A
Blank
check
of
Obedience
Texts:
Exodus
20.3/Deuteronomy
5.6-7
Matthew
22.34-40
Series:
10
Commandments
–
Old
Words
For
A
New
Day
Delivered
by:
Dr.
William
M.
Smutz
This
past
Thursday
was
the
last
day
of
school
for
my
youngest
son,
Jacob…..
So
you
can
imagine
what
he
did
on
Friday…..not
much!
He
slept
in
late,
foraged
in
the
refrigerator,
messed
around
on
the
computer,
play
video
games
with
his
brother,
goofed
around
with
friends…..When
I
talked
to
him
late
in
the
afternoon
and
suggested
he
might
want
to
start
reading
the
new
book
we
got
him
a
couple
of
weeks
ago
–
the
one
he
wanted
so
much
–
you
would
have
thought
I
was
some
deranged
stranger
speaking
gibberish!!!
Those
of
you
who
have
also
finished
another
school
year
in
recent
days
or
weeks,
may
have
a
similar
story
to
tell…..Of
that
initial,
joyous
burst
of
freedom;
where
your
time
is
suddenly
yours;
and
expectations
like
finishing
your
math,
and
studying
for
the
social
studies
test,
no
longer
matter.
Maybe
you
also
stayed
up
late,
and
slept
in,
and
blew
off
a
little
steam,
and
enjoyed
not
following
a
regular
schedule
for
a
few
days…..
The
people
of
And
so
the
people
of
And
after
hundreds
of
years
of
being
slaves,
they
didn’t
just
sleep
in
a
bit,
and
spend
a
day
or
two
goofing
around….The
people
of
While
Moses
was
away,
some
of
the
people
began
to
think
that
God
and
Moses
had
abandoned
them;
that
God
had
brought
them
out
into
the
desert
to
die….And
they
began
to
take
gold
jewelry
and
melt
it
down,
and
make
it
into
a
golden
cow
and
worship
it
as
their
new
god!
Up
on
the
mountain,
God
told
Moses
that
the
people
of
Israel
needed
some
new
rules….Not
the
kind
of
rules
they
had
known
as
slaves,
where
they
had
no
freedom…..But
rules
that
would
give
the
people
boundaries
for
their
behavior
–
everything
up
to
this
point
is
OK,
but
not
beyond
it;
you
can
do
all
of
this,
but
not
that.
Boundaries
are
what
the
people
of
Now,
the
most
important
item
on
a
list
is
generally
the
one
given
first
–
and
that
is
the
case
with
the
Ten
Commandments.
“You
shall
have
no
other
gods
before
me,”
is
a
boundary
that
acknowledges
that
there
are
lots
of
things
that
we
might
worship
in
the
world,
lots
of
things
we
might
consider
to
be
attractive
enough
to
call
a
god
–
small
‘g’…….But
that
there
is
only
one
God
–
capital
‘G’
–
that
we
will
be
loyal
to;
that
we
will
be
obedient
to.
Command
is
not
a
form
of
communication
that
we
care
for
or
tolerate
well.
Any
of
us
who
have
ever
had
someone
issue
us
a
command,
knows
how
little
we
care
for
such
speech.
About
the
only
way
we
are
comfortable
with
commandments,
is
if
we’re
the
one
giving
them…..right?!
So
what
are
we
to
do
with
the
Ten
Commandments
in
general,
and
this
first
one
in
particular?
Jesus
does
make
the
language
of
the
first
commandment
a
bit
more
appealing
in
our
Gospel
lesson:
“You
shall
love
the
Lord
your
God
with
all
your
heart,
and
with
all
your
soul,
and
with
all
your
mind,”……Yet,
it
is
still
a
commandment!
While
we
all
think
about
trying
to
follow
commandments,
I
want
to
talk
very
directly
to
our
confirmation
class
about
what
their
joining
with
us
means;
what
it
means
to
be
people
who
claim
commandments
and
boundaries
in
your
lives……
I
want
to
welcome
you
who
are
confirming
those
promises
your
parents
took
on
your
behalf
so
long
ago,
when
you
were
baptized….You
who
are
saying
on
your
own
now,
this
is
the
God
that
I
will
follow;
these
are
the
boundaries
I
will
agree
to
in
my
life…..
You
deserve
to
know
just
how
much
the
rest
of
us
who
have
been
church
members
for
awhile,
struggle
with
this
first
commandment
to
have
no
other
God.
You
deserve
to
know
that
we
are
constantly
tempted
to
worship
other
things
as
gods……little
‘g’…..Money,
power,
beauty,
independence,
pleasure,
possessions,
family,
politics,
work,
academics,
technology,
self….This
list
goes
on
and
on,
nearly
forever…..For
almost
anything
and
everything
can
be
turned
into
a
god,
can
become
the
object
of
our
worship
if
we
let
it.
You
need
to
know
that
we
live
in
a
world
that
is
a
lot
more
interested
in
our
worshipping
anything
but
the
God
who
gives
us
commandments
and
boundaries,
the
God
who
gives
us
Jesus,
and
invites
us
to
love
all
people.
You
need
to
know
that
the
promises
you
have
made
today,
to
live
faithfully,
to
live
within
the
boundaries,
that
God
has
set…..That
it
is
a
hard
thing
you
have
said
‘yes’
to…..That
it
will
not
always
be
easy
to
keep
your
promises,
and
live
within
the
boundaries
that
God
sets
for
us….And
you
also
need
to
know,
that
all
the
rest
of
us
are
with
you
today,
and
will
be
with
you
tomorrow
helping
you
keep
your
promises,
helping
you
live
within
the
boundaries
that
God
has
set
for
all
of
us;
helping
you
be
the
faithful
disciples
of
Jesus
Christ
that
you
have
committed
to
be…..
You
need
to
know
that
we
will
travel
with
you
on
this
new
journey
of
faith,
just
like
our
parents
and
grandparents
and
friends
and
church
family
journeyed
with
us,
when
we
stood
where
you
stood,
and
made
similar
promises.
You
need
to
know
that
all
of
us
still
need
help
keeping
this
first
commandment
and
the
other
nine….And
that
now
we
will
also
be
looking
to
you
in
a
new
way,
to
help
us
when
we
are
tempted
to
worship
something
else
besides
the
God
who
gives
us
commandments
and
boundaries
and
Jesus
Christ!
I
don’t
know
if
you
all
will
ever
learn
to
take
care
of
money
by
writing
checks.
It
seems
to
me
that
debit
cards
have
mostly
replaced
them.
But
if
you
do
ever
use
checks,
you
will
learn
never
to
sign
your
name
to
a
check
without
putting
in
an
amount…..or
someone
could
come
along,
and
fill
in
whatever
number
they
wanted,
and
empty
your
bank
account.
For
once
you’ve
signed
a
check,
it
is
good…..
Agreeing
to
be
a
disciple
of
Jesus
Christ;
agreeing
to
follow
the
God
who
gives
us
the
Ten
Commandments
is
like
signing
a
blank
check
of
obedience.
We
have
signed
our
name
on
the
signature
line,
and
said
we
will
follow
God,
whatever
the
cost,
whatever
amount
God
writes
on
our
check.
Thankfully
we
worship
a
God
who
knows
us
and
loves
us;
a
God
who
knows
what
we
are
able
to
give;
a
God
who
helps
us
give
what
is
asked
of
us!
Confirmands,
I
am
so
glad
you
are
here
today;
so
happy
you
are
part
of
this
community
in
a
new
way;
and
so
excited
to
share
the
journey
of
faith
with
you.
Welcome!
A
great
way
to
start
a
new
journey
together
is
with
a
meal.
God’s
table
is
already
set
for
us
today.
Let’s
eat!
Amen!!!