Text: Luke 7:36—50

Topic: How to be grateful when life happens

Life happens and is beyond our control, but we can find out what to do from the Word of God.

Jesus had dinner with Simon the Pharisee.

The Pharisees wanted to obey the Law of Moses.

They focused on the legality of the commandments and missed the point, which was to love God.

A promiscuous woman poured perfume on Jesus' feet, wept, and kissed his feet.

Jesus knew Simon was judging him for not rejecting the woman.

• Jesus told a parable about a moneylender who canceled the debt of two clients. Jesus pointed out that the client with the larger debt would have expressed more gratitude.

Jesus compared Simon's cool welcome to the woman's emotional expression of her devotion.

Jesus told this parable to teach some lessons.

There are reprobate sinners and respectable sinners, but we all need forgiveness.

Illustration: People are like volcanoes: we all have the molten lava of sin inside, but some of us crack more readily than others.

God is prepared to forgive our sin by assuming our debts himself, whether our sin is reprobate or respectable.

The only way we receive forgiveness is by faith; we can't earn it.

Those whose sins are forgiven are commanded to go in peace, with their guilt lifted.

Those who experience forgiveness feel tremendous gratitude, which always expresses itself.

Illustration: Briscoe had a friend who felt church was cold and dead. Briscoe said that when people don't understand their sin and have no perception of forgiveness, they are not grateful.