Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Introduce: Im Pastor Brandon The Campus Youth Pastor at Gt Kutztown.

About 20 miles away we have about 20 awesome and amazing students.

Ktown Students miss you guys and ill see next week.

INTERACTIVE: Fair or Unfair?

This is where you’ll ask students to decide whether scenarios are fair or unfair to help explain the difference between justice and injustice.

Have you ever seen something that made you think, “This isn’t right”?

Have you ever seen something that made you think, “This isn’t right”?

The heavy feeling you get or the frustration you feel when things aren’t fair happens

because you’ve experienced or witnessed injustice.

Injustice is when things seem wrong, unfair, or unequal.

It’s the opposite of justice, which is

when things are made right.

As a middle schooler, you may feel that injustice doesn’t apply to you, but in fact, it’s

happening all around you.

Tell a personal story about a time when you experienced or witnessed injustice as a middle

schooler.

Infinity war movie example

PUT STORY IN CONTEXT:Jesus getting ready to die

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 And they came to Jericho.

And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.

But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart.

Get up; he is calling you.”

50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.

51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”

52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”

And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

In the book of the Bible called Mark—one of the four gospels that tells the story of Jesus during His time on Earth—we read about how we can address injustice and need.

As the story starts, Jesus was walking down a road with a massive crowd of people swarming around Him. (That happened to Jesus a lot!) Just outside the crowd sitting on the side of the road was a man named Bartimaeus who was blind and begging for help.

This guy had been sitting there for years, begging for money because it was the only way he could survive.

Because he was unable to see, he was unable to work.

I think it’s safe to say his life was a little unfair.

When Bartimaeus heard Jesus walk by, Bartimaeus cried out to Him.

In a crowd so big, it would have been easy for anyone to miss just one of many voices calling out for help.

But that’s what makes what happened next so interesting.

When [Bartimaeus] heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up!

On your feet!

He’s calling you.”

Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.”

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road ( NIV).

Think about this for a second!

There was Jesus, surrounded by a massive crowd of people, and what did He do?

By this account, He stopped and helped just one.

You see, Jesus saw people’s needs all the time.

But He didn’t just stop at seeing.

Jesus acted.

He did what He could to help.

And on this day, Jesus saw one need that He knew He could meet right then and there.

And so He did.

So how does this apply to our lives and the injustices in our world?

Well, one of the most common reasons we don’t help people is because we don’t notice them or their needs.

We ignore injustice because it’s not impacting us directly.

Or because we don’t take the time to notice.

Or because we don’t know what to do about it.

Rather than look out and see it, we simply stop noticing.

But that’s not what Jesus modeled for us here.

Jesus looked out.

He saw a need.

He saw an injustice.

And He acted.

He did what He could to help.

He started with just one.

And that’s what He wants us to do, too.

When we see an injustice, He wants us to do what we can to help.

closing:

the True injustice is when we don’t share our faith with others

So where do you start?

Well, this week I want to encourage you to start looking out for the needs around you by doing two things.

1) Pray.

Ask God to help you see people the way Jesus did.

Pray that God would help you see the needs of others, especially those who are experiencing injustice.

Because trust me, if you simply ask Him, I think God will show you the needs around you—the injustices in your home, your school, your team, your community, and even in the world.

2) Pick one.

Remember, when you see an injustice, do what you can to help.

So start with just one thing you see that doesn’t seem fair or right.

Ask yourself, “What can I do about this?” Maybe you can find a way to help the kid at school who doesn’t seem to have friends.

Or maybe you can offer to help a family member because you’ve noticed they do most of the work in your house.

Or maybe you can donate to a charity or volunteer somewhere to help a need in your community.

You might not be able to solve the problem, but you can do something.

You can start with one—just like Jesus did.

SEND TO KUTZTOWN at first service