Loving Our Neighbors

Luke 10:25-37

Neighborhoods

How shall I love my neighbor? (Luke 10:25-37)
- Step One: Acknowledge My Pride & Prejudice (v.25-28)
- Step Two: Invite Jesus to be My Savior & Lord (v.29-35)
- Step Three: Act Out Love Toward Everyone (v.36-37)
– KNOW your neighbors.
– SERVE your neighbors.
– SHARE Jesus’ love with my neighbors.

A picture of Discipleship
Christ in the center. Everything else feeds in:
- Prayer
- Worship
- Fellowship
- Stewardship
- God’s Word
- Serving
- Mission
- Healing

Homework: The Art of Neighboring (Who are my neighbors?)

Reveal Answer

T.A.G Questions

(try these with new friends you meet after our service is done)
1. Icebreaker: Who was one of your best neighbors? Why?
2. How can a neighbor demonstrate love for you in practical ways?
3. In a minute or less, tell someone what Jesus means to you.

Community Group Questions

Leader: Have someone open your group discussion with prayer, then read Luke 10:25-37 aloud.
Icebreaker: Describe someone who you at first disliked but later welcomed as a friend.
With which character in the story do you identify most? Why?
Why do religions and philosophies which focus on our own discipline and performance find such traction in our world? How do they lead to death?
Under what circumstances are you a great neighbor? What skews you toward being a “bad” neighbor?
How does the lawyer’s pride and prejudice blind him to God’s love? When has your own pride or prejudice blinded you to what God was doing?
If you had to explain the answer to the question, “How may I inherit eternal life?” how would you do so?
Pray for those neighbors you know who are in need of God’s mercy.

Leadership Tips

Pray for your group before and after you meet. Prayerfully work through the questions and bible passage yourself before you meet.
At the beginning of your first time together, explain that these groups are meant to be discussions not lectures. Encourage the members of the group to participate. However, do not put pressure on those wh may be hesitant to speak during the first few sessions.
Avoid answering your own questions. However, leaders may set the tone by occasionally sharing their own answers without dominating the time or the discussion.
Learn to accept silence in the group while they process your questions.
Appropriately call upon quieter members when they seem to have something to share.
Acknowledge and thank group members for their sharing. Redirect the group if they get off-topic too much.
Don’t be afraid of controversy. It can be very stimulating. If you don’t resolve an issue completely, don’t be frustrated. Move on and keep it in mind for later. A subsequent study may solve the problem.
You may need to divide the group into smaller subsets (men, women, pairs, etc.) to help the time and participation to flow.
If possible, the group host should not also be the group shepherd/facilitator. This helps the group to eventually multiply as it grows larger.
Look for ways to share the tasks in the group to help build a healthy discipleship culture. Look for the persons God may be leading to serve as apprentice hosts or shepherds.