Week 5 - CARE
CONNECT
What are you thankful for?
What challenge are you facing?
Have there been any answers to prayer?
Pray for each other.
Last week you were praying for Your 3 How has that been going?
Did anything stand out to you from last week’s follow-up Bible readings?
How did your “I will …” statement from last week go?
How did your sharing goal from last week go?
How’s your memory work coming along?
John 15:5 (NIV)
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
DISCOVER
Let’s start with a review.
Our mission is to Join Jesus in making disciples of those around us by living a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle.
JOIN JESUS
Jesus calls us to partner with Him in the mission of making disciples.
JESUS-JOINED
Only as we remain in Jesus can we bear the fruit of making disciples.
WHERE?
Look around you to see your ripe-for-harvest mission field.
PRAYER
Pray for others to encounter Jesus.
And now …
CARE
Care for others’ needs.
Ask God to speak to you as you read His Word.
Luke 10:25-37 (CSB)
25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test [Jesus], saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.”
28 “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’
36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.
Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”
Have someone retell this passage in their own words.
What stands out to you in this passage?
What does this passage say about God (The Father, His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit)?
What does this passage say about people, including ourselves?
What does this passage say about the life God invites us to live?
Digging Deeper
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was rocky, isolated and notorious for crime and robberies. And to touch a dead body would make a Jew spiritually unclean.
What “good” reasons could the priest and Levite give for not stopping to help this man?
Why is it so surprising that a Samaritan would stop to help a wounded Jew?
Why is it so surprising the Jesus made the Samaritan the “hero” of the story?
Why does Jesus turn the lawyer’s question around from who’s my neighbor to who’s being a neighbor?
The question really isn’t, who’s my neighbor but am I being a _______?
Why is showing mercy such a neighborly thing to do?
Compassionate Care
Matthew 9:36 (NIV)
When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
14 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV)
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Why are acts of compassionate care such a powerful witness to the reality of Jesus in our lives?
Why do we need have patience and persistence when showing people compassionate care?
Acts of compassionate care can be practical, sacrificial or supernatural. Here are some examples:
Practical Care - Offering to pick up your neighbor’s kids from an after school program during a busy season of life or helping your co-worker build a new deck at their home or simply listening to a someone’s struggles.
Sacrificial Care - Offering to pay for your friend’s unexpected and financially devastating car repair or advocating for a colleague who was unfairly fired from work or a neighbor who was unjustly kicked out of her apartment.
Supernatural Care - Offering to pray for a friend’s healing or struggling marriage.
Share some stories from each category.
Why is the question, “How can I pray for you?” a good way to show the compassionate care of Jesus?
If someone were to ask you why you cared, how would you respond?
Why might it be good to respond with “I thought it would be something Jesus would do”?
Mission Assignment
What act of compassionate care would witness to each of Your 3? How could you show them this compassion? How could your group support you in this?
This week, look for an opportunity to ask each of Your 3, “How can I pray for you?”
Then, right there and then, pray a simple prayer asking God to act on their request. Keep the prayer short and sweet. Whatever you do, don’t preach through your prayer. If you keep it simple, they just may think, “Well, I could have done that” and start doing that—start praying on their own.
The hope, of course, is that as God answers the prayer, the person would connect the dots between the prayer and how God has moved in their life. Then they would realize that God is there for them and cares for them. This encounter with the Living God could lead to important questions about prayer and faith and God’s role in their life and a conversation with you about these matters.
Keep praying this missional prayer for Your 3.
Father, I pray for _______'s salvation. Help me to live a consistent and attractive Christlike life around _______. Show me _______’s needs so that I can serve him/her with Your love. Do something in _______’s life that can only be explained by Your presence and power. Deepen our relationship together. Open doors for me to have spiritual conversations with _______ and help me to share the Good News of Jesus with him/her. Overcome Satan's blinding of _______'s heart so that he/she will repent of his/her sin, believe in Jesus as Savior and follow Him as Lord with others.
From Your 3 to the Next 1
The wounded Jew probably wasn’t on the Samaritan’s “Your 3” list. So don’t limit showing Jesus love to just Your 3. And let’s not over complicate things. Our mission is to simply receive the love of Jesus and then to share it with the next person we meet and then the next and the next …. Think of yourself as a butcher at the meat counter in a grocery store. Serve the person you’re with and when you’re done say, “Who’s next? How can I help you?”
Jesus-Joined
John 15:5 (NIV)
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Why is it important to live out our memory work for FRUIT when showing the practical, sacrificial and supernatural care of Jesus?
LIVE
What truth have you discovered from today’s Bible passage(s) and conversation?
What would stop you from believing and obeying this truth?
How will you live out this truth this coming week? Finish this statement: “I will ….”
Who else needs to hear this truth? How could you share it with them?
When will we meet again?
Who will facilitate that meeting?
Pray for God’s help as you seek to follow Jesus this coming week.
FOLLOW-UP BIBLE READINGS
Here are the Bible passages you are encouraged to read this coming week:
BUDDY SYSTEM
Connect with your buddy this week and ask each other these questions:
How are your readings going?
How’s your “I will …” statement coming along?
How’s your sharing goal coming along?
How can I pray for you?