AFTER THE SERMON-Love Is Essential
We hope today’s message was encouraging and helpful. Take a moment to process and discuss what God may be trying to say to everyone in your home or in your community group. If no one is with you, have a personal conversation with God, He is with you.
Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 The Good Samaritan
(Other Scriptures referenced: Isaiah 1:17; Romans 12:18-19; Ephesians 4:26-29; Acts 6:1; Ephesians 2:14; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:14; Philippians 2:3-5; James 1:19-20)
(If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read or paraphrase through some of the provided scripture to catch everyone up!)
Overview:
Two weeks ago, George Floyd’s death sent shockwaves through our nation and the world. The video of Floyd’s tragic death left everyone disturbed and unsettled. Our nation is hurting and peaceful protests turned to riots. What has bubbled to the surface in the past few weeks is the issue of racism, a sin that needs to be confronted head-on. The church’s response is key because we know that only the gospel of Jesus Christ can cause racism to die in a person’s heart. Pastor Ryan and Brandon covered a variety of areas on the climate of our nation, but most of all, they gave scriptural support for a variety of responses. The main response we should have is love for one another. The other response is working towards unity by listening, understanding, and validating the current emotions and realities of racism in our society. Lastly, we respond with spreading the gospel, the truth of Jesus Christ that has the power to transform lives. This is a hot topic and has stirred a lot of emotions and opinions. We ask that your discussion in the home or in your community group be one of sensitivity and grace. Let’s focus on what we can without question: racism needs to end and reconciliation needs to happen.
Takeaways:
The love of Jesus doesn’t pick and choose who to love. We can’t get out of loving others, even if they are our enemy. Jesus says to love your neighbor, this is anyone and everyone.
God’s love is Kingdom love and it’s radical to the world we live in.
The parable of the Good Samaritan proves you don’t have to be from the same tribe, the same race, the same ethnicity to love one another.
Jesus is asking us to simply love those who are hurting and need mercy.
Loving people can be uncomfortable, inconvenient, but it’s always the right thing to do.
Cancel out all the history you have, cancel out yourself right now, and care for the wellbeing of others. Put aside your own needs and think about the needs of those who are hurting.
Seek justice and defend the oppressed! Shed light and show empathy to those who are oppressed.
Laws don’t fix hearts, only Jesus can.
The gospel compels you to spread God’s love.
We speak faster than we think and we speak faster than we listen.
To LUV one another means we Listen…Understand…Validate.
Respond with a Biblical response, not a human response.
Look around, look at the people in your life, and look at what you can do to help through the lens of Jesus.
Sin is the issue. The Gospel is the answer. Love is our response.
Discussion:
What stuck out to you from today’s message and why?
What new insights did you take from the Good Samaritan story?
Why is it important that we LUV right now? (Listen Understand Validate)
Read Acts 6:1. In this scripture, we see that a particular race needed specific help and assistance. What other examples in history do we see where we’ve focused our mercy and support for a particular race? What examples do we see in scripture where Jesus concentrated on certain people in different situations?
Why is listening such a powerful form of love?
In what ways can we apply James 1:19 right now?
What does the Bible want us to do right now? Anything you would add to the discussion?
Challenge:
Get real with God. If you’ve ever had the disposition to think or display any form of racism, confess and ask God to change your heart.
Love your friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Listen to stories from people who are not like you. Seek to understand. Validate, and acknowledge their reality.
Pray:
Let’s pray that we see the fruit of peace and righteousness come out of this conflict. Let’s pray that the conversations we are having will also give us an opportunity to share the truth and love of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!