Hill Thread

Exodus 20:8-11
8 Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You must not do any work-you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

Matthew 12:9-13
9 Moving on from there, He entered their synagogue. 10 There He saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 But He said to them, “What man among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out? 12 A man is worth far more than a sheep, so it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as good as the other.

Related Text:
Genesis 2:1-3
Exodus 16:11-30
Psalm 62:1-5
Mark 2:23-28
Hebrews 4:1-4

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I Have No Idea, But I Know Who Does
For those faithful to Judaism, the Sabbath is a day when all work stops. Sabbath = No Work. During the time of the Old Testament, if someone broke Sabbath laws, that person was judged. In some cases, they could even be put to death. (See Numbers 15:32-36) They weren’t kidding around with this stuff.

In today’s modern times, there is some difficulty in interpreting what is actually work when comparing it to the Old Testament. For instance, the rule that prohibits anyone from making a fire might be difficult to keep today, if you get too specific in your interpretation. Some people would argue that turning on a light shouldn’t be done on the Sabbath because the burning of the filament which creates the light is a controlled fire, and therefore shouldn’t be turned on. There are those faithful to Judaism who are prohibited from turning on anything electrical because they believe it violates the Sabbath. (The word on the street is that they can still leave their refrigerators running to keep their food from spoiling.)

I have friends that don’t go out to eat lunch on Sunday afternoon because in doing so they are creating a need for someone else to work.

I am not a Biblical Scholar by any means. I am sorry to say that I cannot tell you what you should do on the Sabbath. What I can say is that I encourage you to pray and talk to God about it. Ask Him what He would want from you on the Sabbath. As Christians, our Sabbath is basically Sunday. Pray to God and seek what He might want from you on this day. Maybe whatever His answer is will help bring praise and honor to Him. Maybe He will have you do something that sounds bizarre at first, but ultimately makes an impact for His Kingdom. Just Pray.

Exodus 20:7
Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will punish anyone who misuses His name.

Leviticus 24:10-16
10 Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father was among the Israelites. A fight broke out in the camp between the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man. 11 Her son cursed and blasphemed the Name, and they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, a daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan. 12 They put him in custody until the LORD’s decision could be made clear to them.
13 Then the LORD spoke to Moses: 14 “Bring the one who has cursed to the outside of the camp and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole community stone him. 15 And tell the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he will bear the consequences of his sin. 16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD is to be put to death; the whole community must stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the foreign resident or the native.

Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are protected.

Related Text:
Exodus 3:13-15
Psalm 20
Psalm 86:5-12
Acts 4:5-12

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Think About It
Proverbs 18:10 is a great verse to memorize. Not just memorize for memory’s sake, but to apply it to our lives, to make it a reality.

Proverbs 18:10
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are protected.

Don’t just memorize the words, memorize the idea. Memorize the knowledge. Memorize the strength.

We have probably all heard how we shouldn’t cuss. We shouldn’t use God’s name with our cuss words. And we shouldn’t use God’s name as a generic exclamation point when something happens to us.

But I’d like to take this to the positive side. Instead of just focusing on how not to use God’s name, today spend some time to think and reflect on how you can praise the name of the God Most High. Basically, how can we all use god’s name correctly?! Ask God to make the sound of His name so powerful and holy in your life that you really do feel protected when you say it, just like in Proverbs 18:10. God is powerful, and crying out to Him in the midst of horrible stuff will give you peace.

Exodus 20:4-6
4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.

Psalm 115:1-8
1 Not to us, LORD, not to us,
but to Your name give glory
because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth.
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven
and does whatever He pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot make a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.

Related Text:
Deuteronomy 7
Isaiah 44:6-19
Jeremiah 10:1-16
Jeremiah 16:19-21
Matthew 6:19-24
1 John 5:21

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This might get tough

So yesterday’s commandment was to not have any other gods besides the One True God. Today’s study of the 2nd commandment is similar, yet completely different. It’s kind of like God’s follow up to the first commandment just in case there are people who have ADD and didn’t pay full attention to #1.

In Biblical times, an idol referred to a handmade object that was the focus of worship of some sort. People may have worshiped a wooden pigeon, a golden calf, or a ceramic armadillo. The most serious error and sin here is that they were worshiping something other than the One True God.

Is this sort of idol worship even an issue today? Yes and no.

In our society, we may not see people going to worship or burn incense to some kind of man-made object. We may not pass by people trying to sell little hand made statues that we can take home for the specific purpose of worshiping it as a god. But make no mistake, idol worship does exist and in some cases, it is done in the exact same way as it was during the Old Testament.

However, idol worship does exist all around us, even in our own lives sometimes. It creeps in to where we don’t even realize it half the time. When we value stuff above God, we are creating an idol. (Now, you may have heard this all too much before, and you might be ready to check out. Please take a moment to consider, check your life, is there anything that you put before your relationship with God?)

Stuff just creeps into our lives and takes our focus away from God. We have to be aware, so when something begins to take away that focus, we can adjust our schedule, priorities, and wallet so that we remain true to the One who sent His Son to die for our sins.

So how do you know if there is anything in your life that you value above God? No Christian wants to admit that they worship something other than God. But we get tunnel vision with that word “worship”. No, I don’t sing praise snogs to my tv. No I don’t burn incense to my ipod. I have never sacrificed an animal and sprinkled the blood on my car, house, or clothes.

But ask yourself this, “Is there anything in my life that gets in the way of me spending time with God consistently? What get’s in the way of going to church, reading my Bible, praying, singing worship? What takes my focus and attention from the One True God?

This is a tough question for some people to answer. Ask God for humility. Be sincere. Don’t be so ashamed that you never stop to figure out what you can do to remove stuff from your life so you can worship God with everything that you have.

Exodus 20:2-3
2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
3 Do not have other gods besides Me.

1 Chronicles 16:23-31
23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Proclaim His salvation from day to day.
24 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.
25 For the LORD is great and is highly praised;
He is feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and joy are in His place.
28 Ascribe to the LORD, families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;
bring an offering and come before Him.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness;
30 tremble before Him, all the earth.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.
31 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The LORD is King!”

Related Text:
Exodus 18:8-10
Deuteronomy 4:32-39
Deuteronomy 5:1-21
Deuteronomy 13:1-16
Isaiah 37:15-20
Ephesians 4:4-6

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Think On This
Idols were (and many times still are) viewed as having god-like power. People believed that the power of the gods could be contained in the idol that they worshiped. This is one reason why God refused to allow any images (or idols) to be made of Him. Think about it, if He wanted to, couldn’t He have come down from the mountain after chatting with Moses and made an appointment with the local art sculptor? Sure He could have. He’s God. But He knew how ridiculous us humans can get from time to time, and we’d probably start worshiping the man made art instead of God.

(Wait a minute, this exact thing happened. God saved the Israelites from poisonous snake bites by creating a statue of a snake. If the people believed and wanted God to save them, they had to look at the snake statue after they got bit by a snake. – Numbers 21:4-9 – But after a little while, the people started worshiping the snake, so they eventually had to destroy it. – 2 Kings 18:4 – See, we can’t be trusted!)

God didn’t want us to begin to worship a picture or statue of Himself. God wants us to worship and praise Him and only Him. Not a picture or a statue of Him or anything or anyone else. Him alone!

God’s presence and power cannot be limited to a human created object. Idols have no real power, they can be broken, destroyed, or stolen. God is living, and is not bound by a building, a church, a temple, a golden calf, or a statue of a snake. PRAISE GOD THAT HE IS NOT LIMITED TO OUR IMAGINATION OR EXPERTISE IN CONSTRUCTION!

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Exodus 19:1-9
1 In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 After they departed from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.
3 Moses went up the mountain to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain: “This is what you must say to the house of Jacob, and explain to the Israelites: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me. 5 Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, 6 and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation. These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”
7 After Moses came back, He summoned the elders of the people, and put before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. 8 Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the LORD has spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the LORD.
9 The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you and will always believe you.” Then Moses reported the people’s words to the LORD.

Related Text:
Deuteronomy 4:1-20
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Hebrews 8

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Check It Out
Up on the mountain in this passage is where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. We will be reading these commandments over the next 10 days. It is important to recognize that the first 4 commandments provide direction on loving God. The remaining 6 commandments provide instruction on how to live with and relate to one another.

This is why Jesus summed up the commandments in Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Loving the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind = commandments 1-4.

Loving your neighbor as yourself = commandments 5-10.

Be aware today of opportunities to love God and love others!

Psalm 105:1-4
1 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.

Psalm 105:37-45
37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,
and from among their tribes no one faltered.
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
because dread of Israel had fallen on them.
39 He spread out a cloud as a covering,
and a fire to give light at night.
40 They asked, and he brought them quail
and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
like a river it flowed in the desert.
42 For he remembered his holy promise
given to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought out his people with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
44 he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they fell heir to what others had toiled for-
45 that they might keep his precepts
and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD.

Related Text:
Genesis 15
Exodus 15:9-18
John 6
Acts 7:36-38
1 Corinthians 10:1-4

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Try This Out
Today, list one specific area in your life where you need to experience God’s saving power. How can God provide for you in this area? Talk to Him about it. Get real with God today.

Psalm 105:4
Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.

Exodus 14:30-31
30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Exodus 15:1-4
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
“I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3 The LORD is a warrior;
the LORD is his name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.

Exodus 15:11
“Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
Who is like you-
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

Exodus 15:18
The LORD will reign
for ever and ever.”

Related Text:
Psalm 136
Ephesians 5:19-20
Revelation 15:2-4

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A Crazy Idea
Try writing your own praise song to God! It doesn’t have to rhyme, it doesn’t have to be to music, and you don’t have to post it. Just try writing down a few things that you can praise God for from your own personal experiences. It’ll be like your personal testimony praise song. How has God rescued you? How has He been faithful? What has He done in your life that you can praise and worship Him for?

Exodus 14:21-28
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen-the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

Related Text:
Deuteronomy 11:1-4
Joshua 24:5-7
Psalm 114
Psalm 136:13-15
Hebrews 11:23-29

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A Few Words
Ok, so today the Red Sea is known to have a total length of 1,200 miles, and a range between 230 miles in the south, and 130 miles in the north. The greatest depth of the red sea is a bout 7,200 feet. THIS WASN’T A LITTLE PUDDLE! This was huge. When God parted the Red Sea, it was an awesome miracle. Just think about the faith and trust Moses and the rest of the Israelites must have had to take that first step into the path God had just carved out of water! More than likely, they couldn’t see the other side. And the depth would have made it pretty dark down on the sea floor as they walked across. It sounds like the worst part of a scary movie or something. But God did it!

So chew on this. God loves us so much, He will part seas and move mountains for us. He loves us so much, He sacrificed His only Son. He gave Him up to be killed, so we could have forgiveness of our sins. AND SOMETIMES WE STILL DOUBT HIS POWER AND LOVE?!?!?!

Count on God’s love today! Rest in His strength and faithfulness.

Here you go folks!  May 5, 2009, Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas.

Gates open at 5:30 pm.

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www.godofthecity.com

This sounds like an amazing time to get together with your friends, family, neighbors, or complete strangers and worship God!  Go invite everyone you know.  Get your church to gather a group to volunteer.  Not a member of a church, then volunteer as an individual.   Either way, it’s time to get involved!  Praise, worship, serve!