Brian's Sermons

The Ten Commandments: Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.   One of the things I love to do is to play games. I especially love strategy games. But one of the hardest things about strategy games is learning the rules. Once you know the rules, you can figure out how to play the game. God gave his people rules to live by. We call them the Ten Commandments. The first five of the Ten Commandments help us know how to love God. The final five help us know how to love one another.   We are now on the third sermon in our series o...

...for they will receive mercy. If you don’t look out for yourself, nobody will. I’m looking out for #1! Roman philosophers saw mercy as a disease of the soul , a supreme sign of weakness . There is no reason to show mercy to others. After all, what’s the quickest way to being taken advantage of? Show mercy. What, then, is mercy? Mercy is compassionate treatment of others, especially those over whom you have power. Mercy isn’t just feeling sorry for someone. It requires action. It isn’t aloof, sitting "above" others, saying, "Because I’m so great, I suppose I’ll condescend to help them." It’s not just false pity that helps someone just to make me look good. Mercy is compassionately meeting people’s needs. We show mercy: mostly through physical acts : feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick/imprisoned, give practical help needed. in our attitudes : no grudges, resentment, capitalizing on another’s failure/weakness, or publicizing others’ sins. spiritually :...