10 Commandments & Such

The sermon text for this week is Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 AND Philippians 3:4b-14. AND, it is World Communion Sunday.

Now, on the outset, these seem like three very random and unconnected things. But, I think that there just might be some connections that can be made. When we talk about World Communion Sunday, or the World Day of Prayer, or other celebrations like that, we often talk about unity. We long to be able to put an end to fighting, and find avenues for peace. And, as I was thinking about this, I realized that the 10 Commandments are part of what provides us some unity. Unity happens when you find some common goal or belief to unite different people. And, it is the word of God that can bring us that common goal and belief. Regardless of our native country or our native language, all who bear the name Christian believe that the Bible is God's word. We all believe that God is holy and should be worshiped. We all believe that we are charged to love our neighbors.

Now, as you know, there is a great deal of controversy about how to interpret and apply these beliefs. There are some who long to hold tightly to the exact requirements and specifications, and there are others who take a broader interpretation. We can get easily lost in the debates about how to interpret and apply these sacred commands.

And this is where the Philippians passage proves helpful. Paul tells the people of Philippi that he followed the law flawlessly, and yet would throw away all of this perfection if it meant that he could know Christ better. "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Phil 3:8)

The law brings some degree of unity. But it is only when we participate in the grace and love given to us by God the Father, through Christ the Son, in the Holy Spirit that we can truly find the peace and unity for which we are so desperately longing.

Questions to ponder:
Am I right, does the law bring unity? Or does it only bring more division as we interpret it?
What purpose did the 10 Commandments originally serve? How did they redefine the way the community of Israel functioned?
How does Jesus re-define the 10 Commandments for us?
How should we live in light of Paul's bold statements from Philippians?

Questioning God

The comments on this blog are so great! Your thoughts made me think more, and I love that! I realized today that Sunday's sermon did not fully capture this topic of "is it okay to question God." As I re-read your comments this morning, I wanted to address this issue a little more.

I agree with all of you who said it is good to question God. I think that our questions actually can bring us closer to God. One of you said, "our persistent questioning shows we know who our leader is and that we trust him and believe he will take care of us." I think that this is very perceptive. When we bring our questions to God, we show that we believe God can and will answer these questions.

Another comment was "God allows us to question him, but we need to be prepared to hear his answer when he is ready to respond." This can also be a challenge. Several of you mentioned the plethora of Scripture passages in which people bring those deep, honest, and often pain-filled questions to God. But, at the end of every story we see that the people yield to God's will. "We can and should question God's actions, but not his intent."

I think that there is great freedom in being able to question God. It makes Chrisitanity real, and not just a pretend religion. When we are afraid to ask the hard questions, we are afraid to make God real. When we are willing to ask God the hard questions, we allow our personal lives to intersect with our religious lives, and this is where real faith happens.

Fredrich Buechner wrote, "if there were no room for doubt, there would be no room for me."

So, let us continue to question, doubt, and wonder about where God is and what our faith means. Because this is how we truly grow in our faith. And as we question, let us also remember that we are deeply loved and cared for by the God who created us and our abiltiy to question.

Is the Lord Among Us or Not?

The text for next week's sermon is Exodus 17:1-7.

Verses that intrigue me:
Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me, why do you test the Lord?" (v.2)
Moses cried out to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." (v.4)
The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you…I will be standing there in front of the rock…" (v.5)
He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" (v.7)

Questions I have:
When is it okay to question God? Shouldn't we be able to use our reason to question and ask "where is God in the midst of my pain?"

Why does this pattern of complaining to Moses continue? Wouldn't one such story have sufficed? Why is there story after story of problems in the desert, the people complaining, Moses praying, and God responding? What can we learn from the repetition?

Finally, and this is the hard one to answer in the midst of someone's pain, "Is the Lord among us or not?" If you were Moses, what would you have told the people? Or better, what do you tell friends, family, co-workers, etc. who do ask you this question?

More Bread...

There is so much to put in each sermon, that I often miss things. I loved all of your comments and wanted to put so much more in the sermon. One post connected "manna" to the Lord's Prayer with "our daily bread." I think that this is an important connection. Not only because bread is so often used as an image throughout Scripture, but also because we are asked to pray that God will give us daily provisions. It completely changes our perspective about who God is, if we know that we can trust God for our daily needs. Every day, every morning, God provides just what we need. If we really believe that, then not only does our personal worry and stress melt away, but we also begin to loose the greedy and selfish thoughts that so often clog our thinking.

Another important theme from this passage that my Commentary spent a lot of time on was the theme of transitioning from rule under Pharaoh to rule under God. The people were told to draw near to God, in order to get the manna. "In drawing near, however, Israel dramatically turns its face away from Egypt and looks again toward the wilderness. It sees there what it always thought to see in Egypt and what it never expected to see in the wilderness. It is not an empty, deathly place, but the locus of God's sovereign splendor. The wilderness is more brilliant than Egypt, because Yaweh has 'gotten glory over Pharaoh' (Ex. 14:4, 17) By God's rule the wilderness is completely redefined."

May your wilderness be completely redefined by God's rule, too.

Bread From Heaven

Next Week's Sermon is from Exodus 16:2-15. It is the story of how God provided bread for the people as they wandered in the Wilderness.

Verses I like:
"Then the Lord said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you" (Ex. 16:4)

"The Lord spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God." (Ex. 16:12)

Questions I have:
How did the Israelites feel when they heard these words? How would I feel, if I were one of them?

What are modern-day parallels to "bread from heaven"?

The people were not allowed to hoard the bread, but were only allowed to take enough for that day. I sometimes feel that I/the church also fall prey to this hoarding mentality. How can we use God's gifts & resources more effectively?

Thus, That Day The Lord Saved Israel

This sermon began by exploring the extreme popularity of the story of the parting of the Red Sea. I was struck by how great it would have been to be one of those Israelites following Moses. How amazing it would have been to see the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, and know without a shadow of a doubt that God was with you! But then, as soon as the Israelites saw the Egyptians chasing them, they began to doubt God's presence. They complained to him, and wished that they were back in Egypt.

This made me wonder, how quickly do I turn on God. Certainly, there have been moments in my life when I have known beyond a shadow of a doubt that God was with me. But, there have also been moments when I struggle to find God in the midst of my troubles. How do we maintain that faith in the hard times?

Moses responds to the people's complaints with these words...
"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:13-4)

I learned in my resarch on this passage that the word "still" means both not moving and being silent. I realized in crisis moments that the one piece of advice most people give you is, "don't panic!" It is a difficult, but important concept, because in panic mode, we often say things we regret. If we are able instead, to "be still," we can often regain our focus, and listen again to what God is saying and where God is leading.

My prayer for you this week is that in your moments of crisis and panic, you will be able to be still and listen for God's voice.

Introduction

Welcome to my blog,

This is something new for me (and our church). I'm going to post notes and questions from my sermons. The idea is to provide another way to reflect on the sermon and thoughts about the Scripture passage, and in general just thoughts about God. I invite anyone who reads this to join in the conversation. Disagree, argue, question, affirm, and tell about your thoughts. God created us to be in community and conversation, and this blog is one more way to help us accomplish that goal. I hope that through this blog we can learn and grow together.