Growing up going to church taught me a lot. I went to Sunday worship and even bible class as a child. Then when I was old enough, I went through something called confirmation. This was when I learned the ins and outs of what the church I attended believed. We studied things like baptism and communion and prayer. But before all that we took time to study the famous 10 Commandments. In our most recent series in worship, we’ll be digging deeper into these very commandments to gain a better understanding. Let’s start here.

When I learned the commandments, I learned that the first commandment dealt with having no other god but the one true God. But admittedly there are different ways of numbering these commandments and since the Bible doesn’t come out and number them, we’re kind of on our own with the numbering game.

Well the basis of this series is not just the letter of the laws that God gives, but also the spirit or intent behind them. In this week’s message, we focus on the first word of God to Moses. This word is not a command like we would expect. Instead it’s a reminder.

As we dig into the commandments, we need to make sure we keep our focus in the right place. We need to keep God’s identity front and center. Who is God? What’s he about? Why does he do everything he does? Where is he when we need him most?

These are some of the concerns that the real first commandment addresses. Check out the message below. How does this different way of looking at the commandments change how you see them?