Christ Community Church - Shawnee Campus - SUNDAY MESSAGES

With God: In the Wilderness - Great Shema [13]

·42 min·4 clips

Pastor Gabe invites the congregation to recite the Shema together, a memorized Hebrew passage from Deuteronomy.

The episode is a Sunday sermon delivered by Pastor Gabe, the lead senior pastor at Christ Community Church, as part of a series called 'With God' that traces the biblical storyline from Genesis to Revelation across multiple campuses. It opens with a unique scripture reading where the congregation recites the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 together, a passage they have memorized. Pastor Gabe then shares the story of Tommy, a 24-year-old diagnosed with terminal cancer, who reflects that dying young is better than living a long life without values, prompting a discussion on the 'good life'. The sermon critiques common pursuits like work, social status, and experiences, citing philosophers and poets like Socrates, Gandhi, and the Apostle Paul to argue that love is central to a fulfilling life. Focusing on the wilderness generation in Deuteronomy, Pastor Gabe explains that loving God, not just being interested in Him, is the secret to the good life. He delves into the Shema, breaking down the Hebrew word 'shema' as listening with the intent to obey and emphasizing that God is one, contrasting this with polytheistic cultures. The sermon explores what it means to love God with all one's heart, soul, and strength, noting that Jesus later adds 'mind' to this command in Mark 12. Practical applications are drawn from Deuteronomy 6:6-9, encouraging listeners to internalize God's word, teach it to children, and let it shape their actions and environments, such as through practices like phylacteries and mezuzahs. Pastor Gabe connects this to loving one's neighbor, citing Jesus' teaching that love for God and love for neighbor are intertwined, and warns against dividing attention by adding lesser things to God. He concludes by returning to Tommy's story, where Tommy reconciles with his family through love and finds God, illustrating that receiving God's love, as shown in John 3:16, enables a response of love. The sermon ends with an invitation to communion, emphasizing that God's undivided love makes a rich life possible.

As heard by us

A communal Shema reading becomes a focused call to whole-person love for God.

With God: In the Wilderness - Great Shema [13] treats Deuteronomy 6:4-9 as the center of a whole-church sermon. Gabe, lead senior pastor at Christ Community, sets the Shema within the church's Genesis-to-Revelation journey, then makes scripture reading feel like a shared act of…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play when the Shema needs to move from memorized words into the shape of your whole life.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Christ Community Church - Shawnee Campus - SUNDAY MESSAGES