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For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the scribes and Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of the heavens (v 20). [Prayer] Heavenly Father, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, died for the unrighteous and declared all of humanity righteous by shedding his blood and his resurrection. Grant us the faith to receive this gift of eternal life through your means of grace and enable us to serve You in righteousness ... in Jesus’ name. [Introduction] I’m going to start this by saying something you might find controversial ... America, with its multiculturalism and freedom of religion, could use more scribes and Pharisees. Why? Because if our nation had more scribes and Pharisees, this country would be a more pleasant place to live. In saying that, I am not advocating BY ANY MEANS that we become a scribe or Pharisee. I’m saying ONLY that our world would be a more pleasant place to live with more of them. Think about it, the scribes and Pharisees were well liked. ...

So [Elijah] arose and [ran for his life], and he came to Beer-Sheva, which belongs to Judah. ... Then he went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat under one broom tree. And he asked [that might] die. He said, “It’s too much. Now, YHWH, take my very being because I’m [no better than] my fathers.” Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.  And behold this: An angel touched him. And he said to him: Arise. Eat. And [Elijah] looked and behold, at his head [was] a baked cake and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and he lay down again. Then מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה ... the Angel of the Lord ... came again and touched him and said: Arise. Eat, for the journey is too much for you. And he arose and ate and drank, and he went with the strength of that food forty days and nights until [reaching] the mountain of God, Horeb. There, he came to the cave, and he lodged there. And behold the דְבַר־יְהוָה ... the Word of the Lord ... [came] to him and said, What [are you doing] her...

[Prayer] Let us pray: O God and Father, You demonstrate your merciful compassion to us by putting our judgment and condemnation upon your Son and raising him from the dead. Teach us to be merciful and gracious like you, so that we may extend your goodness to others. In Jesus’ name. [Introduction] The second verse of our Gospel reading, verse 37, is one of the most misused and abused passages in scripture. To use the good ol’ American Standard Version rendering that we all have come to know so well ... “ Judge not that ye be not judged. ” When this verse is hurled, it’s most likely a non-Christian telling a Christian what the Bible says ... right after you’ve called out sin for being sin or taken a stand on the orthodoxy of the church. The cry to “Judge Not!” is often paired with “ Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” (Jn 8:7) ... or the 1967 favorite of theologian John Lennon, “All you need is Love ...” But what was happening when our Lord said this?  What is he actual...

Luke writes: Now when all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near to [Jesus] to hear him, both the Pharisees and the scribes continued to murmur, saying, This one receives sinners and eats with them (vv 1-2).   [Introduction] I’m sure y’all have heard it said, “hate the sin but love the sinner.” I don’t know where that expression comes from. Some attribute it to Gandhi, who suggested in his autobiography that failing to follow that idea is why there is so much hatred in the world.  But is it true ... that we are supposed to hate the sin and love the sinner? Does God hate the sin but love the sinner? Can we separate the sin from the sinner, or the sinner from the sin? What happens when we ignore the Law and neglect the Gospel? Our Gospel reading from Luke 15 addresses these questions. 5. Let’s speak to this truth first: Yes, God hates sin. It doesn’t matter what sin we are talking about. Name yours ... idolatry, blasphemy, ignoring what Jesus said ... dishonor, ...