The Gospel in the Old Testament: Loving God
In the Old Testament, God gave the first tablet of the Ten Commandments outlining our duties to Him. Jesus summarized this as loving God with everything we have!! What does it mean to love God supremely and how do we do that?
Exodus 20:1-17
Mark 12:28-34
Matthew 5:17-20
Ephesians 5:5
The Purpose of the Law:
To reveal God’s holiness: special, pure, supreme
To reveal what it means to have a relationship with the holy God:
What a holy life looks like
As a pathway to life: human flourishing and blessing
To reveal how sinful we are
To reveal our need for Christ:
For the forgiveness of sins
For a new heart to overcome sins
What a privilege to have God as our God! What a happy condition when nothing can hurt you! If one loses his name, it is written in the Lamb’s book of Life. If he loses his liberty, his conscience is free. If he loses his estate, he owns the pearl of great price. If he meets a storm, he has a harbor; God is his God, and heaven is his heaven. If God is our God, our soul is safe. It is hidden in the promises, in the wounds of Christ, and in the decrees of God. If God is our God, then all that is in God is ours. How happy is who not only inherits the gifts of God, but inherits God Himself! If God is our God, then all that is in God is ours. How happy is he who does not only inherits the gifts of God, but inherits God himself! In his wisdom, he is ours to teach us, his power shall support us, and his mercy shall save us. God is an infinite ocean of blessedness, and there is enough in him to fill us. He gives us peace in trouble, and when there is a storm without, he will make music within. The world gives trouble in peace, but God gives peace in trouble. He loves us, and we are the 'beloved of his soul' (Jeremiah 12:7). Thomas Watson Voices from the Past – Puritan Devotional Readings/Banner of Truth
Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship… is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things — if they are where you tap real meaning in life — then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough... Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you... Worship power — you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart — you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out... Look, the insidious thing about these forms of worship is... they are unconscious. They are default-settings. David Foster Wallace This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life
Sermon discussion topics for parents to use with their children:
How did Jesus summarize the Law?
What is an idol?
What are the idols we have to resist?
What will an idol do to you?
What does it mean to love God with all we have?
What should we do when we fail?
How can we get to where Jesus calls us to be in all this?
