Forgiven Mountain Life Church/Life Pack/August 26, 2012
Forgiven Sermon Notes August 26, 2012 Write any notes from the week here I. An Awkward Party A. Simon, the Pharisee 1. Torn by public opinion of Jesus and Pharisaical opinion of Jesus 2. A strict law keeper B. The Customs of First Century Galilee 1. Greet your guests with a kiss 2. Wash your guests feet 3. If you want to really honor your guest, anoint their head with olive oil 4. Pharisees have NOTHING to do with notoriously sinful people II. Enter the Sinful Woman A. An already awkward party grows in stiffness 1. No invitation 2. No evidence that this woman even knocked 3. The culture would prohibit a woman of such stature to enter a Pharisee s home B. The worshiper does her thing 1. Preoccupied with Jesus 2. Completely unaware of the scene she is making 3. Jesus response - He sees her heart 2 19
Table Talk Teens Read Luke 7:36-50 Question One: It was the custom of the day when one had a dinner party to provide for the guests feet to be cleaned before the meal. Simon did not provide for Jesus feet to be cleaned at the beginning of the dinner party. Why do you think Simon did not provide this normal courtesy to Jesus? III.A Teachable Moment A. The parable of the two debtors 1. The connection between forgiveness and worship Receiving forgiveness is the key to life Arrogance and pride is the result of not receiving forgiveness 2. Grace and Law I must receive grace to give grace grace propels me into worship and freedom Law makes me a judge or a prisoner Question Two: Simon s treatment of Jesus differed from the woman s. She was showing that she loved Jesus for she realized that she had been forgiven much. She realized that she was a sinner and in need of forgiveness. In verse 38, describe the significant action the woman showed when she realized she had been forgiven. Question Three: Such an act of anointing Jesus feet would cost the woman, who apparently was not wealthy, quite a bit financially. Also, by constantly kissing Jesus feet, the woman showed the utmost respect, submission, and affection for Jesus. In contrast, Simon had done none of these. Describe things that pre-occupy you from being at the feet of Jesus. 18 3
Life Group Questions for August 26, 2012 Good News Series Message = Forgiven Ice Breaker: Have you ever embarrassed yourself at a party or dinner? Tell the group about it. Read Luke 7: 36-50. 1. Tell what you observe about this passage. 2. If you put yourself in Jesus sandals, how do you feel as the notoriously sinful woman interrupts your meal and does to you what she did to Jesus? 3. Tell what you think the people invited to the dinner felt as they watched this woman wash Jesus feet. 4. Ask the group to contrast the sinful woman and the Pharisee. What is different about their agitude toward Jesus? 5. Tell about a time when you were spiritually blind, like Simon, and then tell what God did to open your eyes. 6. Based on what you see going on with the sinful woman, what is the relationship between forgiveness and worship? 7. Take time to pray for one another. Elementary Luke 7: 36-50 Table Talk Day 1 - Read Luke 7:36-50. Have you ever heard this story before? What do you think is the significance of this story? When you think of the two the woman and Simon - which attitude do you think is the right attitude in which to approach Jesus? Read James 4:6. Who represents "pride" in this story? Are you ever so full of pride that you refuse to lend grace to others? Day 2 - Let us come to God with a humble heart like the woman in the story. In her humility, she was aware she did not deserve grace and forgiveness, but because she knew she was forgiven, her love for Jesus overflowed. So, we need to come to Jesus in humility, aware of our sin and failure, rather than in self-confidence and pride like Simon. In what situations might you feel like you are "better than someone else?" (Lunchroom, classroom, athletic field.) As a result of this pride, how does that affect your actions? (You don't sit by them, talk to them, etc.) Is this consistent with how Jesus would act in the same situation? Day 3 - Read 1 John 4:19. God made the first move in loving us, it is now our turn to respond to Him. Let us be like the woman in the story who was overcome with love for Jesus. So much so that she washed His feet with her very tears! Take a moment to tell God just how much you love Him and why it is that you love Him. Don't forget to thank Him for loving you first! 4 17
Jesus Gives Grace! Table Talk Preschool & Nursery: Luke 7:36-50 Day 1: Read Luke 7:36-50 Focus on the feelings of the people in the story. Talk about how Simon may have felt about having Jesus over to his house. (Proud/ important) Talk about how the woman felt about being in the same room as Jesus. (Happy/excited) Ask how they would feel if Jesus came to visit? What kinds of things would they do to welcome Jesus into their home? What gifts would they give? How would they show their love for Jesus? Day 2: Talk about forgiveness. Jesus forgave the woman in the story for all the bad things she had done. Have you ever asked Jesus to forgive you? Discuss how if we ask Him and we truly want to do right, Jesus will always forgive us when we do something wrong! Talk about some of the things that we do that are wrong and then pray for forgiveness for those things. Memory Verse: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." -Ephesians 4:32 NIV Day 3: Ask if there is ever time when someone else has done something wrong that may have been hurtful to them or someone else. Share a story about forgiving others even if they do not ask us for forgiveness. Talk about loving people even though they do wrong, because that is what Jesus did and He wants us to do it too. This act of love is called Grace. Ask, how often we should forgive others and give Grace? Activity: Take time to bake some cookies or special treats and bring them to your neighbors as a way of showing kindness and love to others. Get as creative as you like with the presentation. Personal Devotion Pages The following pages are designed to help you enjoy a regular time alone with God. We have divided up the curriculum to help us grow wherever we are at in our relationship with God and in our knowledge of His Kingdom. LEVELS: Since we are a Colorado church, we use skiing imagery to communicate the different levels of intensity and time involved in relating to God. BEGINNER: If you are new in your relationship with God, we encourage you to try the exercises under this symbol: INTERMEDIATE: If you have walked with God for some time and would like a little more challenge and more time involvement, try the exercises under this symbol: ADVANCED: These exercises are for people who have walked with God for some time and display maturity in their relationship with Him. These exercises provide a practical way to encounter God and His truth on a regular basis. There are no rules here. Please don t hurry through the process. Slow meditation and memorization seems to soak in better than cramming. Enjoy! 16 5
Day One 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Read Luke 7: 36-50 twice and slowly. Day Five When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more? Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he forgave more. And He said to him, You have judged correctly. ~Luke 7:42, 43, NAS Jesus parable about the two debtors is a simple story aimed at softening the heart of an arrogant, religious person. In the story, one debtor owes about a year and a half s salary, the other owes a month and a half s salary. The thing Jesus emphasizes is this: both debtors were bankrupt! Neither of them can pay back the debt, no matter how small or large! 3. After reading the passage, put yourself into Jesus sandals and imagine yourself going through this dinner at Simon s house. Imagine how you would feel as the sinful woman washed your feet with her tears. Memorize Luke 7: 47 Memorize Luke 7: 47 & I Peter 5: 6-7 Memorize Luke 7: 47 & I Peter 5: 5-7 For some reason, the Pharisee believes that he has what it takes to pay his debt - good works. Even though his own scriptures tell him that his righteousness is as filthy rags, he truly believes that he can earn right standing with God by doing good things in order to erase his sins. Jesus parable takes a backhanded way of telling Simon that he can t earn anything with God. The sad reality is that the story ends without any repentance on Simon s part. Spiritual blindness was and is a malady that God desires to heal. Because we are so stubbornly arrogant about our sin, we cannot see it. In His kindness, God gives us other people who can see our blindness perfectly. Usually, the people who see it best are closest to us, like parents, spouses, and children. Most conflicts with such people are due to one or both being stubborn and blind about sin. Father, I give You permission to show me all spiritual blindness in my life. I humble myself before You, today. Reveal all my sin that I might repent and be healed. 6 15
Day Five 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Meditate on John 5: 39-40. 3. Take time to let God show you all of your spiritual blindness and arrogance. 4. Finish your Bible memorization today. Day One Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee s house and reclined at the table. ~Luke 7:36, NAS In this single verse, Jesus reveals the rock solid confidence He walked in on a daily basis. The Pharisees were almost all hostile toward Jesus. They were religious folk, but were spiritually blinded by their own arrogance and need for social position. Jesus accepted Simon the Pharisee s invitation to have dinner with him. He walked right into the house and reclined at the dinner table (He reclined because their tables were short legged and people laid down with their feet behind them when they ate). Jesus walked right into hostility and a chilly welcome. The context lets us know that s exactly the kind of welcome He received. Yet, Jesus was unashamedly Himself... I m not sure I would do that. I don t know that I would accept an invitation from someone who vehemently hated me. Simon offers Jesus none of the cultural niceties of his day. Because people walked everywhere, it was customary to wash their feet as they entered your home. Pouring olive oil on someone s head was a supreme gesture of honor and even the most humble of guests received a kiss on the cheek. Simon coldly and knowingly forgets these cultural kindnesses. By the end of the narrative, Jesus relates a story to Simon that cuts him to the heart. He reveals to Simon that though he attempts to keep the law perfectly, he has failed to acknowledge his spiritual poverty and receive grace. His arrogance has kept him from being a worshiper of the king of the universe, who has entered his home with nary a gesture of welcome. Oh God! Remove from me every shred of arrogance and pride! Help me know my need for YOU! 14 7
Day Two 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Read Luke 7: 36-50 again slowly. 3. Does worship come easy to you? Why or why not? If you struggle with worship, ask the Holy Spirit to tell you what is going on inside of you. 4. Write down a time in your life when you were blind to your own sin and God revealed it to you. What did God do to reveal your sinfulness before Him? Day Four We mistreat what we misdiagnose. ~Pastor Chris Vallotton When Simon the Pharisee saw the woman at Jesus feet, he was filled with contempt. Jesus felt compassion, honor, and love. How many times in my life have I felt the polar opposite of what Jesus felt about a situation or a person? The sad fact is that I ve felt it many times, and sadly, my arrogance blinded me from seeing it in myself until much later. Simon couldn t see that he was completely out of step with the God of the universe, even though his life was consumed with trying to obey God s laws. Jesus said this of the Pharisees, You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (John 5:39, 40, NAS) Religion focuses on things about God. Jesus came that we might not talk about Him, but rather talk TO Him. His voice continually woos me to look Him in the face and relate to Him. Religion tells me to look good without any real inner conversation or relationship. At its heart, religion has so much arrogance that it cannot stand to be confronted about sin. If I am primarily religious rather than in relationship, I will tend to judge others. Harshness will define me more than kindness. I have failed to receive grace because of my pride; and so I am fresh out when it comes to giving grace to others. I cannot give what I have not received. 5. Continue memorizing and meditating on the scriptures for this week. The core issue is this: If I tend to judge others unrighteously, I have in some way thought that I have earned God s love better than someone else. 8 13
Day Four 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Meditate on Galatians 2 today. 3. Ask the Lord to show you where you ve been trying to earn His love instead of receiving His grace. Write down what He says in this space. 4. Continue meditating on and memorizing the scripture for this week. Day Two And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. ~Luke 7:37, 38, NAS As Jesus makes himself at home at the home of Simon the Pharisee, the atmosphere stiffens with apprehension, awkwardness, even quiet hatred. Yet, Jesus is His same loving self. To make matters worse, a sinful woman, who rides the lowest rung of the social ladder, enters the room uninvited. She has entered the domain of a law keeper as the most outstanding local example of a law breaker. She makes a scene as she kneels behind Jesus and begins to weep, washing His feet with her tears, and drying them with her uncovered hair (Jewish women did not appear publicly with their head uncovered for fear of being thought of as indiscreet). People stop talking as they stare in unbelief at the woman sobbing at His feet. They know who she is and are flabbergasted at her chutzpah. This bottom feeder has made her living in the oldest of vocations. This party has gone from bad to worse and no one knows what to do with... the woman. She just keeps sobbing, allowing her tears to wash His feet. She is completely immersed in her adoration, caring nothing about the scene she has caused. The conversation has gone from stiff to preoccupied to silence... And Jesus has nary an embarrassed bone in His body. He s just gained a worshiper! When I truly receive grace, I become an unabashed worshiper. All self consciousness is dissolved into God consciousness. 12 9
Day Three 1. Take some time to praise the Lord for who He is and enjoy thanking Him for what He has done in your life lately. 2. Read Psalm 32 slowly today. 3. Meditate for 5 minutes on Luke 7: 47. What does the Lord say to you in this verse? Day Three For those of us who think worship should never be emotional, but rather intellectual and reserved, the story for this week tends to mess up that theology. The woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair was, let s admit it, very emotional. And Jesus loved it. This was not emotionalism - the need to show emotion for emotion s sake (there is no place in scripture where God welcomes emotionalism). No, this was all out, unabashed worship. Worship that glorifies God involves the heart, the mind, the will, the emotions, and the body. God likes ALL OF ME to love ALL OF HIM. It s kind of like when a young man falls in love with a young woman. He does not come to her with straight face, downturned mouth, and monotones when he gives her flowers. He does not give her a sterile, unemotional declaration of her beauty as he scientifically voices his undying love for her. If he approaches her in this manner, he will not keep her long. A woman is looking for a little bit of emotion from her suitor. When a boy shows emotion toward a girl, coupled with actions that reveal selflessness and sacrificial love, that s when she feels she is loved. God is like that. When our actions arise from obedience, stirring emotions that are are ga-ga over God, that s when He knows He is most highly prized by us. 4. Continue meditating on and memorizing the scripture for this week. This weeping woman has left her vocation of bedding down fools and has wholeheartedly returned to her Creator. When He forgave her, she received it with humility, and was transformed from a harlot into a worshiper. My obedience and my worship communicate the highest honor to My King! 10 11