What is Devotion to Christ? And What Is Its Source?

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Good morning.

I am Abigail Todd, and I am part of Christ Church Kids.

Today's scripture reading is from the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 7, verse 36 to chapter 8, verse 3, as printed in the liturgy.

Luke 7:36

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke.

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.

A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house.

So she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.

As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.

Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,

If this man were a prophet, he would know that who is touching him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner.

Jesus answered him,

Simon, I have something to tell you.

Tell me, teacher, he said.

Two people owed money to a certain money letter.

One owed him 500 denarii and the other 50.

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both.

Now which of them will love him more?

Simon replied,

I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.

You have judged correctly, Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon,

Do you see this woman?

I came to your house.

You did not give me any water for my feet,

but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

You did not give me a kiss,

but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet.

You did not pour oil on my head,

but she has poured perfume on my feet.

Therefore, I tell you,

her many sins have been forgiven,

as her great love has shown.

But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.

Then Jesus said to her,

Your sins are forgiven.

The other guests began to say among themselves,

Who is this who even forgives sins?

Jesus said to the woman,

Your faith has saved you.

Go in peace.

After this,

Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another,

proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.

The twelve were with him,

and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases.

Mary, called Magdalene,

from whom seven demons had come out,

Joanna, the wife of Chusa,

the manager of Herod's household,

Susanna, and many others.

These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Let's see if my mic is working now.

Can you hear me?

All right.

Abby, fantastic reading.

Thank you so much.

So, one of my favorite book discussions

that we've ever had here at Christ Church was in 2011.

Thank you so much, Walt.

Appreciate that.

2011, we got a group of people together,

and we read this book by a New Testament scholar.

His name is Ben Witherington.

And we basically read his work that he did in his Ph.D. thesis

at the University of Durham in England.

And the name of the book is called

Women and the Genesis of Christianity.

And it was a fantastic group.

It was a mixed-gender group.

We had people there from, you know,

church backgrounds that were more maybe patriarchal

and authoritarian.

I remember we had a woman in there

who was getting her Ph.D. at Cal

in, like, women and gender and sexuality studies.

And as you can imagine,

it was just a really lively group in our living room.

And sadly, I can't find my copy of the book,

but I do remember that we dove deep

into this portion of Scripture.

And Witherington made this point.

He said, prior to Jesus,

there were no women disciples

of any Jewish rabbis or teachers.

And so Jesus is creating this counterculture

that had never been seen with female disciples.

He transforms this woman in Luke 7,

and we're going to be looking at her story in a moment.

But there's also these other female disciples

who are named here as traveling companions

and witnesses of Jesus and His mission.

So, for example, who is this woman,

this lead female disciple, Mary Magdalene?

We know that Jesus gave nicknames to His disciples.

Peter, He called the Rock.

You know, James and John,

He called the Sons of Thunder.

And so you've got, you know,

Rocky and the Thunder Boys

as part of Jesus' group.

And then you've got Mary Magdalene,

which either means from Magdala, her hometown,

or it means the Magdalene, the tower.

Right?

So you've got this woman

who's had a rough background,

a rough life.

And Jesus powerfully transforms her

into this strong, towering disciple.

Right?

And then you've got this woman named Joanna.

She's a woman clearly of high status.

Her husband manages the estate,

the vineyards of the king.

And then we're not told much about Susanna

and these many other women disciples of Jesus,

but we do know from what Luke tells us

that they were funding Jesus.

They were bankrolling the apostles

out of their properties and their possessions.

If you read to the end of the gospel,

at the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus,

all the male disciples had run away in fear.

And so the primary eyewitnesses

to these world-changing events

were these women.

Mary Magdalene, in fact,

was the first to see the empty tomb.

She was the first to encounter the risen Jesus.

And she's the one who actually went

and shared the news with Peter, James, and John.

So Jesus' attitude toward female disciples,

toward these women,

really carried over into the life of the early church.

Paul, the apostle,

gave his greatest epistle

to a woman named Phoebe

to go and read it,

explain it, and apply it to the Romans.

He called a woman Priscilla,

his co-worker in Jesus Christ.

He called Junia an apostle.

He greets a woman named Nympha

as the leader of a house church in Colossae.

If we had all day,

it would be so fun

to talk to you about how radical

this actually was in the first century

and still is even today

in many parts of the world.

But really, the person,

the woman I want to focus on the most

is this woman in Luke 7.

And you've got to know

that there are two stories in the Gospels

where Jesus is being anointed by women.

One of them is in Luke 7 here.

It's early in Jesus' ministry.

It's in northern Israel

in a town called Nain,

which is near Nazareth.

And the other story

is told by Matthew, Mark, and John.

And it happens just before Jesus' crucifixion

in southern Israel in Bethany,

which is near Jerusalem.

So you've got to be careful

not to confuse and conflate

these two anointings.

But I want to ask three questions

of this story for us today.

How do you approach Jesus?

How do you see your condition?

And how does the root of forgiveness

bear the fruit of love?

So those are our three questions.

How do you approach Jesus?

How do you see your condition?

And how does the root of forgiveness

bear the fruit of love?

So first of all,

how do you approach Jesus?

We meet here these two real historical people

and they approach Jesus

in two very different ways.

In fact, Jesus evaluates

and contrasts their approaches to Him.

And we notice that this is a contrast

not between someone who's open to Jesus

and someone who's hostile to Jesus.

It's not a contrast

between someone who's interested in Jesus

and someone who's indifferent to Jesus.

Rather, Simon and this woman,

they hold in common,

they're both in the presence

of the same person

and they both desire

to see and to know Jesus.

And we read in verse 36,

when one of the Pharisees

invited Jesus to have dinner with Him,

He went to the Pharisee's house

and reclined at the table.

And if you're new to the Scriptures,

the Pharisees,

they were the pastors,

they were the Bible teachers,

and Jesus critiqued them the most.

And they were mostly opposed to Jesus,

except for just a handful of them.

And one of them is a guy named Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee.

And he came to talk to Jesus,

but he came at night.

He came in secret.

He came so that no one would see

he was talking to Jesus.

But Simon, this Pharisee,

is open, right?

He openly invites Jesus

to come to his home

in this public feast,

like you would invite

the synagogue teacher

over for a Sabbath meal.

And so in this way,

Simon is subverting

the dominant paradigm.

This is not a popular thing to do

in his circles and in his tribe.

He's open to Jesus.

He's interested in Jesus.

He's attracted to and admires Jesus.

He's curious to know more about Jesus.

He wants to learn from Jesus.

And we notice,

if you look in verse 39 and 40,

it's clear that

he thinks that Jesus is more

than just a teacher of the Scriptures.

Right?

He thinks maybe Jesus

is a prophet of God.

Maybe Jesus is

a special messenger of God.

He has a special relationship

with God

and has been chosen

to speak for God

like a prophet does.

But Simon,

who's open to Jesus

and who's interested in Jesus,

he ends up being

very surprised by Jesus.

He ends up being critiqued

and reprimanded

and actually condemned

by Jesus.

And I can imagine

that he felt

fairly miffed about that.

Right?

He felt annoyed

and disgruntled

by Jesus

because Jesus is showing

that something is

seriously lacking

in Simon's approach.

Something is

completely inadequate

about the way

he's approaching Jesus.

And Jesus,

he contrasts Simon

with this woman.

And I don't know,

I couldn't really,

didn't have the time

this week

to double check this,

but she's praised,

I think,

by almost more

than anyone else

in the Gospels.

Jesus just goes on

and on

about this woman.

And notice

at the end of the story,

she walks away

with confidence, right?

She walks away

with a confidence

that she's forgiven

and free.

She walks away

with a sense

that she has faith

in God's saving grace.

She has a great love

for Jesus.

She has great peace.

She has the peace

of God in her heart.

But how does Simon

go away from Jesus?

He goes away

seemingly with no forgiveness,

no grace,

no faith,

no love,

no peace.

In fact,

he's massively

dishonored Jesus.

It's a striking contrast,

isn't it?

Two people

in the presence

of the same person

both desiring

to see

and to know

Jesus.

Jesus.

And as far

as Jesus

is concerned,

he has the power

to give them

both the same things,

right?

He could have done

the same thing

for both of them

and how utterly

different

is the end result

here.

One is condemned

and the other

is pardoned

and receives

a gift of salvation.

Why is that?

Well,

Simon

is interested

in Jesus

in a mainly

intellectual way.

I think

that's his

primary problem.

He's all head

with no heart

and no hands

like this woman.

He's intrigued

by the words

and the works

of Jesus.

He's heard

about Jesus'

ability

to heal

the diseases

of the body.

He's heard

about Jesus'

ability

to give rest

to tormented

and troubled souls.

And so Simon

is curious.

He's prepared

to consider Jesus.

He's ready

to investigate

and to examine

Jesus with a kind

of cool

and detached

attitude

and to have

Jesus answer

his questions.

And he says,

okay, Jesus,

I want to have you

over for dinner

and a discussion

about your

extraordinary claims

to be the Messiah,

right?

Your claims

to be the one

who fulfills

and interprets

God's scriptures,

the one who

claims to be

the only way to God.

I want to talk

about that.

I'd love to have you

over, Jesus,

and talk about

your claim

to have the authority

to forgive sins

and to be the judge

of all the peoples

of the world

and to grant

eternal life.

I'd love to talk

about that

over dinner.

I'd love to know

more, Jesus,

about why it is

that you demand

everyone

to deny themselves,

take up their crosses,

and come follow you

in utter obedience.

Simon's openness,

Simon's interest,

Simon's curiosity

to explore

and to examine Jesus

is a very good thing,

and we share this

in common with Simon.

I don't think we'd be

in this building today

if that weren't the case,

but Simon,

he's standing apart,

right?

Simon is sitting loose.

He's holding back.

He's keeping

all of his options open.

His curiosity

is real,

but it's superficial,

right?

It's lacking in depth,

and Christ to him

is just an intellectual problem,

right?

He's not really willing

to fall at the feet of Jesus.

He's not willing

to give himself to Jesus,

but oh,

how different

is this woman,

right?

Her interest

is far deeper.

She's moved

to the depths,

right?

She wants

a personal relationship

with Jesus

that involves

her whole self,

utterly

and completely,

head,

heart,

hands,

holding nothing back.

She's all in.

In fact,

let's just read it again.

Verse 37,

it says,

a woman in that town

who lived a sinful life

learned that Jesus

was eating

at the Pharisee's house,

so she came there

with an alabaster jar

of perfume,

and as she stood

behind him

at his feet weeping,

she began to wet

his feet with her tears,

and then she wiped

them with her hair,

kissed them,

and poured perfume

on them.

Meanwhile,

Simon is detached,

he's holding back,

he's superficial,

he's only engaged

with his head.

And I wonder today

which attitude

and which approach

you bring to Jesus.

Right?

Are you merely

seeking knowledge

about Jesus

objectively

and cognitively

and rationally,

which is good

and which is essential?

Or are you also

wanting to know

Jesus subjectively

and personally

and experientially?

Right?

This is the fundamental

difference that Jesus

critiques and condemns.

Right?

In verse 44,

he says,

Simon,

do you see this woman?

I came into your house,

you did not give me

any water for my feet,

but she,

she wet my feet

with her tears

and wiped them

with her hair.

You did not give me

a kiss,

but this woman,

she,

from the time I entered,

she's not stopped

kissing my feet.

You did not put oil

on my head,

but she,

she has poured out

perfume on my feet.

Do you approach Jesus

like Simon

or like this woman?

That's the question.

And the second question

is this,

not only how do you

approach Jesus,

but how do you see

your condition?

How do you see

your condition?

Right?

Simon responds

in verse 39,

he says,

when the Pharisee

who had invited him

saw this,

he said to himself,

if this man were a prophet,

he would know

who is touching him

and what kind of woman

she is,

that she is a sinner.

Right?

He's questioning

Jesus' status

as a prophet

because if Jesus

had divine revelation,

if Jesus had

divine insight,

then he would know

that a righteous man

should not be

in a relationship

with this sinful woman.

woman.

And actually,

the Greek

in verse 37,

it says literally

that this is a woman,

this woman is a sinner

of the city

is what the Greek says.

She's a sinner

of the city,

which is a polite idiom

for one of the world's

oldest professions.

Right?

She's a lady of the night,

she's a woman

of ill repute,

she works in the

red light district,

she's a sex worker,

she's a prostitute.

And we're not told

how she got there.

Perhaps her parents

fell into poverty

and she was forced

into this work,

maybe she's widowed

or divorced

and she's desperate

to feed her kids,

we don't know.

But we can imagine

that many, many

self-serving men

have stolen

her sense of identity,

her sense of dignity

and honor

and confidence.

We can assume

that she feels oppressed

by guilt and shame

and fear.

And we're also not told

how she had experienced

Jesus before this moment,

but it seems

that she already has.

It seems she already

had met Jesus

and she had heard

Jesus' message

in his manifesto

that we looked at

a few weeks ago

in Luke 4

where Jesus says,

I've come to preach

good news for the poor.

I've come to

bring freedom

to prisoners.

I've come to

bring liberation

for those who are oppressed.

I've come to bring

the year of the Lord's favor

and his grace.

And that's the reason

she's falling

at the feet of Jesus

because she's experienced that.

She's experienced

Jesus' forgiveness

of her sins.

She's experienced

the fact

that all of her

spiritual and moral debts

to God

have been canceled.

That's why she's

at the feet of Jesus.

Now in the ancient Near East,

you don't have your feet

under a table

like sitting on a chair.

You're reclining

on a couch

with your bare feet

extended out

behind you

and that's kind of

how she's able

to sneak up

on Jesus as it were.

And she's standing

there at his feet

and she's got

this flask,

this jar,

this bottle

around her neck

of perfumed ointment.

And we've got to

understand that

this is the thing

that causes her

to be attractive.

This is the thing

that causes her

to be desirable.

It's the very thing

that allows her

to make money.

It's the very thing

that's given her success.

It's her most

treasured possession.

It's worth probably

about a year's wages.

And she's come

to Jesus' feet

so that she can

break that bottle open

and cleanse

his dirty feet

and sweeten

his smelly feet

and soften

his callous feet

and soothe

his tired feet.

And you know

only slaves

dealt with feet.

Only slaves

dealt with the feet

of their hosts

and their guests

but she doesn't care.

She's actually honored

to be a slave

of Jesus

because she wants

to show

how much

she's been forgiven

by him

in this act

of costly love.

And so she gets there

and before

she even can begin

this anointing

she's so moved

by the presence

of Jesus

and the power

of Jesus

that she begins

weeping.

Right?

She begins to shed

these tears

of repentance

these tears

of freedom

these tears

of absolute joy.

They start to fall

on the feet of Jesus.

I assume that's how

he even knew

she was there.

He can feel

her tears.

And you gotta know

also that in this culture

for a woman

to let down

her hair

was the most

intimate

most vulnerable

thing you could do.

In fact

if a married woman

let down her hair

in public

it was grounds

for divorce.

That's how intimate

of a signal

this is.

And she doesn't

really seem to care.

She just undoes

her hair

and she begins

drying the feet

of Jesus

and kissing

the feet

of Jesus

and she starts

to break open

this bottle

this tool

of her trade.

Right?

The one thing

that gives her

power in the world

the one thing

that gives her

leverage

in the world

this most precious

thing in her life

she starts to pour it out

on the feet

of Jesus

and I can imagine

as she does that

she says

I love you Jesus.

I love you Jesus.

Simon

is outraged.

Right?

Simon

is

scandalized.

If you

if this man

were a prophet

he would know

who is touching him

and what kind of woman

she is

that she

is a sinner

and Jesus

answered him

Simon

I have something

to tell you.

Now if Jesus

ever says that

to you

just hold on

you know

like brace yourself

it's going to be rough

it's going to be rough

Simon I have something

to tell you

he says

you think

I'm not a prophet

huh?

Well not only

do I know

who this woman is

but I know

who you are.

In fact

I even know

what you're thinking

right now

I see

the thoughts

in your mind

and I can see

that you

don't even

really know

yourself

you don't even

know

the condition

that you're in

and so Jesus

says let's have

a little prophetic

story time

right now

about these two

debtors

and he says

this in verse 41

two people

owed money

to a certain

money lender

one owed him

500 denarii

the other 50

neither of them

had the money

to pay him back

so he forgave

the debts

of both

now which of them

will love him

more?

Simon

you think

that this woman

is a big time

debtor

and you think

that she has not

lived right

before God

and that is true

but what about you?

Don't you realize

Simon

that it's not about

the number

of your debts

it's not about

the size

of your debts

don't you see

Simon

that your state

and your condition

of being a debtor

of being a sinner

puts you in the exact

same predicament

as this woman

she owes God

over a year's wages

and you owe God

about two months wages

but who cares

even though

you're a nice guy

Simon

and I really do

like you

even though

you've lived a good

and moral

and respectable life

even though

you're theologically

orthodox

even though

you're ethically

circumspect

even though

you're spiritually

engaged

and religiously

committed

Simon

have you really

loved the Lord

your God

with all your heart

with all your soul

and with all your mind

every moment

of every day

have you really

loved your neighbor

as yourself

at every moment

and every opportunity

James

the brother of Jesus

he writes a letter

in the New Testament

and he says this

in James 2.10

he says

for whoever

keeps the whole law

and yet stumbles

at just one point

is guilty

of breaking

all of it

Simon

I have something

to tell you

you owe God

just like this woman

owes God

you are both

in the same condition

the same state

of being debtors

you're both

penniless

you both

have nothing

whatsoever to pay

you're both

justly condemned

under the law

and you both

deserve

to lose everything

and to die

in a debtor's prison

you Simon

you're identical

with this woman

you are on the exact

same level

spiritually

and morally

both of you

are insolvent

both of you

are bankrupt

both of you

are poor

and you Simon

you're powerless

to clear the ledgers

you cannot reconcile

your accounts

with God

in fact

the only way

that you can have

your debts

cancelled and forgiven

is in precisely

the same way

as this woman

and you see

what Jesus is doing

is he's given

this little

prophetic parable

as smelling salts

to Simon

because Simon

has no idea

how desperate

he is

he has no clue

how helpless

and how hopeless

he is

unless a gracious

benefactor

comes to pay

the cost

and to save

from his predicament

and the irony

is that

somehow

Simon

has invited

to his house

and to his table

one who is

actually righteous

one who

actually has never

sinned

one who

is

able to

absorb

and pay down

and forgive

all of his debts

but Simon

gives no impression

that this is the most

important person

he's ever encountered

he gives no indication

that this is the most

vital

and momentous

occasion

of his life

there's no signal

that here and now

Simon

could possibly

obtain

something from Jesus

which will make

an eternal

difference for him

he just wants to have

a detached

discussion with Jesus

he just wants to

coolly consider

Jesus

and critically

examine Jesus

and stand

ultimately in judgment

on Jesus

and the people

who love Jesus

many a guest

had been honored

in Simon's house

and at his table

but he's failed

to honor the most

important

and most honorable

guest

the one who

matters the most

the one

who could forgive

his debts

and the question

in the story

is what about you

how do you see

your condition

right

how do you

understand

your predicament

do you know

yourself to be

a desperate debtor

it doesn't matter

what the size

of the debt is

and do you know

that there's actually

only one way out

so how do you

approach Jesus

how do you see

your condition

and finally

how does the root

of forgiveness

bear the fruit

of love

how does the root

of forgiveness

bear the fruit

of love

it's clear

from Simon's

attitude

and Simon's

behavior

that

you know

he's lacking

in love

for Jesus

he's lacking

in love

for this woman

and therefore

he knows

neither the depths

of his sin

nor the heights

of Jesus

and the forgiveness

and salvation

that's on offer

to him

you know

if a king

had come

to his house

Simon would have

done everything

he could

to show the greatness

and the worth

of that person

here's the eternal

son of God

in the flesh

at his table

if only Simon

would have fallen

at the feet

of Jesus

like this woman

she actually

is the model

for all time

of what

we ought to do

and what we should

do

and this is what

Jesus says

in verse 47

he says

therefore I tell you

Simon

her many sins

have been forgiven

as her great love

has shown

but whoever

has been forgiven

little

loves little

and that's so easy

to misinterpret

and misunderstand

because some people

can say

ah I see

because her

loving deeds

because of her

loving deeds

to Jesus

she's

forgiven

her sins

are forgiven

because of her

actions

she's somehow

earned

she's somehow

merited

her debts

being cancelled

but the gospel

of Jesus

the good news

of Jesus

is actually

the exact

opposite of that

her love

is the proof

her love

is the evidence

that she has

been forgiven

her love

is the response

to God's grace

in Jesus

that she's

clinging to

by faith

her love

is the consequence

and not the cause

of her salvation

right

the reason

she has the ability

to love

in this way

is because

she sees

in Jesus

the one

who's come

to cancel

her debts

and she

doesn't even

remotely

have a clue

what that

even means

right

she doesn't

know

what that's

going to

cost

to Jesus

she just

knows

that Jesus

is the one

and the grace

of God

is liberating

her

in this moment

to bring

all of her

needs

all of her

failures

all of her

debts

to the feet

of Jesus

and just

cast herself

completely

on him

it's the grace

of God

that's unlocking

those tears

right

that are

rolling down

her cheeks

those tears

of repentance

and far

from coming

to test

Jesus

and examine

Jesus

like Simon

far from

being cool

and detached

she

just can't

restrain

herself

and that's

what grace

does

grace

moves her

to the very

depth

of her being

and what

begins to

flow out

of her

forgiven

heart

what flows

out of her

free

heart

is this

faith

that's

expressing

itself

in love

it's a love

that's not

merely subjective

feelings

and emotions

and affections

though it must

contain that

but it's a love

of objective

actions

it's a costly

love

it's a consequential

love

right

she's lavishing

devotion

and adoration

and honor

and gratitude

on Jesus

not just with her

head but with her

heart

and with her

hands

like we sang

about a moment

ago

take my love

my Lord

I pour

at its feet

my treasure

store

take myself

and I will be

ever and only

and all

for thee

what she's saying

in this moment

is not Jesus

I'm not

just adding you

as one more

thing

into my very

full life

she's saying

Jesus

you are my

life

everything I am

is yours

everything I have

is yours

and it's

remarkable

that she acts

out her love

without even

knowing how

Jesus is going

to act out

his love

on the cross

right

because Jesus

when he says

to people

your sins

are forgiven

your debts

are cancelled

he can't just

say that

and then poof

it just

vanishes

in the air

someone has

to pay

the cost

right

someone has

to eat

the debts

and absorb

the debts

and that's

why Jesus

gave himself

for us

entirely

and completely

in the agony

of his crucifixion

we could

not pay

so he

paid

he shed

his blood

and in shedding

his blood

he bore

our debts

and he

reconciled

our account

with God

and so

it's only

fitting

if he gave

himself

utterly

and completely

for us

that we

would give

ourselves

utterly

and completely

for him

that we

would take

that flask

whatever it

is in our

lives

we would

take that

bottle

whatever the

most important

thing is

and we

break it

and we

just pour

it out

on Jesus

you know

we can no

longer fall

at Jesus

physical feet

we can no

longer wash

or kiss

or anoint

his feet

right

the resurrected

Jesus

he's ascended

to the right

hand of the

father

he's been

exalted

to that

place of

all power

and authority

but you

can show

your love

to Jesus

by forsaking

your sins

you can

show your

love

to Jesus

by

taking his

commands

seriously

and obeying

them

right

you can

show your

love to

Jesus

by praising

him

not just

with your

lips

but with

your life

you can

show your

love to

Jesus

by telling

other people

that he

really is

the love

of your

life

Jesus

says to

her

and he

says to

us

your faith

has saved

you

go in

peace

but don't

misunderstand

that

when Jesus

says go

in peace

he's not

saying hey

good luck

with everything

and just go

live however

you'd like to

live now

when Jesus

says go in

peace he's

saying I

want you to

in some ways

come in

peace

come live a

new life in

my disciple

community

come join

Mary Magdalene

and Joanna

and Susanna

and all

these other

women

come learn

how to

live in

my grace

and in

my peace

come let

me master

all of your

relationships

and your

time

and your

job

and your

money

and your

sexuality

and all

the rest

go in

peace to

love me

as the

Lord

in every

area of

your life

that's what

that means

see the

root of

forgiveness

bears the

fruit of

love

and the

costly

forgiveness

of the

cross

must show

itself in

the costly

love of

our

discipleship

so friends

do you

love Jesus

do you

love Jesus

like this

woman loves

Jesus

has he

removed your

debts

has he

given rest

to your

troubled and

tormented

souls

has Jesus

put the

peace of

God

into your

heart

if he

has just

know he's

worthy

he's worthy

of all

that we

could possibly

pour out on

him

in the name

of the

father son

and holy

spirit

amen