July 7, 2013 – Pastor Tim – “Compassion is Always Active”
Jesus told a parable about a man who stopped to help another. Luke 10:25-37 (NLT), “One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” “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.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 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.’
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.”
A Jewish man had been ambushed, stripped, robbed, and left for dead. A Jewish priest and a temple assistant passed by, saw the man, crossed over to the other side. A despised Samaritan came by, saw the man, and was filled with compassion. His compassion was translated into action: He soothed and bandaged the man’s wounds, took him to an inn, cared for him while he could, paid for all of his medical expenses, and then promised the innkeeper he would return to pay any additional expenses.
There are people around us who are suffering. Moved with compassion for their pain, let’s be those who stop to help. Recently I went to Haiti and I would like to show the video from that trip and then ask you to do something.
Hello church and Facebook friends, the task of feeding the hungry of the world is too big for just one person, but together we can do something great.
I would like us to do another “One Day to Feed the World.” This is an opportunity for friends from churches, organizations and businesses to give one day of their annual wages to help Convoy of Hope to feed hungry people, to meet immediate needs during times of disaster and to give people hope.
Here is how it will work. Our church has chosen Monday, July 22nd to be the day we will donate our wages and we will bring our offering on Sunday July 28th and you can participate with us. Put a little sticker on your shirt on July 22nd that says, “Today I’m Feeding the World. If anyone asks what it means, explain that you are donating that day’s wages to feed the hungry.
There are a few ways to give your “One Day to Feed the World” offering. You can come to Living Water A/G on July 28th, you can use our PayPal account on our website, www.livingwater.com/oneday/, or you can use the link on our website and pay directly to Convoy of Hope.
Here is a poem by Sper that goes along with today’s challenge:
Reach out in Jesus’ name
With hands of love and care
To those who are in need
And caught in life’s despair.