“The Gates of Heaven are Wide Open”

So, in our passage from Matthew 16 today, Jesus says to Simon Peter, “Peter I give you the keys to the kingdom.”  And this has been really important in the development of the Church, because the Church understands itself as having the power of the keys. What does that power mean? Does that mean that some people can get in and other people can’t? What I understand Jesus to be saying, is that through the Church, you get to know that the gates of heaven are wide open.  So come on in. That’s what I hear Jesus to be saying to each of us. Amen.

Full sermon: https://youtu.be/p6lLXB5B0lg