From the Small Catechism “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest possible way. What are some ways by which a person’s reputation is damaged in our society? In your own life and relationships, how have you seen gossip impact reputations? Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” If the above is true, how is breaking this commandment against your neighbor akin to stealing? Ultimately, God wants us to have a good name and reputation so we may enjoy the trust and respect of others. Therefore, he provides this commandment to protect us and our neighbors. How do we keep the Eighth Commandment? 1) We fear and love God by not speaking about others in ways that harm them. Harmful speech includes A. telling lies about our neighbors in everyday life or in the court of law; Colossians 3:9 “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices…” Have you ever seen this enacted on a national stage or in the court of law? Have you ever been a victim of this in everyday life? B. betraying our neighbors by making public their private faults and secrets; Proverbs 11:13 “Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.” What might be an example of this? What if I see my neighbor commit a genuine sin/wrong, should I just ignore it? Ephesians 4:15 “…speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ…” (See also Matthew 18:15-20) Luther writes, “Do not too quickly spread evil about your neighbor and slander him to others. Instead, admonish him privately that he may amend his life. Likewise, if someone reports to you what this or that person has done, teach him, too, to go and admonish that person personally.”-LC I:276 C. slandering our neighbors by rushing to judgment, complaining about them, or spreading rumors. James 4:11 “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.” Can you think of an example of publicly rushing to judgment concerning a neighbor? Luther writes, “People are called slanderers who are not content with knowing a thing, but go on to assume jurisdiction. When they know about a slight offense committed by another person, they carry it into every corner… This is nothing other than meddling with God’s judgment and office and pronouncing sentence and punishment with the most severe verdict.” LC I:267-268 2) We fear and love God by speaking constructively about others. This includes A. defending our neighbors when other speak badly of them; Proverbs 31:8–9 “8Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” What could this look like in practice? B. drawing attention to our neighbors’ good qualities and deeds; “Let everyone use his tongue and make it serve for the best of everyone else.” -LC I:285 C. seeking to understand our neighbor’s actions in the most positive light and explaining them in the kindest possible way. 1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” How can this action be better practiced in the church? Bringing it Home Luther writes, “There is nothing on or in a person that can do greater and more extensive good or harm in spiritual and in temporal matters than the tongue.”-LC I:291 Is there any tea that you’ve spilt that you need to repent from? How can you protect yourself and others when they come to you with JUICY gossip? Who in your life or community needs you to speak well of them? Turning it into a prayer “We ask for help to keep the commandment from now on and to have a wholesome tongue, etc..” -Luther “A Simple Way to Pray”

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” -Psalm 37:5 Week 1: Back to the Basics This fall at St. Paul’s we are undertaking a Campaign called “Intentional Stewardship.” Using Psalm 37:5 above as our cue, we will be committing the way we handle our resources to the Lord by learning his Word, being obedient in response, and trusting in him to act. Let’s begin by looking at some basics; specifically: “What is Stewardship.” In a nutshell, Christian stewardship is the faithful management of all we have: our time, talents, and possessions. It begins with the understanding that everything we possess is God’s (see Haggai 2:8, 1 Chronicles 29:14, Psalm 24:1, & Deut. 8:17-18) and therefore it is our calling to use it for his purposes in our various vocations or callings such as parenting, work, being a good neighbor, taking care of others, etc. Besides our various vocations in family and society, we have the vocation of being a part of a local assembly of believers. Part of what stewardship entails in this area is the giving of our financial resources (exp. Galatians 6:6-10). This is what we’re going to focusing on in our Intentional Stewardship Campaign. This said, to help you commit your way to the Lord, below are five aspects of financial steward from God’s Word. This week, let me encourage you to spend time meditating on what the Bible says regarding faithful Christian stewardship in your local body of believers. Alone or with your spouse, reflect on the words and questions below. 1) Giving is a willing and cheerful endeavor 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Is giving for you a joyful endeavor? If not why not? What would need to change for that to be the case? 2) We are to give God our firstfruits, not our leftovers Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” Are you intentional about giving God your firstfruits? If not, why not? What would have to change for that to be true of you? 3) Giving is a regular undertaking 1 Corinthians 16:2 “On the first day of every week (i.e. Sunday), each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper…” Do you regularly give? If not, why not? What would have to change in your life for this to be a reality? 4) Giving is proportional 1 Corinthians 16:2 “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper…” Deuteronomy 16:17 “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.” Is your giving in proportion to how God has blessed you? If not, why not? For guidance on this, look at your giving in comparison to the Old Testament law of tithing (giving 10% of what you receive). Though no longer a requirement for Christians, the principle remains. Does your giving even begin to measure up to what God commanded his people of old? If not, why not? What would have to change for that to be the case? 5) We are called to be generous in our giving Mark 12:43-44 “this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." Would you describe your financial stewardship toward the church as “generous?” If not, why not? What would need to change for that to be true of you?

A sermon on Ephesians 5:22-33.

From the Small Catechism “You shall not steal.” What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. In your opinion, what specific kinds of actions fall under stealing? What temptations do God’s people face in relation to this commandment? What is stealing? Martin Luther writes, “to steal is nothing else than to get possessions of another’s property wrongfully” (LC I:224). This begs the question, what qualifies as our neighbors’ possessions or property today? In light of this, what might qualify as a less-than-obvious form of stealing? “Stealing is not just robbing someone’s safe or pocketbook but also taking advantage of someone in the market, in all stores, butcher shops, wine and beer cellars, workshops, and, in short, wherever business is transacted and money is exchanged for goods or services.” -LC I:224 How do we keep the Sixth Commandment? 1) We fear and love God by not taking God’s earthly gifts from our neighbors in such ways as A. stealing our neighbor’s possessions and money; Ephesians 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” B. being lazy or sloppy when working as employees; “I say the same thing about artisans, workers, and day laborers who act high-handedly and never know enough ways to overcharge people and yet are careless and unreliable in their work.” -LC I:226 What are some modern examples of this? C. acquiring goods by dishonesty, fraud, or taking advantage of others. Psalm 37:21 “The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives…” Leviticus 19:36 “You shall have just balances, just weights… I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” In our times, what might be an example of this? 2) We fear and love God by looking after our neighbor’s well-being, by helping to protect and improve our neighbors A. earthy possessions Exodus 22:14 “If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution.” B. income and livelihood Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Exodus 23:4–5 4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.” Bringing it Home What are some practical ways we can “improve and protect” your neighbor’s possessions and income? What kinds of stealing should a Christian keep watch for in their actions? Is there anything you need to repent from (Ahem… you going to pay for that movie sir)?

A sermon on Revelation 21:1-6

From the Small Catechism “You shall not commit adultery.” What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other. Is it more difficult today to live a “sexually pure and decent life?” Explain your answer. What temptations do God’s people face in relation to their sexuality? What is Marriage? Look at the following passages below and come up with a working definition: Genesis 1:27–28 “27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Genesis 2:18 “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” [note: the Hebrew word for helper is also used to describe God as our helper] Genesis 2:23 “Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’” Mark 10:6–9 [Jesus both quoting and interpreting Genesis says] “ 6 from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” From these Scriptures and others, Christians define marriage as the God created “lifelong union of a man and woman for their mutual help and joy and for the procreation and nurturing of children.” -Explan. of the SC. 93 In what ways does the sixth commandment “protect” marriage? What is adultery? Strictly speaking, adultery is the unfaithfulness of a spouse who engages in or desires sexual intercourse with someone to whom they are not married. However, Jesus applies this command to the heart and in doing so places it in the realm of sexuality purity for all human beings—married or not. Matthew 5:27–28 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Given Jesus definition of adultery above, what kinds of activities are being prohibited in the sixth commandment? How do we keep the Sixth Commandment? We fear and love God by respecting his purposes for marriage. We do so by A. treating our bodies as holy—set apart for the purposes for which God created us male and female—and not as objects that serve our selfish desires; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 “3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God…” (see also 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 13-18) B. speaking and acting as male and female that build up rather than tear down (i.e. crude talk, derogatory comments about appearances, or immodest dress); Ephesians 5:4 “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.” C. reserving sexual intercourse for marriage rather than before or outside of it; Hebrews 13:4 “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” In our times, what ways could a person be guilty of this? D. refraining from lustful desire or activity of any kind, whether heterosexual or anything else under the sun. Colossians 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Look at Paul’s language, what does it say about the lived experience of fighting temptation? Bringing it Home What are some contemporary trends and temptations that the Sixth Commandment speaks directly to? Concerning this Commandment, Luther writes, “all are required both to live chastely themselves and also to help their neighbors to do the same” (LC I:205). What are some ways we can help our neighbor live chastely? Why should a single person honor marriage? And in what ways can he/she do so? Turning it into a prayer “I pray for myself and all the world that God may grant us grace to keep this commandment gladly and cheerfully in order that we might ourselves live in chastity and also help and support others to do likewise.” -Luther “A Simple Way to Pray”