September 11, 2016. Today Pastor Penny talks about outcasts of society. We tend to think of ourselves as respectful, hardworking, and good people. We have confidence in ourselves. But that confidence can be shaken, by terrorists attacking our cities, by downturns affecting our economy. Now Jesus is asking us to consider how secure our sense of confidence is when, like the Pharisees in the gospels, we often don’t treat those on the fringes of society the same as we treat others. We tend to get stuck in the spiritual weeds of selfishness, bigotry, and anger. But just as God loved even the Pharisees, he loves us. This gives us a sense of humility and of gratitude, and the question becomes not how can we love the outcasts of society, but how can we find them and show them that God loves them too.

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