Pathways Church | Messages

Some people simply drift through life. Their choices, when they can muster the will to choose, tend to follow the course of least resistance. Lot, Abram’s nephew, was such a person.

"Sometimes you're better off not knowing the truth!" When it comes to our physical health, it is amazing how many people really believe that statement to be true. Since the very beginning of man's existence, a battle has raged between truth and lies. Satan appeared to Adam & Eve and used a distorted truth, to lead the first couple into sin. This created a wedge and distrust between man and God.

It's amazing just how far science and technology have come. What was science fiction, has in recent decades become science fact. However, when given the option to know the truth about their genetics and more specifically possible health issues, many people would rather not know.

In our current culture, people don't unify anymore. We spend more time talking about the things that tear us apart then the things that bring us together.

Jesus knew where the journey would end: The Palm Sunday Road, crowds shouting Hosanna! By Friday morning, crowds yelling “crucify.” Sunday, we see crowds laying palm branches before him. By Friday, women follow behind him with tears, his blood and sweat dripping as he struggles under the cross. Jesus knew the journey. Still, he went forward.

This week we journey back to a familiar place to take another look at an important question. Jesus took the disciples to a place of pagan worship to have them answer an important question, we all must answer today.

God forbids us from using His name in a pedestrian or casual fashion. Because names are mediums of communication, and God’s name is different from every other name. He is distinct from man. God is sovereign, He is transcendent, He is Holy. And He tells us over and over again to hold His name in high esteem. Taking this a step further, this commandment goes beyond what we say.

I believe it was Billy Graham who said, "You cannot help the first look, but the second is sin." We all have ideas about adultery, but yet again God's standard is higher than our own. The good news is, God's grace is also greater than any we show. Like the other commandments, God offers his grace to us, and it is not about the past but about what we do moving forward that matters.

When you look at the Ten Commandments, it is easy to see how each one was important enough to God, to include in the "top ten" so to speak. However, when you come across commandment number four, at face value it almost begs the question, "why was this one included?" It doesn't seem quite as important as the other nine.

No one's parents were perfect. In fact, some may have been cruel. That said, God's word gives us a clear command in how we are to relate to our parents. As Christians, sometimes doing the hard things, like showing grace and forgiveness are what make us stand out the most to others. So the question is how does this commandment look in our culture today?