How to Sin Is to Forget God [Family Worship lesson in Deuteronomy 8:11–20]

Why is disobeying God’s Word called forgetting Him? Deuteronomy 8:11–20 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that disobeying God’s Word is personal, proud, praising (wrongly), and pernicious (leading to destruction). (click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson) Summary from the transcript: Pastor's devotional centers on the solemn warning in Deuteronomy 8:11–20 to never forget YHWH God, especially in times of prosperity, as prosperity breeds pride and spiritual amnesia. It emphasizes that forgetting God is not merely a failure of memory but a personal, proud rejection of His identity as Creator, Redeemer, and Provider, who sustains His people through trials and blessings. The passage exposes the danger of attributing one’s success to personal strength rather than recognizing that all wealth and provision come from God’s faithful covenant-keeping character. This spiritual forgetfulness leads to idolatry, as people begin to worship the fruits of their labor instead of the Giver, placing themselves under divine judgment and the same fate as the nations destroyed for their unfaithfulness. The devotional calls for continual dependence on God’s grace through Christ, not only for forgiveness of disobedience but for the transformative power to remain faithful, thankful, and ever-remembering of God’s sovereign goodness.