For Romeo and Juliet, names made all the difference.  The smitten pair just had the wrong last names is all.  If Romeo would have been Romeo Anderson or Romeo Smith, well, a happily ever after would have ensued and Disney would have bought up the rights to the Shakespearean play and turned it to some animated adventure–in space or underwater or some such thing.  But Juliet knew names mattered and attempted to rationalize her was around this fact, and while Romeo eavesdropped on his damsel, she uttered: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Well, we all know how the tragedy of the star-crossed lovers unfurled because, in the end, names truly do matter.

This weekend, we’ll jump back into the “Write It on Your Heart” Series in covering the Third Commandment which says: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”

Why does it matter what we say?  It is just a name—just words—after all, right?

Well this weekend we will tackle why it matters and the honor due to the name of the Lord by honing in on His reputation, His character, and His authority.

We’ll also define how we take the Lord’s name in vain through our profanity, our frivolity, our forgery, and our hypocrisy.

Truly, this message will challenge our tongue, mind, and heart.  And hopefully, we will leave a more reverent people than we came, knowing, at least in one instance, what truly is in the Name above all names.