Priority One: Taking God Very Seriously

In this foundational message delivered as the congregation prepared to move into a new church facility, Chuck Swindoll addresses the critical necessity of agreeing on priorities. He opens with a humorous reading of a letter from a boy at scout camp to his parents, illustrating how two groups (parents and kids) can experience the same event but have vastly different priorities—one valuing safety, the other valuing adventure [13–20]. Swindoll argues that for any group to survive—whether a marriage, a business, or a church—there must be alignment on what matters most.

Swindoll transports the listener back to 1445 BC, describing the Israelites as a people whose entire worldview was shaped by 400 years of Egyptian slavery. They thought, ate, and lived like Egyptians until God brought them to the desolate wilderness of Sinai to reorient their lives. Through the giving of the Law in Exodus 20, God established the ultimate priority: Monotheism. He demanded to be the only God they served, warning that He is a “jealous God” who will not share His glory [29–31, 43–45].

Applying this ancient text to modern times, Swindoll critiques 21st-century culture, noting that like the Israelites, modern believers often drift into a “secularized” existence where God is marginalized. He challenges the congregation to resist the trend of “worshiping our work” and “playing at our worship.” As the church prepares for a new chapter in a new building, Swindoll lays out five specific signs of a people who take God seriously, pledging that the church will remain rooted in deep, meaningful worship rather than superficial entertainment [48–51, 71–81].

Message Key Facts:

• The Scout Camp Illustration: Swindoll reads a letter from a scout named Cole to his parents. While the boy excitedly describes near-death experiences, lost sleeping bags, and riding on car fenders, the parents are horrified. This illustrates that without agreed-upon priorities, relationships and organizations crumble [13–20].
• The Missing Word: Swindoll notes that the word “priority” never appears in the Bible, yet the concept is present from the first verse (“In the beginning God”) to Jesus’ command to “seek first the kingdom” (Matthew 6:33) and Paul’s instruction that Christ must have “first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18) [22–24].
• The Egyptian Mindset: The Israelites had lived in Egypt longer than the United States has been a country. They were thoroughly secularized and accustomed to a polytheistic culture. The wilderness journey was God’s method of breaking their dependence on Egyptian culture to teach them to trust His unseen presence [29–34].
• Gordon Dahl’s Observation: Swindoll quotes Gordon Dahl’s book Work, Play, and Worship to describe the modern American condition: “Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship.” Swindoll calls this a perfect description of a distorted value system [50–51].
• The Five Signs of Taking God Seriously: Swindoll lists five non-negotiables for the church:
  1. God occupies first place: Not any other place, including business or family.
  2. His Word is the final word: Not tradition or opinion.
  3. Worship is deep and meaningful: Never superficial or designed merely for entertainment.
  4. Values transcend culture: The church will not base its values on what is “politically correct” or culturally relevant, but on what is timeless.
  5. The integrity of the family is protected: A commitment to monogamy, abstinence, and the rearing of children [71–81].
• The Tabernacle’s Glory: Swindoll describes the Tabernacle as a “strange looking structure” that looked nothing like Egyptian architecture. Yet, when the “laser light beam” of God’s glory filled that 15-foot cube, it signaled that God was now the center of their existence [54–56].
• Personal Reflection: Swindoll references his heart attack on October 14, 2000, noting that facing death forced him to come “face to face with God,” reinforcing the urgency of being ready to meet the Lord [85–86].

Message References:

• Exodus 20:1–5: The First Commandment establishing God’s priority: “I am the Lord your God… You shall have no other gods before Me… for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” [3, 43–45].
• Exodus 19:1–3: The historical setting of Israel arriving in the wilderness of Sinai in the third month after leaving Egypt [2–3].
• Exodus 40:34–35: The climax of the book where the cloud covered the tent and the “glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle”.
• Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”.
• Colossians 1:18: “He is to have first place in everything”.
• Revelation 2:4: A reference to the church at Ephesus leaving their “first love”.
• Acts 2:42: The four priorities of the early church: Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer.

Message Speaker:

Pastor Chuck Swindoll