Concord United Sermons

Faithfulness & Temptation | Rev. Brooke Hartman

With the family as the basic building block of society, the command to not commit adultery is necessary to protect the continuity of the nuclear family just as the command to honor your parents is necessary to protect the intergenerational extended family. This command is given not just to stabilize society, but also to bless each member of the society. This command seeks to provide children with a stable home life and spouses with a fulfilling lasting relationship. While marriage is never easy, studies show the healthiest and happiest people on earth are those in a stable marriage.  

 

In ancient days, marriages were often challenged by the practice of polygamy and the uneven application of this command which held women to a higher standard of faithfulness than men. Today, marriages are challenged by hook-ups websites, the ubiquity of porn, the ease of reconnecting with old flames on social media, and cultural attitudes towards sex as an act of self-expression that shouldn’t be policed rather than a sacred gift of which we are stewards.

 

As Christians, we are called to recognize the harmful nature of these societal temptations and work to minimize them while also working to offer the grace of Jesus Christ to those who have found their lives wrecked by them.

 Scripture - Exodus 20:14

Sabbath: Addition by Subtraction | Rev. Brooke Hartman

When the Hebrew were enslaved in Egypt, they had to work for Pharoah 7 days a week. When God led them out of slavery, God instructed them to work for themselves 6 days a week and to give the 7^th day to God. Instead of backbreaking labor, God instructed them to spend the 7^th day (the Sabbath day), worshipping God and enjoying the goodness and love of God’s creation.

Today, many of us are enslaved by golden handcuffs of our own design. We struggle to take even half a day off from our other priorities to focus on God and to enjoy God’s goodness because we are so busy pursuing our own goals which often bring us as many curses as blessings.

God’s plan for Sabbath revolves around creating a community based around supporting its members to take Sabbath for rest, rejuvenation, and revival. So, we must wrestle with the question of how to practice Sabbath in a culture that no longer supports it.

To practice Sabbath in this culture is counter-cultural and necessary. If Jesus felt the need to take a Sabbath for worship and renewal every seven days, we probably need to as well.

Scripture - Exodus 20:8-11

 

Sabbath: Addition by Subtraction | Rev. Wil Cantrell

When the Hebrew were enslaved in Egypt, they had to work for Pharoah 7 days a week. When God led them out of slavery, God instructed them to work for themselves 6 days a week and to give the 7^th day to God. Instead of backbreaking labor, God instructed them to spend the 7^th day (the Sabbath day), worshipping God and enjoying the goodness and love of God’s creation.

Today, many of us are enslaved by golden handcuffs of our own design. We struggle to take even half a day off from our other priorities to focus on God and to enjoy God’s goodness because we are so busy pursuing our own goals which often bring us as many curses as blessings.

God’s plan for Sabbath revolves around creating a community based around supporting its members to take Sabbath for rest, rejuvenation, and revival. So, we must wrestle with the question of how to practice Sabbath in a culture that no longer supports it.

To practice Sabbath in this culture is counter-cultural and necessary. If Jesus felt the need to take a Sabbath for worship and renewal every seven days, we probably need to as well.

Scripture - Exodus 20:8-11

What More In the Name of Love? | Rev. Wil Cantrell

How you use someone’s name has everything to do with the level of respect and authority they represent to you. The reason God instructs us not swear by his name (or to use older language “to take his name in vain” is because God knows our tendency to use his name, along with the power and authority attached to it, for our own purposes which have nothing to do with God’s purposes. Doing so, not only harms others, it creates a world where each person gets to decide right and wrong for themselves. Such a world is incapable of producing peace, justice, and a human flourishing because within such a world humanity has no common ground to stand on.

Scripture - Exodus 20:7

What More In the Name of Love? | Rev. Sabine Collins

How you use someone’s name has everything to do with the level of respect and authority they represent to you. The reason God instructs us not swear by his name (or to use older language “to take his name in vain” is because God knows our tendency to use his name, along with the power and authority attached to it, for our own purposes which have nothing to do with God’s purposes. Doing so, not only harms others, it creates a world where each person gets to decide right and wrong for themselves. Such a world is incapable of producing peace, justice, and a human flourishing because within such a world humanity has no common ground to stand on.

Scripture - Exodus 20:7

The Problem With Idols | Rev. Mike Stallings

History teaches us that humans will always find a way to worship. In the absence of a community based around the reality of the One True God (and sadly, sometimes even within such a community), our worship will center around idols. In ancient times, these idols were carved out of stone or wood each of which promised blessings of particular types (fertility, harvest, military victory) to its devotees. Today, these idols are more likely to center around our commitment to a goal (wealth, health, status) or a community (country, corporation, college).

In every case, idol worship takes our focus off of how we can serve God and puts the focus on how god (or gods) can serve us. Jesus teaches us that when we seek first God and God’s Kingdom, we receive all of God’s blessings in return. But when we seek first the blessings, we come away empty handed.

Scripture - Exodus 20:4-5

 

The Problem With Idols | Rev. Wil Cantrell

History teaches us that humans will always find a way to worship. In the absence of a community based around the reality of the One True God (and sadly, sometimes even within such a community), our worship will center around idols. In ancient times, these idols were carved out of stone or wood each of which promised blessings of particular types (fertility, harvest, military victory) to its devotees. Today, these idols are more likely to center around our commitment to a goal (wealth, health, status) or a community (country, corporation, college).

 

In every case, idol worship takes our focus off of how we can serve God and puts the focus on how god (or gods) can serve us. Jesus teaches us that when we seek first God and God’s Kingdom, we receive all of God’s blessings in return. But when we seek first the blessings, we come away empty handed.

Scripture - Exodus 20:4-5

The Foundation of Everything | Rev. Wil Cantrell

In the Ten Commandments, we find God giving to humanity a foundation for the rule of law and for discerning God’s will for human flourishing. Without God’s revelation of right and wrong, good and evil, human society will inevitably be based around how those in power in can maintain and extend their power rather than how all can live together with love and respect. Many people point out that the first four commandments are about God (theology) and the second six commandments are about people (morality). This order is no coincidence. The moral teaching of the 10 Commandments derives their lasting relevance from the reality and nature of God.

Physicists have long searched (so far unsuccessfully) for a “theory of everything” which will show how the entire physical world on the micro and macro level works together. For Jews and Christians, the 10 Commandments bear witness to a theory (or better said, “the foundation”) of everything. Everything we are, everything we do, and the reality of right and wrong are all based on the reality, power, and presence of the One True God.

Scripture - Exodus 32:15-16, Exodus 20:1-3

The Foundation of Everything | Rev. Brooke Hartman

In the Ten Commandments, we find God giving to humanity a foundation for the rule of law and for discerning God’s will for human flourishing. Without God’s revelation of right and wrong, good and evil, human society will inevitably be based around how those in power in can maintain and extend their power rather than how all can live together with love and respect. Many people point out that the first four commandments are about God (theology) and the second six commandments are about people (morality). This order is no coincidence. The moral teaching of the 10 Commandments derives their lasting relevance from the reality and nature of God.

 

Physicists have long searched (so far unsuccessfully) for a “theory of everything” which will show how the entire physical world on the micro and macro level works together. For Jews and Christians, the 10 Commandments bear witness to a theory (or better said, “the foundation”) of everything. Everything we are, everything we do, and the reality of right and wrong are all based on the reality, power, and presence of the One True God.

Scripture - Exodus 32:15-16, Exodus 20:1-3

Rubber Meets the Road | Rev. Brooke Hartman

Paul concludes his letter to the church at Philippi with verses that are often familiar to us, yet how do these words gain meaning when viewed from the perspective of being like Jesus?  Paul guides us in putting into practice being like Jesus through prayer and how we live our lives. 

Being like Jesus means putting into practice the mindset of Jesus. 

Scripture - Philippians 4:4-9