The Ten Commandments – More Than Just A Name Series

• Exodus 20:3-17 (NIV)

[3] You shall have no other gods before me.

[4] You shall not make for yourself an idol. . .

[7] You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. . .

[8] Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. . .

[12] Honor your father and your mother. . .

[13] You shall not murder.

[14] You shall not commit adultery.

[15] You shall not steal.

[16] You shall not give false testimony . . .

[17] You shall not covet.

INTRODUCTION:

In Paul Dickinson’s book What’s in a Name, he has taken his hobby of collecting actual names and has shared them with us. Some names are strange and unusual. Other he says are names that seem to be prophetic. For example, here are some real names from his book:

– Joe Bunt became a baseball coach.

– Dan Druff became a barber.

– Jeff Treadwell became a podiatrist.

– Two men by with the last names of Goforth and Ketchum became police officers and actually became partners (can you imagine: who do we send? Send Goforth and Ketchum)

– Two other men became partners in church equipment, Mr. O’Neill and Mr. Pray.

– Will Crumble became a plaster contractor.

– Mr. P.P. Peters became a urologist.

What’s in a name? In Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet," Romeo asks that very question: "What’s in a name? A rose by any other name still smells just as sweet." Romeo seems to think that names are just arbitrary ways of saying who we are. We might as well call the rose bush a thorn bush, but then how many little girls would be named Thorn? Of course then Rosey O’Donnel would be “Thorney”—I don’t know does that fit her better?

We come today to the third of the Ten Commandment, and it’s important for us to remember that these are God’s Ten Commandments not the 10 suggestions. God’s commandments are eternal; they will never become obsolete or outdated. The Ten Commandments are just as valid today as when God first gave them at Mount Sinai nearly four thousand years ago.

• Exodus 20:7 (NIV)

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven hallowed by thy name” (Matthew 6:9). We have been brought into an intimate relationship with God whereby we not only have the privilege of calling upon the Name of the Lord, but we can call God our Father. May we not be guilty of treating the Name of the Lord as common and ordinary. His is the Name that is above all others.

I. WHAT’S IN A NAME?

1. We give little or no thought to the meaning of a name today.

a) Our name gives us an identity, but seldom does a name reflect our character. You might share a name with someone, but that may be all that you share in common with that person.

ILLUSTRATION: You may be surprised to learn that there are three Greg Ebies. You all of course know me and my son Greg. You may not know that I also have a cousin by the same name. My son Greg and I share a lot in common, but my cousin and I share very little in common. He is a toe head blond that’s losing his hair and you can see that’s not me although my daughters have accused me of losing some hair. My cousin is the shy and quiet type and I’m more gregarious. He’s a paramedic and I’m a pastor. A list of differences could go on and on. And I’m sure that for those who wanted you could find a long list of differences between my son Greg and me as well.

b) Susie and I gave a great deal of thought to what we would name our five kids. Each of the Ebie-fab-five are unique. Chrysta’s name is the most unique; she’s named after Susie’s mom. The Lord told us that we would soon have a second daughter and her name would be Grace. Our family resisted such an old fashioned name, but wants our Gracie was born everyone knew that the name fit her. Greg was of course named after his dad, but we put a little thought into it too. Gregory means vigilant or watchman and Joel means Jehovah it is God; therefore Greg’s name literally means watchman for Jehovah is God. Our Pearl is named after everybody in the family. Mikey is named after Susie’s two brothers.

2. Names carry a great deal of significance.

a) Did you know that your name has a meaning? Do you know the meaning of your name? I looked up some of your names and thought I’d share its meaning with you. Did you know Frank means free or truthful, and that Bert means bright? George means farmer, and Denise means happy. Christy means follower of Christ, and Dean means from the valley. Sean means God is gracious, and Liz means God is my oath. Bill means strong willed warrior, and Tammy means palm tree. Mark means a war-like, and Pam a means all honey. Rich means braves ruler, and Diana means divine.