Epic Lives

Living Like It Matters

We all love stories

What’s your favorite?

Lord of the Rings, Marvel, Star Wars, etc

The bigger the story the better.

Story has always been a part of culture.

We are living breathing stories

Living a story is unavoidable, living a story that matters is intentional.

The Power of Story

Jesus love to teach using story

Who has heard of the Good Samaritan?

One of my favorite stories - found in Luke 10

Let me set this up for you -

Religious leader were constantly trying to trap or catch Jesus

A lawyer asks - what is the most important commandment - out of the over 600

Jesus tells him you tell me

Lawyer responds - Love God with everything and love your neighbor

Good answer

Lawyer asks- who is my neighbor

Now the story;

Luke 10:30–37 ESV

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Finding Yourself in the Story

Beat up guy - Priest - Levite - Samaritan

Which are you - hopefully not the beat up guy

Priest - maybe on his way for his official duties - to touch a “dead man” would make him unclean

Levite - same issue

Samaritan - hated by the Jews - stopped, sacrificed, cared for

Who lived the best story? - Samaritan

Living an Epic Story

It is not enough to be able to tell a good story

We were made to live the story

We can write a pretty good story for ourselves -

Famous, rich, popular , whatever the world tells is important

To live an Epic Story - we need Jesus

John 10:10 ESV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

This is my life verse - it tells me 2 things

1. Everything outside of Jesus - steals, kills, destroys

2. Zombies are real - outside of Jesus - we are the walking dead - just going through the motions

Living Like it Matters

We were made for more

Our lives should look different - be different

Ephesians 2:1–5 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

When you see a need – meet it. When you know the right thing to do – do it.

Ask the guy, whose story changed your life? It wasn’t the priest, it wasn’t the religious leader. It was the one who helped me.

Notice what Jesus said in the end:

Luke 10:36–37 ESV

36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Epic Lives

You go and do likewise

Your life will be Epic

Let’s pray