"I am the LORD your God"

On Wednesday, September 10, at 6:30 PM, I'll meet with our confirmation students and parents to kick off our year together.  This year, we'll be exploring the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, and the Bible.  During September, we'll focus on the first three Commandments: to have no other gods, to not misuse the Lord's name, and to keep the Sabbath holy.

When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, He began by saying:

"I am the LORD your God." (Exodus 20:1).

Please notice that's not a commandment. How can you tell? A commandment tells you what to do or what not to do, and it depends on whether you do it.  The first words that came out of God's mouth when He began to give the Ten Commandments were a promise: the LORD–the almighty God who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them by speaking–is YOUR God.  Faith is always in something, so before God gave the commandments, He spoke the promise so that your faith has something to believe in that won't fail. The First Commandment requires us to fear, love, and trust God above all things. But can you do it? The rest of the Commandments continue to reveal all the ways that we don't.  For example, God gives us His name in Baptism, and yet we don't use His name to call upon Him in every trouble like we should.  He sends people to preach His Word to us so we can hear it and believe it, yet we struggle to fit it into our busy schedules, even if it means hearing it just once a week. Try as we might to do what they require, the Commandments will only show us our sin.  We need a promise.  

But, first and finally, God is a promise-giver.  By giving you His promise, He has made Himself your God. He sent Jesus Christ into the world to do what you could never do, by forgiving your sin and giving you this promise for faith to trust, so that by faith all the commandments are fulfilled.  "For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God."

If you have any questions about confirmation classes, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Raleigh