you you you. Good morning. Howdy, partners. Welcome to Wonder Junction. And this week our Vacation Bible School will take us to Wonder Junction. It will be a wonderful week, and we're praying for God to make this a great week of ministry to families and children. I hope that you're praying, and I'm going to ask you to pray for God to do a good and eternal work through our Vacation Bible School outreach this coming week. It starts tonight goes through Thursday. Our team's done a great job in preparation, and very exciting, and we're trusting God for good things. And I know you're going to believe God for good things, and ask God for good things. and you can still if you want to pick up an invitation to bring somebody and say hey listen it started this week and I don't want you to miss it so it'll be a great opportunity. Alright something else I want to tell you about is our Growing in Wisdom journal. If you didn't pick your copy up last week then we are this summer growing in wisdom. We're challenging ourselves to read a chapter of the Proverbs every day corresponding with the day of the month. So by the time the summer's done, you will have read, if you started on the first of June, will have read the book of Proverbs through three times. And in the journal there are a number of challenges. There's a reading challenge, and there's a place you can mark when you've read your proverb for the day. There is a challenge to memorize a proverb, three proverbs throughout the summer. There's a challenge to share, and there's even a challenge to the banner. I don't know if you saw the banner when you came in. but already some people have written down some of the things that they've learned and the proverbs that they learned from and it'll be a real testimony for not only what God's doing in your life but it'll be a blessing to everyone else that walks by and reads how God is working in each other's life and it challenges us all so you can pick up your journal on the way out it'll be a great guide for you and if you say oh wait I didn't start on the first that's okay start today and then you'll be amazed and grateful for what God does in your life this summer so and we're going to try to highlight a proverb every Sunday that we're this summer and out of the reading today wisdom is speaking and the Lord of course is the God of wisdom and wisdom says this in Proverbs 8 verse 17 I love them that love me and those that seek me early shall find me." Isn't it? That's great. God is a God that loves people that seek Him, and if you want to seek Him, you'll find Him, because He wants you to know Him. And that ought to be an encouragement to all of us today. Let's remember our mission here at Stanley Heights is to glorify God by developing and deploying disciples in this generation for the next through the power of Christ. And then I also want to mention that just to let you know, I, after church today, I go, Vicki and I go down to the Reserve Center, Navy Reserve Center, I'm a Navy Reserve Chaplain, as you know, and we have a retirement ceremony down there. And then from there we go to the, I go to the airport, and I have a required training that I will be at for several weeks for annual training. So I'm hoping that for one or two of these weeks that the Navy will let me fly back home. But I'm not sure. I'm not going to trust the Navy in that regard. So, but maybe I'll see you sooner than later. We will see how that goes, and they haven't given me a word back on that. So I want to let you know that's where I'll be. And then today, and as we open the word in biblical preaching, can ancient wisdom make a difference in the modern family? Well that's in our final sermon on the Ten Commandments, a series, Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Family. We're going to answer that question. Alright, with that said would you stand with me to pray, and then after that remain standing and we will sing to our Lord. Let's pray. Now God we come to you with a I think with an expectation. I think that's a good way to come, because you say that you love people that seek you, and when we seek we will find you. You want to be found. and so we are coming with an expectation that you will honor your own word and will meet with us and speak to us today as we sing songs that tell of your truth as we pray and seek you as we hear the word preached and all of us respond I pray oh God that your spirit would meet with us in a powerful way now as we come this morning and thanking you for the opportunity to worship you and to spend these moments and invest them for things that are eternal. It is our prayer as well for the the Vacation Bible School tonight. It is our prayer that You would allow this to make an eternal difference, that You would bring children and families, and that there would be people that would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that an eternal work would be done in these days. So God we ask for You to do this, and we're praying it in faith, and believing that You can, believing that You will, and so we are grateful to bring it to you so in this service with all that we're doing and all that will happen our focus on missions and world evangelism in it all we pray that ultimately as our mission statement says that God would be glorified and Lord we pray this for your sake in the name of Jesus amen. Let's sing of our hope this morning it's found in Christ alone In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my life, my strength, my strong. His cornerstone, beside God, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are sealed, when strivings cease. I come for joy, all in all, here in the home of Christ I stand. In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless pain. In a fifth of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save, Turned on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin and every flame, Here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground His body lay Light of the world by darkness slain Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave He rose again And as He stands in victory Sin's curse has lost its grip on me I am His and He is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me. Life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand. Please be seated. Well, I'm so glad that you're here today. If you are a guest for the very first time, We have for you a connection point booklet. It'll tell you about us. It'll be a guide for our time. It's yours to keep. And I know it'll be helpful to you. So if you are a guest for the first time, here's what we're going to ask you to do. Just raise your hand, that's all. And our ushers will give you your copy of this book. It's yours to keep. There is also something else. With this, there's a guest card. We would love for you to complete that guest card with a street address or an email address. and put it either in an offering box that you'll see behind you or to your right as you leave or you can hand it to one of our ushers and you can expect that we will say thank you for being our guest here at Stanley Heights Baptist Church. Well we are learning this year the answer to the question, who am I? And we're dealing with the subject of identity with all the confusion that is taking place on this, around this subject. We are really discovering what God says about you and the freedom and power that you experience when you see yourself the way God sees you. and we've learned so much already so far this year there's much to learn for the rest of the year but in the month of June we are learning the answer to the question who am I with this in Jesus Christ I am an adopted child of God That means that I have the privilege of an intimate father-child relationship. I have the confidence of hope, the confident hope of my eternal inheritance. I am a child of the King of Kings. I have been blessed with access to the spiritual resources to fulfill God's plan for me to glorify Him. There's a Bible study that you can take the Scriptures and open them and go further into the study of the word, but we are going to learn and say this month Romans chapter 8 and verse 15 lifting our voices together for ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father I want to introduce you to Lily King she was here for our church picnic and a couple Sundays ago and I wanted to, and I introduced her to you at the church picnic, but I want to make sure I introduce her to you again. Lily is, in fact, Lily, how do you stand? Where'd you go, Lily? I saw her somewhere. There she goes. There's Lily. Say, all right, there you go. Hey, thank you. You can be seated. Lily is a student at Ambassador Baptist College, and she is doing an internship, and she's doing it with International Board of Jewish Missions, and she was on the trip to New York City. A number of our folks were on that trip as well. In fact, in a couple of weeks there will be a missions report about that trip to New York City, ministering to Jewish people. So I'm looking forward to that very, very much. So she is a student ambassador, and we are working together with International Board of Jewish Missions, and Stanley Heights, and the Chattanooga Rescue Mission to give her an internship and exposure to many different kinds of ministry this summer. And so we're very glad that Lily is here. Make sure that you meet her, get to know her, and invest in her. She is from Rutgersville, Virginia. And so we're really glad that she's here and very grateful for the opportunity. We've never done this before with a young lady. So this is a new experience for all of us. And boy, she is a real trooper if she's willing to try something new. And that is a great spirit of adventure. So I'm glad that she is part of it. All right, very good. Well, oh, it's time for children's worship. So boys and girls, come on down. Let's see what we find today. Let me, I'm gonna keep this here. All right, let's see what we have in the box today. All right, would you be my box holder? You would? Okay, you're the box holder. Thank you very much. There's the lid too. Can you be the lid holder too? Okay, very good, very good. What is this? What is this? Does anyone know what that is, seriously? I think I know, but I don't really know. I mean, if I guess I'd be wrong, I'm sure. A little boo-boo. A little what? Ella boo-boo. Ella boo-boo? Ella boo-boo. I'm not getting that. Could you spell it for me? That's a hard one to spell, isn't it? Ella boo-boo. Am I close enough? Ella boo-boo? La boo-boo. Oh, la boo-boo. La boo-boo. OK, it's la boo-boo. Did any of you other kids know what this was? Is this like your favorite one? Okay, so I really have no idea what this is. It says here the monsters, right? Can you tell me a little bit about this and maybe we can learn something. They come in boxes and you could get any type of one and there's a secret and There's a secret? There's secret monsters? What's the secret? I don't know. Oh, it's a secret. I don't know the secret. You don't know the secret. Yeah, because I don't have it. Because you don't have the secret. How do you find the secret? You got to have it in those little boxes. You get a box, and there's one of those inside. OK. But it's in another box, the secret. Okay. Do you have to like buy other boxes and hope you get the secret? Oh. Okay. Wow. That sounds so confusing to me. My goodness. Okay. Well, that's really interesting. Okay. I'm sorry. I hope you get to find the secret. That'd be sort of exciting when you get the secret, isn't it? Man, what if I said, I can tell you the secret to have $5 million by the time you're 12 years old. Would you like that secret? Man, you would. How many of you adults would like to know that secret? In fact, they might run you kids over to find if I knew the secret. Put your mind at ease. I don't know the secret. I really don't. I don't know the secret to it. What if I could tell you the secret? Hmm, I don't know. There's so many secrets out there. What do you do when you don't know the secret? because there are some secrets you just don't know. The Bible talks about the secrets that God keeps. Did you know God has some secrets? Some things that he doesn't share with us. You'll find this about God's secrets in Deuteronomy 29, 29. The Bible says, and I hope I quote this right, that the secret things belong unto the Lord. But, what He's commanded or revealed, I forget how the Bible says it, are for us and our children. And it reminds us that there are some things that God knows that we don't know. And what do you do when you don't know what God knows but you'd like to know? Do you know what you do? You just accept that there are some things that God knows that I don't know. There are reasons God does things that I don't know. And It's really a great relief in your life when you don't have to try to figure everything out, because you're never going to figure everything out. And you're never going to figure God out all the way, because He's such a great God. But I'll tell you what God did say. While there are secret things that belong to Him, we trust Him with those things, God has revealed what we need to know. And whenever you go to God's word, God shows you what you need to know. And you just think about it, how exciting it's gonna be when you find the secret to La Boo Boo, the monsters. And you're gonna say, oh, that's so awesome. And what happens when you learn God's truth is that God is saying, I've got a secret for you. And you say, oh God, I'm so glad you showed me something that's gonna help me. It's something that honors you and it's true. So man, I didn't know if I'd ever get there. And that ended up being great. Thank you for doing a good job on that. And I've learned that was a new thing to me. So thank you for that. All right, you're the box holder. You did a good job today. Thank you for holding the box. Who's going to take this? Oh, there's so many. You want that box? There you go. All right. Well, children, I hope you have a great this week at Vacation Bible School. I hope you're ready to go for a great week at Wonder Junction. I almost said the Grand Canyon. Wonder Junction. And I'm so glad that you shared children's worship with us today. All right? Okay, you can go back to your seats at this time. Today in our bulletin, we're highlighting our missionaries Aaron and Christa Reisinger, missionaries in the Amazon Basin, based primarily in the country of Colombia, but have extended ministry up and down the Amazon River, encompassing many, many countries there in South America that the Amazon passes through. But they've not even been on the field now for a year yet. And they were recently able to take their first trip up to Amazon, doing medical clinics in different villages along the Amazon River. And he reported in his prayer letter that they, I think it was five different villages there, that they were able to do these medical clinics, meeting the physical needs of people, but also preaching and giving out the gospel and has had several professions of faith. He said many of these villages had little to no gospel witness at all up to that point. So many of them were hearing the gospel for the first time and several got saved. And this is going to be a real extent of their ministry as they go into these villages up and down the Amazon doing these medical clinics. meeting the physical needs. Of course, that draws a great number of people there in those villages, but able to present the gospel as well and meet their spiritual needs. So he's really praising the Lord that they're able to be involved in this and really pray for their safety as they go on these trips. As you know, there's a lot of drug cartel and all kinds of evil things that go along up and down the Amazon. really be in prayer for them as they undertake these things. But we'll praise the Lord on behalf of the Reisingers here in just a moment. But also we're focusing today on Rob and Angela Willoughby, who we support in the country of Estonia. They have a big week ahead of them this week. Their VBS actually starts tomorrow. And this is always the major outreach of their church and reaching children and then reaching their families as well. So they're put a lot of work into this. A lot of the teens are involved. They're asking that God will really speak to their teens during this week and maybe call them to serve him as well through this. But they've also passed out 8,000 tracts around their city there and asking for the fruit for these. these tracks that they've distributed, that people will be saved and come to church. So we'll pray for these things on behalf of the Willoughbys as well in just a moment. But this week is a big week for us. As you know, Wonder Junction starts tonight, our VBS here. And during this week, we have a special opportunity to be involved in helping another one of our missionaries, Michael and Nora Dietrich, who we support in the Solomon Islands. Many of our men in our church, some of our men in our church several years ago had the opportunity to go to the Solomon Islands on a Bible distribution project in the schools there. Some of us worked on the island of Maleta, which is one of the big islands. The rest of us worked on the island of Guadalcanal, which is where I was involved as I went on that trip. Just distributing Bibles through the high schools all throughout the islands there. But this week we have a special opportunity to be involved in giving an offering to the Dietrichs. They planted Pacific Light Baptist Church there in Guadalcanal on the island there in the capital city of Honiara. God has provided them a wonderful piece of land that is up for sale that they are trying to purchase to build a church on that property. And I can picture in my mind where this land is. It's right between the airport. and the main hub of the capital city there. And a lot of foot traffic goes by that one piece of property. So this will be a great opportunity for them if God could grant this for them. A lot of the money has already come in, but they're still in need of funds to get over the top to purchase this land. And right now, we're going to show a video highlighting this need that we're going to be involved in VBS this week. Hello, everyone. Pacific Light Baptist Church has a wonderful opportunity here in the capital city of the Solomon Islands, and we need your help. March 16th of this year, we voted unanimously to install our first Solomon Island pastor. This was a huge answer to prayer and the next step in becoming a self-supporting local church. We celebrated our two-year anniversary together and welcomed Pastor Joseph into pastoral leadership at Pacific Light Baptist Church. For years, we have been searching for the right piece of property to become a permanent home for our growing church. Land here in the capital city is hard to come by. Just a couple of days ago, an incredible piece of property became available. It is a half hectare lot in a prime location, close to the main road in town and a bus stop. It is also in between the center of town and the airport, which is the fastest growing area of town right now. It really is an ideal location for Pacific Light Baptist Church to gather, worship, grow, and serve. Two years ago, this land was listed at $375,000 USD. Now the total cost with all closing fees is just $189,000, but they want a fast cash sale. This is an incredible deal, but the market is competitive, and we must act quickly. The membership of Pacific Life Baptist Church desires to build their own building, and it has been amazing to see their sacrificial giving already towards that need. $64,000 has already been given by generous donors and supporters of the ministry here. We now need $125,000 to close the gap and purchase this land before it's sold. This is where you come in. Your generous donation, no matter the size, will help us close that gap and reach our goal of being able to purchase this land. A place where believers here in Honiara can grow in faith for generations to come. In addition to our church building, we dream of a training center where men and women from all over the islands can come to prepare for ministry. We dream of a Christian school where our children can receive a quality education and grow in grace and the knowledge of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please pray with us. We know God can take our little and grow it to something that is beyond our wildest imagination, just like He did with that little boy's lunch on a hillside in Galilee so many years ago. Visit BaptistWorldMission.org to donate today or contact us directly at MDTrickAtMe.com Thank you and may God bless you. What a wonderful opportunity we have to be involved in this project. As he said, you can give toward this yourselves. Our VBS offering that the kids bring will go toward this. But if you'd like to give, you can designate that on your offering envelope and put it in the offering box. And we'll be sure that that gets to that giving project so that they can purchase this land. And what a wonderful light that will be in that community and for many generations to come. So let's pray for that project today and pray for offering, pray for our missionaries as we pray. Let's pray. Father, we do love you this morning, Lord. Thank you so much for what you're doing all over the world, Lord, and specifically in these countries, Lord. And we think of just the praises on behalf of the Reisingers and going into these villages up and down the Amazon River, Lord. And many of these people had never heard the gospel and We just thank you that so many professions of faith were made, and we just thank you that they can be involved in this way in meeting physical and spiritual needs of people. Lord, we pray for the Willoughbys as well, and just pray that you'd just bless their VBS this week and help them to just really minister to these kids. We think of our own VBS and just a real outreach we have this week. We pray for this project on behalf of the D-Church, Lord. May you just bring in the rest of the funds and just allow us the opportunity to be involved in giving and praying that these funds will come in. And may that church, that land that is purchased, Lord willing, be a real light in that community for generations to come. Bless our offerings today. use them for the furtherance of your work in Jesus name amen we sang earlier that our hope is in Christ alone we'll continue singing of that hope 406 my hope is in the lord my hope is in the lord who gave himself for me and paid the Him at Calvary. For me He died, for me He lives, and everlasting life and light He freely gives. No merit of my own his anger to suppress my only hope is found in Jesus righteousness for me he died for me and everlasting life and light he freely gives. His grace has splendid all, tis mine but to believe, and recognize his work of love and Christ receive. For me he died, for me he lives, Next we'll sing of Christ as our fortress, the one we can run to in trouble singing the chorus, You Are My Fortress. You are my fortress. You are my hiding place. In time of trouble, I run to the rock and seek your face. Though others fail, My dearest friend is always true, oh how I love you. You are my fortress, I trust in you. The final song we'll sing this morning is a song of testimony. It is the testimony of Ron Hamilton, the author of this song, how God moved in his life, how he shaped him, knowing that even in darkness, God could give a song, that he never moves without purpose or plan. He never makes any mistake. In just a moment, We'll stand to sing this song, and when we do, our young people, ages three, four, and five, and then first, second, and third graders can go out the doors, out the back, or out the side, up to Children's Church, up on the second floor. Let's stand, please, and sing this song, Rejoice in the Lord. God never moves without purpose or plan. When trying His servant and molding a man, Give thanks to the Lord, though your testing seems far. In darkness He giveth a star, O rejoice in the Lord, he makes no mistake. He knoweth the end of each path that I take. For when I am tried and purified, I shall come forth. I could not see through the shadows ahead, so I looked at the cross of my Savior and said, of the master that day. When peace came, all tears fled away. Oh, rejoice in the great For when I am tried and purified, I shall come forth again. We'll sing that third stanza in just a moment. I just wanted to comment, this song is hard for me to sing. As I look out and I see the faces of those knowing some of the trials some of you have gone through, but it's wonderful to see that you can sing as this third verse says here, that I can see testing comes from above. You see the next slide there, it says, my father knows best and I trust in his care. And I'm so grateful that we together can look and we can say, Our God is good. He makes no mistake. We can by our very lives testify of his goodness. Let's sing together as a prayer praising our God for his wisdom. Now I can see testing comes from above. God strengthens His children and purges in love. My Father knows best, and I trust in His care. Through purging, fruit I will bear. Rejoice in the Lord, He makes no mistake. He knoweth the end of each path that I take. For when I am tried and purified, I shall come forth as one. Thank you. Please be seated. Did Moses know when the branches spoke He would be the chosen one? Or could his people know that a cloud of smoke Would safely lead them home? Sometimes God will speak through a bush of flame Or pillars in the sky But at times his silence fills our days, Leaving us to wonder why. Sometimes we wait simply to find Some of His answers come with time Not right away nor clearly to see Sometimes we never get those parted seas that lead us from the shore. But there is a place where we rest in His grace when sometimes we wait on the Lord. If I had my way, there would come a day with a never-ending rain. dawn. No more mournful sighs in the dark of night as we wonder where he's gone. But could we ever see how his mercy reigns beneath a cloudless sky? There would be no need for healing grace to comfort when we cry sometimes we wait simply to find some of his answers come with time not right away nor clearly to see Sometimes we never get those parted seas that lead us from the shore. But there is a place where we rest in His grace when sometimes we wait on the Lord. Sometimes we wait simply to find some of His answers come with time, not right away, nor clear Sometimes we never get those parted seas that lead us from the shore. But there is a place where we rest in His grace when sometimes we wait on the Lord. Oh, there is a place where we rest in His grace when sometimes we wait on the Lord. Can ancient wisdom make a difference in the modern family? That's the question that we've asked and are answering in our series, Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Family. Remember, the Lord God gave the people of Israel the Ten Commandments as part of his law. The law, oh boy, the law is a big book. There's a lot to the law. And so God took the law and he brought it together in 10 commandments that summarize the teachings of the law. God gave the law to Israel to help them to understand what he was like, how they could know him and how they could serve him. And then we also learned that beside that, God gave the law to the families. so that those families in each generation could teach from one to the next, what is God like? How can we know him and serve him? And our desire is that we from each generation can know as well, what is God like? How can we know him and how can we serve him? So we are learning from God's ancient wisdom what it means for the modern family. I'm going to invite you to turn with me to the book of Exodus chapter 20 for the last time, at least in this series. We may turn to it someday, but at least in this series, because this is the final sermon in this series, Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Family, and in the series we have traversed the pages of scripture, mining for God's ancient wisdom for the modern family. And in this final sermon of the series, we're gonna talk about making a difference in your family. And I'll tell you what I'm gonna preach about. I'm gonna tell you about, we'll talk about the priority of ancient wisdom that makes a difference in the modern family. And then the practices of ancient wisdom that make a difference in the modern family. But then we're gonna talk about the person behind ancient wisdom, that makes a difference in the modern family, and then the point at which ancient wisdom makes a difference in the modern family. And today, God wants you to decide what your response will be to the Lord. And I want you to ask God, God, would you show me what you want me to know, what you want me to do? And then you have to decide, Lord, When you show me what you want me to know and what you want me to do, then you have to decide, will I be a difference maker? So let's pray and ask God to do that for us. We come to you, God, asking for your Holy Spirit to do a good work in us, to speak to each heart, whatever the need. There's a man, a woman, a young person, that's here today, I wouldn't be surprised at all. There's someone here that doesn't know Jesus Christ. And today you want them to know what it is to be saved from the wrath to come and know the promise of heaven and the forgiveness of sins. There's an individual that you are working in that individual's life in such a clear way. And today we ask you to make it so clear so that then our response, once you make it clear, is that we will decide to be the difference maker that you want us to be. So God help us, we pray, and we yield to the Holy Spirit for His filling, His control to receive from the preaching of the Word. And myself as a preacher, I come asking for your supernatural enabling grace. So we ask this to be done. And we pray it in faith in Jesus' name, amen. Well, let's talk together about the priorities of ancient wisdom that make a difference for the modern family. In this series, I haven't talked to you about this yet, but there's a clear structure to the Ten Commandments. Of the Ten Commandments, the first four to tell us about one's relationship to God. The six through ten, or excuse me, five through ten, the last six, tell us about man's relationship with man and how we relate to other people. How many of you have seen maybe pictures or tablets of 10 commandments, you know, and you sort of see the image there. I have one of those on my desk that a man gave me, or on a credenza in my office that a man gave me. And you know how he has, I looked at those, you know how he has them listed? He has on the left-hand tablet, he has one through four. And then on the right-hand tablet, he has five through 10. One through four, talk about our relationship with God. Five through 10, tell us about biblical ethics as we relate to other people. And so God begins these ten commandments with the priority commandment. And I want you to notice then in each of these commandments that there are four priorities that make a difference in these priority commandments. Here's the first priority that makes a difference. the priority of preeminence. You'll notice if you turn to Exodus chapter 20, you'll notice verse 3, the first commandment, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Now the first commandment means that this is more important than anything else. And the priority commandment reminds us what we're told about the Lord Jesus Christ, Colossians chapter 1 and verse 18, that in all things He might have the preeminence. And God is calling you to make the priority commandment your priority conviction. That in my life, God is going to have the preeminent place. And you have to go in your life, move to a point where this is not just convenient, but you move to conviction that God, not just when it suits me, not just when it's good, but whenever it's bad, whenever it doesn't suit me, that it's not my life, it's not my will, that God must be the preeminent one in my life. The priority of preeminence. And then the second commandment tells us another priority. It's the priority of lordship. We read in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 4, these words, thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything. In the world of antiquity, there were gods of stone, gods of wood, gods of brass, and This was common in the time in which the scriptures are written, and there are cultures all around the world today that still have idols. There are all kinds of systems that have idols. Now, my guess is that you probably don't have an idol in your home, at least one that you formed and shaped and bowed down to it. But the prophet Ezekiel tells us about idols that go far beyond idols of stone and wood and graven images. He tells us about another kind of idol. I'm gonna have you turn with me to the prophet Ezekiel's prophecy, Ezekiel chapter 14. And let's discover, as we read the first six verses of this chapter, let's discover the idols that Ezekiel warns the people of his day about. Are you there? Ezekiel chapter 1, or excuse me, chapter 14 and verse 1. Sorry about that. Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face. Should I be inquired of it all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, every man of the house of Israel, that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet, I, the Lord, will answer him concerning him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. Therefore, saying to the house of Israel, thus said the Lord God, repent and turn yourselves from your idols and turn away your faces from before your abomination. What are the idols that Ezekiel's preaching to the people of Israel about? The idols of the heart. Do you have idols of the heart? something that you'll worship and sacrifice for. Maybe there's something that even God comes and deals with your heart and you tell the Lord, no, I want what I want so badly that I will not let go. Because in your hand or in your heart, you're holding an idol. And this idol is a sin before God, and it's a sin that is keeping you from fellowship with God. And God is speaking today to people about idols of the heart. I wonder, are there any idols in your heart? The New Testament writer, John the Apostle, wrote a number of portions of the Scripture. He wrote the Gospel of John. He wrote the last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation, the human author. He wrote three letters, short letters, called the three epistles of John, 1, 2, and 3 John. At the end of 1 John chapter 5, there's a way that John finishes out his letter. And he says these words to finish out his letter, the last words that he's giving to the audience that he's writing to, and he says this, my little children, keep yourselves from idols. Because Moses said it, Ezekiel preached about it, John preached about it, because he understood the propensity that you have and I have to set up idols in our heart that we worship rather than the one true God. So I wonder if you have any idols in your heart. Are you an idolater? Then there's another priority. The third is the priority of reverence. Exodus chapter 20 in verse 7, if you'll go back there, and we will return again and again back to Exodus 20. Exodus chapter 20 verse 7, 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. Now we learned this in our sermon on this commandment. that the name of the Lord is a name you can claim. This is the Lord thy God. And God is a God that has a personal relationship with individuals, and you can know Him in a personal way. The Lord can become your God. How does the Lord become your God? Well, we're told that the Lord here is the Lord thy God. It reminds me of what the psalmist said, the Lord is my shepherd. where there's a relationship with God. And Jesus said of himself, I am the good shepherd, the shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. How can the Lord become my God? The Lord becomes your God when you by faith put your trust in Jesus Christ who gave himself for you, who rose in power and has the power to forgive your sins and bring you into his family. It's a name you can claim. And if you don't know Christ, well, why would you not receive Jesus Christ in the forgiveness of sins? But we also learned beside being a name you can claim, it's a name you can shame with sins of the tongue. Be very careful of your tongue because your tongue God holds you responsible for the things you say with your tongue and specifically how you speak of Him. But then beside a name that you can claim and a name that you can shame, this is a name that we must proclaim. And oh, my friend, I can tell you when you come to the end of your life and you face the Lord one day. Philippians chapter two is a passage that reminds us of that day. Let me read you what the scriptures say. Philippians chapter two, I'll begin reading in verse nine. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things at earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And when you come to the end of your life and you face God, you will be glad that you honored his name. So there's the priority of reverence. And then there's one more priority that's contained in these first four commandments. It's the priority of worship. And we'll go again to Exodus chapter 20. And the Bible reminds us of this in verse eight. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. Now, do you remember the picture of the Sabbath? The Sabbath is a picture of the rest that comes through the blood of Jesus Christ. There were some questions about Sabbaths and holidays and things like that in the New Testament, and in some ways there still are in our world today in some religions. I'm going to invite you to go with me in your New Testament to the book of Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. And find verse 16 and verse 17. Colossians 2 verse 16 and verse 17, let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of a holy day or the new moon or of the Sabbath days. And then we're told this of Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come. But the body is Christ. All of the laws were a shadow of something that would come. The reality is Jesus Christ. All of them picture and point to Jesus Christ. What does the Sabbath tell you about the Lord Jesus Christ? It points us to the time when there was rest. When an individual ceases striving to please God in their own strength and their own power, seeking some way in their own efforts to find the forgiveness of sins, and when the person stops and ceases and rests by faith in Jesus, who already did all that could be done, they enter into a new kind of rest. It's called Calvary rest. No wonder Jesus said, Matthew 11, 28, come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Do you remember if you put your trust in Christ, do you remember the time when you experienced what it was like to have rest? Because you stopped trying to, earn your way and do it on your own. And you by faith turned from your sin and said, Jesus, you died and rose again for me. I can do nothing else. And you by faith rested and received him. Do you remember that day? And you entered into Calvary rest. You might have been an individual that trusted the Lord at one point in your life, but then later you wondered, am I really one of his or not? And maybe you were one of those, and many of you have, this is your testimony, that I had questions and doubts. Am I really saved? Am I really born again? Did I really mean it? Do you remember the time when you took God by faith and you said, you know what? It's not up to me. I am doing what God said. I'm putting my faith in Jesus. Do you remember the rest when you came to an assurance based on the promises of God that you were His? Wow, what wonderful rest. Is it a priority for you and your family, preeminence, lordship, reverence, and worship? Because the point of the Sabbath is that and all the activities of life, that there was a day that was set aside for God in our schedule, as a nation, as individuals, as families. And I wonder if you have made it a matter of conviction that I'm going to set aside God's day for God. Well, the first four commandments tell us about our relationship with God, and that's the priority of ancient wisdom that makes a difference in the modern family. And when your family embraces these priorities, it will make a difference in your family. But then I want you to notice something else. Remember that the first four commandments tell about our relationship with God. The second six commandments tell about how we should relate to man. And these, it tells us of the practices of ancient wisdom that make a difference for the modern family. Now in this series, of course, I've considered each of these subjects quite extensively. So today I'm gonna just review these subjects and as I do so, here's what I want you to do. As we walk through the scriptures, I want you to just ask the Lord, Lord, how do I carry out these values personally and in our family? What are the ethical principles? Are these ethical principles that guide us in our family and in my life? So you're in Exodus chapter 20, if you will, back to Exodus chapter 20, and we'll go through them very quickly. You'll notice verse 12, honor thy father and thy mother. I wonder if it's a value for your family that we are a family that values respect, respect for parents, respect for one another. Is your family that shows respect and honor to one another? Do you treat the people in your family as well as you treat the stranger that you've never met before, but you wanna be nice? Now I know that's maybe an unfair thing because I mean, it's our family, right? But I wonder if in your family and in your life, do you treat people with respect? Then you'll notice verse 13, thou shalt not kill. Are you a family, an individual that values life, whether it is pre-born life or whether it is elderly individuals, one another in your family, the world around us? We are all made, each one of us made uniquely in the image of God. And oh, how the world needs a light of life. because God is the giver of life, and we could point our way to Jesus, who is not only the giver of life, but he is the giver of eternal life. Jesus said this, John chapter 10 verse 28, "...and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." He is the giver of eternal life, and with the people that value life, we must point the way to to Jesus so that others made in His image can be reconciled to the God that created them. Well, then the next commandment you'll find in verse 14, thou shalt not commit adultery. This is a family that values purity. Do you protect yourself? in an impure world. You protect your family, your children, from the dangers of the sins of a sensual nature. Oh, how pervasive it has become in our culture. And yet, God calls His people as it was in the first generation of Jewish people, where He gave the Ten Commandments, even to our day. He calls His people to be people that are people that promote purity? Do you promote purity in your mind and in your body? The next commandment, verse 15, thou shalt not steal. Are you a family that values integrity? Then the next, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Are you a family that values honesty? Do you lie in your family? Do you let your children lie? Do you rationalize your little white lies? Now, we should always tell the truth. Now, that doesn't mean that we should do it in a way that may not be loving, if you know what I mean. And may I say that just because you think it doesn't mean you need to say it. You know what I mean? But people that value honesty, And then the last commandment, the tenth one, this was the one that got self-righteous Saul, who was so self-righteous, but he thought himself so much better than everybody else. He had kept all the law until he read this commandment, and it slew him and it changed his life when he saw his need and he saw his own covetousness. And it's verse 17, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's or thou shalt cover thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is thy neighbor's. This is a family that values contentment. Now that doesn't mean that you don't have ambitions and you have desires and God has things that he has in your life to accomplish and to achieve and to have, but are you content with what God has given? Are you teaching your children to be content with what God has given or with what God hasn't given? Now, think of those six values. respect, life, purity, integrity, honesty, and contentment. If the people in your family lived out those values, how many of you think it would make a great family and a modern family? You'd better believe it. You'd better believe it. That's the kind of family that practices God's ancient wisdom. So I told you that I wanted you to consider this and then ask yourself, okay, how are we carrying out these values? How am I as an individual carrying out these values? And how are we in our family carrying out these values? Well, you'll be so blessed if you learn to follow the Lord's ancient wisdom. Well, there were some religious leaders that had different theological persuasions, and they were arguing about it. And do you know what they did in the middle of their argument? They tried to drag Jesus into their argument. How many of you have ever been drug into the middle of an argument? How many of you like being caught in the middle? No, man. It's pretty rotten. So they tried to drag Jesus in and of all things it was a lawyer. So, enough said. I'm looking at Brother Dooley back there. In Matthew chapter 22, listen to what Jesus says when he's dragged into the middle of this argument. I'll begin reading in verse 36 or 35. And one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? And Jesus said to him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets." Do you see what Jesus said? He affirmed the ancient wisdom of the Ten Commandments. The priority to love your Lord, your God, with all your heart and your soul. And then the practice is to love your neighbor as yourself. So we've talked about the priorities of ancient wisdom that make a difference in the modern family and the practices of ancient wisdom that make a difference in the modern family. But may I share with you the person behind the ancient wisdom that makes a difference in the modern family. I'm gonna invite you to go with me now to the book of Deuteronomy chapter six. Deuteronomy chapter six. Now in Deuteronomy chapter five, Moses is writing, remember he's been with the people of Israel for over 40 years. They've wandered through the wilderness. Now it was time to go into the promised land, but he couldn't go with them. And so Joshua, his successor, was going to lead them into the promised land. But Moses writes this long book of the Bible to help the people get ready to go into the promised land. And in Deuteronomy chapter five, he recalls the time when God gave, about 40 years before this, when God gave the Ten Commandments, and he reviews the Ten Commandments, and that the people said, they said, oh yes, Lord, if you, whatever you say, we'll do it. Whatever you say, we'll do it. And now Deuteronomy chapter six, and I want you to notice what the Bible says in verse five. or verse 4 and verse 5. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. See, Moses and Jesus were on the same page It begins with knowing and loving God. Listen, if you practice all the positive principles of the Ten Commandments, I'm going to tell you, your life's going to be better. Your family's going to be better. America will be better. The world will be better. But if you practice all of those and you do not know the God who gave them, my friend, you still will know, will miss it because God wants you to know Him and to love Him. And without Christ, you will still spend eternity apart from Him in a place the Bible calls hell. God gave this so that His people would know who He is and would love Him. Jesus' prayer in John chapter 17, verse three, God the Son speaking to God the Father in prayer. In a perfect harmony and fellowship, Jesus said, and this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. What an incredible story. The eternal God sends his eternal Son, takes on a human body, lives a sinless life, goes to a cross bearing the penalty of all the world's sins, comes out of the grave alive with power, invites all to come to Him that they may know the forgiveness of sins and be restored to fellowship with the God that made them. That's an incredible story. And the only way for you to know God is by putting your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as an individual. Nobody can do it for you. This is a decision that you must make before, between you and the God. For you to know God personally, you must trust him personally. When you know him personally by trusting him personally, then this is a relationship that can be grown and you get to know him. And as you get to know him and he shows himself to you, you respond in loving obedience and this relationship grows and deepens, sustains you in the greatest of times and the worst of times. You know him and he's the one that makes all the difference. And then finally this morning, I'm gonna share with you this. The point when ancient wisdom makes a difference in the modern family. You're already in Deuteronomy chapter 6. Continue reading now in verse 6. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. The point at which you respond and your life is lived by God, or respond, excuse me, the point at which you respond and your life is lived by God's ancient wisdom is the time when things begin to change. Doesn't matter who you are. But when you say to the Lord, okay, you are right, and I am bringing myself to you, now what happens is your life begins to change. Every member of your family, when that individual begins to respond to the Lord, his or her life begins to change. And as God begins to change your life, then what happens is you have something to share, you have something to relay. You teach to your children because he's changing you. And today you're going to have to decide because God the Spirit is dealing with your heart. Lord, am I going to let you change my life today? That's when the difference is made. Now, when we talked about the second commandment, and there's an expression there that the sins of the fathers for the children to the third and the fourth generation, we spend extensive time discussing that subject. But do you remember what we learned? We learned that every individual, no matter what your background, can be a cycle breaker. Now, I don't know all of your stories. Many of you, I know your stories, and even the ones of you that I do know your story, I don't know all of your story. There's a lot more to be said. But whatever your background, can I tell you, you do not have to be, if your background is not a good story, May I tell you that you do not have to be a victim of it? Because the moment that you begin to claim God's ancient wisdom and live out His ancient wisdom, you become a cycle breaker. You know, in this congregation, we have so many of you who are cycle breakers. Because you've responded to God's truth, and He's dealing with your life, and that cycle that you had maybe in your past gets broken. But every individual that then chooses to respond to God's truth, not only can you become a cycle breaker, but at the very same time, you become a cycle maker. Because now you can pass on to somebody else what God can do in their life. But every generation has to choose to become a cycle maker. and that's the decision you have today. Will I respond to God's truth in the spirit of God dealing with me? And will I choose to be a cycle maker? I'm gonna ask you to bow your head. We will not be long, but before I pray, just a moment, I want you to ask God, This is the hope that makes a difference when you are willing to say, okay, Lord, I will surrender to your will and your truth that God's dealt with you very clearly. Okay. What are you going to do? You're seeking the Lord right now. What are you going to do? I'm gonna invite you to stand and I'll pray and give you a chance to respond as our instrumentalists begin to play. We have people here to answer questions, to pray with you, whatever it is that God is doing in your life. So Lord God, we ask that out of this congregation, individuals will be impacted powerfully because individuals and families respond to your truth. Thank you that your wisdom is eternal and timeless And so it is with expectation and gratitude that we claim your promise and your truth and live by your principles. We pray that you would do this work in Jesus name. Amen. Your heads are bowed. The instruments are playing. This is your time to respond to the Lord. Whatever that means for you, this is the time to make that decision before the Lord. You got it, Pastor. Okay. you you I could have your attention up this way. I want to give you a couple announcements as we conclude our service this morning. Pastor mentioned this morning, but if you haven't gotten it yet, you're growing in Wisdom Journal, working through Proverbs during these summer months of June, July, and August. So if you haven't started yet, today's a great day to do so. You can pick up the journal, flip through that, look at the different things there, the reading challenge, memorization challenge. There's the banner out there, folks have already started signing that, so you can put a proverb, you can put a testimony, and you can put something to share there on that banner, share with our church family. Some folks have already started doing that. You can participate there as well. What else do you need to know this week? Well, we mentioned already the offering for the Dietrichs and this land project there in the Solomon Islands. You can designate your gift towards the Solomon Islands, towards the VBS project. If you want to do that, that will go directly to the Dietrichs. And then you can come back tonight. Tonight, we do not have a regular service at 5 o'clock. We instead are meeting here at 645, from 645 to 815. And who is VBS for? Well, it starts at kindergarten on up. That means the rest of y'all may not be officially in the program, but you're welcome to come. You can sit in the back here, participate. It'll be a lot of fun. We've got two color teams, the red team and the blue team. They'll be competing throughout the week. You're going to get to see some great drama, get to see the teaching. And so come back tonight all the way through Thursday night. And not only that, not only come back, but invite some people to be with you. We still have invitation cards. It's not too late. We haven't started yet. So take one of these home with you today, invite somebody, call somebody up, they can register online. Come back tonight at 645, even if they can't make it tonight, start out tomorrow night all the way through Thursday. You can come, you can pray, you can help, you can give all different ways that you can be involved. You also want to know about summer ministry fellowships. So four Wednesdays this summer, starting at the end of June. We'll have two Wednesdays at the end of June, then we'll have two Wednesdays in July. where we'll be meeting with our summer ministry fellowships. There'll be one group here at church, and then there'll be four other groups that are spread throughout our area, different counties, Hamilton County, Catoosa County, so on and so forth. There'll be folks meeting in homes as well. and want you to sign up so that we can evenly distribute you there and plan for those four Wednesdays coming up later this summer. If you would sign up in the fellowship hall, you can also sign, not in the fellowship hall, in the entrances this morning, and then also you can sign up online. If you want to register that way, let us know how to plan. You can read about all of these things in your bulletin. Let's go ahead and close our service this morning with the chorus, Our God is Mighty. We'll sing, Declare His Glory. Declare His glory among the nations, through all creation His triumphs sing. Till all earth's peoples bow in adoration, and Jesus Christ be everlasting King. Thank you for joining us. Jesus said to those who believed on him in John chapter 8, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. We join our God in desiring that you will know the liberating power of the truth of God's word as you apply it to your life. We would love to hear from you and find out what God is doing in your life. You can go to our website, stanleyheights.org. There you can contact us with your prayer requests. You can ask a question. You can find a free resource to study the Bible as a guide in your journey. You can get other sermons and other free resources that are available for you. While we're talking, may I ask you this question? Have you made the most important decision of your life to turn to Jesus Christ and receive Him by faith to be your personal Savior? Oh, if you haven't, would you do so right now? And if you would like some more guidance in that decision, you can go to our website, stanleyheights.org forward slash eternity, and you'll find some help that will guide you in that decision. Again, thank you for joining us. I'll look forward to hearing from you soon.