Luke 18:1-14

"Dear Believer, Have you noticed how people sometimes ask the wrong questions? Those questions reveal their assumptions about reality and their place...."

"One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. "There was a judge in a certain city," he said, "who...."

"Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: "Two men went to the Temple to..."

Jesus came for the good, the bad, and the ugly Jesus wants to remind us that performing a series of religious acts doesn't make us right with God. Our attitude matters. What the Bible calls "the heart." While men look at the outside, God looks at the heart.

"Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give..."

Are you righteous enough to get close to God? Bill Denton reminds us that the Pharisees' problem wasn't their love for Scripture, but their willingness to condemn others and justify themselves.

We all want to know where we rank compared to everyone else. So what about God? Does he have a list? The problem with making a list of who is most likely to get to heaven is that we compare ourselves to other men and not to God.

"One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up."

"Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: ..."

"If men ought always to pray and not to faint, much more Christian men. Jesus has sent his church into the world on the same errand upon which he..."

Inspirational illustration of Luke 18:1 -- keep praying and never get discouraged

What do you and where do you go when life isn't fair? Life is unfair and in the unfairness we need to learn to pray and keep after it and not relent, not praying those PC prayers, but gut check from the heart prayers that are real.

Come on, now, let's just admit to the truth! Rubel Shelly confronts our tendency to make excuses for our sins, mistakes, and errors and then try to use softer words to make them not seem so bad.

Will you still follow? I have decided to follow Jesus and though I don't do it perfectly, I won't quit

What in the world has Mildred gotten herself into this time? Mildred Budge, church lady personified, faces another set of misadventures, this time with a truck driver, a Hummer, and an ambulance at Wal-Mart.

Is there a way through times of ineffective prayer? Phil Ware continues his series on Nehemiah and focuses on prayers, especially when prayers seem to go unanswered and we feel alone, frustrated, disappointed, discouraged, and ignored by God.