Let’s Wake Up To A Genuine Concern For Others. Series

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). Compassion Is Based On Need Not Worth. (vs 30)

(2). Compassion Feels Something (vs 33)

(3). Compassion Does Something. (vs 34)

(4). Compassion Cost Something. (vs 35)

(5). Compassion Demonstrates real faith. (vs 36-37)

SERMON BODY

Ill:

• The country was Italy,

• The year was 1950;.

• The occasion: A teenage beauty contest.

• Who won the contest, I don’t know.

• But that night a 15year old teenager;

• Was spotted in the line-up of contestants by movie scouts;

• And in 1950 at age 15 her film career started.

• The name of the newcomer was born Sofia Villani Scicolone;

• The named was adapted to Sophia Loren,

• And an international career in movies was launched.

• One time Sophia Loren had some valuable jewellery stolen,

• She was upset and crying hysterically.

• The Italian movie director, Vittorio De Sica, took her to one side and said:

“Listen to me, Sophia. I am much older than you and if there is one great truth I have learned about life, it is this: NEVER CRY OVER ANYTHING THAT CAN’T CRY OVER YOU!”

• TRANSITION: What a great bit of wisdom, and what a great lesson to learn!

• People are more important than things!

• People are more important than cars AND houses and furniture.

• People are more important than possessions, more important than stuff,

• People are more important than all material things!

• The Bible makes it very clear that people are important to God,

• So they should also be important to us.

• It’s not good enough that we’re nice to people at church or at work.

• We need to be connected in our community.

• i.e. People should know who they can call in an emergency,

• i.e. Or when they’re lonely,

• i.e. Or when they need someone to celebrate with!

We touched a little on this last week when we thought about ‘Fellowship’:

• Fellowship is expression of being part of the Church;

• And although we emphasise a personal faith in Jesus Christ for salvation,

• The Bible makes it very clear;

• There is no such thing as an independent Christian,

• We are called to be a collective, to support, encourage and to love one another.

Ill:

• The Bibles imagery of the Church is always collective;

• We are part of a body, part of a flock, a kingdom, a building,

• A household, an army, an assembly, a priesthood, a family.

• Collective terms

• And we fellowship together to out-work our faith;

• And to impact our communities, our world.

But when it comes to Christian compassion:

• That goes beyond ‘family’

• In fact we are taught to show compassion to everyone;

• Even to our enemies, even to those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-48).

Ill:

• In your cars is a useful little gadget;

• Because it is impossible to look down your petrol/diesel tube;

• And see how much fuel it contains.

• The manufacturers of cars have given you a gauge on the dashboard;

• In theory that gauge ought to tell you what’s in the tank;

• i.e. When the gauge is on full, the tank is full.

• i.e. When the gauge is half way, the tank is half full;

• i.e. When the gauge is on empty, the tank is empty.

• TRANSITION: Did you know God has given us a gauge?

• It is a gauge that measures our love!

• If you want to know how much do I love God, he says look at the gauge!

• How much do you love other people?

• It is impossible to see our love for God (like looking down the fuel pipe);

• But it is possible to see the gauge of how much we value other people.

Ill:

• The great evangelist of the eighteenth century D.L. Moody;

• Used to tell the story of a little street urchin in Chicago,

• Who to get to Moody’s Church Sunday School would walk many miles;

• And go pass church after church and Sunday school after Sunday School;

• In order to get to the church that D.L. Moody served.

• Someone asked the kid on one occasion, "Where are you going?"

• The boy replied, "To Mr. Moody's Sunday school."

• The person said; “But that is many, many blocks away and its freezing cold.

• Come into my Church, to my Sunday school instead."

• The boy said, "No."

• But the person persisted and finally asked the boy why he went so far;

• Walking across the city in the cold to Mr. Moody's Sunday school.

• The boy’s answer was short and simple; "Because they love a fellow over there!"