Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

This Sunday, Nathan Rose, the senior pastor of Liberty Baptist Church, Liberty, MO, will be preaching as a part of our Morning Gathering.

As a child, Nathan learned the gospel message by attending church with his family. While he mentally understood that Christ died for his sins, he did not exercise repentance and faith until his senior year of college, when, at the age of 22, the Holy Spirit revealed his sinful condition and enabled him to trust in Jesus Christ. His profession of faith was accompanied by evidence of faith through a changed lifestyle and pursuits, eventually leading him to pursue ministry to equip the saints with sound theology that the church might fulfill the Great Commission.

Nathan was called as the Senior Pastor of LBC in March 2012, and he serves as the primary preacher and overseer of the vision, leadership, membership, and day-to-day operations of the church. During his time at LBC, Nathan has enjoyed seeing the Lord draw people to himself through the means of gospel proclamation, as people grow in Christ-likeness and in their understanding of God’s Word. He prays regularly that LBC would be a healthy church, displaying God’s character to the world through holiness, unity, and love.

Outside of his ministry in the church, Nathan enjoys spending time with his wife, Rachel, their three children, Hannah, Nathan “Bear”, and Lizzie, and his nieces and nephew. His love for the church has also led him to serve the North American Mission Board and the Clay-Platte Baptist Association by helping to revitalize and assist struggling churches. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Historical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and loves reading about Charles Spurgeon.

Carefully Think

• Read Luke 7:36-50 to prepare for the sermon this Sunday.
• How do verses 36-40 prepare the context for Jesus' parable? What is exemplified in the "differences" between the woman and Simon the Pharisee?
• Does Simon rightly understand the parable from his response in verse 43 per Jesus' response in verse 44 and following?
• What is the emphasis in verses 44-46 with the three different examples Jesus gives comparing the actions of the woman and Simon?
• Jesus answers the previous question in verse 47. What does Jesus say the response of someone who has been forgiven much should be?
• How do verses 48-50 culminate the understanding of this passage? Who does this entire passage highlight?
• The Sermon Study equipping class notes are available online for anyone wanting to dig deeper. Please review this week's notes to help study this passage. Click here for the notes.

Prayerfully Meditate

• How do you view your sin? Would you be more like Simon or the woman in this passage?
• Does this passage indicate that the woman was a greater sinner than the Pharisee? Why or why not?
• Jesus' emphasis on forgiveness and the response of love does not display a lack of sin in Simon, but rather a gross misunderstanding of his sinful condition.
• How does a correct and deep knowledge of one's sin help have a correct response to God?
• Sin is lightly handled or even ignored in a large segment of the church today and highlights "worship" instead. How is this antithetical to correct worship of God when sin is slighted or even ignored?