trumpet blast.  It grows louder and louder.  The mountain shakes.  Can you feel it?  The people could hear Moses speaking and then the trumpet answered him.
 
Finally the Lord made his voice heard by those waiting at the foot of the mountain.  I am the Lord your God.  That was the introduction, the basis upon which all that followed would be based.  God was giving them the foundation upon which they were to live.  There were 3 commands that dealt with their relationship with the Lord.
You shall have no other gods before me.   It meant absolute loyalty to Yahweh.  Now when we add the next one, You shall not make for yourself an idol, we might assume that these two refer to the religious worship of other deities.  That’s the tip of the iceberg.  It’s much broader than that.  It means our God is always (always, always) to be in the primary place of importance in our lives—above our jobs, checking accounts, hobbies, even our families.  God was to be central and all those other things would find their proper place and be better because of it.
It’s so easy to make idols of different things.  God is telling his people, ”Don’t do it.  Don’t let those other things subsume God’s role in your life.”  Don’t make an idol out of wood or stone is the easy part to obey.  Those things can be manipulated and controlled.  They are lifeless and don’t have any power.  God has power.  Our Lord is a living God with tremendous power and ability to know us and care for us.  But it’s also easy to make a goal, a desire or a plan into a god who we strive for and put at the top of our priority.  The most obvious ones are financial well-being, prestige, job advancement or family.  Those things won’t work to lift up the community or even us.  Those things can fall flat and fail.  We need a God who has power and can pick us up when all else fails.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord.  We think of that as cursing.  But it also includes speaking of God in ways that misrepresent the Lord, or that does harm to God’s reputation.  Here’s one, “I asked God which socks I should wear this morning and God said to wear brown socks.”  What does such a statement say to others about the nature of God?  That God micromanages our lives!  Who would want to give their life to such a God?  We are to pay attention to how we reference our God.  God’s reputation is just as important as ours is.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.  Remember these were slaves who didn’t get a day of rest.  How important that is!  It is for the people’s benefit so we don’t get exhausted and burned out, so we have time for the things that make life worth living.  It is also a day that is consecrated to God.  It’s a day to revitalize our relationship to the Lord.  God, himself, rested in the act of creation.  It must be important, and God mandated it for our well-being.  So often we ignore this commandment to our own detriment.
Now we move to the commandments that deal with our interactions with one another.  Do you notice that family takes center stage to lead this off?  Honor your father and your mother.  This is a commandment aimed at adult children to remind them to care for aging parents who perhaps have become more frail and whose mental faculties might have diminished.  Do you notice that the instruction is to honor them.  There are no specific instructions given on HOW they should do that.  God seemed to understand that a one size fits all set of rules wouldn’t work here.  He left it to them to decide what would be needed.
 
 
 
In our world today, we would also add the same command to parents to honor their children.  In ancient times when children often died early, their needs and their role in the family felt very different.  Today we know that what happens to our little ones can affect them for the rest of their lives.  I believe we can very easily stretch this to also mean honor your children and care for them well.
The last 5 commandments are issued to the community, to equals so that their dealings would enable a functional community. At issue is how we respect one another and live together in peace and cooperation.
You shall not kill. The word here that is translated “kill” is used to mean murder in other parts of our scripture.  To take a life is God’s domain.  When we take a life we are acting as God.  In our modern world we get caught up with this commandment in the issue of abortion.  There the question of when life begins is at issue.  People of good faith stand on both sides of this issue.  On one side are those who assert that life begins at conception.  On the other is the argument of a woman’s right to her own body and her autonomy to determine her future.  It’s a debate that is likely to go forward for some time.  It’s an issue that each person needs to struggle with, and I believe each of us need to understand that the other side has legitimacy in their views.  I believe God knows that, and will offer peace and forgiveness to us all.
You shall not commit adultery.  The family is once more front and center.  To protect that relationship is so important.  It comes back to loyalty, integrity, truthfulness and honoring one another.
You shall not steal.  Israel understood property as an extension of one’s self. To honor and respect our neighbor is to honor and respect their property.  In addition, to work is to gather in the benefits of one’s labor.  Theft dishonors our neighbor and it denies the thief of the opportunity to develop and use the gifts that God gave.  These are gifts that are intended to be used for the well-being of us all.  Stealing is not just burglary or shoplifting.  It’s also cheating, as well as any form of dishonesty that enriches one at the expense of another—plagiarism, scams, taking credit for work or an idea that is not our own.  These things dishonor and destroy.  God says, “Don’t!”
You shall not bear false witness.  While this probably originally referred to giving false testimony in court, something that undermines justice, it also refers to falsehoods in general.  They dishonor God’s truth.  The same is true of gossip or slander, deception and even just empty talk.  Those behaviors tear down relationships and destroy reputations.  They cause harm to our ability to function as a society.
You shall not covet.  This is probably one of the hardest commandments to get our head around.  Our society is built on encouraging us to covet.  That’s what advertising is all about.  It teaches us to want something that we don’t have.  But to covet is also a first step towards disobeying the other nine commandments that came before.  It can lead us to steal or cheat, to lie or commit adultery.  It can even lead to murder in extreme cases.  When we covet, which means to deeply desire something that our neighbor has, we put our energy and impulses to work to acquire the object of our desire.  It also means that we are focusing on what we DON’T have instead of giving thanks and appreciating what we DO have.  It leads to discontent and the tearing down of relationships.
 
 
So these are the big 10 that Judge Roy wanted lifted up.  The problem is that there’s so much more to be considered, as well as how we live these in relationship with people who worship in different ways. How do we lift up and mandate a relationship with God?  How do we demand that people honor one another and cooperate and live together respectfully.  These are the broad strokes of what God desires for us.  They are bumper guards to keep us on the right track.
God spoke to his people.  They had trouble listening.  We’ve had over 4,000 years to meditate on these words and to attempt to incorporate them into our lives.  I suggest that we can only begin to do so when we keep God’s first words at the center of our hearts.  “I am the Lord your God.”
Help us Lord, to hold ourselves to your care and love.  Amen.
  
*HYMN                                 Great Is Thy Faithfulness                                         #276            
                                             (you may be seated.)
 
PASTORAL PRAYER
 
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now and forever. Amen.
 
OFFERING OUR GIFTS TO GOD
 
*DOXOLOGY  Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow  #592
 
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
 
*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH    (Apostle’s Creed)
 
*HYMN                           This Is My Father’s World                                                  #293                                                                                 
(You may be seated.)
 
Sending Forth
*CHARGE & BLESSING  
 
POSTLUDE
 
 
* Sections of the service preceded with * are times to stand if you are able to do so.
Bold text is to be read together aloud as a congregation.