God's top ten 3

Have you ever taken the Lord's name and used it as a three letter curse word? How about Jesus' name as a five letter curse word? If you have, you have taken the Lord that has given you life and used His holy name to express filth. The third commandment says, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." We get frustrated sometimes and we sometimes say things that we shouldn't say. That doesn't give us an excuse to take God's name in vain. When a person does this, it is almost as though they are denying how holy and sacred our creator is. Bad language is a bad habit in any case, but to add God's name in the draw card of names is straight out sin. Instead, we should use God's name to express worship, greatness, and power.

God's top ten 2

When it comes to idol worship today, it is not all that common for people to carry little wooden statues around. I don't even know if very many people sculpt or carve any idols for their worship. The Lord God said, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image." In terms of today's society, I would have to say a person should not make a god to fit their own likes. This brings up a lot of questions I know. But most people today have a strange view of God. They think that He is only a God of love and not a God of judgment. They will say stuff like, "my god would never send anyone to hell." That is probably true. The reason why that is true is because that is not the God from the Bible. That is a comfortable little god that people form in their minds. When people cannot see that the God from the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament, they fall into the trap of making for themselves a false image. When people do this, they fall in direct violation of commandment number two.

God's top ten 1

Idol worship is something that is both subtle and fascinating. If you were to ask anyone today if they worshiped an idol, they would probably say no. I like the way Louie Giglio has described this idea of worship. He said, "What a person values most in life, that is what they worship." I would have to agree with Louie. Most people don't bow down to statues, but some people worship their career, money, sex, drugs, or even pleasure. The Lord was very clear to Moses when he said, "You shall have no other gods before me." If you and I have something in our life that we are exalting or valuing more then the Lord, then we are worshiping another god. God almighty wants our worship to be for Him and Him alone.

The Ten Commandments

I thought this was applicable since we are currently going through The Way of the Master on Thursday nights. All the people being interviewed are Christians and are coming out of church. We thought it was funny and fascinating. Why don't you try?

The Tri-Unity of God

The first mention of the plurality of God is found in the book of beginnings, or the book of Genesis 1:1-3. In the Hebrew, the word God is Elohim which means "more then one". In verse 2 of Genesis 1, we see the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters. Some scholars think that this could be a direct reference to the Holy Spirit found in creation. In verse 26 of Genesis 1, we see that when God began to create man it says, "let us make man in our image." Once again speaking of the plurality of God. The prophet Isaiah mentions all the titles of the Godhead in Isaiah 9:6. It says, "For unto us a child is born, Unto us a son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace." We commonly think of this passage whenever Christmas is drawing near. Interestingly enough, when John the Baptist was baptizing Jesus, Matthew's gospel tells us that when Jesus came out of the water the heavens were opened. And he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and a voice from heaven said, "This is may beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mathew 3:16, 17) Here we have Jesus standing with John, the Spirit descending like a dove, and God the Father speaking audibly from heaven. When Jesus commissioned his disciples, he included that they must make disciples of all the nations, "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19) We also know that the early church believed in the Holy Trinity. In Paul's benediction to the Corinthians he says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen". (2 Corinthians 13:14) Church history tells us that by the 4th century the early church practiced what was considered to be an ancient ceremony. The followers of Christ would gather to remember the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus and sing a hymn called, Phos Hilaron, or hail gladdening light. One part of the song says, "Now we are come to the sun's hour of rest The lights of evening round us shine We hymn the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Divine."