| Brett Younger
Adult
• 5 Sessions of Learner’s Materials
• 5 Sessions of Teaching Materials
• 5 Sessions of Bible Background
1. Exodus 20:1-6
2. Exodus 20:7-11
3. Exodus 20:12-13
4. Exodus 20:14, 16
5. Exodus 20:15, 17
I recently preached a series of ten sermons on the Ten Commandments. For the congregation, each sermon was quick and often painless, but for the preacher, it lasted all week. Ministers always try to practice what we preach, but it was particularly difficult during this ten-week stretch when I actually lived with the Ten Commandments.
During the week when I addressed the commandment "I am the Lord your God," I thought about how impoverished I am when I live without a sense of anything bigger than I am. Meanwhile, the second commandment, "Do not make idols," seemed easy enough at first. Besides, I’ve never made even a play-dough graven image. But then I realized how often I am guilty of trying to "explain" God to people.
Moving on to "Do not misuse God’s name," I was led to pay more attention when it was my turn to say grace before dinner. A week later, I slept eight hours each night of our focus on "Remember the Sabbath as a time of rest"; in fact, I thought about God more on that particular Sunday afternoon than I usually do.
During the seven days of "honoring my parents," my mom and dad got four long e-mails and several telephone calls. "Do not murder" became complicated when I started noticing the different ways I treat people as less than children of God.
Before preaching on "Keep your marriage vows," I made a point to shower my wife with adoration. Carol figured out immediately which commandment we were on. "Do not steal" was easy until Thursday when I began thinking of the ways we break this commandment. "Do not lie" made me think about the sacred nature of our words and how often we feel compelled to say, "I really mean that." On the tenth week, I tried not to covet, but I really wanted to preach a good sermon on coveting.
When the Ten Commandments are in the news, it is usually because a judge or teacher has hung them up on the walls. The Ten Commandments do not need to be posted or even preached nearly so much as they need to be practiced. They need to be taken down from the wall and talked about, defended as well as debated, but most of all, they need to be taken seriously. Then, rather than seeing them as tokens, insults, or negative "thou-shalt-nots," we will view them as life-giving, joyful affirmations of a better way of life.
Brett Younger serves as Associate Professor of Preaching at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University. A resident of Lilburn, Georgia, he has pastored churches in Texas, Kansas, and Indiana. He is the author of Who Moved My Pulpit? A Hilarious Look at Ministerial Life.
Cecil Sherman is the commentary writer for Ten Commandments. He has pastored churches in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and New Jersey. He has most recently served as visiting professor of pastoral ministries at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is also author of the five-volume Formations Commentary series.
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