Encounters with Jesus
The Rich Ruler
Luke 18:22-25 Our culture conditions us to value and promote independence and, for many of us, our situation in life means we are easily fooled into thinking we can live independent of God. But the gospel is all about dependence. The one who comes to Jesus in complete and utter dependence is the one who will be saved, and the life of following Jesus continues in complete dependence on him for all things.
The Sinful Woman
Luke 7:36-50 In this story of Jesus’ encounter with a sinful woman, Jesus and Simon the Pharisee see her very differently. Simon sees her only as a ‘sinner’ because he misunderstands how God sees her. Jesus teaches that God has everything to do with sinners who turn to him! Once we belong to Jesus our lives are lived out of love and gratitude toward him because of his great love for us!