03.04.18 Covenant 3: Church Membership

Check out Second Presbyterian Church! 

Read along with Exodus 20:1-17. 

 

In this podcast: 

1. Epistle readng: 1 Corinthians 8:18-25 

2. The Psalter: Psalm 19 

3. Gospel reading: John 2:13-22 

4. Anthem of the Day: "King of Glory, King of Peace" (words by George Herbert; music by Eric Thiman) 

5. Old Testament reading: Exodus 20:1-17

6. The sermon 

7. Covenant renewal service: recognizing long-time Second Pres members 

8. Sung response: "All Are Welcome" 

9. Unison Prayer 

 

Sermon synopsis

What if, instead of a giant checklist of do's and don'ts, the 10 Commandments are actually a mission statement for God's people, defining who they are and what they value? 

If you read it that way, then the 10 Commandments mean this: “Above all things, we value a relationship with God, whom we know as the one who brought us out of slavery; we will worship no other except the Lord our God.”

It means, “We are a community of faith that values the holiness of Sabbath. God has given us good work to do for six days but on the seventh, we shall rest because God rested on the seventh day.”

And it means, “We will not ‘think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think,’ and will honor others above ourselves. We will speak well of our neighbors and value them for who they are, not for the things they possess.”

In essence, it means, “We will love others as God has loved us.”