The Name of the Lord

January 28, 2013 Monday Message:

We’re investigating the Ten Commandments, and today we’ll check out #3 - "Do not swear falsely (take in vain) the name of the LORD..."

God wants to hear from you. Use His name often. He desires a relationship with you. You need to get to know him better. Start with prayer. Read the Bible. Think about it, meditate on what you read. Talk with other Christians. Join a small group or a Bible study. Pray (you talking to God,) and then look and listen for God speaking back to you.

This isn’t about religion – it’s about establishing a relationship. It’s about you interacting with God. You and God should become best friends. You can’t “inform” God, because He already knows – He’s God! But you can talk it over with your new friend, like when you come home from work and your spouse asks, “How was your day?” It’s good to share your ups and downs, to be able to bend someone’s ear.

When you call out for God, mean it. Don't call out for the Lord in vain. I see TV shows where when something has happened – they secretly remodeled a room, or cooked a special meal or designed fancy clothing – and then: the Reveal! The people see it for the first time, their hands go up, their eyes open wide, and they shout, “Oh, my God!” Now, these people don’t intend anything bad. It’s just something that people say. I think God understands, but probably also wishes you’d save shouting-out to Him for the occasions when you really want to reach Him. That's what the Bible says.

Did you know that God cannot tell a lie? Because He’s incompatible with untruths, using His name carries a great deal of weight, and also charges the user with a great deal of responsibility. In a court of law, witnesses place their hand on God’s Word and swear in His name to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If someone doesn’t intend to tell the truth, they shouldn’t use God’s name. By the way, everything you say should be true, but not everything true needs to be said.

Next week we’ll move on to #4, Shabbat, the day of rest.

Norton Lawellin

We’ll worship together this Sunday, Feb. 03, 10:30am Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF), in the North end of the Oliver Ministry Building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, Minneapolis, as we continue preaching our way through Dr. Luke.

NL

No More Idols!

January 21, 2013 Monday Message:

We continue our journey through the Ten Commandments. Today, we wrap up #2, "Do not make a false image or likeness…”

Many churches have an altar in the center and the pulpit off to one side. Their main thing is Communion, the Eucharist or the Mass, that which takes place on the altar. Others put the pulpit in the center, feeling that the Holy Word from God should be the main thing. Some churches feature elaborate, prominent crosses, to remind people of what Jesus did for them. Others have removed their crosses when they found people bowing to the man-made image. I’m not judging – but realize that Christians have different backgrounds, come from different denominations and different traditions. What do you think?

The important thing is to keep our sights on God-the-creator (commandment #1), the one thing of substance. I’m not here to debate religious tradition, but if God is the main thing, then everything else is secondary. There’s no competition - there are no other Gods – end of discussion.

Today our idols look different. What gets your attention more than God gets your attention? For some people, it’s their house, their car, their job or their hobby. It could be YOU! “What I need to do is extremely important, so God’s just going to have to take a back seat for a while.” Some people get caught up in drugs, alcohol, sexual addiction, pornography – knock it off! God will get your defective character back on the right track, and He will forgive you, but He wants to be in first place. All the time.

And for all the dedicated Kingdom servants – don’t let religion become your idol. Sadly, I’ve met church workers who were so busy with the Wednesday night supper, the youth group, missionary support and leadership meetings that they fell out of touch with their personal love for the Lord.

I’m part of a Worship Leader discussion group. This month’s topic was “Spiritual Preparation for our teams, prior to the worship service.” It’s sometimes difficult to worship when you’re leading worship. One WL’s church has 7 services each weekend! With the various music and musicians, microphones and sound, song words/slides, and one service starting right after the other, for him, worshiping the Lord at church is challenging! But he’s possessive and intentional about his prayer and meditation time with God. And for him, it happens before church starts! You can’t lead worship if you haven’t worshiped, and you can't worship God if the Worship Team is your idol!

Jesus said the most important thing was to, “Love the Lord your God…,” and that goes double for church leaders.

Next week we’ll move on to #3, the Name of the Lord.

Norton Lawellin

We’ll worship together this Sunday, Jan. 27, 10:30am Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF), in the North end of the Oliver Ministry Building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, Minneapolis. This week we discuss outreach and evangelism with Reggie Hannah.

NL

Only God!

January 14, 2013 Monday Message:

We’re working our way through the Ten Commandments. Today, we open the door to #2,  "Do not make a false image or likeness…”

There are no other Gods, and we should not try to make any other Gods. Once a person is aware of the creator God (commandment #1), it would seem just plain silly to fashion something out of wood, metal or, nowadays, plastic, and then worship that thing. But that’s exactly what happened in the Bible.

Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the “Ten Commandments” stone tablets which God himself had inscribed with His finger, and found that the Israelites had erected a calf of gold to worship. And it wasn’t reverent worship – they were in full “party” mode, singing and dancing and drinking and celebrating around this new idol they had made-up.

Understand that mankind was made to worship, and if we lose touch with the creator-God, we’ll pour our efforts into something else. That’s why it’s so important to go to church and to hang out with your fellow Christians. It’s keeps your focus on the real God – it keeps the creator at the top of your agenda. Immersion.

Nowadays people don’t build idols – or do they? One of my favorite restaurants has two cows, displayed alongside the Dalai Lama. Did you know that the guardian lions outside Chinese restaurants are a tradition based on superstition?

I was at a performance of the National India Dance Company. They erected a man-sized likeness of Krishna, mysteriously indistinct and yet always lit with a dark blue light so there was a constant presence. When the dancers entered, they would bow to the image, and offer their performance to it. When the concert was over and the lights were turned back on, they neatly folded Krishna and put him into a large suitcase for transport to the next gig.

I recorded a concert at a church. The opening song was Ave Maria. As the song progressed, young women progressed their lyrical dance up the center aisle while carrying candles. I saw that a second altar with a statue of the Virgin Mary had been placed in front of the main altar. The dancers bowed to this image, and then placed their candles on Mary’s altar. Interesting. What do you think?

We’ll look further into idols next week. See you at church!

Norton Lawellin

Friday, Jan. 18, 7pm, I’ll tackle all 10 Commandments during Chapel at New Hope Center, 2739 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407.

Sunday, Jan. 20, 10:30am Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers in the North end of the Oliver Ministry Building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, Minneapolis. We’re in Luke Ch. 7 investigating “Faith.”

BTW - Did you know there are actually 613 commandments?

NL

I am the LORD, your God...

January 07, 2013 Monday Message:

How do you view the 10 Commandments? (Ex. 20) Do you think of them as legalistic “thou-shalt-not” sayings, as God expressing his love for us, or as instructions on how to live our lives? There is truth in all three answers. This will take several weeks; so let’s get started.

I look for a God-sign everyday – a beautiful pattern of clouds, a sunrise or sunset, the shape of a tree or the complexity of its branches, the majesty of a mountain range, the random irregular pattern of falling rain or snow, newborn babies, people who love and care for one another, oceans and lakes with water farther than the eye can see, the quantity of stars overhead – that’s just the beginning! You look for God-signs, and make your own list.

Everything that sustains our planet and our lives is exactly right, and if it were off by just a smidge, life wouldn’t be possible. Think about the complexity of it all. How much does it need to rain this year? I don’t know, and that’s a fairly simple question. How many blades of grass are in my yard? I don’t know. How many hairs are on my head? I don’t know, but the Bible says that God knows.

More complex stuff: Mammals breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, while plants recycle the carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. So with the increasing population of our planet, how many more plants will be needed for mankind to survive? God seems to have it worked out. We’re not running out of oxygen. Also, all these earthly residents need food, and our planet increasingly grows more and more. Enough for everyone? Probably, if we could work out the politics and logistics.

Earth, 93M miles from the sun, twirling about every 24-hours giving us day and night, tilted at just the right angle to give us 4 seasons, completing its journey around the sun in a year, with just the right climate to stimulate meteorological activity, to allow human life and abundant growing seasons, did not happen by accident. It’s way more complex than a coincidence. When you understand how many things needed to line up to make this all possible, divine intervention is the best explanation – in fact it makes a lot of sense.

Our God of abundance loves us so much that He gave us life, gave us this cool place to live, and gave us everything we need. He is our God, and we are His people.

Norton Lawellin

Sunday, Jan. 13, 10:30am Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers in the North end of the Oliver Ministry Building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, Minneapolis. Rev. Van Dickerson will wrap up our exploration of Luke Ch. 2. See you at church!

NL