 |
| Worship team singing songs of praise to our King! |
 |
| Leo and Sandra share our announcements for the week |
In this story, an unnamed woman [her lack of identity helps us to relate to her, as "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" Rom 3:23] come to see Jesus while He is having dinner at Simon the Pharisees house. [A Pharisee was a religious leader who was concerned with strictly following the law and used his authority to maintain that others did as well].
At the dinner, the sinful woman, a prostitute, broke an alabaster jar of perfume on Jesus' feet and washed His feet with her hair (v. 38). She was overwhelmed with love for Jesus and His forgiveness on her life. The Pharisees did not find her actions acceptable, yet Jesus reminded them that, "her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little, loves little" (v.47). Jesus was telling them that understanding the depth of forgiveness from Him will produce an outpouring of love and service to Him.
Pastor Dennis shared how God's Word in this passage can relate to our lives in many ways. We should set out with a purpose and intent to anoint Jesus - to serve Him and humble ourselves before Him. We should take the posture of the sinful woman and not of the Pharisees who barely even offered Jesus a foot wash or a warm welcome. We learn from the sinful woman that what she valued in life [the costly perfume] was only worthy of the feet of Jesus, and could not compare to His ultimate goodness and value.
We are challenged to check ourselves if we are more focused on RELIGION vs. a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus. In the moments of our daily lives, are we overwhelmed with thankfulness and a recognition of God's forgiveness of our sins or are we more concerned with rules and judging others? Is there something you value or love more than Christ? If so, you can pray to be broken and humbled, and figuratively speaking - break those things at the foot of Jesus. This will bring you freedom. God's forgiveness for you is ready to pour over you.
We closed the night by taking communion [Matt 26:26-29] and breaking into small groups to share our personal understanding of communion. It was a beautiful and sweet time of responding to the Lord and worshipping and thanking Him!
 |
| Representing Christ's body and blood |
