Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28
March 8, 2026
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland, CA.
On most every morning of each day, I leave my house for my daily walk. When I get to the shops in Sausalito, I drop in at Sausalito Bakery where morning friends have already gathered. Not wanting to stay too long, I stand by the doorposts to share daily thoughts and conversations.
It’s at these gates in our communities are where we think about when we lie down and when we rise, that we check in about the weather, the breaking news on our phones, and the state of our health.
Whether we are at home or when we are at the local bakery café, we are still who we are. These neighbors anchor the table and seats at the window like holding court for all those who choose to drop by.
It didn’t take too long for them to discover that I was a Baptist minister. I hear their prayer requests. I pray for Janette’s mother. I pray for Margaret whose husband, Tony just passed.
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is believed to be based on ancient law. In the 7th century, Judah under the reign of King Josiah, the people were about to enter the land and are being instructed to put these words in the center of their life. The law is to ensure a life guided by God’s commandments so that the present and next generations would always remain faithful to God.
The verses, 11:18-21 in Jewish life is The Shema. When it is hard to keep this greatest commandment before them at all times and in every place, these verses are inscribed and placed in a small container, called a mezuzah, and was affixed onto the doorposts of a home. To not have any other gods other than God, they will see this commandment going out and coming in; to be visible for themselves and for others.
For more conservative Jewish people, they have these words in small boxes called, phylacteries that are strapped on their foreheads and on their hands. So, every thought, every grasp of one’s hands would be connected to the commandment to love God.
The Shema, “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (6:4-5) is not limited to just the individual. The responsibility is to pass this teaching to our children and future generations as a sacred way of life. This is constant and comprehensive reminder whether you are going out or coming in.
Retelling the Story
There’s a story of children in a church rehearsing for the annual Christmas pageant. They had the toddlers dressed as lambs, with woolly ears and caps. The angels wandered aimlessly, wings drooping as they awaited their turn to enter the stage. The stars of the show, Mary and Joseph, were being arranged at the front to make the classic tableau with a plastic baby doll that had played Jesus for decades.
Suddenly a little shepherd shouted out, “Wait a second, wait a second. Do you mean to tell me we are going to do exactly the same story we did last year?
In this passage, we are told that these stories matter. Not only do we retell these stories over and over again, but we should take them into our bodies: “You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead.” (v. 18)
Furthermore, it is not enough that we understand them ourselves. We need to pass the wisdom down, one generation to the next. “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.” (v. 19)
Blessings and Curses
The lectionary jumps to verses 26-28 to remind us that God desires us to obey and enjoy blessings. The path to blessing is straight forward requiring us to observe the commandment that “The Lord God is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
To follow other gods that you have not known will only lead to the curse. But the blessing comes when we obey the commandment to love God and only God. In other words, the other gods out there can actually do you harm. You could be cursed by worshiping yourself, or your wealth, or someone else’s wealth and reputation.
The Deuteronomist announces that you need to know these words and know them in your hearts. The tone of this passage is shocking in its intensity, but the answer to the little shepherd’s question is clear. Yes, we actually will be retelling the same story we did last year and in the many years to come, God willing. We need to write them in our hearts and souls.
At Lakeshore
Living in the United States when living out our religious life is often done in privacy, it’s not apparent whether a person is a Christian or not. We don’t wear phylacteries on our foreheads and hands like the Jewish people. I don’t wear a clergy collar when I walk in the morning. You might wear a cross but it could simply be a nice necklace.
It is not enough to have God’s law where we can see it; it is also to be displayed where others can see it too. Not necessarily on a T-shirt or a box on our foreheads but in a social environment where religion is considered a private affair and public displays of faithfulness in God is unseemly, Deuteronomy is telling us to not hide away our devotion to God.
God’s claim is on our doorposts and gates means that our public profession of faith is incumbent on God’s people—but not for the sake of informing outsiders but to publicly profess for our own sakes.
We know that when Sunday school teachers are using a curriculum and teaching their students about the Bible and the Christian faith that they are learning as much as the kids. Like what the Deuteronomist said, as these teachers wear the word on their foreheads as teachers, they are also writing those words on their own hearts and souls.
For parents with children, you are teaching them to love God when you are practicing a life of faithfulness. You come to worship and while doing this, you are teaching your children to worship too. You come to a Bible study and while you are learning something new, you are teaching your children that they will always be learning something new too. When you read the Bible daily or use one of those daily devotionals, you are teaching your children that God is not far, far away but ever present in your lives and you know God as you know the back of your hands.
I have been teaching an Inquirers/Baptism/New Members Class for the past 5 weeks. If these students decide to go forward with Baptism to profess their faith in Jesus Christ publicly, they too in these baptismal waters will not hide their faith but on their hands, on their foreheads, on their entire bodies, on their doorposts, and at their gates, proclaim that the Lord God is their God.
During this interim period at Lakeshore, we are seeking to expand and raise our sights on what and where God is calling us to be today and to become tomorrow. There are many good ideas to keep in our hearts, talk about with our children, recite them at home and away, when we are lying down at night and getting up in the morning.
You may have noticed that the church sign outside our church has a new message. Before it was an eyesore. Now it says that at Lakeshore, we “Worship Fearlessly, Work Purposefully, and Witness Faithfully” with a scan code inviting all those who pass by to visit us and to get to know who Lakeshore Avenue Baptists are. We are being public about our faith and discipleship!
And on our bulletin covers every week, we have our 2007 Mission/Vision Statement that is like our Shema. Let’s read this together.
Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church is an inclusive community that embraces all followers of Jesus Christ. We worship, witness and work to advance God’s purpose in all of life Empowered by the Spirit, we strive to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.
Adopted September 9, 2007
We are writing who we are in our hearts, minds, souls, and reciting who we are together as God’s people.
Don’t Forget Who We Are
The writer and theologian, William Willimon in a book on baptism, tells this story:
Back in high school, every Friday and Saturday night, as I was leaving home to go on a date,
I remember my mother bidding me farewell at the front door with these weighty words, “Don’t forget who you are.”
You know what she meant. She did not mean that I was in danger of forgetting my name or my street address. She meant that, alone on a date, in the midst of some party, in the presence of some strangers, I might forget who I was. I might lose sight of the values with which I had been raised, answer to some alien name, engage in some unaccustomed behavior.
“Don’t forget who you are,” was her maternal benediction as I left home.
Lakeshore Avenue Baptist, don’t forget who you are. As God’s people on the corner of Lakeshore and Mandana, remember who you are at home, at work, at school, in the car, in thisneighborhood, in the world!
Let us pray.
Our Mighty God, we have come so far with you as our abiding Creator, with you as our redeeming Lord, with you as our comforting and inspiring Spirit. Teach us over and over again to not forget to whom we belong and who we are. You are our Maker and the Maker of all worlds. Remind us to always proclaim that you, Lord is our God, you alone. We love you, our Lord with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our might. In the name of Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen.