Worship Service Livestream


February 22, 2026
  • Welcome and Announcements
  • House Of The Lord
  • Prayer of Invocation
  • I Believe In Jesus
  • At The Cross (Love Ran Red)
  • Scripture Reading and Prayer - Matthew 6:1-18
  • There Is No Sin That I Have Done
  • Pastor's Message - Righteousness Parade
  • You Are My King (Amazing Love)


Matthew 6:1-18

  • 1 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
    2 "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
    3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
    4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
    5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
    6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
    7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
    8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
    9 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
    10 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
    11 'Give us this day our daily bread.
    12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
    13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.']
    14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
    15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
    16 "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
    17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
    18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.


SERMON NOTES - Righteousness Parade

INTRODUCTION
  • The Theme of the Sermon on the Mount is true righteousness.
  • Being a disciple of Jesus is about becoming a certain kind of person, not merely doing certain religious actions.
  • Jesus began the Sermon with what we call the Beatitudes, which describe the kind of person who belongs to God's kingdom. The rest of the chapter is devoted to kingdom righteousness in which Jesus contrasts true righteousness with the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
  • We need to remember that Jesus was not attempting to invalidate the Old Testament's teaching.
  • What Jesus corrected were the misinterpretations and the legalistic application of the Law which the religious leaders had amended and distorted for the sake of their own religious traditions and for their own personal benefit. He was not altering the teaching of the Old Testament or changing the bar but revealing the kind of heart and righteousness that God had always desired.
  • When we come to chapter 6, Jesus applies what He has said about true righteousness to some very practical spiritual disciplines: giving, prayer and fasting.
  • For most Jews in Jesus' day, these three were considered the central, defining disciplines of personal piety.
  • What Jesus addresses in this chapter is not doing the disciplines but the motive behind doing them.
  • "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 6:1
  • This is the main point of the whole section. There is nothing wrong with giving praying and fasting, but doing them does not guarantee that they honor God. Why not? Because the motive is wrong and the wrong motive is human recognition, approval, and praise.
  • Doing religion for the sake of personal benefit is hypocrisy. Personal piety becomes little more than religious theater where the audience is other people, not God.

GRANDIOSE GIVING (vv. 2-4)
  • "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." - Matthew 6:2-4
  • In Jesus' time, the word righteousness was closely linked to the word alms. Giving to the poor was an important part of ancient Judaism.
  • In the Ancient world, poverty was common and visible. According to estimations, 9 out of 10 persons lived close to what we would call poverty level or below it.
  • While trumpets weren't blown when people gave, public recognition for giving was a real cultural practice: Wealthy donors had their names inscribed on buildings; gifts to the Temple treasury could be publicly acknowledged. What Jesus is doing is taking real religious behaviors, and exaggerating them to reveal the hidden motive: the desire to be admired.
  • Blowing a trumpet is a comic picture of someone turning charity into a parade; a visual caricature of someone trying to look extra holy.
  • Notice the contrast: "but when you give [Not if you give but when you give] do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." This is another expression to indicate that Jesus is speaking metaphorically.
  • No matter how you give, the right motive is that it is something between you and God, not someone else.

PRETENTIOUS PRAYING (vv. 5-15)
  • "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. …So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." Matthew 6:5, 8
  • There are two problems with this kind of pretentious praying. The first continues the emphasis on being seen and noticed and like sounding a trumpet before giving, the language is metaphorical and satirical.
  • What Jesus describes is a satire, a caricature of someone who times their prayer so they "just happen" to be in the most public place. Jesus exaggerates the behavior to expose the motive.
  • The second issue with this kind of hypocritical praying is about the insincerity and disingenuousness of the prayer itself.

FRAUDULENT FASTING (vv. 16-18)
  • "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." - Matthew 6:16-18
  • People fasted when their hearts were broken and was repeatedly linked with humbling oneself. What Jesus criticized was the hypocrisy of those who fasted but used it, not as a means of genuine humility, but as a stage to display their religious devotion making certain that it was know they were fasting by their outward appearance and demeanor.
  • Righteousness done for show is not righteousness at all - it's image-management. Jesus is restoring integrity. Secret giving reveals genuine compassion. Secret prayer reveals genuine devotion. Secret fasting reveals genuine humility.
  • Instead of hypocritical outward displays of righteousness, ours is to be expressed through private devotion.
  • Three times Jesus says, "Your Father who sees what is done in secret…" Far more important than people taking notice is that the Father takes notice. He knows not just our action, but our motives, and our heart. When they are right the promise is, He will reward you. This statement has been called the hinge of the sermon. Everything before it leads to it. Everything after it flows from it.