When Works Fail: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

This sermon unpacks Luke 18’s parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, showing that both men are ritually present in the temple but differ in whom they trust: the Pharisee trusts his works, while the tax collector trusts God’s promise in the Messiah. The preacher calls Christians to reject prideful self-righteousness, even that from modern religious righteousness of 'getting along', but rather cling only to Christ’s merits, and live out humble vocations empowered by grace, not by confidence in their own deeds.