Sermon Synopses - June 2008

Sermons at Trinity are usually ex tempore, that is done without notes...Please enjoy our "Sermon Synopses" or short summaries of sermons preached at Trinity

Link to Sermons Synopses for additional summaries available from this year.

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Sermon for June 1, 2008
Matthew 7:21 – 29

“Not everyone who says to me , ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven.”

Today’s gospel is a tough passage.  We would rather hear Jesus say something along the lines of “Everybody is welcome into the kingdom of heaven,” or at least, “Everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”  But Jesus doesn’t say that.  And it’s not like this passage is a mistake or scribal error; look how many other passages say similar things!  Todd gave examples.

What do we do with these passages?  Exactly – we “do,” said Todd.  Jesus is the consummate pastor.  Jesus doesn’t shirk from telling people the truth, no matter if that truth hard truth such as “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” And he also knows that when we hear challenging news, it helps if we have something to do.  “…but only those who do the will of my father in heaven.”

Todd gave examples from the Sermon on the Mount (from which today’s passage is taken) about what we can do:  turn the other cheek, not judge others, seek and knock on the door, not worry, etc.

Two things about “doing:”

1)  Doing will not save us from difficult times.  The storms and tempests of life will still hit us.  But in not just hearing, but “doing,” we will have built a house on rock that will not fall.  By “doing” we can weather the difficult times.

2) We can’t do these things on our own.  Leading a full Christian life of doing requires support from others.  Here is the church’s role, to help each other lead a life of hearing and doing.

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