Thank you for stopping by to read the Weekend Sermon. I would like to thank everyone who reads this blog on a regular basis. I hope that you all are doing very well today.
I've been doing well as far as my health is concerned. I'm feeling quite a bit better. I thank you all for your prayers regarding this. I am still at my current job. I am still hoping and praying to find something else.
I do have one thing that I would ask for your prayers regarding. Tomorrow, they are once again predicting some very bad storms in my area. Would you please pray that these storms would not materialize. Thank you.
In other prayer matters, let us pray for those who were affected by the terrorist act in Manchester this past week. Please pray that those who are injured will quickly recover. Pray for those who mourn that they will be comforted, and pray that the authorities in Britain will find all those who were behind this terrible act. Pray for the safety of the United Kingdom.
Let us also continue to pray for peace around the world. Continue to pray for peace in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Sudan.
For our prayer focus countries this week, please pray for Brunei and China. Pray that many in these two countries will hear about the love of Jesus.
Today, we will continue with our ongoing series of messages on the parables of Jesus. I really enjoy sharing messages about what our Lord had to say and about what He did.
In today's message, we will focus our attention on the familiar parable of the the Good Samaritan. Let us look into this parable and see what the Lord Jesus would have us learn.
The parable of the Good Samaritan was told in response to a question that was posed to Jesus by a legal scholar. This scholar asked Jesus what was required to gain eternal life. Jesus asked him what was written in the law. To this, the legal scholar said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus told the man that he had answered correctly.
The legal scholar then asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor." At this point, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man was traveling and he was set upon by thieves who beat him and left him for dead by the side of the road.
A priest saw the man, but he passed by on the other side of the road. A Levite also saw the man, but he too passed by.
Finally, a Samaritan saw the man. He was moved with compassion for the man. He treated the victim's wounds, and the Samaritan took the man to an inn where he could rest and receive treatment.
When Jesus finished the parable, He asked the scholar who was the neighbor in the parable. The scholar said the one who showed mercy. Jesus stated, "Go and do likewise."
This is a familiar parable, but I don't think that many of us have learned its lesson yet. There is much to learn from this parable.
Much has been written about why the priest and the Levite passed by the man on the side of road. They probably didn't want to become ritually unclean before they had to serve in the Temple. Maybe they were afraid that if they stopped that they would be robbed too. I think that they just didn't want to get involved. They had other things to do.
The attitude that was displayed by the two men who passed by is prevalent today. The world is filled with those who are in a desperate situation and they need help just as the man beaten and left for dead. Millions of people around the world do not have enough to eat. Many are dying each day from treatable diseases. Many are homeless on the streets of the richest countries in the world.
There is so much need, yet even many of us who are followers of Jesus Christ do not lend aid to those who are in the deepest need. The church and its members need to be more active in helping to solve the problems in this world. Let all of us find some way to be involved in meeting the needs of others. If all of us would just do something, we could make a tremendous difference in the problems of this world.
One thing that Christians could do is advocate that the country in which they live in do more for those who are poor and oppressed. Many governments right now, including my own, seem set upon doing all that they can to take away from those who have the most need. As believers in Jesus, let us not stand by while the poor and the weak are oppressed more and more.
We as believers in Jesus Christ need to be just like the Good Samaritan. When we see a need, we should not look the other way and pass by on the other side of the road. As the Samaritan did, we need to stop and help in the best way that we are able.
Helping others, being the neighbor to others, just doesn't mean helping with the big issues of hunger and poverty that I've discussed. All of us have friends and family members that face difficulties in their lives. Often, we have the feeling that we don't want to get involved. We don't take the time to listen to other's problems and try to lend a hand. We are just busy with our own lives and problems.
I believe that as followers of Jesus, we need to reach out to others and help them when we have the opportunity. That may mean just listening when someone needs to unburden themself. It may mean being a friend to a lonely person.
Jesus is our example of how we ought to live in this world. Jesus always went about doing as much good as He could. He was always available to help others. He is the one we look to. His way is the way that we should follow.
In the days to come, try to find some way that you can make a difference in the world. Don't pass by the needs of people in this world. If you see a need, pray and ask the Lord Jesus to give you the strength to meet that need and help others and help to make this world a better place.
Next week, we will continue with our series on the parables of Jesus. I will be posting the verses on Tuesday this week as the library is closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. I will have a review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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