God gives Moses Ten Commandments, which he passes on to the people. We find these listed twice in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:3-23 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21).
They provide the foundation for the rest of the laws in the Old Testament, which Bible scholars tell us number 613 commands. That’s a lot to keep straight, so boiling it down to ten main ones is helpful.
The Ten Commandments
Do not have any other gods.
Do not worship idols (“other gods”).
Do not use God’s name wrongly.
Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Honor your parents (which carries a blessing).
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not lie (give false testimony).
Do not covet.
The first four relate to our relationship with God, while the last six relate to our relationship with other people.
The fifth one, which is the only one with a blessing attached to it, serves as a transition between the four God-honoring commands and the six people-focused commands.
Though these were once affirmed by most people—including those who didn’t believe in God—this is no longer true.
The first four have slipped away from society’s consciousness, especially number four, which is something many Christians now disregard.
Of the remaining six commands, most are falling away from our culture’s moral perspective, with people having little concern about adultery, lying, and coveting.
The prohibitions against murder and stealing are now gray areas, and too many people fail to honor their parents.
Of these Ten Commandments, people tend to at best consider them as ten suggestions and at worse to disregard them completely.
Jesus Fulfills the Old Testament Law
Yet some people are quick to point out that these Old Testament laws, even the Ten Commandments, no longer apply. This is because Jesus says he came to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).
Yet within the same verse he says he didn’t come to abolish them. And he says it twice. While he did fulfill—and thereby negate—the ceremonial commands in the Old Testament with his sacrificial death and resurrection, he built upon and clarified the rest.
Sometimes Jesus confirmed them, but most times he extended them.
Consider his expanded teachings about murder and adultery. He extended murder to include anger (Matthew 5:21-22). And he extended adultery to include merely thinking about it, that is, lust (Matthew 5:28).
Jesus’s Top Two Commands
Jesus’s chief teaching, however, comes when he summarizes the Ten Commandments, along with the expanded list of 613, down to just two.
He says we’re to love God and love others. It’s that simple.
Jesus teaches that the most important command is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And he says the second greatest command is to love other people as much as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39).
Realize, however, he doesn’t tell us to love them more than we love ourselves, but we shouldn’t love them any less.
And we shouldn’t treat Jesus’s commands as suggestions, either—even though the world does. We should take them quite seriously and do everything possible to obey them fully.
To do anything less is unacceptable.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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I stopped listening to the news on June 15, 2020. I had to. The negativity and biased rhetoric wore me down. It permeated my life and threatened my ability to function.
Though I didn’t like being out of touch, when I stopped listening to the news a weight lifted off me right away. I became happier and less agitated. It was a smart move on my part and overdue.
But after a two-and-a-half-year break, I started listening to the news again. It comes in the form of a podcast each weekday morning: “The World and Everything in It.”
It’s from WORLD News Group, which “produces sound journalism, grounded in facts and biblical truth.” This is exactly the news source I need.
It’s so counter to other news sources, that it took me a couple weeks to get used to it and embrace it, but I now so look forward to it every day.
If you want to hear news that won’t confront your faith and challenge your beliefs, check out wng.org. It’s a news source you can trust.
My friend, Thomas Umstattd, recommended it to me. Now I’m recommending it to you. Please check it out.
Then you can recommend it to your friends.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The next thirteen churches on our list promise a wider variation of experience. This excites me. I also see some churches we’ll exclude because they don’t hold much promise for additional variation.
Our journey is about growth and discovery, not about thoroughly covering every option in a precise order.
Though we have a plan, the plan is flexible.
Takeaway for Everyone: Plan, but be flexible. Fixating on the plan, as well as having no plan, will miss opportunities that arise.
We’re now half done with our journey. For the past twenty-six weeks we’ve sought to expand our understanding of how others worship God. I blog about our visit each Monday morning, but friends frequently ask for more.
“What are you learning?”
“That God’s church is more diverse and varied than I ever imagined.”
“Is your journey changing?”
“No. We’re still planning to return to our home church when we’re done.”
“Do you want to revisit any of the churches?”
“Yes.” I start to reel off a list along with my reasons, but they don’t seem interested in the details. Why do they ask if they don’t care about the answers?
Aside from these questions, a sobering realization is that church is not about the teaching or the music. It’s about community.
We’ve heard messages from gifted speakers and those not-so-talented, the formally trained and the self-taught.
We’ve heard deep thoughts and entertaining fluff. But in all cases, we received a worthwhile word from God. I suspect if we pray expectantly and are open to hear, we will.
Similarly, we’ve sung traditional hymns, modern songs, and contemporary praise choruses. Accomplished vocalists, struggling crooners, and everything in between have led us in worship.
There have been worship bands, pipe organs and pianos, accompaniment tracks, recorded songs, and even a cappella. If we focus on the words, we praise God regardless of musical style.
Nonetheless, message and music, I’m sad to report, aren’t important—not really. The big variable is community. Aside from that often-awkward official greeting time during the service, community is a meaningful time of spiritual interaction with others.
When we make connections with others, we share Jesus. God is more present in these informal exchanges before and after the service than during the planned and prepped moments of the service.
A few churches have no community. People come, people sit, and people leave, without saying a word. This is not church as God intended.
Fortunately, most churches allow community to some degree and a few excel at it. I want to revisit these churches. Community is church at its best.
4 Standout Churches
Four churches stood out in their embrace of us. Though our visit could have been an anomaly, I suspect all visitors would receive a similar welcome.
Many churches have an official greeter or two and most have a couple of outgoing people who reach out to visitors, but at Church #22 (A Caring Community) it seemed everyone reached out to us.
We met so many people who were genuinely interested in getting to know us. They were sincere, accepting, and engaging.
The after-church community at Church #19 (A Near Miss) was also great. We talked with many people, made connections, and learned about their church, ministry philosophy, and vision. It felt as if we were at a family reunion with extended relatives.
At Church #14 (The Pentecostal Perspective) many members of the congregation were friendly. We felt welcomed before and during the service, enjoying spiritually-significant conversations.
Unfortunately, their narrow theology placed us on the outside. They would never fully accept us into their community.
For the first, this was due to language differences and for the second, cultural differences, though I should note, we weren’t in the target demographic at either church.
Avoid a Consumerism Mentality
A second observation also stems from the preaching and singing. Consumerism is rampant in the modern church. The mantra of many churches, especially the larger ones, is “excellence in everything.”
Doing whatever God calls us to do to the best of our abilities is God-honoring. He deserves nothing less. Unfortunately, pursuing excellence can feed into a consumer mentality.
Many people seek a church with the most engaging speaker and professional musicians.
When they find it, they join that church—and stay there until a better preacher or music comes along. They are church consumers, looking for the best value. They forget about community and never ask what they can give to a church.
I’m not being overly critical. How many times have you heard someone leave a church because “I’m just not being fed anymore”? I’ve heard it, and I’ve even said it. Its cousin is “it’s just not meeting my needs.”
Although both complaints sound sincerely spiritual, they reveal a consumer mindset: “What will church do for me?” If this church can’t meet my needs, I’ll find one that does.
The result is church shopping and church hopping. This isn’t God-honoring, and we should be ashamed.
A third item is church size. Size does matter and bigger isn’t better.
There’s a progression: Excellence in preaching and music triggers a consumer reaction, so churches that excel in these areas attract bigger crowds. They grow and may even become a megachurch.
Connection and Community
From the perspective of structure, resources, programs, staff, and efficiency, bigger churches have a huge advantage. This plays well in today’s society, but it isn’t the purpose of church.
Church is to connect people with God and with each other.
This is hard, if not impossible, to do with any degree of intimacy and integrity at a large church. That’s why they form small groups, promoting smallness within the structure of largeness.
I’m using small groups in a generic sense. The actual labels vary: small groups, life groups, Bible studies, pods, service teams, and fellowship groups.
At the churches with, say, more than two hundred people, no one knows if you’re a visitor and few care. If you want to get lost in a crowd, go to a big church. If you want community, seek a smaller one.
These are the three key insights God showed me in the past six months. Our church visits confirm it. I’m not down on church, but I wonder if today’s church has lost its way.
“Church isn’t about message or music. Those are often distractions or settling for less than the best. True church is about community, where we are all priests, with each one giving and receiving, mutually edifying and encouraging one another on our faith journey.”
I’m sure we’ll learn more on the second half of our journey. I can’t wait for what else God has planned for us.
Takeaway for Everyone: True church is about community. The message and music are secondary—and may even distract from what really matters.
My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse: “On the third day he will be raised to life!” (Matthew 20:19)
In a prior reading we covered Jesus predicting his death and resurrection. This isn’t the only time he says this. He does it again . . . and again.
The second time is much like the first. They’re in Galilee. Jesus tells his disciples three things.
First, he will be delivered over to the hands of men. This is cryptic, but we now know that this means Judas will betray him to the Jewish leaders who will arrest him.
This time Peter keeps quiet. He may have learned from his prior impetuous outburst that saying nothing is the wise action. Even so, the disciples react strongly.
Matthew says they’re filled with grief. This suggests they rightly hear the dying part but miss the rising part. Though Jesus raised some people from the dead, the disciples are much more familiar with death than resurrection.
In contrast to Matthew’s account, Mark and Luke say the disciples don’t understand what he means but are afraid to ask for clarification.
Which is it? It’s both. Combining these, we see the disciples are concerned because they don’t understand.
This is the second time Jesus predicts his death.
The third time Jesus predicts his death is on their way to Jerusalem. This time he gives more details.
He says he’ll be handed over to the religious leaders. They’ll condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles—that is, non-Jews, implying the Romans. (This is because the Jews lack the authority to execute anyone, but the Romans can.)
The Romans will mock Jesus, flog him, and execute him by crucifixion.
But his death isn’t the end. Three days later, he will rise again to life. Though Matthew and Mark don’t record the disciples’ reaction, Luke does. He says they don’t understand any of what Jesus said.
Why do Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us that Jesus three times predicts his death?
It may be for emphasis, or it may be to make sure we don’t miss his prediction. But the repetition may harken back to the Old Testament law that requires two or three witnesses to condemn a man to death (Deuteronomy 17:6).
Though Jesus isn’t supplying three witnesses, he does state three times that he’ll be condemned to die.
It’s as if he’s telling his disciples that he knows he will die and accepts it.
Questions
When has grief filled us over something we didn’t understand?
When has God needed to repeat his message to us before we understood his instruction?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we understand what you say to us in Scripture and through your Holy Spirit.
Discover more about celebrating Jesus and his passion to save us in Peter’s new book, The Passion of Jesus. It is part of the Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
The Ten Commandments are listed in Deuteronomy 5:6-21 (and Exodus 20:3-23. Interestingly, neither of these passages calls this list the “Ten Commandments” (although the phrase is used elsewhere).
The Ten Commandments
1. Do not have any other gods. 2. Do not worship idols (“other gods”) 3. Do not use God’s name wrongly. 4. Keep the Sabbath day holy. 5. Honor your parents (there is a promise of blessing if we do) 6. Do not murder 7. Do not commit adultery 8. Do not steal 9. Do not lie (give false testimony) 10. Do not covet
Jesus’s Two Commands
When Jesus is asked which commandment is the greatest, he says that we should love God fully; the second greatest is to love others as much as we love ourselves.
He concludes by saying that all the laws and commands hinge on these two principles of loving God and loving others (Matthew 22:37-39).
So, we are to love God and love others. If we obey these two commands, everything else falls into place.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Focus verse:This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. (1 John 4:2)
The third chapter of 1 John wraps up with a reference to the Holy Spirit, whom God sent to us. John now contrasts the Holy Spirit to other spirits.
These manifest in the form of false prophets—that is, purveyors of wayward doctrine. These false messages come from demons in the spiritual realm.
The Holy Spirit speaks truth to us. These contrary spirits fill us with lies. They distort who God is and what the Bible says. Many unsuspecting believers fall victim to their twisting of the truth.
This first happened back in Genesis when the serpent (the devil) lies to Eve and misrepresents what God said to her. She foolishly believes him, and Adam passively follows her (Genesis 3:1–7).
Because of Adam and Eve’s failings, resulting from the serpent’s mischaracterization of God’s truth, sin enters our world and God expels Adam and Eve from their idyllic paradise.
John recommends that we test every spirit, that is, to test every prophet and their message. This is because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This implies that they started as part of Jesus’s church.
John gives us a simple test. He says that every spirit—that is, every teacher—who acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah who physically came to earth in human form is from God.
If someone does not recognize this truth, they are not from God. In fact, they are the antichrist—that is, anti-Christ, which is to say they are against Jesus the Messiah.
These false prophets were in the world two thousand years ago, and they’re still with us today. We must be equally discerning of their error.
In addition to John’s basic test to identify these false prophets, we can also consult the Bible. In the book of Acts, Luke applauds the cautious approach of the believers in Berea in discerning between truth and error.
They eagerly received Paul’s message about the good news of Jesus. But because of their noble character, they examined the Scriptures (the Old Testament) to verify that what Paul claimed was correct (Acts 17:10–15).
We should follow their example to avoid the teachings of any false prophets who threaten to lead us astray.
Questions:
How does The Holy Spirit speak truth to us?
In what ways must we be more discerning about who we listen to?
What doctrines have we accepted that we might want to test against what the Bible says?
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
We Must Guard Against Turning the Symbol of Jesus’s Death into a Modern-Day Idol
Do you worship the cross? The cross is the instrument of Jesus’s death when he died in our place for the wrong things we did—our sins. As such, it rises as a powerful symbol of our faith.
Yet some well-meaning people place too high of emphasis on this image. In effect, they worship the cross.
Don’t Point to the Cross
When people worship the cross, they end up making it a modern-day idol. They place crosses prominently in their homes and on their cars. They wear them on their body, be it in the form of jewelry, clothes, or tattoos.
Yes, this symbol of Jesus can serve as a means for us to talk to others about him. But how often do we do that? To make this work, we must live our life like Jesus.
Yet too often when we fall short and don’t exemplify him well, the cross we adorn—and adore—leads other people to confuse our failings with Jesus and who he is. And that’s exactly the kind of witness we want to avoid.
I’ve also heard people who refuse to attend a church that doesn’t prominently display the cross of Jesus on the building and have it on the inside. But they’re missing the point.
Point to Jesus
Jesus is what matters. The cross is secondary. It’s a symbol of the savior, not the savior.
Have you ever seen people bow down before a cross? I have. When they do this, they appear to worship the cross. Though we can’t know their motives, and they may be worshipping Jesus in their minds, this isn’t how it appears.
You may wonder if a crucifix (a cross with the suffering savior upon it) solves this problem. Though it visually lessens the disconnect between the savior and the instrument of his death, it can also become an image of worship.
A crucifix can serve as an idol just as much as a cross.
It would be an overreaction, however, to remove these iconic symbols from our lives. They serve as important representations of our faith, pointing to the savior we worship.
But we must be careful to not worship the cross.
Instead, we should worship Jesus who died on the cross and then rose from the dead to save us.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
You get to read for free, and I make a sale! We both win.
Then once you’ve read and returned the library book, recommend it to your friends so they can read it too.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Here’s an Overview After Visiting Our First 13 Churches
We’re one-quarter of the way through our journey. It’s been more than what I’d hoped for and at the same time, not as much of what I expected.
In attending the churches closest to home in our rural, white, middle-class area I expected little racial diversity, and we saw even less.
Although I could assume our few local minorities don’t go to church, it’s more likely they aren’t attending the ones nearby. This lack of racial diversity reflects poorly on the nearly all-white churches we’ve visited.
Despite areas of concern, I liked each of the thirteen churches and, if needed, any one could become my church home, though some would take much more effort than others.
Notable and Intriguing Churches
But finding a new church isn’t our goal. Our mission is to expand our worship of God and meet our extended Christian family. Still, three churches grab my attention:
Church #7 (The New Church) draws me. I like that they’re truly nondenominational and unaffiliated. Even more, I appreciate their many unchurched and under-churched attendees, as well as their goal of growing deeper.
As a bonus, they recently moved and are now the third closest church to our home, a scant 1.4 miles away. Their community calls me.
This is in part because they’re in our rural area, whereas the first, although slightly closer to our home, has more affinity with the nearby city I’ve become weary of driving to.
I also really like the pastor there. Her quiet reverence in leading worship guides me into God’s presence like nothing I’ve ever enjoyed at church.
The United Methodist Church, however, periodically relocates its ministers, and I wonder if I’d still feel drawn to the church once they reassign her. She’s already been there six and a half years, and I suspect she’ll move on soon.
For the first one, I want to witness a typical service there, whereas for the second, I wonder if I’d still be as interested in their community after a second visit. I fear I wouldn’t, so maybe it’s best not to return.
Candy says that out of the thirteen, Church #2 (Growing Deeper, Not Wider) is her preference. It, too, has a strong draw for me. This makes sense as its worship style and age demographics are the most like our home church.
My only concern is that their doctrine is much narrower than mine, and I fear I would soon chafe under its teaching.
Key Observations
Overall, and most disconcerting, is the correlation I’ve seen between the members’ age and dress compared to their facility and worship style.
If you show me the building and service, I’ll predict the audience’s age and what they’ll wear. Alternately, tell me the age and attire of attendees, and I’ll predict the type of service and even the character of the facility.
The question is causality. Does an aging congregation produce a traditional service in a dated facility or does a traditional service in a dated facility attract an older crowd?
Conversely, does a younger or multigenerational gathering create a contemporary service in a nontraditional setting or does a contemporary service in a nontraditional setting attract a younger or multigenerational crowd?
Instead of wondering which caused what, the greater insight is to simply note a connection between attendee age and service style. I suspect the two go together.
Older congregations with traditional services face a deadly downward spiral, with one feeding into the other, which only exacerbates the trend.
I see no long-term hope for these aging congregations and no realistic way to rejuvenate them—aside from supernatural intervention. Pray that God will intervene.
Parting Thoughts
So far, this adventure has been great. Part of me doesn’t want it to end after fifty-two weeks, as there are a couple hundred churches within easy driving distance, but another part of me wonders if I have the stamina to persevere to the end.
Added to this are churches that warrant repeat visits. I also wonder what I might learn about Christianity by visiting non-Christian faith gatherings.
Despite that, I also miss having regular community with close friends.
With all this in mind, we press on.
Takeaway for Everyone: Many churches operate as they always have, unaware that society has changed and seeks something different. The future of these congregations is in jeopardy.
My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Focus verse: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)
Yesterday’s passage ended with the puzzling statement that “some of you present won’t experience death before you see me coming in my kingdom” (Matthew 16:28).
What follows this is an event we call the transfiguration, implicitly fulfilling Jesus’s cryptic prediction. Peter, James, and John are there to see his supernatural transformation.
The three disciples ascend a mountain with Jesus. Suddenly his face shines—his countenance transfigures. This means his appearance changes; it’s glorified. Moses and Elijah appear. They talk with Jesus.
Peter wants to commemorate this unprecedented event—Jesus’s transfiguration and two dead patriarchs appearing before them. He offers to build them each a shrine or tabernacle in their honor. Before Jesus can respond, a bright cloud forms.
The voice of Father God comes from the cloud. “This is my Son,” he says. “I love him and am pleased with him. Listen to what he says.”
In one succinct declaration, God confirms Jesus as the Son of God, affirms Jesus’s ministry, and commands the disciples to listen to him.
Does hearing God’s audible voice about Jesus sound familiar?
Three years earlier, before Jesus begins his public ministry, he asks John the Baptizer to baptize him—even though the sinless Jesus has no sins to repent from. When Jesus comes out of the water, three astonishing things happen.
First, heaven opens, revealing a glimpse into the spiritual realm. What do the people see? What awe-inspiring sights confront them?
Next, the Spirit of God descends from heaven, looking like a dove. Imagine the time it takes for the form to travel the distance from heaven to earth. It isn’t instantaneous.
It gets their attention. The people have never seen anything like it. They’re astounded by this unique event. The dove lands on Jesus, showing his connection with heaven, his divine bond with the godhead.
A voice from heaven calls out. “This is my Son,” God says. “I love him and am pleased with him” (Matthew 3:13–17).
This is almost identical to what God says at the transfiguration. This time the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all present. We see the triune God at work.
Two times God speaks audibly about Jesus. The first time is to prepare for him to begin his earthly ministry.
The second time is in preparation for him to conclude it. He’ll do this by dying for our sins, rising from the dead, and returning to heaven.
Both times Father God confirms his Son and supports Jesus and his ministry. The voice of God affirms Jesus.
Questions
How does God speak to us today?
How well do we do at listening to the words of Jesus, as the Father instructed?
Prayer: Father God, may we always hear your voice and obey your words.
Discover more about celebrating Jesus and his passion to save us in Peter’s new book, The Passion of Jesus. It is part of the Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
