​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (First Sunday in Advent ~ November 27, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“Coveting or True and Lasting Hope?”             
Exodus 20:17; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
 
Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, the season in which we wait and prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Christ.  “Hope” is the theme for this First Sunday in Advent.  In other words, Advent invites us to live in hope; to hold onto our hope and eventually to be a people of hope. 
 
It’s so sad to see how our culture has commercialized and secularized this time of the year, so instead of preparing our hearts to celebrate the gift of Jesus, we keep ourselves busy with everything but what prepares our hearts to celebrate the God who appeared in flesh.
 
It happened that the First Sunday in Advent is also the Sunday we are wrapping up our sermon series on the Ten Commandments, a series that we started back in September.  We have worked our way through each of the commandments, seeing how each one applies to us today, and this morning we come to the tenth and final commandment, “You shall not covet.” 
 
I find it fascinating that on this very first Sunday in our Advent journey God is calling us to stop coveting and start hoping for what is true, what is lasting, what is pure and what is right.  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female slave, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor,” said the Lord God in Exodus 20:17.  Two observations as we reflect on the Tenth Commandment, and as we enter together this Season of Advent:
 
First: Guard Your Heart against Coveting
The Tenth Commandment calls us to control our desires, our wants.  One of our problems as human beings is that we are constantly craving for more.  No matter how much we have, it is never enough. As soon as you reach one level, you are eager for the next.  In the Book of Ecclesiastes 5:10, the Lord said, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.  This too is meaningless.”
 
It's true that the Tenth Commandment prohibits us from desiring what rightfully belongs to someone else whether this is a house or a land, a neighbor’s wife or a neighbor’s servant.  It gets very specific; you shall not desire anything that belongs to your neighbor.  But it also means you shall not desire something excessively.  In fact, the Hebrew word translated “covet” here means “to desire excessively, to long for or lust after something.  The command “You shall not covet” therefore means not only that you shall not desire something that belongs to someone else, but you shall not desire something excessively either.  In Psalm 73, the psalmist says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
 
Second: A Covetous Heart will Never Be Satisfied
As I mentioned, a covetous person is constantly craving for more.  But the real tragedy is their heart will never be satisfied.  They are always dissatisfied with life.  How can you be happy if you are always wanting more?  Psalm 112:10, reminds us “The longings of the wicked will come to nothing.” 
 
It was saint Augustine of Hippo who said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”  The thirst for God in the human heart is only quenched by Christ’s dwelling in our hearts.  Every human heart yearns for this authentic joy and satisfaction and these are found only in God.   
 
Friends, Advent comes to challenge us to examine our hearts.  Are we coveting more of the things of this world or holding onto the true and lasting hope of our God?  Today we are encouraged to remember the hope we have in Christ.  Romans 5:5 states that our hope in Christ doesn’t put us to shame.  The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:16 saying, “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.”  In hope, our lives will be renewed.
 
The Tenth Commandment teaches us to consider our internal desires. What are they driving us to think about and prioritize?  Are we endlessly craving the success and goods of others? Or do they lead us to a quiet contentment in the blessings of communion with Christ?  The antidote to a covetous heart is finding in Christ a superior satisfaction. Then, from a place of personal contentment, we can rejoice in the blessings God pours out upon our neighbors.  Each Advent we have the opportunity renew a vow: to wait for our God and to place our hope in Him.  To vow to work, to be the Christ’s light for our neighbor, and to make our world a better place and as we follow the way of Christ, we shine Christ’s light into the darkness.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

​First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ November 20, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“Speak Truth When It Matters Most!”
Exodus 20:16; Colossians 3:1-10
 
We are nearing the end of our series on the Ten Commandments for Today, and today we come to the ninth commandment, which has to do with lying and giving a false testimony.  “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor,” said the Lord God in Exodus 20:16.  There is a story in 1 Kings chapter 21 that captures the meaning of the Nineth Commandment in such a profound yet a sad way.  The story involves Israel’s King, Ahab, and his wife, Queen Jezebel.  King Ahab wanted to buy the vineyard of a man named Naboth.  The property was right next to the King’s Palace.  Naboth wouldn’t do it because the property was part of his family’s ancient inheritance for generations.  Land had great importance to the people of Israel.  Jezebel heard about this and basically told Ahab, “I got this one.  No worries.  You will get it your majesty!”
 
Jezebel wrote letters to some men in the city in king’s name.  She asked two to host a feast.  At the feast accuse Naboth of cursing God and the king, which he never did.  Both capital crimes.  They did it.  As soon as it happened, Naboth was sentenced to death.  They went out and stoned Naboth to death.  This injustice was a direct violation of the 9th Commandment.
 
The story of Naboth doesn’t end there, and this is really important.  The sin of giving a false witness did not go unpunished.  What happened next to Ahab was that “the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite,” the great prophet in Israel.  In 1 Kings 21:17, He prophesied that “dogs shall lick the blood” of Ahab in the same spot where Naboth died. And “the dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel” (21:23).  A few years later Ahab would die in battle and his blood would be found on the exact spot of Naboth’s death (22:37–40).  And then Jezebel herself would be thrown over the walls of Jezreel and die from it. The dogs ate her blood on that very spot (2 Kings 9:30-37).
 
The point of this is that no one gets away with intentional, malicious injustice.  God is a heavenly judge who always does right.  Part of doing right is judging the world with perfect “righteousness” and “equity” as Psalm 98:9 reminds us.  It’s true that God’s sense of justice doesn’t always look like we want it to.  But He never fails.
 
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”  There’s a good chance that some of us have been the victim of people bearing false witness against us, maybe even in such a way that we experienced financial or legal troubles.  Or at least relational ones.  Two observations as we reflect on the Nineth Commandment this morning:
 
First: Speak Truth No Matter What
The 9th Commandment calls us to speak truth no matter what.  The false witnesses in King Ahab’s court failed to speak truth.  “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”  The command prohibits false witness in any formal and informal settings.  It prohibits bearing false witness in a courtroom as well as a casual conversation, a tweet, a Facebook post, Instagram, a text message, or e-mail note.  These rumors, gossip, and slander are as destructive as bearing a false witness in a courtroom.
 
The New Testament adds a positive application of this commandment and that’s speaking truth in love.  In Ephesians 4:15, Paul writes about “speaking the truth in love.”  It has been said that love without truth is hypocrisy, but truth without love is brutality.  God doesn’t want you running around telling someone how ugly their dress is, or that you hated the gift they gave you, or what a lousy solo they sang.  We must always speak the truth, but we must balance the truth with love and grace.
 
Second: Speaking Truth is an Evidence of the Lordship of Christ
Our liturgical calendar marks this Sunday as, “Christ the King Sunday.”  I find it fascinating that Jesus stresses absolute truthfulness as evidence of our recognition of His Lordship.  This is what Jesus says in Matthew 5:33-37, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.  All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
 
As you notice here, Jesus only has two categories of speech.  Speech either reflects the Lordship of Christ or it reflects the dominion of the evil one.  Your speech either reflects your submission to the Lordship of Christ or it reflects the influence of Satan.  It’s that simple. All speech falls into one of those two categories.  It’s that black or white.  Speaking truth in love is an evidence of the Lordship of Christ who is the Lord of our tongues and hearts.
 
Friends, our testimony of truth telling is a crucial part of Christian witness.  Do we have a reputation of speaking truthfully to and about others?  As Christians we should have an appreciation for the truth because of our union with Christ.  Therefore, may we never entertain any gossip.  May we never slander others.  How can we avoid the sin of bearing false witness?  How can we overcome it?  The passage from Colossians 3 tells us we need to do some deep cleaning.  We need to clothe ourselves with the new self.  Get your heart right with God. That’s where the trouble always starts – down inside.  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 (Stewardship Sunday ~ November 13, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“You Shall Not Steal!”
Exodus 20:15; Malachi 3:6-12
 
We are continuing our study in the 10 Commandments today with the Eighth Commandment. “You shall not steal,” said the Lord God in Exodus 20:15. The Ten Commandments have an amazing ability to instruct us in all areas of life.  They cover ethical categories that span so much of our day-to-day existence. God knows that we need help understanding how to live as His people in the world.  The Law, the Ten Commandments, is one expression of God’s amazing love and grace to His people.
 
Jesus said that all the law can be summed up in two commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  The two tables of the Law given in Sinai breaks down these two great commandments. The first four commands help us to love and worship God as we ought.  Commands 5-10 help us to know how to love our neighbor as we ought.
 
As we look at the Eighth Commandment, “You shall not steal,” you will notice that it doesn’t say what you won’t steal; it doesn’t say when you won’t steal; it doesn’t say from whom you won’t steal; and it doesn’t say why.  It is a generic command.  And the reason that it doesn’t tell what, when, from whom, or why you shouldn’t steal is because it intends to enforce this: you won’t steal anything from anyone at any time for any reason.  It’s a comprehensive command.  
 
As is the case with all the other commandments, this is a multi-layer command.  “לא תגנוב” ~ “Lo Tegnov” in Hebrew. “You shall not steal.”  Why?  What’s wrong with stealing?  Let me offer two ways the 8th commandment can be applied to our lives today:
 
First: Stealing is a Sin against God’s Providence
Stealing is basically a sin against God’s providence.  The teaching of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation indicates that because believers trust in the providence of God, and trust in God’s kind provision for us in all things, therefore we will refuse to take what is not ours from others.  We won’t take persons who don’t belong to us; we won’t take money that doesn’t belong to us; we won’t take goods; we won’t take land that doesn’t belong to us; and we won’t take the fruit of the other’s labor.  Stealing is a sign that we don’t trust that God will provide for us.  Stealing is a sin against God’s providence.
 
The question that could be racing in your mind now is: how do we break this commandment today?  What are some of the different ways that we all steal? A recent nation-wide survey showed that Americans are growing more “spiritual” and less moral.  And this is never more evident than when it comes to the sin of stealing.  Although everyone acknowledges that direct theft is wrong, many people do not see anything wrong with more subtle types of stealing.
 
Young people steal when they cheat in school.  They steal the ideas and the hard work of others.  Employers steal when they don’t pay their employees fair wages.  Employees steal when they don’t work hard enough and when they waste their time while at work.  Some people steal by refusing to work for a living.  This is stealing from society.  People steal through rip-offs and false measures.  We steal when we spread gossip and rumors.  Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches.”  When we slander a person, we are basically stealing their good reputation, which is something of great value. Stealing is a sin against God’s provision.
 
Second: Stewardship and the Eighth Commandment
The Scripture underscores another way we can relate this to our lives today.  It has to do with us robbing God.  Have you ever thought about the fact that you can rob God?  Malachi chapter 3 speaks about robbing God by failing to offer to God our tithes and offerings.  In Malachi 3:8, the Lord says, “Will anyone rob God?  Yet you are robbing me!  But you say, “How are we robbing you?”  In your tithes and offerings!”  We owe God the first portion of our pay, and when we do not give God His due, we are robbing God. 
 
But robbing God is far more than just financial.  We can also rob God by stealing time from God.  When we fail to spend time with God, we rob God.  When we fail to keep the Sabbath holy and miss the fellowship of believers, we are stealing time from God.  When we fail to use our time wisely, we rob God.  We can also rob God of His due by living for self instead of for God.  As believers, we are called to live a God-centered life, to live for the glory of our Redeemer.  When we fail to live as good stewards, we rob God.  Stewardship means that everything we have actually belongs to God.  We have a borrowed life from God living on borrowed time from God. Therefore we are to make the most out of this life. 
 
Friends, we all have broken the Eighth Commandment one way or another.  How many times we doubted God’s providence and decided to take detours to reach our destination?  How often do we rob God when we fail to surrender to Him our resources, our time, our energy and ourselves?  We have certainly robbed God of His due.  But the good news today is that God is not done with us.  Regardless of our ultimate failure to walk in His ways and to obey His commands, God is giving us another chance today to get it right.  He is calling us to bring the full tithe into the storehouse and experience His overflowing blessings.  God wants to set us free from a self-centered life, from materialism, and from chasing after the wind as we center our lives upon the Lord and His will. “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free,” Jesus said in John 8:32.  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 ~ November 6, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“A Call to Faithfulness!”
Exodus 20:14; James 4:4-6
 
We are almost two-thirds though our Fall Sermon series, a series that I titled, “The Ten Commandments for Today!”  This is a series that calls us to examine our hearts, search our lives, and reflect on our discipleship and spirituality.
 
As I pointed out a few weeks ago, the Ten Commandments are Godly rules given for our good and freedom.  The Ten Commandments are big, bold, bright signs guiding us away from the regions of darkness and death, and toward the upland plains of light and life in Christ. 
 
The problem is, in our sin, we hate being told what to do.  We think we know better.  We look at things and stuff that cannot make our lives better, and we think, “That would make my life great.”  This is true of us both individually and collectively. Even more tragic, you would think that we learn from our past mistakes, but the truth is, we keep stepping on the same landmines over and over and over again.  Every generation tends to think, “The people before us were primitive.  They were not very smart.  We’re smarter now.”  Which proves we’re not any smarter.  Well, look at the misery, brokenness, and the moral bankruptcy of our world to see how smart we’ve become.
 
So, if we truly look at the Ten Commandments with some openness, we will find out that God, by His grace, wants to help us to live and enjoy life to the brim and at the same time, bring glory and honor to His name.  This morning, we get to reflect on the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.”  Two observations as we reflect on the Seventh Commandment this Communion Sunday:
 
First: Faithfulness Matters
The first thing the Seventh Command underscores is faithfulness matters.  Family is at the heart of the Seventh Commandment.  In addressing family and the institution of marriage in this command, the Lord highlights the importance of a healthy relationship between a man and a woman for the stability of any society and civilization past, present, and future. 
 
The Seventh Commandment calls us to a life of faithfulness in a culture that keeps attacking and undermining the institution of marriage, its definition, importance, and implications.  Our present culture is a mess.  One reason married people take vows is that temptations to unfaithfulness do come our way.  In marriage, a man and a woman make their vows before God the whole world to remain faithful to each other, stay true to each other as long as both shall live.
 
But do we stay true to our vows?  Outwardly, maybe — even hopefully.  But if outward behavior alone is the only way to examine our faithfulness, then we might pat ourselves on the back.  That’s why Jesus once more deepens and intensifies the meaning of commitment and faithfulness as He says in Matthew 5:28, “You’ve heard it was said, you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Who of us has stayed true at that deeper level?  You shall not commit adultery.  Faithfulness matters.
 
Second: Let’s Beware of the Spiritual Affair of the Heart
The reading from James chapter 4 warns us against spiritual adultery, against the spiritual affair of the heart.  James 4:4 states, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?”  We don’t often think of our unfaithfulness to God as “adultery” per se. But let’s call things as God calls them.
 
James is picking up here a familiar theme from the Old Testament, that God is the husband and His people are His wife.  They are in a covenant relationship.  For example, Isaiah 54:5 states, “For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts.”  There are many passages in the Old Testament where God accuses Israel of spiritual adultery because of their unfaithfulness to His covenant love (see Isa. 1:21; 50:1; 57:3; Jer. 3:1-20; 13:27; Ezek. 16:35-39; 23:1-49).
 
Perhaps the most moving text of all is when God commanded the prophet Hosea to marry the prostitute Gomer (Hosea 1-3).  After bearing him children, she was unfaithful to him again.  In spite of her adultery, Hosea continued to support her, to love and to pursue her.  He remained faithful to his covenant.  Eventually, Gomer ended up on the slave market, totally degraded.  God commanded Hosea to go and buy back his errant wife out of slavery and restore her as his wife!  What a picture of God’s love for His wayward people!
 
The New Testament picks up the theme of God as our husband when Paul says that the marriage relationship is an earthly picture of Christ and the church (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:22-33; Rev. 19, 21).  Christ is our bridegroom, and we are His bride.  This means that when we turn away from Christ and embrace the world, we are sinning against His great love that bought us out of the slave market of sin. 
 
Friends, the Seventh Commandment is a call to a life of faithfulness to both our spouse and also our God.  The truth of the matter is that we all stumble in many ways.  It’s also true that God demands absolute fidelity which sometimes seems impossible.  That’s why James says in James 4:6 that God gives us greater grace than we need.  When we stumble, God’s grace meets us right there.  But we have to understand that God does not give grace to the proud, self-reliant, or self-righteous person. He opposes the proud.  Rather, God gives grace to the humble, who admit that they are empty and ask God to fill them.  As Psalm 107:9 puts it, “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”  So if you have drifted from God into any form of spiritual adultery, may we never forget James’ words, “He gives a greater grace.”  It is grace greater than all of our sins and trials.  That grace draws us to the Lord Jesus Himself as our all in all.  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 ~ October 30, 2022)
Rev. Dr. Mouris A. Yousef, Pastor
 
“You Shall Not Murder!”
Exodus 20:13; Matthew 5:21-26
 
As we continue our sermon series reflecting on the Ten Commandments, we come this morning to the sixth commandment.   The sixth commandment is found in Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder,” said the Lord to the people of Israel.  As you see, that is a really short commandment.  In English it’s four words, but in the original language, in Hebrew, it’s only two words, Lo ratsakh (רצח), which pretty much translate to “no murder.”  It cannot get any clearer than that.  Although it’s a short command, it speaks in such a profound way to our culture today; a culture that is marked by hostility and violence; a culture that definitely has lost its way.
 
At first glance, it looks like that’s the easiest one to keep.  Not only that, but it also seems that everyone is on agreement regarding the sixth commandment.  Taking someone’s life is universally assumed to be wrong in all cultures.  You could probably go out and talk with anyone here in Blackwood, and 100 out of 100 would agree that murder is wrong.  If you asked them why, they would probably say something like, “It’s just not right.” “Why not?” “Well, it’s not a very nice thing to do. We should treat each other like we want to be treated.”  That’s true.
 
Some people might even go a bit further and say, “If our society is really to function—if we’re to feel safe and flourish as human beings—we can’t just go around killing each other willy-nilly. We have to be protected from that.”  So when it comes down to it, most people would defend the rightness of this commandment by some form of utilitarian ethics.  Everyone, even people who don’t believe in God, can agree that killing people is bad. 
 
So as we reflect on the sixth commandment this morning, I would like to underscore two observations.  My first observation has to do with the value and sacredness of life and my second will look at how Jesus in the New Testament deepened and transformed this commandment.
 
First: The Value and Sacredness of Life
Have you ever wondered why murder is wrong?  As I pointed out, while everyone around us may agree that murder is wrong, as Christians, we should have a deeper understanding of the problem.  For us, there is an inherent worth and dignity of every human life and that is the foundation for keeping the sixth commandment.  Life is valuable.  Life is sacred.
 
This is what the Lord God said in Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed, for in his own image God made humans.”  It’s because all humans are made in the image of God, taking someone’s life is wrong.  No matter their race or ethnicity, born or unborn, healthy or sick, young or old.  It doesn’t matter how they vote, agree or disagree with us, every person on the face of this earth has inherent worth and dignity, since they are created in the image of God.  Only with Biblical anthropology can the commandment to not murder be based on something deeper than utilitarianism. The sixth commandment is about valuing, honoring, and respecting life.
 
Second: Jesus Deepens our Understanding of this Commandment
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus deepened our understanding of the sixth commandment.  This is what Jesus says in Matthew 6:21-22, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment, and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council, and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”
 
In these verses, Jesus intensifies the meaning of the commandment.  He deepens our understanding of the sixth commandment.  He challenges us to examine and repent of the conditions in our hearts that incline us toward violence—things like anger, resentment, jealousy, fear, insecurity—even if we would never physically harm someone, much less take their lives.  Spiritually speaking, Jesus tells us, these “lesser” sins are as deadly serious, even if we never lay a hand on another person.
 
Jesus isn’t changing the commandment.  He is really just getting to the heart of what it truly means.  When reflecting on this sixth commandment, Reformer John Calvin said that it would be ridiculous to imagine that God, who looks upon the thoughts of our hearts, would “instruct only the body in true righteousness”—as if murder were simply something we do with our hands. No, he says.  The law forbids “murder of the heart.”
 
Friends, do any of us ever commit “murder of the heart”?  I bet we all have.  The very first murder in the Bible happens between the grown children of Adam and Eve when Cain slays his younger brother Abel.  Before Cain commits the deed, God warns him to be careful: “Sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
 
Brothers and sisters, sin is constantly lurking at the door of hearts, and we must master it--and not let sin master us!  The sin of worshipping false gods is constantly lurking at the door of hearts.  The sin of loving the things of this world more than loving God is constantly lurking at the door of hearts.  The sin of living a self-centered life rather than a Christ-centered life is constantly lurking at the door of hearts.  The sin of embracing a cheap grace rather than being willing to live the costly grace is constantly lurking at the door of hearts.  We can’t play around with sin!  Unless we deal with these sinful desires and feelings, they will prevent us from being the people God has called us to be. 
 
May our thoughts, words, and actions bring life and lead those around us to life eternal in Christ.  Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends, once said to him, “You have instructed many; you have strengthened the weak hands.  Your words have supported those who were stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees” Job 4:3-4.  In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!