Sermon for the Way Home
When Did You Last Wash the Inside of Your Tumbler?
Matthew 23:13–28
We can only polish the outside of the cup, but Jesus took the heaviest cup of all, the one we deserved, in our place. That love washes us again today and draws us back to loving him.
Three words to remember this week
- Door
- Scales
- Tumbler
Married couples
Are we a door to each other, or a wall?
Where we are
After years together, our own standards can speak louder than our spouse's words. "That's not how it's done" can feel to them like a door shut in their face.
From the passage
The Pharisees were zealous to protect what was good, yet their zeal became a wall that kept people out (vv. 13, 15). When we let go of the mercy God counts weighty, the scales tip first in front of the person closest to us (v. 23).
Confession
I will offer a warm heart before a correct word. I will be a door that listens to what is in your heart.
Prayer points
- That we would listen to each other's hearts without judging
- That our home would be a door flung open to our neighbours
Those whose spouse does not share their faith
Does my faith look like a door to my spouse, or a wall?
Where we are
It is easy to grow impatient when your spouse does not come to church with you. Watching you throw yourself into worship and serving, they may even feel further away.
From the passage
Jesus looked not at how much ground the Pharisees covered over land and sea, but at where their zeal was leading (v. 15). A life whose inside matches its outside opens a wider door than any persuasion (v. 26).
Confession
Rather than striving to change you, I will first let the Lord wash my own heart.
Prayer points
- That my impatience with my spouse would turn into mercy
- That my life, more than my words, would open a door to the gospel
Parents of primary-age and younger children
Am I teaching my child a shiny outside, or looking into my child's heart?
Where we are
"Say hello nicely." "Sit still during the service." Busy tending to how our children appear, we can miss what is going on inside them. Sometimes we forget to come down to their level and teach only in grown-up words.
From the passage
Jesus looked at the inside of the cup before the outside (vv. 25–26). What our children need first is not perfect behaviour but the love of God that holds them just as they are.
Confession
I will look at your heart before your behaviour. I will share the Lord's love at your eye level.
Prayer points
- For eyes and ears that can read my child's heart
- That my child would grow up treasuring the inside more than the outside
Parents of secondary-age and older children
Have the scales of grades and behaviour grown heavier than mercy towards my child?
Where we are
Exam results, future plans, daily habits. The more there is to keep track of, the more our conversations turn into check-ups, and the more our children hear a wall in our words rather than a door.
From the passage
The Pharisees counted every mint leaf, yet let go of the weightier matter of mercy (v. 23). What weighs most for our children is not their marks, but being treated as someone God loved first.
Confession
Today I will ask about your heart before your marks. Mum and Dad need the Lord's grace too.
Prayer points
- That time with our children would be love, not inspection
- That they would value their heart before the Lord over the eyes of others
Single members of our church family
How closely does the person others see resemble the person I am when I'm alone?
Where we are
On social media, at work and with friends, we look as though we're doing fine. Yet on the nights we come home alone, loneliness, comparison and resentment can linger like the grime under a tumbler's seal.
From the passage
Jesus looked past the outside that appears righteous to others and saw the inside (v. 28). And for the inside we cannot wash ourselves, he took that cup in Gethsemane (26:39).
Confession
Even when I am alone, I will not hide my heart from the Lord. My stains do not define me; the Lord who washed me does.
Prayer points
- That my time alone would become honest time with the Lord
- For friends in faith with whom I can share what is really in my heart