Denver Community Church

August 16, 2009: You Shall Not Give False Testimony – Michael Hidalgo

The idea of being people who represent the Truth is carried through dramatically in this command. Jesus says of himself, I am the way, the truth, and the life … When we speak or act in way that do not represent the truth, then we cease being like Jesus. 

What does it look like for us to be people who continually speak the truth?  What does it look like for us to be people who live out truth in our everyday lives? When Jesus said, I am the truth, he was speaking about much more than a series of facts, he was speaking about a way of living. 

August 9, 2009: Giving What is Not Yours – Michael Hidalgo

So often stealing is simply “taking what is not yours.” However, Malachi tells us that it is more than that. Malachi says … Will you rob God? The people are stealing by not giving. Stealing is also not giving what is God’s. If the essence of stealing is getting things, then we need to live opposite … that is we need to give. 

James tells us that all good things come from God. If this is the case, then whenever we take something that is not ours, whenever we steal, we are actually attempting to undo what God is His good favor has chosen to give. Stealing is the most overt way we tell God that we do not like what he has provided for us.

August 2, 2009: You Shall Not Commit Adultery – Michael Hidalgo

The first God ordained institution is marriage. Marriage is a picture of the eternal, and is the vehicle to the mystical union of which Paul speaks. The bond of marriage is one that is so powerful that God chooses to use this as a metaphor for his relationship with his people. This picture occurs at Sinai, at the Last Supper, and ultimately is the consummation of the coming Kingdom. When men and women distort this picture we are altering the picture that God himself has given to us to describe who he is.

July 26, 2009: It Is All the Same – Michael Hidalgo

The sixth word deals with how we ought to view all human life. Once we recognize the starting point of all human relationships, we can grasp the beauty and value of life itself. This command heightens the value of human life. We are reminded of Jesus’ words in his teaching in Matthew when he equates anger with one’s brother with murder. The implications of the sanctity of all life are amazing and implicit in this command.

July 19, 2009: Those Before and Those After – Michael Hidalgo

The fifth word transitions from the relationship of men and women to God toward the relationship we should have with our fellow human. It begins with the basis of all such relationships … the parent / child relationship. This relationship is the first relationship that a person experiences upon birth. This parent / child relationship is directly connected to the life and health of the larger community. This is the foundation from which we build into our relationships with other men and women. 

July 12, 2009: Take It Easy – Brian Gray

The Sabbath was not original with Israel. Many civilizations observed a day of rest in their weekly calendar. God however commanded that His people do this because he created rest on the seventh day of creation. God created rest for men and women so that we could reflect, remember, and stop. Today we are moving toward that rest. What does it mean for us to be people who take a breath? Who can “relax” and recognize where the blessings in our lives come from?

July 5, 2009: A God by Any Other Name – Michael Hidalgo

God’s name is not just a specific word; it connects to his reputation with the way people thought about Him. We are bearers of His Name. Therefore, we must live lives that do not profane that Name. His name was written on the Temple. Solomon says in 1 Kings 8:

May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ … Do whatever the foreigners ask of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

Paul reminds the Church that we are the Temple … we bear the name of God. As we live Holy lives then we must obey the commands of God.

June 28, 2009: Idols and Ideas – Michael Hidalgo

We are to come to God on his terms, and understand Him as he has chosen to reveal himself. We are not to be people who attempt to manipulate his revelation to us, and make Him in our image. We are made in His image, and we are to worship Him for what He has told us about Himself. 

While we may not be people who make idols today, we often place God in our box. We do this by the way we rationalize our world, and how we attempt to manipulate the Text to make it say what we would like it to say. We must be people who recognize the indescribable God and worship Him on his terms.

June 14, 2009: God of Liberation – Michael Hidalgo

One cannot approach the Ten Words without an understanding of who God is. God himself point to what he has already done for the people of Israel. He speaks of the Exodus, the miraculous salvation of the people out of the land of Egypt.

God demands that he be the only God (or god) of his people he demands complete and total allegiance from his people. This command is expressed in the prayer which is the basis of Jewish belief, Hear O Israel, the LORD is God, the LORD is one. Jesus restates this when he is asked, “What is the greatest command?”

June 7, 2009: Legalism – Jon Gettings