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In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Last week, we began our journey through the Ten Commandments with the 1^stCommandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” It is important for us to remember there that God is giving us the gift of Himself as our God. He wants us to fear, love, and trust Him above all things. He wants us to let Him, and Him alone, be our God because He has promised and given us His steadfast love and mercy.

Tonight, we consider the 2^nd and 3^rd Commandments which completes what is usually called the “first table” of the Law.

Before I get into the 2^nd and 3^rd Commandments, I want to mention something about how the Ten Commandments are numbered. Scripture gives us the Commandments twice (Ex. 20:1-17and Dt. 5:6-21). If you simply took all the things that God said in those texts, you would probably come up with at least eleven commandments (if not twelve commandments). But in Exodus 34:18and a couple other verses (Dt. 4:13& 10:4), you see that God calls them the Ten Commandments (lit. ‘Ten Words’). When God gives the Commandments in Deuteronomy, the commandments about coveting – house; wife, workers, cattle, etc. – are reversed, so we know that the way we number them doesn’t matter too much.

The most important thing is to have ten of them and make sure all God’s words are included. The way we Lutherans have them ordered works nice because the first three deal with our love for God and the last seven deal with our love for our neighbor.

One more thing before we get into the 2^ndCommandment: When we think of sin, we think some sins are greater than others. Our conscience (which is good, but we have to remember that our conscience is fallen and doesn’t always work the way it should), our conscience will tell us lying isn’t as bad as stealing which isn’t as bad as murdering. A lot of times, our conscience doesn’t even register sins against the first three Commandments – even though it should. Hopefully, this sermon will convict us and help us to be more mindful of our sins against God so that we cry out to Him for His mercy and forgiveness won for us by Jesus on the cross. And I pray that this sermon will show us what great gifts we are given in the 2^ndand 3^rdCommandments.

The 2nd Commandment
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.

What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, conjure, lie, or deceive by His Name, but call upon Him in every time of need and worship Him with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.

In the 2^ndCommandment, God gives us the gift of His name to use in prayer.

God does not want us to misuse His name this is very true. The Jews were so careful about God’s name that they wouldn’t even speak His name. And too often we think that if we don’t go around saying, “Oh my God,” all the time that we have kept this Commandment. We are wrong.

God does not want us to misuse His name, but He does, in fact, want us to use His name properly.

When I was in Bible school, I somehow got the responsibility of keeping the pop machine in the men’s dorm stocked. The year was coming to a close, and I was asked to teach another student how to do it so he could take over the following year after I graduated. The pop was stored in a closet that was locked and had a sliding door. As I was showing him the process, we went to get more pop, but the door had gotten jammed in the tracks. I hefted and jerked and pulled, but I couldn’t get the door to open. I was getting really frustrated.

This little guy (he was from a foreign country) stepped in between me and the door and said, “In the name of Jesus,” right before he yanked on the handle. I remember thinking to myself, “This poor guy. God doesn’t care about a door that is guarding pop.” But do you know what? The door opened. And I was convicted. Here was a need, minor as it was, and his little prayer was answered.

Here’s the point. God wants you to use His name. God wants you to call on Him whenever you face trouble, and He wants you to use His name to praise Him whenever you have joy.

I would encourage you to make it a habit that when you have a need – no matter how big or small it is – to at least pray, “Lord, have mercy.” God hears that prayer and answers it. And whenever something good happens, pray, “Thanks be to God.” Both of these help you use God’s name correctly.

The 3rd Commandment
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise His Word and the preaching of the same, but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it.

In the 3^rdCommandment, God gives us the gift of His Word which makes us holy.

Sabbath means ‘rest.’ That is why that day is called the Sabbath because God rested from His work in creation. And holy means ‘set apart.’

The main word, the main focus, in this Commandment is ‘holy.’ If simply resting was the main thing in this Command, then taking a nap makes you holy or sleeping in on Sundays and missing church would be a good work. Some Christians will take this Commandment to mean that you shouldn’t put gas in your car on Sunday so businesses will stay closed, or some will say that you should not mow your lawn on Sunday because you are doing work. But resting and not working is not the point of this Commandment. If it is, pastors are constantly breaking this Commandment because, of course, they only work on Sundays.

The main point of this Commandment is rather to set apart a day for holy things. As Christians, we keep this Commandment on Sundays instead of Saturdays (when it originally was) because we weekly celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus.

The most holy thing we have is God’s Word. 1 Timothy 4:4-5says that everything is made holy by the Word of God and prayer. So in this Commandment, God wants you to set apart, to make holy, a day where He makes you holy through His Word.

Jesus did many miracles on the Sabbath day because He came to restore what sin has broken in this world. He made people holy and whole by a simple Word from His mouth. Jesus still does this today. He invites you to come here and hear His Word which makes you holy.

As His people, may we repent of our lack of prayer and our indifference toward His Word. And may we honor His name by receiving what He freely gives us – His mercy and forgiveness won on the cross. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.