Tag: Sermon

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The Seventh Commandment

Title slide with photos of Mayberry and Bluemont Churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
August 16, 2026
Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:27-28

Sermon recorded at Bluemont Presbyterian Church on Friday, August 14, 2026.

At the beginning of worship:
Today we’re looking at the 7th Commandment. I can’t think of this commandment without thinking about Jerry. I met him when he started attending Bradley Creek Elementary School in the sixth grade. From the beginning he tried to make himself look good to the teachers. The rowdy group of boys I ran with found this an irritant. 

We had a banquet at the end of the school year. Billy Mason, the principal at Roland Grice Junior High, spoke. He encouraged us to become model students by remembering two passages in the Bible. If we followed these two scriptures they would guide us through our Junior High years and keep us out of his office. He asked if anyone knew which two he referred. 

Some girl up front, the type who always had the right answer, raised her hand. The principal gave her a nod and she nailed it: “Do unto others,” the Golden Rule. The principal smiled and nodded approval. She wouldn’t be seeing the inside of his office.

Then the principal asked for another volunteer and Jerry stood up and boldly proclaimed: “thou shalt not commit adultery.” For a moment the principal remained speechless as we burst into laughter. Not that we knew exactly what adultery entailed, we just knew it wasn’t something we were likely to do in Junior High. 

After gasping for air, the principal tried to regain order. He mumbled something about he hoped we would obey that commandment, too. But he was thinking of a different one. He encouraged us to keep the fifth commandment, to honor our fathers and mothers. In other words, if we acted as if our mothers were watching, we’d have a healthy dose of old fashion guilt and avoid trouble.

Before reading the Scripture:
Last week, as I closed the service, I added a humorous charge before the benediction. Since I had preached on the 6th Commandment, I told you to go out and don’t murder anyone. Then I said, “but you can do better than that. Go out love everyone.” Afterwards, one of the Elders said he couldn’t wait to see my backflip this week. Questioning what he meant, he said that I sent you out to love everyone and this week, I would be qualifying that charge… He’s right because our language uses love in too many ways. Last week, I was referring to love as a verb, not an act. 

Our reading today is another short passage, concerning the 7th Commandment and I will include Jesus’ reinterpretation of this commandment in the Sermon on the Mount. 

Read Exodus 20:14 and Matthew 5:27-28

The seventh commandment is a tough one; we don’t like talking about it. I remember a comic strip; it may have been Frank and Ernest. The Hebrew children gather at Sinai, and a weary Moses comes down the mountain. He tells the crowd below he has some good news and some bad news. He bargained God down to only Ten Commandments.Then he gave the bad news, adultery remained on the list.

Adultery was considered a great sin in the ancient world, even before God gave the Hebrew people the law at Sinai and not just for the Hebrew people. You see this in Genesis, with Abraham and Sarah. Thinking he might be killed, Abraham passed Sarah off as his sister. Sure enough, a  king set his eyes on Sarah, but before he takes her in his harem, he learns the truth through a dream. He feels he has been tricked and is upset for he came close to committing a great sin. 

Literally, the seventh commandment shouldn’t be that hard to obey, even though it’s often broken. But as common of a sin it is, Jesus doesn’t let those of us who have managed to keep the Commandment in a literal sense, off the hook. He pushes the boundaries beyond the physical act and has us internalize it. Like with anger and murder, lust become equivalent to adultery. Unless you are blind and have no touch and smell and hearing, according to Jesus’ interpretation, you’ve probably broken the seventh commandment. Only God really knows, but I suspect most of us have had a few impure thoughts. Such sinfulness is just another reminder of how far the human race has fallen and how totally dependent we are upon God’s grace.

It still amazes me the fuss made over Jimmy Carter’s statement when he ran for President. He admitted to lusting in his heart. What’s surprising is that Jimmy may be one of the few politicians who stopped there and didn’t proceed on to the act itself. Back in the 90s, both our President and Speaker of the House, Clinton and Gingrich, engaged in such actions while pointing the finger at the other. And I won’t go into our current crop of elected adulterers. Unfortunately, those governing us often fail to served as good role models.

As hard as it is to abide, Jesus’ reinterpretation of this commandment is helpful. If you take the seventh commandment literally, you see it applied only to a man who seduced, or was seduced, by a wife or a fiancé of another man. In other words, in a strictly literal sense, this commandment is about protecting the property rights of another man. 

The protection of property rights helps maintain stability in society. As I said last week, commandments six through ten provide us the boundaries within where we can live life abundantly. By internalizing the commandment to include lustful thoughts, Jesus once again goes to the core of the problem. Adultery is a spiritual problem which resides within the heart. 

The Prophets often referred to Israel as an adulterer for chasing after foreign gods. If you remember, the whole premise of the book of Hosea is based upon the analogy of adultery. The prophet is told to take a prostitute as his wife and to love her, even though she remains unfaithful. The people can see, though Hosea grief, how God anguishes over Israel’s unfaithfulness.  

The Christian understanding of marriage is that it’s a three-way covenant. Actually, in some ways, its a four-way covenant. Marriage is not just an agreement between a two people, it also involves God and the rest of the community. We pledge our faithfulness to one another and to our Creator. Committing the act of adultery, because God is involved with our covenant, becomes the same as breaking the first commandment. This is why, if you get into the details of all the laws in Leviticus, you will find that the penalty for adultery in Israel was death. Adultery was as serious as idolatry.  

Keeping the seventh commandment presupposes the keeping of the other commitments. Too often we make an idol out of the family and marriage as the only commitment that matters. But that’s not the case; for us to enjoy life as God intends, we must both keep our marriage vows as well as our commitments to God and honoring those with whom we live in community. Just as with the sixth and eighth commandments, breaking the seventh commandment is a violation which affects the entire community. 

This is why, when I officiate at a wedding, I ask for the commitment from all present to support the couple in the vows they make. And it’s the same reason that in baptism, we ask for the community’s commitment to help the individual grow into Christ. When it comes down to its roots, our faith is not individualistic; it can only be lived out in community.   

I also want to talk briefly about the notion of being single and a Christian. Too often we lift up marriage as the ultimate goal, but we’re probably over reaching by doing that. “The church grows and lives by witness and conversion, not by marriage and family. We don’t have to marry to be faithful to Christ; instead marriage is optional and should be seen more as a calling than some right or a necessity for personal fulfillment.  

Jesus’ reinterpretation of the seventh commandment expands the Law further into a community concern which works to protect women and to awaken men to their responsibilities. As Joy Davidman writes concerning this commandment, Jesus “forgave the adulteress who repented and loved God and denounced the lustful and loveless men who caused her to sin.” In the story of the woman caught in adultery, it is interesting that only the woman was brought before Jesus. We’re left wondering about the man.

For us today, we must consider not just the literal interpretation of the seventh commandment. We should also heed Jesus’ words and the advice from the book of Hebrews, “to hold marriage in honor and to keep the marriage bed undefiled, for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.” There are a bunch of other scripture passages we could consider, especially in Proverbs and in the writings of Paul. By broadening the meaning of this commandment, from a strictly narrow literal interpretation which protected the man’s rights, to a broader interpretation which protects everyone’s rights, shows God’s intention to build healthy communities, one family at a time.  

But then, that was God’s intention all along. If we look back in the second chapter of Genesis, we see that God created the man and woman to help one another and that the two should become one flesh. Adultery is prohibited because it is the knife which cuts through this mystical union and destroys that which God brought together. Honor your marriage vows and look out for one another, in doing so we serve God and one another. Amen.  

Sources: 

Notes on the 7th Commandment in the Heidelberg Catechism, Center for Excellence in Preaching. 

Calvin, John. Sermons on the Ten Commandments, Benjamin W. Farley, translator (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1980),

Childs, Brevard S. The Book of Exodus: A Critical, Theological Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1974), 419-421.

Christensen, Duane L. Deuteronomy 1:1-21:9: Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001).

Davidman, Joy. Smoke on the Mountain (1955, London: Hodder & Stoughton , 1963).

Garrison, Jeff. “Sermon on the 7th Commandment at First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, Michigan. “(August 2007).

Hauerwas, Stanley and William Willimon, The Truth About God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999).

 Miller, Patrick D. The Ten Commandments: Interpretations, Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church (Louisville, WJKP, 2009).

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Thou Shalt Not Kill

Title Slide

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
August 9, 2026
The Sixth Commandment
Exodus 20:13    Matthew 5:21-22

Sermon recorded at Mayberry Church on Thursday, May 6, 2026

At the beginning of worship:
Reuben, a friend of mine from North Carolina, was an attorney before retiring. Don’t hold that against him, he was also a serious backpacker. Back in the 80s, we spent many weeks together hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia into Pennsylvania. As we walked or sat around an evening campfire, we often discussed theological and legal issues and how they inter-relate. On one such hike, I learned of one of Rueben’s courthouse debacles.   

Reuben represented a man with a good job and a thriving side-business, making over $150,000 a year. This was 40 years ago. His wife wanted a divorce. She didn’t ask for much: joint custody of their kids, and the house. Rueben advised his client to make the deal.  

This stubborn dude didn’t want any part of it. He insisted on fighting for everything, including the house and full custody of the kids. Against Reuben’s. advice, they proceeded to court. The other side called witnesses. Attorneys appreciate clients who tell them everything. Witnesses spoke of how Reuben’s client bragged he would burn his house before giving it to his soon-to-be ex-wife. When Reuben’s client was asked about these threats, he didn’t deny it. Instead, he said, “I’m no longer planning to burn the house down, God will do it.” Rueben wanted to crawl under the table. The room became quiet. Then judge warned the man he better hope God doesn’t burn the house down because he, and not God, would be the main suspect. 

The judge gave the woman the house. About a month later, at night, it burned. As we might suspect, God wasn’t involved, except to look out for woman and kids, all who safely escaped.

Now, this guy attended church. I don’t think it was a Presbyterian Church, as we had no churches in that part of the county. The man confused his personal desires with God’s will. He let anger rule, which is always a dangerous thing. It ruined his life and that of his family. There is an important lesson here. If you have any question about God’s will, pray and check the Scriptures. God won’t tell you to do something against his Word.

Before reading the Scriptures:

Thou shalt not kill.  These four words from the sixth commandment, as they appear in the King James Version, have given Christians much to ponder. We’ve tried everything to rationalize them. It really means murder, we assure ourselves. And many modern translations use murder: check out the New Revised Standard, the NIV, the Message, and the New King James Version. But the Hebrew word here has a broader meaning—for it can mean the unintentional taking of another life or even a state sponsored execution. Instead of trying to rationalize our way around this command, we should understand God desires a world without violent death. Yet, we live in a fallen world. At best, this commandment causes us to live in tension between God desires and reality.

 Another place we can go to learn about this commandment is the Sermon on the Mount, which I preached upon a few months ago. I’ll read both this morning.

Read Exodus 20:13 and Matthew 5:21-22

As we’ve worked our way through the first five commandments, I’ve mentioned the reasons for the law. Today, let add to the list: God’s law helps us discern God’s will. As Christians, our first concern should be to live as God intends. Unfortunately, we confuse our own desires with God’s, as with the client of my friend I told you about earlier.

As much as you dislike someone, God’s not going to tell you to kill ‘em. That’s the enemy speaking. And the same goes with the rest of the commandments. God doesn’t offer dispensations to the law. 

The second table of the law provides the parameters in which we live out our lives within an orderly society. If we keep these commandments, society is stable. If anyone breaks them, all society suffers.

Thou shalt not kill. We like the modern translations better, ‘don’t murder.” For you see, few of us actually murder other people—at least not literally. Of course, Jesus includes character assassination as a form of murder. And then, we know the Bible acknowledges occasions where killing is necessary. How do we handle this?

First off, we’re not Hindus. To refrain from killing would mean we’d have to be vegetarian, for it doesn’t distinguish what is killed. Furthermore, within Israel’s theocracy in the Old Testament, war and capital punishment were allowed under certain circumstances and within certain regulations.   

What is forbidden here, in the sixth commandment, is for one individual to go out and take the life of another. But that’s not quite it either, for the word implies more than just premeditated murder, or even murder committed during a time of heighten emotions. Both of these are obviously condemned, but so is manslaughter, the unintentional killing of another member of the human race. In the 35th chapter of Numbers, God commands Israel to set up cities of refuge where those guilty of manslaughter can flee for safety. 

But ideally, there would be no first degree murder nor manslaughter. Obeying this commandment means we not only refrain from killing, but also that we take seriously the well-being of our neighbors. In our modern world, recklessly driving down the street of a neighborhood while kids play violate the Commandment. Even if we didn’t mean to harm anyone, by not avoiding situations which could unintentionally cause the lost of a life, breaks the commandment. The implications of this command reaches beyond premeditated murder.  

John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, provides a twofold purpose for this commandment. First, we are created in the image of God and to kill means that we violate God’s image. We should “learn to walk without causing injury to anyone,” Calvin admonished Geneva in a sermon, “otherwise God becomes our mortal enemy.”  All humankind is under God’s protection. If we kill, we invite God to step in and intervene.  Because we are created in God’s image, we must hold our neighbor sacred. God also created them in his image. 

Calvin’s second reason is that we share the same flesh with the rest of humanity and because “the Lord has bound mankind together by a certain unity,” we should concern ourselves with the safety of all.  

Thou shalt not kill… The words roll off the tongue as an imperative. The sharpness of this command demands attention. Yet, as I’ve tried to imply, there is a much deeper meaning here than refraining from murder. Jesus, in our New Testament, equates unrighteous anger with murder. Murder, whether premeditative or a crime of passion, often springs from anger. 

Jesus goes to the root of the cause and encourages us to purge ourselves of such thoughts. We’re not to be harming one another with our words. We’re not even to think about it. At the time of Jesus’ reinterpretation, his Jewish contemporaries had fantasies of what they’d like to do to the Romans who controlled Palestine. Taking this commandment literally discouraged revolution against the Roman Legions, or from striking one of those hated tax collectors who worked for Rome. Jesus upsets the balance of things: “Don’t even ponder such thoughts. Love your enemies. Pray for your persecutors.” Calm your tempers and strive not to bring harm to anyone.

If we would, as Calvin suggests and as Jesus taught, look out for the safety of one another, our world would be a better place.

The intention of the sixth commandment is to promote life’s sanctity. The breath of life is a gift of God. As humans, we only have the power to kill, half the power of God, but such power should scare us nearly to death. We can destroy life, but we are not able, on our own, to create life. Instead, at best, we are co-creators with God. But once life is snuffed out, we are unable to do anything about it. So we’re to make the most of our lives, enjoying the benefits God grants us while striving to help others make the most of theirs.  

If we could get to the point in our society where we acknowledge the image of God in another individual and consider life sacred so to avoid an untimely death, many of our problems would be solved. This is why I am against easy abortions and capital punishment. I know many Christians, including some of you, disagree with me on one or both of these points, but my position is that life, all life, should be sanctified. Unfortunately, we have a ways to go to get to where society holds the sanctity of life dear.

We often think of John Calvin as a stern old man, which makes his writings on this commandment shocking. Chaos filled the 16th Century. Wars occurred between various Christian sects and against Moslem invaders from the East. Despite this, Calvin boldly proclaimed that even just and unavoidable wars pollute a nation. And he’s right.  

In the Middle Ages, when knights and soldiers returned from what was considered a “just war,” they still had to confess and make penance before receiving Communion. Such an requirement today would be seen as “un-American,” but if we realize God’s will is for us to live at peace, there maybe a therapeutic reason for such a requirement as we strive to build a world where life is considered sacred.  

Thous shalt not kill. It sounds easy, but it’s not. Maybe we should flip the commandment and ask ourselves how we can promote life? After all, life is the foundation of our faith. Jesus himself said, “I come that you might have life, abundant life.” As his disciples, we’re to be about nurturing life. There’s a lot to think about with this commandment and with Jesus’ reinterpretation. Ponder it. Amen.

Sources:

Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559).

John Calvin, Sermons on the Ten Commandments, Benjamin W. Farley, translator (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1980),

Brevard S. Childs, The Book of Exodus: A Critical, Theological Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1974), 419-421.

Davidman, Joy. Smoke on the Mountain (1955, London: Hodder & Stoughton , 1963), 

Garrison, Jeff. “Sermon at First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, Michigan. “(July 2007).

Hauerwas, Stanley and William Willimon, The Truth About God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999).

 Miller, Patrick D. The Ten Commandments: Interpretations, Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church (Louisville, WJKP, 2009),

Russell, Norman L. Suicide Charlie: A Vietnam War Story (1993, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995),

von Rad, Gerhad. Deuteronomy, (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966.

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The Fifth Commandment: Honor Your Parents

Title slide with photos of Mayberry and Bluemont Churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
August 2, 2026
Exodus 20:12 Ephesians 6:1-4

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Thursday, July 30, 2026

At the beginning of worship:

A man, his wife, and son, live together. The man’s elderly father’s health declined to where he could no longer take care of himself. To his wife’s dismay, her husband brings his father into their home.  

The old father cannot eat without spilling and knocking his food all around the table. After a few days of this, the wife insists the man eat in the corner, not at the table. But he still knocked his food on the floor. One day, the wife decides if the man is just going to drop his food on the floor, he can eat it there. She finds a trough and puts his food in it and places on the floor. The old man doesn’t seem to notice his lack of dignity, he just lies down and eats like a dog, with his face in his food. This goes on for a few weeks.  

Then, the parents notice their son building something which looks a lot like a trough to feed animals. They ask him about it. The boy proudly explains he made it from them, for when they are old and must eat from the floor. 

“A child will lead them,” the good book says. The parents immediately came to their senses and realize they’re not honoring the husband’s father.  The next meal they set a place him at the tablet. 

Before reading the Scripture:

We traditionally divide the Ten Commandments into two tablets or tables. So far this summer, we’ve looked at the first tablet, commandments one through four. Each of these shows how we relate to God.  

The second tablet deal with our relationships to the human family. The fifth commandment forms a bridge between the two. We are to honor our fathers and mothers, a commandment which closely parallels the first commandment.The first tells us to worship God alone, the one who gives us life. But likewise, our parents, those who play a significant role bringing us into this life, deserve honor. They’re not to be worshipped; we’re not ancestor worshippers. But they do have a special role to play in our birth and development. Our belly buttons remind us we didn’t come into this world on our own. Yes, God gives us life. But life comes through our parents. For this reason, they’re to be honored.  

Read Exodus 20: 12 and Ephesians 6:1-4.

Our parents are important not only because it is through them that we receive the gift of life, but also because it is generally through them that we learn about Jesus and experience faith. Now, this is not always the case. At times a friend or a spouse or a colleague mentors us in faith. In such cases it’s like having two sets of parents, one that gives us life, another which offers us new life in Christ. 

We can compare our life with Christ with our life with our parents. We start out totally dependent upon them—think about all that our parents did for us, starting with changing diapers and feeding us. As we grow, we began to do those things on our own, till one day we are freed from our parent’s control and must take responsibility for our own lives. 

Likewise, we start out our Christian walk, totally dependent on Jesus, without even knowing why.  But as we grow in faith, we find that he gives us more freedom as we learn how to apply our faith to our lives.  

Honor your father and your mother, an enlightening commandment. In the Patriarchal world of the Old Testament, men ruled. And since it was also a tribal society, at the time God gave the commandments, the leader of the tribe was also given i allegiance. 

But the Ten Commandments come along and suggest we honor, not only the father of the house, but also the mother. This is significant. Parents, both of them, are placed on a pedestal. The man is not set aside as the most important, but shares this position with the woman. Not only is the tribe important, but also the nuclear family. In fact, families become the building blocks of a stable society. And when families break down society become chaotic. Without the role model of good parents and with everyone striving to look out for themselves and no one else, the structure of society melts away. 

I’m pretty sure it was Anne Lamott who said that “families are where we learn forgiveness.” That’s true. And I think we learn even more: we learn tolerance and acceptance. We learn what is important for society; life isn’t just about us. Living in a family, we learn it takes everyone to make it work. This, by the way, is also taught in the first commandment. “You shall have no other gods,” we’re told. We’re not to promote ourselves into the Trinity, as qualified as we might think we are. It’s not about me, it’s not about you. The first and the fifth commandment teach that we have first pay attention to what God wants and then to what our families need. We have to focus on something other than ourselves. 

That said, it goes without saying that parents are also suppose to show respect to their children as Paul reminds us in the passage we read from Ephesians.

Honoring our parents is a generational thing. If we honor our parents and those who have come before us, for I think the commandment extends to not just our biological parents, we then teach our children to honor us and in so doing, we help build a stronger society. 

For an example of just how destructive not honoring our parents can be, remember the chaos which ensued in Cambodia following the Khmer Rouge take over of that country in the mid-70s. 

The Khmer Rouge taught people not to trust anyone who had been in authority, including parents. They encouraged children to rat out their parents for dangerous thoughts. This destroyed the traditionally strong sense of family and respecting elders which existed in a nation traditionally based upon the teachings of Confucius. The country quickly purged into darkness as the killing fields grew. 

Instilling the importance of this commandment into our children’s psyche, we help stabilize society. And if that’s not reason enough, we should remember it’s our kids who get to choose our nursing homes. With this commandment, like many of the others, what goes around comes around. 

Let’s face it; we owe our parents a great debt. They brought us into this world; they gave us life, they changed our diapers and fed us when we couldn’t take care of ourselves. Hopefully they showed us love. Therefore, we honor them. But there is more to the meaning of the commandment.

Throughout the history of the church, those interpreting the fifth commandment have always pointed in two directions. First, as I’ve already covered, we.honor our natural parents But on a secondary level the commandment is also seen as our requirement of honoring those to whom God has given authority. In other words, the civil authorities, those who lead us in government, are to be afforded the same respect.  

Paul makes it clear in the thirteen chapter of Romans that we are to honor those in positions of authority. Now granted, some parents do not earn the right to be honored, and others abuse their position of authority. Since God allows them to be in positions over us, we honor them till what they do goes so far against God’s word that we must obey God who always deserves our loyalty.

John Calvin suggests we show homage to God when we are obedient to those in authority. Of course, we expect them to be godly and to do their best to govern justly and fairly. Otherwise, they violate both God’s and our trust. We do not have to obey them for our first allegiance always remains with God. 

By the way, I hope you can see that there is a difference between honoring and obeying. Just because your mother is Ma Barker or your dad is Jesse James, you don’t have to go out and rob banks. But when or parents and those in positions of power are honorable and we submit ourselves to them, we learn what it means to submit ourselves to God’s will.

The fifth commandment also comes with a promise. If we honor those over us, if we respect and look up to our parents, God promises us a long life, a life in which things will go well for us. 

This commandment, as a bridge between the two tables, sets the stage for all to come. For when we break any of the other commandments, we are not honoring our parents. I’m sure most of your mothers, at some point, indicated her embarrassment by something you’ve done? It’s old fashion guilt rising up which, if you think about it, has a stabilizing effect on society. Remember the family is the basic building block. The fifth commandment sets the stage for what’s to come. Strong families create healthy communities, so as we start this second table, look at how we can order society so as to strengthen it and to develop it into a place where all of us can safely grow in our faith in Jesus Christ.  

Ask yourselves how you honor your parents?  We’re not to worship them; we’re not even to follow them when they’re wrong. But our parents deserve our respect and when we give it, we help build a stronger and more godly community.  Amen.

This sermon was edited from a sermon preached in July 2007 at First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, MI

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A Journey of Faith: Country Roads Revival

Jeff Garrison
Revival at Bluemont Church
July 29, 2026
Genesis 12:1-9

The video contains most of the service. I cut out the last of the songs as it was not in public domain. One of the microphone’s battery died, but with the others you can still hear everything. The sermon starts at 30 minutes.

The last week of August, a number of the Presbyterian Churches in Carroll, Patrick, and Floyd Counties hold a revival. Each night is at a different church. This year, we began on Sunday night at Fairview in Hillsville, then to Buffalo Mountain, then to Wild Goose (the former Indian Valley Presbyterian Church), then to Bluemont (we rotate between Mayberry and Bluemont each year). We will end up at Dinwiddle Presbyterian on July 30th. This is my sermon for tonight’s worship service.

At the beginning of worship:

This is the fourth night of the Country Roads revival. We live in a wonderful place with lots of country roads, some maintained by VDOT, others just two tracks curving around the hills. As we travel to different churches in these parts, we’re on a journey. Tonight, I want us to think about the beginning of one of the great journeys of the Bible. But before we get there, let me encourage you to walk if you are able. It’s good for you. As you walk, listen to the birds, the wind, look for the unusual, and think about God. Any of you who know me know you can often find either early in the morning or late in the afternoon walking. Come join me. 


Augustine of Hippo, the great theologian of the church at the collapse of the Roman Empire, once said, “It is solved by walking.” We live in a confusing world and things seem to be running at rapid pace. We all need to spend more time slowing down, thinking deeply, and enjoying the creation God lends to us to during our lives. There’s no better way to do this than to go for a walk.

Before reading the Scripture

The first eleven chapters of Genesis are often referred to as a prehistory. We learn about Creation and God’s care of his creation. We also learn how the first humans messed things up. But God refuses to give us on us. Chapter 11, the last chapter of this prehistory, ends with another famous Biblical lists of ancestors. You can look back to chapter 11, starting with verse 10, you’ll see the list which begins with Noah’s oldest son, Shem, leading up to Abram, who’ll later be known as Abraham. And we’re told that Abram’s wife Sarai is barren. 

That little bit of knowledge in Chapter 11 makes what happen in Chapter 12 even more surprising. If Sarai can’t have children, she seems to be an unlikely candidate for the mother of a nation. But bareness is only a human problem. Yet, it’s an arena God delights in. God likes surprises. God delights in taking the difficult path to bring joy to his people. Let’s listen.

Read Genesis 12:1-9

I wonder how Abram heard God’s call? Unlike Moses, who saw a burning bush, Samuel who heard God call during the night, or Isaiah who received a vision, we’re not given any details as to how Abram heard God calling. But think about it, what would it take for a man, well established and long in years, to leave his extended family and head out into the wilderness for an undisclosed location? Can you imagine Abram, walking to the edge of Haram and looking westward and only seeing sand. “Did I hear correctly?” he might think.

One day a tourist ignored all the warning signs and barricades along the edge of the Grand Canyon. He got too close to the edge and it broke off, sending him falling. As he tumbled, he finally grabbed a clump of sagebrush growing out of the canyon’s wall and held on for dear life. Then he prayed like he never had prayed. “Let go and I’ll catch you, he heard God say. The man looked skyward and asked, “Anyone else up there?”

Abram had a similar decision. Looking out from Haran, he’s called to do something which would be a feat for a young man. But for a man of his age, it seems suicidal. Yet, he decides to answer the call

If you study the scriptures enough, you’ll see a pattern. God often refuses to take the easy way out. Over and over again, God chooses an unlikely candidate to carry out his work. Abram, an old man, asked to get on the road and to start a new nation. Moses, wanted for murder and yet God orders him back to Egypt to face Pharaoh. David, just a boy who accepts Goliath’s challenge. Mary, a young woman assigned a special task of giving birth to the Messiah. God uses the weak to do what the strong can only dream of. As Paul reminds the church in Corinth, “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.”

The Bible teaches that when God is on our side (or more correctly, when we are on God’s side), great things are possible. But if you try to do things on your own, we run into problems.

If you follow the Abraham story in scripture, you’ll see what I mean. He lies about Sarai, his wife, saying she’s his sister, to Pharaoh. This got them both in trouble. And not believing in the promise, he takes his wife’s servant as a concubine to have a child, which creates all kinds of entanglements in his household. But if we trust God and allow God to work within our lives, there seems to be no limit to what we might accomplish. The church needs to be reminded of this truth repeatedly. We don’t know what the future holds, but we need to be willing to step out in faith, trusting God to be with us. 

Now let’s look at this passage at hand and see what we might learn. First, God, not Abram, is clearly the main actor in this story. God initiates the conversation. Throughout Abram’s saga, God remains the subject. This wandering off into the wilderness isn’t Abram’s idea; it’s a part of God’s plan. It’s like this with us when God begins to get a hold of us. We don’t know what might happen.

We should understand God comes to us before we can approach him. In the call of Abram, God institutes salvation history. Through Abram, God demonstrates a willingness to take the first step in reconciliation with humanity, a work completed in Jesus Christ.  

God tells Abram to cut himself off from the land, from his people, and from much of his family. That’s a pretty tall order. Abram’ abandons his roots. Telephones didn’t exist back then, nor did mail. No way to check up on things happening at home. ATMs and Western Union Stations where a family member could wire him cash if he’s a little short didn’t exist. When Abram heads off into the sunset, he can only depend on God. The normal clan connections which protected folks two millenniums before Christ no longer exist for Abram once Haran disappears beyond the horizon.

Although its risky to answer this call, a promise is also attached to it. Abram will be the father of a great nation. Yet, even here, God remains the main actor. God tells Abram he’ll be mightily blessed so that he might be a blessing for others. This remains true for us today. If God blesses us, we are to be a blessings to others. For too whom much is given, much is expected.

In addition to Abram promised blessings, a curse is placed on anyone who might harm him. God protects Abram. His enemies must contend not only with Abram, but also with God. Interestingly, from the way the sentence structure (the one who curses you), it sounds as if Abram will have many allies and only one enemy.

Abram answers the call. Taking his wife and nephew and, we can assume, a bunch of loaded camels hauling their possessions, they drive their sheep toward the land of Canaan, a land Abram’s father had planned to settle a generation earlier. They probably took the longer path, heading north following the rivers of the fertile crescent, then turning south along the coastline, instead of heading directly west, through an unforgiving desert. This fits with what the Scriptures say as Abram first stops at Shechem, in the north, then to Bethel, in the south, before moving further south, into the Negeb. 

Let’s explore two theological themes from this evening’s passage. The first is that of a journey. When Abram answered God’s call, he found himself on a journey, which can also be a metaphor of faith. Early Christians were referred to as those of “the Way.” 

We journey as disciples, as followers of Jesus. For some, the journey is real, to new locations, new lands, and new people.” To others, the journey is metaphorical. We stay put, but we are still called to grow in faith. As a follower of Jesus, we can’t be content with the status quo. We must always look to improve ourselves and our world. Following Jesus requires changes in our lives. We’re to strive to become godlier, more Christ-like. When we live in a world contaminated with sin, accepting the status quo isn’t an acceptable option. 

When Abram stops by the Oak of Moreh, God appears again and promises this land to his offspring. So Abram builds an altar out of thanksgiving, and does the same in Bethel. Abram, as he travels, witnesses to his God. Like Abram, we, on our journeys, should never stop giving God credit. For without God, we would not be able to do much of anything. 

Verse 6 contains the second theme to explore. The Canaanites occupy the land. This land, promised to Abram, isn’t yet his. Furthermore, there are those on the land who don’t worship like him. Think about this. Abram could have adopted the religious practices of the Canaanites, but in doing so would have turned his back on the one true living God. We, too, find ourselves journeying around people who belief in what seems to be a foreign God. Some anoint God as a way to bless their way of thinking. They forget, only God can truly anoint and we’re to be on God’s side, as opposed to bringing God to our way of thinking. Although Abram spends decades sojourning in lands with foreign gods, he never forgets the God who called him on the journey.

Like Abram, we often find ourselves living in a land where people do not believe in the God of the Scriptures. We live in a world where there are many competing ideals which vie for our attention.  And it may be harder to us than it was with Abram to recognize the idols of our day. Abram could point out to the fertility idols of the Canaanites which dotted the high places, but the idols of today are more subtle. We have the promise of economic security at whatever cost, the belief we’re better than others which manifests its ugly head with racism, or the abusive belief we deserve what we desire often at the expense of others. These all run counter to Scripture.

We need to remember that like Abram, we’re just passing through. We’re pilgrims. Ultimately, our home is with God, but until we leave this life behind, we must continue to walk in faith and to listen for God to speak to us through the scriptures and the good news of Jesus Christ. 

Let us pray:  Almighty God, you know every heart here this evening. As we bow in obedience, we pray for our spirit to convict those who need to know you. Open ears that all might hear you call and follow you. Guide us in your ways, especially when our travels take us through the unknown. Help us remain focused on our Lord Jesus Christ and not be tempted by the idolatry surrounding us. This we pray in the name of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the one we follow. Amen.

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Keep the Sabbath Holy

Title slide with photos of Maybrerry and Bluemnt Churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
Exodus 20:8-11
July 26, 2026

The sermon was recorded at Mayberry on Thursday, July 23, 2026

At the Beginning of Worship

My Dad's catch, fishing on Masonboro Island

I come from a family who fishes for sport. Growing up in Moore County, North Carolina, we fished farm ponds which provided bream and bass for the dining room table along with irrigation for tobacco fields. When we moved to Petersburg, Virginia, my dad took my brother and me fishing along the banks of the Nottaway River. Fishing was done on Saturday or in the evenings after work. We never fished on Sunday as it was too much like work since we ate our catch. The only labor I remember occurring on Sunday was cranking an ice cream maker on my grandparents back porch. At our house, we had the electric model. 

Then, when I was nine, we moved down near the coast. A few weeks after arriving, my mother got us kids ready for church. Dad was no where to be seen. This wasn’t unusual as sometimes he had to work on Sundays, but when we learned from Mom that he had been invited to go deep sea fishing, my theological brain (or maybe it was my cynical brain) went to work. 

“You mean it’s okay to fish on Sunday in salt water but not fresh water?” I asked.

Today we’ll begin our look at the fourth commandment—keep the Sabbath Day holy. 

Before reading the Sermon

I want to point out the two different reasons given for the commandment on keeping the Sabbath holy. As I’ll read in Exodus, God took a day off after creation and commands us to do the same. If God needs a break, and we’re not better than God, we should take a break. 

Deuteronomy likes the reason for Sabbath observance to Israel’s experience in bondage in Egypt. As slaves, they had to work when commanded. But God requires Israel to rest and also to provide rest for slaves and servants and even animals. 

Read Exodus 20:8-11

Smoke on the Mountain, Joy Davidman’s book on the 10 Commandments which I have referred to several times, contains a fantasy. A Martian anthropologist visits earth. Davidman wrote in the early 1950s when it was still possible to believe green people with flying saucers inhabited the fourth planet. The Martian’s assignment was to study human religious behavior.

His report concluded that like most “primitive societies,” those of us who inhabit the third planet worshipped the sun. Every seven days he witnessed a “solar worship ritual.” Some, he reported, adored the sun by baring their bodies by lakes and the seashore. Others gathered in large arenas where the crowds watched strangely dressed priests perform rituals with a ball and wooden stick. Others addressed a smaller ball with long skinny sticks. These balls, the Martian assumed, are icons of the sun.  

But his report also included a description of a heretical sect. Some people, he noticed, did not worship the sun. They dressed differently on the seventh day. The heretics, as the alien labeled them, shun the outdoors. They gathered in buildings often with colored windows, obviously to block the sun. The anthropologist was not sure, but thought these strange unbelievers may have been excommunicated and were being punished. After all, “Their faces and gestures show none of the almost orgiastic religious frenzy with which the sun worshippers pursue their devotion.”

Was this Martian right or wrong, Davidman asks. “For,” she says, “Sunday is still a holiday for us, but for many it has ceased to be a holy day.” We’re told in the fourth commandment to “Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” What does this mean? Is it to be a somber day where we gather in our “Sunday best,” with long faces to worship the Lord? And what constitutes the day being holy? 

Holy is a term generally attributed only to God or to that which God claims for his own glory. A holy day is one in which we dedicate to God. We set it apart. The Martian rightly observed that one day a week is different—it’s a day that most, not all, of the population is free from work. But is the Sabbath, for us, holy? Or have we profaned it into a holiday far removed from its roots? We live with a tension. As Jesus points out, the Sabbath shouldn’t be legalistic.

Obeying the fourth commandment is one area I think our Calvinist and Puritan ancestors did us a disfavor. John Calvin cited civil order as a reason for keeping the Sabbath. We generally think of Calvin as a theologian, but forget he was also a lawyer and a bit of a political philosopher. Calvin felt it was good for society to have a day set aside for preaching, for such grounding in God’s law helps control and restrain society.  

Furthermore, Calvin came down hard on living it up for “sport and pleasure.” This he considered makes a mockery of God’s holy name. Calvin desired order, yet, in his defense, he played with children on Sunday afternoons. Over time, the Protestant establishment developed strict laws for maintaining God’s day. 

Thomas Watson, the Puritan I’ve quoted two weeks ago, suggests that on the Sabbath we should all get up before dawn since our Lord’s resurrection occurred before daybreak. Talk about nit-picky legalism! Yet, I’m always up before dawn on Sundays.

The strict and legal Sabbaths of the past were wrong, but for believers so are the free-flowing Sabbaths of today. God tells us to take one day in seven and use it for rest and worship, but with smart phones, most of us never leave work behind. This morning I want us to look at a number of ideas concerning the Sabbath and on what this commandment might say to us today, in the 21st Century.

First, let’s think about the day itself. In the Jewish tradition, the Sabbath was the seventh day of the week. Early Christians decided to celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, the first day of the week. There are many reasons for this shift. First, they started gathering on Sunday, the day Christ rose from the grave, to recall his resurrection. 

Second, their experience of grace in Jesus Christ made them realized that keeping the letter of the law doesn’t bring salvation. Freed from the strictness of the law, they moved the day forward. 

Now granted, some Christian groups insist the Sabbath be observed on Saturday. They debated this even during the Reformation. John Calvin defended the rights of those who celebrate the Sabbath on another day, as long as their reasoning wasn’t based upon superstition. In other words, don’t think keeping the Sabbath on Saturday gains you more favor from God. 

A third reason behind moving the Sabbath to Sunday was to demonstrate how God’s grace precedes any efforts of our own. Just as in the Jewish tradition, where day begins at sunset and thereby begins with rest, so too our week begins with rest. We rest and then, in thanksgiving, we work. This cycle reminds us that grace precedes law. 

The Sabbath was the first labor law. You see, the fourth commandment recognizes our need to work—“for six days you shall labor.” God created us to work. Genesis tells us the first man was created to till the earth; he was the caretaker of the Garden of Eden.  Work is a holy task, created by God.

Work is good, but with work comes the need to rest. God rested on the seventh day. But while slaves, our ancestors were not able to rest. So this command requires rest to extend to our families, our employees, and even slaves. This labor law even extended to domestic animals. All creation needs rest. I may have come down a bit hard of Calvin’s interpretation of the Sabbath, but I like the way he interprets this section of the commandment. Linking the commandment to the memory of Israel’s slavery in Egypt, Calvin comes to the conclusion the Sabbath means we must “humanely treat those who are under our powers.” In a broader scope, keeping the Sabbath commandment means we not only make time for ourselves, but we also insure that those around us have time to rest and worship.

The Sabbath is also given by God as a way to force us to slow down and, thereby, allow us to savor God’s creation. As Simon and Garfunkel sang,“Slow down, you’re going to fast.” And our world is much faster than it was in the 1960s. Observing of the fourth commandment is in greater need today, for we must learn to slow down and, as the old cliché goes, “smell the roses.” We need time to consider the glory of God, time to study God’s word, time to be in fellowship with God’s people. We were not created as machines; we’re created to glorify and enjoy God  And if our lives are too hectic, we are probably not able to glorify God nor do we fully enjoy the benefits God provides.

Observing the Sabbath is a spiritual discipline which takes practice. Each of us has to find our own ways to observe this day, to make the Sabbath holy.  Certainly observing the Sabbath involves gathering with God’s people for worship and study. But what do we do with the rest of the day? Do our afternoon activities glorify God and fulfill the intention for the day? It’s a question only you and God can answer.

By resting one day in seven, we show we can’t do it all. We must stop what we’re doing, a discipline which helps us trust God. All of us, even the most religious, risk falling into a trap of believing God needs us to carry out His will. But that’s a fallacy. God doesn’t need us, we need God.  

How do we keep the Sabbath holy? Treat others with dignity, allowing them time to rest? Trust God enough to allow things to wait. Observing the Sabbath helps us depend on God. As the Psalmist says, “the earth and its fullness belong to God.” We didn’t create the world and ultimately, the Sabbath reminds us, we’re not in control of it. Amen.   

I am not sure why my footnotes are not coming through now that I have shifted from Word to Pages. Here are sources used in the sermon:

Calvin, John, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559

Calvin, John. Sermons on the Ten Commandments, Benjamin W. Farley, translator. (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1980), 

Davidman, Joy, Smoke on the Mountain (London: Hodder & Staunton, 1963). 

Hauerwas, Stanley and William Williamson, The Truth About God; The Ten Commandments in Christian Life (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999), 48. 

Miller, Patrick D. The Ten Commandments: Interpretation, Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church (Louisville, KY:WJP, 2000). 

Watson, Thomas, The Ten Commandments (First published as a part of A Body of Practical Divinity, 1692: London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1970).

This sermon is a variation of a version preached on July 15,2007 in 1st Presbyterian Church of Hastings,  MI 

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The Third Commandment

title slide with photo of Bluemont and Mayberry Churches

I’m sorry I didn’t get this up yesterday, but in changing over computers and programs, I ran into some technical issues! For some reason, I lost the footnotes. I’ve added the sources at the bottom.

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
July 12, 2026
Exodus 20:7, Revelation 5:9-12 

This sermon was taped at Bluemont on Thursday, July 9, 2026

At the beginning of worship:

Let me tell you a story about Brian, a friend from my elementary and junior high years. Although we attended separate schools, we grew up in the same church. We also joined the same scout troop and remained members until Brian moved with his family to South Carolina. The two of us competed against it other. We struggled to out rank the other in scouts. We both had our eyes on the same girl. And we both sought positions of authority. At one time or another, we both served as patrol leader and as the other’s assistant. Unlike me, Brian aspired to the presidency of our church’s Junior High youth group.  

I’ll never forget the night of the elections. A new school year began, so we reorganized the youth group. We had new kids aging up into the group and older ones, who had been leaders, moving into the high school group. Brian campaigned for the position of president. He coveted the position; a sin I’ll cover at the end of this series on the Commandments. 

That evening, however, Brian did something which worked against him. He volunteered to give the opening prayer. Generally, getting a young teenager to pray in public required serious arm twisting from our adult leaders. This evening, Brian’s hand shot up before they finished asking the question. None of us who heard that prayer will ever forget it. It went something like this, “O Lord, I want to be president. Please help me.” 

This prayer was too much for us budding Calvinists. Brian lost the election.  

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” the third commandment reads. Obeying this commandment is more than just refraining from mumbling God’s name in a fit when we curse and swear. Of course, we shouldn’t curse and swear. But there’s more to the commandment.  

Before reading the scripture: 

We are looking at the 3rd Commandment today. How to translate this commandment has been debated over the years. The King James Version translates it as “You shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain…” A recent Jewish translation reads, “You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God.” In a moment we’ll hear another reading as we consider how we might apply this passage to our lives. All translations capture part of the truth. 

I will also read a passage from Revelation which shows how we should revere God. 

Read Exodus 20:7, Revelation 5:9-14

Like all the commandments, the third is simple and to the point. But reading it in different versions, we see the difficulty in translation. The Commandment comes with a warning, indicating we should take note of the commandment and how we violate it. God’s name is holy. It’s a name, as we profess in the Lord’s Prayer, to be hallowed. But its meaning goes beyond not swearing or trivializing God. The third commandment is not just a warning against profanity. However, this is often how we view the commandment: “don’t swear or curse and you’ll be alright.” By the time I’m through with this sermon, I hope you understand a deeper meaning. 

If our use of language is what this commandment is all about, then Hitler, who shunned profanity, could be an example of how to keep it. I think he broke this commandment as frequently as he did the others.

Let me begin with a definition of blasphemy. “Blasphemy is speech which attempts to make God a part of our lies.” The author of this definition goes on to say: “It’s a sign of our infidelity that we are no longer outraged by it.” Most all of us would agree saying “G-D you” is blasphemous. It’s calling on God to agree with our assessment that the object of our wrath deserves damnation. But that’s a clear-cut example. 

Yet, we’re guilty of blasphemy, of breaking the third commandment, whenever we invoke God’s name to get our way. We’re guilty when we fail to be honest with God. And we might even be guilty when we misrepresent ourselves to others. After all, when people know I am a Christian, they assume because of my identity in Christ, I am truthful. When I’m not, I stand guilty before God for using my relationship with my Savior to further a lie. If you’re a salesperson and use a Bible verse on honesty in your pitch, you better be careful. Another example would be Brian’s prayer, but I won’t say anything more about that. 

Joy Davidman, in her book I mentioned two weeks ago on the Ten Commandments, suggests this command is like a sign we might see on a fence around a power plant. “Warning: High Voltage.”  

We have a God of power, but we’re not to call on God for personal gain which would not bring him glory, nor are we to use his name in a superstitious manner. 

There is a great illustration of this in the old movie, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. If you remember, the movie pitted Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Karen Allen, his good-looking assistant, against Nazis. Everyone’s after the Ark of the Covenant. Jones, a scientist, is interested in the Ark for archeological reasons. The Nazi’s interest is more sinister. They hope the Ark can help their armies to dominate the world. At the climax of the movie, the soldiers of the Third Reich recovered the ark and capture Jones and his beautiful sidekick. Then a Nazi officer approaches the Ark chanting some ancient words, hoping to tap into its power. Opening the ark, he finds only sand. He laughs, thinking they have been fooled. Then the ark comes alive. The Nazis die. Jones and assistant are safe.  

Of course, Indiana Jones is fantasy, but in this one scene, the meaning of the third commandment is portrayed. At first, the ark seemed harmless. “It’s just sand,” the Nazi said as the grains poured through his hands. “It’s just words,” we might say. But what at first seemed so harmless becomes deadly. Seeking the power of the ancient ark for evil means, for a menacing purpose, the Nazis violate this commandment. They experience the wrath of a God who will not “hold guiltless those who take his name in vain.” It’s the same way with us taking God’s name in vain. At first, it may seem harmless. In time it can become deadly.

To fully understand this commandment, we need to consider the importance of a name. 

In the Hebrew Scriptures, there is an implied power which comes with the ability to name something. Think back to the creation account found in Genesis 2. First, God creates Adam. Seeing the man is lonely, God goes about creating animals and each specie he brings to Adam for him to name. The theological implication is that the power of naming places the human specie above the rest of the animal kingdom. God, on the other hand, names the first human and thereby shows his position over us. But God doesn’t give us his name. God tells Moses “I am who I am.” In other words, we are creatures created by a God whom we cannot control. Trying to control God violates this commandment.

Now, if we don’t really know God’s name, we might think we are unable to violate this commandment. But, as I’ve tried to impress upon you, this isn’t the case. For we can call upon God, even praying as Jesus did, “Our Father, who art in heaven…” We just need to make sure that our purposes are noble. 

Thomas Watson, a Puritan author from the 17th Century, in a commentary on the Westminster Catechism, includes our tendency toward hypocrisy among the ways we break this commandment. According to him, “professing God’s name and failing to live answerably to it,” violates the intent of the commandment. In other words, saying that we believe in God and then acting like we are a god, or doing those things our corrupted hearts desires rather than living by God’s law earns God’s displeasure.  

John Calvin, while discussing prayer, reminds us that “there are some who not only dare to pester God with all their follies, without any reverence or shame, and to lay before his throne anything that they have idly supposed might be good.” God’s name is holy; we should not be foolish enough to ask from God what is not good, nor should we invoke a name with such power for what is truly trivial. When we call upon God, let it be for noble purposes. In addition, as Christians we should not curse using God’s name. God is holy and to associate God’s holiness with something profane displeases our Creator.  

There is another area we need to examine in our discussion on this passage: that is the use of oaths. In writing about this commandment, Calvin devotes more space discussing the right and proper use of oaths than he does discussing the commandment itself. 

And a few months ago, when we worked through the Sermon on the Mount, I spent a lot of time discussing oaths. For Calvin, the problem wasn’t taking an oath; the problem resided in not abiding by or trivializing an oath. If at the end of such an oath, when we plead, “So help me God,” we better mean what we say. Or if we swear that something is true, it better be true. Otherwise, we take God’s name in vain.   

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” It’s a simple commandment with a clear warning and great implications. Don’t trivialize God. If you live your life as a Christian, be careful you don’t lie to God. Nor should you, by actions unbecoming of our Savior, lie to others about God.  Amen.  

Sources:

Calvin, John, Institutes, III.20.5

Davidman, Joy, Smoke on the Mountain (London: Hodder & Staunton, 1963).

Gowan, Donald, Genesis 1-11: From Eden to Babel (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1988).

Hauerwas, Stanley and William Williamson, The Truth About God; The Ten Commandments in Christian Life (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999), 48.

Miller, Patrick D. The Ten Commandments: Interpretation, Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church (Louisville, KY:WJP, 2000).

Watson, Thomas, The Ten Commandments (First published as a part of A Body of Practical Divinity, 1692: London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1970).

Wendel, Francois, Calvin: Origins and Development of his Religious Thought, Philip Mairet, translator (1950, Durham, NC: Labyrinth Press, 1987).

This version is revised from a sermon preached on June 24, 2007 at First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, MI

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We Always Stand Under God

Title slide with photos of Mayberry and Bluemont Presbyterian Churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
July 5, 2026
2 Chronicles 7:12-22

Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Thursday, July 2, 2026

At the beginning of worship: 

Yesterday marked the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Those who signed that paper took a big risk. Breaking away from the Great Britain, they chanced being charged with treason. Not only did they risk their necks in a noose, but many jeopardized their businesses and fortunes.

But they had a dream. It wasn’t a perfect dream as they only called for independence for themselves and those like them. The Africans who made up a significant part of the colonies at the time, especially from Maryland south, were overlooked, even though one of the first killed at the Boston Massacre, often cited as the beginning of the Revolution, was African American.[1] Nor did they call for independence for Native Americans. In fact, over the next hundred years, their descendants and our ancestors would rob more land belonging to the native population. But their dream lived on. In time, and after more wars, those who were overlooked in the initial declaration begin to find freedom. 

One of the things we gleam from scripture is that all of us have flaws. There’s only been one perfect person, Jesus Christ. Even the great figures of scripture, like the founders of our nation, struggled to live a virtuous life. And we struggle, yet we must hold virtues as goals and strive to obtain them. Doing so, we help build a stronger and more just community. 

Before reading the Scriptures:

I’m stepping away from our journey through the Ten Commandments this Sunday as its Independence Day weekend. I want us to look at a passage from 2 Chronicles 7, which comes just after celebration dedicating Solomon’s temple. There is one verse in this passage, verse 14, often cited out-of-context, by those who consider themselves Christian Nationalist or Chrisitan Reconstructionist.[2] I want us to look at the entire passage, to see what it said to Solomon and what we might learn from it.

Let me say a bit about this book. Chronicles originally consisted of one volume, titled “The Events of the Days” by an unnamed “Chronicler.” When the Hebrew Bible was translated into the Greek, in the Septuagint, the book was split into two. Later, five centuries after Jesus, the book received its current name from Jerome, who translated the Hebrew and Greek texts into Latin.[3]His translation, known as the Vulgate, continued to be used for nearly 1500 years within the Roman Catholic Church.  

Let me also point out we find a similar passage in 1st Kings.[4]Revisionist history isn’t anything new. We find it even in the Biblical story. The two books of the Chronicles repeat a lot of is said in four books consisting of 1st and 2nd Samuel and 1st and 2nd King. I confess I tend to prefer those four books than the Chronicles, for the later seems to try to clean things up a little too neatly. In Kings we learn of Solomons warts and all, especially later in his life as his foreign marriages brings idolatry into Israel, resulting in the divided kingdom. The split of the kingdoms exists in Chronicles, but they say nothing about Solomon’s sins. He stands as the ideal king: wise, loaded with gold, riches, and honored by all. 

While Chronicles doesn’t blame Solomon for the divided kingdom, it does provide us the warning Solomon received as we’ll see today.[5] Let’s look at this passage:

Read 2nd Chronicles 7:12-22

The hoopla of the temple’s dedication has come to an end. The vision of the temple had first been held by King David, who felt it wasn’t right to live in a fine palace while God’s visual presence remained in a tent. But God didn’t give David the opportunity to build the temple, even though he raised the money so that his son could take on the project.[6]

After David, Solomon built the temple and had a week of celebration as it opened. But the celebration is now done, the cleanup has begun. I image Solomon, exhausted, falls into his bed. Sometime at night, God visits. 

We’re not told this was a dream, but it could have been. It’s night. Solomon appears to have been alone. And we’re not given any descriptions of the Lord. So, a dream seems a likely explanation as to how this occurred. 

This encounter provides God’s answer to Solomon prayer in the previous chapter. Standing before the people at the altar, Solomon gave thanks and praise to God. Then he turned to future needs, praying for God to answer the prayers of his people when they are in distress from drought, pestilence, or enemies.[7] God answers, claiming the place of the temple as one he chose, not Solomon. Then God claims to be the one who brings drought, locust, and pestilence upon the people. In other words, this isn’t a random happening to Israel, but a punishment.[8]

Next, we come to verse 14, which I suggest often gets pulled out of context as it’s applied to our nation. This passage is addressed to Solomon and God provides a way out of ancient Israel’s distress. The people must humble themselves, pray and seek God, and change their wicked ways. If all that happens, God promises to hear from heaven and intervene on behalf of the people. This promise made to the nation of Israel, which ceased to exist shortly after Solomon’s death. The kingdom split into two, the northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah. 

God further promises to maintain a king on David’s throne, that God’s name will forever be associated with the temple. Here, we get the sense of the Davidic kingdom being a forerunner of the coming kingdom in which the Messiah eternally assumes David’s throne. We celebrate this at Christmas, with Jesus born in David’s city of Bethlehem… 

Today, the promise is for the church, who worships the Jesus, the King who reigns on David’s throne. We always stand under God, whether or not we acknowledge it.

Next, God warns Solomon against three things: turning away from God, forsaking God’s commandments, especially the commandment against idolatry. In a statement that almost foreshadows the Babylonian exile, God tells Solomon he’ll “pluck up his people” and abandon the temple. At this point, God points out that others may ask what happened to God’s people. They will now serve as a visible proverb of what happens to those who turn away from God. 

There is one thing we should learn from this passage which reinforces my last two sermons on the First and the SecondCommandments. While God answers the prayers, God reminds Solomon who’s in charge. The king stands under God’s watch. While Solomon’s work in building the temple is explementary, the glory of the site belongs to God. Earlier in Chronicles, we learn Solomon’s skill at commerce. He forged ties to surrounding nations. He trades and imports things Israel lacked. Gold and silver and bronze and wood from the mountains of Lebanon.[9]God gave Solomon the ability to build the temple, but the temple belongs to the God who gave Solomon the ability, not to Solomon. 

This warning belongs to everyone. Glory belongs to God, not to us. We must be careful building monuments to ourselves. 

Perhaps the best epitaph on any of our gravestones would simply read, he or she “trusted in the Lord and was a good neighbor.” In the end, it’s about God and others, not about us. That was a message to Solomon and it’s this passage’s message to us. Pride in ourselves and even our country can get us in trouble. When we do great things, we need to thank God for the ability and the opportunity. Humility, which seemed to be in short supply in Solomon’s case as in our world today, needs to be nurtured. It’ll bring us closer to God and help us live in a noble manner while strengthening our communities.  Amen. 

[1]See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crispus_Attucks.  Attucks is believed to be both Native American and African descent.  

[2] For more on this, see this essay by Russell Moore: https://www.russellmoore.com/2016/01/14/2-chronicles-714-isnt-about-american-politics/

[3] Mark A Throntviet, “1 Chronicles,” in The New Interpreters Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 571.  

[4] 1 Kings 9:1-9. For differences between Chronicles and Kings, see Sara Japhet, I & II Chronicles: The Old Testament Library (London, 1993, Louisville, KY, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993), 613-614. 

[5] Solomon’s life in Chronicles ends after he ruled 40 years. Then he “went to sleep with his ancestors.” 2 Chronicles 8:30-31. The blame for the split rests on Solmon’s son Rehoboam

[6] See 1 Chronicles 22:6-9 and 29:1-9.

[7] Solomon’s prayer is found in 2 Chronicles 6:12-42.

[8] Japhet, 615. 

[9] See 2 Chronicles 1:14-2:16.

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The Second Commandment

Title slide with photos of Mayberry & Bluemont Churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
Exodus 20:4-6, Deuteronomy 4
June 28, 2026

This version of the sermon recorded on Friday, June 26, 2026 at Bluemont.

At the beginning of worship:

This has been a long and hard week. Thursday, I had an all-Commissioner meeting of Presbytery in Roanoke. I arose up early to get the trash out before driving up to the Star City. When I opened my email, I learned that Loren, the interim pastor between Stewart’s retirement and my coming, lost her husband. 


While in Roanoke, I planned to visit Peggy Slate in the hospital. Peggy ran the Higher Ground Retreat Center, just north of Bluemont. She also kept Wild Goose on track. I texted her daughter to let her and her father know my plans. In the middle of my meeting, I received a text saying Peggy’s kidneys failed and was moving to hospice at noon. 

Then about 2:30, I received another text saying she died, not long after arriving at hospice. I left the meeting and spent time with her husband Guydell and children.

Then, after I got home, Barbara Wagonner texted that Mel Condit, a recent new member at Mayberry, died. For the past several months, Mel battled cancer. He was released from the hospital just a few days earlier. A wonderful addition to our church and community, Mel will be missed. 

I’m older than Loren’s husband, the same age as Peggy, and a bit younger than Mel. Thursday, it hit hard. Our time on earth is short; life is precious. We should make the best of it, and should comfort one another during times of grief. 

Before reading the Scripture:

Last week, we looked at the first commandment which excludes all other gods. Today, we’ll look at the second commandment which forbids any physical representation of either another god or the one true God. At Sinai, the idea of no idols showed a radical departure from the norm. At this time, everyone used art to depict deities. Israel stood alone and offered a new way of looking at God. 

There is only one holy God who must not be depicted in artwork. This doesn’t mean that art is bad; it’s just not to be used to depict the one beyond our comprehension. Instead of knowing God through paintings or sculpture, we meet God in scripture. Even objects in church—from the Bible on the pulpit to fancy windows—must not be worshipped.[1]

In their deliverance from Egypt, Israel encountered the living God, whose reality can be described, and then only partially, with language.[2]  

Today’s text is from Exodus 20, verses 4-6, and Deuteronomy 4:15-20, where we’re given more reasons to have no idols. 

Read Exodus 20:4-6, Deuteronomy 4:15-20

A salty old sailor sat through a sermon at the Seaman’s mission. The preacher went on and on with the dos and don’ts of the Ten Commandments, visibly shaking the old seaman. “What’s the matter,” his buddy asked. “Well,” he said pondering, “at least I ain’t made no graven images.”

God, in the Second Commandment, goes to great lengths to stress the importance of not having idol in any form. Whether it comes from the heavens, the earth or the waters, idols are off-limits. God is creator, not a creature. God is the artist, not the subject of art and therefore is not to be portrayed in artwork, which draws upon the created world. The Almighty refuses to be objectified. If we objectify God, we then assume we can handle God. 

We might wonder why God gets so upset over idols. After all, why would a a great and powerful God be threaten by us worship of something less than himself? Yet, idolatry is always more a reflection on us than upon God; God isn’t threatened by our misguided actions. God has the power over all other make-believe gods and there is no danger of him losing his position as the Creator and the Sustainer of the world. Instead of God taking this personally and being upset, God’s concern is our well-being. 

As Bob Dylan sings, “you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”[3] In a study on the Ten Commandments, the authors note: 

“modernity did not succeed in killing the gods, rather it succeeded in fostering rampant superstition. Modern people like to think that as we become more educated, liberal, enlightened, the less we need to worship gods. No. We appear to have been created to worship…[4]  

We’re created restless, with a longing, an emptiness. We’re created with this desire that we try to fill. God created us this way so that we might see the need to have him fill our restless desire to worship something beyond ourselves. But God wants us to come freely, which means that we will also be tempted to create our own substitute for God. All of us have this desire for fulfillment; idolatry is when we try to satisfy it with something that is less than God.[5]   

Joy Davidson, who would later marry C. S. Lewis, wrote a commentary on the Ten Commandments titled, Smoke on the Mountain. Addressing this commandment, she said, “idolatry lies not in the idol, but in the worshipper.” 

The horror of idols is that they’re impotent, they’re without power, and they can give us nothing. Instead, idols rob us of the power we have within ourselves and from God through the Holy Spirit.[6]Certainly our idolatry have become more sophisticated. We gave up on Aaron’s golden calf and miniature statues of Artemis which endeared the Ephesians.[7] But are we putting our trust in God, or in something else? What is it that we worship? What do we do with our desire to connect to something beyond ourselves? Do we go to God or to something less that has only enough power to rob us of a relationship to the living God?

Let’s ask ourselves? What are our Golden Calves today? What keeps us from fully enjoying God? When I look at the walls in my office, I see the various token representations of my accomplishments. I feel proud and might think to myself, “I’ve done some neat things.” Some of you have accomplished a lot more. But when I think, “Gee Jeff, you’re good,” those mementos become first cousins to that sacred cow of Sinai. What is it that we value the most? 

Our accomplishments, our diplomas, our homes, our jobs, our cars and boats and motorcycles, our families? These good things can also be substitutes for God. God wants us to enjoy the finer things in creation, but he alone should be the object of our devotion. Akin to how one spouse will covet a devoted relationship from the other, so God desires our devotion. 

God provides a reason for such a relationship. If we, who have been chosen by God, worship something else, we’re cursed. Yet God offers even more abundant blessings if we keep it.

Let’s talk about this curse. We may think it unfair God’s wrath is not only experienced by the idolater. It extends to his or her offspring for three to four generations. Yet, if idolaters share the wrong message with their children, how will they hear? The message of the idol will be carried on within the family for generations and the barrier they built between them and God will continue. 

Psychologically, this curse plays out in the family systems of alcoholics and drug addicts. There are books written about the phenomena, such as Adult Children of Alcoholics.[8] Someone who is a dependent upon some substance is essentially an idolater. The substance becomes their God. And within their family, because of how people live with and around them, the abuser’s family carries the curse with them. 

John Calvin suggests the curse is not so much the result of God inflicting it, as the absence of God, which allows it to continue.[9]The curse continues until someone says “enough” and invites God back into their life. 

Now, consider the promised blessings. Idolatry brings a curse, but the blessing of faithfulness stands in sharp contrast. The curse continues for three or four generations, the blessing to the thousandth generation. God’s mercy overwhelms his wrath. Surely the Psalmists got it right when he proclaimed, “the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”[10] As human beings, we tend to be overly concerned with the wrath of God and the possibility of punishment. We forget how much greater God’s capacity to love is when compared to his anger. John Calvin, in his sermon on the Second Commandment proclaimed that it is “almost against God’s nature” to punish.[11]

God’s love is much greater than we can imagine, hence the reference to a 1000 blessed generations. Think about this. Biblical standards set a generation at 40 years. A 1000 generations would be 40,000 years, which would mean that we’re not yet at the 10% mark for the blessings bestowed on those like Joshua and Caleb who were faithful during the Exodus. The blessings from that era continue!

Surely this commandment means that we are not to depict God in any creaturely way.  But as Christians, we acknowledge that 1400 years after the commandments, God came to us as a man. In other words, God himself chose to relate to us in a way we can understand. Yet, interestingly, we’re not given a physical description of Jesus. The mystery of what God looks like continues! Instead, we’re told that we will meet him when we reach out to someone in need and that we’ll feel his presence when two or more are gathered in his name.[12] God’s incarnation in Jesus Christ doesn’t mean we are allowed to worship a picture of Jesus, even if we had one. But the incarnation gives us a better understanding of the nature of the God we worship and adore. 

Through Christ, we can have even a more personal relationship with God, which is what God longs for and we need. We can’t have this relationship with a piece of art; nor can we have such relationship with a god who’s nothing more than a projection of our own wants and needs. We can only have such a relationship with the living God. Only such a God can offer us salvation and ever lasting life.   

Let me now say something about religious art. This is one of the areas we live out our faith in tension. Our devotion is to be to God, revealed through Jesus Christ. We all have crosses, Bibles, pictures supposedly representing Jesus, but none of these are to be worshipped even though sometimes, if used right, can help us focus more on God. 

In Reformed Churches, if you go back in history 150 years, you’d be surprised to find no pictures of Jesus and no crosses. If the sanctuary had stained glass, it was only decorative; they’d be no pictures of anyone in it. Over the past century and a half, we’ve back off such a strong prohibition against these types of art. However, we should remember no picture representing Jesus is accurate and be on guard that such art does not become a focus of our worship. For the God we worship transcends our abilities to create. And only a God who transcends our limited view has the power to be useful.

Think seriously about how you depict God. Make sure the God you worship isn’t some false god, but the God revealed in his Word, who has the power to create and to save. Amen.

This sermon was edited from a sermon preached in Hastings, Michigan in 2007.

[1] Daniel D. Patrick, The Ten Commandments: Interpretation, Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church Louisville, KY: WJKP, 2000), 56. 

[2] Duane L. Christensen, Deuteronomy 1:1-21:9, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001), 114.

[3] Bob Dylan, “Gotta Serve Somebody” (1979)

[4] Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, The Truth about God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999), 36.

[5] cf, Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing: The Search for A Christian Spirituality (NY: Doubleday, 1999), 3-5.

[6] Joy Davidman, Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments in terms of today (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1963), 38-39.

[7] Acts 19:23ff.

[8] Janet Geringer Woititz, Ed.D., Adult Children of Alcoholics (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1983, 1990).

[9] cf, John Calvin, Institutes, II, vii, 18-20.

[10] Psalm 145:8.  Variations of this theme is found throughout the Old Testament.

[11] John Calvin, Sermons on the Ten Commandments, Benjamin W. Farley, translator. (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1980), 78.

[12] See Matthew 18:20, 25:40.

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The First Commandment

Title slide with photo of Mayberry and Bluemont Presbyterian Churches.

Jeff Garrison
First Presbyterian Church
Exodus 20:1-4, Revelation 22:8-9
June 21, 2026

The sermon was recorded at Mayberry on Thursday, June 18, 2026

At the beginning of worship:

Happy Father’s Day to all who are fathers and all who have fathers. We begin today working through the Ten Commandments, We start with the first commandments which is to have no other gods before the one true God. As Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer to address God as “Father,” it’s a good day to begin this series. 

Throughout this summer, I plan to focus my sermons  on one of the Ten Commandments. By the time we’re done, I hope none of you will be under the illusion they’re the Ten Suggestions. Instead, consider the commandments as God’s gift; the boundaries in which we can have abundant life on earth. Envision the law as being fence posts staking out our territory. Within the boundaries, we have lots of freedom, but when we move beyond the fence, we damage our relationships with God and with others in the human family.  

The commandments were important for Martin Luther.  We think of Luther being so focused on grace, but he wrote that to know the commandments is to know the Bible. As a modern commentator writes, “to understand them properly, we must know the great overarching story—Creation, Exodus, kingship, prophets, exile, Jesus, death, resurrection and ascension.”[1]

Before reading the Scripture: 

As I focus on the Ten Commandments for this summer, I plan to draw from the commandments as presented in the book of Exodus. The Commandments can be found in two places in the Old Testament: Exodus and Deuteronomy. The same list, but they have some slight differences as the reason for obeying the commandments.  

Let me go over one additional thing about the Commandments. There are two ways of numbering them, both come up to ten. The traditional way, used by Jews use as well as those of us in the Reformed tradition, has the first commandment as having no other gods and the second as the probation against idols. However, some churches, notably the Roman Catholics and Lutherans, combine these two commandments then split what we think of as the tenth commandment, the probation against coveting, into two parts. 

Read Exodus 20:1-3, Revelation 22:8-9

We’re given a three-fold proof of why we are to have no other gods before the One True God—the Creator of heaven and earth. 

First, it’s the Lord who gives this commandment to us. “I am the Lord,” the fifth chapter beings. As Americans, we don’t tend to like titles like Lord and King and as we’ll celebrate in two weeks, we fought a revolution against such. But to understand what’s being said here, we should recall that in ancient times a “Lord” controlled lands and those who lived on it. This text implies that God, as Creator, rightful holds the title for the earth. As the Psalmist proclaims, the world and they that dwell therein” belong to God.[2]   

And just who is this God? The Confessions of the Presbyterian Church bring together many of the attributes of God found in Scripture. We speak of God as: “a Spirit, infinite in being, glory, blessedness and perfection.” God is “all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, all present, almighty, all knowing, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth.”[3]That’s a mouthful.

Furthermore, we should remember on this Father’s Day that while we speak of God as “Father,” it’s metaphorical. Jesus uses such language in the Lord’s Prayer as a way for us to understand the relationship God desires. The same is true when Isaiah speaks of God as a caring mother.[4] God cares for us like parents care for children.

In addition, the male pronoun often used for God shows a limitation with the English language. Using the pronoun “He” or “Him” doesn’t mean God is a man. To think of God as a man puts God in a human category, which breaks this commandment. God exist beyond human sexual categories. 

When we think about God, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. As mere creatures, God exists beyond our imaginations. It’s easy when contemplating God to give up and resign ourselves to be unable to understand God and therefore drop our quest to know God. But God, as he lays out the commandments, encourages us. We’re reminded that not only is he Lord, he’s also our God. “I am the Lord, your God,” he says. God, the all-powerful creator, who rightfully claims ownership of Creation, is also “our God.” There is an intimacy expressed here. God isn’t just a Creator with no interest in us. God calls us and wants us to be a part of his family.. And God takes the initiative to enter a relationship with us, to be personally involved with us.

Abraham Heschel, the great Jewish philosopher of the 20thCentury titled one of his books, God in Search of Man. Even before we know God exists, God seeks us out. Think about how God works: God reached out to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses. God came in the life of Jesus Christ. God wants to be in a relationship with us and therefore calls us back to himself. And God could demand our allegiance based solely upon his rightful position as Creator. But God isn’t petty. By entering a relationship with us, by being OUR GOD, God earns our respect and allegiance. 

The second reason given to us to encourage our compliance with the first commandment is that God led our spiritual ancestors out of Egypt. Our Great God, the Creator of all, heard the cries of the Hebrew people as they labored, building pyramids and other sorts of monuments to the rulers of Egypt. Today we marvel over their work. We shouldn’t forget that the construction of these ancient wonders was done by the backbreaking labor of an enslaved people. But God heard their prayers. Over the sound of cracking whips, God heard their cries, just as he hears ours. Through the leadership of Moses and a host of special effects, God rescued his people. God is not a distant Creator, uninterested in what goes on in the world. Our God listens and answers prayers.

The third reason given for our obeying this commandment is that we were brought out of the house of slavery. Certainly, in the wilderness, as Moses recalled the Commandments, he was referring to Egypt and the 400-year period of bondage.  

Paralleling the land of Egypt and the house of slavery gives this sentence a nice ring. It’s balanced. But let’s take a bit of liberty with its original meaning and see if we can come up with a meaning for us today. The Exodus event provides a model of how God rescues his people. It’s an archetype which reminds us how our God works in the world. With this understanding, we can make this third reason to obey the commandment apply to us personally. We obey because we’ve experienced release from bondage, whatever the form of slavery it might have been.

Has God helped you kick the smoking habit, beat drugs, get control over alcohol abuse, recover from an accident, a job loss, a divorce, or regain self-esteem? Regardless of what it was, if God helps us regain control, we are indebted in him. Therefore, we should desire not to break the commandments.  

We’re given three reasons not to break this first commandment:  

1. God as Creator desires a relationship with us.  

2.  God shows his faithfulness by delivering our spiritual ancestors from bondage in Egypt.  

3. God has or can deliver us from whatever enslaves us, from whatever holds us back from being who he has created us to be.

These are three good reasons not to have any false gods. Now let’s consider for a few minutes what it means to have no other gods before our One True God. It is interesting the way this commandment reads: NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. If God is, as we proclaim, all-knowing and all-powerful, then having any other gods would be to have them in front of God. So, we’re not to have any other gods. 

In Israel’s time, the Hebrew people found themselves constantly lured into worshipping their neighbor’s gods. This was especially true if their neighbor had a better harvest in a particular year. They’d want to do whatever they could to get a competitive advantage, so if they thought their neighbor’s gods looked favorably upon them, they’d in turn pray to these false gods and end up experiencing the rage of the Living God.

Having no other gods goes beyond the command to make no idols—we’ll discuss that one next week.  It means not elevating ourselves too high or not putting what should be our trust in God into some form of superstitious behavior. Think of the angel John wanted to worship in the book of Revelation. The angel quickly corrected John. We don’t lift any other being to be equivalent or even closely equivalent to God. 

Having no other gods mean we let God be God and we trust and depend upon him. God gives life. We need to remember this for whenever we put something between God and us, we find our lifeline compromised. If you have difficulty breathing and are on oxygen, you want to be careful not to stand on the tubing between you and the oxygen tank. Otherwise, you won’t get the air you need and might pass out or even die. It’s the same way with God. God desires for us to draw our life from him and to live abundantly. We don’t want to cut off our supply of his life-giving breath, but we do this anytime we place something between God and us.  

Examine yourself. Take an inventory; see where you do not completely trust God. Are there areas in your life where you’ve relegated God to second or third place and made something else more important? If so, and we’re all guilty at one time or another, confess your sins. Work toward cleaning up those areas in your life so you can live life to its fullness, as God intends.  Let us pray: 

Almighty God, you are the source of life. Through Jesus Christ, you save us from your wrath and our sinfulness. You call us to be your people and command us not to have any other gods before you. That’s easier said than done. We don’t always fully trust you and find ourselves placing other things in front of you: families, occupations, wealth, accomplishments, abilities, intellect, nation, even our church. Forgive us and fill us with your vision so we may grow into a deeper relationship with you.  Amen. 

[1] Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, The Truth About God; The Ten Commandments in Christian Life (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999), 30.

[2] Psalm 98:7, KJV.

[3] Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 7.

[4] Isaiah 66:13.

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Two Houses, Two Builders, Jesus Conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount

Title slide with photos of Mayberry and Bluemont Presbyterian Churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
June 14, 2026
Matthew 7:24-8:1

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Friday, June 12, 2026

At the Beginning of Worship:  

Beginning next Sunday, we’ll start a journey through the Ten Commandments. Ever since the movie with Charlton Heston as Moses came out back when my parents were dating, there have been attempts to have the tablets displayed in courthouses and schools. But just knowing the 10 Commandments doesn’t make us better people.[1] Instead, we need to understand what they mean and integrate them into our lives. As the prophet Jeremiah suggests, we need God to write his law on our hearts.[2] It’s my hope we will gain some insight into how the law should be applied in our lives today. 

But before I jump back into the Old Testament, we’ll finish our review of Jesus’ greatest sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. In a way, this has been Jesus’ sermon on the 10 Commandments, as he reinterprets the law to a new standard. We all come up short. When Jesus finishes this sermon, we understand we can’t do it ourselves; we’re totally dependent upon God’s grace.   

Before reading the Scripture:

Today’s scripture completes the Sermon on the Mount. I’ll read from Matthew 7: 24 through 8:1. 

Let me give you a bit of insight into the Greek used by Matthew here. Jesus draws from both the Old Testament and the virtue tradition coming out of Greek philosophy.[3] In this passage Jesus contrasts the wise and foolish man. In the Greek, the wise man is one who is virtuous. The foolish one is a moros, from which we get the English word, “Moron.”[4] (You may remember that tidbit.) 

A second thing. The last word in the Greek within this sermon is “great.” Throughout the sermon, Jesus encouraged his listeners to strive for righteousness, not greatness. And the ending “great” refers not to an achievement, but to the fall of those who have not built a life with Christ as a foundation.[5] There is a warning here. As Jesus reminded us earlier in the sermon, we’re to first seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness.[6]

READ MATTHEW 7:24-8:1

Did you ever think we’d get to the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount? We’ve been working our way through this passage since the first of February, with a break on Palm Sunday and Easter, and a few Sundays I’ve been away. For those counting, this is my 17th sermon on these three chapters!  

Let me say a bit about the Sermon on the Mount. It’s not a sermon in the fashion we typically think. Instead of standing at a pulpit or on a stage or up on a rock and waving his hands as he expounds upon scripture, Jesus sits. Most likely the crowd stood. Having your audience stand is an old trick which assures everyone stays awake. Sitting down while teaching and preaching was the preferred method for rabbis, as well as Greek philosophers of the time. So, Jesus sits as a rabbi, or a teacher, and instructs his disciples and those in the crowd how they should live.

As we have seen over the past few months, Jesus upsets the apple cart. In the Beatitudes, he speaks of a great reversal: of how the last will be first, of the meek inheriting the earth. He admonishes the crowd to strive for heavenly treasure instead of worldly wealth. He reminds them our valuables will increases our fears as we worry about theft, rust, and rot. 

Throughout this sermon, Jesus raises the bar. No longer can his followers take the Ten Commandments literally, checking off each item as having been observed, and patting themselves on their backs for getting a passing grade. For Jesus tells us that hate is equivalent to murder, lust can be as dangerous as adultery. Jesus also warns his followers about the danger of misleading new converts, how they must watch out for false teachers, and how they should pray privately and not for show. 

By this point in Jesus’ address, he’s managed to offend just about everyone. As they stand on that hill, surrounding Jesus while swatting flies and fanning themselves, they realize Jesus isn’t letting anyone off easily. The rich and powerful are offended. The religious and political leaders are offended. Even the pious, those who dedicated their lives to keeping the commandments are offended. You’d think the crowds would have thinned out, but that’s not the case. They stick around because Jesus teaches with authority. Matthew here drops a hint of what’s to come. At the end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus proclaims, “All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me.”[7] The crowds witnessed his authority on the mountain.

Yet, I expect most are unsure of their ability to meet the mark, and Jesus heightens their tension when he acknowledges that not everyone who calls his name will enter the kingdom of heaven. For Jesus, having a saving faith is more than just knowing the right religious language. As we saw two weeks ago, Jesus even warns, in words which send fear into the hearts of any preacher who listens, that some who do great things in his name will find the door to paradise closed. 

A saving faith requires action; a saving faith requires us to take his words to heart and strive to do God’s will. Yes, Jesus wants us to be good. Yes, Jesus wants us to bear fruit. But our good deeds and fruit bearing must be done in accordance with the will of God and not be based upon our egoistic desire to do something great… 

To explain this, Jesus tells a parable about the building of a house. Two guys set out to build a house and, from all we know, both are built equally well. We assume that from the outside, both houses appear solid. To find fault in the one house, you must look at the foundation. 

This isn’t the story of the three little pigs—where two of them become barbeque for the wolf because they use inferior building materials. We assume both builders employ the best construction practices. They select only good and straight lumber. They both use architectural grade shingles. But there’s a difference. One takes the time to set his foundation upon rock. The other guy builds on sand. Maybe he justified this as saving money on excavation. Or maybe he built on a beach to have a great view. Image both guys building equally nice homes. The only difference is that one can withstand the onslaught of a flood while the other crumbles as we’ve seen video in news reports of houses around Cape Hatteras tumbling into the sea.

This parable reminds us of the story of Noah. Noah, a faithful man, listened to God and followed instructions. He found himself safe during the storm in which all others drown.[8] Noah trusted in God, not in the long-term weather forecasts, or even in his ability to save himself. He listened to God. After all, it wasn’t his idea to build a boat. By listening to God, he accomplished far more than he could have on his own.

One thing we should gleam from this parable is the fact the storm came. Both the wise and the foolish experienced the onslaught of the storm. Jesus echoes what he said earlier about how God makes the sun rise and the rain fall on the just and unjust.[9]There is a message here for us. Matthew’s audience, as we see in the opening Beatitudes, probably faced persecution. By recalling this parable, he reminds his readers to be prepared, to have a good foundation in Christ so that when things become difficult, they will persevere. 

To do the will of God is not just hearing God call; to do the will of God is not just an understanding of our duty to our creator; to do God’s will requires that we internalize Jesus’ words. We must make Jesus and his teaching the rule of our lives. The question, “What would Jesus do?” which has become somewhat of a cliché, should become for us an internal compass, directing our lives in a manner that will bring him, and not us, glory.

To do the will of God is not necessarily to do what is popular. In fact, it’s likely to result in unpopular behavior. Think about old Noah—his wife and neighbors complain about that piece of junk he’s constructing out in the backyard. Doing God’s will is not going to help us be seen as “cool.” It may even mean going against what is considered politically correct from any perspective—conservative and progressive. Doing the will of God means we will not base our decision on what would make us popular with our peers, but on what kind of actions honor and glorify God…

So, why should we seek and do the will of God, especially if it’s going to force us to look beyond our self-interest and cost us in social standing? Why shouldn’t we just seek the easy way, to go along with the crowds and to do what is expedient? Why not just take the wide road, the interstate of popularity? It’s the sure way to success according to worldly standards. Why? Because in the end, what others think about us as well as what we’ve accomplished and accumulated on this planet will not manner. In the end, all that will matter is whether we’ll hear the words echoed from later in Matthew’s gospel, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”[10]

Peter was right when Jesus asked him and the other disciples if they wanted to join the crowds who were abandoning him. Peter said, “Lord, where else can we go? Only you have the words of eternal life.”[11]

There were two houses. One withstood the storm; the other fell and great was its fall. So ends Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus presents a clear alternative. Follow me and seek to do God’s will and you will persevere through the storms of life and find the door to paradise open. Or don’t follow me and seek to fulfill your own desires and the storms will overwhelm you and the door to paradise will remain locked. Which will it be? Will we seek the kingdom of God? If so, we must seek to do and live in accordance with God’s will. Amen.   

[1] For my take on the 10 Commandments, see https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/06/27/thoughts-on-the-ten-commandments/

[2] Jeremiah 31:33. 

[3] Most likely, Jesus did speak Greek, but Aramaic. But when translated into the Greek, Matthew uses key Greek terms. 

[4] Jonathan T. Pennington, The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017), 280.

[5] Fredrick Dale Buner, The Christbook: Matthew 1-12 (1990: Grand Rapids, MI Eerdmans, 2004), 361. 

[6] Matthew 6:33. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2026/05/03/dont-worry/

[7] Matthew 28:18.

[8] Genesis 9. 

[9] Matthew 5:45. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2026/03/22/turning-the-other-cheek-and-loving-our-enemies/

[10] Matthew 25:21, 23. 

[11] John 6:68-69