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Summer With the Son: Being Honest! (Sermon Audio)
Description
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This is the audio from the July 12, 2026 sermon, “Summer With the Son: Being Honest!”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.
Matthew 5:33-37
“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ still they are swearing falsely.”
Jeremiah 5:1-2 (NIV)
Being Honest is important for many reasons, with one of those being that our honesty is a reflection of God’s character. A true “Honest To God” life is one in which we are honest with . . .
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Glory: Matthew 5:33-35
- Being honest with God will be visible when we choose to be honest with the glory we give Him. Invoking God’s name in an attempt to give importance to our own desires and plans will lead us away from the honesty God desires from us. Whatever good that is seen in us, heard from us, and/or practiced by us are things which flow from God and He is the One who deserves the glory for them.
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Our Self: Matthew 5:36
- Being honest with God will not happen until we learn to be honest with our self. Yes, we have ways to temporarily change the color of our hair, and many other things about our self, but God expects an honesty from us about our true inability to change how He created us. It is in this honest with our self that we understand the need to rely fully on God as the source of all truth.
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Decisions: Matthew 5:37
- Being honest with God will lead us to greater honesty with our decisions. Giving answers that we think people, or even God, want to hear can be filled with fraud if we’re not honest in keeping to those decisions with the best of our ability. Perhaps one of the difficulties in being honest with our decisions is that we give answers that we’ve not really prayed about or considered fully. Our yes can be yes and our no can be no, only when we are honest about why we give the answer that we do.
Today, how will you be honest with GOD?
Here’s the text of the poem I shared to introduce this sermon:
Honest To God!
There’s something I’ve noticed
that really seems strange.
When it comes to truth,
we think there’s a range.
There are bold lies and white lies,
and “honest to God”.
And all kinds of gray space
that really seems odd.
Whatever happened
to yes and to no?
And keeping our word
wherever we go?
To keep to my word,
and make sure it’s true.
Should be how I live,
when I talk with you.
I must be careful
to weigh every word.
So only the truth,
is that which is heard.
To make up a story,
so I don’t look bad.
Will only