Sermon Notes
Sermon Series: The Power of One
Sermon #1: Our Interrupting Neighbor (Luke 10:25-37)
To be the greatest church, we must follow the greatest commandment from the greatest person for the greatest glory.
Neighboring Well:
We are asking you to open up your life to other people so you can look for opportunities to share God’s love.
DISCUSS WITH YOUR NEIGHBOR
When was the last time you were interrupted by someone outside of your family?
How did that make you feel?
Diving into the text (Luke 10:25-37)
- Jesus was interrupted (repeatedly) but was never once ruffled.
(… an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus..”)
Jesus was:
- Interrupted at a wedding with friends (John 2:4)
- Interrupted during a nap on a boat (Mark 4:38)
- Interrupted during a sermon by someone removing the roof above him (Mark 2:3-5)
What if you viewed your next interruption as an invitation instead of frustration?
2. Jesus was dialed into the background and perspective of his neighbor.
(10:25-29)
– Jesus enters the conversation with his questioner in mind.
-Jesus separates out two dynamics about how we understand the bible
- What is written (the text)
- What is our understanding (the interpretation)
3. Jesus uses four characters to explain neighboring: (10:33-36)
- The Victim was Left for Dead
- Religious Leader #1
- Religious Leader #2
- The most hated and despised group
According to this parable
Neighboring is not about knowing theology with certainty but loving people unlike you consistently.
APPLICATION:
Go and do likewise
Discussion Questions
TALK IT OUT:
- Pastor Rusty asks us to open our lives to others and to look for opportunities to share God’s love. Reflect on a time when someone shared God’s love with you and when you were able to share God’s love with someone else.
- When was the last time you were interrupted by someone outside your family? How did it make you feel?
- Pastor Rusty gave four examples from scripture of times when Jesus was repeatedly interrupted: 1) “An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus” (10:25) 2) He was interrupted at a wedding with friends (John 4:2) 3) Jesus was interrupted during a nap on a boat (Mark 4:38) 4) He was interrupted during a sermon by men removing the roof above Him (Mark 2:3-5). Yet, in all these interruptions, He was never ruffled. How might it change our response to others if we viewed life’s interruptions as less of a frustration and more of an invitation to serve God and others?
- Jesus was dialed into the background and perspective of His neighbor. (10:25-29) He engaged in this conversation with His questioner in mind. Why is that so powerful when it comes to communicating with others?
- Jesus used four characters to explain neighboring. (10:33-36) 1) A victim who had been left for dead, 2) A priest who refused to help, 3) A religious leader who didn’t stop, and 4) A member of a group hated and despised by the Jews who not only stopped but who at considerable expense of time and money helped the injured man. Which is more surprising, the fact that the religious leaders didn’t help or the fact that the hated Samaritan did? Why?
- What excuses can you imagine the religious leaders would have given for why they didn’t help? What are the most common excuses you use when you don’t get involved in helping others?
- Pastor Rusty observes, “Neighboring is not about knowing theology with certainty but loving people unlike you consistently.” Why is loving people who aren’t like us so hard?
LIVE IT OUT
- Ask God to help you be alert to the interruptions you will encounter this week, which are opportunities to minister to others.
- Select someone different than you whom you can encourage this week. Do it!
- Ask God to use you to minister to one or more of your neighbors this week.
- Commit yourself, with God’s help to being more like the man who stopped to help than the busy religious leaders who couldn’t be bothered by hurting people.