Love Who?
Liz’s pastor challenges him to go out and love an enemy. Can Liz and his friends really love someone like the Good Samaritan did?
Before You ListenLet's Get Started
Theme: Love Your Neighbor.
1. 1 John 3:18 talks about loving with actions. How many songs do you know that are about love? How many are about how love feels? How many are about what love does?
2. In Mark 12:28-31 Jesus says that the greatest commandments are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” These two things are related. God created all people, even those who we find hard to like. When we love others as much as we love ourselves, we show God how much we love him! As you listed to this episode, think about people you know who might be hard to love.
After you listen
Quiz
Reflect
In this episode, Pastor Dan challenges the youth group with the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:30-37. In this story, the religious people who the listeners expected to help a suffering man passed right on by.
They may have had reasons. The travellers were all going to Jericho, which was a place where priests performed sacrifices. Maybe the priest and the Levite were afraid they would be late. Maybe they thought that touching a dirty blood-covered man might make them “unclean” and they would not be able to perform their religious duties.
Would it be inconvenient for you to show someone love? Would it make you late? Would it keep you from something else you want to do? God asks you to love with actions, even if those actions are difficult or inconvenient. After all, Jesus gave up everything to show love to you.
Want to dig deeper into how to treat your “neighbors”? Try Leviticus 19:18, Proverbs 14:21, and Romans 13:10.
Challenge
The Jewish man by the side of the road had specific needs: he needed first aid, food, and shelter. The Samaritan met all those needs. Jesus end the story by saying, “Go and do likewise.” Is there someone you know who needs to feel loved by God, and by you?
What needs does that person have? Friendship? Help with homework? Getting the dishes done? What specific actions can you do today to meet those needs?
