So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,“If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee,
3 sermons cite this verse
a reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew Chapter 5, verses 17 through 37. Jesus said to his disciples, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill. Amen. I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, you shall not kill, and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. …
… Matthew wrote it this way, therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar and go and be reconciled to them and then come and offer your gift. In other words, it's backwards, isn't it, for us to come in today. Do you know what we sang today? You know what our worship was rooted in today? It was rooted in the forgiveness of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, and the goodness of a holy God forgiving those of us who didn't deserve it. That's what all of our worship was rooted in today. And so what God is saying is, how can you come and say, thank you, God, for your mercy. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for being a holy God and still having compassion on me and taking my sins away as far as the east as the west. …
It is wonderful to be back at Duke Chapel. I was beginning to think that I was not going to be able to get back. Over the last few years, I've been scheduled several times to preach here on Sunday, but it was always one of those February weekends when the snowflakes flew, but the airlines didn't, and I wasn't able to get here. I began to fret a little bit that they were inviting me in February, confident that the weather would wipe me off the schedule. But the weather has held this weekend, and the greetings and hospitality have been very warm indeed, and it's always a joy to be in worship with you here. Will you join me in prayer? O God, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, our strength and our redeemer. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. On a warm April night in Memphis, Tennessee, nearly 52 years ago now, Dr. Martin Luther King, even though he did not know it at the time, gave what was his last speech. …