You Shall Not Covet

February greetings to you in the name of our God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

These next few weeks, our confirmation students get back to in-person learning (following safety protocols, of course!).  And we’re talking about the 9th and 10th commandments: You shall not covet.

A quick definition that I’ve always found helpful is to understand coveting as looking longingly at what belongs to another and moving from admiration to wondering how you might make that person or possession yours.  Coveting is a dangerous moment that can easily lead us into sin.

It’s worth noting that the way Lutherans and Catholics number the commandments, there are two commandments about coveting.  To me, that suggests just how important this commandment is.  With one commandment, God forbids those longing looks toward our neighbor’s things.  And with the other, God makes the same prohibition against ogling our neighbor’s relationships.

We tend to rationalize our coveting by saying, “I’m only looking.”  But God knows that much of our sin begins with just such a moment, those longing glances we throw toward our neighbor and his or her things.

And that coveting can start to undermine much of our community relationships, too.  When we invest heavily in those longing glances, we figure that other people are looking that way at our things and relationships, too.  The way we see it, we’re out to get their things.  They’re out to get our things.  And pretty soon, we don’t trust anyone.

I’ll talk a little bit next week about some concrete ways to resist the urge to covet.  For now, let’s embrace God’s call to stop such longing glances before they even start.


Facebook Campus is Launched
We’ve launched a new community via Facebook.  And we’d love to have you join us.  This will be a safe space to discuss matters of faith with one another.  We have several groups launched already.  Go to our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/immanuelwadena) and click on the groups tab.  Simply request to join the groups that interest you.  And start forming community.  This isn’t meant to replace in-person gatherings.  But at a time when we can’t always safely meet in person, our Facebook community will provide another way to connect.

Community Dinner @ St. Ann’s February 25

Immanuel is hosting this month’s dinner and we’d love your help.  If you can serve February 25 from 4-6:30, talk to Peggy Larson.  Or if you can help prepare the meal in the morning on February 24 and/or 25, talk to Peggy, too.

 

Remember the Synod this “Giving Hearts Day” February 11.
The Northwestern Minnesota Synod needs our help to raise money for two very important areas: 1) Helping congregations, especially smaller member congregations, grow and continue to be a vital center of hope in their communities; 2) Equipping and raising up leaders in our communities for professional and lay ministry in their congregations.  Immanuel’s Endowment Fund has pledged $3000 of matching money, so every dollar you give on February 11 is matched.  More information about how to give will be on our website soon!

Check out our news page to learn more and for other important announcements: https://www.wadenaimmanuel.org/announcements

 

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