Live Out A Kingdom Story

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
- John 13:35

Empathy = Shared pain
You can’t do empathy from a distance. You have to get close.

Are you observing? Or are you participating?

29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 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.”
- Luke 10:29-31 (NLT)

The devil is in the distance.

“A Temple assistant (Levite) walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.”
- Luke 10:32 (NLT)

Don’t choose “religious purity” over a “righteous purpose.”

“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.”
- Luke 10:33 (NLT)

36 “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.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
- Luke 10:36-37 (NLT)

The Three Perspectives

The Robber
What’s Yours Is Mine (I’ll Take It!)

The Priest & Levite
What’s Mine Is Mine (I’ll Keep It!)

The Samaritan
What’s Mine Is God’s (I’ll Share It!)

Who do you need to bring close?

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Mixer

Are you a mountains, beach, desert, or city person? Or other?

‘Neighborly’ - Daily Devotional

To get the Daily Devotionals delivered to you every morning, text ‘dailydevotional’ to 97000.

1. In Pastor Ken’s 3/8/21 entry, Importunately, he challenges us to see prayer not as a formality, but as a“constant prayer for what we want from [God], our Father and our friend.” How are you moving toward embracing this way of relating to the King?
2. In Middle School Director, Cristina Schmitter’s, 3/11/21 entry, Receive, Not Earn, she said: [Jesus] picked us up, dusted us off, and said, “This one. This is the one I want.” How does this declaration over you erase the reasons why you think God can’t possibly love you, or won’t love you until ______?

Sermon Questions

Scripture: John 13:35; Luke 10:25-37

1. Share a story in your life where someone came into it and shared in your pain with the kind of love of John 13:35? What did empathy look like, and how did it make you feel?
2. Are you typically the observer, watching others go about their lives? Or are you the participant “jumping in and grabbing God’s hand” and helping them to live a better story?
3. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the three characters saw the situation differently and responded differently. In the bigger picture of life in 2021, how can our differences (rationales, fears, risks) still allow us to be part of the solution?
4. Knowing who you are now (Forever You, Child of God, More Than A Conqueror), how can you be part of a community who cares for one another with the love of John 13:35?

Go Deeper - with Goodbook

Dr. Mark Strauss and Pastor Ken Ingold
Week 9: Israel’s Poetry & Wisdom

1. What is the central theme of the book of Job? Does Job tell us the reason for human suffering? What does it tell us? How can this message help us in our daily lives?
2. Psalms is Israel’s worship book. But it is also ours. Do you have a favorite Psalm? Why is it special for you?
3. Proverbs are sometimes misunderstood. What are some important principles of interpretation when it comes to the Book of Proverbs?
4. What is the theme of the book of Ecclesiastes? Why do you think God would allow such a cynical book to appear in the Bible?
5. What are the main themes of the Song of Solomon? How has this book sometimes been misunderstood?

*Are you joining the Goodbook Q&A Zoom on Tuesday evenings? Email ken@thechurchrb.org

Serve

THIS WEEK! Get your Table Group together and connect with each other on a service project at our next Good Neighbor Day, Saturday, March 20! Register online or in your Church Center app.

Pray

Pray this week:
God, when I was laying on the side of the road in my hurt, You showed up with a Better Story! Thank You for showing me mercy. Help me this week to jump into someone’s pain with the love, mercy, compassion and kindness that comes only from You. Fill me with these things so that I can love them well. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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