BETTER TOGETHER is a journey our church is on to create more connection points, provide outlets and opportunities for people to connect. LIFE IS BETTER TOGETHER.
SERIES: BETTER TOGETHER
PART 3: LOVE MY NEIGHBOR
Text: Luke 10:25-37
Pastor Tom Cogle
Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024
Mark 16:15-16
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.”
Matthew 28:18-19
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We have been commissioned to find those who do not have a relationship with Jesus.
Luke 15:5-7
And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Luke 10:30-32
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.31“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant (Levite) walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
· Some people attend church, play church, and talk church inside the walls but it doesn’t impact the way they LIVE outside the walls.
1 John 3:17-18
If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth. our actions.
Luke 10:33
Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.
· You need to feel SEEN, SAFE, and SOOTHED.
1. EYES: Do you see me?
· Compassion means to experience a deep visceral feeling for someone, to feel compassion for, to feel sympathy, to take pity on someone.
· Compassion is the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. This verb expresses an outward flow of one’s life in contrast to our natural tendency toward self-centeredness.
2. HEART: Will you love and accept me?
· Compassion compels us to ACTION.
Luke 10:34-35
Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
3. HAND: Will you help me?
· Robbers: What’s yours is mine and I’m going to TAKE it.
· Priest & Levite: What’s mine is mine and I’m going to KEEP it.
· Samaritan: What’s mine is yours and I’m going to SHARE it.
· “You may be only one person in this world, but to one person at one time, you are the world.”
· “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” Mother Teresa
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. 11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.
Luke 10:36-37
Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
· “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” John Wesley
*All scriptures are NLT (New Living Translation) unless otherwise noted