Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46, for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, "Who Fulfills Love's Duty?"
Sermon Outline: 1. “Question everything”—worldly motto: t-shirts, bumper stickers, script of TV sitcom. Healthy philosophy to live by? Suspicion of authority, media, ivory towers, sources of knowledge. Not all questions are of the same stripe. Skepticism? Distract? Avoid an issue? Trip up, entangle, embarrass? To learn? 2. Questions for Jesus, finally dared ask Him no more. But here, a really profound question: which is the great commandment in the Law? Hoped to catch Him. Jesus gives a straightforward answer, nonetheless one which astonished the Jews for its wisdom. Always brought things back to the central point, not getting side-tracked by distractions or evasions. 3. Question was not asked as a question about salvation, per se, but really a question of duty. The commandments were a question of our duty to God. 4. Answer leaves out nothing and includes everything. Brilliant! “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great...