Embracing Humility: Overcoming Pride in Our Lives
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Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
"I wonder if many of us are far from God, not because of our love for evil, but because God's kingdom is about other people and not about oneself. How many of us, when we really get down to it, would rather reign than serve? I think this gets at the heart of what the ancients called self-focused pride." [00:03:42] (32 seconds)
"As the old saying goes, pride is not thinking too much of myself. Pride is thinking of myself far too much. And this principle may be even more familiar now than it was to the ancients. For we are an attention-seeking culture. Influencers, pop stars, celebrities, fame, the goal of life seems to be amassing attention, gaining followers, and becoming a household name." [00:04:24] (37 seconds)
"Martin Luther puts it this way, Righteousness is more dangerous than our sin, for righteousness can serve the most self-centered of all human desires, self-glorification. When I examine or consider the state of American Christianity, I cannot help but wonder how much of our dysfunction is driven by self-righteousness. Pride dressed up in religious clothes." [00:07:10] (31 seconds)
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Scholar Dale Bruner suggests that a very literal translation of this first part of the verse would be, watch out that you do not do your righteousness in front of other people in order to theater them." [00:09:40] (28 seconds)
"Jesus specifically here is referring to theatrical righteousness or theatrical spiritual disciplines, the Jesus stuff done dramatically with the purpose of being noticed. Another word for this might be virtue signaling, or maybe even spiritually showing off. He says it's no good to do the Jesus stuff if you are not doing it for the right reasons." [00:10:21] (30 seconds)
"Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you." [00:12:21] (29 seconds)
"Although some suggest that shofar-like trumpets may have been played when giving was given in the synagogue, many scholars think that Jesus is simply just using hyperbole here. In essence, he is saying don't give to those who need it in the church or on the streets in an ostentatious way, in a way that desires praise or notice from other people." [00:13:02] (26 seconds)
"Continuing on in verse 5, Jesus shifts from the example of giving and he addresses prideful prayer saying, and when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward." [00:17:17] (22 seconds)
"In fact, we see several examples throughout the Bible of Jesus celebrating and participating in public acts. We see Jesus commend the woman for giving all she had in the synagogue. We see Jesus stand up in his hometown synagogue and recite the scroll of Isaiah. In just a few verses, he instructs and prays the Lord's prayer aloud." [00:18:14] (24 seconds)
"Picking back up in verse 16, Jesus shifts from prayer, and then he works to address prideful fasting, saying this, and when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward, but when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by others, but your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." [00:23:55] (39 seconds)
"Make it your ambition to live a quiet life, for it may be the only way of defeating the ugly monster of pride, the desire to be seen and recognized by others to be known, the force that seems to lurk behind every good deed we do. Can God's presence, his glory, be enough for you for the rest of your life and the rest of mine." [00:34:40] (40 seconds)
"See, culture says hide your sins and proclaim your righteous deeds, but Jesus says confess your sins and hide your righteous deeds, and in return, I will reward you with my presence. For those of us who cannot think of one good deed, success, or spiritual act that we have not talked about, we need to stop, to pause, and to evaluate who are we living for, who are we bringing glory to." [00:36:45] (44 seconds)
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"As the old saying goes, pride is not thinking too much of myself. Pride is thinking of myself far too much. And this principle may be even more familiar now than it was to the ancients. For we are an attention-seeking culture. Influencers, pop stars, celebrities, fame, the goal of life seems to be amassing attention, gaining followers, and becoming a household name." [00:04:24] (37 seconds)
"Martin Luther puts it this way, Righteousness is more dangerous than our sin, for righteousness can serve the most self-centered of all human desires, self-glorification. When I examine or consider the state of American Christianity, I cannot help but wonder how much of our dysfunction is driven by self-righteousness. Pride dressed up in religious clothes." [00:07:10] (31 seconds)
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Scholar Dale Bruner suggests that a very literal translation of this first part of the verse would be, watch out that you do not do your righteousness in front of other people in order to theater them." [00:09:40] (28 seconds)
"Jesus specifically here is referring to theatrical righteousness or theatrical spiritual disciplines, the Jesus stuff done dramatically with the purpose of being noticed. Another word for this might be virtue signaling, or maybe even spiritually showing off. He says it's no good to do the Jesus stuff if you are not doing it for the right reasons." [00:10:21] (30 seconds)
"Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you." [00:12:21] (29 seconds)
"Although some suggest that shofar-like trumpets may have been played when giving was given in the synagogue, many scholars think that Jesus is simply just using hyperbole here. In essence, he is saying don't give to those who need it in the church or on the streets in an ostentatious way, in a way that desires praise or notice from other people." [00:13:02] (26 seconds)
"Continuing on in verse 5, Jesus shifts from the example of giving and he addresses prideful prayer saying, and when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward." [00:17:17] (22 seconds)
"In fact, we see several examples throughout the Bible of Jesus celebrating and participating in public acts. We see Jesus commend the woman for giving all she had in the synagogue. We see Jesus stand up in his hometown synagogue and recite the scroll of Isaiah. In just a few verses, he instructs and prays the Lord's prayer aloud." [00:18:14] (24 seconds)
"Picking back up in verse 16, Jesus shifts from prayer, and then he works to address prideful fasting, saying this, and when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward, but when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by others, but your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." [00:23:55] (39 seconds)
"Make it your ambition to live a quiet life, for it may be the only way of defeating the ugly monster of pride, the desire to be seen and recognized by others to be known, the force that seems to lurk behind every good deed we do. Can God's presence, his glory, be enough for you for the rest of your life and the rest of mine." [00:34:40] (40 seconds)
"See, culture says hide your sins and proclaim your righteous deeds, but Jesus says confess your sins and hide your righteous deeds, and in return, I will reward you with my presence. For those of us who cannot think of one good deed, success, or spiritual act that we have not talked about, we need to stop, to pause, and to evaluate who are we living for, who are we bringing glory to." [00:36:45] (44 seconds)
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