​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ September 25, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“No other Gods!”
Exodus 20:1-3; Revelation 4:8-11
 
This morning we continue our 10-week sermon series reflecting on the Ten Commandments.  “The Ten Commandments for Today,” is the title that I’ve given to this series of messages.  Why did God give the Law?  Why do we need to reflect on it today?  I truly believe it’s extremely important to take some time today to study the Ten Commandments because it’s God’s moral law.  Last week I offered three reasons why the Law was given. (1) The Law reveals the holiness of God.  (2) The Law reveals the wickedness of the human heart.  (3) The Law reveals our need for God’s grace. 
 
Before we dive into the first commandment this morning and explore what God has for us, I want to offer a couple introductory observations.  First: in the Hebrew Bible, these laws are called the aseret ha’devarim, the “Ten Words” as we see in Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:13 and 10:4.  The Bible calls the “Ten Commandments” the “Ten Words.”  It’s true that they enshrine commandments, but they also contain a word of promise and grace, a word of mercy and compassion.
 
The second introductory observation is the foundation upon which God claims His authority to give His people the Law.  Listen to these words in Exodus 20:1-2, “Then God spoke all these words, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”  This is a double claim: a claim by creation and a claim by salvation, “I am the LORD “Yahweh” your God “Elohim.” Yahweh” is a name that signifies sovereignty and “Elohim” is a name that signifies God’s majesty and power and points back to creation where God created the world.  But there is another claim here, claim by salvation. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”  God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt.  He has also delivered us from slavery to sin.
 
Having laid down the foundation, God being the Creator and the Savior of Israel, He gives His people words of mercy and grace.  The First Commandment is found in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.”  Two observations for us this morning:
 
First: Beware of False God
As I pointed out last week, Moses and the Israelites lived in a polytheistic world, a world where most cultures believed in many gods.  They lived in a world full of idols.  They lived among the gods of the Egyptians.  When they finally made it to the promised land, they were surrounded by many nations that worshipped many other gods.  Like ancient Israel, we are surrounded by our own idols and false gods today.
 
The first of the Ten Commandments is a warning against false gods.  “You shall have no other gods before me,” said God to His people.  Often times we think of idolatry as an ancient practice, and we tend to miss the idols of our own life.  Today’s idols are not made out of stone and wood.  They are anything we elevate above the one true God.  It’s anything that stands in competition to the living God.  Sports could be a false god.  Family could be a false god. Entertainment could be a false god.  Money could be a false god.  Success could be a false god.  That which you love, you serve, you desire, you long after, you aim for, you strive for, and think of the most is your god.  “You shall have no other gods before me.” 
 
Second: Complete Loyalty to the One True God
The first commandment is also a call to complete loyalty and full allegiance.  Canadian theologian, J. I. Packer (1926 – 2020) wrote, “Your god is what you love, seek, worship, serve, and allow to control you.”[1]   In other words, your “god” is defined according to your loyalty and allegiance. Whatever you value supremely becomes your god.  The first commandment forbids us from valuing anything more than the one true God.  It forbids us from being loyal to anything more than the one true God.
 
The bottom line when it comes to the first commandment is complete loyalty and full allegiance.  There is only one true God, and He demands your absolute loyalty and undying love.  We are to make that choice every day.  I like how British theologian Stuart Briscoe puts it in his book on the Ten Commandments: “At the end of each day, ask yourself: Was Jesus Christ my Lord today?  Did I serve Him faithfully today? Did I love Him deeply?  Did I worship Him exclusively?”[2]
 
Friends, the first commandment calls us to have no other gods before the ONE true God.  This command reaches far deeper than merely closing the door on an atheistic worldview. Rather, it calls us to a complete loyalty to the living God.  The apostle John in Revelation 4:11 tells us of this cry in heaven, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power.”  The first commandment is the foundation for our keeping of the whole of the Ten Commandments. It is the most basic reorientation from a life directed toward ourselves to a life directed toward God.  It’s the doorway into the whole life of faith.  It sets our feet on the right path and orients us in the right direction for all that follows. “You shall have no other god before me.”  In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!


[1] J. I. Packer, Keeping the Ten Commandments (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 31.

[2] Stuart Briscoe, The Ten Commandments: Playing by the Rules (London: Shawn Books, 2000), 14. 

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ September 18, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“Thunder from Sinai!”
Exodus 19:16-25
 
This morning we embark on a new and exciting journey looking at the Ten Commandments.  “The Ten Commandments for Today,” is our Fall sermon series.  Over the next ten Sundays, we will be reflecting on the Ten Commandments, their meaning and their relevancy to our lives today.  Each Sunday, we will be focusing on one commandment.
 
But this morning I want to briefly discuss in an introductory way before we get to the real business next week, the question: Why did God give the Law?  What was God up to on Mount Sinai?  So as we turn this morning to Exodus chapter 19, we see that dramatic, incredible passage where Mount Sinai is filled with smoke and fire and flashes of lightning and thunder. And God is the one who is speaking to Moses in Exodus 19.
 
Just to give us some background, the people of Israel had been liberated from the hands of Pharoah and they just started their journey to the Promised Land.  They will be encountering the gods of the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Jebusites and the Perizzites.  The Law was important to keep them in the right path.  The Law was important for many reasons.  I would like to suggest three reasons why the law was given.
 
First: The Law Reveals the Holiness of God
The first reason of giving the Law is to reveal the holiness of God.  I think that the most fundamental attribute of God is holiness.  Holiness stands at the very center and the very core of the being of God in ways perhaps that His other attributes do not. 
 
The word holy really means “separate.”  He is like no other.  In Egypt, the Israelites lived among the gods of the Egyptians.  Literally, there were hundreds of them.  On their journey to the Promised Land, they will see the gods of other nations.  But the God of Israel is different, and He is a cut above all others.  He is transcendent. That means that God is beyond the limits. He transcends space. He transcends the universe. He is the God that goes beyond. That’s God! Transcendent and holy!
 
In the Ten Commandments, God reveled His holiness.  If you look at Exodus chapter 19, you will see that God says that when He speaks on Mount Sinai there is to be a boundary around the mountain. No beast, no person is to touch that mountain.  That physical distance between the people and the mountain is symbolic of the moral distance that exists between God and us.
 
Second: The Law Reveals the Sinfulness of Humanity
The second reason why the law was given is to reveal the sinfulness of humans. Nothing is in more stark contrast than the sinfulness of humanity once you we a glimpse of the holiness of God.  The Ten Commandment show the total inability of humans to meet God’s high standards.  Yes, we may be able to keep most of them, but when we fail in keeping one, we fail in all.  Listen to these words from James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
 
The Law reveals not only the inability of humans to keep the commandments, but also the defection of people’s heart!  In the New Testament, Christ elevated the standards of God; it’s not only our actions but the intents of our heart.  In Matthew 5:21 Jesus said, “You’ve heard you shall not murder … but I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement.”  “You’ve heard, “You shall not commit adultery,” but I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
 
Third: The Law Reveals the Need for Grace
The third purpose of the law is to reveal the need for grace.  There is a great chasm, a great gap, that exists between God and humanity.  How is it to be bridged?  In Job 25:4, Job asked the question: “How then can a mortal be righteous before God?  How can we be justified before God?” How are we going to take care of the pollution that is in the human heart?  That’s where grace comes in, because grace comes along and says that there is a way that God made by which He could maintain His justice and His holiness and still welcome sinners into His family.  That’s grace.
 
When you go home today, I want you to look at Hebrews 12:18-24 where the author of Hebrews contrasts between Mount Sinai, the Old Covenant, and Zion, the New Covenant.  Here is Sinai, fear and trembling, darkness, thunder, lightning, and unapproachable God.  That’s Sinai. Yet, in Mount Zion, the New Covenant brought about through the blood of Jesus Christ.  There is light, approachability, a welcome, a reception, a congregation of other saints, and a knowledge that we can come into God’s presence without fear, knowing that we have been accepted and received on the basis of grace. That’s the contrast that the author of the book of Hebrews wants us to understand.
 
Friends, the Law reveals the holiness of God and our need for His grace.  Our utter failure to keep God’s Law should get us on our knees crying for help.  The apostle Paul says that “The Law is holy, just, and good,” and, as King David said, “we delight in it,” even though it sweeps our sin into an almost suffocating experience. But how else can we be driven to salvation?  How else can we be driven to pursue sanctification?  So as we continue to unpack the Ten commandments, one at a time, may we find joy and delight in walking in God’s ways.  And when we stumble and fall, may we flee to Christ and flee to the Spirit for salvation and sanctification.  In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen! 

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ September 11, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“In the Garden!”
John 20:11-18
 
This morning we come to the end of our journey exploring some of the key places we encounter as we read the gospel’s account of the Jesus story.  I hope you’ve been blessed by every step of this profound journey.  I bet we will never read the gospel the same way after reflecting on all of those places.  In this series of messages, we had the chance to visit several places such as: Cana of Galilee, Nazareth, Capernaum, Samaria, Caesarea Philippi, Bethany, Bethesda, Nain, Gethsemane and Golgotha.  We cannot wrap up this series without reflecting on Christ’s encounter with Mary Magdalene at the Garden.
 
Of all the places we read about in the New Testament, the Garden, where the body of Jesus was laid after His crucifixion, was a turning point for the disciples of Jesus Christ.  The Garden was supposed to be a place of despair and sorrow, yet it became a place of hope and rejoicing.  It was supposed to be a place to cherish the legacy of a deceased Rabbi, yet it became a place to encounter the very presence of the Risen Lord.  It was supposed to be a place of death, yet it turned out to be a place full of life.
 
In the garden.  What do we get to learn as we visit the Garden Tomb this morning?  Two lessons that I would like to highlight as we meet Jesus in the Garden this morning.
 
First: In the Garden, we are not Alone
The last 72 hours before Easter morning were extremely difficult for the followers of Jesus.  Think about it this way: their world literally collapsed.  They lost a good friend; a compassionate Rabbi; a grace-filled leader.  They are grieving the loss of Christ.  They were confused.  Their trust in God was shaken.  They were puzzled over the crucifixion and death of the Messiah.  Why did God allow this to terrible thing to happen?
 
Mary Magdalene, one of Christ’s followers, comes to the Garden Tomb early in the morning to anoint Christ’s body with spices, according to the Jewish rituals.  She is exhausted physically and emotionally.  She is lonely.  She is broken.  She is perplexed.  Yet, in the Garden, we get to know that in our grief and brokenness, in our loss and despair, we are not alone.
 
In 1912, Charles Austin Miles, an American Pharmacist and hymn writer, who was a resident of Pittman, NJ, and by the way he is buried in Hillcrest Memorial Park in Swell, wrote the famous hymn, “In the Garden.”  Yes, in the garden, in our grief and despair, we get to realize that we are not alone.  It’s there, in the garden, that we feel the presence of the Lord.  Austin Miles spoke about this transforming truth in the chorus as he says, “And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.”
 
Second: In the Garden, we are Called by Name
In the Garden, desperate, confused, and helpless Mary sees Jesus for the first time after His resurrection, but she mistakenly thought He was the gardener.  Jesus was there right in front of her eyes, but she couldn’t recognize Him.  She even had a conversation with Him, still failed to recognize Him.  This could happen to us too.  Jesus walks with us all the ups and downs of life, yet still we fail to see His presence. 
 
Then, in our inability to recognize the presence of God, the grace of God abounds.  Even when we fail to see God in the happenings of life, God never fails to see us and calls us by name.  In John 20:16 Jesus turns to Mary and says to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).  It’s not Mary Magdalene who finally recognizes Christ’s voice, rather, it’s Christ who calls her by name.  The true blessing is not we know Him, but He knows us.
 
This is not clear in our English translations, but when Jesus addressed Mary Magdalene, He spoke her name is Aramaic, “Mariam.”  Hebrew was the formal language of the Jews, but Aramaic was everyday language; the language amongst friends and families.  That’s how Jesus knows us: intimately, completely, deeply, knows our names and nicknames, knows our hurts, and knows our ticklish places, knows the things we try to hide, knows everything we need, and comes to us, speaking our name in the language we best understand.
 
Friends, when you find yourself in your own garden overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, may you never forget that you’re not alone in the garden.  More importantly, may you hear the comforting voice of Jesus speaking your name in a language that you understand.  This very day, September 11th, 21 years ago, was like a garden of grief, pain, and sorrow for the United States of America.  Yet in the midst of our grief and loss, we have found refuge and strength in our God.  At the garden hope revived.  “And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.”  In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!
 
 
 
 

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ September 4, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“A Place Called Golgotha!”
Mark 15:21-26
 
“Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),” says the gospel of Mark chapter 15:22.  Much can be said about Golgotha. What comes to your mind when you think about Golgotha?  Is it the suffering that Jesus endured?  Is it the horrible pain, the anguish, and the agony of death by crucifixion?  Is it an image of a Savior who is facing the darkest hour as He takes the wrath of God upon Himself?  Is it the unconditional love of God the Father?  Is it the shout of victory as Christ declared, “It’s finished”?  It’s hard to fully capture what happened at Calvary.
 
Located immediately outside Jerusalem’s walls, stands a hill that looks from far away like a skull.  That’s why the Greek speakers called it “Golgotha”, which means a “skull.”  According to many scholars, Golgotha and the ancient site of Mount Moriah, where Abraham was willing to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, is the same place.  At Golgotha, God spared Isaac’s life, and two thousand years later, God redeemed the fallen humans through the sacrifice of His only Son.
 
We have been looking at places this summer, and we cannot wrap up this summer sermon series before reflecting on two more places: Golgotha and the Resurrection Garden.  So, today we will focus on Golgotha and next Sunday, we will get the chance to reflect on the Resurrection Garden.  Two reminders from Calvary this morning. 
 
First: Calvary is a Reminder that God is still in Control
If you were standing there that first Good Friday, the only conclusion anyone could reach is that the Devil won the battle.  Here is Jesus of Nazareth hung on a cross dying.  Even those who had followed Jesus for three years thought it’s over.  That’s the end.
 
No one knew that God was working behind the scenes.  No one knew that God was orchestrating the tiniest details of His redemptive plan.  No one knew that God is still in control.  No one knew that at Golgotha, God was providing for the salvation of humanity. 
 
At Mount Moriah, God proved to Abraham that He is still in control.  As Abraham bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood, taking his knife to slay his son, the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”  “Here I am,” he replied.  “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” Genesis 22:9-12.
 
Genesis 22:14 tells us, “So Abraham called that place Jehovah Jireh “The Lord Will Provide.”  On Mount Moriah, God was in control.  At Calvary, God was in control.  The calmness with which Jesus faced the darkest hour of His life at Calvary speaks a volume about His faith in a God, a Heavenly Father, who is always in control.  When difficulties enter our lives, we can face them with calm—even grateful—assurance when we remember that God is in control.
 
Second: Calvary is a Reminder to Finish the Race Set before us
At Calvary, Jesus set the race God the Father put before Him.  John 19:30 tells us, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  It was not a shout of defeat, rather, it was a shout of victory.  The Greek word is “tetelestai” – it’s finished.  All our sins are taken away.  All our guilt has been taken away.  Our salvation is won.  Our sins are forgiven! “It’s finished.”  These words do not specify the end of Jesus’ life, but the completion of His mission. 
 
I am thankful that Jesus endured to the end because this is a reminder to stand firm in the Lord until our mission is done.  Sometimes we grow weary in our own struggle, but at Calvary, we get to remember that we, too, can finish our race when we look to Jesus for strength, for grace, and for patient endurance.  God has called each and every one of us to accomplish a certain mission in life.  Your calling is very unique.  Christ was determined to finish His race so should we.
 
Friends, in 1921, American hymn writer, Jennie Evelyn Hussey, wrote the famous hymn, “Lead Me to Calvary.”  The chorus of this hymn states, “Lest I forget Gethsemane … Lest I forget thine agony … Lest I forget thy love for me … Lead me to Calvary.”  A place called Golgotha.  What would you do when you find yourself at Golgotha?  When your find yourself in Golgotha, remember that you’re not beyond the sovereignty of the Almighty God.  As we face our pain and endure the hardships of this life, let’s remember that God is still in control.  At Golgotha, we remember to finish the race of faith the Lord God set before us.  We do so as we look unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.  In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!
 
 

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ August 28, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“A Place Called Gethsemane!”
Mark 14:32-42
 
        As we join Jesus and His disciples in the passage we just read from the gospel of Mark chapter 14, they are already in the midst of an eventful night.  They had just finished the Passover meal, left the Upper Room where they celebrated Passover and made their way from Jerusalem down through the Kidron Valley to what Mark calls, “A Place Called Gethsemane.”
 
              We’ve been looking at places this summer and Gethsemane is our destination today.  Gethsemane was a small garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives, just outside the city of Jerusalem.  It probably belonged to a friend of the Lord.  In Luke 22:39, Luke tells us it was a place Jesus often visited with His disciples.  Gethsemane seems to have been a refuge for the Lord.  It was a place where He could find solitude from the crowds.  It was a place where He could go to find a private moment to commune with His Father.  It was a sanctuary from the attacks of His enemies.  It was a place of refreshment from the long days of ministry.  It was a special place for the Lord and His disciples.
 
As we continue our summer sermon series, I would like to spend a few minutes this morning with Jesus and His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane.   Someone said that, for Jesus, Gethsemane was harder than Calvary.  It’s true that the decisive spiritual battle that Jesus came to fight will be fought on Calvary, but it’s Gethsemane where Jesus waits on the edge of a battle He can’t escape; a battle that will be most terrifying to His soul. 
 
Yet, as it is so often the case in our lives, the darkest moments in Jesus’ life are also those times when the grace of God shines the brightest, and in the deep valley of Gethsemane, we get to see God’s power in action.  The prophet Isaiah 40:29 reminds us that God “gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”  In the deep valley of Gethsemane, we get to see the very presence of our Lord.
 
A place called Gethsemane.  As we remember our Lord’s last hours in the Garden of Gethsemane before He was arrested, and as we also get to reflect on those Gethsemane-like experiences in our own lives, please allow me to underscore two things:
 
First:  Like Jesus, we all Have our own Gethsemanes
Sooner or later, we all will have to face our own Gethsemanes.  These are tough times, sleepless nights of the soul when the cold winds of fear and despair blow over our soul.  Gethsemane is real.  The word “Gethsemane” means “Olive Press”.  Gethsemane was, and is, a place where olive trees grew and produced their fruit.  The olives were collected, placed in a press and the olive oil was extracted from the olives under very intense pressure. 
 
There are so many situations in life when the weight continues to press at our soul.  When we experience the loss of a loved one, it will feel Gethsemane-like.  We live in a fallen world where people are taken from us and there is nothing we can do to change it.  We will make choices that we will desperately regret – either in a moment of weakness or anger or selfishness, and it will feel like Gethsemane.  When we wrestle to do the will of God no matter what, it will feel like Gethsemane.  When we follow in the way of Christ, often times, it will feel like Gethsemane.  We will experience Gethsemane when we get betrayed by someone we trusted, or deserted by someone we believed loved us.  Those times, those restless nights of the soul, are often marked by deep loneliness. Like Jesus, we all have our own Gethsemanes.
 
Second: Like Jesus, We Need to Give It All to God
In those sleepless nights of the soul, in those Gethsemane-like experiences, we can so easily lose our way and our hope.  We feel so helpless.  We feel so weak.  No energy whatsoever is left in us.  I think that’s what Jesus felt in the garden of Gethsemane.
 
What do we do then?  Quiet? Give up? Absolutely not.  Mark 14:35-36 tells us, “Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible, the hour might pass from him.  “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”  Jesus is submitting Himself to God’s will.  If God’s will for us to suffer and endure hardships, let it be so because there is strength and direction when we surrender to that will and not fight it. 
 
In Gethsemane Jesus gave it all to God in prayer.  As you may’ve noticed, Jesus addressed God as, “Abba.”  “Abba” is an Aramaic term that is equivalent to our word “Daddy”.  It is a word of intense intimacy.  Friends, in our pain and agony, in our distress and troubles, in our sorrow and helplessness, we are assured of God’s presence.  The Lord is near.  Christ has brought us into a place of absolute intimacy with the Father!  In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was assured of His Father’s closeness and that God’s power will enable Him to accomplish His mission.
 
Luke tells us in chapter 22:43 “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.”  For every Gethsemane and Gethsemane-like experience that you and I will have to face, there is an angel from heaven who will be ready to strengthen those who pray for God’s will to be done.  It’s true that the devil was destroyed at Calvary, but the devil was defeated in Gethsemane.  So as we meet Jesus in Gethsemane this morning, two things we take home.  First, like Jesus, we will have our own Gethsemanes.  Second, like Jesus, we need to learn how to give it all to God.  Gethsemane was a place of pressure, but at the same time, a place of prayer.  Amen.