Ethics

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. – Roman 13:8-10

Friends,
I went to a liberal arts college and majored in Classical Languages and Philosophy. Let me tell you, the job offers were pouring in. (I am being facetious)

In my philosophy classes, I came to believe that there are two types of ethical systems in the world…

Marriage

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. – Revelation 19:6-8

Friends,
I’ve been thinking about marriage recently. Actually, I should say ‘marriages’.

My parents celebrated their 60th anniversary on June 7. My older daughter and her husband celebrated their 12th anniversary…

Suicide
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

Dear Friends,

Between the two high profile suicides this week, the Centers for Disease Control released it’s study on the topic of Suicide which noted suicide rates are rising. You can access the information on the CDC website. (Here is the link: https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/suicide/index.html)

As a pastor, the first funeral…

Sabbath Keeping

Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day. - Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Dear Friends,
Do you take a day of rest? Do you take a day off to get away from work? Do you take a day to ‘decompress’ as some say?

The third commandment tells us…