Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Sunday Morning Bible Study
September 19, 1999
Introduction
We’ve set aside today as "Children’s Ministry Sunday" for some special reasons.
:2 which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son
God’s ways were intended to be passed on from one generation to the next.
:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
dxa hwhy wnyhla hwhy larvy ems
This is what is known as the great Shema, the basic cry of a Jew. The name "Shema" comes from the first word, "hear".
According to rabbinical tradition, the Shema originally consisted only of verse 4 but was later expanded to include verses 5-9; 11:13-21; and Num. 15:37-41. According to verse 7, it was to be recited morning and night.
There are two emphases in this verse.
1) Yahweh is unique, and the only God of the Jews.
It could be translated, "Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one" or, "Yahweh is our God, Yahweh alone."
2) He is one God.
This doesn’t contradict the doctrine of the Trinity, it actually reinforces it. The word for "God" (Elohim) is a plural word, and the word for "one" is also used of the union of Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:24) to describe two persons in one flesh. We call the Trinity a "compound unity" in that there are three persons, but one God.
:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
heart – lebab – inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding
soul – nephesh – soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion
These two words are very close in their definitions, yet in comparing other Scriptures where these two words are found together, it would seem that the word for "heart" might indicate more things like emotions and passion, while the word for "soul" might indicate things like the mind and understanding. (Deut. 19:6; 4:9; Ps. 13:2)
Loving God isn’t the only thing we’re supposed to do with our heart and soul, we are also to seek Him (Deut. 4:29), serve Him (Deut. 10:12), and put God’s Word into our heart and soul (Deut. 11:18).
Lesson
Love Him with your heart
God wants us to have a passion for Him. He has a passion for us.
For some people, they just don’t seem to get passionate about anything.
What do you get emotional over? Is it your computer? Your football team? A romantic movie? A famous person?
If you get emotional over anything at all, you ought to be more emotional over your relationship with God.
Lesson
Love Him with your mind.
Our love for the Lord shouldn’t just be an emotional thing. It’s not just about having "warm fuzzies" for God.
I choose to love Him with my mind, with my will.
I grow in my understanding of God as I read His Word. I understand how awesome He is. I understand how loving He is. I understand how faithful He is.
And as a result I grow in choosing to value Him above all.
might – m@`od – muchness, force, abundance
While the other two words are talking about inner qualities, this word is speaking of our outward physical person.
Lesson
Love Him with your actions
Our outward actions ought to match the things we claim to have on the inside.
If a person says they love you, but you catch them kissing another person, how strong is that love toward you?
Jesus said,
(John 14:15 KJV) If ye love me, keep my commandments.
We aren’t supposed to love God with just one little part of us, but with all of us.
As Dave Ritner was saying a few weeks ago, we need to be careful that our love for God isn’t confined to just the words of love we express to Him in our songs of worship. Our love for God needs to come from every part of us, all the time, in every situation.
A. W. Tozer said, "We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God."
Jesus said this verse was the GREATEST COMMANDMENT. (Mark 12:30).
Everything in life flows from this. If we love God with a proper love, it will affect our whole lives. It will affect what we do and what we don’t do. It will affect how we treat others:
(1 John 4:7-8 KJV) Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. {8} He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Illustration
"Humanly speaking, I might never have been saved if someone hadn’t ‘said it with love’ to me," says Dr. Howard Hendricks. "I was nine years old, a little terror," he recalls. "I was out playing marbles one day, when a man named Walt came along and invited me to Sunday School. There was nothing appealing to me about anything with ‘school’ in it, so he made me another proposition—one I liked better: ‘Wanna play a game of marbles with me?’ "After he’d wiped me out in marbles, he inquired, ‘Wanna learn how to play this game better?’ "By the time he’d taught me how to play marbles over the next few days, he’d built such a relationship with me that I’d have gone anywhere he suggested. Of the 13 boys in that class -- 11 ended up in vocational Christian work."
Lesson
How to fall in love with God.
As I’ve talked about loving God, perhaps you’ve realized that you don’t really have a clue how to do this at all.
It all starts with this – Let God love you.
1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
I can only begin to understand how to love God with my heart, mind, and strength when I begin to understand how much God loves me.
Rom 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.God’s love for me isn’t dependent upon me cleaning up my life. He knows I can’t do it by myself. His love isn’t conditional upon me being perfect. He loves me just as I am, a sinner.
1 John 3:16a
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us …God’s love for me is demonstrated by the greatest act of love the world has ever known. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, laid aside His glory in heaven and chose to take on human flesh. He became a human for one purpose, to be led to a Roman cross where He would die a cruel death in order to lay down His own life as a sacrifice to pay for my sins. I should have been the one on that cross. But Jesus took my place. He did it because He loves me. He did it so that my sins could be forgiven. He did it so I could know God.
:8 bind them for a sign upon thine hand
The Jews took this literally, and developed "phylacteries", which are little leather boxes with a bit of scripture inside. They wear them on the hand or on the forehead. They were originally intended as ways of reminding people to think about God’s Word but eventually became a religious ritual kind of thing, where you make a show of how spiritual you are to impress others.
:9 write them upon the posts of thy house
This too has been taken literally. When Calvary Anaheim used to meet that the Jewish Community Center, we had these little clay scroll things with Hebrew lettering on them nailed to the doorframes. The clay scroll is called a "mezuzah" (meaning "doorpost").
Lesson
Which Jesus lives at your house?
It’s not uncommon for us to be giving our kids the wrong idea about where Jesus lives.
We can give them the impression that church is where Jesus lives. We tell the kids that on Sunday we’re going to the "Lord’s house". But what they need to see is that Jesus lives at their house too.
When our kids see us be all nice and sweet to people at church, but yell, kick, and scream when we’re at home, then they’re not learning about the real Jesus. Your kids will learn most about Jesus by watching what you do at home when you relax in front of them.
:7 teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them
teach them diligently – shanan – to sharpen, whet (as in sharpen a knife); when in the "intensive" form (as it is here), it means "to teach incisively". It’s not just running the knife blade a few times over the pumice stone, it’s going over and over and over it until it’s razor sharp. The idea is that we are to keep going over and over and over God’s Word with our children until they’re "razor sharp" in God’s Word.
I came across some true statements that kids have written in Sunday School, and I have to say that I think we have some teaching ahead of us! True statements …
Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Syanide to get the Ten Amendments. The first Commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple. The Fifth Commandment is to humor thy father and mother.
Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol. The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.
David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought with the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical times. Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
talk – dabar – to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing
Lesson
Sharpen your kids with the Word.
It’s not about learning to be a great Sunday School teacher at home. It’s learning to talk about God’s Word at home. It’s making God’s Word a part of your vocabulary.
God’s Word isn’t going to be a part of your vocabulary with your kids unless it’s a part of your life. You need to spend time in God’s Word. You be sure to be hearing what God is saying to you.
In Paul’s teaching, he wrote,
(1 Cor 11:23 KJV) For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you …
Have you received from the Lord? Do you have anything to share with the kids?
:7 when thou sittest in thine house …
sittest – yashab – to dwell, remain, sit, abide
When you’re at home sitting around. When you’re out on the town being busy.
:7 when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Late at night and early in the morning.
Our responsibility is to be teaching them at both ends of the day. It should be a natural, way of life kind of thing. God isn’t saying you have to sit them down and have a Sunday School class once a day. It’s more than that. It’s teaching them all throughout the day, learning from all of life’s situations.
Illustration
A little boy was afraid of the dark. One night his mother told him to go out to the back porch and bring her the broom. The little boy turned to his mother and said, "Mama, I don’t want to go out there. It’s dark." The mother smiled reassuringly at her son. "You don’t have to be afraid of the dark," she explained. "Jesus is out there. He’ll look after you and protect you." The little boy looked at his mother real hard and asked, "Are you sure he’s out there?" "Yes, I’m sure. He is everywhere, and He is always ready to help you when you need Him," she said. The little boy thought about that for a minute and then went to the back door and cracked it a little. Peering out into the darkness, he called, "Jesus? If you’re out there, would you please hand me the broom?"
Teaching our kids about the Lord isn’t the sole responsibility of our Sunday School teachers. It’s the responsibility of the parents. One of our desires for today’s special "Children’s Ministry Sunday" was to expose you to what goes on in your kids’ classrooms, but to also wake us up as a church to realize that the responsibility of raising our kids in the Lord belongs to all of us. Find out what your kids’ teachers are doing. Be a part of it. We’re all on the same team.
Challenge
Invitation to know Jesus / for prayer.
Go to the kids’ rooms. Listen. Watch. Be open.