Groups Guy

Here’s a few thoughts from our preaching team on our upcoming sermon (Sept 26). These are strong words. They are difficult to apply. If done will transform our lives and those around us. May God grant us his strength to live this way.

One thought on this text is the push Jesus throws out for us to love our enemies. Jesus takes this command to the extreme. He says for to love the absolute toughest person for us to love. Perhaps a helpful start for us too is to love those that simply irritate us or those we don’t necessarily care for or those we want to ignore. If we aren’t loving those around us whether friend, foe or indifferent we will never be able to love our enemy.

This idea of extremes too, may have application in the command “turn the other cheek.” Could our first step be, not responding, by biting our tongue when someone says something slightly disparaging at us? Could we not retaliate when someone critics our work? Maybe it would be responding back in love when we are dismissed.

Jesus definitely pushes us to the toughest applications in this text and we should not lower his commands. Yet maybe along the way we should not forget the less drastic acts of obedience Jesus desires.

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Sermon outline-9-26-10

sermon on the plain: faith and money in luke