July 20, 2003

Rev. Rurel Ausley

Living in the Name
Exodus 20:1-17 (Vs.7)

 

1. Have you ever walked out the door, maybe as a kid going somewhere, and your parents said, “Remember who you are!”? What did they mean by that? (Prov. 22:1) How long might some families have built up a “good name”? How long does it take to “tear one down”? What happens when someone treats their family name as nothing? (Heb. 12:16, 17) How does our culture put a high price tag on what is worthless and throws away as worthless what is of eternal value?

2. Our Scripture today talks about what? How can we “misuse” God’s name? (Or take it in vain). How important to you is your name? Why do you think “Dale Carnegie courses” and other public relation courses say “remember peoples’ names and use them often”? Why does it bother you (or does it) when your name is misspelled or mispronounced? How does our name become a focal point of our identity? How does our name set us apart as unique? What about nicknames?

3. Note the importance of names in the Old Testament. How did names in the OT represent a person? (I Sam. 25:25) What did the name “Jacob” mean? (Gen. 25:26; 27:36) What was his name changed to? Why? (Gen. 32:28; 35:10) Often times the change of name signaled the introduction of a new relationship with God. (Gen. 17:5, 15; Num. 13:16; Dan. 1:7; Is. 62:2; 65:15) The purpose of this study on “names” is to understand the significance of a Name. Knowing the Name of a person was to know his essence, his character.

4. This brings us to the Name of God. What was God’s Name? (Ex. 3:13-15) Why did God give his name to Moses? What does God’s name reveal to you about God? (To get more background on the name “Yahweh” and why the Jews used “Adonis,” look up Yahweh in a Bible dictionary: i.e., Holman Bible Dictionary, etc.) What all can we do in the name of the Lord? (Gen. 4:26; Deut. 18:7; 18:22; 21:5; 1 Sam. 17:45; Ps. 20:7; Ps. 118:12, 26) By knowing Who God is, Israel could act accordingly! Thus, God was concerned for His Name! How was God concerned about how His person was viewed? (Ez. 36:22-32) How had Israel “dragged his name through the mud”? (Ez. 36:22, 23) What should have been their response for profaning his Name? (Vs.32)

5. How have we been given God’s name? (Acts 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:16) How can we honor God’s name? How do we do this with our attitudes? How do we “value” God’s worth? How do we do this with our actions? Explain now why this third commandment has so much more to do with it that how we might “pronounce” his Name. How does God’s reputation depend upon us?