Midweek Check-in (July 2, 2025)

Good afternoon, church family!

Freedom. What a beautiful gift. This week we celebrate the freedom of this cherished land with gratitude and respect. And, at least in my neighborhood, fireworks. So. Many. Fireworks!

But let’s get serious about this for a moment. Freedom is a blessing. However, blessings can quickly turn into curses if we are not careful. For example, a driver’s license is a ticket to freedom on the open road! But we when use that freedom to drive recklessly, under the influence or with too much speed, we can soon come to regret how we used that freedom. And, in extreme cases, we could lose that freedom!

Similarly, the people of God in the Old Testament gained newfound, God-given freedom as they escaped captivity in Egypt, miraculously passed through the waters of the Red Sea and began their journey to the Promised Land God had prepared for them.

But when an entire nation has only known slavery for generations, newly acquired freedom could quickly be misused. What if the people of God turned to a new slave master? What if they continued to live life as if they were still slaves? This is not what God intended.

So, to help the people of God live into their freedom and live well, God introduced something – a new way to live. Not a way of slavery or oppression – these were free people now. And God wanted it to stay that way. Moses, the leader, climbed a mountain, received God’s message and soon after presented the people with God’s gift to the world’s newest free nation: The Ten Commandments.

Though I’m sure you’ve heard them before, I think this week is an ideal time to consider these sacred words, the context they were given and the great blessing they can be for all who follow them:

Then God spoke all these words:

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You must have no other gods before me.

Do not make an idol for yourself – no form whatsoever – of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents’ sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the Lord won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way.

Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. Six days you may work and do all your tasks, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Do not do any work on it – not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you. Because the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Do not kill.

Do not commit adultery.

Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

Exodus 20:1-17 (CEB)

May the Lord continue to bless us not only with freedom but also with the wisdom and grace to use our freedom well!

Your pastor,

Billy Byler

THIS SUNDAY: Join us immediately after the morning worship service this Sunday (July 6) for a fundraiser lunch to help Daphiney Saavedra as she prepared for a much-needed kidney transplant on July 18. Enjoy a delicious meal and make a donation that will go directly to bless the Saavedra family. Cash or check will be accepted, but please make out the check directly to Jose and Daphiney Saavedra. Online donations can be made on the family’s GoFundMe page.

JUST FOR FUN

Hey, you read Pastor Billy's midweek check-in all the way to the end! As a reward, check out these crazy stories I came across recently:

·      Ryan Trahan and his wife are making 50 Airbnb visits in 50 states in 50 days. Each day they post a 20-minute, family-friendly video on YouTube about their adventures. You can follow their journey from Day 1 to raise $1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

·      Two brothers in Texas bought an abandoned Boeing 727 for $10,000 and have big plans for it.

·      Multiple flights were delayed last week at an airport in Japan. Why? There was a bear running around on the runway.