Rules of Community

October 4, 2020 Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 Year A 18th Sunday After Pentecost The Rules of Community Opening Song Welcome Opening Prayer Opening Prayer (Psalm 19) Almighty God, your word bursts forth into our lives like a glorious sunrise. You speak, and our hearts rejoice. You command, and our eyes are opened. The sound of your voice brings revival to our souls. Your words are purer than the finest gold. True and righteous one, living Word, light our way. As we listen to your Spirit, may the words of our mouths and the thoughts of our hearts be accepted in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. Stewardship Moment Lord of grace and forgiveness, you who gave everything and spared nothing to make us your own, we offer back to you what you have so freely given to us. Let all that we say and do, all that we think and plan and consider, be pleasing to you, blessed Creator, Provider, and Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen. Offertory Prayer: Washed in your peace and love, O God, we bring our gifts to you. Bless the gifts and the lives that they represent, that all may be used in your service and to your glory. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN. Scripture The Ten Commandments 20 Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You must have no other gods before[a] me. 4 Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 7 Do not use the LORD your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the LORD won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way. 8 Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. 9 Six days you may work and do all your tasks, 12 Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the LORD your God is giving you. 13 Do not kill.[a] 14 Do not commit adultery. 15 Do not steal. 16 Do not testify falsely against your neighbor. 17 Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. 18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking, the people shook with fear and stood at a distance. 19 They said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we’ll listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we’ll die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come only to test you and to make sure you are always in awe of God so that you don’t sin.” Sermon Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen if you only speak. 2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy - and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance. 3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you. 4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor. 5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours. 6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth - whether it be people or plant. 7. Honor other people's thoughts, wishes, and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression. 8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you. 9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven. 10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body, and spirit. Practice optimism. 11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family. 12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life's lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow. 13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you. 14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of one's will within this universe. 15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self - all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails. 16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions. 17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others - especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden. 18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first. 19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others. 20. Share your good fortune with others. These are some of the codes of ethics attributed to the Lakota Native Americans. Whenever I am teaching a class, I usually start out on the first day with having participants develop a classroom code of ethics, rules of understanding for how we will treat one another in class. Most classes come up with things like treat all with a sense of respect, all answers are important, to be positive with all people. The 10 commandments are a code of ethics of how we will treat one another when we are together in community. I know that I have preached a sermon with this congregation on the 10 commandments. That time I focused on each of the individual commandments. But today I don’t want us to think so much about what the commandments are, but why they were given to the community in the first place. We have been following the journey of God’s people as they are wandering in the desert. We hear of their concerns and of God’s response. As they journey they develop their identity. They start to form a solid community. With community, comes rules of understanding of how we treat one another. These particular rules come directly from God- the 10 words. Jesus Christ would have known these commandments – he summarized them down to 2 commandments – Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and soul, and to love the neighbor as you love yourself. The most important commandment – Love God. For God the unforgivable sin of the people was that they did not come to God when they needed something. And when they did come to God, they did not believe that God could do anything about it. Hence the most important commandment in life – Love God enough to have a relationship. The second, there is not anything in the world more important than God. In other words – do not have any idols. Martin Luther says that an idol is anything that occupies your mind and anything that determines your actions in life. I think under that definition, we all have some idols. In modern times we have also gotten away from wanting to be commanded to do anything. We want to rewrite, redefine and even forget about the 10 commandments. A little boy was once asked by his Sunday school teacher if he knew the Ten Commandments. "No ma'am," came the reply, "my dad said that I don't have to know them since they are doing away with them anyway." It is one thing to be ignorant of the Ten Commandments; it quite another to mock them with impunity. Millions dismiss them as mere platitudes fit for nothing more than a dusty old bookshelf. They disdain them because they are "religious." Instead of listening to Thou shalt not, we want to rewrite them into positive affirmations – things that should do. In reality there is no proof that the 10 commandments were intended to be positive affirmations. God always said, if you love me, this is what you won’t do. Even Jesus says that he did not come to take away the law of obedience, but to fulfill it. Setting boundaries around our behavior was God’s way of showing love for the community. They were never intended to be demands of behavior. God never withheld God’s blessings. As a matter of fact, God gave us grace and salvation first. Obeying the commandments was our response to God’s love, not a condition for it. Once, he was being interviewed by Bill Moyers, who looked at the new President of the United States of America and asked, "What is the most significant discovery Jimmy Carter has made?" President Carter flashed his famous smile and said, "This is embarrassing a little bit for me to talk about because it’s personal. But, the most significant discovery that I have made is my relationship with God through Jesus Christ." He was the most powerful man in the free world. Every day he made decisions that affected the destiny of our nation and the world. He was busy as he sought to move our country in a new direction. Yet, he had his priorities straight, because he recognized that his relationship with God was the most significant part of his life. Are you putting God first in your life? It so happened that several people from the church were going to both the uneducated bishop and the therapist for advice and counseling. Some of them felt that they were getting more help from the bishop than they were from the psychiatrist, and they told that to the psychiatrist. He was a little professionally troubled by this, so he went to the bishop and asked him what his secret was. What methods or teachings or counseling or therapy did he use which were so effective in helping people to improve their mental and emotional health? The bishop took the question very seriously and gave a typically blunt answer. “Well,” he said, “I just ask them questions until I figure out which commandment they are breaking, and then I tell them to stop it.” (5) Maybe he’s on to something there. There is no question that you cannot willingly violate any of God’s laws and have a completely satisfying life. The Ten Commandments were given to us by God for our protection. Have we strayed too far as a community away from the Bible for our own good? A couple of years ago, I was asked to serve on a panel to discuss the problems facing teenagers in our society. The panel included a school counselor, a Juvenile Judge, a drug counselor, a couple of other experts on teenage problems, and, I guess, I was the representative of the religious community. There were a variety of people in the audience, including the parents of several teenagers. During the question and answer period, there was one woman who acknowledged that she was at the symposium because her adolescent daughter had become a handful and she could no longer control her. Then, looking at me, she began to blame the church for the problems that her daughter faced and the problems that teenagers were encountering in our society. She stated that the problems of teenagers could be traced directly to the church which was no longer teaching "the basics." She talked about the failure of the church to give proper instruction and moral guidance to the younger generation. Her strongest and most self-evident point was that children were no longer required to memorize the Ten Commandments. Finally, when she had finished listing her complaints, I asked her, "Madam, do you know the Ten Commandments?" "Of course," she responded, somewhat insulted by the question. Looking directly at this woman in the audience, I challenged her by saying, "Name them!" She coughed and sputtered and looked embarrassed. Finally, she was able to name three or four of the commandments and a couple of quotes from Shakespeare before giving up and sitting down. While I can sympathize with that woman and her worry about her daughter, I think it is a mistake to attribute magical qualities to the Ten Commandments. Instead, I think it is more appropriate to look at them as rules for living. . I am probably a part of that sinful generation. I never had to memorize the 10 commandments. It would probably take me a minute to come up with all 10, and I don’t know the order from memory. But I do know that the most important is to put God first in all things. My relationship with God determines my relationship with all other people. And how we treat one another, determines the quality of our community. Who are we as a community? What are the rules that keep us together to do the work of God? Let us pray…… Prayer "Silence is a friend who claims us, cools the heat and slows the pace. God it is who speaks and names us, knows our being, touches base, making space within our thinking, lifting shades to show the sun, raising courage when we’re shrinking, find scope for faith begun." We are afraid of silence. So much of our world is claimed by noise and clamor. But here, in this place, we are called to let go, to let go of the noise, to let go of the anxiety and worry, to let go of our fears. Silence is truly a friend who claims us. Now for just a moment. Be in silence. Let the beating of your heart and the rhythm of your breathing be your focus. Put aside your worries. Focus on God. God of our lives, who offers to us peace in the silence, a moment apart from the demands and struggles of life, relax our spirits today. We have brought to you the names and situations which have claimed our worries and our attention. We come seeking healing for those who suffer, comfort for those who mourn, direction for the lost, and peace for all your people. We have brought our joys and celebrations to you, thanking you for the many ways in which you have touched our lives with your love. Give us peace and strength for our service to this world in your name. AMEN. Song for Reflection One Bread, One Body UMH 620 Communion Today is world communion Sunday. Day when we realize that the body of Christ is united all throughout the world. Community is not just who we are in this room, extends throughout the world – cant see each other but held together through love. I have been part of a lectionary group for about 20 years, participants from all over the world. We have a tradition that every World communion, we put together greetings from churches from all over the world. Some from ……. We are different people, with different ways of worshipping. See same God in different ways. Wilda Gaffney, womanist midrash (page 105), puts the words of the Isrealite journey in her own words. God gives the 10 commandments in person, not through Moses- wanted to make sure everyone saw it - In her words she says, the people of Israel gazed upon God on the mountain. They saw smoke and fire. Within the flames and of the flames some say flames, some say great wings, some saw a mountain, others saw the tree of life, some saw lightening, some saw rainbows, some saw a robe of many colors, some saw stars, all of them saw God. Yet none of their descriptions alone, nor all of them together were sufficient to convey the majesty of the fire of sinai. As we come together in communion today – in the midst of a world crisis, a church crisis, a community crisis – we are all in different places, literally some of us our outside, some are inside, some are at home, some are not. We are in different places politically, we believe different things about who God is, we believe different things about the church. None of us have the final say on who God is and What God is doing. But in this moment we are called to together – to be witnesses to God – to show love to one another, but to be love to the world. In this moment, God has provided for us all. Jesus has given us all of special place in the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit binds us together. Jesus we ask for your blessings upon the communion elements. We ask for your blessing upon the work of this church. We ask for your blessing upon each of us. Let these blessed elements lead us to a deeper relationship with you and one another. I invite each of you – take the body of Christ, the blood of Christ, and to feel Christ’s salvation in our soul at this moment. Dear Lord we thank you for your body blood, we pray that we truly in this moment be the body of Christ redeemed by your blood. Give us the strength to go forward in the world to transform it and to make disciples of Christ. Amen. Announcements October 18th is Laity Sunday – the theme of the day will be the ministry of all Christians. The work that we all are called to do on behalf of the church Benediction Hear the voice of the Creator, the mighty God, the One who built the vault of heaven, who set the sun on its blazing course through the skies! Hear the words of life, declared not by speech or language or voice but written on the heart! Go forth in the name of the living Word, the One whose words bring forth the fruit of the kingdom in your own lives! Amen. Children’s Sermon Object: Something listing the 10 Commandments Exegetical Aim: To understand that the Ten Commandments are God’s gift to us and guide the way we should live our lives. Lesson: Good morning! Some of you have been in school or preschool for a while now. I have a question. How many rules did your teacher set for your class? (Response. Hopefully this will range quite a bit.) When I was your age, I had a few teachers who had lots of rules. I think my second grade teacher had a separate rule for every occasion. Sometimes it felt like I couldn’t turn around without breaking a rule! But other teachers only had one rule. Can you guess what it was? (Response) That’s right, to treat others like you would want to be treated. We call that the Golden Rule because it is so important. Do you know why we have rules? (Response) That’s right, to tell us how to act. Sometimes we need a guide to help us figure out the best way to act. What if I told you that God gave us 10 rules to help guide us through life? Application: In today’s reading, we learned about 10 big rules. Can anyone tell me what we call these rules? (Response) That's right. These are the 10 Commandments. Moses and his people, the Israelites, were wandering in the desert after escaping from the Egyptians. The 10 Commandments are the rules that God gave to Moses to guide how God’s people should live. I’m going to read the Ten Commandments to you and I want you to listen. This is very important because these are God’s rules to you, too. (Optional: Instead of jumping into reading the list, you might want to ask the kids to list some of the Commandments. Also, you could carefully choose a few Commandments which might be especially meaningful for them to define, i.e. Honor your mother and father. Ask the kids to elaborate on what these Commandments mean. This would be very appropriate for a group including older children.) First, You shall love the Lord with all your heart. (Deuteronomy 6: 5) Second, You shall not worship false idols. That means that you won’t worship anything other than God. Third, you shall not use the Lord’s name in vain. That means you should not curse with the Lord’s name. Fourth, remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Sunday is the Sabbath and we should worship God and rest on Sunday. Fifth, honor your mother and father. This is a biggie for you guys. This means you should respect and love your mom and dad. Sixth, you shall not murder. Seventh, you shall not commit adultery. Eighth, you shall not steal. Ninth, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. This means you should not lie. Tenth, you shall not covet your neighbor. This one means that you should not get jealous over what other people have. If someone has a really great toy, you should not get jealous over the toy. Instead, you should be happy your friend has such a great toy. These are the big rules that God has given us to help guide us through life. If you have any questions, I want you to feel free to ask your parents, grandparents, your Sunday school teacher, the preacher, or even me. We would be happy to answer your questions about these big rules. Let’s Pray: Dear God, thank you for the Ten Commandments. We know that sometimes we need a little guidance and help in living our lives. Thank you for helping us out. Help us to always remember your rules. Amen. ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., ChristianGlobe Children's Sermons, by Mary O Additional Illustrations God’s Patience Robert Ingersoll, that great agnostic of a day gone by, once said to a contemporary, "I will give God five minutes to strike me dead for the things I have said." After five minutes and nothing had happened, Ingersoll's friend remarked, "Did you think you could exhaust God's patience in just five minutes?" Jerry L. Schmalenberger, When Christians Quarrel, CSS Publishing Co., Inc., hrough these commandments, God was calling his people back then and today - to share a covenant relationship with him. This covenant relationship simply means that we learn to give God a prominent place in our lives. Not long ago, I was reading a book about the presidency of Jimmy Carter. He was the Democratic president of the United States from January 1977 to January 1981. During that time he dealt with many difficult issues. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in his efforts to bring peace between Israel and Egypt. He dealt with an oil embargo crisis and the crisis of the hostages in Iran. But, one thing that Jimmy Carter will be remembered for is the influence of his religion in his life. In, James Mitchener’s novel The Source, he describes an ancient family. The father of the family sacrifices his son to Malek, an ancient God. The mother grieves while the father then goes and visits the temple prostitutes. She is deeply grieved at what her husband is doing in the name of religion. She laments: “With a different god, he would have been a different man.” We are shaped by our god or gods. Martin Luther once wrote: “whatever you confide in, that is your god.’ Whatever we count on to give us meaning and value in life, that is our god. G. K. Chesterton said years ago, "Good art and morality teach us the same lesson--it is wisdom to know where to draw the line." Leland Gregory, in his book Stupid History, tells of a colossal error that once occurred in transmitting the Ten Commandments. In 1631, King Charles I ordered 1,000 Bibles from an English printer named Robert Barker. Printing was not an exact science in those days, and sometimes mistakes were made and usually overlooked but not in this case. Barker inadvertently left out a single word in the Seventh Commandment in Exodus 20:14 the word “not.” Readers were shocked to find out that God had commanded Moses “Thou shalt commit adultery” as opposed to “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” King Charles was not amused by this mistake and ordered all the Bibles destroyed, fined Barker 300 pounds sterling (a lifetime’s wages in those days), and revoked his printing license Barker was out of business. Not all the Bibles were destroyed; there are eleven known to still exist. Because of the infamous mistake, this printing of the official King James Version is referred to as “The Wicked Bible.” (1) I don’t have to tell you that many people would like to rewrite the Ten Commandments. In her autobiography, My Life So Far, actress Jane Fonda reveals some interesting details about dating and marrying media mogul Ted Turner. On one of their first dates he bragged about replacing the Ten Commandments with what he called The Ten Voluntary Initiatives, which included caring for the earth, having no more than two children per family, etc. He assured Fonda that in the modern world people just couldn’t stomach being commanded to do anything. First: The Rule Of Common Sense. Second: The Rule Of Sportsmanship Third: The Rule Of Your Own Best Self. Fourth: The Rule Of Publicity. Fifth: The Rule Of The Most Admired Person You Know. Sixth: The Rule Of Foresight

The Ten Commandments

October 8, 2017 Exodus 20: 1-4, 7-9, 12-20 The Ten Commandments Children’s time: 1. "I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me." Hold up one index finger for the number one. We worship one God. 2. "You shall not worship idols." Idols, false gods, are not only things like statues, but anything in which we place our ultimate trust and allegiance — for example, money, possessions or weapons. Hold up two fingers. Should we worship more than one God? No, two is too many! One of them must be an idol, and we should not worship it! 3. "You shall not take the Lord's name in vain." Use three fingers to form the letter "W" which stands for "words." Watch your words! God wants us to use his name in loving, caring ways, as we pray and as we talk about him, not in swearing or in anger. 4. "Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy." Hold up four fingers, and fold your thumb under to let it rest. The thumb has the right idea. It's the Sabbath, and the thumb is following the commandment to take a day of rest. God does not want anyone to overwork or be stressed, so we need a day to rest, to be at peace, and to worship with others. God also gave us the Sabbath so that working people would not be taken advantage of by their employers (Deut. 5:14) 5. "Honor your father and your mother." Hold up all five fingers on one hand as if you are taking a pledge, to honor your parents. God wants there to be peace and love in all our family relationships. 6. "You shall not kill." Pretend the index finger on your second hand is a gun, shooting at the first five fingers. God's sixth commandment teaches us not to do anything that would hurt another person unfairly. 7. "You shall not commit adultery." Hold one hand out flat. The five fingers and hand becomes the floor of the church. Two fingers on the other hand are the man and woman to be married, standing in the church, making promises to each other. This seventh commandment calls for couples to keep the marriage promises they make. 8. "You shall not steal." Hold up four fingers on each hand, for the eighth commandment. If you stretch out your fingers slightly, these become the prison bars, which hold someone who was been arrested for stealing. Our Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Study Catechism says "God forbids all theft and robbery, including schemes, tricks or systems that unjustly take what belongs to someone else." (Question # 112) 9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." Hold up all five fingers on one hand and four on the other. Fold your second thumb under and turn your hand around, so the thumb is hiding. It is secretly going around telling the other four fingers on that hand lies and rumors about the five fingers on the other hand. It is "bearing false witness," as it talks behind people's backs, spreading gossip, criticizing others without talking directly to the people involved. Again, our Study Catechism teaches us "Negative stereotyping is a form of falsehood that invites actions of humiliation, abuse, and violence as forbidden by the commandment against murder." (Question # 115) 10. "Do not covet what belongs to your neighbor." Hold out your hands, palms up, and wiggle all ten fingers to show that they've got the "gimmies." Your fingers are saying, "Gimmie what belongs to my neighbor. I want all those things my neighbor has." This is not the way God wants us to live. Exodus 20:1-4Common English Bible (CEB) The Ten Commandments 20 Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You must have no other gods before[a] me. 4 Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 7 Do not use the LORD your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the LORD won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way. 8 Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. 9 Six days you may work and do all your tasks, Exodus 20:12-20Common English Bible (CEB) 12 Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the LORD your God is giving you. 13 Do not kill.[a] 14 Do not commit adultery. 15 Do not steal. 16 Do not testify falsely against your neighbor. 17 Do not desire your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. 18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking, the people shook with fear and stood at a distance. 19 They said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we’ll listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we’ll die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come only to test you and to make sure you are always in awe of God so that you don’t sin.” Footnotes: a. Exodus 20:13 Or murder Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible I didn’t make it to the football game this Friday. But last week sitting in the stands, I remember thinking – what would the game be like if there were no referees. It seems like every play that are blowing their whistle and throwing out a flag. Would the game be harder or easier if their were no rules, and the players were allowed to do what they wanted? What would our world be like if there were no rules. Would it be more fun or less fun. Ted Turner, a multimillionare – does not believe in God. Since we as modern American don’t like to be told what to do – he actually invented his own rules. Instead of calling them the ten commandments – calls them the to voluntary inititives. Here are his Big 10: 1. I love and respect planet Earth and all living things thereon, especially my fellow species, mankind. 2. I promise to treat all persons everywhere with dignity, respect and friendliness. 3. I promise to have no more than two children, or no more than my nation suggests. 4. I promise to use my best efforts to help save what is left of our natural world in an untouched state and to restore damaged or destroyed areas where practical. 5. I pledge to use as little non-renewable resources as possible. 6. I pledge to use as little toxic chemicals, pesticides and other poisons as possible. 7. I promise to contribute to those less fortunate than myself to help them become self-sufficient and enjoy the benefits of a decent life, including clean air and water, adequate food, health care, housing, education and individual rights. 8. I reject the use of force, in particular military force, and back United Nations arbitration of international disputes. 9. I support the total elimination of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and, in time, the total elimination of all weapons of mass destruction. 10. I support the United Nations in its efforts to collectively improve the conditions of the planet. He totally does not get what it means to live life in relationship to God. He totally does not understand the significance of the 10 commandments. Ronald Reagan once wondered that the10 commandments would be like if congress had designed them – would we have the same concerns. If there were no 10 commandments there would be no congress. Legal experts, historians, theologians all agree that the ten commandments were the cornerstone to people living in community. These are the 10 rules which are legal system is based on – that is why you can find them in so many courtrooms. They are known simply as the 10 words – you can find them in exodus and also in Deuteronomy 5. If you think that all of my sermons are about how we live in community – you are right- the bible is all about how we live in community. How we order ourselves in order to have peace and justice in our lives. – how we become the shalom community. The shalom community is a community that lives in concentric circles. God is in the center, then the family, the community and the rest of the world. The ten commandments give you rules about how to live in community. How to relate to each of those rings in the circle. – rule number 1 – there is only one God, and God always comes first. The next two are about how to have a relationship with God. Number 4 – is about creating a calendar and establishing holy time. Five is to honor the family – which your parents are the backbone. And the last 5 are about how to live in relationship to other people. A mother and her two small boys were having a serious discussion about stealing and why it was wrong. “Tell me,” she said, “Why do you think stealing is wrong?” Five-year-old Luke said that stealing was against God’s laws. He had learned about the Ten Commandments in Sunday school. Mother asked the boys if they knew any of the other Ten Commandments. Luke remembered two others: “You shall not murder,” and “Honor your father and mother.” But the boys couldn’t think of any other commandments, until little Patrick piped up, “I know one: “Pick up your toys!” It could be there somewhere – but the 10 commandments is about how we order ourselves in the world. A world where god always comes first. As a United Methodist elder – the book of discipline says that I have 3 main jobs - word, order and sacrament. I am supposed to give a sermon every Sunday, chase you down and make sure that you turn in your charge conference reports, and preside over the Lord’s supper. Of course there is a lot more that goes into the second job of keeping order. We are called Methodist – because there is a defined method for doing everything. John Wesley founded a religious club in college – they got the nickname Methodist and it stuck. Our method is contained in the book of discipline. It orders the way we are a church in everyway. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where we think we are supposed to be free to do anything. We have been conditioned to think that the law is bad – and the ten commandments represent the law. The quickest way to tell if a stick is crooked is to sit it next to a straight stick as a standard of measure. The law is our standard of measure to see how crooked we are. How crooked are we in our lives. What do we need to straighten out in order to get right with God? Someone has said that there was a reason why the Ten were written on stone instead of parchment. They were written in stone so that people could only keep them or break them -- they cannot bend them. We need to be disciplined in our living. The laws of the United Methodist Church, for example, are included in a document known as the Book of Discipline. It seeks to tell what United Methodists can and cannot do. Rather than a curse, it is a blessing because of its clarity. A Jewish Rabbi was addressing his congregation where the high school graduates were being recognized. He used an illustration of water. He stated that water which is allowed total freedom, soon loses its power and becomes still, constituting a swamp, breeding harmful insects. Water, on the other hand, that is totally free, but is confined by two banks, never loses its power and is called a river, generating power for electricity that will light up the whole town. We are to be like the water, disciplined by two banks so that we will never lose our power. The ten commandments give us the freedom to live our lives and to move forward as individuals and as a body. And not to destroy ourselves. The new testament does not negate the Hebrew testament. Jesus does not supercede Moses. Without the ten commandments – Jesus words mean nothing. Jesus' Two Commandments Jesus did not destroy the Law written in the Decalogue; he simply boiled the ten down to two. "Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Mark and Luke added, "and with all thy strength" This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-39) Colonel Sanders added the Extra Crispy to his Original chicken. Jesus did not do away with the Original Ten; he simply lets us know in this New Commandment that the relationship with God is not so much founded on obedience as on love. John Wesley wrote to Charles Wesley saying he had become convinced "the Law can be fulfilled evangelically by love." The religion of love," he said, "is the religion of the Bible. Moses, and the Prophets, and Christ and his Apostles, proclaim with one voice thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, and thy neighbor as thyself. They all declare that love is the fulfilling of the Law." Dr. Graham Scroggie was a well-known preacher of another generation, a powerful and forceful orator. One day, while preaching in England on the Lordship of Christ, he saw, when the crowd had left, a young college student who had stayed behind. He went to her, and asked if she needed any help. She replied, "Dr. Scroggie, your message was so compelling, but I am afraid to truly make Christ the Lord of my life. I'm afraid of what he might ask of me!" The preacher opened his Bible, turned to the story of Peter at Joppa, and began to read to her how God had taught Peter about his racial and cultural discrimination. Three times God brought down a sheet laden with animals which were unclean to the orthodox Jew, and said, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." Three times Peter replied, "No, Lord." Then the wise minister said to the young lady, "Do you realize it is possible to say 'No,' and you can also say 'Lord,' but it is not really possible to say, 'No, Lord.' You have to decide if you will say one or the other, 'No' or 'Lord'." He then left the young lady to think about it and to pray, and he went into another room to pray for her while the struggle went on. When he came back he found her with a pad and pencil in front of her, and on it she had written the word "No" and the word "Lord." As he looked over her shoulder, he saw that the word "No" was crossed out. Softly she was saying, "He's Lord, He's Lord, He's Lord." One Commandment is enough; if you can say "I will have no other gods before him; I will love him with all my heart and soul and mind and strength; he is Lord, all other rules will fall neatly into their proper place." Ultimately, there is only one commandment – love God, if you put God first, the rest of your life should fall into place, without the 10 voluntary initiatives. One Sunday school teacher asked her class if they knew what the last commandment was. One little girl proudly stood and said, “Thou shall not take the covers off thy neighbor’s wife.” Not quite thou Shall not Covet – But it can remind us order our steps in the name of God, our families, our church and one another. Amen. Additional illustrations…… One of our advanced students at Lutheran Northwestern Seminary, motivated by what he had learned in a missions class, went to Haiti a couple years ago with a local church group. Assigned to work at an orphanage, he was involved in the construction of a building. He was repairing a ladder one day when he noticed a young dark-skinned boy watching him. The boy spoke some English. The student said, "Hi," and asked the boy about himself, seeking information about why he was in the orphanage. The young boy answered, "My mother and father are dead. I live here with my older brothers and sisters." The orphan asked the seminarian about his family: "I have a mother and father and a sister," he was told. "No brothers?" the boy inquired. "No brothers," answered the seminary student. There was a pause and then the orphan replied, "But you do have brothers. Jesus is your brother," and adding after another pause, "And I am your brother, too." Recently, I read a little fable about a young girl who was walking through a meadow. She saw that a beautiful butterfly had one wing impaled by a thorn. Very carefully, so as not to further damage the wing, she released the butterfly from the thorn and it began to fly away. Then, the butterfly came back and changed into a beautiful fairy princess right before the little girl. "For your kindness," the fairy told the little girl, "I will grant you your fondest wish." The little girl thought for a moment and replied, "I want to be happy." The fairy princess smiled and leaned over and whispered something into the girl’s ear. Then, the fairy princess vanished into thin air. But, as the girl grew older, there was no one in the kingdom who was happier than she. Whenever anyone asked her for the secret of her happiness, she would only smile and say, "I listened to a beautiful fairy princess." As she reached the last years of her life, her friends and neighbors were afraid that her fabulous secret of happiness would die with her. "Tell us, please," they asked. "Tell us what the fairy said!" The little girl, who was now a lovely old lady, smiled and said, "The beautiful fairy princess told me that the secret to happiness is to realize that everyone, no matter how secure they seem, has need of me." One of the great secrets of life is to realize that everyone has need of us. And the willingness to give ourselves to others ... the willingness to develop a relationship with others the willingness to love others, is one of the rules of living ... which leads to a happy life. A young fellow answered matter of factly, “Adultery is when a kid lies about his age.” And, of course, there is that central commandment to all boys and girls, the fifth commandment: “Humor thy father and thy mother.” Sometime back the little newsletter of Christian humor, The Joyful Noiseletter carried what it called, “A Cowboy Ten Commandments.” I thought you might enjoy hearing how a cowboy might interpret this ancient code. It goes like this: First commandment: Just one God. 2. Honor yer Ma and Pa. 3. No tellin’ tales or gossipin’. 4. Git yerself to Sunday meeting. 5. Put nothin’ before God. 6. No foolin’ aroun’ with another fellow’s gal. 7. No killin’. 8. Watch yer mouth. 9. Don’t take nothin’ what ain’t yers. 10. Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff. (2) here is a silly little story about Moses. It seems that Moses wasn’t feeling well and was very upset. He decided he would go up on the mountain and see God. “You know my life has not been easy. First my mother put me in a basket and floated me down a river,” Moses said. “Then I left Egypt for 40 years. You remember the burning bush, the plagues, and then the Passover.” God allowed that, yes, He remembered. “There’s a lot more,” Moses continued. “You remember everything, so I don’t have to tell you the rest. But I really can’t handle much more, and I have this splitting headache.” God looked at Moses and said, “Here, take these two tablets. That should help.” (3) The 10 Commandments List, Short Form 1. You shall have no other gods before Me. 2. You shall not make idols. 3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. 4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 5. Honor your father and your mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet.

No other god Before God

March 11, 2012 No other god before God Exodus 20:1-17 John 2:13-22 Year B Third Sunday of Lent God’s Grace God’s grace is God’s way of telling us that God loves us unconditionally. God’s grace is God’s way of telling us that our lives are of value, that our souls are of value, and that God desires the best possible life for all of us. God’s grace is the most important thing in life, sometimes it has to go out ahead of us, and pave the way for us to have what we need. God’s Grace goes before us Several years ago, psychiatrist Scott Peck wrote a national bestseller called The Road Less Traveled. It was filled with what he had learned about life from his work with people with all sorts of mental ailments. One thing he observed was a tendency toward mental wellness even among patients who had reasons to seek psychiatric help. Some of these people had survived serious emotional traumas much better than the circumstances seemed to warrant, and Peck came to think of a force of goodness in the world. He eventually identified this force using the word “serendipity,” which the dictionary defines as “the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” As a Christian, Peck also realized that the word “grace” fit that definition too. So in the book, he wrote extensively about this force, using both words. Associating grace with serendipity was one of his original contributions to the subject of grace. Several years later, Peck was on a flight to Minneapolis. He usually took advantage of flying time to do some writing, so when a man took the seat next to him, Peck gave the usual nonverbal signals one gives when one doesn’t want to engage in conversation. The man soon buried himself in a novel, and they flew side by side in silence for most of the flight. Finally, the man looked up from his novel and said, “I hate to bother you, but you don’t happen, by any chance, to know the meaning of the word ‘serendipity,’ do you?” Peck responded that as far as he knew, he was the only person who had written a substantial portion of a book on the subject, and that it was perhaps serendipity that at the precise moment the man wanted to know the meaning of the word, he happened to be sitting next to an authority on the subject. This, of course, led to further conversation, and Peck explained that his book was a kind of integration of psychology and religion. The man said, “Well, I don’t know about religion anymore,” and went on to tell Peck about some doubts that had him thinking he needed to leave the church. In response Peck explained how questioning helped individuals move from the hand-me-down religion of childhood to a mature, personal one. When the two landed in Minneapolis, the man said, “I don’t have the foggiest idea what all of this means, but maybe I don’t have to leave the church after all.” (M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled and Beyond [New York: Touchstone, 1997], 260-261). That was God’s prevenient grace, running ahead of the man, putting him into a conversation with someone who could help him when he needed it on his spiritual road. You see, prevenient grace is just as amazing as saving grace. It runs ahead of us, preparing the way for us to respond to God. We just couldn’t do that without him. God’s grace on the cross During our Lenten journey, we have been looking at the grace of the cross. How did Jesus turn a symbol of pain and shame into a symbol of grace, of God’s love for us. If we were headed into a life of sin, how and why did God send Jesus to take out place. God took our place There is a story about a man who visited a church. He parked his car and started toward the front entrance. Another car pulled up nearby, and the irritated driver said to him, "I always park there. You took my place!" The visitor went inside and found that Sunday School was about to begin. He found an adult class, went inside, and sat down. A class member approached him and said, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down in an empty pew. Within moments another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit. You took my place!" The visitor was troubled, but said nothing. Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to be present with them, the visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Scars became v isible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and cried out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, "I took your place." Some things that happen in church are silly. Some things are down right scandalous. Some things may even be sacrilegious. But the Church is still the body of Christ and it was for the Church that Christ died. Jesus took our place, so that we could have a better life. The greatest gift that God gave us and will never take away from us is our free will, our freedom to experience life. Exodus 20 If you look at the beginning of Exodus 20 – before it tells you the 10 commandments, it says that these are the words of God for us. Once again, you will notice that God introduces Godself. Who is that God speaking to us – I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Out of the house of slavery. In other words I have set you free. Grace is freedom Freedom is a wonderful thing, the problem is that we don’t always know what to do with it. We have no idea of how to use it in our best interest. The 10 commandments are guidelines in how to use our freedom in a way that benefits us, not hurts us. Why freedom hurts us A preacher was depressed that he lost his bike….. In a small town there were two preachers, one Methodist and one Baptist. They both liked to ride bicycles around town, and they would greet each other when they met on their way somewhere. Well, so one day when they met, the Baptist preacher was on foot. Methodist preacher asked him, "What happened to your bicycle?" Baptist preacher said, "I don't know. I put it somewhere, and can't remember where. I hope somebody didn't steal it." So the Methodist preacher said, "I know what we can do to get your bicycle back. This Sunday we'll both preach on the Ten Commandments. When we get to 'Thou shalt not steal,' we'll dwell on it long and hard. I'll bet that'll get your bicycle returned." So they proceeded to do this, and one day the next week they met up again, and the Baptist preacher had his bicycle back. "Hello, friend," said the Methodist preacher. "I see one of our sermons did some good." The Baptist fellow hung his head and said, "Yeah, but not how you'd think. I preached on the Ten Commandments, just like we said, and when I got to 'Covet not thy neighbor's wife,' I remembered where I'd left my bicycle!" I don’t want to get into what the 10 commandments are, and the meaning of each commandment means, we all know right from wrong. Our relationship with God and our relationship with others But I do want to remind us that the 10 commandments remind us of our relationships. Our sacred relationships first of all with God. And then with our family and our community. The first 4 commandments talk about our relationship with God, and the last 6 talk about our relationship with one another. All of them ask us how is our relationship with freedom. How do we use freedom? For ourselves, or for the good of all. Always remembering that there is no benefit of freedom for ourselves, without our connections with others. Not a mirror, but the word of God I went to visit the students of Urban Prep this week. And right in the front of the classroom, there was full length mirror as the students come in the door. There was a sign on top of it which said look at the man in the mirror. The thing is, God is asking not that we look at the mirror at ourselves, but to look at God’s word. Not to adjust ourselves according to what we see in ourselves, but to adjust ourselves according to the word of God. 10 questions that 10 commandments ask us There is a tradition- instead of calling the laws of God the ten commandments, they are the 10 words. 10 words to order all of our life and all of our relationships according to. the Ten Commandments ask us ten questions, "Do you honor anything or anyone above the one true God? Has God been replaced by something physical or material in your life? Have you dishonored God’s name by using it in a frivolous manner? Is your work more important than your relationship with God? Do you honor your father and mother? Do you value human life? Have you kept your marriage vows? Do you respect other’s rights of ownership? Do you tell the truth? Are you content with what you have or do you covet the possessions, relationships and successes of others?" To God, our answers to those specific questions about behavior and morality demonstrate our willingness to follow Jesus to the cross. Jesus simplified 10 to 2 commandments Jesus simplified the 10 words to two - Mark 12, Matthew 22, and Luke 10 – Jesus says the first commandment is to love the lord our God with all of our mind, our heart, our soul. And he second commandment is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. That all goes back to the fact that the first 4 commandments tell us how to have a right relationship with God and the last tell us how to have a right relationship with each other. How to be in right relationship with our freedom. We are in the third week of lent – our journey to the cross, our time to get in touch with our sinful nature and the control that it can have on our lives. But also our chance to truly experience the grace of God’s love for us. To come out of slavery, and to look at freedom in a way that we never imagined, never saw before. If God sets us free- then there is nothing that can hold us down, no situation. The interesting thing about the 10 commandments – it that there is not situation attached to them. There are no circumstances . how many times in our lives do we- put circumstances on our freedom. I can be free, as long as others are treating me right, as long as things are going me way, as long as I am happy. God gives us freedom in every situation, in every relationship. Why follow Jesus to the cross Why follow Jesus to the cross – because God knows what you need better than you do. God has given it to you, before you even knew what it means. If you are willing to go the cross, whatever it is, it will all make sense with the coming of the resurrection. Jesus promises us that. Iive your life, not in the confines of the situation, but in the freedom of your relationship with God and with one another. The God gene Time magazine reported that there is a gene inside of each of us that seeks a relationship with God. Something that causes us to look to God for the ultimate answers of our lives. Remember these 10 words to have the best relationship with God Remember these 10 words Recognize that God comes first in all things Put nothing in God’s place in your life Honor the name of God Worship God faithfully Honor one another Protect the truth Having an attitude, a selfish attitude can be destructive to yourself and to others. If you obey God’s rules – you will truly understand what it means to be free. If you follow Jesus to the cross you will understand what it means to be saved. Let us pray…

A Command, A Promise, or a Way of Life - March 15, 2009

Exodus 20:1-17
John 2:13-22
March 15, 2009
Year B
Third Sunday of Lent
A Command, a Promise or a Way of Life?

Memorizing the 10 commandments is a rite of passage or all Sunday school students. Who can remember them by heart?
(I can’t)

Teach you a short trick to remember them….
Start with your hands together in prayer. This reminds us that God heard the
prayers of the Hebrew people when they were in slavery in Egypt and freed them
(Exodus 3:7, 20:2). The commandments are a way for us to show our gratitude for
God's love in our lives and to further just and peaceful relationships in God's
world.

1. "I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me." Hold up one
index finger for the number one. We worship one God.

2. "You shall not worship idols." Idols, false gods, are not only things like
statues, but anything in which we place our ultimate trust and allegiance-- for
example, money, possessions or weapons. Hold up two fingers. Should we worship
more than one God? No, two is too many! One of them must be an idol, and we
should not worship it!

3. "You shall not take the Lord's name in vain." Use three fingers to form the
letter "W' which stands for "words." Watch your words! God wants us to use his
name in loving, caring ways, as we pray and as we talk about him, not in
swearing or in anger.

4. "Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy." Hold up four fingers, and fold
your thumb under to let it rest. The thumb has the right idea. It's the Sabbath,
and the thumb is following the commandment to take a day of rest. God does not
want anyone to overwork or be stressed, so we need a day to rest, to be at
peace, and to worship with others. God also gave us the Sabbath so that working
people would not be taken advantage of by their employers (Deut. 5:14)

5. "Honor your father and your mother." Hold up all five fingers on one hand as
if you are taking a pledge, to honor your parents. God wants there to be peace
and love in all our family relationships.

6. "You shall not kill." Pretend the index finger on your second hand is a gun,
shooting at the first five fingers. God's sixth commandment teaches us not to do
anything that would hurt another person unfairly.

7. "You shall not commit adultery." Hold one hand out flat. The five fingers and
hand become the floor of the church. Two fingers on the other hand are the man
and woman to be married, standing in the church, making
promises to each other. This seventh commandment calls for couples to keep the
marriage promises they make.

8. "You shall not steal." Hold up four fingers on each hand, for the eighth
commandment. If you stretch out your fingers slightly, these become the prison
bars, which hold someone who was been arrested for stealing. Our Study Catechism
says "God forbids all theft and robbery, including schemes, tricks or systems
that unjustly take what belongs to someone else."

9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." Hold up all five
fingers on one hand and four on the other. Fold your second thumb under and turn
your hand around, so the thumb is hiding. It is secretly going around telling
the other four fingers on that hand lies and rumors about the five fingers on
the other hand. It is "bearing false witness," as it talks behind people=s
backs, spreading gossip, criticizing others without talking directly to the
people involved. Again, our Study Catechism teaches us "Negative stereotyping is
a form of falsehood that invites actions of humiliation, abuse, and violence as
forbidden by the commandment against murder."

10. "Do not covet what belongs to your neighbor." Hold out your hands, palms
up, and wiggle all ten fingers to show that they've got the "gimmes." Your
fingers are saying, "Gimme what belongs to my neighbor. I want all those things
my neighbor has." This is not the way God wants us to live.


I bet you didn’t know that catholics, Lutherans, other protestants, and jews have different ten commandements. There are actually 15 commandments that have been grouped in different ways.





A preacher was depressed that he lost his bike…..In a small town there were two preachers, one Methodist and one Baptist.They both liked to ride bicycles around town, and they would greet eachother when they met on their way somewhere. Well, so one day when they met, the Baptist preacher was on foot. Methodistpreacher asked him, "What happened to your bicycle?" Baptist preacher said, "I don't know. I put it somewhere, and can'tremember where. I hope somebody didn't steal it." So the Methodist preacher said, "I know what we can do to get your bicycleback. This Sunday we'll both preach on the Ten Commandments. When we getto 'Thou shalt not steal,' we'll dwell on it long and hard. I'll betthat'll get your bicycle returned." So they proceeded to do this, and one day the next week they met up again,and the Baptist preacher had his bicycle back. "Hello, friend," said the Methodist preacher. "I see one of our sermons didsome good." The Baptist fellow hung his head and said, "Yeah, but not how you'd think.I preached on the Ten Commandments, just like we said, and when I got to'Covet not thy neighbor's wife,' I remembered where I'd left my bicycle!"


That is how we usually use the ten commandments – as a set of rules that we are supposed to obey, with a realization that we will be punished if we disobey. And there are times when it is justified that we are punished. These are social boundaries where there should be consequences if we violate them. These are the basic rules of how we should live in community.

These are the first known rules of community. The story goes that the people did not want to talk with Moses on their own, so they ask Moses to go on the mountain and to bring back those rules to live by.

Today, even with all of the controversy of separation of church and state, they are the basis of our legal system. And play an important in our modern societal boundaries.

I told you that during lent we would be dealing with the 6 promises of God. At first thought, this hardly seems like a promise. It seems more like a list of rules to follow or else.

That is because no matter how well we may remember all of the commandments, we are not told of the first words o Exodus 20:2 – Where God says, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

I brought you out of the house of slavery – the promise for us is not a demand a demand of obedience, but a request of obedience. The first promise for us is that we would not be destroyed. In spite of out bent toward sinning. The second promise is that the world would be blessed if we live out of our faith. The promise for today – is that even though we are sinners, even though there are always consequences for our sin, - we have been set free. We are free to be in relationship with God and with one another. Without freedom, there is no relationship – because you are not giving out of your heart.

Without God, where would be be? Without God’s love for us where would we be? Without God opening doors and providing a pathway for us – where would we be? So why would we put other gods before God?
The first 4 commandments teach us how to have a relationship with God, the next six teach us how to have a relationship with one another.
Jesus reminds us that we should love the lord our God with all of our heart, all of our mind and all of our souls. And to love one another as God loves us. To treat one another, as God treats us.

Perhaps that is why Jesus got so upset in our gospel. Because people seemed to get so caught up in following the rules, that they forgot to be in relationship with one another, and with God.

This is another story which is told in all of the gospels. In John’s story – this is the beginning of Jesus ministry – when he comes to the temple – and finds money changers in the temple. He is not so much upset that they are selling worship materials – it is okay for us to have bake sales, and fundraisers in the church. That is not the problem. He is upset because of their attitude in selling products. They don’t care about the people that they are serving – many who can’t afford the prices that they are being charged. Also, they have set up shop in the gentile section of the temple, which means that there are people who are not allowed to come to worship while all of this is going on.

They have turned worship of God into a mockery of all that God stands for. A relationship of love.

Jesus ties some rope together and starts to destroy what they are doing by upturning everything. I love the response of the religious leaders in this story – who gave you the authority to do this?

When I was in Israel, one of the leaders said, it is not that Jews don’t like Jesus, they just don’t understand. It was like he made a mockery of the whole point of Jewish tradition. like he is doing in this scene.

Jesus is reminding us that we are free – we are not bound by tradition, or by circumstances, or by rules. The Lord our God has set us free. And all that God asks of us in return – is to obey – to never forget our relationship with God and to live out that relationship with one another.

The temple in which we worship is not a building (as important as it is), the temple is our relationships with one another and with those in the world. Without a relationship with who we are, what we are doing, and how we affect others – we don’t have anything.

I want to leave you with these words from Meister Eckhart
“as long we look for some kind of pay for what we do, as long as we want something from God in some kind of exchange, we are like merchants. Do all that you can in good works, solely for the praise of God. Live as you do not exist. Expect nothing in return. Then the merchant inside of you shall be driven out of the temple. Let God alone dwell in the temple. This is how the temple is cleared: when a person thinks only of God and honors him alone. Only such a person is free and genuine.

Worship no God but God
Don’t use the lords name in vain
Remember the Sabbath
Honor your parents
Don’t murder
Don’t commit adultery
Don’t steal
Don’t lie
Don’t wish for anything that belongs to another.

No matter what you do – always remember that you are loved, so you are free.

Amen.