If Jesus was the embodiment of grace and truth and the Church is the hands and feet of Jesus, then we have to be comfortable with the mess, and the unfairness, and the inconsistency, and all of the things that go along with the tension between grace and truth! How we manage this tension is the safeguard from becoming an Accidental Pharisee.
With the best of intentions, followers of Christ seek to be more like Him. We strive to be holy and obedient and pleasing in all that we say and do. Without realizing it, if we're not careful, these worthy desires can accidentally lead to legalism. In this message, Pastor Skyler shares from Matthew 12, reminding us that legalism drives out love and grace.
Maybe we wouldn't admit this out loud, but without saying it, have you ever wished that people would just agree with you? Think the way you do? Agree with your views, your opinions, your norms of dress and respect?
This kind of thinking can lead to an attitude of uniformity--a demand or expectation that we look and act the same. If someone doesn't align with that uniformity, they're not welcome. Uniformity is an easy entry point for us to become accidental Pharisee.
In this message, Pastor Brian unpacks the difference between unity and uniformity by looking at Luke 7:36-50. We are reminded that Christ died to save us in our differences not from our differences.
Pride & hypocrisy are like spinach in your teeth. You can quickly see it in someone else, but rarely know if you have it unless you stop and look in the mirror (or have a good friend who tells you)! Without even realizing it, we can become the kind of people who drift into pride, legalism, conformity, & exclusivity.
In this first message of our new series, Pastor Mark Larson looks at this topic through the lens of Matthew 7. Over the next few weeks we are going to look at how we can avoid becoming accidental Pharisees.
