In this sermon, Fr. Stephen Osburn reflects on Matthew 6 and the command to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” The Gospel teaches that the heart cannot serve two masters. Orthodox Christianity understands this as a direct call to turn away from self-rule and place God at the center of life. This sermon asks a simple but serious question: are we seeking God first, or are we still trying to serve ourselves?

The sermon explains the Lord’s teaching about the sound eye, the divided heart, and the danger of being ruled by pride, desire, and comfort. The Orthodox Church teaches that the spiritual life is not built on affirming every feeling or following every desire. It is built on repentance, prayer, fasting, obedience, worship, and healing. When the self becomes the center, darkness spreads, but when God becomes the center, the whole life begins t ...