God Be Merciful to Me, the Sinner

In one paragraph

The pastor opened with a parable Jesus told specifically to people who trusted in their own righteousness and looked down on others. The sermon worked through that parable carefully and personally, landing on a simple point: humility before God is not optional, it is the condition for justification. Before getting to the text, the pastor talked about coming back from a wedding in Georgia and about...

Read together

1. Matthew 6:9-13 read aloud as the Lord's Prayer before congregational singing
2. Luke 18:9-14 the announced sermon text, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector
3. Colossians 2:14 cited to show God canceled the record of charges against us by nailing it to the cross
4. 1 John 1:9 quoted to show that confessing sin leads to God's forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness
5. 1 Peter 5:6-7 quoted as a closing exhortation to humble yourselves under God's mighty hand and cast anxiety on Him

Talk about it

1. The pastor opened with the statistic that 70 to 80 percent of Americans believe they are going to heaven. What do you think drives that kind of confidence, and how does trusting in your own righteousness show up in everyday life?
2. The Pharisee's prayer contains no requests at all. What does it tell us about a person's view of God when they come to Him with nothing to ask for?
3. The pastor pointed out that the tax collector beat his chest and stood at a distance, ashamed to even look up. Have you ever come to God feeling like your sin was too much to be covered? What happened in that moment?
4. The pastor said religious pride is not the only kind, that you can be proud of any side of any argument or any endeavor. Where in your own life do you notice yourself drifting toward contempt for people who see things differently?
5. First Peter 5:6-7 says to humble yourselves under God's mighty hand and cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. How do humility before God and releasing anxiety connect for you personally?