Text: Mark12:38-44
​
Sermon:

• Last week we discussed Jesus’ teaching on loving your neighbor and how we should also

love all our neighbors. This week we have two different stories that have an interesting
connection.

• First, we have Jesus’ teaching against letters who are extremely showy in front of their

congregation. The second story is a poor woman that was giving so much of her money
in church.

• So, how are these stories connected? As I investigate the two stories, I see Jesus

displaying the importance of having a genuine heart in our faith.

• First, Jesus warned us against trying to make a good impression just for personal gain.

These teachers of the law were religious hypocrites who had no love for God.

• True followers of God are not distinguished by showy spirituality, Reading the Bible,

praying in public, following church rituals, and even doing church work can be phony if
the motive for doing them is to be noticed or honored. Let your actions be consistent with
your beliefs.

• Now, looking at the second story:
• This widow gave all she had to live in, in contrast to the way most people handle their

money. Jesus was admiring generous and sacrificial giving. As believers, we should
consider increasing our giving-whether of money, time, or talents-to a point beyond
convenience or calculation.

• The value of a gift should be determined not by the amount but by the spirituality which

is given. A gift given grudgingly or for recognition loses its value in the eyes of God.
When you give, take heart-small gifts are more pleasing to God than large gifts when
they are given out of gratitude.

• So, here’s the connection of the two stories: In the first story, we see the religious leaders

giving money out of their wealth and it seems that are doing it solely for people to see
and lift their status. We also see this in the way that they dress and present themselves in
the churches.

• In the second story, we see a woman who has no resources, yet she gives what she must

support the church and support the community. When Jesus sees her offer, Jesus honored
the woman’s offering. Jesus reminds us that the woman was giving out a genuine heart of
faith and by doing that we give more of ourselves. As opposed to those that only give out
of wealth or for those that only give so that they can get recognition for the amount that
they are giving.

•  When we perform in church simply to show our status, we are the ones that are honored,not God. Those who are giving out of wealth and out of obligation, we often wear it as a

badge of honor.

• When we give and worship with our heart, we honor God. When we give out of our

generosity, it is our humility that we wear as a badge of honor.

• When we attend church or take part in religious traditions, we need to focus our attention

on our intentions: are we taking part in the traditions for status? Or are we genuinely
taking part in these traditions?

• When we live a life of genuine faith from a genuine heart, our focus moves away from us

and our focus on the needs of others. The churches and groups of people that are fighting
to ensure that all people have equal rights, and equal opportunities are groups that bring a
positive change to the world that I believe best demonstrates Jesus’ teachings.

Conclusion: Let us be people who have a genuine heart for their faith and have a heart for
others.

Text: Mark12:28-32

Sermon:

• Last week we discussed how Jesus loved his disabled brothers and sisters. He treated

them as valued members of the community before he healed them. This week, we are
continuing this discussion with this scripture.

• At the beginning of this scripture, the writer states that Jesus is visited by a teacher of the

law, that is “one skilled in Jewish law and theology scribe, expert, scholar (Mt 2.4).
Grammateus also referred to a chief executive officer of a governmental entity such as a
town official secretary, town clerk.”

• Now, with that information we must ask: Was this line of questioning from the Teacher

of the Law meant to catch Jesus in false teaching? Was the teacher trying to catch Jesus in
blasphemy? Or was the teacher asking for clarification on a subject that they did not fully
understand?

• In verse 30, we hear the phrase “Love the Lord your God.” This phrase comes from the

word “Agapao” which is related to “Agape” it means “to love unconditionally and
sacrificially as God Himself loves sinful men.” Note that agapao is a verb and by its
verbal nature calls for action. This quality of love is not an emotion but is an action
initiated by a volitional choice.

• In verse 31, we hear the phrase “Love your neighbor as yourself” This uses the same love as the previous statement. The word Neighbor “literally means near (literal use only in John 4:5), quite near, nearby = position quite close to another position.” We all meet people and are near people daily; some of them are like us and some are vastly different than us. Regardless of our differences, we are love are neighbors. We love our neighbors through actions and compassion.
• Since our neighbor is the ones that are near us and we are called out to the world, then

everybody is our neighbor. We should love our neighbor and express that love to our
neighbor. Regardless of who they are or what they look like or their financial status.
Regardless of their religious beliefs or their religious practices.

• It seems that at no point in scripture does Jesus put theology above love and compassion.

Jesus often emphasized us loving our neighbors above having the “Correct” theology.

• When our hearts show love and compassion to all our neighbors, then we are close to

God in Spirit. When we connect with people through love and understanding, we are
living in the will of God, bringing God’s love to the world.

• The teacher soon understands that God honors our love for God and our love for

neighbors more than our offerings and sacrifices. This is not to say that the offerings are
not important, but our heart for others is more important.

Conclusion: Let us be people who has a heart for others.