May 8, 2022
Idolatry and Freedom
- Rev. Beth Wagner
Matthew 22: 34-40 from the Common English Bible Great Commandment
34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had left the Sadducees speechless, they met together. 35One of them, a legal expert, tested him. 36 “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being,[a ] and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. [b ] 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
Exodus: 20: 1- 11 Common English Bible The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You must have no other gods before[a ] me. Page 2 4Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the LORD your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents’ sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. 6 But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation[b ] of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 Do not use the LORD your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the LORD won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way. 8 Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. 9 Six days you may work and do all your tasks, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. Do not do any work on it—not you, your sons, or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you. 11 Because the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.