Ministry Of GraceMuskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday Oct 5, 2020
Sermon Series: The Ministry of Jesus
Message: Ministry of Grace
Reverend Glynis Faith (705-765-3797) (muskokalakesministry@gmail.com)
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Announcements
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Lectio Divina Thursday evenings at 8pm via Zoom. If you would like to take part contact Rev. Faith to receive a Zoom invitation.
If you would like a ‘socially distant’ visit from the minister, please call or email to set up a day and time.
DONATIONS TO KNOX, PORT CARLING
Mail cheques to Knox Presbyterian Church Box 283, Port Carling, ON, P0B 1J0
E-Transfers to KnoxChurchPC@gmail.com No security question required
Pick up ~ Please call the office (705) 765-3797 to arrange pick up

DONATIONS TO ZION, TORRANCE
Mail cheques to Zion Presbyterian Church 1046 Torrance Rd, Torrance, ON, P0C 1M0
E-Transfers to zionchurchpc@gmail.com No security question required
Pick up ~ Please call the office (705) 765 3797 to arrange pick up
Thank you for your continued support!
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Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
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We are thankful for Your great love towards us, Lord. We are a stubborn and willful people, but You never give up on us. We are unworthy of Your grace, yet You pour out Your mercy upon us. We are fallen, so You reach out Your hand and set us back upon our feet. Lord, God, when we realize and confess our unworthiness You offer forgiveness and You fill us with Your joy.
The more we realize Your greatness, the more we are able to grasp our unworthiness, and the more we realize our unworthiness, the better we are able to understand the depth of Your sacrifice and Your grace. We bow our hearts and lift up our souls in joyful thanksgiving to You, O Lord.
We also lift up our prayers of intercession to You Lord.
We pray for those affected by Covid and for everyone with colds and flus.
We pray for people waiting for medical tests – for those waiting for test results and for everyone awaiting treatments.
Lord, we place in Your loving hands the people who have recently experienced the loss of a loved one.
We pray for those who have experienced job loss due to Covid and for those fearing pending job losses.
God, help us to be there for one another, bringing Your Word and Your presence into the lives of those in need of prayer.
Smile Your blessings down upon us as we pray together the Lord’s Prayer…. Our Father, who art in heaven, hollowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, thine will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. AMEN

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Scripture
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Luke 7:36-50 Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
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. 37 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. 38 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.
39 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.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty. 42 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?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into 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. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
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Message
“Ministry of Grace”
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Our story involves a Pharisee named Simon, Jesus, the invited guest and an unnamed woman who lived a sinful life.
Simon has invited Jesus to his home for a meal. There is a mention of other guests, but we have no idea if those other guests were family or friends of Simon, or perhaps disciples of Jesus. It interests me that this Pharisee would invite Jesus over for a meal without inviting other Pharisees or religious leaders in attendance.
I wonder if Simon has a sincere curiosity about Jesus and wants to speak with Him privately. Afterall, most interactions between Jesus and the Pharisees involves the later doing their best to trick Jesus into slipping up and saying the wrong thing. They show no interest in listening to Jesus, or wanting to know His teachings. They travel in packs, likes wolves, looking for any opportunity to pounce and devour.
But Simon has invited Jesus into his home to share a meal with him. Sharing a meal with someone is personal, as is inviting someone into our house as a guest. We don’t invite people in we don’t trust, and it is unlikely we want to share a meal with someone we oppose.
No, I am guessing Simon invited Jesus into his home to share a meal with him, because he saw something in Jesus and he wanted the opportunity to converse with Him and see if he could better understand Him. Perhaps the only way he could talk with Jesus honestly was away from the scorn of his fellow Pharisees. From our reading we see that Simon thought Jesus to be a prophet, saying – “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.” Vs.39
So, he sees something and wants to know more.
Another reason to consider that Simon was interested in getting to know more about Jesus comes from his reaction to Christ’s statement “Simon, I have something to tell you.” Simon not only responds that he would like to hear what Jesus has to say, but also acknowledges Him as ‘teacher.’
And what of this woman? Where did she come from? She enters this home uninvited and begins to cry at the feet of the dinner guest. Imagine this woman on her knees kissing the feet of Jesus, as she takes an expensive bottle of perfume and pours it on His feet. Everyone would be watching in shock, but she seems unfazed. It is often when we have nothing left to lose that we have no concern for what others think.
She has taken a chance, entering a home she has not been invited into. There are no words spoken, just honest tears seeking redemption. Her lips kiss the feet of Jesus as she acknowledges her unworthiness without saying a thing. She takes the alabaster jar of perfume – likely the sum of her wealth – and that too she dedicates to Jesus as she pours out its contents onto His feet. Finally, she uses her hair to wipe the fragrance into His feet.
And finally, there is Jesus. His ministry, we have been learning is an active ministry of teaching and healing. Today we read that His ministry is also a ministry of grace. Instead of saying, “get a hold of yourself women, you are making a fool of yourself,” Jesus offers grace and forgiveness to the woman who humbles herself at His feet. He also offers words of guidance to the Pharisee who did not understand the gift of grace.
Simon does not recognize the presence of God in his invited guest. He not only fails to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, but he fails to offer the appropriate courtesies of water to wash His feet, a kiss to welcome his guest or oil for his head.
The woman living in sin, however, recognizes the light of God in Jesus and realizes her sinfulness – realizes her unworthiness. She comes with deep sincerity and humility, realizing her debt, and she leaves a new woman – forgiven and renewed by God’s grace. She arrives as a woman living in sin and leaves knowing she is loved by God.
Here’s the thing – we have all fallen short of the glory of God – we are all sinners. Pride, lies, coveting, greed, turning our backs on the needs of others, arrogance, gluttony, unchecked anger, stubbornness, finger pointing and the list goes on. Each one of us needs the grace of God and the salvation that comes through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
Each of us falls short of the glory of God. None of us deserves to sit at the table with Jesus – none of us. At least not by our own doing. It is Jesus, and Jesus alone who makes us worthy.
We can invite Jesus into our lives, but if we already think ourselves worthy (like the Pharisee), then we are missing the grace. Don’t get me wrong, Jesus will always join us when we invite Him, but this Guest has something He would like to share with us – something that will change us – something that will set us free from the weight of sin and doubt.
The key is found in the character of the woman, who realizes her unworthiness and her need and humbles herself at the feet of Jesus. This unnamed woman – a woman known by her actions and not her heart receives forgiveness, and with it hope.
The ministry of Jesus is a ministry of grace, blessing those who seek. This is the ministry you and I are called into – a ministry of humility, gratitude and grace.
Let us go into the world with our eyes fixed on Jesus, sharing the grace we have received with everyone we meet.

Please bow your heads and pray with me.
Lord, we give you thanks for Your grace. Your love for us is beyond our understanding and we are grateful to You. Help us to be always aware of our dependence on You, and bless us as we share Your love in the world by offering others the same grace we ourselves have received. With joyful hearts we give You our praise. AMEN

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Commissioning and Benediction
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I encourage you to get up each morning and reflect on God’s grace in your life, then go about your day sharing that grace with those you meet. And as you do…

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine down upon You. May He grant you peace, now and forevermore AMEN