Paul
I Receive
Beautiful Savior (How awesome how great is your love)
Stephen
Tonight we are bringing awareness to West Side Pregnancy Center
Bredows and Milewskis have more info
Interested in bonding with people over food?
Dinners for 6-8
Mix names in a bowl of hats and get together
Business meeting tonight after the service
Child care services are available
We have pictures from our involvement with the organization Solace For The Children
Schmidts and the Parsons hosted kids this summer
Life changing event hosting the child
After church meeting for that next week
Paul
Faithfulness (Like the sparrows flying freely)
Forever Reign (You are good, you are good)
Beautiful Things (All this pain)
Jon
Luke 19:1-10
Going to review the story of Zaccheus
….
And how it comes to an individual
Jesus not only comes to Zaccheus, but to an entire community
Gives the community an opportunity to restore a person
A community of grace goes even deeper
little bit of background
During this time in history Rome is ruling all
Jericho included
Under the kingdom of Rome
They would enforce taxes
It was very difficult for a roman official to find where all the money was
In order to track the money in the black market, they would hire a local
It was always easy to find someone willing to trade money for relationships
…
We will also give you a company of soldiers to protect you and project strength
If you want to collect money for yourself, go right ahead, we’ll look the other way
This puts the tax collector on the outside of the community right away
When Jesus came into a city He would declare that the kingdom of God has arrived
Always resistance to what Rome is experiencing
Zacchaeus
Jewish mishna, earliest rabbinic traditions
This is how the Torah was interpreted
This is what it said about tax collectors
Tax collectors should not even be considered people
Lying to animals is acceptable
People were dehumanized
Jesus knew exactly what Jericho needed
Here’s my opportunity to show Jericho what grace looks like
Judaism of that era needed a revival
God is extending grace and acceptance to the outsider
Let’s look at verse 5
Middle Eastern meals are more than just fast food
They are a statement to the community
Jesus is shifting paradigms
Jesus restores and humanizes Zacchaeus
I want to have a covenant relationship with this person
I want to be his friend, to connect with him
Jesus is the one who chose Zacchaeus, not the other way round
That’s how grace works
God is about the restore Jericho
Jesus didn’t demand change before choosing Zacchaeus
A lot of people approach God this way
2. When meal is prepared for a significant/special guest it’s a communal event
The community around Zacchaeus is being asked to participate in this event
Do you want to restore this man? I want to
The grace of God is bigger and greater than you can imagine
I’m asking the community to help restore this man because they’re almost as broken as Zacchaeus
We don’t know the details of the meal or if somebody’s didn’t grumble and helped with the meal or what was talked about
The text just says people stood outside and grumbled
…
God came to you first and cracked open your heart
If you think for a moment that any one person can’t be restored you’re trampling all over the grace of God
…
Salvation came not just for the individual but to the community
The community experienced revival
They start to give, to take care of those who have been overlooked
When God comes in, things change
God: Who were you if not a lost cause?
When you stop resisting His grace and stop trying to control who should get it, it flows freely
Jesus changed the world WITHOUT violence
The rule and the reign of God arrived and radical forgiveness happened
Even a man who was considered an animal was revived
Community was revived with fourfold compensation
10: The son of man came to seek and save the lost
I leave the 99 and go after the one lost
Paul come on up and I’m going to close with is thought
Some of us have made really big mistakes
When God comes to you, it blows your mind because he continues to extend grace to you and is compassionate with you
When the community of grace comes to you, it goes deeper
Its great to experience Gods grace individually, but to be then embraced by a community
Not just the acceptance of Jesus but the acceptance of people who claim to love Jesus and follow His teachings
It came to you first and THEN change happened
Gods love and acceptance leads us to obedience
Don’t get it backwards
Paul
Jesus You're More Than A Friend (In the quiet of my soul)
Jon
I have a long distance relationship with a friend
Last year I saw them and they said, “you are grace to me”
And I can’t think of a higher compliment
Next week we’re going to talk about grace and peace
He received grace joyfully
Be grace to others as you walk through this week