Salt and Light #3

Salt and Light

Lesson 3: Who is My Neighbor?

Scriptures: Mathew 22:37-39, Luke 10:25-29, Luke 10:30-37, John 13:35

Bottom Line: Go and love your neighbor as yourself. Especially those who others around you don’t accept or those who are mean to you.

Teach

Picture this.

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning in the middle of June. The sun is high in the sky, and it’s a perfect 76 degrees, not too hot and not too cold. A family is riding in their Tahoe with the sun roof open listening to their favorite song on satellite radio. Right before turning into the mall parking lot they see a man wearing dirty blue jeans, a ripped t-shirt, and flip flops sitting on the corner with a cardboard sign with the following words scribbled on it: Homeless and hungry. . . Will work for food. Please help! The little sister who’s just learning to read, sounds out the words and says, “Mom, let’s give that man a dollar. His sign says he’s hungry and needs food.”

The older brother looks at the man, shakes his head and says, “He’s not going to buy food. I bet he just wants money for beer.”

The mom looks at the man, then at her children, turns her blinker on and makes a quick right-hand turn. Everyone scrambles out of the car and goes into the mall to shop for brand new clothes and shoes.

Did this family make the right choice? Should they have given the hungry man some money for food or not?

While you’re thinking about that, here’s another scenario.

There’s a kid in your second period who always comes to class with this raggedy binder that’s falling apart and looks like he got it out of a trash dumpster. Most of the kids in class make fun of him every day because his papers are constantly falling out of the binder, littering the floor. Every-single-day.

You have an extra binder at home, a brand new one that’s never been used actually. Should you bring it to school the next day and give it to this kid? Would you do it?

Allow a few minutes for discussion.

This is week three in our salt and light series, and today we’re going to talk about representing Jesus to our neighbors who may or may not know about the love of God.

The Bible says that you are to love your neighbor as you love yourself, so who exactly is your neighbor? Is it the family that lives next door to you or the people down the street with all that junk in their yard?

Allow a few minutes for discussion.

Let’s look at a heart-warming story in the Bible about a man who demonstrated what it really means to love your neighbor.

Luke 10:30-37

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They [the robbers] stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii [pieces of money] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” asked Jesus.

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Jesus was explaining to the man listening to this story that in order to be a neighbor to someone, you may have to go out of your way. You may have to do something that will inconvenience you or make you uncomfortable. Sometimes you may even have to spend a little money in order to help someone in need. But if God has blessed you to be able to do it, you should be honored to help someone less fortunate. What better way to be a light in someone’s dark world?

The victim in this story was minding his own business traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked. He was jumped on, beat up and robbed for no apparent reason. The criminals tore off his clothes and beat him so bad that they almost killed him.

Now the troubling part of this story is that a priest, a man of God, walked by, saw this dying man lying helplessly on the street, and instead of helping him he crossed the road to walk on the other side. He avoided the helpless man and went on his way.

Wow!

But so did the Levite, who came along a little while later. He too, walked to the other side of the road to avoid the dying man. Why do you think the priest and the Levite were unwilling to help this man? What would you have done?

Allow some time for discussion.

It’s a good thing the story did not end there because eventually a Samaritan man came along, saw the dying man on the side of the road, and decided to help him.

If you really want to be a light in this world, do something that other people are afraid to do. Help someone that others are unwilling to help. Love someone who is difficult to love. Reach out to a hurting friend and give them encouraging words of hope. Do something that takes you out of your comfort zone; you may even be inconvenienced, but as a representative of Jesus Christ, that’s what you do! That’s what the Samaritan did in this story, and that’s what Jesus did on the cross for you and me!

Let’s look at our next two scriptures.

Mathew 22:37-39

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.”

Luke 10:25-29On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” He replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

What do these two scriptures have in common?

Allow some time for discussion.

Jesus wants you to love the Lord God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind (first and foremost). Then love your neighbor as you love yourself.

If you will not hurt yourself, then you should not hurt your neighbor, and remember your neighbor is not limited to the people you live next door to. Your neighbor may be the lady at the grocery store or the homeless man with the cardboard sign. Love them as much as you love your own self.

John 13:35

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

The true test to see if someone is really a Christian is the way they love other people.

Small Group Questions

Why is it so important to love your neighbor?Who is your neighbor?What would you have done in the story of the good Samaritan if you had seen a dying man lying on the side of the road?Have you ever had to help someone who was hurting?How do you respond to people who are mean to you?Were you an example of salt and/or light this past week?What is the first and greatest commandment?What is the second commandment that is like the first?Finish this: By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, _____________________________.