“The Fruit of Lips that Acknowledge His Name” a Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost 2025

A sermon preached at Trinity Episcopal Church in Morgantown, WV on Sunday, August 31, 2025Focus Texts: Jeremiah 2:4-13*; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14*Isiah mentioned in the sermon by mistake In the wake of another school shooting, this time in Minneapolis, what is the value of the “thoughts and prayers” always invoked by some and criticized by others? Who is right, the person who stands by thoughts and prayers or the person who criticizes them as meaningless? Well…both. How can we say this? It’s about the fruits. As we read in Hebrews today, “Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.” The fruit of this confession — the fruits of our thoughts and prayers — are actions that are consistent with them. If the thoughts and prayers are followed by inaction, by a life suggesting a cognitive dissonance, then they are meaningless because they are empty. But thoughts and prayers that lead to action and cultivating an authentic Christian life of discipleship dedicated to the way of Christ are full and rich with meaning. Prayer, more than anything else, is about transforming us and bringing forth fruitfulness (including action) in our lives as we draw closer to God. So, how empty or meaningful are your thoughts and prayers? Are you living a life of integrity or cognitive dissonance? This is how we determine whether thoughts and prayers mean everything or mean nothing.