Sermon OTM - Matthew 6:16-18

This week I met with Harry Robinson – a few of you may know him

He is a man of God and a visionary, and for awhile we worked together
- he is also someone I love and respect
• during our long, rambling conversation, Harry said something that woke me up
• he said, “I’ve been finding beauty lately–everywhere”
- it seems I need to be awakened to beauty
• friends do this for me – though they don’t always know it
◦ maybe, I’ve been trudging through too much muck, concerned with
◦ the condition of our nation and disappointed with obnoxious Christians
• but since our meeting on Tuesday, I’ve been seeing more beauty

I’ll tell you why we begin with beauty today

Because Jesus has been warning us away from behavior
- we could describe as “ugly religion,”
• and it has been spreading through our culture in recent years
◦ it’s always been here: people who enjoy heated arguments
◦ who assume it’s their job to pronounce judgments,
◦ who will always act like they’re more righteous than others
• it’s possible you’ve seen your share of ugly religion