Tue Oct 21

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the word love.

Reading

Luke 10:25-37—Love Your Neighbor

Optional Reading

Amos 4:1-11

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor.
You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Because God loved us, we can love our neighbor.

Questions

(some read the ?s before notes, then ask them after)

What is the second greatest commandment?
Who is your neighbor?
How can you love your neighbors?

Notes

(See Saturday for authors.)

Again, from my first sermon as the full-time pastor of SRC, I said that I hope that you love the Lord your God with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Who are your neighbors? How many of them can you name? How do you feel about those neighbors? How well do you know them? What are their interests? Where will they spend eternity?

You can't love your neighbor without loving God. I didn't say you can't love your neighbor without loving yourself. God says you already love yourself. Self-love already exists. If you pursue self-love, you will often be led to hatred of yourself and hatred of God. If you pursue loving God you will be led to the love of yourself and love of others. Without loving God, you have no basis for loving your neighbor. Without loving God, you have no ability to love your neighbor. If you are in Christ—his love compels you to love others.

Joel’s audience had failed to love their neighbor. Instead, they oppressed the poor and sought to have a life of ease. Like this good Samaritan, we should be willing to give of our time and effort and sacrifice in order to love our neighbor, because God in Jesus loved us.

And who is your neighbor? Any other person with whom God has given us contact. Maybe God has given you contact with them so that through your life and words and love, they might seek God and find him (Acts 17:26-27).

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 15a, 134b

Prayer

Commit, with God’s help, to love your neighbors.
Give thanks for something from last Lord’s Day’s sermons.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.