“The One”
a sermon by Eric A. Houghton
Scriptures:
Psalm 19
Exodus 20:1–17
Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Lord said, “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Question: Who or what is your god or gods? What is it that is most important to you in your life? What do you think mostly about? What do you spend your time and your money on? What has your loyalty? What have you given your heart to, your mind to? Whatever the answer is – these will be your gods. This is your god.

For me, regrettably, I have learned that my god is me. My happiness and health, my future family, friends, – these are the concerns that frame my life. This is the prism that I view the world.

Question: Is it wise for me to be my own god? No! Scripture from Genesis to Revelation resoundingly answers no. One who is his own god, has a fool for a god.

I was not created to be a god. You were not created to be a god.

The Bible in large part is a series of episodes of people who attempted to be their own gods. They turned their back on God. They ignored God. They rebelled against God. They wanted to be in charge of their lives and do their own thing. Almost always, this led to disastrous, disappointing results. I suspect that a few gods have evaporated since the stock market collapse.

“You will have no other gods before me.” This is the first of the Ten Commandments, delivered to Moses so long ago. What about the Ten Commandments: are they good news or bad news?

For some of us, they are a list of “thou shalt nots” keeping us from happiness, keeping us from developing our full potential.

Yet, scripture, with one accord, says the commandments are God’s greatest gift to us. They show us the way to live. They guide us and tell us what to avoid so we do not harm ourselves or those around us.

The beautiful Psalm 19 contains six synonyms for the law. The law is perfect, sure, right, clear, pure, and true. And the law is to be desired more than gold, and is sweeter than honey and the drippings from the honeycomb.

“You shall have no other gods before me.”


Question: How many of you have walked a large rambunctious dog on a leash?

Last weekend we visited our eight-year-old grandson, Amon, and his parents, Maxwell and Emily. They have a big, loveable black dog, Suzee. She loves to lick and she loves to wag her tail, and she loves to run.

We took her to a park along an old canal. Her leash was connected to her collar. Suzee wanted to lead us on our walk, and she strained against her collar. With her nose to the ground, she is oblivious to the bigger picture. She does not see the road ahead with its traffic, and she does not see the family with the small child walking toward us. This is why she has a leash – to keep her from harming herself and to keep her from scaring or harming others.

Her leash is like God’s law, which is designed to keep us from harming ourselves or harming others. Any yet there is a difference. The leash is tangible and prevents Suzee’s movement. But God’s law, his sweet gift to us, is not tangible. We do not have to follow it. It is optional. We have free will.

“You shall have no other gods before me.”

I have been thinking about our tendency to make our own gods. Perhaps I can illustrate it in a tangible, geometrical way.

One–dimensional god: Having me as god is like a point in geometry. There is not much there, just an extremely limited, one-dimensional object. How pathetic if this point is the god that I worship and around which my life revolves.

Two–dimensional gods. But perhaps my gods extend beyond me. I may be loyal to my family, my community, my favorite basketball team, my job. I may have several gods to which I have given my heart, my mind and my loyalty.

In such cases, my gods may be broader than a point, they may be two–dimensional with width and length – represented by a sheet of paper. Thought limited in scope, they are better than a mere point. Yet it is still pathetic if my life revolves around a sheet of paper.

Church architecture is designed to raise our awareness of God’s transcendence
Imagine you are entering the sanctuary for the first time. You enter with your little “me god” in your heart. You see a large, beautiful space filled with others and realize that your god may be too small.

Then you look up. You see the coffered ceiling, the triangular beams, the lovely stained glass windows with images that reveal God. In the front is a raised chancel with the pulpit, the communion table, the cross, the candles, the lectern with the Bible. Beyond is the choir and the organ, and above them in a glorious rose window surrounded by a Celtic cross.
All this is designed to take you out of yourself, to help you transcend your tiny gods.

“You shall have no other gods before me.”

However, we do not live in the sanctuary. We must enter the world and live in the world, and if you are like me, you almost immediately forget God. And if you forget God for any period of time, you are probably busy creating your own gods. Thus, you are violating the First Commandment.

So how can we avoid this God forgetfulness?

The most important thing is having a relationship with God. A relationship based on prayer, on time spent alone, on meditation. A relationship based on music, scripture reading, attendance at worship. A relationship based on Sunday School class and activities with other Christians. We need to devote time to this relationship. If we have a relationship, we are less likely to forget the other person.

But when we do forget God, we can say, “I am sorry, Lord, I have forgotten you, forgive me. I repent and return to the relationship.”

For me, I need a reminder of God. In teaching the children about the Ten Commandments, we have them raise their index finger to symbolize the First Commandment. So, when I realize that I have gone a period without thinking about God, I lift my index finger and immediately it brings me back. It reminds me that these other pursuits are not my God. My God is transcendent, my God is more than two or three dimensional. He fills the universe, and exceeds the universe beyond all time and space. God is infinite and God is eternal.

If we cultivate this kind of intimacy with God, we can be drawn into a special kind of life. A life that reminds me of today’s last hymn, “Be Thou My Vision.” The first verse goes:

Be Thou My Vision oh Lord of my heart
Not be all else to me save that thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping thou presence my light.

“The One”
a sermon by Eric A. Houghton
Scriptures:
Psalm 19
Exodus 20:1–17
Sunday, March 15, 2009


The First Presbyterian Church
of Dunedin
455 Scotland Street
Dunedin, Florida 34698
(727) 733-2318
fax (727) 738-4297
WEBSITE: fpcdunedin.org
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Victoria ByRoade, Pastor