{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"The Abundant Life, Part 11: Bearing Honest Witness","description":"In this episode we turn to \u2013 you guessed it \u2013 the 9th commandment: You shall not bear false witness. It\u2019s instruction that \u2013 like all the commandments \u2013 seems, at first glance, very simple and straightforward: When you are called as a witness in a trial, do not give false testimony. But when we look a little deeper, we see that this commandment is filled with implications that I think are critical to explore if we are to live the abundant life \u2013 not the least of which is to recognize that in life, there will be conflict. Wrongs will be done. Harm will happen. There will be disputes that require adjudication. If life in the community of faith were easy, there\u2019d be no need for a commandment about truth-telling. Indeed, it turns out that truth-telling is key for a healthy community. And in fact, can be very healing when wrongs have been committed. Sometimes the only justice that can be granted is an honest accounting of what has transpired. But owning wrongs goes a long way towards making repair. And yet there is another reason that the people of God are called to be honest brokers in all that we do \u2013 we bear witness to God himself, whom we believe raised Jesus from the dead! \u2026a claim that strains credulity to its breaking point. If we want to be the least bit credible when it comes to bearing witness to Christ, we had best have a long reputation of integrity \u2013 intellectual and otherwise... The text for this sermon can be found here: Exodus 20:16 (NRSV) If you value the podcast and are able to support the community from which it comes, you can make a tax-deductible  contribution to Canvas Presbyterian Church here! (Thank you!!!) For more sermon series, resources and means of contacting me, simply head to jesusat2am.com, send me email, or come chat on BlueSky. ","author_name":"Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith","author_url":"http:\/\/www.jesusat2am.com","html":"