Sermon Notes Sunday, March 22

Our pastor is finishing a series on prayer, which has been very significant for me. I was really moved by the message this Sunday, which concentrated on prideful prayer. How often do we come before the Lord with a prayer believing that we are deserving of petition? Humble prayer is a struggle for me. I often skip praising God for who he is and what he is doing. Furthermore, I pray as if he will bless the plans I have already made, not humbling myself, knowing that he knows the plans that are the best for me. I also assume that I am a righteous follower, trying to follow the Bible's teachings, but rarely do I begin my prayers with praise, but with requests. This sermon series has begun to shape my conversations with God in a new way.

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood up and prayed about^a]">[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

¹³"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

¹⁴"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."