Covenant and Commandments -- A Message for October 11, 2026

 

This morning, we are celebrating Harvest Home. Harvest Home is an annual celebration in our church that recalls our earlier period as a congregation in a rural area. Skippack is more suburban and built up now, but Trinity used to be a little village church surrounded by agricultural land. Our former farmer church members had big gardens, acres of food crops, and cows, pigs and chickens they ate themselves and sold as food to their neighbors.

Harvest Home comes during the fall harvest season. Members of our community gather our “produce” and bring it today to share with our neighbors. The food and toiletry items we collect this morning will go to the people who receive services from the Daily Bread Community Food Pantry. We are loving our neighbors as we love ourselves by sharing these items with our most vulnerable neighbors.

Loving our neighbors is part of what we are required to do as followers of God. This morning, we will read the first formal list of requirements God made for God’s followers: The Ten Commandments.

The people of God received this list, these essential commandments, after they all departed the land of Egypt – they had been slaves there for many generations. Last week, we focused on a part of their story that included the miracle of their crossing the Red Sea. Once they were liberated from slavery by God, they spent time in the wilderness learning how to live together and learning how to listen to God. 

The 10 Commandments was part of their journey. Let us turn to the commandments as we look to our reading of the day: Exodus 19 verses three through seven and chapter 20 verses one through seventeen. Listen now to the word of God….

The Scripture Exodus 19:3-7; 20:1-17 

3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:

4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,

6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak.

1 And God spoke all these words:

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray…

The Message Covenant and Commandments 

The people who followed Moses out of Egyptian slavery were kind of a mess. They were excited to leave the hardships of slavery behind, …but almost immediately started questioning their choice – they wondered if it was easier to live under the control of the Egyptians than it was to live out in the wilderness with 2 million other people.  Their food fell from the heavens. God provided them a weekly ration of fresh meat. God provided fresh springs for their water supply and led them with a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night…yet they bickered and complained and fought among themselves. The promise of their soon living in the Promised Land was not enough to keep them motivated and positive as they meandered through the wilderness.

When the people were slaves in Egypt, they had no autonomy. They had to do what their masters said.  Therefore, they were not used to ruling themselves. They had no experience settling their differences. They didn’t know how to live together well.

God realized the people needed basic rules to follow. Moses was overwhelmed by keeping the people calm, so God told Moses to meet him on top of Mount Sinai – Moses had to have one-on-one time with God.

The Ten Commandments resulted from their meeting…they were the first, most basic rules God gave Moses. God then issued many more instructions for the people before Moses returned to them. We have 10 fingers on our hands, so a list of 10 rules that we all can memorize were a good start for governing a civilization. The 10 commandments established basic rules for everyone to follow.

Jesus was asked what the most important commandments are…which of God’s commandments are the most important?  Jesus answered: 

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

All of God’s commandments can be distilled into these two commandments, including the 10 Commandments: the first 4 of the ten commandments focus on the love of God and the second 6 focus on love of neighbor.

The commandment to keep the Sabbath is a two-for-one. It is a way to love God, it is also a way we love ourselves and love our neighbors. When we keep Sabbath and make it holy, we show love for God by worshipping God, and coming to church, and praising God, and studying God’s word. But, we also love ourselves by enforcing sabbath on ourselves – we slow down, we take a break, we rest. And, we love our neighbors by worshipping together in community and allowing other people to have a rest. The sabbath requirement even extends to animals – if we were farmers, we wouldn’t use our mules to plow on the Sabbath….if we are hunters, we must not use  our hunting dogs to stalk prey on the Sabbath.

One of the most unique characteristics of Christianity is our command to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Christians are different from other groups because we don’t just worry about ourselves or our own group – to love our neighbors means that we love them by generously working to make sure everyone has what they need – food, shelter, clean water, great schools, medical care. We want this for all people – not just our family members or our friends or people who vote the way we do – we want this for all people, even strangers, even undocumented people living among us, even people who live in other countries, even people we consider our enemies like the residents of countries we are at odds with, like Iran or Canada or Russia. Our love extends to all of our neighbors.

This morning, as an expression of our love of neighbor, we gathered food and toiletry items for our annual Harvest Home celebration. Trinity may be a small congregation, but we live out the generosity of God by extending generosity to our neighbors. The Daily Bread provides a week’s supply of food for 1000 people every week. This is a huge undertaking….we collaborate with other local churches and businesses and neighbors to help supply the food and daily necessities our most vulnerable neighbors need. 

We are commanded by God to share, to give and to care for each other. Let us do so today and all days. Amen. 

Rescue at Sea -- A Message for October 4, 2026

 

Friends, today is World Communion Sunday…Christians all over the world are meeting at the communion table today. Our faith is an international faith. Our God is the God of all the people scattered across the globe.

We are reminded of the global nature of our faith as we return to the story of the people of God. For 400 years, the Hebrew people who worshipped God lived among the people of Egypt. They moved there when Joseph was a leader in Egypt. They initially found refuge in Egypt – the Egyptian people fed them and nurtured them during a terrible famine. Like many refugees, they had to flee because of a natural disaster in their homeland….and in Egypt, they found “home.”

But, things turned ugly in Egypt. The people who initially welcomed them and provided refuge to the Hebrew people turned against them. They were forced into bondage, into slavery. Things got worse and worse….finally, the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, demanded that the Egyptian people kill all of the baby boys born to the Hebrew people. The Pharaoh decided to eradicate the Hebrew people.

This was too much. It was too much for the Hebrews. It was too much for God.

God raised up a leader in Moses. Moses went to Pharaoh and pleaded for the release of the Hebrew slaves. Despite his pleas, Pharaoh was hard-hearted and refused to release the Hebrews. God caused 10 plagues to fall upon the land of Egypt. Finally, after the 10th plague, the Pharaoh agreed the Hebrew people could leave. 

But, then he changed his mind. We turn to the story of the escape of the Hebrews in the book of Exodus, chapter 14. Please turn to verse five with me….

The Scripture Exodus 14:5-7, 10-14, 21-29

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 

6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 

7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 

11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 

12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 

14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 

22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 

24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 

25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 

27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 

28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray….

The Message Rescue at Sea

There is an old Irish proverb from the 14th century that is still familiar to us ... .it says; “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” We are sometimes more comfortable in familiar situations, even when they are unhappy, than when we are trying new things. 

The Hebrew slaves were having a hard time in Egypt….they started out free but then they became slaves. The Pharaoh kept making their burden more difficult – they had to build vast buildings and monuments…. They were required to make the bricks for the walls and foundations of these structures. When they started asking for freedom, the Pharaoh increased their work-load. He stopped providing straw to aid in the production of bricks. They had to get up earlier in the day to scavenge for straw before they started making the bricks. And, then, the Pharaoh increased their output – each slave was required to make more and more bricks each day. There was no end in sight. The Pharaoh and his minions were cruel overlords. 

And, regularly, the Pharaoh was afraid of the strength of the slaves. In the past, he tried to weaken them by having their male babies killed. He was a terrible despot.

After 10 terrible plagues, the Pharaoh decided that keeping the Hebrew slaves was too dangerous. In order to have peace – and in order for his own people to stay alive – he had to free the slaves. So, they were freed. They began marching away towards the Promised Land. But, then the Pharaoh had a meeting with his advisors – maybe his accountants – and regretted freeing the slaves.  The economy in Egypt was dependent on their labor. They needed the slaves to return to work. Without them, the economy would collapse.

We recognize this. The economy of the plantation culture of the Southern United States collapsed when it could no longer depend on the labor of the freed American slaves.

So, the Pharaoh and his 600 best chariots and their drivers and a bunch of other military men chased after the Hebrews. When the former slaves saw the chasing army, they started to regret their predictament…they complained to Moses that it would have been better for them to stay slaves in Egypt than to be killed by the army out in the desert. “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”

We know this predicament…well, we probably haven’t been slaves fleeing for our lives….but, we know the conflicting thoughts they were having….should I stay in this job I hate because the alternatives could be just as bad? …should I stay in this broken marriage because it is better than being alone? ….should I keep getting my hair cut by Sally even though I don’t like the way she does my bangs because otherwise I would have to find someone else to do my hair?

Often we feel risk-adverse or afraid to change something because the situation we are in is comfortable or safe or predictable, and changing will involve entering the unknown.

When ministers get together and talk at our ministerium gatherings or training sessions, one of the complaints they have is that they hear a lot from their congregation members, “...but, we have always done it this way.” ….”Our communion bread has always been Pepperidge Farm white bread, we can’t change it to wheat bread.” “We always have our picnic on the 3rd Sunday of July, we can’t change it to the 2nd Sunday.” “Our bell choir always plays at the 8 am Easter worship service, we can’t have it play at the 10 am Easter service.” Ugh…..

No matter how comfortable we are, we sometimes need to allow change….A seed has to die for a plant to grow. Sometimes the best course of action for our lives, and for our churches is to change.

And, this is scary.  We know what happened in the past….but we cannot predict the future.

The Hebrew slaves knew what happened in their past – but they didn’t know what was going to happen in their future.

Sometimes, God breaks into our lives in surprising ways. The fleeing Hebrews were up against a wall – or actually, they were up against a sea. They were pinned in with the Egyptian army on one side and the Red Sea on the other. They thought they were sitting ducks about to be slaughtered. But, then God performed a miracle. The sea was parted. A path opened up for them to cross over the sea. And, the Egyptians were so cocky, so confident, they didn’ stop themselves from following them. I don’t know about you, but if I thought God was favoring my enemy, and performing miracles to protect them, I maybe wouldn’t think that miracle extended for me. But, the Egyptian army followed the Hebrews and started crossing the sea on the dry ground that opened up. But once the Hebrews made it across, God stopped the miracle. The sea waters crashed back together. The Egyptian armies were lost.

Out of the chaos of the waters, the Hebrew slaves were born. Out of the waters of creation, God’s people were born.

When we are baptised, God uses the water to signify that we are re-born….we are a new creation. Our faith in Jesus helps us start over again. 

Despite not knowing what the future will hold, our God is a God of hope. God promises that God is with us when we trust in him. So, despite our reluctance to change, and try new things, sometimes we discover that when we trust in God, whatever the new thing God has for our future is profoundly better than what we had in the past.

This weekend, we have been very busy as a church. We have been tending to the flea market in our fellowship hall and in our parking lot. We have been cooking and baking and selling our wares. We have been taking people’s money for parking and their donations for the treasures. We are busy. And we are tired.

Sometimes, we are so busy doing what we are doing, so caught up in the moment, that we fail to pause and listen for God’s guidance in our lives. What does God want me to do now? What does God want our church to do next? What changes do we need to make to faithfully serve God into the future? 

So, let’s remember to stop…to breathe…to pray…to listen…to rest in God. It's ok for us to take a break.  It's ok after all of this “doing” to rest. And, let’s listen to what new things God is calling us to do. How can we work together to serve the Lord? What changes in our lives do we need to make to be faithful into the future? Maybe God will cause some unexpected miracles to unfold right in front of our eyes.

Let’s hope so.  Amen.

Joseph in Prison -- A Message for September 27, 2026

 

Friends, it feels like we are leaping through the Old Testament this fall. We started a few weeks ago as we focused on the Covenant God made with Noah and the animals. Last week, we read about God’s call upon Abraham and Sarah to leave their homeland, travel to Canaan, and become the ancestors of countless people. Today, we read a portion of the story of the trials and tribulations of their great-grandson Joseph. 

Each week, we are focusing on a few highlights from the Old Testament – each highlight reminding us of how God calls upon imperfect people to change the world for the better.

If you haven’t read through the saga of Joseph lately, I remind you that it shares many elements in common with telanovellas or soap operas.

Joseph was one of the youngest sons of Jacob and his wife Rachel….Jacob had 12 sons in all with his two “wives” and two “concubines.” Jacob favored Joseph and showered him with special attention – Joseph became prideful and bratty in response to his father’s favoritism. HIs older brothers were jealous of Joseph. They finally became so angry and jealous they threw him into a pit, sold him into slavery, and then lied to his father and said he was dead. 

Today, we turn to what happened to Joseph while he was a slave. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 39 – we will read the whole chapter.

Listen now to the word of God….  

The Scripture Genesis 39:1-23

1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

2 The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,

4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.

9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.

12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,

14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.

15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.

17 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me.

18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.

20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison,

21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.

23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray…

The Message Joseph in Prison

Joseph didn’t stay in prison. You will notice that everywhere he landed, he ended up doing well. Joseph had a knack for interpreting dreams, or a knack in asking God to help him interpret dreams. While he was in prison, Joseph met the former cupbearer and baker of the Pharaoh. He correctly interpreted their dreams – one of them was put to death and the other was restored to his work in the King’s court. Eventually, the Pharaoh had some weird dreams no one could interpret. Joseph was remembered and brought to court to interpret the king’s dreams. His interpretation was correct.

After Joseph’s success, the Pharaoh freed Joseph and elevated him to the king’s second-in-command and advisor. There was a terrible famine. Joseph was put in charge of storing food before the famine and distributing it during the famine. Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt and asked for aid. After many twists and turns, Joseph forgave his brothers and his whole family resettled in Egypt.

After his adolescent bratty-ness, Joseph matured. I suspect the stress of being sold into slavery by your nearest relatives may have forced Joseph to grow up and re-evaluate his life. While he was a slave in Potiphar’s home, Joseph was loyal and faithful to his slave master. 

After he was wrongly imprisoned because of a lie, Joseph became a model prisoner, working on behalf of the prison overseer to settle disputes and be a role model for the other prisoners.

Joseph was consistent – wherever he found himself, he worked to help the people he was with – other slaves, other prisoners, the people of Egypt, his family.

Sometimes, we find ourselves in unfortunate situations – a job we feel is beneath us; or assigned to a group project in school with unhelpful partners; or sitting in a seat in a chemo unit we never expected to sit in. We find ourselves in places we don’t want to be or expect to be….kind of like David who first found himself held in slavery and then found himself sitting in prison.

We could give up.  We are tempted to give up. We are tempted to just curl up in a ball and cry.

But that is not what Joseph did. Wherever he found himself, he still had faith in God. He still trusted that God had a plan for his life. And, he was inspired by his faith to make the best of the situation he was in – When Joseph was captive in slavery, “Joseph found favor in his (master’s) eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.” When Joseph was captive in prison, “...the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.” When Joseph was in the court of the Pharaoh, the Pharaoh said: “You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders.” 

We can be like Joseph, no matter what happens in our lives….we can trust in God. We can be faithful. We can remember that God has a plan for us even if we don’t understand it at the moment. We can look around at the people surrounding us, and be kind to them. We can work hard and try to lift other people’s spirits. We can take care of ourselves, and work to take care of others. Even if we are feeling grumpy, we can choose to not take it out on others. We can work to make the best of whatever situation we are in.

Joseph took things in stride. He was faithful to God when he was cast out from his family. He was faithful to God when he became a slave. He was faithful to God when he was thrown into prison. He was faithful to God when he became a leader in Egypt. He never forgot his faith in God.

Let us work to be like Joseph: Faithful, resilient, and accepting….today and all days to come. Amen.