4. Choosing Life: The Gospel According to Deuteronomy

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July 4 Celebrations

I know this was a big year for our Independence, but I somehow completely missed it in my planning. I love our national history and wish I had thought to have written a good inspirational sermon for our 250 anniversary. But I did not. I hope you won’t be disappointed. I was just too wrapped up in where I was going with the book of Deuteronomy. I hope you all had a great celebration!

July 8, Board meeting with D.S., 10 a.m. in Bryant Center

July 19, Faith Promise with Lydia Campbell-White, Love offering, Potluck (sign up)

Opening Worship - Psalm 23 Phil Wickham & Tiffany Hudson

Psalm 16

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Worship Set:

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Sermon:

Choosing Life: The Gospel According to Deuteronomy

Love The Lord Your God

“We are gathered today, in the sight of this sacred assembly, to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony.”

We have all heard those words multiple times throughout our life. Those words often are preceded with joy and celebration. For centuries the words remained the same. This is why we can all recite them by heart. However, during my life time there has been push back on some of those famous words.

“Do you promise to be a tender and faithful husband, to love and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and keep yourself only for her?...  Do you promise to be a faithful and tender wife?  Do you promise to love, respect, and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, and keeping yourself only for him?”

Those words are often challenged in our day. Many have requested the word “obey” to be totally removed. That was the case in the above sample. You see, marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman. The problem is that by nature we are not a covenant people. We find it difficult to live true to the ideals of covenant. We always want an out. We are always looking for loopholes. We enjoy the parts of covenant that are to our benefit, but we are not as appreciative of the part we are to play.

However, where we by nature are covenant breakers, God by nature is a covenant keeper. Deuteronomy 6 is about the importance of our keeping our end of the covenant. This sermon goes well with the recent series we had on Spiritual Motivation as we review the importance of being motivated by love and gratitude.

As you are able, please stand as we read our text.

Deuteronomy 6:1–12 NIV

1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

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I. The Shema as the Center of Covenant Life

There are certain passages in Scripture that don’t just speak to us — they shape us. They become the center of gravity for the people of God. Deuteronomy 6 is one of those passages. For Israel, the Shema was not merely a prayer; it was identity. It was the daily confession that anchored their hearts, their homes, their children, and their future.

And today, as followers of Jesus, the Shema still calls us. It calls us to hear. It calls us to love. It calls us to remember. It calls us to pass on the faith. It calls us to guard our hearts against forgetfulness. And ultimately, it calls us to Jesus — the One who embodies perfect love for the Father and invites us into that love.

So let’s hear these words again, not as ancient history, but as the living heartbeat of covenant life:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deut. 6:4–5)

In that simple phrase we find...

A. THE CENTER OF COVENANT LIFE: HEAR, LOVE, LIVE (Deut 6:1-5)

Moses begins with a simple word: Hear. It sounds simple but we all know that doing it is not as simple as it sounds. Hearing never stands alone but should always be accompanied with the word “listen.” Moses says,

1. “Hear, O Israel” - God calls His people to attentive listening. Deut 6:3 (Moses) Deut 6:4 (God)

Before Israel can obey, before they can love, before they can pass anything on — they must hear. Covenant life begins with listening before doing. God’s commands are rooted in His prior grace.

Deuteronomy 6:3 NIV

3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

Moses the pastor in affect is saying, “You cannot love a God you do not listen to.” This is not an issue for Israel alone. It is far too easy for us to quickly read a passage of scripture, and then speed off a quick prayer of requests to God before we head out for our day. But how much time do we spend actually listening?

God also says, “Hear, O Israel.” It’s as if God is saying: Slow down. Tune your heart. Pay attention. Don’t rush past My voice. As a teacher, I often told my kids, “Give me your full attention!” It will soon become apparent who did and who didn’t when kids came to ask me for directions I had just explained.

Following the command to hear, we find the confession:

2. “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” - This is a confession of allegiance. Deut 6:4

This is not abstract theology. This is allegiance. In a world full of competing gods — gods of fertility, gods of war, gods of prosperity — Israel declares: Our God is the only God. Our loyalty belongs to Him alone.

The Hebrew word used here for “one” is unique as our God is unique. It means “a unity” as well as “numerical oneness.” It also carried the idea of “uniqueness.” The God of Israel was unique from all other nations gods. He and He alone, called out His own distinct people. He and He alone spoke out loud to His people. He and He alone demanded solitary loyalty. No other gods were tolerated.

The word “Trinity” is not used in scripture, however this Hebrew word carries a significant implication for the Trinity as we know it. Consider John 10:28-30 where Jesus said...

John 10:28–30 NIV

28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

The whole idea of a God who was three persons as One God is clearly unique and beyond any many made fantasy.

And then at

3. The center of everything: “You shall love the Lord your God…” Deut 6:5

Not “serve,” though service matters. Not “fear,” though reverence matters. Not “obey,” though obedience matters.

LOVE. Covenant life is rooted in love — whole-life, whole-hearted, whole-person devotion to the God who has already given Himself wholly to His people.

And Jesus, centuries later, will say: “This is the first and greatest commandment.” Not to burden us. Not to shame us. But to reveal the life He Himself lived — perfect love for the Father.

So, what does it mean to love with our whole life? This concept comes up throughout the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:5 describes...

B. WHOLE LIFE LOVE: is HEART, SOUL, STRENGTH (Deut 6:5)

Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

In other words, it is to love God with the totality of our own inner person. You may add more elements or take away an element, but the gist is the same. The scriptures sometimes list two, here there are three and in another place four, but it all is the same. Anything less that full commitment is not enough. This love for God is to claim every dimension of human life.

Moses uses three elements to give this kind of love shape.

1. Heart — the seat of desire and affection.

God wants our deepest loves reordered around Him. We live in a world of competing affections — comfort, success, approval, security. But covenant love says: God, You get my first love. Remember what God said to the church of Ephesus in the letter of Revelation.

Revelation 2:4 NASB95

4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

God is to always be our first love before everything else, even your spouse. I guarantee you, if God is your first love, your second love won’t suffer. It will be better for it!

2. Soul — the whole self, the life-force.

This is identity, vocation, imagination, personality. Loving God is not compartmentalized. It’s not Sunday-only. It’s not spiritual-only. It’s the whole self offered to God.

3. Strength — resources, capacities, “muchness.”

This includes time, energy, possessions, influence. God is not asking for leftovers. He invites us to invest our “muchness” in His kingdom.

And here’s the pastoral truth: Whole-life love is not perfectionistic striving. It is responsive devotion to the God who has already given Himself wholly to us.

Last week, I mentioned the bonds you see formed between two people when one saves another. I had recently seen a YouTube video of one such situation but couldn’t remember the circumstances. As I am writing this, it came to my mind. A man was skiing on slopes marked “out of bounds.” He came to a particularly steep spot and slowed a bit and as he swerved, he caught a glimpse of something behind him. He turned and saw a man’s feet sticking out of the snow. A man had fallen into a very steep pile of loose packed snow and it swallowed him up as efficiently as if he had been in an avalanche. If he wasn’t brought up immediately, he would suffocate or die of hypothermia.

The skier quickly kicked off his skis and began to dig the man out. He was just in time. These men had never met before, but since that day they have become like brothers. They spend lots of time together. If we could only grasp the depths of God’s love and the actions He has taken to save us, we should also have that deep sense of love and gratitude.

And here’s the gospel truth: Jesus is the only human who ever loved the Father with perfect heart, soul, and strength — and by His Spirit, He forms that love in us. As we live our life in the Spirit, we begin to grasp God’s love. Paul shared this same desire for us to know. He wrote of it in his letter to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 3:17–19 NIV

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Once we grasp this concept for ourselves, we have a responsibility to pass it down. As we turn to Deut 6:6-9 we find instructions for...

C. PASSING FAITH TO THE NEXT GENERATION (Deut 6:6-9)

Here, Moses shifts from personal devotion to generational responsibility. Let’s take a look at that passage again.

Deuteronomy 6:6–9 NASB95

6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Lets break these down.

1. “These words… shall be on your heart.” V 6

Before we teach the next generation, the Word must live in us. Children learn faith from embodied examples more than lectures. We have all heard it said, “What you do speaks louder than words.” If your love is not genuine, it will never play out in the actions of your life.

2. “Teach them diligently…” - This means intentional formation. V 7

The Hebrew word carries the idea of sharpening — repeated, intentional formation. Faith transmission is not accidental. It is cultivated. This take planning. This requires time. This requires repetition of the same over and over again.

Proverbs 22:6 NIV

6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

3. “Talk of them… when you sit, walk, lie down, rise.” - Rhythms of ordinary life. V 7

The classroom of covenant love is everyday life. Faith is caught in the mundane — car rides, meals, chores, bedtime prayers. I always felt that this was done well by my parents. Everything we did, everywhere we went, every conversation we had, was always about life in relationship with God and God’s Word. I had friends ask me at a young age, “Do you ever leave church?” This was because I brought God or God’s word into every conversation we had. That was what my family did. That is what we are supposed to do. I never get tired of talking about God and the things of God to this very day.

4. “Symbols on hands, doorposts, gates.”- Visible reminders. VV 8, 9

If you were in Sunday school as a child, you may have heard talk of phylacteries or even made one in Sunday school. They were little boxes containing scriptures that the Jews wore on their forehead and left arm. What was less spoken of were the mezuzahs that were small containers attached to their front doors and gates that contained Scriptures. Every time they came home they would reverently touch these boxes as a reminder that their home was a sanctuary to God and a place where the Word was loved, obeyed, and taught. If I remember correctly, there was a place in the movie “Fiddler On the Roof” where Tevye touches one.

I made a decision once that I wanted God’s Word to be reflected in my home. However, pictures with scriptures were expensive. I prayed and asked God to help me find some. Then one day when I lived in Tennessee, our pastor took us to a nearby town where there was a small Bible bookstore. They had beautiful pictures all over the walls with Scriptures and they were cheap. Every time I needed something, I checked out their latest inventory. If you have ever been in my home, you may have noticed them. I have 5 or 6 of them. I have never seen any that cheap since. I felt God honored my desire to display His Word in my home.

God knows we forget. He gives us visible anchors — reminders that shape imagination and identity.

Keep in mind that passing faith is not about perfection. It’s about presence. It’s about showing the next generation what it looks like to love God in real life.

Jesus welcomed the children, He blessed them, and He calls us to a childlike faith. He forms a new family — a generational community where mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters pass on the covenant life of God. It is the church. One of our goals as a church is to find a way to pull in younger generations into our church, because that is our job. That is important to pass on the faith to the next generation.

I truly believe our time on this earth as we now know it is limited. It is more important than ever to teach and educate them, to equip them for the days that are coming. That is exactly what Moses was doing because Moses knew the temptations were about to get great as they were about to enter a land that provided for all their needs. When we get to verses 10-15 we find that they need to be...

D. GUARDING AGAINST PROSPERITY-INDUCED FORGETFULNESS Deut 6:10-15

If you don’t believe that is such a thing, I would suggest you look around at our nation. This is exactly why we are having the struggles we are in our nation. We have been a prosperous nation and people have forgotten the past.

I want to read a few of these verses because I think we often fail to notice just what God was providing for them as they entered this new land.

Deuteronomy 6:10–12 NIV

10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Moses knows what’s coming. Israel will enter a land of abundance — houses they didn’t build, vineyards they didn’t plant, wells they didn’t dig. And abundance brings danger.

“Take care lest you forget the Lord.” Moses says.

Forgetfulness is not intellectual. It is relational. Prosperity whispers: You don’t need God anymore.

Moses warns: “Fear the Lord.” “Serve Him.” “Swear by His name.” “Do not go after other gods.”

Moses knew it would be too easy once they had the land to just settle in and make good with the neighbors rather than eliminating them. This would lead to intermarrying and they would be slowly seduced to other gods. He didn’t need to be a prophet to figure that out as they had already made that mistake previously.

Prosperity tests allegiance more subtly than suffering. Suffering drives us to God. Prosperity tempts us to drift from God.

So Moses calls Israel — and us — to cultivate practices of gratitude, dependence, and remembrance.

And Jesus shows us how. In the wilderness, He resists the devil’s prosperity shortcuts — refusing comfort, power, and self-exaltation. He remains faithful in abundance and scarcity.

Once again, we find...

E. THE GOSPEL FULFILLMENT: JESUS, THE TRUE ISRAEL Matthew 4:1-11; 22:37-38; 26:39; Luke 22:14-20; 24:49; John 5:19

The Shema finds its fullest expression in Jesus.

Jesus listens perfectly: “I only do what I see the Father doing.” (John 5:19)

Jesus loves perfectly: heart, soul, strength — even unto death. (Matt 26:39)

Jesus teaches diligently: forming disciples who live the Shema. (Matt 22:37-38)

Jesus resists forgetfulness: refusing the lure of self-reliance. (Matt 4:1-11)

Jesus creates a new covenant family: empowered by the Spirit to love God wholly. (Luke 22:14-20; 24:49)

We are not left to muster whole-life love on our own. We are invited into the Son’s own love for the Father — a love poured into our hearts by the Spirit.

CONCLUSION: A PEOPLE MARKED BY LOVE

So what does Deuteronomy 6 call us to today?

It calls us to hear God’s Word with fresh attentiveness.

It calls us to love God with whole-life devotion.

It calls us to teach the next generation with intentionality.

It calls us to guard our hearts against prosperity’s subtle drift.

And it calls us to follow Jesus — the One who embodies the Shema and empowers us to live it.

The Shema is not just Israel’s confession. It is the church’s identity. In Christ, we become a people who hear, love, remember, and pass on the covenant life of God.

May we be a people marked by whole-life love — heart, soul, and strength — for the God who has loved us first.

Unlike the Ephesian Church that forgot their first love, may we be found faithful.

Revelation 2:7 NIV

7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

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