Where the series stands

Pastor Devon Ortiz returned to Deuteronomy 6 after a month of other speakers on Wednesdays. He briefly reviewed verses 1 to 5. God gave His commands so they could be done in the land, and the goal is not one generation of faith but every generation after. So parents and adults cannot say "I am not a role model," because anyone who is in church or in public view is an example. He recalled two older women in his home church who sat in the same spot every week and were an example to him as a boy.

"Hear" means more than taking in information. It means doing something with it, like a parent who asks a child to do three chores and gets one done. Verses 4 and 5, the Shema, say the Lord is one and that we are to love Him with all our heart, soul, and might. He said the most depressed Christians are the ones who are half in and half out, because the things of God feel like pressure when they are not all the way in. Half-hearted obedience is disobedience, and God does not accept a portion of us. He tied heart, soul, and might to desire, to the whole life, and to strength and resources, and said he is not a naturally gifted student but that God used a love of literature to prepare him for breaking down the greatest story ever written.

Verse 6: in your heart

"These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart." Pastor Ortiz said what we learn must stay in the heart so it is not fake and not done only to look good before people. The fear of man is a snare, and the more we ask what God thinks of how we serve, the freer we become. Parents who do not walk with God raise children who do not believe God, he said, and head knowledge without heart transformation is fake. He added a correction of something he has said himself: religion is the practice of your faith, so religion and relationship should look much the same.

Verse 7: teach diligently

You cannot teach what is not inside you, and you do not really know it if you do not live it. "Diligently" means to sharpen, repeat, and impress deeply. It is not a one-time conversation but the daily repetition that makes parents' sayings stick in a child's heart. The same should be true of God's word, so that when a child needs an answer, scripture comes out. He pointed to Matthew 28:19-20, where the goal is to go, teach, and make disciples.

Verse 7 also says where: when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Faith is to be woven into every normal moment, with the home as the place where discipleship happens most. He talked about conversations with his children in the car, the habit of scrolling before bed instead of thinking about what God gave that day, and what we do first thing in the morning. There is no off time for discipleship, he said. He said he does not know how to disciple in a classroom setting and prefers to walk alongside people. He told of buying pumpkins at a more expensive patch for years so he could keep building a relationship with the owner, hoping he would be saved. Pastor Ortiz quoted Pastor Bordell: connect before you communicate.

Verses 8 and 9: hand, forehead, and doorposts

Binding the words as a sign on the hand and between the eyes refers to the Jewish practice of wearing small boxes of scripture, which was often done more for show. The point is that God's commands should be so impressed on a person that before making a decision, he asks whether it would be right with God and whether God would be pleased. And if the answer is no, what is he doing about it?

Writing them on the doorposts and gates means the home and public life should announce what you believe. Some homes announce movies, music, or arguments contrary to God. He described talking at his gym with a man planning a very expensive wedding, suggesting he spend on the marriage and not just the event, and the man later asked for a counselor and thanked him for the idea of a cheaper venue. He said he wants to live publicly in a way that others know Christ.

Closing

He tied this back to the series on the tongue: the tongue is attached to the heart. If someone struggles to want church, prayer, or the Bible, that is a heart issue, so the fix is not more head knowledge but a transformed heart. He invited anyone who realized they were just following rules and might not be saved to raise a hand, and one person did.