What Kind Of Neighbor Are You?
(One Thing Is Needful)
Lu. 10: 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.
8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.
What Kind Of Neighbor Are You?
(One Thing Is Needful)
INTRO: What makes a good neighbor?
One who takes care of his/her property?
Keeps their kids, pets, parties, etc. under control? And off your grass!!
Does not play loud music, dresses nice, has no dandelions or weeds seeding your yard?
Maybe they mow your yard when you are sick or out of town, or if you are tired.
One who offers to baby-sit, walk your dog, run your kids to soccer practice?One who invites you to all their barbecues?
Now these sound pretty good, right?
But a good neighbor would have other qualities too, right?
A perfect neighbor never makes you look bad in front of others, especially your spouse!
They are never too ambitious and mow their yard until you do.
They never wash their car until you do.
They do not make cookies and home-baked pies for your husband to compare.
They do not own a newer car than you do.
Their kids are not as smart as yours.
Their dog cannot do as many tricks as yours.
Oh yeah…
They never complain! They never badmouth you! They never peep out their windows? So they mind their own business!!!!!
Share info about present neighbors differences.
Now to the message…
These are time consuming
Simple everyday life
Self-feeding
Self-serving (advantage - self)
Simply require time
Even though we are busy…
We sometimes spend time helping others along the way
These are also time consuming, but have some benefits
It is good to help
Help often brings help
Help affects our attitudes
We often avoid or miss the needful things in life
We need to take time to be a "Mary" as well as a "Martha"…
People appreciate our true caring
Christ can show up in our lives for them
God can be seen caring through our lives
What kind of "neighbor" are you?
Engrossed?
Mediocre?
Caring?
Serving?
Sharing?
What one needful thing do your neighbors need? - Spending time with them
How does this apply to us collectively as a church and our "neighbors?"
Share story about Dessie, a neighbor form the past
Gary Marcum - East 38th Street Free Will Baptist Church - 111200am