Feb 15
16
Prayer
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
Address God and Praise Him for Who He Is (Matthew 6:11)
- The Names of God: Adonai
- Meaning: The Lord, My Great Lord
- Psalm 8; Isaiah 40:3-5; Ezekiel 16:8; Habakkuk 3:19
Thank God for All That He Has Provided (Ephesians 5:20)
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Pray For the Ministry of Other Churches (Matt. 28:18-20)
- The Promise, Hemet CA – Website
Pray For the Gospel to Spread Among All Peoples (Matt. 9:37-38)
- Country: Uganda
- Population: 36,600,000
- Religion: Catholic 42{e0b72a53c242df1424785628340537005f8b2ebeecfbb0205a95286f7b4c8fc9}, Muslim 12{e0b72a53c242df1424785628340537005f8b2ebeecfbb0205a95286f7b4c8fc9}
- Local Languages 41
- Click here for information about Uganda on how to pray for this country.
- Heart Cry Missionary Society
“Give us this day our daily bread”
Pray For Yours and Your Family’s Needs (Matthew 6:11)
Pray For One Another (James 5:16)
- Log into the CITY for a list of families to pray for.
Pray For Those Who Feed, Lead, And Care For The Flock (Col. 4:3; 2 Thess. 3:1)
- Elders: Joe Anady, Steve Bovee, Kris Vanderschuit
- Deacons: Dave Anady, Mike Thezier
Pray For Kings And Those In Authority (1 Timothy 2:2)
- Local: Hemet & San Jacinto Council Member – Robert Youssef, Mark Bartel
- State: Govenor – Jerry Brown
- Nation: Representative – Raul Ruiz, Ken Calvert
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Ask Forgiveness From God And Others. Forgive Those Who Sinned Against You. (1 John 1:9)
“lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Pray That God Would Strengthen Us From Giving Into Temptation (James 1:12-17).
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Worship through Song
Sunday Worship Set
All the songs are linked to iTunes or you can listen to them for free on other sites.
- “Praise the Father, Praise the Son” by Chris Tomlin
- Nothing But the Blood
- “Not in Me” by The Gospel Coalition
- I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)
- “O Great God” by Sovereign Grace Music
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Preparing for the Lord’s Day
Our Sermon Text for This Sunday: Matthew 8:1-17
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Catechism – Instruction of God’s Word
Doctrinal Standard BC #59 & 60
- Q. Which is the third commandment?
- A. The third commandment is, “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.”
- Q. What is required in the third commandment?
- A. The third commandment requires the holy and reverent use of God’s names, titles, attributes, ordinances, words, and works.
Memory Verse(s)
- Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:4, ESV).
Scripture
- Study Passage: Jeremiah 23:5-6
- Support Passages: Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Genesis 22:14; Judges 6:24; Psalm 68:4; Philippians 2:9-11
- Bible Story: Exodus 17
Thoughts
- “’O Lord, our Lord,’ says the Psalmist, ‘how excellent is thy name in all the earth’ (Ps. 8:1). What the Psalmist means is that God’s name is not a mere word – not an empty title. No, God’s name means something. And it means something because God has revealed his name in all the earth. The whole world is a revelation of the meaning of God’s name. Just as the name Rembrandt has meaning because of His works of creation and providence. We do not really know God’s name, in other word, until we learn His fame! This is what Jesus meant when he said, ‘I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world’ (John 17:6). Jesus revealed God the father to the disciples. This He did by doing the great works of God before them. From this we see that God’s name really includes everything that reveals God as He records for us, without error, the revelation that God has made of himself. Names such as Lord, Father, Creator, etc., are a part of that revelation. So are titles, such as omnipotent, Counselor, Comforter, etc. We learn that God is holy, merciful, just, etc. And we hear His word, and (through the record of Scripture) learn of His works. All of these help us to understand what it means to say God, or Lord. It is when we learn to know God as He really is, and then speak His name, that we begin to understand what this commandment is concerned to teach us.
- The popular view is that a man takes God’s name in vain only when he uses that name in a profane manner. We say that God’s name is taken in vain when men swear or curse. And, of course, this is an example of taking God’s name in vain. People will sometimes excuse themselves on the grounds that they do not really mean it when they use God’s name this way. They will say they do not even realize that they are using God’s name – they do it without even thinking. But this is the very thing that the third commandment condemns. The word ‘vain’ means exactly this: carelessly or without thought. It means to use a very important word as if it had no high and holy meaning.
- But let us imagine that this is all that the third commandment teaches us! No, in order to understand the meaning of this commandment more clearly we need to ask a question. What does it mean to take God’s name? Literally it means to ‘lift up’ that name. It means that we lift up the name of God and identify ourselves with Him. We can illustrate this by thinking of what a woman does when she marries. She takes her husband’s name. If she really means it when she takes her marriage vows, she takes her husband’s name permanently (‘till death do us part,’ she will say). She does not take his name in vain! In a similar way, a Christian will confess his faith before men. He will vow – or swear – before men that he takes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And it is this, above all, that the third commandment is concerned with. We must be certain – when we confess our faith – that we really mean it. We must be certain that we do not take His name in vain! ‘Be not rash with thy mouth,’ says the Bible, ‘and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few… When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou has vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay’ (Eccl. 5:2, 4-5). It is so easy to go through the motions, and say the words, without deep sincerity of heart! It is easy to have the form of godliness, while denying power thereof!” [1]
Discussion Questions
- What is the third commandment? Read it from either Deuteronomy 5 or Exodus 20.
- What does it mean to take the Lord’s name in vain?
- What does God’s name represent?
- How is saying that you are a Christian but living like the world taking the Lord’s name in vain?
- How is just going through the motions while singing, praying, reading, or listening to God’s word also taking the Lord’s name in vain? Explain.
- What does this reveal about our heart?
- What do we do to help overcome this sin problem?
[1] Williamson, C.I. (2003). The Westminster Shorter Catechism – 2nd Edition. Phillipsburg, New Jersey, USA; P&R Publishing Company.
