Are you focused on people’s sin while ignoring their soul? /// Encounter: Part 4

We're so glad you've chosen to listen to our online experience! Here at Plum Creek, we’re all about changed lives, changing lives; and what that simply means is that what Christ has done in us is not just for us, but it’s for us to share with others in our community and around the world.

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If you're using this teaching for a Home Groups setting, we've included discussion prompts to help guide your conversation:

1. How does Keith’s emphasis on Jesus not rushing to condemn challenge the way you typically respond to your own sin or the sin of others?

2. Consider the idea that people can become so focused on exposing sin that they lose sight of a person’s soul... where do you see this playing out in your own life or culture?

3. Look up John 8:1–11 and reflect on why the accusers left one by one. What does that reveal about self-awareness and humility before God?

4. In what ways might you be tempted to walk away from Jesus like the Pharisees instead of staying with Him in your guilt and brokenness, as Keith highlighted?

5. The teaching emphasizes being “caught but covered” How does that reshape your understanding of grace, especially when you feel undeserving or have not even asked for it?

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Wondering what Plum Creek Church is all about? Watch this video.

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Links

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to the Plum Creek Church Podcast. We're so thankful that you're listening along with us in this way. Now, if you're a returning listener, welcome back. But if you're new or newish, we'd love to become part of your listening rotation. So be sure to subscribe and follow to be notified when new episodes are available. Now, before we get into the message, we want to remind you of one thing. Love Creek Church, we are all about changed lives, changing lives. We really believe that if Jesus is right about God, about life, about the soul, then it only makes sense to rearrange our lives around what he says is true. Because when you choose to follow Jesus like that, it really does change everything, including the lives around you. Okay, let's posture our hearts for what God has in store to this message.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

Back in my day, there was no New York Post. There was no Wall Street Journal. And there certainly wasn't a Jerusalem journal. I suppose if we had those papers during my day, I would have made the front page. I didn't make the front page of a newspaper, but I did make the pages of the Bible. You can find my story in John chapter 8, verses 1 through 11, and I invite you and our online attenders into my story. I had been brought by my accusers, the scribes and the Pharisees, to Jesus as he taught in the temple. I was brought because I had been caught in adultery. You can look at verse three and you can see they literally set me in front of all the people in the temple. You can't begin to fathom how utterly scared and embarrassed and humiliated I was. Y'all, my sin was being exposed to all in the temple in a callous, non-compassionate manner. I'm just the adulterous woman, but if you would allow me, I would like to give you some advice. Don't be so preoccupied with another's sin that you lose sight of their soul. They caught and brought me in an ignominious manner with absolutely no regard for my soul. Their motives were latent. Or so they thought. Yet they were really stupid. Yeah, but they were stupid enough to bring me to Jesus. Hoping to expose both of us. They were interested in testing Jesus. Because according to Moses' law, I should have been stoned. But so should my sex partner. I've read my own story, and dude ain't nowhere to be found in the text. You don't commit adultery by yourself. Maybe in y'all's day you do. That was a joke. Hey, here's what I want y'all to see. It's a trap. It's a trap. See, if Jesus had said stone her, he gets in trouble with Rome because he would be seen as a troublemaker, as an insurrectionist, because Jews were not permitted to execute anyone under Roman rule. It was a trap. If Jesus says, don't stone her, they go back to the Sanhedrin and accuse Jesus of denying the law of Moses. It's a trap. They were talking about Moses' command, but y'all, they didn't care what Moses commanded. They didn't care about the word of God. They asked Jesus in verse 5, what do you say? But they didn't care what Jesus had to say. It was a trap. I existed in biblical antiquity, but I understand your world today. I understand that you can pimp a helpless person. Sadly. I understand in this contemporary world that some of y'all have even learned to pimp your ride. One of your popular rappers has let us know that apparently, ostensibly, you can pimp a butterfly. The wrong crowd. You can't pimp Jesus. It's okay to worship him. You cannot, you cannot think that you're using Jesus as a pawn and you're the king. He will not be pimped. When I look at the text, my own story, they rush into the temple, they interrupt the greatest teacher to ever do it, the goat, the greatest of all time. Nobody would talk like him, but they interrupt his teaching, and right in front of all of them, I loved what Jesus did. He bent down to the ground. Right in front of them, as if they were not even there. He bent down to the ground. Here's what he wasn't doing. He wasn't bending to pray. He wasn't bending with his face to the ground, worshiping God. And I know, I know you want me to tell you what he was writing in the ground. He wrote on the ground, but I'm not gonna tell you what he wrote. You can go to some smart preacher on TV and they'll tell you. Because the text doesn't tell you. Yeah, yeah. He very coolly bent down and they were trying to pressure him. They want to pressure an answer out of him. They want to rush him, they want to get him to answer quickly, but very coolly he bent down to the ground amid all of the commotion and non-verbally. His bending down and writing on the ground communicated this. You don't control me. You don't speed up my pace. I walk the way I want to walk. I I operate outside of time. So you might be on the clock, but before there was this thing called time, I existed. You won't rely on my emotions. Your tactics will not alter my timing. I won't be impetuous. I'm gonna just sit here and be God. I'm not gonna be capricious. Guess what? I'm gonna be sovereign. I was so scared, and I had no clue what Jesus was doing. I just know what he wasn't doing. He wasn't rushing to condemn me. Let me say it again. He was not rushing to condemn me. I was guilty. I know I'm not a preacher, I'm just the adulterous woman, but is it okay if I give you great news alert? Here's the great news alert. He's not rushing to condemn you either. You know how dirty you can be. And the only reason that you're here today, he's not rushing to condemn you. Do you know how much sin is in this room today? But you know why you can sit there and amen or not amen me? Because he's keeping you alive, he's slowing down, waiting for you to say yes to him, waiting for you uh to submit to him. You don't practice what you preach, but the only reason you get to preach is because he is not rushing to condemn you. He didn't rush to condemn me. Instead, he bent down and wrote on the ground. Today he's not bending down, he's sitting down, he's sitting at the right hand of the father, praying for all of us. Yeah, the reason that I get to preach today is because he's praying. The reason that you get to be there here and sing songs with the worship team, right now, he's praying for you. The scribes and the Pharisees, they were merciless regarding me. They were manipulative regarding Jesus, and they were misguided regarding themselves. Let me say that again. They were merciless regarding me, manipulative regarding Jesus, and misguided regarding themselves. I'm looking at my own story, and I'm not gonna tell you what he wrote on the ground. You don't need to know. You need to know what he said. He essentially chose the law of Moses, but with a twist. You know why he can put a twist on the law of Moses? He's greater than Moses, he's gooder than Moses, he's better than Moses, he is the living word, he he he fulfills the law. So, so yeah, he aligns with Moses' teaching, but with the twist. Here's what he says in verse 7. He says, He who is without sin among you, here it is, let him be what? The first. Let him be the first to throw a stone at her. And right in front of me, I witnessed his proposition mitigate their callousness and elevate their consciousness. They came in callous, they leave at least with the conscious. How do I know? Because in verse eight, he stoops down again and writes on the ground, and one by one, they went away. Beginning with the elders, and I love this. Jesus was left what? Alone. With only me before him. Y'all do know that the Holy Spirit breathed the text. You can talk back to me. The Holy Spirit breathed the text. I think he's clever. I think that's an understatement. He says Jesus was left alone. Boy, that'll preach all day. Because Jesus alone is sinless, Jesus alone is infallible. Jesus alone is the only one in the text that could have taken a stone and stone me. Jesus alone is worthy. Jesus alone is holy. Jesus alone is God. Jesus alone is powerful. Jesus alone is able. Ain't nobody like Jesus. And you can clap. I've never preached before. I'm an adulterer.

unknown 16:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:21

These dudes are misguided about themselves. They're so misguided about themselves, they don't even realize that our sins are comparable. They think they're better than me. They don't realize that our sins are akin. Here's the major difference between them and me. I stayed with Jesus despite my sin. I stayed. I stayed. I still smell like the Holiday Inn. But I stayed. Some of you, uh am I in Colorado? Is this Colorado? Some of you smell like weed. Not this raw. I feel it over here. But stay. I'm kind of serious. Stay. You know, I'm all jokes aside, he can handle weed. He can handle her sin. Here I am. I'm staying with Jesus, and as callous as these men are, I feel sorry for them because they're walking away from Jesus. They're walking away from their help. They're walking away from the King of Kings, Lord of Lords. They're walking away from the blessed Redeemer, from the one who could set them free from religion. They leave him. Can I give you some advice? Answer this question for homework. Are you so misguided about yourself that you don't think you need a savior? You're not humble enough to admit you need the savior. People call you sir and ma'am at work. You still need the savior. Your kids look up to you, and that's a good thing. You have power in your house. What you say goes, you still need the savior. You tell your husband what to do and he scarily does it. But you still need the savior. I was okay now.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

I was okay. I was okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:15

Why I was left alone with Jesus. Not a married man, I'm left alone with Jesus. Not religious, unscrupulous, cold-hearted scribes and Pharisees. I'm now all alone with Jesus, my rescuer, my defense lawyer, my Johnny Cochrane. And he told me that he did not condemn me. Here's my advice to you: when your sin finds you out, stay. Don't stray from Jesus. He straightened up. And he said to me, Woman, where are they? Where are they? Did no one condemn you? I said, no one, Lord. He said, neither do I condemn you. I know that y'all know me as the adulterous woman. Nobody has ever monitored me, preacher or theologian, a Bible scholar, or catechist. But Jesus did something for me that only God can do. Y'all missed the opportunity to show. Let me say it again. Jesus did something for me that only God can do. With absolute confidence, he acted as if he had the right to forgive my sin. With absolute authority, he acted as if he had the power to set me free. Guess what that tells me? He's God. You can clap. Can I say it again? John wants us to see in his gospel, Jesus is God. Don't get it twisted. Oh, and by the way, since he's God, he can forgive who he wants to. He can set free whomever he wants to, even the person that you deem unworthy that used to be you. Lil man, you can clap. I saw you. Ah, when you look at the text. He forgave me. He forgave me. Guys, I didn't even ask him to. He freed me. And he did say this to me. Go. From now on, sin no more. My lifestyle wasn't the reason for his grace and mercy, but it was to be my response. So you all are in a series called Encounter. I'm not a preacher. I'm a former adulteress. But I would like to address your sermon series. Just let me get a swag of the water. Because I'm not a preacher, I don't do this often. I forgot to give y'all the sermon title. We got 70 more minutes. Y'all don't have anything to do. And so if it's okay, I'm gonna tie my sermon title into your series. I'm looking at my story, and here's what you need to know about my encounter with Jesus. It's my sermon title, I was caught, but I was covered. Let me come over here. Here's my sermon title, and it's and it's my testimony. I was caught, but I was covered. Let me say it to the young people. Here is my sermon title, little boys and girls. I was caught, but I was covered. I was caught. I was sleeping with somebody who was not my husband. I was caught. I indeed was an adulterer. I was caught. I was wrong. I was culpable. I was guilty. I did it. I was caught in my sin. Caught in my humiliation. Caught. But I was covered. Check this out. When I didn't even ask to be. When I didn't even deserve to be, I was covered without even praying a single word. I was covered. I didn't sing a worship song. I didn't lift my hands, but he covered me anyway. Who covered me? Jesus. Who covered me? The King of Kings. Who covered me? The Lord of Lords. And he covered me with his love. He covered me with his mercy. He covered me with his grace. And I'm not a singer, I'm not a preacher. But in 2026, I find myself singing to him. And I just say, you covered cover by your grace.

SPEAKER_01 25:55

I'm covered.

SPEAKER_03 26:18

I don't mind telling my story. I was caught. But I was covered. Thank you for letting an adulterous woman drop some knowledge. I'm out now. I'm gonna bring Doug's friend Keith out. Give me a second. Give it up for the adulterous woman. I'm grateful every time I get to come here. I told Doug I don't feel like a guest at all. What a great church. Next week is Easter. You guys have eighty-three services. One starts today at 330. I'm not the pastor here, but I sure do hope you bring guests. People will come for Easter. I hope you bring guests. But when you do, the angle that I was gonna take on this text, don't be the scribes and Pharisees. Don't bring them because you're focused on their brokenness. I know that sounds antithetical. Don't focus so much on their guilt. Focus on his grace. Your job is to say, you know what? I need the same grace that they need. I'm not bringing them because they need Jesus. I want them to see that I need Jesus too. And by the way, when you come, and this is gonna, some of you probably need to write down what I'm about to say. Get your worship on. Real talk. Get your praise on. Can I tell you why? He inhabits praise. So maybe your praise will break some chains and some shackles off of some of your friends and family. I feel like preaching, man. Don't come here and be sadity. Don't come here and be sophisticated. Come here like you know you need the same Jesus that your neighbor and your family member needs. So you know how you do that? You know how you do it? You put your hand on your chest all week and you say, you know what? I haven't been called, but I sure have been covered. You ought to reflect on how God has covered you. Make it about you first. He he has drenched you in grace. You live under the deluge of mercy and his power and his compassion. So, so so when you bring them, keep your mind on you. I got 59 seconds. Y'all do know in the text, Jesus could have stoned that lady. Y'all do know that today He could He could stone us. He could have stoned us, but rather than stone, he chose to save. Maybe you're here today and you you're not covered. By the way, if you're not covered, that's not on him. He's already done. Y'all do know he's already died. So if you're not covered, maybe it's just been naivety, maybe it's been ignorance, but for some of you, it could be pride. And so, can I invite you now to humble yourself and say, Lord, I want to be covered by you. I want to be so covered by you that people don't even see me. They see you in me. I want to walk with you, I want to talk with you, I want to live for you. And and so, and so all you gotta do to get the ultimate covering is confess with your mouth, the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. My Bible says, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So you get to acknowledge Jesus came from heaven to earth and died for the sin of the world, including this adulterous woman, but including this old boy up here preaching. He died, they put him in a tomb. Y'all know the story. On the third day, he went soldier boy on it. He got up, he got up, he got up, he got up. And so, after church today, if you want to make a decision to follow Jesus, I'm gonna be standing right over there, and I'm willing to talk to you and pray with you. God bless you.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Thanks again for listening. Our prayer is that this message encouraged and challenged you in your journey to follow Jesus. If you'd like to learn more about our church, please check us out online at plumcreek.church or if you find yourself within driving distance of Castle Rock, Colorado, we would be honored to see you in person on a weekend. So until next time, grace and peace in the name of Jesus.