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The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

The Second Commandment warns us against using God's name in an empty and improper manner. Anyone who is a parent can understand this. How many times do children call or yell out, "Mom!" or "Dad!" and then ask for something trivial, or worse, something you don't want them to have (the whining in grocery and discount stores over candy and toys!). Children use their parents' names to interrupt, without regard for what the parents are doing. Children ask Dad when they don't get their way with Mom, abusing her name. Parents have been called upon to do things they don't like being asked. I suppose parents' names are abused more than any other person -- except maybe God's name.

In God's name, people have cursed all manner of people, animals, and objects. Hell would truly be crowded if God damned all the things and people he has been asked to damn. In God's name, people have lied in courtrooms. Christians lie in God's name when they tell any lie because people look at us and expect Christians to tell the truth. Many people call upon God through horoscopes and other witchcraft. God says, "Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will answer you." But many people, including some Christians, look to horoscopes, ouija boards, tea leaves, fortune tellers, and such for answers to their prayers. That's praying to God, through the devil, instead of through Christ! Every religion or denomination or preacher that doesn't teach the truth as handed down from the apostles has used God's name in vain. It is an abuse of God's name to teach false doctrine. But the worst abuse of God's name is when people do not call upon Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Consider what Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." But which Jesus should we call on? I believe Jesus gives us the answer when He said, "The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." Prophets came from God, but only Jesus comes from God from outside of creation and enters into it. Any Jesus who did not exist before the world and who is not sitting with the Father ruling all creation is a false Jesus.

Saint Paul teaches us that "Therefore God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." What is the name above all names? God. Jesus has that name. In addition, Jesus is called Lord. "Lord" is the word used in the Bible of Jesus' day for the name of God, just as today when people say that they believe in the Lord. Very clearly, Paul wants us to believe that Jesus is the Lord God's people prayed to in the Old Testament.

The kinds of prayers God answers are those prayed through the Jesus who humbled himself until He died in our place, but who also rose from the dead and lives and is king forever. Jesus Christ is the lens that focuses our prayers on the heart of God. When our prayers go through Jesus, like a filter lens, he strips them of sin. Then, like a lens, Jesus amplifies our true need. In fact, after our prayers go through Jesus, they may not even sound like the prayers we thought we prayed. After sin is filtered out and the true need the Spirit found in our soul is magnified, a prayer offered according to God's will is offered to Him. The answer we get will be at least what we ask for, but more often, better. So if you don't get what you ask for, expect something better!

Lots of people pray to someone called God, but only those prayers prayed in Jesus' name get heard by the God who created heaven and earth. We don't have to end our prayers with the words, "In the name of Jesus," for our prayers to be in His name. To pray in the name of Jesus is to pray with His authority. Those who have been baptized and believe in Jesus have the right to use His name, His authority to pray, according to his own promise, "I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name ... because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help us believe more than ever before in Jesus Christ as the Lord to whom we may pray, and through whom we may pray to God the Father. Teach us to pray in His name and to honor His name with all we say and do in this life. Amen.

Object lesson: Object in bag: Play money. Tell the children that you have a sack full of money. Then show them the money. Talk about how "real" the money is. Tell them that money which is fake is called counterfeit. Tell them how bankers can tell counterfeit money just by the feel (because they can be fooled by how it looks).

Talk about fake Jesuses. Ask them if a fake Jesus could do the things the real Jesus did. Ask them to tell some of the things the real Jesus did (die on the cross, rise again, sit at right hand of the Father, answer our prayers). Point out that this is the test to find fake Jesuses. Fake Jesuses aren't really the God we can pray to for salvation. Point out that they can learn about the real Jesus if they go to Sunday school and church often and regularly. Tell them they can pray to Jesus.