This week, we have the pleasure of welcoming back our good friend, Timoteo Sazo.  Be sure to remind him, Kaitlin, Vera, and Felix that we love and miss them greatly when you see them Sunday.  Timo will be continuing our series in Deuteronomy, but he won’t be covering the 4th Commandment.  Dave asked to keep that passage, so Timo will be skipping to the 5th Commandment, covered in Deuteronomy 16:18-18.  It’s 2.5 chapters long, so be sure to read it before coming on Sunday.  Timo’s got a lot of ground to cover, and you’ll help him and yourself by being familiar with the passage.

While the 5th Commandment deals with honoring your father and mother, it more broadly deals with honoring the God-given authorities in your life.  These chapters loosely group them into priests, kings, and prophets.  But as Moses works his way through these groups of authorities, he makes it clear that all authority flows out from God.  These human authorities are merely middlemen, empowered by God for the sake of His people.  It’s that kind of servant leadership that leads unto righteousness that points us to Jesus.  And so, in preparation for this Sunday’s sermon, I encourage you to meditate on what it means to submit to authorities with a Christ-like attitude and what it means for you to exercise authority in a Christ-like way.  Hopefully, we will see how the Gospel enables us to show Christ through our submission and leadership.  See you Sunday!