While Jesus is at a dinner with Pharisees a prostitute crashes the party. She walks into Simon’s house. He may have let out a gasp. She has perfumed ointment in her hand. Why does she come to find Jesus? Why does she bring such expensive oil? Why does she crash the party?
Why did a woman with a bad reputation bring expensive perfume and anoint Jesus’ feet with it? There is a back story that Luke is not telling us. What happened earlier in the day? What encounter did Jesus have with this woman? As Pastor Fred explores this story we may find it has transformative effects in our life.
Jesus often went to great lengths to meet outcasts. He broke social, racial, religious and cultural taboos to offer them a relationship with him through living water. Jesus’ grace surprised an outcast woman of Samaria so much that she went and told everybody about the Messiah. How might that living water speak to us?
Have you ever met a mean Christian? I bet you have. Shouldn’t a mean Christian be an oxymoron? The problem is misplaced priorities. Jesus knew this as he tried to redirect our attention away from rules and regulations to more important matters.
We have a tendency to forget. We forget to buy a birthday card for someone we love or we fail to show up for a very important meeting. Sometimes we even forget God. We fail to remember what God has done for us. So God has devised ways to help us remember because we need reminders.
A diverse group of people were drawn to Jesus. Tax Collectors, Sinners, Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were all interested in Jesus. Some thought they were unworthy of God’s love and some thought they had earned their way into God’s love. Both these assumptions turned out to be wrong. Those who knew they were lost were on the right track and those who thought they weren’t part of the lost group were in jeopardy of being lost. In the lost and found chapter of the Bible, Jesus reaches out to both types of people.
God loves you and there is nothing you can do that will make Him love you any less.
Sermon preached at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church in Gold Canyon, Arizona on January 6, 2019 by Rev. Fred A. Steinberg
There is a big difference between seeing God as a just God or as a merciful God or as a God who acts with grace. Your perception of God will affect your choice in what you do in relationship with God. All seem to describe God but there is one that triggers in us a deep response of gratitude.
Jesus lived out the fullness of truth and grace. He told the truth when needed and held people accountable. Yet he still acted with grace. His love was so great that Tax Collectors, Adulterers, Pharisees and all types of people followed Him. In this message Pastor Fred Steinberg will take a look at how Jesus […]
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