March 17, 2018 - Church at Worship

Sermon: "The Eighth Word: Property" The Ten (Part 8 of 10) by Randy Roberts

Pastoral Welcome: Shawna Campbell

Children's Feature: Joey Oh

Scripture Reading: Exodus 20:15, TNIV read by Patrick Johnson

Sermon Notes:

“You shall not steal.” Four words. Simple. Clear. Direct. Pungent. The eighth commandment. But those words create questions of relevance. What precisely do they mean? How exactly do they apply to me? How does this commandment apply to people who say, “I would never steal something?”

Those are valid questions. After all, as we have worked our way through The Ten, I suspect that we have encountered certain commands which have challenged and convicted us more than did others. We each have areas in our lives where we are aware of the need for deep growth. Because of that, it may be that the words, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” pricked the conscience of some, while the words, “Thou shalt not kill” affected others more profoundly.

However, that being the case, here’s my guess: if asked, most of us would quickly respond that when it comes to the words, “You shall not steal,” we don’t have a problem. We would respond that we are not thieves. “When it comes to the eighth commandment,” we would say, “I’m not concerned. I don’t have a problem with that one.”

In other words, most of us think, “I am not like the two shoplifters caught in Alabama.” The dailymail. co.uk (5/7/07) told this story:

The Scarlet Letter is alive and well in Attalla, Alabama. A judge ordered two shoplifters to stand at a Wal-Mart entrance for eight hours, wearing signs that read, “I am a thief. I stole from Wal-Mart.” “Maybe they’ll think twice about doing it,” said store manager Neil Hawkins.

“That’s not me!” we say. “I’d never do something like that. So I can speed right past this commandment.”

But maybe it would do us all good to slow down, think carefully, pray deeply, and thoughtfully consider the reach of these words. Join me today as we seek to do just that.

Randy Roberts. Senior Pastor