9-22-19 Sermon Notes “The 10 Commandments: Part 1”
A rabbi and a very arrogant woman were attending a luncheon. In the course of the conversation, the woman boasted, “One of my ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence.” “Is that so?” asked the rabbi. “Well one of my ancestors wrote the Ten Commandments.” Ba dum ching! OK – so technically Moses didn’t write the Ten Commandments…he received them from God on Mount Sinai. For thousands of years, we have turned to these commandments as a way to answer the two BIG questions: (1) How do we relate to God? (2) How do we relate to each other? The first 4 commandments give us guidance on the first BIG question. The last 6 commandments give us guidance on the second. So…for the next 2 Sundays we will be talking about the 10 commandments.
Here’s the Scripture for this Sunday:
Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me.
4 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. 5 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, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 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.
8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

I read a story recently of a man who went to his pastor and told his pastor that he was planning a trip to visit Mount Sinai, where the 10 commandments were given by God to Moses. He told his pastor, “I’m going to climb up that mountain and read the Ten Commandments out loud!” thinking that this would greatly please his pastor. He was surprised when his pastor replied, “You know, I can think of something even better than that.” The man responded, “You can, Pastor? And what might that be?” He replied, “Just this – instead of traveling thousands of miles to read the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, why not just stay right here at home and keep them?”
See you Sunday!
Pastor Sam