Brian's Sermons

Remember that when we look at the Ten Commandments, we have to start with God, Yahweh, the all-powerful Lord of Hosts, our Provider, our Healer, our leader, the One who gives us life, who is the Giver of all good and perfect gifts. The fact that He is the One who gives us the Ten Commandments is what gives the Ten Commandments their context, their power, and their reason for existence. We also pointed out that God gives us the Ten Commandments for our protection — as God wants the very best for us. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare’s character Juliet asks the question: “what’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.” The idea is that we are all the same; a name is just what we call something or someone. But God obviously has some different ideas. The third of the Ten Commandments is this: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. ...

Last Sunday we looked at Saul’s conversion – how he was persecuting Christians – the Bible puts it this way: he was breathing out murderous threats against the church. But Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and transformed him. We met Ananias, a regular guy who was instrumental in Saul’s conversion, even though the man God sent him to minister to was the worst of the worst. We also recognized that there were a bunch of regular men and women who were instrumental in our own conversions. Whether they were our family members or Sunday School teachers or friends, there were regular people who took an interest in our lives and our salvation. If that person who made a difference in your life is still alive, why don’t you take a little time this afternoon to write them a little handwritten note and send it to them? I can’t think of any reason anyone would not want to receive a letter like that. Anyway, today we will continue to look at some of the players in Paul’s life, people w...