Take The Neighbor Challenge
Part of Kenton’s message this weekend was centered on the idea that we, like the people living during Jesus’ earthly ministry, can easily miss out on receiving the revolutionary message of Jesus.
For the people of Jesus’ time that looked like missing out on what He came to do because of their hope for a Messiah Warrior King to come rescue them from their Roman oppressors and establish a new earthly Kingdom. They were so focused on their immediate needs and expectations that they failed to see the bigger picture of Jesus’ mission to redeem all of humanity for all time by defeating the power of sin and death.
People still miss Jesus today. Kenton went on to explain that we often miss one of the most fundamental commands of scripture and Jesus teachings; the command to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Government leaders in the city of Denver were recently asked what they needed from their citizens and churches in order to make their city a better place. Their response was that “churches should work to make a greater number of good neighbors.” The truth is, the way we neighbor says a lot about what we believe about God. Do we live lives of exclusion and privacy or do we allow our routines to be interrupted so that Jesus can be put on display to the people around us?
Spend time this week looking at the follow passages and discuss what it could look like to live out this call to love your neighbors.
How many “famous” neighbors can you name?
Sample Answers May Include…
- Kramer (Seinfeld)
- Wilson (Home Improvement)
- Steve Urkel (Family Matters)
- Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)
- Eddie Haskel (Leave It To Beaver)
Read
- Leviticus 19:8
- Proverbs 3:28
- Proverbs 14:21
- Luke 10:25-27
What does it mean to love your neighbor?
Commentary: We often think about love in terms of a light, warm and fuzzy or even a distant kind of love that settles for thinking good thoughts about a person. Love here looks like willing the good of others as God wills it. Not only do we will the good, we step in to put the goodness of God on display through sacrificial living.
Where have you received or expressed this idea of loving your neighbor in your life?
What obstacles are there to being a loving neighbor?
Sample Answers May Include…
- Our electric garages, fence and gates… all these things can serve as modern day motes.
- Not enough time
- Our necessity for routine and space
- Our desire for privacy and security
What steps can you take live out Jesus’ command to love your neighbors?
Leader Note: Reference the “Who’s My Neighbor – Getting to now the people next door” card (see bottom of the page) used during the weekend at this point. Talk about their reactions to this exercise. How did they do? Were they surprised at how many or how little names they could write down? Take time to do this exercise in your group if the majority were unable to do it during a weekend service.
Only about 10% of the population is able to write down 5 names so don’t be too surprised or discouraged. However, this is a great exercise to challenge your group this week with.
Encourage them (and yourself!) to take what for most of us may be the first step in loving our neighbors this week… learning who they are! Use the Who’s My Neighbor Card card as a tool to help your group to engage this exercise. Challenge your group to fill this card in the coming weeks.
How might displaying God’s love in your neighborhood develop your ability to love others outside of your community?
Sample Answers May Include…
- It builds our faith, shows us what’s possible
- Opens our eyes to the needs of others
- Increases our passion for the lost
- Develops trust and obienence
Leader Note: Explain to your group that when it comes to loving our neighbors that this is a “both and” conversation. Our neighbors are those in our physical community but Jesus is also clear that our neighbors include those who are least like us (Luke 10:29-37). They are the despised, the outcast, the poor and needy. Our call is to display Christ love to all people at all times wherever God calls us.
Our desire is that we can become these kind of “both and” people not confined to the then and when of displaying God’s love but open and willing to express it in the here and the now.