Thru the Bible - Sunday Sermon

Steve Schwetz: If you've ever tried to measure up to be good enough, faithful enough, then you know how exhausting it can be. Deep down, most of us know that we all ultimately fall short. But what do we want to do about that? Welcome to the Sunday Sermon on *Thru the Bible*. That's exactly what our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, explores in his message, "Why the Ten Commandments Were Given," from the book of Exodus.

As we'll learn, the Ten Commandments aren't just a list of rules for us to try and keep. Dr. McGee helps us to understand why God gave the law in the first place: not to save us, but to show us our need for a Savior. The law reveals the holiness of God, the reality of our own hearts, and then the distance between the two.

Praise God, the story doesn't end there, because what the law could never do, grace has done through Jesus Christ. I'm Steve Schwetz, your host, and I'm so glad that you're here for this amazing, never-before-aired study. Welcome to the Bible Bus. As you find your seat and get comfortable, Greg and I would love to introduce you to a few fellow passengers who are riding along with us.

Greg Harris: We are particularly excited today because the letters we're going to share are from Sunday Sermon listeners. I think most of our listeners know what we call our flagship program is Monday through Friday, 30 minutes, *Thru the Bible*, with Dr. McGee teaching. Some of our daily listeners don't know about the Sunday Sermon, and once in a while, the Sunday Sermon listeners may not know about the daily. But these are people that are referencing that they are listening to this program.

Steve Schwetz: I think it's also unique because Dr. McGee has got a very different speech and cadence in the Sunday Sermon. He's much more of a fiery preacher on Sunday than he is in his *Thru the Bible* program Monday through Friday. I know we're speaking to the Sunday Sermon audience, but maybe if you have not been exposed to Monday through Friday, listen to Dr. McGee on a Monday through Friday program and you're going to hear a much more intimate conversation, I believe.

Greg Harris: He's just talking to you, whereas here he's preaching. He was preaching in a church. Shall we start off with a Canadian listener? Randy in Manitoba, Canada writes: "Good morning, Greg and Steve. Sorry that I procrastinated for so long in writing to your team and telling you how encouraging and vital the teachings of Dr. McGee are to me. I'm a truck driver in Canada and the US, and I started listening about five years ago after the Bible Bus was about three weeks into Genesis.

After some binge listening, I caught up, and now I feel like something is missing if I don't start my day with Dr. McGee's voice and, of course, you guys' intro. I love the app and the resources in it, especially when I have questions about the Bible or interesting topics that come up at church. I love being able to find Dr. McGee's biblical and personal perspective on things. His teaching feels safe and unadulterated in these times when it's starting to be hard to know what's true anymore.

My wife listens at home, and at bedtime we usually put on a Sunday Sermon or a Questions and Answers program. I'm amazed by the wisdom of recording all those questions listeners asked over the years and how relevant Dr. McGee's answers still are for our day. We financially support the program, love the testimonies from all over the world, and look forward to meeting this great *Thru the Bible* family in heaven one day soon. Keep up this wonderful ministry and may God richly bless all of you."

Steve Schwetz: Randy, thank you so much for that encouraging letter, and for listening—Sunday Sermon, Q&A, supporting the ministry financially, we really do appreciate it. We call that a power listener. And even some binge listening in there along the way. Here's a letter from Bill in Gainesville, Florida: "Hello Steve and Greg. I heard what you said this morning about binge listeners, and that term reminded me of myself recently. It's interesting how life comes together and sometimes breaks apart. I had friends who mentioned Dr. McGee decades ago, and even though I was born again and felt the Holy Spirit in me, I didn't quite get it when they would mimic his closing prayer for listeners, 'And may God richly bless you, my beloved.'

That was back in 1986. It wasn't until 10 years later when I was in Bible college that I began hearing Dr. McGee's name mentioned several times by my instructors, right alongside Billy Graham's. Sometime after that, I started paying closer attention and by 1998, I was hooked. That's when I listened every day, sometimes twice a day, for the entire five years without fail.

*Thru the Bible* became the priority of every day; everything else could wait. My life suddenly had structure and, may I say, meaning. It was during that season that I truly understood what the meat of the Word meant, and boy, was I hungry. Dr. McGee had an uncanny ability to move seamlessly from what seemed like casual, down-home working-class conversation to the diction and insight of a highly educated scholar.

I mentioned binge listening because two years ago, I got waylaid and completely lost touch with *Thru the Bible* because of where I was living. There was no radio reception, and the library in that little podunk town couldn't really accommodate someone like me coming in every day to use their computers to catch the program.

I was absolutely blessed not long ago to hear Dr. McGee's Sunday Sermon on Psalm 18. Steve and Greg, I have never heard anything in my life—and I'm 79—that comes even remotely close to that sermon. What a remarkably gifted man Dr. McGee is. I love listening to *Thru the Bible*, and whatever hardships I've faced in life—we've all got them—I thank God above all else that He led me to you."

Greg Harris: Wow, that's quite the endorsement. That is a statement. What a great insight into the privilege that we get to be alongside of our listeners with the level of depth that was in that letter.

Steve Schwetz: Also, I appreciate just his perspective on life. He said that whatever hardships I've faced, we've all got them. And it is; this world is full of toil and trouble and just, that's just life. I love that our listeners aren't presenting some whitewashed version of their life. They're honest with us because that's the Word of God; it deals with us as we really are.

Here's another letter we received that says this: "I've been an off-and-on listener for over 40 years. Recently, I started re-listening while on my lunch walk. One day, I heard an awesome Sunday Sermon on Enoch called 'The Man Who Never Died,' and oh, how that blessed my spirit. Praise God, I gave a financial gift today also, my first time, and I owe this ministry much more." 40 years, wow, that's a long time. Thank you for writing to us and thank you for that support. Let me pray as we begin.

Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for the opportunity that we have together as a Body of Christ to study Your Word. I pray that You would open our eyes to see the truth of Your Word and that You would use it to give us greater insight and wisdom and that You would be glorified in all that we do. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Our subject is "Why the Ten Commandments Were Given," and our message is an introductory message to the Ten Commandments. On Blackwell's Island in New York, where prisoners are confined, there is a graveyard for criminals. If you should walk through that cemetery, you would see the rather unusual epitaph on a tombstone that reads like this: "Here lie the fragments of John Smith, who contradicted his Maker, played football with the Ten Commandments, and departed this life at the age of 35. His mother and wife weep for him. Nobody else does. May he rest in peace."

Nobody can play football with the Ten Commandments and escape the judgment of God. Oftentimes, the charge is made against those who preach the grace of God that they do not have a proper appreciation for the law and especially the Ten Commandments, that they actually despise it and reject it and teach that because we're not saved by it, that we can violate it at will and break it with impunity.

On the contrary, every preacher of the grace of God who has a true perspective of the nature of salvation by faith realizes likewise the lofty character and the majesty of the law. And they maintain a proper respect and reverence for it, and they can say with the Psalmist, "O how love I thy law! It's my meditation all the day." Now, it might be well as we begin to inquire as to what is the law, or the Ten Commandments to be specific.

You can find this definition given, and it's one of the oldest: that the law is a transcript of the mind of God. May I say that that is a very defective definition. The law is the expression of the mind of God relative to what man ought to be, but nothing else. It's His will for man. And the law does express part of the nature of God and part of the character of God. But nowhere in the law can you find mercy and grace and love and help, my beloved. Not in law.

It is the norm for human conduct. This is the thing that God says very specifically over in Micah the 6th chapter, the 8th verse: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" May I say that that is law that's undiluted, and law as God must give it. And the law, my beloved, is down through human affairs today like a two-edged sword, and it says what is right and wrong.

I remember, in studying a course in sociology in a state university when I was in college, that the professor insisted that there was no norm for right and wrong, that there was no way of telling it except by custom. May I say to you that God has given His law to let man know what's right and wrong? And stealing is wrong because God says it's wrong. Lying is wrong because God says it's wrong. And adultery is wrong because God says it's wrong, my beloved, and no man can change that.

Now, there's another aspect of law that we need to mention, and that is the law never enforces itself. That was one of the reasons for the failure of the 18th Amendment. A great many good people thought after the 18th Amendment was passed, it meant we had prohibition, but it had to be enforced, my beloved. And therefore, a lawgiver must have power. And God, as the lawgiver, has power.

You see Him wrapping up even in the laws of nature, in the immaterial universe, the penalties that go with breaking laws. We call them laws of science or laws of nature today, and we see them in operation. They do not deviate. They're immutable. They're unchangeable. My beloved, one of the characteristics of any law is it knows no person. It plays no favorites. It has no pets. If it does, it's not law, and a judge that will do otherwise is a crooked judge.

The picture that Rome had and the world has adopted as the picture of Justice—I've gone by the City Hall in Memphis, Tennessee many times and seen these two statues. What an ironical place to put them, at the entrance to the City Hall in Memphis, Tennessee. But there they are, there sit on one side and the other, they are identical statues of Justice.

And they said that Justice is a woman. She's seated. She's blindfolded. She has balances in one hand and at her side and holding it is a sword. That's Justice. It has to be that way. Woman because the judgment must be tender judgment. It must not be a judgment that comes from some harsh basis or hatred or wrath or bitterness. And she's blindfolded because she's not to recognize any person that comes before her. All are alike. She has balances because whatever she weighs must be weighed equally and justly.

Then, my friend, at her side is a sword, because when the law is violated, there must be punishment. It's not law if it's otherwise, my beloved. And in the moral realm, you find today that same thing: there is a penalty for the breaking of the law. God has made it that way. The writer to the Hebrews says, "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy." It had to be that way, or it wouldn't be law. And then again, in Leviticus, God says, "The man that doeth these things shall live by them."

My brother, that means you can't break them. If you do, the penalty must be enforced. Therefore, He had to say in Deuteronomy, "Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them." And one day, a man went out to gather sticks on the Sabbath day and he broke God's law, and that man was stoned to death, because that's what law says. You see, law is majestic. It plays no favorites, and it does not play down to man one whit at all.

May I say that there's another prevalent viewpoint concerning law that needs to be corrected today, and that's confounding law and grace, using them together in one system. I have here this little booklet that's put out by what the New Church teaches. And in it, for salvation, it mentions three things you're to do, and one of them is a life according to the Ten Commandments.

I say to you this morning that a man that will make a statement like that is either ignorant of the law or is an egomaniac, because no man can ever stand up and say before God, "I keep the law." God says the law is perfect. That's what you have to say when you stand before God by law: that you are perfect, my beloved.

May I say to you that to say that you believe in Christ and then keep the law as a way of salvation? And here's what the little book says: it's still taught that the keeping of the Ten Commandments is not essential to salvation, that we're saved by faith alone. This is the most destructive and devastating heresy that has ever invaded the church. May I say, in face of what Paul has written in Romans and Galatians? You see this confusion when you attempt to bring them together and fuse them together. Law is robbed of its majesty and its meaning, its design and its dignity, its purpose.

And, my beloved, there's no love in law. There's no grace in law. And when you try to bring the two together, grace is robbed of its goodness and its glow and its glory, its wonder and its wonderment and its worthwhileness, its attractiveness and its desirability. And after you've brought them together, the claims of the law are unanswered and the sinner's needs are not met, my beloved, when you attempt to fuse both of these together.

The law sets forth what man ought to be and grace reveals what God is. Oh, I do want to show the majesty of the law and its lofty position and that no man dare trifle with its precepts and no man dare attempt to bring it down to his level and say, "I've measured up to this." No man dare today think that he can be saved by keeping the law. Then somebody says, "Why was the law given? Why were the Ten Commandments given?"

Well, we're going to look at that, but may I say this as we look at three reasons? And it's well to keep this in mind: the law is good for the purpose for which it was given, and it was never intended for any other purpose at all. I think of two very homely illustrations. This one I heard years ago in Tennessee of the country lady who was sent a washing machine. She'd never seen a washing machine, didn't even know what it was. It's in the days when it was run by gasoline motor.

All she saw on the machine was the label "Washing Machine." So every Saturday night she put the kids in it. And believe me, they came out clean, but they came out black and blue also. Now, a washing machine's good, but it's not the place to put the kids on Saturday night. And then I heard the story of the country boy that came to a crossroads and a sign said there "Five miles to the town he wanted to go to," and it said on the sign "Take this."

And he climbed up on it and sat down. May I say to you, my beloved, that sounds utterly preposterous and ridiculous, but there are a great many people today sitting on the Ten Commandments and saying, "We expect to go to heaven this way." You better take another vehicle. It won't take you, but it will point you in the right direction.

Now, I want to mention three reasons why the law was given. The law was given first of all to reveal who God is and the vast gap and yawning chasm between God and man. Paul says in Galatians, "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?" And you go back to Mount Sinai, and it's not a pretty sight, my beloved.

And did you notice that when God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, how patient He was with them? That night He delivered them and their firstborn because the blood was on the doorposts, and by mighty power He took them across the Red Sea and brought them to Mount Sinai.

And then He sent Moses down to say this to them: "Ye see how I have brought you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Would you like to continue on eagles' wings or would you like to have my law?" And these people, with bold effrontery, were audacious to say the least; they said to God, "All that the Lord commands, we'll do it." And they asked for it. They got it and didn't know what it was. My beloved, their story's the sordidest story that's ever been written.

That nation even today, scattered throughout the world—and fundamentally, the trouble in the Near East is because they broke God's law. And yet today, there are people who say we want to get under it to be saved. Oh, my beloved, the giving of the law was frightful. Will you notice the first thing God said when they asked for the law? He says, "You go set bounds on Mount Sinai and tell them not to come any farther than that, lest they be killed." 3,000 were slain that day.

And then we're told that when God came down upon the mountain to give the law, that there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that the people that were in the camp trembled. My beloved, it was not a glorious, happy occasion; it was a frightful occasion. Moses has no notion to give you the impression here today that the giving of the law was just about as nice and as ducky as anything possibly could be. It was a frightful thing, my beloved.

Now, will you notice here in the 20th chapter, I just give another excerpt at the giving of the law: "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off." They didn't come near God; they got away from Him. And they sent word back and said through Moses, "Tell the Lord not to come to us. You speak to us, but we are afraid."

And if men today really knew what law was, the law of God, they'd be afraid, my beloved, because the law, you see, would condemn us. What a picture's given here. And then we call your attention to Psalm 19, where it says the law of the Lord is perfect. It's perfect. It demands perfection. And our Lord Jesus Christ, you remember when they came to Him and asked Him about the law—"Which is the great commandment in the law?"—and He took the Ten Commandments and summed them up.

Because we'll see in the Ten Commandments they're divided into two parts. The first four of them is a man's relationship to God. The last six of them is a man's relationship to man. And the Lord Jesus says, when they came to Him and said, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?", Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Do you want to come to God on that kind of basis? And are you prepared to tell God that you do love Him, and every moment of the day, and have loved Him with all your mind, your heart, and your soul, and you've never loved anything else or put anything ahead of Him? Are you prepared to say to God that you do love your neighbor as yourself? And unless you are, my beloved, then stay away from the Ten Commandments as a way of salvation. They do not save you; they'll condemn you.

"Weighed in the balances, thou art found wanting," was the experience of a king in the Scripture when the Ten Commandments were put on one side of the balances and you step in or I step in. We come short. We've been found wanting, my beloved. And there's no use for you to look at me and say that I'm so much better than you. That won't help you a bit.

May I say to you today, the man on top of Mount Whitney may be a great deal higher than the man on top of an anthill, but both of them are a long way from heaven—not much difference. And today we've come short of the glory of God. You may have a Mount Whitney character and boast of your life, but in God's sight you stand condemned by the law.

The law reveals who God is and it reveals how far man and God are apart. The second thing that the law does: the law reveals who man is and his inability to bridge this gap in his own strength. This is the way the Scripture reads, and will you listen to it very carefully now? Paul says in Romans 3:19, and listen carefully: "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth might be stopped, and all the world become"—what? Save? Become guilty before God.

"Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." You see, the law reveals to man who he is. The law was never given, you see, to save us; it was given to reveal who we are. You remember the fairy story in which—I'm not sure who it was, but it must have been the bad queen—that stood before the mirror and said, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" Well, she wasn't. The mirror told her she wasn't.

My beloved, the law is a mirror. It's called a mirror, by the way. That's what James said that the Word is: "For if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."

You see, the law is a revealer, not a remover. You go to the mirror to see the spot, but the mirror won't take it off. You have to turn to something else. The law reveals, the Ten Commandments reveal who we are. There's the old parable about the angel who appeared to a man, and they looked way down the road. Seemingly, in the distance, they saw a man that looked like the neighbor of this man. And the angel began to say, "You see that man yonder?" And this man said, "Yes, my neighbor."

He says, "Well, that man you see yonder, he's sly, he's cunning, he lies, he's not to be trusted." And it made this fellow feel pretty good. I wonder if it makes us feel good to hear something bad of somebody else. This man felt very good that his neighbor—the angel said that about his neighbor and he was talking about this man. They were approaching this neighbor as they were walking along. And when they came right up to him, the man saw that it was not his neighbor; they'd been walking toward a mirror all the time.

May I say that the Word of God is a mirror, and it lets us see our lives. And the law is a mirror searchlight put down upon us, and it reveals us, my beloved. For the law can't save us. "For what the law could not do," Paul says, it just couldn't save us. And the law never made a sinner, though. The mirror never makes a spot on you. The mirror reveals the spot on you, and that's again what Paul says. I turn over to the third chapter of the epistle to the Galatians, and there Paul writes in the 9th verse: "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."

And there should be, I think, 4:9, but "Now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?" For the law condemns, my beloved, and the law never made a sinner. The law reveals to you and me that we are sinners today; it never made us a sinner at all. And really, sometimes we pride ourselves on some particular accomplishment.

We say we've never stolen. I know a man that prides himself that he never in his life told a lie—he's like George Washington. He says he's never misrepresented a thing. Well, that's a very fine reputation to have. But you see, he forgets about some other of the law. Because James said this: that if a man would keep all the law, yet he broke one, just one part of it, he'd be a lawbreaker, you see. He'd be a lawbreaker.

One little hole in the dam will let all the water out. The rest of the dam may be good. There may be one little hole in the radiator and the rest of it may be fine, but the water will run out, my beloved. We offend even in one part, we're guilty of all. The law reveals who man is.

And then lastly, will you hear this? The law was given to bring a man to Christ. Did you know that's the reason God gave the law? To bring a man to Christ. Will you listen to this? I turn to Galatians now, the 3rd chapter, the 24th verse. Listen to the language: "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster." And the word there really is *pedagogos* in the Greek; it's pedagogue. And that was a fellow that took a little child and led him to school.

"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under the schoolmaster." The law was given in order that a man might see who God is and he might see who he is and he might see the great chasm between the two he cannot bridge.

And the law was a slave, if you please, for that was the schoolmaster that's spoken of here, a pedagogue is a slave that was given a little child in a Roman home. And he took that child, he dressed him, and he washed him, and he taught him many things—he taught him to be polite. But there came a day when the child started to school; the slave did not teach him.

And so the slave washed his face that day and put on his little clean clothes and took him by the hand and took him to the schoolmaster, the one who could take the little fellow and teach him. Now, my friend, if you take the law for the reason and the way God gave it, you come to the law, and if you're very honest, you see the gap, you see how high God is; you can't measure up. You see your hopeless, helpless condition.

And the law then becomes one that takes you by the hand and it brings you to Christ—the one who now, because He kept the law and because He died on the cross as the one to pay the penalty for your sin, to make it possible for a holy God not to lower His standard, the penalty's paid—and He can take you, a vile sinner, a lawbreaker, a transgressor, and bring you in men to the presence of God.

Oh, my friend this morning, let the law fulfill its purpose in your life. And if it does, it will this morning bring you to Christ, bring you to the Savior, and turn you over to Him, and there you'll find love. God so loved He gave. He didn't love on Mount Sinai, friend. It was law on Mount Sinai, and the people moved back. But now He says, "Come, oh come, come," for it's love and it's grace now that He's bestowing upon us.

Law could never save us; grace can save us. The law reveals man's a sinner, and this morning we're not going up to the top of Mount Sinai to get the law. We're going to Calvary to get pardon, to get forgiven, to receive mercy, to get help from God. And we're not gathered around cold tables of stone, written upon on the mount with a fiery finger, but we're gathered around a table on which there are elements that speak of His death.

The bread speaks of a body that was broken for us and the wine speaks of the blood that was shed for us that we might have forgiveness of sin. This table here speaks of His warm blood and body, and it's an expression of His passion and compassion and His love for us. I don't know about you. I don't want to come to God by law; if I do, I'm condemned. I'm lost forever. The law condemns me.

But this morning, I've come to Calvary, and I've found forgiveness there and pardon, the love of God displayed there. And He's even said to me and to you, "Come, come, come." When I was a student in seminary, I was driving from Atlanta, Georgia to Nashville, Tennessee, and I went through the Chattanooga and came up over Lookout Mountain on that old highway. In those days, it was during the depression, and the highway was very narrow.

And I saw ahead of me, as I got over to the start and down on the other side, coming up, a car that was broken down, an old Model T. And it was a truck. And it was occupied obviously by what we call in the south a cropper, sharecropper. Poor fellow, he was out—you could see his brow was furrowed, he was worried about it—looking down in the car, and his wife standing there.

And I had to just crawl around, and as I did, I heard somebody talking. And I looked sitting in the seat a little girl; she must have been about six years old, raggedy little girl. And she had in her arms a dolly. And I have never seen a dolly that was as battered as that dolly. One of its arms was gone, didn't have a stitch of clothing on it. And its head—it was one of those china dolls—the head was practically broken off, just parts were jutting out.

But I never saw such affection that was bestowed by anyone. That little girl was oblivious to what was going on, the car was broken down, anybody coming, she just had that little broken dolly up in her arms, and in her pure little mother heart, just telling it how much she loved it. And I thought as I left there that day and rode on alone, "What love to love a thing like that."

But I want to tell you, friends, I know a love greater than that. May I say that when we were dead in trespasses and sins—lots more unattractive than that little doll—God put His mighty arms around us, and He said, "I love you. I love you." Even while we were dead in trespasses and sins, Christ died for the ungodly. God so loved that He gave. And there at Calvary is His mighty heart of love poured out today for a little broken doll receiving all that love and affection.

That's only half of it. That little doll could not respond—what a tragedy. And God this morning loves many of you the same way, and you've never responded.

Steve Schwetz: What a great message from Dr. McGee. You know, if there's one thing that we've heard clearly, it's that the law was never meant to save us. The Ten Commandments reveal the holiness of God and our desperate need for a Savior. Left to ourselves, we come up short every time. But praise God, the story doesn't end at Mount Sinai, does it? It leads all the way to Calvary, where grace meets us in the person of Jesus Christ.

And maybe that's exactly where you find yourself. Have you spent maybe years trying to measure up, trying to be good enough, faithful enough, only to discover that peace still feels just out of reach? Well, if that's so, we want you to know that God's invitation isn't to try harder, but to simply come to Him. To learn more about what it means to know God through a relationship with Jesus Christ, you can click on "How to Know God" in the *Thru the Bible* app or over at TTB.org.

We've got some free resources that are designed to help answer your questions and point you to the hope and assurance found in God's Word. Or call us at 1-800-65-BIBLE and we'll put a packet in the mail to you. Now, for those of you who already know God and you simply want to grow deeper in your understanding of Scripture, well let me encourage you to download one of our favorite study tools: it's the Bible Companion for Exodus.

It includes helpful summaries of Dr. McGee's teaching, scripture references, thoughtful reflection questions, and practical tools to help you continue your study, whether on your own, with your family, or my favorite format—with a small group. And best of all, it's completely free. Just download it from our app or at TTB.org.

And if you couldn't tell earlier, one of the great joys of this ministry is hearing from listeners like you. So whether you're listening in your car right now during your commute, or maybe at your kitchen table with a cup of coffee, or on a truck route across the country, or maybe through headphones on a walk, or through the app in the middle of the night when you can't sleep—we've all been there—and we'd love to hear your story, whatever it is.

You can reach us in a bunch of different ways. The easiest might be directly through our app. You can also email us anytime—BibleBus@TTB.org—or send a good old-fashioned letter by mail to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. Or call 1-800-65-BIBLE anytime and leave us a message.

And if Sundays are your usual stop with us, why don't you keep traveling through the week? After all, the Bible Bus doesn't just roll on Sunday. You can join us as we continue our journey through Exodus with Dr. McGee as our faithful guide. There's so much more ahead in this incredible book and there are plenty of seats, so be sure to invite your friends and family to hop aboard with you.

I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'm so grateful that you joined us. And as we go, I want to leave you with this prayer from Ephesians 3: that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend the breadth and length and depth and height of His love for you. Amen.