KEY SCRIPTURE:
Luke 10:25-37
THEME:
This week, we begin a new series called, “Engage.” What might it look like to reach out and be a good neighbor? But even more importantly, how can you best share the gospel? Because as a Jesus-follower, you and I have an obligation to spread the Good News. I want to stir a desire in you, and provide tools to help you, engage with those outside your door.
Luke 10:25-37
“And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
The person outside your door is probably very different than you are
Take the initiative to love the person outside your door and don’t assume someone else will do it
Luke 10:30-31
“Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.”
Luke 10:32
“So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”
Luke 10: 33
“But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.”
Our Neighborhood
- 120,800 people live within 5 miles of the church
- An estimated 89,800 are non-Christian (non-evangelicals)
- This means that at least 72% of our neighbors don’t know Jesus
Luke 10:34-37
“He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back. Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go, and do likewise.’”
You will need to make sacrifices to engage with the person outside your door
Elisabeth Elliot: “I have one desire now—to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.”