Week beginning
27 July 2014
Worship Series
Theme Verse
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will
not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Exodus 20:7
Remember This
The name of God is a gift of his love; given to the people he
loves. It’s a name that saves.
It’s a name that gives life, brings peace and freedom and lifts
people from the deepest, darkest places.
His name is a beautiful, powerful gift. So use his name and live
his name well.
No one is like you, Lord; you are great,
and your name is mighty in power. Jeremiah 10:6
Awesome and Mighty God, you are the Great ‘I Am’, the one who is what he is and will be
what he says he will be. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us as we gather in your name, that
we may keep that name you have given us in baptism holy, and honour your name in
prayer and praise. Amen
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Highs and Lows for the week.
Accountability time. How did you go with your living in Christ last week?
What does your name mean and how have you grown into the meaning of your name?
What ‘names’ cause a negative reaction in you and why? (eg when choosing a name for
our children, my wife would say, we can’t have that name because I had a child in my
class with that name and he/she was a terror!)
5. What are the words that come up from your mouth in times of stress that you may not
even be aware that you say?
Read Exodus 20:1-17
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6. How do you respond when you hear others using God’s name in vain?
7. Read Leviticus 19:12. What are two ways in which God’s name can be taken in vain?
Many people think that taking the Lord’s name in vain simply means to use God’s name as a
profanity, or to make an oath in his name but not to fulfill it. Both are true but God’s reason in
giving us this commandment is far broader than that.
The Hebrew expression that is translated as “in vain” means worthless, empty, inconsequential or
false. It means that the object is lacking in value. God says ‘don’t take my name and empty it of
value by making it another common, inconsequential word.’ It also means “lightly, frivolously,
loosely or casually.” To take God’s name in vain means to use it in a light, frivolous or casual way;
or as if it is ‘nothing’. Another word for this is profanity.
8. What are some ways in which people use God’s name in an empty way?
9. Make a list of some euphemisms for God and Jesus that are used as exclamations of joy or anger
without any thought for who God is?
10. Read Matthew 12:35-27. How does this passage condemn using God’s name in a trifling or
casual way?
11. When people utter profanity, make sexist or vulgar jokes, they will often remark that they didn’t
mean anything by it. But how does it rob God of his significance?
12. Why do you think people only swear in the name of our Holy God?
Luther in his explanation to this commandment says:
“Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God.”
What does this mean for us?
We should honour and love God and so we should not use God’s name to: curse someone, tell lies
under oath, do witchcraft, or deceive anyone. Instead we should use God’s name to ask for help in
any trouble, and to praise and thank God.
Within the commandments, there is grace abounding. This commandment is about a gift that God
gives us. It is the gift of his name. By giving us his name, it means he is prepared to enter into a
relationship with us, he comes close to us. With that name, God has given us an identity; we are his
son or daughter, and with that identity, we have a purpose -to live for the glory of his name.
The gift of the name gives us access to him and everything that he is. It gives us access to his
power. Read 1 Samuel 17:45
13.What power does the name of God give to us?
14.What are the ways in which we honour God’s name or enhance God’s reputation in this world?
Read Psalm 34:3; Acts 4:12; Psalm 115:1
A right naming of God, a right placing of God’s name, leads to a right ordering of life. To “call upon”
God, we find throughout the Bible, is to invite God to bring order, health, peace, security and
direction to our life and world. To use his name emptily, unthinkingly, deceitfully, carelessly, is to
miss the power of his true presence and will. His name is to be the cornerstone on which we build. It
is to be the keel under our life, like the keel on a sailing ship holding us upright.
We bear the name of the Lord. His reputation in the world rests on us. We honour that name and
increase His reputation when we speak up for Him before others, witness to him and live our livesto
his glory.
Spend some time in reflection on your own life.
15. How do you use God’s name carelessly, not giving it the full weight it deserves?
16. In what areas of your life are you living carelessly?
17. Now that you have identified the areas, what will you do this week to be conscious of the
fact that you are a bearer of God’s name so that he is honoured and his name is given the
weightiness it deserves.
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Praise God for your highs. Thank Jesus for showing us who he is – the one who saves his
people from their sins. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you honour God’s name in the way you live,
think, act, and speak.
Pray for those families who lost loved ones in the Ukraine in recent weeks and are still waiting
for answers and closure and the change to lay to rest their mortal bodies.
Pray for our LifeWay community, that everything we do and are may give witness to the
community of the name which is above every other name, Jesus Christ
Turn to the person next to you and make the sign of the cross on the palm of their hand or forehead as
you say:
(Name), child of God, may you honour God’s name with your life. Amen.