Join us for Bible Study this Sunday at 11:30 AM
Texts to Ponder
Luke 10:30-37 [show]Luke 10:30-37
[30]Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. [31]Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. [32]So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. [33]But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. [34]He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. [35]And the next day he took out two denarii(1) and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' [36]Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" [37]He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." (ESV)
Footnotes
1. [10:35] A 'denarius' was a day's wage for a laborer
Ephesians 2:8-10 [show]Ephesians 2:8-10
[8]For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9]not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10]For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)
Additional Texts to Ponder
Jeremiah 29:4-7 [show]Jeremiah 29:4-7
[4]"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: [5]Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. [6]Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. [7]But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (ESV)
Jeremiah 33:6-9 [show]Jeremiah 33:6-9
[6]Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. [7]I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. [8]I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. [9]And this city(1) shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it. (ESV)
Footnotes
1. [33:9] Hebrew 'And it'
Isaiah 58:1-8 [show]Isaiah 58:1-8
[58:1]"Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
[2]Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
[3]'Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?'
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,(1)
and oppress all your workers.
[4]Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
[5]Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the LORD?
[6]"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed(2) go free,
and to break every yoke?
[7]Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
[8]Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Footnotes
1. [58:3] Or 'pursue your own business'
2. [58:6] Or 'bruised'
Isaiah 65:17-25 [show]Isaiah 65:17-25
[17]"For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
[18]But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
[19]I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
[20]No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
[21]They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
[22]They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy(1) the work of their hands.
[23]They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,(2)
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD,
and their descendants with them.
[24]Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
[25]The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent's food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,"
says the LORD.
Footnotes
1. [65:22] Hebrew 'shall wear out'
2. [65:23] Or 'for sudden terror'
Luke 6:36 [show]Luke 6:36
[36]Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (ESV)
Luke 14:34 [show]Luke 14:34
[34]"Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? (ESV)
Luke 19:41 [show]Luke 19:41
[41]And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, (ESV)
Matthew 5:45 [show]Matthew 5:45
[45]so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (ESV)
Questions to Ponder:
What are some of the things that keep us from serving others?
What things encourage us to help others?
In what ways has Christ’s service to you effected your service to others?
In what ways does serving others point people to Christ?
How has serving others changed the way you look at God and others?
