Podcasts about love your neighbor as yourself

Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." I. Why does he say this? II. What does it teach us about ourselves? III. What does it show us about why Jesus came?

Love Your Neighbor As Yourself: the Good Samaritan (Rest Pt. 4) by Pastor Mitch Coston

Odds are good that the person that has caused the most pain and suffering in your life is...you! If you're at all like me, you know that you can be lazy, mean, and sometimes even vicious if you do not keep a check on your natural weaknesses. So that's what we do! Sometimes we even come to dislike ourselves and treat ourselves in a way we would never let someone treat our children. Join me in this episode as I explore this issue that occurs in so many men, and how to respond to it in a Christ-like way. You are called to Love Your Neighbor As Yourself. We need to understand the second part of the sentence in order to fulfill the commandment. Love will the good - the real, deep, long-term good of the other! I also invite you to check out my free Manly Strengths Assessment at https://catholiclifecoachformen.com/manly-strengths-assessment-signup/

Is there ever a time where legitimate defense is justifiable? The Catechism answers this question and how it relates to honoring the dignity of the human person as we dive deeper into the fifth commandment. We learn about defense of ourselves and others, principles of crime and punishment, and capital punishment. Fr. Mike also explains the Church's current teaching on the death penalty and why it has changed over time. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 2263-2267. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

We begin exploring the fifth commandment: “you shall not kill”. The Catechism reminds us that human life is sacred, and we must not take the life of another innocent human. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus takes this commandment even further as he calls us to avoid anger, hatred, and vengeance in addition to loving our enemies. By forgiving and extending to others the same love and mercy we are willing to extend to ourselves, we are respecting the dignity of that person. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 2258-2262. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

God reveals himself and his glory through the Ten Commandments. We begin exploring the Ten Commandments as shown in the Catechism and learn about how these laws are not meant to limit us, but set us free from the slavery of sin. Fr. Mike reminds us that the Commandments are truly a gift from God and reflects his love for us. Today's readings are the Ten Commandments and Catechism paragraphs 2052-2063. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

We continue our overview of the Ten Commandments by looking at the two parts: love of God and love of neighbor. Together they form a “coherent whole,” and there is a unity between the two. While the Catechism shows us our obligation to follow the Commandments, it also reminds us that, “What God commands, he makes possible by his grace.” Fr. Mike emphasizes that even though it may be challenging at times, we are not alone. Jesus is here to help us keep his Commandments. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 2064-2082. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

We begin to look at social justice as outlined by the Catechism by diving into two aspects: respect for the human person and equality and differences among men. The dignity of the human person is at stake without social justice. Fr. Mike highlights that since we are all made in the image and likeness of God, we are all equal in dignity and are to love everyone including our enemies. With that, we must recognize that we are not all the same and work towards fairer conditions for all. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 1928-1938. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Living Truth Christian Fellowship Podcast

Speaker: Tom Thiessen Series: Leviticus Passage: Leviticus 19:9-18 The post Love Your Neighbor As Yourself appeared first on Gospel Church Durango.

We bring you vital information underserved or ignored by mainstream media. We are supported by listeners who share our mission.  Thanks to all our supporters! Today, host Richard Mabion will […] The post LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF – GOOD COMES BACK TO YOU appeared first on KKFI.

Loving God...Loving the Church...Loving Our Community and the World

Loving God...Loving the Church...Loving Our Community and the World

Who in your life currently needs you to be on your A game? In today's episode of My Morning Devotional, we dive into the topic of self-love and serving others. Reflect on the verse "love your neighbor as you love yourself" and discuss the idea of being on your A game to serve those around you.Stay tuned for more uplifting content as we approach our 1000th episode milestone!NEW TO MY MORNING DEVOTIONAL? We're so glad you're here! We're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in a church in Miami, FL, and we're so blessed to partner with the My Morning Devotional community and continue the great work done by the show's creator and our friend, Alison Delamota. Here's how to join our community! Subscribe to the show on this app Share this with a friend Follow Us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Facebook⁠ Subscribe to Our ⁠YouTube Channel⁠ ⁠Leave a review KEEP UP WITH ALISON: https://alisondelamota.com⁠⁠⁠⁠IG: https://instagram.com/alisondelamotahttps://instagram.com/delamarried

Pastor David is preaching a message titled "Love Your Neighbor As Yourself".

Matthew 5:43-48 The post Rev Dr David G Watermulder: “Love Your Neighbor As Yourself” (10/29/2023) appeared first on Presbyterian Church of Los Gatos.

Is there ever a time where legitimate defense is justifiable? The Catechism answers this question and how it relates to honoring the dignity of the human person as we dive deeper into the fifth commandment. We learn about defense of ourselves and others, principles of crime and punishment, and capital punishment. Fr. Mike also explains the Church's current teaching on the death penalty and why it has changed over time. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 2263-2267. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

We begin exploring the fifth commandment: “you shall not kill." The Catechism reminds us that human life is sacred, and we must not take the life of another innocent human. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus takes this commandment even further as he calls us to avoid anger, hatred, and vengeance in addition to loving our enemies. By forgiving and extending to others the same love and mercy we are willing to extend to ourselves, we are respecting the dignity of that person. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 2258-2262. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

We continue our overview of the Ten Commandments by looking at the two parts: love of God and love of neighbor. Together they form a “coherent whole,” and there is a unity between the two. While the Catechism shows us our obligation to follow the Commandments, it also reminds us that, “What God commands, he makes possible by his grace.” Fr. Mike emphasizes that even though it may be challenging at times, we are not alone. Jesus is here to help us keep his Commandments. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 2064-2082. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

God reveals himself and his glory through the Ten Commandments. We begin exploring the Ten Commandments as shown in the Catechism and learn about how these laws are not meant to limit us, but set us free from the slavery of sin. Fr. Mike reminds us that the Commandments are truly a gift from God and reflects his love for us. Today's readings are the Ten Commandments and Catechism paragraphs 2052-2063. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

We begin to look at social justice as outlined by the Catechism by diving into two aspects: respect for the human person and equality and differences among men. The dignity of the human person is at stake without social justice. Fr. Mike highlights that since we are all made in the image and likeness of God, we are all equal in dignity and are to love everyone including our enemies. With that, we must recognize that we are not all the same and work towards fairer conditions for all. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 1928-1938. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

The Second Greatest Commandment is to "Love Your Neighbor As Yourself." Sounds simple enough, right? Maybe not. First, what does it mean to love "yourself?" Most of us, if we spoke the truth, actually think very poorly of ourselves. We treat ourselves horribly, stealing from our own futures. We are unkind and speak to ourselves with anger. Then we proceed to "love" our neighbor in the same way. Join me in this episode as I talk about what we can do to better understand how to live this commandment out. It is not easy. Love is not some fairy-tale concept, but a series of actions, choices, and even a worldview that we go through. You are called to love many neighbors. Start by learning how to love yourself.

Pastor Rusty MiltonLeviticus 19:1-2; 9-17 ESV"Love Your Neighbor As Yourself"You cannot love God without doing justice and loving mercy. If you want to know how to live a holy life, then love your neighbor as yourself; have compassion on the poor; help the homeless, widows, orphans, sojourners, and the poor. To not care for the needy is to hide God's holiness to the world. The principal way God shows his glory to the world is through the charity and love of the Christian. Unfortunately, too often our focus is entirely on ourselves. How can we intentionally move toward loving our neighbor as ourselves? Focusing more on helping others than on our own gain; giving expecting nothing in return; and sharing the Gospel by way of showing others God's love.Leviticus 19English Standard VersionThe Lord Is Holy19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.5 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.Love Your Neighbor as Yourself9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life[a] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.You Shall Keep My Statutes19 “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.20 “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he

The second greatest commandment in Scripture is "Love Your Neighbor As Yourself".  But what is a neighbor? Is it simply the people next door? Sometimes we can get so used to an idea that it loses its meaning.  In this new series "How To Be A Good Neighbor", Pastor JD starts with the basic question "What Is A Neighbor?" Let's explore this ancient idea and renew our hearts and minds to see it with fresh eyes. Who can say this is not the solution you are looking for?

“Love Your Neighbor As Yourself.” But what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Do we truly understand the way Jesus Christ intended? Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.

In this 'EPISODE 271 WILL MANKIND BRING WORLD PEACE WITHOUT GOD? WHAT IS THE WAY TO PEACE? IS WORLD PEACE POSSIBLE IN OUR TIME? WHAT DID DANIEL, ISAIAH AND JESUS HIMSELF SAY ABOUT IT?' author and host Elbert Hardy shows us exactly how world peace not only IS possible but HOW and THROUGH WHOM...'

Why is Christianity awesome? Answering this question is a good exercise for us. So often we hear about why Christianity is terrible, especially in the eyes of the world. Many of these critiques are important and we should be humble enough to listen to problems, both real and perceived. However, my goal today is to focus on the positive. I'd like to spend some time just thinking about the goodness of our faith. I hope you will find it encouraging. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Notes —— Christianity makes sense of reality1. explains why anything exists2. explains why there is a beginning3. explains why creation is so good and beautiful4. explains why our world is so bad and ugly5. explains why laws of nature exist6. explains our desire for inclusiveness and fairness Christianity makes you a better person1. salvation from sin2. durable value3. ethical boundaries, duties, motives4. living hope Christianity makes society better1. salvation from sin2. durable value3. ethical boundaries, duties, motives4. living hope5. robust identity —— Links —— Support Restitutio by donating here Designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here

Most of us are quite familiar with the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan. But, in the divisive time in which we live, it bears rereading, and asking ourselves to identify who Jesus would tell us our neighbor is today.

Think you know what it means to love your neighbor as yourself? Take a listen & find out! Enlightening, Empowering, Challenging, & Life-Changing Mitzvah is inside this podcast! Love, Rabbi Garfinkel of Project 613

https://thehappyhomeschool.com/reading-matthew-chapter-22/

Part 22 of 23 in the series, "Belonging to Him." People like John-the-Baptist, Paul, and Jesus became "less" so that people could see more of God and ultimately, so they could belong to God. John modeled this in his words: "He must increase, but I must decrease." Becoming less doesn't belittle our self-worth. Rather, it's the path to finding our true self-worth and identity and genuinely sharing this quality of life with others. It's the best way to show others a love that comes from above, a love that invites us to belong to him and each other in the here-and-now (sermon recorded in 2019).

Part 21 of 23 in the series, "Belonging to Him." Unconditional love feels unreachable. But not when we belong to God. God's love for us can transform how well we love one another. And the second commandment to love is like the first. Loving others affects how well we belong to him (sermon recorded in 2019).

Saint Athanasius ChurchContra Mundum SwaggerVideo Version

It was the shot heard round the world.Martin Luther King, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4 in 1968 by James Earl Ray, a crazed racist. Dr. King had begun to emerge as the face, and more importantly the voice for America and even the world over for racial equality. King was an eloquent spokesman, learned academically, Christian in belief and determined to make a difference. He would never know the difference he would make.The assassin's bullet, deadly and accurate, was the beginning in many ways of a new awareness of racial inequalities primarily black and white, but really more than that. It was perhaps the beginning of a new consciousness, a new awareness of differences, diversity where all right-thinking men and women, of good faith, colorblind and Constitutional would begin to learn a new respect for each other and learn how to build different and better relationships. They would learn that the color of one's skin mattered not, but only the content of one's character, as Dr. Martin Luther King so eloquently said.The King assassination triggered a new Constitutional awareness of equality. All men and women says this precious document and of course words framed in our Declaration of Independence, are created equal, and each, EACH ONE has the Constitutionally guaranteed right to:LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESSWe the American people have heard those words over and again, perhaps too many times for them to be the living, life-guiding words they were meant to be. Equality between black and white existed on paper only. That was the problem. Frederick Douglass, the former slave in America eloquently stated the real problem:“THERE IS NO NEGRO PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM IS WHETHER OR NOT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE LOYALTY ENOUGH, HONOR ENOUGH, PATRIOTISM ENOUGH, TO LIVE UP TO THEIR OWN CONSTITUTION.”What we the American people had lost or perhaps never had was a loyalty, a faithfulness to our very own Constitution and Declaration of Independence. We had forsaken Constitutional commands and gone our own way, accepting slavery, injustice and inequality. We had lost our honor, our dignity as human beings and we saw too many people of color as UNEQUAL.We had lost our desire to LIVE UP to our very own Constitution and that disloyalty, dishonor, lack of patriotism and courage to live up to our Constitution was the real problem, the real cause of:RACISMIn fact, we the people had become unspiritual. We had failed to recognize that equality was divinely inspired, required and built as a fundamental precept into our Constitutional rights. The right of equality, and the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness was divine, inalienable, unconditional and it was un-American, un-Christian not to understand and LIVE UP to that great command. We had lost our way. Martin Luther King attempted to point us back, encouraged us to GET BACK to our roots, the fundamentals of America and begin anew to:LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELFWe made progress as a people. We abolished slavery. We began to learn how to live together, work together, forge bonds with one another although the progress was slow, and often painful. So slow, in fact, that it birthed the message of Martin Luther King in 1968. We listened to this eloquent champion of civil rights, equality and we respected not only his oratory, but the core and substance of his message. And, more progress was made even after his assassination. His ways were peaceful but many arose who chose violence as the answer, antidote to anger. We saw the rise of the Black Panthers and other aggressive, militant entities determined to get even and not necessarily get equality. But there were, in the day of Martin Luther King calm, still voices working, hoping, enduring and believing, like the NAACP and perhaps like the church itself. Martin Luther King was pastor, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. Churches, black and white adopted his message and proclaimed the Constitutional truth of equality. We listened, inched forward, painful progress but real, nonetheless. Churches became mixed, neither black nor white but for all persons regardless of color. Men and women, previously distant, became one in the love of Jesus Christ. That love grew relationships and destroyed the barriers of misunderstanding. It was the dawn of a new day where race relations were BORN AGAIN.Something better was on the way.Jesse Jackson, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a disciple of Martin Luther King, took over. He soon, however, many thought, lost the King vision of peaceful resistance and progress stalled. Suspicion and untrust ruled when there should have been new understandings. Other leaders, black and white did perhaps some good but it seemed as though the fundamental, underlying animosities continued to exist. It took action by individuals, by right-thinking private entities, by men and women one-on-one to begin to forge new relationships, new understandings, constantly chipping away at racism. It seemed a never-ending battle. Whether cultural, economic or educational, the great divide was always there. It undoubtedly exists today.Many Americans feel that the leadership of the last decade, BLACK AND WHITE, did not do enough to heal, create new understandings. Economic disparities continue to exist. Black youth for example, especially males found real employment almost impossible. Education, whether public or private seemed in many ways to forsake its real responsibilities. Cultures divided and segregated. And the leaders of the past decade, whether political, educational, spiritual or economic failed to further breakdown the great racial divide. It seems as though we continue to live in a day and age tense, separated if not segregated, with lingering suspicions and untrust. We seemingly have not learned that mankind is not about:THE COLOR OF SKINButTHE CONTENT OF ONE'S CHARACTERAll races and ethnicities unfortunately have prejudice. That prejudice can be expressed against other races and even in some cases, among and within one's very own race. We can in our very own country see misunderstandings between Irish and Italian, North and South, educated and uneducated. Prejudice is everywhere, EVERYWHERE and it is hard to distinguish between:PREJUDICE AND PREFERENCEWe seem to be more concerned with diversity, differences in people rather than to foster the one common bond we should all have:WE ARE ALL AMERICANSFirst and foremost: AMERICANS.We should be a people caught up in our Constitution, concerned with its preservation, living out as Frederick Douglass has so well said our Constitutional beliefs, chief of which is that:ALL MEN AND WOMEN ARE CREATED EQUAL!And religious prejudice goes on. Misunderstandings abound between Christian and Jew. Islam considers all others INFIDELS. Roman Catholics continue deep divides with Protestants. Denominations hunker down but independent churches and religious practice grow. There seems further splintering, divide, even isolation. We seem to grow farther apart from unity, oneness and true Americanism. There is still a long racial road to travel. For in more than one-half century since Martin Luther King, racial understanding and equality still has a long road to travel.Racial prejudice, even hatred, exists among all races. Many African Americans are prejudiced against whites. Racism can be a two-way street. It is wrong either way. Hear the words of a right-thinking African American woman living in the great State of Florida Ilene Yocum who spoke out courageously regarding the tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri and the killing of Michael Brown. Ms. Yocum said the following:“I AM EMBARRASSED BY THE SO-CALLED BLACK LEADERS INCLUDING OUR PRESIDENT FOR NOT TAKING THE HIGH ROAD ON THIS. INSTEAD, THEY PAMPER THE RIOTERS AND IGNORE THE RIGHTS OF THE OFFICER TO PROTECT HIMSELF. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT HAD THIS BEEN A BLACK POLICE OFFICER NONE OF THIS (THE MICHAEL BROWN SHOOTING) WOULD BE HAPPENING. OUR COUNTRY HAS COME A LONG WAY IN RACE RELATIONS BUT BY STOKING THE FIRE, WHO ARE THE REAL RACISTS? YES, RACISM OCCURS IN ALL RACES.”And indeed it does, Ms. Yocum, indeed it does. How interesting that this very right-thinking black lady and mother saw racism in the acts and the heart of even President Barack Hussein Obama himself. If racism does in fact exist at that level, how difficult it is for we the people to unite in love and peace.Ms. Yocum further believes that much of the problem of racism has to do with parents, and in fact the lack of parental teaching. She eloquently says:“AS PARENTS WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN RIGHT FROM WRONG. IN ORDER TO RECEIVE RESPECT, RESPECT MUST BE GIVEN, NOT ONLY TO OTHERS BUT TO ONESELF AND ESPECIALLY TO OUR LAWS AND AUTHORITY.”Courageous and convicting words, and as right as they can be. If parents do not teach, then the law means nothing. Riots, violence, chaos and disrespect reign and there is little hope for racial understanding, racial equality. Perhaps Ilene Yocum is a disciple of Martin Luther King, a 21st century voice for the real message in which he believed. We need more women like her. And finally, wonderful words for all Americans from Ilene Yocum:“WE ARE ALL AMERICANS AND MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN RACE. WE SHOULD BE PROUD TO LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO WORK FOR THEM, AND OUR FREEDOMS ARE PROTECTED BY OUR LAWS AND THOSE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO CHOOSE TO SERVE.”Brilliant, right on, special words of wisdom.We are or should be all of us Americans and Americans first even as we are members of the human race. Rather than dishonor or complain, we should all be proud to live in this great country. We should recognize that there are abundant opportunities no matter the economy available for all, all men and women regardless of the color of skin who want to work, really want to work, so well said, Ms. Yocum.And, we should be proud of and honor those brave men and women who choose to serve and protect us according to the laws of this great country. If we did that, all of that as Ms. Yocum so eloquently stated, racism would end in short order. We would live out the dream of Martin Luther King and of all men and women of goodwill who really want peace and love between the races. The end of racism can not come from political leaders, or educators, or from the world of economics. It can only come from men and women of goodwill, inspired by faith, truly believing in and living in the ways of the God who created these inalienable rights, reaching out, communicating, understanding and learning how to appreciate the different skin colors God created.A babe was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. The angels who announced his birth asked us to glorify God and to proclaim the Godly message from this birth to all mankind:PEACE ON EARTH AND GOODWILL TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN!If men and women really want peace, and the end of racial hatred and prejudice, take a fresh look at the Babe of Bethlehem. HE can show you the way to:LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF!Regardless of race or color.

Host Lois Matson examines our culture of self love and its opposite, selflessness. Self love, self care, and self respect are considered good things, but their commonality is self, rather than the other. The two tables of the Law are love to God and love to our neighbor. We need no command to love ourselves, as this comes naturally to us. Our curve (incurvatus in se) is inward, toward our own interests. Jesus our Savior turned outward, toward us, and gave His life for us and our salvation. Please send your comments, suggestions, and ideas for future shows to diceystuffpodcast@gmail.com. Do you have an idea for a Dicey Bible Story? Send it on in! Intro and outro vocals created with the voices from LOVO @ www.lovo.ai.

When thugs beat up a traveler, he is rescued by a man he despises.

Our love for one another is and will be a measure of our connection with God.

Luke wraps up our Love Your Neighbor As Yourself series thinking about the older brother of the Prodigal Son story.

Luke wraps up our Love Your Neighbor As Yourself series thinking about the older brother of the Prodigal Son story.

A new MP3 sermon from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church (OPC) is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Love Your Neighbor As Yourself Speaker: Douglas Withington Broadcaster: Pilgrim Presbyterian Church (OPC) Event: Sunday - PM Date: 2/14/2021 Bible: Leviticus 19:1-18 Length: 32 min.

It was the shot heard round the world.Martin Luther King, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4 in 1968 by James Earl Ray, a crazed racist.  Dr. King had begun to emerge as the face, and more importantly the voice for America and even the world over for racial equality.  King was an eloquent spokesman, learned academically, Christian in belief and determined to make a difference.  He would never know the difference he would make.The assassin's bullet, deadly and accurate, was the beginning in many ways of a new awareness of racial inequalities primarily black and white, but really more than that.  It was perhaps the beginning of a new consciousness, a new awareness of differences, diversity where all right-thinking men and women, of good faith, colorblind and Constitutional would begin to learn a new respect for each other and learn how to build different and better relationships.  They would learn that the color of one's skin mattered not, but only the content of one's character, as Dr. Martin Luther King so eloquently said.The King assassination triggered a new Constitutional awareness of equality.  All men and women says this precious document and of course words framed in our Declaration of Independence, are created equal, and each, EACH ONE has the Constitutionally guaranteed right to:LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESSWe the American people have heard those words over and again, perhaps too many times for them to be the living, life-guiding words they were meant to be.  Equality between black and white existed on paper only.That was the problem.  Frederick Douglass, the former slave in America eloquently stated the real problem:“THERE IS NO NEGRO PROBLEM.  THE PROBLEM IS WHETHER OR NOT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE LOYALTY ENOUGH, HONOR ENOUGH, PATRIOTISM ENOUGH, TO LIVE UP TO THEIR OWN CONSTITUTION.”What we the American people had lost or perhaps never had was a loyalty, a faithfulness to our very own Constitution and Declaration of Independence.  We had forsaken Constitutional commands and gone our own way, accepting slavery, injustice and inequality.  We had lost our honor, our dignity as human beings and we saw too many people of color as UNEQUAL.We had lost our desire to LIVE UP to our very own Constitution and that disloyalty, dishonor, lack of patriotism and courage to live up to our Constitution was the real problem, the real cause of:RACISMIn fact, we the people had become unspiritual.  We had failed to recognize that equality was divinely inspired, required and built as a fundamental precept into our Constitutional rights.  The right of equality, and the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness was divine, inalienable, unconditional and it was un-American, un-Christian not to understand and LIVE UP to that great command.  We had lost our way.  Martin Luther King attempted to point us back, encouraged us to GET BACK to our roots, the fundamentals of America and begin anew to:LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELFWe made progress as a people.  We abolished slavery.  We began to learn how to live together, work together, forge bonds with one another although the progress was slow, and often painful.  So slow, in fact, that it birthed the message of Martin Luther King in 1968.  We listened to this eloquent champion of civil rights, equality and we respected not only his oratory, but the core and substance of his message.  And, more progress was made even after his assassination.His ways were peaceful but many arose who chose violence as the answer, antidote to anger.  We saw the rise of the Black Panthers and other aggressive, militant entities determined to get even and not necessarily get equality.But there were, in the day of Martin Luther King calm, still voices working, hoping, enduring and believing, like the NAACP and perhaps like the church itself.  Martin Luther King was pastor, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.Churches, black and white adopted his message and proclaimed the Constitutional truth of equality.  We listened, inched forward, painful progress but real, nonetheless.  Churches became mixed, neither black nor white but for all persons regardless of color.Men and women, previously distant, became one in the love of Jesus Christ.  That love grew relationships and destroyed the barriers of misunderstanding.  It was the dawn of a new day where race relations were BORN AGAIN.Something better was on the way.Jesse Jackson, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a disciple of Martin Luther King, took over.He soon, however, many thought, lost the King vision of peaceful resistance and progress stalled.Suspicion and untrust ruled when there should have been new understandings.  Other leaders, black and white did perhaps some good but it seemed as though the fundamental, underlying animosities continued to exist.  It took action by individuals, by right-thinking private entities, by men and women one-on-one to begin to forge new relationships, new understandings, constantly chipping away at racism.  It seemed a never-ending battle.  Whether cultural, economic or educational, the great divide was always there.It undoubtedly exists today.Many Americans feel that the leadership of the last decade, BLACK AND WHITE, did not do enough to heal, create new understandings.  Economic disparities continue to exist.  Black youth for example, especially males found real employment almost impossible.  Education, whether public or private seemed in many ways to forsake its real responsibilities.  Cultures divided and segregated.  And the leaders of the past decade, whether political, educational, spiritual or economic failed to further breakdown the great racial divide.  It seems as though we continue to live in a day and age tense, separated if not segregated, with lingering suspicions and untrust.  We seemingly have not learned that mankind is not about:THE COLOR OF SKINButTHE CONTENT OF ONE'S CHARACTERAll races and ethnicities unfortunately have prejudice.  That prejudice can be expressed against other races and even in some cases, among and within one's very own race.  We can in our very own country see misunderstandings between Irish and Italian, North and South, educated and uneducated.  Prejudice is everywhere, EVERYWHERE and it is hard to distinguish between:PREJUDICE AND PREFERENCEWe seem to be more concerned with diversity, differences in people rather than to foster the one common bond we should all have:WE ARE ALL AMERICANSFirst and foremost: AMERICANS.We should be a people caught up in our Constitution, concerned with its preservation, living out as Frederick Douglass has so well said our Constitutional beliefs, chief of which is that:ALL MEN AND WOMEN ARE CREATED EQUAL!And religious prejudice goes on.  Misunderstandings abound between Christian and Jew.  Islam considers all others INFIDELS.  Roman Catholics continue deep divides with Protestants.  Denominations hunker down but independent churches and religious practice grow.  There seems further splintering, divide, even isolation.  We seem to grow farther apart from unity, oneness and true Americanism.There is still a long racial road to travel.  For in more than one-half century since Martin Luther King, racial understanding and equality still has a long road to travel.Racial prejudice, even hatred, exists among all races.  Many African Americans are prejudiced against whites.  Racism can be a two-way street.  It is wrong either way.  Hear the words of a right-thinking African American woman living in the great State of Florida Ilene Yocum who spoke out courageously regarding the tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri and the killing of Michael Brown.  Ms. Yocum said the following:“I AM EMBARRASSED BY THE SO-CALLED BLACK LEADERS INCLUDING OUR PRESIDENT FOR NOT TAKING THE HIGH ROAD ON THIS.  INSTEAD, THEY PAMPER THE RIOTERS AND IGNORE THE RIGHTS OF THE OFFICER TO PROTECT HIMSELF.  I TRULY BELIEVE THAT HAD THIS BEEN A BLACK POLICE OFFICER NONE OF THIS (THE MICHAEL BROWN SHOOTING) WOULD BE HAPPENING.  OUR COUNTRY HAS COME A LONG WAY IN RACE RELATIONS BUT BY STOKING THE FIRE, WHO ARE THE REAL RACISTS?  YES, RACISM OCCURS IN ALL RACES.”And indeed it does, Ms. Yocum, indeed it does.  How interesting that this very right-thinking black lady and mother saw racism in the acts and the heart of even President Barack Hussein Obama himself.  If racism does in fact exist at that level, how difficult it is for we the people to unite in love and peace.Ms. Yocum further believes that much of the problem of racism has to do with parents, and in fact the lack of parental teaching.  She eloquently says:“AS PARENTS WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN RIGHT FROM WRONG.  IN ORDER TO RECEIVE RESPECT, RESPECT MUST BE GIVEN, NOT ONLY TO OTHERS BUT TO ONESELF AND ESPECIALLY TO OUR LAWS AND AUTHORITY.”Courageous and convicting words, and as right as they can be.  If parents do not teach, then the law means nothing.  Riots, violence, chaos and disrespect reign and there is little hope for racial understanding, racial equality.  Perhaps Ilene Yocum is a disciple of Martin Luther King, a 21st century voice for the real message in which he believed.  We need more women like her. And finally, wonderful words for all Americans from Ilene Yocum:“WE ARE ALL AMERICANS AND MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN RACE.  WE SHOULD BE PROUD TO LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO WORK FOR THEM, AND OUR FREEDOMS ARE PROTECTED BY OUR LAWS AND THOSE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO CHOOSE TO SERVE.”Brilliant, right on, special words of wisdom.We are or should be all of us Americans and Americans first even as we are members of the human race. Rather than dishonor or complain, we should all be proud to live in this great country.  We should recognize that there are abundant opportunities no matter the economy available for all, all men and women regardless of the color of skin who want to work, really want to work, so well said, Ms. Yocum.And, we should be proud of and honor those brave men and women who choose to serve and protect us according to the laws of this great country.  If we did that, all of that as Ms. Yocum so eloquently stated, racism would end in short order.  We would live out the dream of Martin Luther King and of all men and women of goodwill who really want peace and love between the races.  The end of racism can not come from political leaders, or educators, or from the world of economics.  It can only come from men and women of goodwill, inspired by faith, truly believing in and living in the ways of the God who created these inalienable rights, reaching out, communicating, understanding and learning how to appreciate the different skin colors God created.A babe was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.  The angels who announced his birth asked us to glorify God and to proclaim the Godly message from this birth to all mankind:PEACE ON EARTH AND GOODWILL TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN!If men and women really want peace, and the end of racial hatred and prejudice, take a fresh look at the Babe of Bethlehem.  HE can show you the way to:LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF!Regardless of race or color.

Love Your Neighbor As Yourself is the second great commandment of Jesus. It immediately follows His commandment of loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul. As we continue with the Covenant Series, our special guest Elder W. L. Dunham and Tasha Lallemand discuss with me how to Love Your Neighbor, especially during some hard times, when people have different belief systems or when someones hurt you. Tune in as we touch on these topics.Sometimes it may be difficult... In our walk with Christ, we strive to live a life pleasing to Him. This conversation digs deep into how we can open ourselves to loving others as well as ourselves.If this conversation moved you or you have an opinion, please leave a comment.

“Love Your Neighbor As Yourself” Homily from the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. God desires for us to “get along, and not just to get along, but to get along so profoundly, so deeply that we could agree to something and pray about something before the heavenly Father. That we could be united in our hearts for what we intercede for, what we pray about.”

038 – There's a key in the Bible that explains the only way to really love yourself.It's about reflecting God's love.But it's way too easy to think of all the reasons why you have a hard time loving yourself. Here are just a few I have struggled with:People say it's selfish to love yourselfYou don't feel worthy because of past mistakesThinking you have to be perfect before you or anyone can love youA bad relationship that ended because the other person didn't know how to love themselves or you, but you end up thinking you are not lovable when it was their fault.A heavy atmosphere of guilt and shame from culture or religion In this episode, I share some very personal experiences that helped me learn to love myself. It comes down to learning to love others as well. But the real key is to realize that God is the source of the love and you are not. Learn to love yourself and others with God's love instead of your human love. It will make all the difference in how you see yourself and others, how you treat yourself and others, and how you love yourself and others.For all the Bible quotes in this episode, please check out the shownotes: thebiblepseakstoyou.com/038Thanks for listening. I'd love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of help in any way on your spiritual journey.Blessings,JamesTo register for the 10 week class, The New Testament Angels Still Speak to Us Today, go to Angel ClassSupport the show

Pastor Ron continues the Won't You Be My Neighbor series as he looks at Matthew 22:39 & Luke 5:1-7 for this message titled Love Your Neighbor As Yourself.

  16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what [essentially] good thing shall I do to obtain eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”17 Jesus answered, “Why are you asking Me about what is [essentially] good? There is only One who is [essentially] good; but if you wish to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Jesus, “Which commandments?” And Jesus answered, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY; 19 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others]. 20 The young man said to Him, “I have kept all these things [from my youth]; what do I still lack?” (Matthew 19:16-20 Amplified Bible or AMP) The rich young ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to obtain (other translations- “inherit”) eternal life.” (Matthew 19:16) Jesus taught the rich young ruler about the qualifications for obtaining eternal life. His answer is like a loaded cannon! His answer will completely confuse most people because it sounds foreign to their evangelical thinking. It sounds like Jesus was telling the rich young ruler about getting saved by good works. The entire assumption is based on a wrong premise if that is what is seen in Jesus' answer. There is nothing weird or out of place with the comments of Jesus. This was not “law or works thinking” as opposed to grace. If you believe Jesus was “under the law” and Paul was “under grace,” you have been subjected to wrong Biblical interpretation! Firstly, we should understand that the man Jesus was speaking to, the rich young ruler, was not a Gentile. He was far from it. The rich young ruler was a Jewish man, circumcised the eighth day (as all Jewish boys were), and would have entered covenant responsibility between 12 and 13 years of age. He became responsible for covenant obedience according to the Judaism of his day. He had kept the basic commandments (moral ones) from his youth, or from his entering covenant responsibility, what historically became known later as the Bar-Mitzvah. (1) Why did the rich young ruler ask Jesus which were the commandments He was referring to in order to obtain or inherit eternal life? The commandments can be divided for the purposes of Christianity into the moral and judicial guidelines categories, and on the other side were those that addressed ritual activity in the Temple of God, priesthood, animal blood sacrifices, feasts and festivals, Sabbath days, food laws, and so on. For simplicity’s sake, I refer to them as the moral commandments and ceremonial or ritual commandments. That is not an artificial division to the commandments because after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A. D., moral and judicial commandments came to the forefront as the only ones that Jews could continue to observe. (2) All ritual or ceremonial commandments dependent on Temple and priesthood became obsolete and passed away into history. Judaism was reinvented in the latter part of the 1st century and into the 2nd century without the Temple and priesthood services in Jerusalem. (3) Jewish leaders understood that the 613 commandments of God’s law were reduced to 369 laws when the Temple was destroyed. (4) Other Jewish sources say only 244 commandments or 40% were and are applicable! (5) Only the moral and judicial laws and commandments were left. Feasts, festivals, and Sabbath observances were reinvented so they could be practiced without animal sacrifices. Even circumcision of a male child on the eighth day was within the framework of the mother offering a sacrifice in the Temple for her purification after childbirth. (6) That was no longer applicable without Temple, priesthood, and animal sacrifices. Today, Jews continue to practice Sabbaths and the festivals without offering animal sacrifices. According to the apostle Paul’s teaching and the conclusions reached by the Jerusalem church council in Acts 15, Christians converted among the Gentiles were not required to keep Sabbath days, circumcision, or any of the feasts and festivals of Israel. They were required to continue to uphold and keep moral commandments and guidelines. If you have questions along these lines, and how these historical facts affect your Christian walk today, please see my detailed 62 page PDF by using this link, “Did the Grace of God Cancel Biblical Commandments”. There are many wrong teachings floating among Christians concerning law and grace, and the difference between ritual and moral commandments, and whether we should obey moral commandments or not. Paul was emphatically clear about the subject, but the problem is many have been reading his statements without understanding the historical context. Many have interpreted some verses in ways that Paul never intended while at the same time rejecting some things he wrote about the commandments and the law of Moses. My 62-page mini-book will open your eyes with many Scripture references and a historical background, and it is free of charge! Let me get back to the words of Jesus to the rich young ruler. Do you mean to tell me that there could be a connection to eternal life and the follower of Jesus keeping God’s moral commandments? Some would be too quick to yell, “NO!” Yes, there is a connection, according to Jesus. Jesus taught it. What you must decide is whether you will believe the words of Jesus or not. Moral commandments are important eternally, but ONLY for those already in a covenant relationship with the Father! Commandments originated in the Father and Jesus ONLY taught what He heard from the Father in Heaven. (John 7:16) What does the above mean for believers today? After you come to Jesus and receive God’s gift in redemption, you are expected to live a moral life, that is IF you want to hold fast to eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:12, 19) If you sin, you must confess your sin before God and receive forgiveness and cleansing from UN-righteousness. You need to get it right with God and get sin purged out of your life by the Blood of Jesus! (See 1 John 1:7-10, 2:1, 2) For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Romans 13:9, 10 NKJV) The love commandment at the end of the statement of Jesus in Matthew 19:19 and Paul's statement above in Romans 13:10 are not a replacement or even a rejection of the other holy moral commandments of God. Jesus nor Paul ever taught that nonsense, though many Christians teach it as the gospel truth! Paul writes that love is a SUMMARY of what it means to live a holy life before God. God’s moral commandments are holy, just, good and spiritual according to Paul in Romans 7:12 and 14. Read the text please and get your theology straight! The commandments of God were NEVER fleshly or carnal or so burdensome that nobody could keep them. That "no one could keep them" is traditional religious baloney! The rich young ruler kept the moral commandments impeccably from his youth, and he did that BEFORE he was a follower of Jesus, and BEFORE the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost! The idea that “God’s commandments were hard to keep” was a Satan-invented lie to get Christian people to live their lives cringing against anything called a commandment and making them feel less responsible for keeping them. The apostle John taught the exact opposite to the “no one could keep the commandments of God” ignorance, and the “they were too hard to keep” foolishness. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:2, 3 NKJV) “Not burdensome” means that God’s Holy guidelines (moral commandments) for living in this world were not a “heavy weight” like a mule carrying a heavy load. No mules here! Commandments are a part of our yoke in Christ, and His yoke is easy, and His burden is light! (See Matthew 11:28-30.) Notice that the love of God is that we keep (obey) His commandments. When you understand that properly, you will get the truth that John was teaching the same thing Paul wrote when he quoted some of God’s moral commandments and stated that all of God’s moral commandments were SUMMED UP in the love commandment. Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Matthew 19:18-19 NKJV) None of those moral commandments were burdensome or “hard to keep.” That was and is true, especially for the born again and committed believer. The moral commandments are easy because we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us to live in holiness. He isn’t called the HOLY Spirit for nothing! The Father is a holy God, and Jesus is a holy Lord that empowers His followers to live holy lives before God. When you first come to Jesus and make Him Lord of your life, He will accept you as you are, but He does not want you to stay that way. Jesus will forgive, cleanse, heal, and deliver you, but the Lord expects transformation out of us as believers. (See Romans 12:1, 2 in the Amplified Bible.) But I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance. (Acts 26:20 NET) Good works (deeds) are not how we got saved but they do demonstrate repentance AFTER you receive Jesus. “Performing deeds consistent with repentance” is holiness. The behavior of a Christian should be one that breathes and lives holiness. It is the will of God that we live a holy life. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.) Holiness is not bondage. Holy behavior is a prerequisite of the Christian life. We serve a holy God and a holy Lord by the power of the HOLY Spirit. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” (1 Peter 1:14-16 NASB) Once you begin to follow Jesus, there must be a change of lifestyle. It is never “come to Jesus and then sin all you want because He loves you.” Some have espoused the twisted theology that this is what love does. Did Jesus agree with the idea of “love will overlook my sins as a Christian even if I don’t repent?” Not according to Jesus. “And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God” (Luke 13:3, 5 New Living Translation). The message of Jesus was one of repentance, turning from devilish lifestyles, and serving and loving God. Not ONE verse in the Gospels ever insinuates acceptance of sin and darkness, but a rejection of sin and evil ways. Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11 NKJV). He said to the healed (former) blind man, “Go and sin no more so something worse does not come on you” (John 5:14 NKJV). Continuing in a sinful lifestyle is not an option for the follower of Jesus! The words of Jesus are filled with living a holy lifestyle in obedience to God, His Word, and commandments. What did Jesus preach and teach everywhere? Here was a huge part of it. He (Jesus) said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!” (Mark 1:15 New English Translation) The Scriptural pattern of the Christian life is also found in the book of Revelation. 10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ, for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.” … 17 And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus. (Revelation 12:10-12, 17 New Living Translation) I quoted a larger portion than verse 17 so that you would see that all who keep the commandments of God and maintain their faith in Jesus are believers in Christ Jesus that serve and obey Him. Note the two-fold description of true believers in Christ. They keep the commandments (moral commandments) of God AND maintain their faith in Jesus. It is not only keeping the commandments, and it is not having faith in Jesus alone. It is both! Here is [encouragement for] the steadfast endurance of the saints (God’s people), those who habitually keep God’s commandments and their faith in Jesus. (Revelation 14:12 Amplified Bible or AMP) Who are the real saints or God’s people? Are they those that have a regard for their church dogma or declaration of faith? Are the real believers those that have a mental agreement with the facts about the life and resurrection of Jesus? Are the real people of God those that made a confession of Jesus as their Lord at some point in their life but now habitually live in sin? No, a thousand times no! The real believers are those who habitually keep God’s moral commandments AND their faith in Jesus. Jesus answered the rich young ruler, “…But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He (the rich young ruler) said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The rich young ruler answered Jesus that those commandments he kept from his youth, but he knew that something was missing. Watch this closely. 20 The young man said to Him, “I have kept all these things [from my youth]; what do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered him, “If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” 22 But when the young man heard this, he left grieving and distressed, for he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God]. (Matthew 19:20-22 AMP) Do you see it? What the man lacked in his commandment keeping was obedience to God with his giving (because money or “stuff” controlled him), and becoming a true believer by following Jesus. Jesus taught him that commandment keeping was a part of the equation to eternal life, but there was more to it than that. He needed to fully commit to Jesus and follow Him unreservedly. That was the way he was going to be perfect or have the spiritual maturity that accompanied godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies. Jesus was calling the rich young ruler to discipleship, and possibly, in his case, to apostleship. That man could have replaced Judas Iscariot as the one that handled the money for Jesus and His staff. He missed his call to become a true follower of Jesus.  Do you see how this meshes perfectly with Revelation 12:17 and 14:12? The true follower of Jesus will obey God’s moral commandments and maintain his or her faith in Jesus.  To believers, Christians, or followers of Jesus, Paul makes this statement: Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is keeping the commandments of God. (1 Corinthians 7:19 AMP) He was not making that statement to the ungodly but to born-again, tongue talking Christians. After you come to Jesus and get baptized in the Holy Spirit and begin speaking and praying in tongue, the next step is transformation by becoming a doer of the Word. (See Romans 12:2, and James 1:22.) That means that holiness is now on your radar everyday, and you are a practitioner, doer, or keeper of the moral commandments of God.    ______________________ NOTES: (1) Although Bar-Mitzvah today is celebrated differently, we know it has ancient roots as recorded in the Talmud. Jesus was examined by the Temple priests and teachers at the age of 12. (Luke 2:41–52) “All who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” (Luke 2:47) Most likely, that is the oldest record of a “Bar Mitzvah” or when a child's understanding of Scripture is scrutinized and subject to rabbinical approval in order to become a part of the adult community of observant Jews. Do you understand that this in the ONLY event recorded about Jesus’ youth, and that it happened when he was 12 years old? That means that this was an especially important event in His life. Why were Joseph and Mary not there if it was so important? Could this scrutiny among the priests and teachers have started earlier, and they thought it was finished, so they left thinking Jesus was with the other children that went through the same process of scrutiny? They were surprised that Jesus extended His stay because, “He must be about His Father’s business.” He was already taking his adult covenant responsibility VERY seriously. (2) Jews divided commandments by positive and negative ones. There were 248 “do’s, and 365 don’ts. Without Temple or priesthood, of the 248 do’s only 126 are applicable today among religious Jews. Of the 365 don’ts there were left applicable 243. See http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm , but see article in note 5.(3) Jewish commentaries on the history of Judaism after the destruction of the Second Temple teach it this way. As an example see: http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/1362/forgotten-hero-of-tisha-bav-enabled-judaism-to-survive-exile/ ; also look at the following: http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/yohanan-ben-zakkai.html ; https://www.jweekly.com/1995/08/04/forgotten-hero-of-tisha-b-av-enabled-judaism-to-survive-exile/ . For more information, see Jacob Neusner, A Life of Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai (1960). (4) Nobody knows this better than the Jews! See: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/541686/jewish/How-Many-ofthe-Torahs-Commandments-Still-Apply.htm (5) “Of the 613 commandments, only 411 don't require the Temple (202, or about a third, do); of these, only 369 commandments are applicable today (42 pertain to slaves, kings, nazirs, etc.); of these, only 270 apply always, regardless of circumstances (99 require special circumstances, e.g., "don’t be late in fulfilling a vow" applies only if you make a vow; likewise, parapet around roof, paying laborer on time, etc.); -of these, only 244 apply outside Israel. (26 apply only in Israel.) So, for most Jews, only 244, or 40%, of the mitzvot apply.” Quoted from the following article: https://images.shulcloud.com/618/uploads/PDFs/Divrei_Torah/150523-the-613-commandments-shavuot.pdf (6) That would seem to be the implication of Luke 2:21-24 and Leviticus 12:1-7. Many believe there was no connection, but the context in both passages may confirm there was a covenant connection. See the following articles for additional insight: https://www.thetorah.com/article/mother-and-child-postpartum-defilement-and-circumcision ; https://www.algemeiner.com/2012/03/30/the-blood-of-menstruation-is-covenantal-blood/ . I only bring this up because if that was the case, once the Temple was destroyed in 70 A. D. (CE), the covenant rite of circumcision also lost important connections to blood sacrifice and Temple worship. After the Temple’s destruction these sacrifices in Leviticus 12:1-7 that were connected to the purification of the woman after childbirth and covenant circumcision, these could no longer be offered. Listen to the next podcast in the series: Repentance- Part 9. It will answer many questions for you on the difference between righteousness as a gift, and righteousness as the lifestyle of the believer. There is much confusion in the area of righteousness and what the difference is between Romans 3:25, 26; 5:17 (the gift of righteousness) and what John taught in 1 John 2:29 and 3:7, 8, 10 (the righteous lifestyle- See the verses in NKJV or NET.) Don't miss it! If we are righteous in Christ, and that is supposedly an unchangeable status, why do we need to be cleansed from UNrighteousness if we sin (1 John 1:9)? Get answers in this podcast, and never be confused about the subject again. Be blessed!

It was the shot heard round the world.Martin Luther King, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4 in 1968 by James Earl Ray, a crazed racist. Dr. King had begun to emerge as the face, and more importantly the voice for America and even the world over for racial equality. King was an eloquent spokesman, learned academically, Christian in belief and determined to make a difference. He would never know the difference he would make.The assassin's bullet, deadly and accurate, was the beginning in many ways of a new awareness of racial inequalities primarily black and white, but really more than that. It was perhaps the beginning of a new consciousness, a new awareness of differences, diversity where all right-thinking men and women, of good faith, colorblind and Constitutional would begin to learn a new respect for each other and learn how to build different and better relationships. They would learn that the color of one's skin mattered not, but only the content of one's character, as Dr. Martin Luther King so eloquently said.The King assassination triggered a new Constitutional awareness of equality. All men and women says this precious document and of course words framed in our Declaration of Independence, are created equal, and each, EACH ONE has the Constitutionally guaranteed right to:LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESSWe the American people have heard those words over and again, perhaps too many times for them to be the living, life-guiding words they were meant to be. Equality between black and white existed on paper only. That was the problem. Frederick Douglass, the former slave in America eloquently stated the real problem:“THERE IS NO NEGRO PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM IS WHETHER OR NOT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE LOYALTY ENOUGH, HONOR ENOUGH, PATRIOTISM ENOUGH, TO LIVE UP TO THEIR OWN CONSTITUTION.”What we the American people had lost or perhaps never had was a loyalty, a faithfulness to our very own Constitution and Declaration of Independence. We had forsaken Constitutional commands and gone our own way, accepting slavery, injustice and inequality. We had lost our honor, our dignity as human beings and we saw too many people of color as UNEQUAL.We had lost our desire to LIVE UP to our very own Constitution and that disloyalty, dishonor, lack of patriotism and courage to live up to our Constitution was the real problem, the real cause of:RACISMIn fact, we the people had become unspiritual. We had failed to recognize that equality was divinely inspired, required and built as a fundamental precept into our Constitutional rights. The right of equality, and the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness was divine, inalienable, unconditional and it was un-American, un-Christian not to understand and LIVE UP to that great command. We had lost our way. Martin Luther King attempted to point us back, encouraged us to GET BACK to our roots, the fundamentals of America and begin anew to:LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELFWe made progress as a people. We abolished slavery. We began to learn how to live together, work together, forge bonds with one another although the progress was slow, and often painful. So slow, in fact, that it birthed the message of Martin Luther King in 1968. We listened to this eloquent champion of civil rights, equality and we respected not only his oratory, but the core and substance of his message. And, more progress was made even after his assassination. His ways were peaceful but many arose who chose violence as the answer, antidote to anger. We saw the rise of the Black Panthers and other aggressive, militant entities determined to get even and not necessarily get equality. But there were, in the day of Martin Luther King calm, still voices working, hoping, enduring and believing, like the NAACP and perhaps like the church itself. Martin Luther King was pastor, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. Churches, black and white adopted his message and proclaimed the Constitutional truth of equality. We listened, inched forward, painful progress but real, nonetheless. Churches became mixed, neither black nor white but for all persons regardless of color. Men and women, previously distant, became one in the love of Jesus Christ. That love grew relationships and destroyed the barriers of misunderstanding. It was the dawn of a new day where race relations were BORN AGAIN.Something better was on the way.Jesse Jackson, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a disciple of Martin Luther King, took over. He soon, however, many thought, lost the King vision of peaceful resistance and progress stalled. Suspicion and untrust ruled when there should have been new understandings. Other leaders, black and white did perhaps some good but it seemed as though the fundamental, underlying animosities continued to exist. It took action by individuals, by right-thinking private entities, by men and women one-on-one to begin to forge new relationships, new understandings, constantly chipping away at racism. It seemed a never-ending battle. Whether cultural, economic or educational, the great divide was always there. It undoubtedly exists today.Many Americans feel that the leadership of the last decade, BLACK AND WHITE, did not do enough to heal, create new understandings. Economic disparities continue to exist. Black youth for example, especially males found real employment almost impossible. Education, whether public or private seemed in many ways to forsake its real responsibilities. Cultures divided and segregated. And the leaders of the past decade, whether political, educational, spiritual or economic failed to further breakdown the great racial divide. It seems as though we continue to live in a day and age tense, separated if not segregated, with lingering suspicions and untrust. We seemingly have not learned that mankind is not about:THE COLOR OF SKINButTHE CONTENT OF ONE'S CHARACTERAll races and ethnicities unfortunately have prejudice. That prejudice can be expressed against other races and even in some cases, among and within one's very own race. We can in our very own country see misunderstandings between Irish and Italian, North and South, educated and uneducated. Prejudice is everywhere, EVERYWHERE and it is hard to distinguish between:PREJUDICE AND PREFERENCEWe seem to be more concerned with diversity, differences in people rather than to foster the one common bond we should all have:WE ARE ALL AMERICANSFirst and foremost: AMERICANS.We should be a people caught up in our Constitution, concerned with its preservation, living out as Frederick Douglass has so well said our Constitutional beliefs, chief of which is that:ALL MEN AND WOMEN ARE CREATED EQUAL!And religious prejudice goes on. Misunderstandings abound between Christian and Jew. Islam considers all others INFIDELS. Roman Catholics continue deep divides with Protestants. Denominations hunker down but independent churches and religious practice grow. There seems further splintering, divide, even isolation. We seem to grow farther apart from unity, oneness and true Americanism. There is still a long racial road to travel. For in more than one-half century since Martin Luther King, racial understanding and equality still has a long road to travel.Racial prejudice, even hatred, exists among all races. Many African Americans are prejudiced against whites. Racism can be a two-way street. It is wrong either way. Hear the words of a right-thinking African American woman living in the great State of Florida Ilene Yocum who spoke out courageously regarding the tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri and the killing of Michael Brown. Ms. Yocum said the following:“I AM EMBARRASSED BY THE SO-CALLED BLACK LEADERS INCLUDING OUR PRESIDENT FOR NOT TAKING THE HIGH ROAD ON THIS. INSTEAD, THEY PAMPER THE RIOTERS AND IGNORE THE RIGHTS OF THE OFFICER TO PROTECT HIMSELF. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT HAD THIS BEEN A BLACK POLICE OFFICER NONE OF THIS (THE MICHAEL BROWN SHOOTING) WOULD BE HAPPENING. OUR COUNTRY HAS COME A LONG WAY IN RACE RELATIONS BUT BY STOKING THE FIRE, WHO ARE THE REAL RACISTS? YES, RACISM OCCURS IN ALL RACES.”And indeed it does, Ms. Yocum, indeed it does. How interesting that this very right-thinking black lady and mother saw racism in the acts and the heart of even President Barack Hussein Obama himself. If racism does in fact exist at that level, how difficult it is for we the people to unite in love and peace.Ms. Yocum further believes that much of the problem of racism has to do with parents, and in fact the lack of parental teaching. She eloquently says:“AS PARENTS WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN RIGHT FROM WRONG. IN ORDER TO RECEIVE RESPECT, RESPECT MUST BE GIVEN, NOT ONLY TO OTHERS BUT TO ONESELF AND ESPECIALLY TO OUR LAWS AND AUTHORITY.”Courageous and convicting words, and as right as they can be. If parents do not teach, then the law means nothing. Riots, violence, chaos and disrespect reign and there is little hope for racial understanding, racial equality. Perhaps Ilene Yocum is a disciple of Martin Luther King, a 21st century voice for the real message in which he believed. We need more women like her.And finally, wonderful words for all Americans from Ilene Yocum:“WE ARE ALL AMERICANS AND MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN RACE. WE SHOULD BE PROUD TO LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO WORK FOR THEM, AND OUR FREEDOMS ARE PROTECTED BY OUR LAWS AND THOSE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO CHOOSE TO SERVE.”Brilliant, right on, special words of wisdom.We are or should be all of us Americans and Americans first even as we are members of the human race.Rather than dishonor or complain, we should all be proud to live in this great country. We should recognize that there are abundant opportunities no matter the economy available for all, all men and women regardless of the color of skin who want to work, really want to work, so well said, Ms. Yocum.And, we should be proud of and honor those brave men and women who choose to serve and protect us according to the laws of this great country. If we did that, all of that as Ms. Yocum so eloquently stated, racism would end in short order. We would live out the dream of Martin Luther King and of all men and women of goodwill who really want peace and love between the races. The end of racism can not come from political leaders, or educators, or from the world of economics. It can only come from men and women of goodwill, inspired by faith, truly believing in and living in the ways of the God who created these inalienable rights, reaching out, communicating, understanding and learning how to appreciate the different skin colors God created.A babe was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. The angels who announced his birth asked us to glorify God and to proclaim the Godly message from this birth to all mankind:PEACE ON EARTH AND GOODWILL TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN!If men and women really want peace, and the end of racial hatred and prejudice, take a fresh look at the Babe of Bethlehem. HE can show you the way to:LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF!Regardless of race or color.

The Jar Community Church

Luke 10:25-37: The Samaritan teaches us several important lessons. First, God comes where we least expect God to be, because God comes for all and to all. Second, “loving” looks like helping those in need. And third, the Samaritan, the one who acted as a neighbor, crossed a boundary. The hatred between Samaritans and Judeans went both ways, and yet this Samaritan stepped outside of his national and ethnic loyalty. He did not say, “You aren’t my people; I save my compassion for my own people.” He crossed a boundary that was a hard and fast line to Jesus’ listeners. When Jesus says, “Go and do likewise,” that’s boundary crossing is part of what he’s telling us to do. We are to have a higher, broader, deeper loyalty – a loyalty to the well-being of all God’s beloved children, not just to the ones who look and speak and act like us.

Cring takes us on a journey to recover some of the things we've lost, beginning this week with Part 1: L.Y.N.A.Y.--Love Your Neighbor As Yourself. Good news and better news: a weekly podcast where we endeavor to put the pin back in the grenade.  We just take a little time to talk some common sense, laugh a lot, sometimes play some music, and leave refreshed. After all, humanity isn't really hopeless--we just have a tendency to act helpless. Be sure to also check out Cring's daily blog: Jonathots Daily Blog, a bit of entertaining inspiration with a humorous twist--and a different approach every day. It can be found at https://jonathots.wordpress.com/. Then there's Jonathots, Jr.!  "A Thoughtful Way to Start Your Day" in just a sentence of two. And don't fail to check out Words from Dic(tionary)--Jonathan's mostly humorous take on the definitions of words--in the dictionary order. We invite you to join us on this journey. We've decided to abstain the race--we just want to enjoy the human walk together.  

In this episode, Scott talks about some of the implications involved if we take seriously the precept "Love Your Neighbor As Yourself". --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/emergingovercomers/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/emergingovercomers/support

17 | Love Your Neighbor As Yourself by James H. Cain

An entire new way of looking at Love Your Neighbor As Yourself. I invite you to be brave enough to love yourself.

TODAY'S SERMON NOTES MATTHEW 16:18-19 NLT (Jesus said) Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock'), and upon this rock I WILL BUILD my CHURCH, and all the POWERS OF HELL WILL NOT CONQUER IT. 19 And I will give you the KEYS OF THE KINGDOM of Heaven. Whatever you FORBID on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you PERMITon earth will be permitted in heaven."   CHURCH = EKKLESIA = ASSEMBLY = YOU!   Church was never to be a merely… A building to GO TO, Or corporation to be CONTROLLED BY, Or the spiritual finish line to MARK OFF.   The church was to be the central powerhouse for a movement. Church is about leading people through the systems, relationships and tools that transform them at the deepest levels, and thereby transforming marriages, recovering addictions, healing relationships, empowering vocational aspirations, and breathing life into inspired-dreams; giving us a purpose to live… and die for. When church attenders UNDERSTAND, INTEGRATE and APPLY THE FUNCTIONS of this movement, it changes their lives, then they too become the embodiment of the movement to outsiders. This is how we arrive at our commission, to go into all the world and preach the gospel.     MATTHEW 16:18-19 NLT (Jesus said) I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH…   CHURCH MACRO PURPOSES & SYSTEMS EVANGELISM RELATIONSHIPS SPIRITUAL TRAINING MINISTRY WORSHIP   THE GREAT COMMISSION MATTHEW 28:18-20 NKJV And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "GO therefore and make DISCIPLES of all the nations, BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "TEACHING them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. “Go and make disciples…” - EVANGELISM “…baptizing them…” - RELATIONSHIPS “…teaching them to obey…” - SPIRITUAL TRAINING   THE GREAT COMMANDMENT MATTHEW 22:37-40 NKJV Jesus said to him, "'You shall LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." “Love the Lord your God…” - WORSHIP “Love your neighbor as yourself…” - MINISTRY   5 MACRO PURPOSES OF THE CHURCH GREAT COMMISSION & COMMANDMENT - IN SEQUENCE “Go and make disciples…” - EVANGELISM “…baptizing them…” - RELATIONSHIPS “…teaching them to obey…” - SPIRITUAL TRAINING “Love your neighbor as yourself…” – MINISTRY “Love the Lord your God…” - WORSHIP   PAUL AND THE 5 MACRO PURPOSES COLOSSIANS 1:28-29 We PROCLAIM Jesus, ADMONISHING and TEACHING everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone PERFECT in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with ALL ENERGY, which so powerfully works in me. “We proclaim Jesus…” - EVANGELISM “…admonishing…” - RELATIONSHIPS “…teaching everyone…” - SPIRITUAL TRAINING “…present everyone perfect in Christ…” - MINISTRY “…labor…with all energy” - WORSHIP   OUR WORSHIP IS BUILT ON 5 PURPOSES   SPIRITUAL PROGRESS BULLSEYE     STATEMENTS BUILT ON PURPOSES MISSION: We empower people to fulfill the GREAT COMMISSION!   VISION: We introduce people to the REAL JESUS and the POWER OF REDEMPTION!   LIVE IN HARMONY 1 CORINTHIANS 1:10 NLT (Paul said) I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to LIVE IN HARMONY with each other. Let there be NO DIVISIONS in the CHURCH. Rather, be of ONE MIND, UNITED in THOUGHT and PURPOSE. HARMONY = WORDS, SAYINGS, TEACHINGS   HOW WILL YOU APPLY THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR LIFE? The greatest gift you can give yourself, your marriage, singleness, parenting, relationships, vocational dreams, spiritual life, and legacy is to engage in a movement of assembled believers, consistently participating in all 5 purposes (systems). Do you need to re-commit your fervor for SUNDAYS to invite and reach your friends? If so, who? If who, when? Do you need to re-commit to GROUP life, preparing today for the trusted relationships you will need tomorrow? If so, when? Do you need to re-commit to spiritual training, learning to think right, believe right and live the overcoming life? Is so, how will you be trained? WORKSHOPS! Do you need to re-commit to serving on a TEAM, doing the things that makes a difference in the commission of Christ? If so, what Team? If so, when? All of these will help your daily devotions. They are the fundamental expressions of heart WORSHIP. They are intended to become your keystone habits!    MOVING FORWARD THIS WEEK WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THIS?  HOW WILL YOU USE IT TO HELP/SERVE OTHERS?

Matheson Community Bible Church

Leviticus 19:13-18; Mark 12:28-34: In the second sermon in our summer sermon series, "The Summer of Love," we explore what Jesus meant by "love" when he said that the second great commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves.

This sermon looks at why Jesus intensifies the laws in the Sermon on the Mount. The law is not to be followed for the law's sake, but for our sake. The law was given to help us to live in relationship, to love our neighbors as ourselves.

When thugs beat up a traveler, he is rescued by a man he despises.

James zeros in on the fact that faith moves us beyond what we believe to how we live. Believing in a set of ideas is one things but the proof is in the pudding-in how we demonstrate our faith in how we live, love and trust.

The Golden Rule. Almost everybody knows it, yet how few live it! As Jesus nears the end of the Sermon on the Mount, He gives this revolutionary principle that, if lived out, would change every relationship we have. Listen in to hear how this age-old saying can change your life today.

Introduction There are some journeys that we take in life, some roads that we can get on that just change our lives. They are memorable roads. I think about one in particular, the Karakoram highway, I saw with my own eyes in 1987, in the northwest frontier province of Pakistan and on into China. The most spectacular stretch of scenery I've ever seen in my life, the Karakoram mountains, the second highest mountain range in the world just like another world, it was. Mountains over 20,000 feet high and the Indus River flowing beside the highway, just cobalt blue and just kind of eerie as though we were on another planet. And just I thought about the beauty of this world and it made me yearn for the new heaven, the new earth, the home of righteousness, and how beautiful it was. And though I foolishly rode on the top of the van on the luggage rack, I wouldn't trade it for the world, I really wouldn't. I'll never forget that. They would not let you do it here, they'd pull you down, and arrest you or something, but over there they don't care if you die or not, they really don't. So you can ride up there, and the scenery was incredible. But I remember a year before that, another mission trip, I was on a different highway, a different road, a different trip I took it was in the streets of Mombasa, and we were there at the end of the last week of a 10-week mission trip, and we were there, it was in a resort area and we were having a final time together, a time of prayer and Bible study. It was a beautiful area, but some of us took a ride into the poorer area of Mombasa and just to see what the city was like and to pray for the people. And I remember distinctly that ride as well, very, very unforgettable ride. We were in this air conditioned, expensive minivan and surrounded by poverty that I had never seen. This was my first trip out of the country, summer of '86. And I just felt like it was somehow a symbol of the way that I could live my life in this world, a sinful way. A way in which I'm enclosed by luxury and comfort and security and air conditioning and all that, and out there is all this poverty and suffering. And I just resolved before the Lord, I didn't wanna live that kind of life. I didn't wanna stay in that air conditioned, safe, secure bubble when there's all these suffering people outside. I had another ride a number of years later, through Port-au-Prince, along the Cité Soleil and it's a different highway there. And my guess is, now probably they're clearing it with rubble; they have to have that highway, so maybe it's been cleared by now, I don't know. But I will never forget just the view of, without question, the greatest poverty I've ever seen in my life, a tent city there in which half-clothed children come out and stoop down and scoop up muddy water out of puddles and put them in bottles and screw the top on and then run back into the city there, and I wonder what they're gonna do with that water. And just a vision there of poverty. And again, something calling out to me at least to pray if not to minister more securely. When I heard the news of the earthquake in Haiti, I immediately thought of the Cité Soleil and all of the misery and suffering there is there. So this morning, we're going to look down, I think a very dangerous road. And we're gonna call it the Jericho Road; we're gonna look down the Jericho Road. It's a road of self-sacrifice, a road of being searched by the law of God, so that we can find out what's in our hearts. Tim Keller said of the Jericho Road, “The road to Jericho is steep and dangerous, so dangerous in fact that people have called it the ‘Bloody Way.’ Jerusalem rests at 3,000 feet above sea level, but Jericho, only 17 miles away, is actually 1,000 feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea. So the road between the towns descends sharply through mountainous territory full of crags and caves allowing thieves to hide and strike and escape with great ease. Traveling the Jericho Road in those days was much like walking through a dark alley in the worst part of a modern city except that it was many miles to the nearest street light.” So you get the picture of a very dangerous road. But that Jericho Road is not dangerous merely because there are brigands on it who could jump out at you and assault you and take your precious possessions. Jesus meant a different kind of danger. Or I might say a different kind of challenge. It's dangerous for us to consider because here on the Jericho Road, the Lord Jesus confronts us with our own selfishness. Here on the Jericho Road, the Lord Jesus confronts us and asks, “Will you really love your neighbor as yourself? Will we love our neighbors as ourselves or will we just love ourselves? Will we spend ourselves on behalf of others, or will we pass by in safety wasting the opportunities for good works that God has given us?” Now, this Jericho Road, I contend, can happen any time, any place. It can happen in your own homes, when your spouse demands more of you at that moment than you feel you wanna give. That's the Jericho Road. The Jericho Road can happen in your neighborhood when you find out that your neighbor has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer, what will you do? Are you gonna minister or not? Jericho Road can happen as you stand in line at Walmart and there's a father and a son having a conversation, the son wants to buy something, the father who's now unemployed can't afford. And they have that conversation. I don't know what to do about that situation. I'm just saying I'm feeling confronted at that moment by the needs around us. It can happen at a stop light, when someone stands there with a hand-painted sign and tries to catch your eye and tries to get money from you. It can happen at church when you see a newcomer standing alone at the end of worship service and you don't know them, and you feel within yourself a desire not to go talk to somebody you don't know, but instead you just stay with what's safe and easy. That's the Jericho Road. It searches us all the time. It has to do with interactions with other human beings, any human being, any time, any place, who has a need that you might be able to meet. And therefore it's dangerous for us; it challenges us because if we learn to walk the walk of the priest or the Levite in the parable, it becomes a very easy habit pattern to follow, and you probably know what I'm talking about. You look. You see. You look away. You pass by on the other side of the road. It's a very easy habit to get into, and all of us have that habit pattern within us, and so Jesus told this story to challenge us. Everyday we're surrounded by people with needs and sometimes those needs are overwhelming. And the relentless call of Jesus in the law, this is law for us, the relentless call of Jesus Christ every moment of the day is that we should pour out ourselves, our time, our effort, our resources in benefiting others, caring for others. So last week, we began to look at this study, this topic. What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? And today, we seek even more clarity. The Two Great Commandments Context: Final Week of Jesus’ Life So we're continuing really our series of Matthew, but we're going sideways over to Luke to try to understand this second greatest commandment. Our context in Matthew is the final week of Jesus's life. He's in a bunch of conflicts with his enemies. They're testing him; they're searching him. And this lawyer comes up and asks which is the greatest commandment in the law. As you remember, Jesus gives this very orthodox somewhat predictable answer. “Now Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” If I can just stop and say these things are not for me, as a Christian, just commands. They are in fact promises. I always think of that, someday it's gonna be true of me in Christ. Amen. Isn't that glorious to just think about that? I don't think we can ever think about it too much, but I don't think we can ever be convicted by it too much either while we're in this life. So it has to have both that and that aspect of work in us. So we will be both convicted and we will be hopeful as we know that the Lord is by his spirit going to fulfill these things in us. Last Week: The Commandments are Intertwined So last week, I made the case that these two commandments are absolutely intertwined. You can't pick and choose between them; they are not equal commands. There is a first and greatest command and the second that's like it, but they are absolutely intertwined. I said that you cannot love your neighbor, if you don't first love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If you would love your neighbor more than you love God, you would be making your neighbor an idol and you can't do that. God must take top priority in your lives And so it is really not possible to have non-Christian fulfillment of this second great command. It can't be done. You have to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength in order to love your neighbor in such a way that God is pleased. However, it's not enough to just love God, is it? It's clear that Jesus inserted the second commandment because it is vital for us to understand it, they're intertwined. And so, in 1 John 4:20 it says, “If anyone says ‘I love God’ and yet hates his brother, he is a liar; for anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” And there are many other such verses. You cannot pick and choose. We must both love God and our neighbor. What Does it Mean to Love Your Neighbor As Yourself? Definition Given Last week, I gave this definition of what it means to love your neighbor: Love is cheerful sacrifice for the benefit of another person and for the glory of God. And so we said last time that love has both an internal heart aspect and an external physical or bodily or active aspect. There is that heart affection, which is essential to the love; we must genuinely from the heart, love. And then there is that sacrificial service that results in beneficial action. And so it must be cheerful, it must come from the heart, out of a connection, a love that we have a movement in the heart. But it must not end there, it must go out into sacrificial service. And the more sacrifice there is we can say the greater the love is. John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this that he laid down his life for his friends.” So we measure love by sacrifice. The more it pinches at you, the more it costs you something, the more inconvenient it is, the more expensive it is, if you give it cheerfully as an act of worship to God, now that's what God is talking about; that is love for the neighbor. So there are those two aspects; there is the heart attraction, and then there's moving out in beneficial sacrificial service. Christ’s Example So Christ was our example. I zeroed in on one verse in particular. Mark 1:41, which I cited last week. This is just review. But there “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Filled with compassion. Jesus reached out his hand touched the man, ‘I am willing,’ he said, ‘Be clean.’” So there is a very good picture of the two parts of love I'm talking about. Filled with a movement of compassion, my heart is knit toward you. I am in your situation; your pain has become my pain. Filled with that compassion, Jesus reaches out his hand and heals him. And so this is the sacrificial service of Christ. “As Yourself” Now, I want to bring up and ask this one question then. In the words of the command, what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? To love your neighbor as yourself. Does this teach the prior need for some kind of comfortable feeling of self-esteem before we can actually do anything for anybody else? Does it give us a command that we ought to be loving ourselves. And then having loved ourselves, we are then to love our neighbor out of the overflow of our self-love? You can kinda tell where I'm heading with this, but I'm going ahead and couching the terms. Is that what it teaches? Or does it in effect, teach you, you already do love yourself, now love your neighbor like you're loving yourself. And so, I tell you that you hear a lot of this these days, you can't love anyone else until you love yourself, this kind of self-esteem. So first, you need to love yourself, then you'll be fit and ready to love your neighbor as yourself. In my opinion, I think people suffer and struggle with self-esteem because they're being disobedient to the commands of God. It's true of all of us. If you're struggling with your self-image it's generally because in your conscience, you have a sense that something's not right. And so therefore it doesn't make much sense to say, “I can't obey these commands of God, until I feel better about myself.” Friends, that is a quick downward spiral. I don't think that's what it's teaching here; grammatically in the Greek, it asserts that we really do already love ourselves. This is the measure of love. There's no command here; you cannot find a command to love yourself here. Rather it's assumed that you already do love yourself. And so, in effect, Jesus is saying that you should seek the highest, the greatest good for your neighbor, the way you seek the greatest good for yourself. In effect, Jesus is basically saying “You shall seek the good of your neighbor, just as you naturally seek your own good. Nourish and cherish your needy neighbor, just as you by nature nourish and cherish yourself.” Now, a key verse on understanding it this way is Ephesians Chapter 5 which talks about the husband's responsibility to love his wife. And you know in Ephesians 5:28-29, it says, “In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself; after all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it.” So what Paul is saying is, you do love yourself. You do look after your own needs, husbands. You do care for your physical needs; do the same for your wife. That's what it's saying there. I think that we can take that concept and extend it generally to the second greatest commandment. So every act of kindness and care you show to your own body, and you've shown many this week; you don't even recognize how many different ways you minister to your body. I mean, if you're uncomfortable, you shift around in your seat. I see some of you doing that from time to time. If you have an itch, you'll do what it takes to scratch it. As I've talked about before, I get those right between my shoulder blades. You know what I'm talking about? Right in the center, right between, it is almost at my age, physically impossible to reach it. At least not without a trauma of pain on my shoulder, alright. And I found that my shoulder amazingly is willing to sacrifice for that part of skin in the center between my shoulder blades; it's amazing the things that my shoulder's willing to do for that little piece of skin that's having some strange tingling. And so, you reach back there. Well, anyway, I'm not gonna demonstrate but you know what I'm talking about. You do love yourself dear friends. If you're cold, you get a sweater, you get a blanket, you put it on, you change the thermostat. If you're hungry, you go make yourself something to eat. If you're craving some attention, you go get some attention. If you want some encouragement you fish for it. And I'm not saying all these are appropriate ways that we love ourselves. I'm just telling you, you love yourself. I would say you relentlessly love yourself. We actually discussed even the cases of suicide. And John Piper in his book from one of the things he writes about that he says even somebody who's committing suicide is seeking something for him or herself. A release from the pain, that kind of thing. And actually I find it to be an exceptionally selfish mindset without hardly any thought at all about the ramifications of those that are left behind, So I'm saying it's just a natural law. You're going to do good to yourself, you're gonna love yourself, you're gonna care for yourself. Do the same for your neighbor. I think that's what Jesus is saying. Think about your neighbor's needs just as you think about your own. And so in Philippians 2:4, it says “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” The non-Christian, the natural state, is to be fanatical about looking after your own interests. The Christian adds to this, the interests of others. It says in Philippians 2:21, “Everyone looks out for his own interests,” this is that kind of Darwinian, dog-eats-dog, “look out for number one” mentality that I think has made this world such a miserable place to live in. Jesus has shown us a better way; he's shown us a way of self-sacrifice for the benefit of others, denying yourself and your own needs, so that somebody else's needs can be met. And so a loving Christian then learns to see others' needs as if they were his own. He looks at urban poverty and says, “What would it be like if I lived there? What would I need?” He's looking at unemployed people and saying, “What can I do?” Matthew talked to me this morning about Jobs for Life. Listen, it's a tremendous ministry and we have as many as 11 or more students that are getting ready for this, we need some. We need some ladies that will be willing to help. But they just... You look at that and you say, “What would it be like if I lived in that situation?” There's an expansion of vision that happens when you genuinely love. Stepping out of your own comfort zone and your self-satisfaction and taking on the misery of others. As a Christian you look at the lostness of co-workers and you say, “What would it be like for me if I were without hope and without God in this world?” And how joyful would it be if somebody would be a messenger of the Gospel to come to me? A Christian, a loving Christian looks at total strangers in public places, in terms of what needs do you have that I can meet? Can I hold the door for you? Can I let you go first in the check out line? Can I give you the last empty seat on an airplane and wait for the next flight even? Can I stop in the rain and help you change a flat tire? These are just mentalities of Christians. This is what it means, horizontally, to love your neighbor as yourself. Heart Affection Described: 1 Corinthians 13 Basic Concept: Without Love, Sacrifice is Worthless Now, last time I said there are two great texts to look at these two aspects of love, alright? There's that heart affection aspect that without that heart affection it isn't genuinely loving in the sight of God. It's hypocrisy, really. It's just an outward show, so there has to be something from the heart and I said, 1 Corinthians 13 describes it better than any other passage in the Bible. Just by way of review, the basic concept is, you can have tremendous sacrifice, but you can do it without love, and it will be nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:3. “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing.” But I tell you, you look at a verse, like that. And you realize just how relentless Jesus is for us. I don't know hardly anybody that would really even do it, but it could be that somebody could do it and Jesus would still say, “I have this against you,” isn't that amazing when you think about it? He's standing over all of us and saying “You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Hence my statement earlier how sweet it is for us as Christians to look at it, not just as commands, but promises. Oh God, do this in me, it's impossible for me to reach so high in my life. Was Jesus delighted to give himself, to surrender his body? You know he really was. For the joy that was set before him he did it. Not the thing itself, not the process, that was miserable. But for what he got out of it, he was delighted to die for you and me. That's a beautiful thing. Love is a Heart State Described in Detail Here And so you've got to have that internal heart state of delight, that joy, that connection that happens between you and the person, described in this way: “Love is patient, love is kind, doesn't envy, it doesn't boast, it's not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, it's not rude, it's not self-seeking, it does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” So this is the heart condition that we discussed last time. But we also said it's not enough to just feel those feelings for somebody. It's gotta move out. It's gotta move out. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. We've got these hands that are given to serve, so we move out and we've got to act. Sacrificial Action Described: Luke 10 And I think the best passage for describing that lifestyle, sacrificial love for neighbor, is this parable. It seemed to be in Jesus' mind. He wants to describe how you love your neighbor as yourself. That's why he told this story. And so, look at Luke 10, if you're not already there, just take a minute and look at Luke 10:25-37. Context: Earlier in Jesus’ Life, Same Question Now the context here of Luke 10 is earlier in Jesus' life. It's the same issue, however. It's the same question. He's just dealing with it again, but just earlier. And this time the lawyer that he's talking to, it says is seeking to justify himself. The Lord comes and asks him the question, which is the greatest commandments and all that? And he says, “Well, what do you think?” And puts it back on Jesus. And he gives a perfect answer. This is a guy who's gonna do well in a theology exam, both beginning and end he gets the right answers all the time. The Effort at Self Justification But Jesus, I think, at that point then says, “You have answered correctly, do this and live.” And then turns and talks to somebody else, kinda leaves him in the lurch at that moment, looking perhaps a little embarrassed. I think we already knew that, didn't we? So, he seeks, it says, “to justify himself.” You ought to just freeze your eyes right on that. Look on that text as if it were a mirror. I don't think there's one of us sinners here that doesn't seek in some way to justify ourselves when it comes to the second command. Or I could use another word, to excuse ourselves from service. “I don't need to take care of that person for the following reasons, I already worked this out. I've got the theology all worked out. I know why I don't need to do that because this person is this kind of person and they did this…” And you don't have to do it. And so this lawyer sought to justify himself by asking, “Who is my neighbor?” Basically what he's saying is, “Please tell me that what I have done already is already enough. I'm already in. I'm already there based on what I've done. Tell me that. Tell me, I'm already fine. Please don't even tell me that I'm doing well, keep doing... I don't even wanna hear that. I wanna hear that I've already achieved. I'm already there.” So he sought to justify himself. What a warning it is. We think we don't need to love our neighbor if he is what we call undeserving poor. What do we mean by undeserving poor? Well, somebody whose poverty is because of their own sin. Friends, who's left after a while? I mean, who's left? We're gonna look at somebody and say we're only gonna give to the deserving poor. The ones that really, really deserve our attention. Do you not realize how arrogant that sounds to God? Did we deserve to be saved by Jesus? He didn't use that with us, but we excuse. Here's an able-bodied man who should be out working for himself, and I'm not gonna give him a penny. I'm not saying we ought to give him money, but I'm saying we ought not to turn away from him. I'm saying there ought to be some ministry. We think we don't need to love our neighbor as ourselves if he's a stranger or possibly dangerous or will involve us deeper than we want to be involved. Well, that may be the case, but that's more of a searching of our own hearts. We tend to draw the boundary lines around who we should love so tightly that it excuses most of our unloving relationships. I'll say more on this at the end. Two Key Questions the Parable Answers There are two key questions that this parable answers. What are these two key questions? Number one, is what is the question the lawyer asks, who is my neighbor? So simply put, who should we love? The parable's told to give us the answer to that question, “Who is my neighbor?” And he tells the parable as an answer to that question. But secondly, I think it also answers, “How should we love him?” It gives us a display of how we should love our neighbor. The Parable Related So you understand the story, there's this deadly, dangerous Jericho Road, and there are five different people in the tale. First is the victim, and I think it's key to note that we know absolutely nothing about him. I mean nothing. What do we know about this guy? We know he's on the Jericho Road and he got attacked; that's all we know about him. We don't know if he's Jewish. We don't know if he's Samaritan, might be Roman. We don't know anything about him. We don't know if he's rich, if he's poor, if he's old, if he's young. We don't know anything about this individual. And I think it's very striking because again, this is the question that Jesus is seeking to answer. Who is my neighbor? Answer: This guy. Who is it? Well, what do we know about him? You don't need to know anything about him except that he has a need. It's an individual, a human being, in need. So basically, Jesus is saying, “Your neighbor is anyone in need.” Then you've got the robbers. We don't know many things about them either, except that they're exceptionally selfish individuals who are willing to break the laws of God and man to take from this individual what they think is best. Basically, their motto would be something like this, “What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine if I can take it from you.” And there are some people that live like that. But then you've got the priest, and then you've got the Levite; they're the same guy, so I'm gonna have them be the same guy. Is that okay? The priest and the Levite are the same guy, just times two. So who are they? Well, their motto would be something like this, “What's mine is mine and what's yours is yours. Have a good day. Live and let live. I don't wanna get involved.” And what's so striking about both the priest and the Levite is they see the individual lying there by the side of the road. “He saw him and passed by on the other side.” “He saw him and passed by on the other side,” it's very significant. The good Samaritan, he sees him and ministers. So, this sight is so important. Take them into you with your eyes. Look at him. Look at him. These are individuals that are choosing to be willfully ignorant. I don't wanna know much more than I already know. I already know more than I wanna know. And so they pass by. Why did they pass by on the other side, why not like walk right by him? Well, it's a little uncomfortable. I wanna put as much distance between us and the misery and the suffering as we can. Hence that air conditioned bubble that was in me in Mombasa. There's this, “I want a gap, a safe space.” And, you know, it's amazing how we can actually carve out a lifestyle in which you hardly ever see any suffering people. It's actually easy to do. And by the way, I think some of the worst, most terrifying sins that there are in life are those sins of omission, the things that you ought to do and don't do. That's how these folks did, the priest and Levite, they're on some holy mission, I guess. I don't know. They're going to Jerusalem; they're gonna do something for God, but they don't do clearly what God wants them to do. And so those sins of omission are just scary, aren't they really. Because it says in Matthew 25, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will gather all the nations before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” And he's going to put the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left. And then after commending the sheep, he says to the goats, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison, and you did not look after me.” They didn't do anything. They just didn't do what they should have done. “‘Now when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger needing clothes or sick or in prison and not help you?’ ‘Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did not do for me.’” What would it be like to see a replay of our lives and see all of the possible ministries we could have had if only we'd been more attentive? And therefore, you ought to be pleading for open eyes as a result of this sermon. Just say, “God give me grace, give me eyesight to see opportunities I've been missing. I've gotten in the habit of passing by. I don't wanna keep doing that. Give me a new eyesight here.” I'm praying it for myself too. And then you have the innkeeper. His motto is, “What's mine is yours if you'll pay me for it.” So there's an individual who is willing to help if he gets something beneficial in this life out of it. He's a mercenary. And then there's the good Samaritan basically, “What's mine is yours if you need it. If you need it, I'll give it to you.” So Jesus, I think specifically chose a Samaritan because he was trying to offend. I don't know what it is, is that what he's doing? I don't know, maybe the parables are that way, but Jesus is trying to get you to listen. And by choosing the Samaritan, who they would have despised, as the good guy in the story, it just shows Jesus' nature. Look what he does. Look what he does. He stops his own life. He invests himself fully. He gives of his time, he even spends the whole night caring for the man. The man's well-being has become his whole focus. He set aside his own agenda. We don't know where he was going, or what he was doing, but that's done now at least for the night. He gives of his money, pays silver coins to the innkeeper for whatever costs there may be, and he promises to come back later to finish his care and see that he's fully recovered. That's how he sacrifices, that's what he does, that's what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. The Summary Command And so at the end of that then Jesus sums it all up. “‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’” Like I said, he's good at the right answers; he's a good right answer giver. And so he was like, “Oh, the one who had mercy.” Right you are. “Go and do likewise,” said Jesus. You know these things. You'll be blessed if you do them. That's in effect what he's saying. Go and do likewise. This, I think, is a categorical command from our Savior to us to love our neighbor like this. Go and do likewise. The Questions Answered Well, it leaves all kinds of questions still in our hearts, but He does answer the two questions. Remember I said there are two questions. Alright, who is my neighbor? Anyone in need, providentially, anybody who crosses your path, anybody you know about, anybody in need. He's a human being, he's in need of something, providentially in my life, I see him. By the way, do you not see how that self-esteem interpretation just doesn't fit? Imagine as he's going along the side of the road there's the good Samaritan and he sees the man there and he kinda sits down next to him as the man is bleeding there. Says, “I want you to know I really would like to help, but I've just really been feeling gloomy about myself recently. I've been struggling with my self-esteem. I haven't really liked myself very much. I don't feel good in public settings, and I'm just not well put together right now, wish I could help.” He gets up and walks off. I have a hard time fitting it into the parable. It's like there's this need and guess what happens? Out go questions of self-esteem. They're just out. Here's a guy with a need. Let's go for it. Guess what? When you live your life like that, all of a sudden, you realize it's been years since you've worried about how you were about yourself. You're just happy, productive, fruitful and energetically serving Christ and healthy, really, really healthy and happy. I already said that didn't I? But anyway, happy and healthy and well put together. You're not asking, “Can I really do this?” And so I think that kind of answers it, who is my neighbor? Any needy person at all. And what does it mean to love him as myself? Sacrificial acts of service. Provocative Questions Remaining But there are still some questions remaining, aren't there? Is mercy ministry necessary or essential to the Christian life? Like, can I not do this and still go to heaven? Let's realize the original question is, “What must I do to get eternal life?” in Luke 10; that was the original context. Jesus in effect is saying, “Do this.” Is this teaching works salvation? Well, we know it's not, but it appears that Jesus sees care for the poor and the needy as of the essence of being a Christian; it's of the essence of the Christian life. Well, another question may pop in your mind, what is the scope and dimension of my life of loving my neighbor? Like the lawyer, aren't we ready to ask in different ways who is my neighbor? Tim Keller, in his book, Mercy Ministry: The Call of the Jericho Road lists ways that modern Christians seek to escape costly ministry to the poor and needy by making excuses and asking these kinds of questions. “Just how far do we have to go?” “You don't mean that we should pour ourselves out for anyone and everyone do you?” “Doesn't charity begin at home?” “You don't mean that every Christian must get deeply involved with hurting and needy people. I'm not really very good at that kind of work. It's really not my gift.” “I have a busy schedule, and I'm actually extremely active in my church.” You start to see that the priest and the Levite kind of answer is going on here. “I've got things I gotta do for the church.” “Isn't this sort of thing the government's job anyway?” Well, we can get into that discussion another time. “I barely have enough money for myself and frankly aren't many of the poor really just personally irresponsible? Isn't it the case that if they would just get their act together, that things will be better in their lives?” And realistically, “how far should we go?” You can see anything you wanna see all over the world. You can see the Haiti earthquake, within hours after it's happened. Or maybe even while it's happening, I mean, are we really supposed to care for everybody that's hurting and broken all over the world? These are real questions that come into our hearts. My question is this, how can we really be transformed as individuals, so that we actually obey these commands as God intends? That's my question, how can FBC become, without question, a loving church in this community that does the good works God has ordained for us to do? That's my question. So that we are not excusing ourselves from good works and missing, friends, so many blessings that God has for us to do. Are we not living in the Jericho road right now, every day? Priorities in Love Gospel Coalition Talk on Mercy Ministry Now some time ago, I gave a talk at The Gospel Coalition in Chicago on this topic and I want to lay out quickly, some, I think biblical priorities in helping us to sort this out. Five Priorities The first priority I laid out is this: Justification before ministry. And by this, I'm talking to you as an individual. Please be sure that you yourselves are justified by faith in Christ, apart from works of the law before you even try to do these things. They came in John 6 and said, “What must we do to work the works of God?” And Jesus said, “This is the work of him who sent me, that you believe in the one that he is sent.” Let's start there. I said it early in the sermon. I'll say it again. Do not try to do mercy ministry if you're not certain that your sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. We are not saved by doing mercy ministry, friends. We are saved by someone else's mercy ministry to us, Jesus. And then we're saved to do mercy ministries for others, but we're not justified by our works. So let's be sure that we have that. Have you trusted in Christ? Are your sins forgiven through faith in His blood? Have you let Jesus wash not just your feet, but your hands and your head and your whole soul in his cleansing grace and mercy? Have you let him do that for you? Then set aside everything else I'm saying and just come to Christ, if you haven't yet. That's priority number one: Justification before ministry. Priority number two is: Ministry to the soul above ministry to the body. It is more important to minister to the soul than it is to minister to the body. Jesus settled this forever when he said, “What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” He said it in John 6, after the feeding of the 5,000. “Do not labor for the food that spoils,” he said to the poor. “Do not labor for the food that spoils but for the food that endures to eternal life.” And so that's our message in mercy ministry here, in any kind of loving of the poor and needy must be gospel proclamation above all else. Now, it doesn't mean temporally it has to come first. Sometimes you feed them some soup or do some things, but in that there's a seeking and a yearning to have that gospel conversation and to share the gospel. So ministry to the soul above ministry to the body; it does not mean we don't minister to the body, friends. Just setting out priorities. So we want to minister to the soul because it's eternal. Thirdly, ministry to the family of believers and to our own families above ministry to outsiders. This is a clear biblical priority. First and foremost, God has arranged most of the people in the world in families to care for their overwhelming ongoing needs of food, clothing, and shelter. It is clearly too much for the church to care for the food, clothing, and shelter needs of everybody in the district. That is something families are supposed to take care of. And so it says in 1 Timothy 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he's denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” He's talking there about in context ministry to the widows and be sure that they're truly widows in need. Be sure that they don't have a son that can take care of them, and he ought to take care of them. And then a little side step from that is we need a minister to Christians, first and foremost, above ministry to non-Christians. And you get this again from Galatians 6:10. “Therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family believers.” There's a priority structure there. So we're gonna minister to Christians as they have need, especially within our own church and then outward from there. But this doesn't mean we don't minister to non-Christians. It's just a priority structure. Fourth, ministry to the poor above ministry to the rich. Jesus provokes us with this teaching. Luke 14, “Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and you'll be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’” So there's a clear priority structure there. Find out those that are genuinely needy and minister to them, but this doesn't mean that we have no ministry to the rich. The rich can be hurting in other ways, significantly hurting, and so we need a minister to them as well. Applications and Challenges Alright, so what applications and challenges, do we take from this? Well, I'm already challenged. I know about you. I look at these kinds of things, and I say, “Lord, how can I live a life pleasing to you?” I think basically what I get from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 is each day has enough trouble of its own. Let's put it positively, each day has enough ministry opportunities of its own. Let's do the good works that God has ordained for us to do today. Let's do them today and let's find out what they are. Loving Your Spouse as Yourself Let's love our neighbor as ourself within our own family. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. Love her, cherish her, take care of her. Wives love your husbands, pray for your husbands, build them up, encourage them. 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is patient, love is kind,” let's really do that. Loving Your Children as Yourself Parents love your children, cherish them, pour yourselves out for them and into them, pray for them, set them a good example, be tender-hearted and compassionate with them. Paul says to the Thessalonians, he says, “We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children; you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of the Lord.” That's how fathers and mothers should be. So do that; love your children. Loving Your Neighborhood Partner (Neighbor) as Yourself And let's love our geographical neighbors right in our own neighborhoods. It's like I'm not sure we have neighborhoods anymore. It's amazing, the modern technology has made neighborhood's almost like a thing of the past. There's so much seclusion these days, do you see it? It's really hard. If you don't think I'm right, then just go knock on someone's door, ring their doorbell if it even works. And they'll be surprised to see you. I'm not saying you should do that as a ministry strategy, I'm just telling you some things have broken down. Maybe we ought to start rebuilding our commitment to our physical neighbors, to see who's around us, and how we can minister to them. Ask God for opportunities to do it; ask God for help. You're not on your own in all of this. Loving Your Fellow Church Member as Yourself And what about fellow church members, how can we love our fellow church members as we love ourselves? Well, I would begin with prayer. I would start with prayer lists and find out how people are hurting. They frequently will tell that on the prayer list, so go find it and say, “Okay this isn't just a line on a piece of paper, this is so and so who's saying that such and such is going on in his or her life.” Think about it. Take it to God in prayer as though it were happening to you, and think if this were happening to you, what kind of ministry would mean something to you? How could somebody minister to me.” Loving Your Urban Neighbor or International Neighbor as Yourself Love your urban neighbor and your international neighbor as yourself. Different ministries, I already mentioned Jobs For Life. We have a growing ministry in an urban setting that's getting stronger and stronger. It could be that God may be calling you to minister right here in the community and you don't know how. There's this incredible ministry called Durham Cares. I talked with these folks last week, and they basically will listen to you, they interview you, they find out what you are into. There's this discussion back and forth and then they line you up with some ministries you might be interested in. Said it sounds like e-Harmony.com for ministry. And they said, “Yeah, that's what it is.” But they try to line you up with some options for ministry. There are opportunities. We've seen a tremendous growth to our own international student ministry. English as a Second Language, other things, just being hosts and having people in your home. It's been beautiful to see some people really get excited about that kind of ministry. Friends, we are called to love our neighbors as ourself, even to the ends of the earth. John Piper summarizes it this way, “Our Lord is aiming to call into being loving, compassionate, merciful men and women whose hearts summon them irresistibly into action when there is suffering within their reach. To that end he demands that they again and again ask themselves this question: Am I desiring and seeking the temporal and eternal good of my neighbor with the same zeal, ingenuity, and perseverance with which I seek my own? Is my own native and insatiable longing for happiness seeking its fulfillment by drinking deeply at the fountain of God's mercy and then letting it spill over in love into the life of my neighbor?” Close with me in prayer.

This morning we hear that the Pharisees wanted to put Jesus to the test; they wanted to lay a trap for Him that would damage His reputation and place His knowledge of the ancient teachings of the Hebrew faith. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Jesus said “'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Jesus, in giving this answer, and in adding the words, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," passed the test the Pharisees put to him.

This morning we hear that the Pharisees wanted to put Jesus to the test; they wanted to lay a trap for Him that would damage His reputation and place His knowledge of the ancient teachings of the Hebrew faith. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Jesus said “'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Jesus, in giving this answer, and in adding the words, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," passed the test the Pharisees put to him.