1. This is not just a pericope about hereditary sin and actual sins, nor is it providing a pattern for prayer. It is fundamentally about God our gracious Father and His promise to hear us, answer us, and provide for us.
  2. But it is not always helpful to create tidy categories of good and bad and to say, “Stop being ‘a Martha’ and do a better job of being ‘a Mary.’” That is a dangerous sermon to preach. In doing so, we can fall into the very thing we see Martha doing.
  3. The parable of the Good Samaritan is both a call to faith in Jesus and a call to love our neighbor.
  4. Despite the very real obstacles and difficulties, this entire scene is marked by God’s gracious work.