“You shall not covet”
SERMON Title: You shall not covet
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 20:17 (ESV)
Introduction:
This week, we finish off our sermon series on the Ten Commandments. We look into how coveting is prominent in our society today and how we may overcome its influence on shaping the way we define and measure our life satisfaction. We will explore the new reality available to us as believers who are freed by God’s love and freedom as free people are joyfully content.
Overview:
What is coveting?
To have an intense desire for something that someone else has which often leads to pursuing it.
Coveting concerns a view of: i) what you have; ii) what you do; and iii) who you are connected to.
Admiration of what someone has is not coveting. Nor is desiring what someone else has. Instead, coveting takes place when an unhealthy boundary is crossed as the intense longing for a thing or a person leads to greater levels of dissatisfaction and disconnection with what one already has.
A heart consumed by coveting will not acknowledge any amount of anything as satisfactory or good enough.
How can we live in joyful contentment?
Let’s ask ourselves three questions as we wrestle with the allure and distractions of coveting what others have:
What’s the story we are telling ourselves?
What’s the illusion we are believing about someone else?
What are the gifts we need to acknowledge?
Sermon reflection questions:
Can you identify what, who, or why you are choosing to covet and place something above your love and desire for God?
What are the lies and the distorted truths you are believing in that turn you away from the freedom to live as free people, by Christ’s Name and God’s Love for you? Can you name them?
How may you approach God to seek His help in these areas of your life?
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