Shema: Love God Wholeheartedly and Teach Others

You have to have one ruler, one lord who you trust the most and whose plan you follow. You can't have 10. You can't even have two. You gotta have one who gets to call the shots. Hear, o Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Just him, just one. [00:51:54] (28 seconds)  #OneLordOneGod

I need this little part of my my heart to be focused on on my my four zero one k. This little part of my heart you know, the the family vacation we've been saving up for a long time. This little part of my heart is for for my hobbies. This little part is is just for my Netflix. This part of my heart is is just for my my private reading time. And suddenly, what you're left with is a broken heart, a heart that is ripped to pieces. [00:53:35] (31 seconds)  #WholeHeartNotPieces

This is why they ask you hard questions about your faith, why they challenge you to refine you. It's because the Bible is a compass, one that guides you on the one path to life, the one path to freedom. And that one path is the only path that leads you to the true God, the only God, the whole heart loving God. [01:05:29] (35 seconds)  #BibleCompass

It's important because outward behavior can be faked. You can go through all the dos and don'ts. You can go through the motions, and you can fool a lot of people. And most of the time, when you do that, when you wanna fool people, it's so that you can get something from them or at least avoid a punishment that might be coming from them. And if that's what you're up to, get the rewards and avoid the punishments, that means the only person you're in it for is yourself. [00:57:12] (39 seconds)  #FaithNotPerformance

Thank you for entering into this space, knocking on the door of our hearts. Thank you that we can open them up to you and not feel ashamed, but feel restored. You will warm what is cold. You will soften what is hard. You will heal that which has been wounded and give us a new heart, a heart that is ready to follow you fully. Thank you, Lord Jesus, and we worship you today for all that you have done. [01:13:17] (33 seconds)  #HeartRestoration

And so when the world, as it has again, descends deeper into war, I think it's appropriate for us to spend some time in prayer as we start the service, to remind ourselves, to reorient ourselves to the truth that God is in control, that God rules all things. And it can be a time of uncertainty and fear. You don't know whether to trust the newscasters or the podcasters, channel four or channel five. So instead, we say, while others trust in chariots, we trust in the name of the Lord our God. [00:11:15] (34 seconds)  #TrustGodNotNews

This very special sentence is called the Shema, and God's people were told to repeat these words twice every day. They were to speak them at the birth of a child, whispered into the newborn's ear, to say them at weddings, to say them at funerals twice every day. Hear, o Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And this idea, as revolutionary as it was in the ancient world, is still absolutely essential in ours. [00:48:57] (34 seconds)  #RememberTheShema

Life is a lot like that. In fact, probably now more than ever. There are lots of people who are yelling at you, tweeting at you, emailing you, guilt tripping you to try to get you to do what they want you to do. Where you should live, how you should think, what you should do. All these people want you to follow them, to be devoted to them, but you cannot serve many masters. [00:51:20] (34 seconds)  #ServeOneNotMany