Sermon: Motive Check
Date: September 21
Scripture: Matthew 6:1-8
Speaker: George Veith

Few things frustrate us more than a person who is all show and no substance, and Jesus had quite a few things to say about the hypocrites of his day. Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites because they hid behind meaningless performances of self-righteousness. Their public displays of spirituality were really about judgment of others and approval for themselves, and not about the pursuit of an authentic relationship with God. In response, Jesus invited them to step out from behind their masks and get real before God. Jesus invites us to do the same. We are invited to move beyond outward approval seeking, virtue signaling, and putting ourselves at the center of our world. So many of us live under the suffocating weight of the approval (or disapproval) of other people. Draining our already-low energy reserves in an attempt to look good, rather than be good. Jesus invites us to an other-oriented self-forgetful spirituality of the ‘secret place’ that is motivated by devotion and love to our Heavenly Father. That is our great reward. 

Desired Outcome:  To challenge folks to move beyond the approval (or disapproval) of others and into a singular motivation of devotion and love to our Heavenly Father.