Worship God
Distracted driving kills about 9 people every day in the US. We’ve tried doing something about this phenomenon. Unfortunately, providing more information does not seem to be working. Despite all of the public service announcements, the statistics continue to follow a discouraging trend. Distracted worship is also on the rise in 2020. For anyone sensitive to the spiritual needs that a worship service is designed to meet, attempting to worship from home has been completely inadequate. Then, the numerous restrictions placed…
The Ten Commandments: A Life of Gratitude
Note: The audio cut out half way through. In Love and Friendship, a movie based upon Jane Austen’s Lady Susan, the plot is typical of Austen. A recently widowed woman seeks a suitable husband for herself and a wealthy husband for her daughter. In one brilliant scene, Susan’s daughter Frederica is interacting with the wealthy Sir James Martin, who is trying to impress everyone with his knowledge. Martin: This reminded me of many such accounts one learns in childhood. Perhaps the most…
The Tenth Commandment: Do Not Covet What Others Possess!
C.S. Lewis opened his sermon, “The Weight of Glory”, with the following famous statement: If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a…
The Tenth Commandment: Be Content!
This is an important message to hear anytime something doesn’t go as we expect. How should we respond when we are unable to get what we want? How do we cope with suffering and loss? The world offers many coping mechanisms that are dangerously misguided. Buddhism and new age meditation teach us that life is suffering caused by craving. Therefore, the goal of Eastern meditation is to learn to eliminate craving altogether. To reach Nirvana is to no longer crave…
“The Ninth Commandment: Do Not Lie” (Exodus 20:16)
Conspiracy theories are found around every corner, but they have been around for about two-hundred years in their current form. Back in 1831, New England religious leaders warned about the Illuminati’s destructive plans. Ever since then, Americans have sought and found conspiracies typically associated with politics or religions. DeYoung Bad news travels much faster than good news. We must be careful to avoid deceit of every kind, intentional or not. On the other hand, many will scream “Conspiracy Theory” simply because…
“The Ninth Commandment: Tell the Truth” (Exodus 20:16)
The Ninth Commandment: Tell the Truth We often times think of telling the truth as a basic regurgitation of the facts. Truth tellers are honest and forthright. They don’t sugarcoat the unsavory details. They don’t downplay anything problematic about an event or belief. But, do we really appreciate such unfiltered truth? I love courtroom dramas. To Kill A Mockingbird, A Time to Kill. But, one of my favorite movies in this genre is “A Few Good Men”. Jack Nicholson as…
“The Eighth Commandment: You Shall Not Steal” (Exodus 20:15)
The Eighth Commandment: You Shall Not Steal Someone broke into our garage this week and stole our limbo stick. I mean, seriously, how low can you go? Maybe you think this sermon is going to be fairly easy to take after hearing enough conviction the past several weeks considering the previous commandments. Maybe you assume stealing has never really been an issue for you. A survey from Barna discovered that 86% of adults claim to have met the requirement of…
“The Eighth Commandment: Fostering Prosperity” (Exodus 20:15)
The Eighth Commandment: Fostering Prosperity The U.S. is, by any measure, the wealthiest, most powerful, and most influential country in the history of the world. It is not difficult to understand why so many immigrants want to come here to pursue their dreams. The United States is far and away the most likely destination for immigrants (5x more than the second country). That is true of those wanting to come through legal channels as well as those who will risk…
“The Seventh Commandment: The Perversion of Love” (Exodus 20:14)
The Seventh Commandment: The Perversion of Love Marriage was downgraded in America when Ronald Reagan instituted “no fault” divorce as Governor of California in 1969. Legislators argued that it would reduce litigation expenses and animosity between spouses, ultimately, saving more marriages. By 1979, just ten years after the bill was adopted and subsequently passed in the rest of the US, divorce had doubled. There have been over one million divorces every year since then. Roughly 50% of all marriages end…