When God's holiness draws near, our first instinct is often to back away—to put some distance between ourselves and the One whose law shows us how unholy we are. That's exactly what Israel does in Exodus 20 after hearing the Ten Commandments: they tremble at the mountain and tell Moses, “You speak to us… but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
When pain makes even sitting in a chair impossible, someone else’s ordinary comfort can suddenly look like the one thing that would make life right. In Exodus 20:17, God forbids coveting anything that belongs to our neighbor—but how do we distinguish a healthy desire for change from a heart dissatisfied with what God has given?
We've all known that strange, off feeling when something of ours is stolen. That instinctive certainty it is wrong is precisely where Exodus 20:15 begins—”You shall not steal”—yet the command reaches the many ways we take from God without ever feeling the sting ourselves.
Most of us haven't murdered anyone this week, so we figure we're keeping the sixth commandment just fine—but Jesus suggests the problem runs deeper, into the anger we harbor and the contempt we broadcast, long before any blade is drawn.
Most of us hear “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” and assume the second commandment is aimed for some folks worshipping a metal statue long ago. But the same human frailty that raised the golden calf still reaches for something visible, manageable, and reassuring. What have we begun to trust, protect, or worship in place of the God who rescued us?
Pharmaceutical commercials fill the screen with daisy fields and frolicking joy so you’ll tune out the side effects. Are God’s Commandments filled with killer side effects, too?
Jim takes us to the question “Is there any way to escape punishment and be brought back into God’s favor?” Where do we find hope after we recognize our situation before God?
Pastor Tim shares that we will be online-only tonight for service. He also takes us to the question “Will God allow our disobedience and idolatry to go unpunished?” What do we do when we face God’s righteous judgment?
Pastor Tim takes us to the question “Since no one can keep the law, what is its purpose,” the fifteenth question of the New City Catechism to help us start the consideration of the question ahead of this week’s Sunday School Express.
