02-06-2022
02-06-2022
Rev. Trevor Johnston (LOX & Online), Dr. E. Dale Locke (WPB & Outdoor), Rev. Efrain Silva (COH Español)
Sermon Series: How Life Works
Week 5: Just Between Us
English PDF file for printing.
Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español
Read our theme verse from this series, Matthew 7:24 - Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Read Matthew 6:1-6, 6:16-18:
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.….
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
1. John Wesley said Satan works hard to get people to separate outside faith and inside faith, but both are important. Some people focus only on the inside – faith is just between me and God – but I do whatever they want with my body, money, and relationships. Some people focus just on the outside, doing “religious” things, but have no real connection with God in their hearts.
What happens if you neglect cleaning up the outside of your life?
What happens if you neglect the inside of your spiritual life?
2. In this part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching about three important areas of spiritual life: giving, praying, and fasting. Note the pattern that links these three topics together, including Jesus’s humorous exaggeration about how some people do these things. Discuss the funny picture Jesus paints of the wrong way to do each one, and what he’s trying to get at in each case:
Giving
Prayer
Fasting
3. How would you define hypocrisy? What’s the problem with hypocrisy?
4. How would you define integrity?
5. Jesus warns that when you do these things hypocritically to get others to notice you, you’ve already received your reward. What is the reward a person gets in that case?
6. Pastor Trevor gave this equation: Right thing + Wrong reason = Spiritual Death. What did he mean by that?
7. It’s always been part of the fallen human condition to be susceptible to what others think of us. But today there are additional temptations. Discuss examples common in our culture of people doing good deeds to be seen by others.
8. When we get “likes” on Facebook, we actually get a dopamine hit that can become addictive. How can this dopamine-driven feedback loop become destructive to people’s lives and to society?
9. What is “virtue signaling” and what’s wrong with it?
10. If you’ve ever done something good, and no one noticed it, or someone else got credit for it, how did that feel?
11. Jesus’ point for all this is that our motivation matters. Why is it so challenging to keep our motivations pure?
12. Read Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
How does God reward people who earnestly seek him and lean in to living life for him?
13. Trevor used the following equation to talk about doing good things with the right motivation: Right Things + Right Reason = Eternal Life. Os Guiness said, “I live before the audience of One - before others I have nothing to gain, nothing to lose, nothing to prove.”
How would that mindset impact a person’s life?
14. Jesus’s remedy here is what some call the “spiritual discipline of secrecy.” Dallas Willard said: “The spiritual discipline of secrecy is consciously refraining from having our good deeds and qualities generally known, which, in turn, rightly disciplines our longing for recognition…. The discipline of secrecy will help us break the grip of human opinion over our souls and actions…. Few things are more important in stabilizing our walk of faith than this discipline. In the practice of secrecy, we experience a continuing relationship with God independent of the opinions of others….”
What do you think about this?
15. Pastor Trevor pointed out that secrecy isn’t the goal, it’s just a tool. What did he mean by that?
16. If you’ve ever experienced someone doing something kind for you in secret, tell about that. How did it feel to receive an anonymous gift?
This week, try blessing someone in secret. For example, you might…
Pay for a meal
Encourage someone anonymously
Pray (and maybe fast) for someone’s need
Seek God in a way that’s just between you and Him.
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Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages, is coming to the Community of Hope West Palm Beach Campus (2341 S Military Trail) on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 from 7-9pm! Space is limited! Purchase tickets online at https://moody.regfox.com/date-night-west-palm
Human Trafficking Conference: February 17, 6pm. View Place of Hope's film, "Invisible" and learn how to be part of the fight against this very real issue of human trafficking in our area. Learn more at https://communityofhope.church/cht
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