{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":300,"width":600,"title":"Jesus and the fallen woman","description":"Cheri preaches from Luke 7:36\u201350, the account of Jesus at the home of Simon the Pharisee, where a woman known for living a sinful life comes to Jesus with tears, perfume and extravagant devotion. She begins by linking this sermon with the previous week\u2019s message on the woman caught in adultery, and with her reflections on Rahab and Hagar. Her focus is on how God responds to women who are shamed, rejected or treated as \u201cfallen\u201d by society. Cheri explains the setting of the story: Jesus is invited to a formal meal at a Pharisee\u2019s house. A woman enters uninvited, weeping at Jesus\u2019 feet. She lets down her hair, washes his feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, kisses them and pours costly perfume over them. In that culture, her actions would have been socially shocking, deeply humble and emotionally exposed. Simon\u2019s response is judgement. He assumes that if Jesus were truly a prophet, he would reject the woman. But Jesus knows both the woman\u2019s heart and Simon\u2019s thoughts. He tells a parable about two people whose debts are forgiven: one small, one large. The point is clear \u2014 the one forgiven more loves more. Jesus then contrasts Simon\u2019s cold hospitality with the woman\u2019s costly love. Simon gave Jesus no water for his feet, no kiss of welcome and no oil for his head. The woman, by contrast, lavished love on Jesus. Though Simon appears respectable, his love is small. Though the woman appears shameful, her faith and devotion are great. Cheri highlights that Jesus does not shame the woman. He honours her, forgives her publicly and says, \u201cYour faith has saved you; go in peace.\u201d Her love does not earn forgiveness, but reveals that she has received it. The sermon challenges listeners not to play at Christianity, keep Jesus at arm\u2019s length, or value social respectability over devotion. God sees the rejected, the unpopular and the ashamed. His banquet has room for the poor, the broken and the outsider. The call is to stop making excuses and respond to Jesus with wholehearted love 0:00 Introduction: Fallen Women and Jesus 2:12 Jesus Invited to Simon\u2019s House 4:31 The Woman Enters with Tears and Perfume 6:37 Washing Jesus\u2019 Feet in Humility 8:18 A Costly Gift of Honour 9:30 Simon\u2019s Judgemental Response 11:17 The Parable of the Two Debtors 14:11 Simon\u2019s Cold Hospitality 16:21 Her Many Sins Have Been Forgiven 22:08 Simon and the Woman Contrasted 26:28 Final Challenge: Don\u2019t Play at Christianity ","author_name":"Sermons from Aberdeen Christian Fellowship","author_url":"http:\/\/www.aberdeencf.com","html":"