Description
Luke 7:36-8:3
It’s a study in contrasts. The nameless woman and the only Pharisee in the Gospels whose name we know – Simon. The woman says nothing. Simon says “to himself”, “This man must not be a prophet.” The woman pours out her love, anointing Jesus’ feet with her tears, wiping them with her hair, bathing them in perfume. Simon offered the most basic hospitality, and only to those he thought deserving. The woman was vulnerable. Simon was judgmental. Jesus explains why – her sins were forgiven, and she knew it. When we encounter the overflowing love of God, His love flows over us, and through us.
We Lift Our Hearts in Worship
[Preservice options include videos (countdowns, worship music, welcomes), worship music CD, or live music by worship band.]
Time of Praise and Worship
At the Foot of the Cross
Kathryn Scott, ©2003 Vertical Worship Songs (Admin. by Integrity Music, Inc.)
10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)
Matt Redman & Jonas Myrin, ©2011 Thankyou Music, Said And Done Music , sixsteps, Music SHOUT! Publishing (admin EMI CMG Publishing)
Cry Out To Jesus
Brad Avery, David Carr, Mac Powell, Mark Lee, Tai Anderson, © 2005 Consuming Fire Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
[Traditional Options]
Jesus, Thy Boundless Love To Me
BH75 326; BH91 123; HS 98 857; HLC 364; LBW 336; LSB 683; LW 280; PH 366; STTL 499; WC 556
Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus
EH 495; HLC 95; UMH 325
What Wondrous Love Is This
BH 75 106; BH 91 143; CH 314; CHH 200; EH 439; ELW 666; HS 98 860; HWC 177; HPW 25; HFG 283; HLC 137; LBW 385; LSB 543; NCH 223; PH 85; RH 90; STTL 245; WC 212; UMH 292; WAR 257; WHM 201
Invocation and Introduction of Today’s Theme
Pastor: In the name of the Father, Who poured out His love for us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.
In the name of the Son, Jesus Christ, Who poured out His life for us on the cross.
In the name of the Holy Spirit, Who calls us to be poured out for the world.
ALL Amen
Opening Prayer
Pastor Almighty God, You have loved us beyond our ability to imagine. You have restored us as Your children. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that our response might be one of boundless joy; and that we, who have experienced Your love, might overflow with love for you. We pray this in the name of Jesus, the offering for our sins, Who lives and rules with You and the Holy Spirit, as one God, now and forever.
ALL Amen.
Time of Greeting
Time of Confession and Forgiveness
[Alternate location: following Message]
Pastor We gather in this place as the children of God. We confess our sins, not because we must, but because we may.
(a time of silence)
Father, we acknowledge we are like Simon, the Pharisee.
ALL We are smug and self-satisfied. We rely more on our credentials and positions than Your grace. We feel we have arrived, simply because we are ‘church’ people.
Pastor And we are quick to judge. We view people around us as somehow less than we. If they aren’t like us, if they have any visible stain, if they don’t follow the same practices we do, we condemn.
ALL And we are so grudging with our gifts. We do our part, but no more. We have a sense of what’s fair and equitable, and we rationalize our lack of generosity. The gifts of God don’t flow through us – more often they become dammed within us.
Pastor Like Simon, the Pharisee, who thought himself above reproach, we are surprised when the Law exposes our sin.
ALL Forgive us, Lord, and empower us to rejoice in Your overflowing grace.
Pastor The love of God is overflowing and surrounds us with the perfume or righteousness. We do not deserve what God gives, but He pours Himself out for us. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the fragrant offering for our sin, we are redeemed.
ALL Let Your overflowing love, Father, cascade through us to the world. Amen.
We Hear God’s Word
[Read aloud both the introduction and Scripture]
First Reading: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-14
The prophet, Nathan, confronts king David
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord. 1 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”
