Ten Broken Commandments

Ten Broken Commandments

“Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 8 Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. 18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, 19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die." 20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin." Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Intro: How many of the Ten Commandments have you broken in the past month?

At the northwestern end of Arabia there is a 150 mile peninsula shaped somewhat like a triangle.

It is bordered on the east by the Red Sea and on the west by the Gulf of Aqaba.

The Gaza strip lies directly north.

This area is over 23,000 square miles in Egypt is known as the Sinai Peninsula.

St Catherine’s Monastery is one of the oldest religious communities in the world.

An earlier chapel is said to have been built in the year 337.

and is believed to be the location of the burning bush.

In close proximity of this area is where God also gives Moses the Ten Commandments.

After leaving behind the slavery and bondage of Egypt

The Israelites had been traveling in the desert for about 3 months when they came to Mount Sinai.

Moses tells the people to unpack and set up tents and to prepare to hear important words from God.

There is a lesson in this story for us today that we must also prepare to listen and hear the word of God.

How do you get ready to meet God?

On the third morning after Moses had talked to God,

the Israelites where busy making their breakfast

when suddenly there was a large rumble and a flash of light over the mountain.

Anyone who was still sleeping would have been startled and woke up suddenly.

Everyone would have seen the mountain

There was lightning and thunder,

and a very thick cloud of smoke hung over the top of the mountain.

Just as God had earlier told Moses to take his shoes off for he was standing on Holy Ground

God has told Moses to warn the people not to get too close to the mountain because of their uncleanliness.

This goes beyond the outward cleanliness it is more about the inward preparedness.

If you knew that you would meet God before the end of this day what would you want to do to be ready?

This question is the same question no matter whether you consider yourself a saint or a sinner.

Whether you have been in the church all your life or you just come once or twice every few months.

Most people’s understanding of the Ten Commandments is based on their concept of law and rules.

It is when we see the Ten Commandments in the light of Grace that we truly discover the nature of God.

In this sermon I am going to lead you from seeing the Ten Commandments as laws and rules

To seeing the Ten Commandments as part of God’s big plan called Grace.

James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

If we break just one law we are sinners.

You can’t break God’s law just a little bit.

Breaking God’s law is like dropping a glass vase on a concrete floor and saying I only broke it once.