Song for "10 Words to Live By"

Here are the lyrics for the song we're learning during this series. Start practicing. I can't wait to hear you!

Number one, we’ve just begun, God should be first in your life.
Number two’s the idol rule: those graven images aren’t nice.
Number three, God’s name should be never spoken in jest.
Number four, the Sabbath’s for our worship and for rest.
Number five, we all should strive to honor father and mother.
Number six, don’t get your kicks from killing one another.
Number seven, life is heaven when you’re true to your mate.
Number eight, don’t steal and break this rule for goodness sake!
Number nine, don’t be the kind who goes around telling lies.
Number ten, don’t covet when you see your neighbor’s house or wife.
That’s the list and God insists we stay away from these sins;
That is why we memorize commandments one thru ten.

~ Words & Music by Kathie Hill and Janet McMahan

"Allegiance" message follow-up

We're off to a great start in our study on the 10 Commandments. The 10 Commandments are God's curriculum for living as truly free people. These are words to live by!

Here are the two quotes I used at the end of the message today. The first is attributed to C.S. Lewis:

"When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. Insofar as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving toward the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased."

The last quote is John Wesley's Covenant Prayer. It appears in the Methodist Hymnal (I did not use the last phrase):

"I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
Exalted for thee or brought low by thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen."

Lastly, be sure to check out my friend's website that has all the study materials for this series (10 Words to Live By). Greg is a special friend of mine and a great Bible scholar. You'll find lots of material to enrich your personal study.

(Tomorrow I'll post the lyrics to the 10 Commandments song that we're singing each week. You may even get a YouTube video out of me. Who knows!?)

I Don't Want to Be Thin

Ever since I began trying to lose a few pounds using the iPhone "Lose-It" app, I've been thinking about our culture's obsession with thin.

In our world, thinner is better.

How do you know the iPhone 4 is better than the iPhone 3? It's thinner. Same with the iPad 2. It's clearly superior because it's thinner than the original iPad. New TV's are better than older TV's because they're thinner. Same goes with computer laptops. We want thinner electronics, appliances, kitchen gadgets, and camping gear because thinner is better.

Or is it?

Our culture's obsession with thin also begs us to live thinly. The "thinner is better" myth stretches our schedules and flattens our lives. We are losing weight and getting thinner but can anyone see us when we turn sideways? Do our lives count for anything that really matters?

In contrast to our thin-obsessed culture, the Scripture invites us to live thick with purpose and meaning. The Apostle Paul invites us to stop "wasting away" (2 Cor 4:16) and begin preparing for "an eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:17).

The Ten Commandments of the Old Testament are a kind of weight-gaining program for life. More than being a mere list of things to not do, the Ten Commandments are live-giving words by which we can learn to really live. Starting this weekend (August 27-28) I'll be leading us through a 10-week series on these "Ten Words to Live By." My hope and prayer is that we'll all gain some weight ("weight of glory") as we make these words our own.

Check out clpc.org for more information.