"Cross My Heart" - 29m:23s

Scott McFarland
02/26/17 - Sun AM Worship

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:33-37 ;   Sermon Series "The Upside Down Kingdom".

Oath Making and Hand Shaking

I'll never forget Mr. Larry. In high school, l worked in a butcher shop, Bullocks'  Meats. It was a great place to work-family oriented, and the owners always  took care of us. And, Howard Spengler would be proud; we sold almost  exclusively Black Angus beef. Mr. Larry was the manager of the butcher shop,  and had worked there pretty much his entire career. He was in his 60s when I  was working there as a high school student, so he had quite a few years’  experience as a butcher, and he was good. He was a hard worker, and managed  the shop well—the owners pretty much entrusted the entire thing to him.  

Mr. Larry was trustworthy. Customers loved coming in to Bullock's because Mr. Larry took care of them and made good on his promises. I'll never forget him  telling me how he bought his first house - with a handshake. Living in a day and  age where any major purchase required a contract and signatures, I couldn't  believe that someone would buy something as expensive as a house with a  handshake.

There was a day and time when handshakes were a common way to make a deal.  In the Bible, contracts were made by making a covenant—an interesting process  we see in passages like Genesis 15 between Abraham and God. How should we  handle agreements and contracts with people? We'll look at what  Jesus says about making oaths in Matthew 5. Are they necessary? How should  the people of God handle themselves with following through on making  promises?

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