LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL: FINDING JUSTICE?

We continue our sermon series Liberty and Justice for All with the sermon Finding Justice?  As we have experienced the events of the protests, the removal of statues, and the creation in Seattle of a “cop free zone” we are left to wonder, “What is justice?”  We can all recognize the failure of human justice.  Life is not fair.  People do not get what they deserve and others get more than they deserve.  Scripture is clear; God is the genuine source of justice and righteousness, but what does this mean for our lives?  This week, we turn to Deuteronomy 5:6-15 which is the first part of the Ten Commandments.  These verses help us capture a vision of genuine justice that is beyond our broken human definitions. These verses help us seek a higher justice for our lives.  They also help us understand how God wants to share with us His love and grace to be free from judgment and condemnation.  As you read these verses, may you find the grace and power of God lifting you from the burden of broken human nature and into God’s holy presence! Deuteronomy 6:6-15: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 7 “You shall have no other gods before me. 8 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 11 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.  (NIV)