CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH COMPASSION
Introduction
I’m grateful that we are having Compassion Sunday, because of all of the qualities a Christian should have, compassion for others is one of the greatest. One of the things I love about Forsythe Church is the consistent compassion that is evident here. Monthly collections for community helping agencies. Meals on Wheels, bringing food to those who may not eat otherwise. We give monthly to the Desaird Street Shelter, feeding over 100 hungry people twice a day. Churches and children in Honduras, scholarships. Weekly giving of church funds benevolence. You rise to the occasion often, and I’m so happy to see the way God works through such open hearts. That’s why I knew that Compassion Sunday would be a great Sunday for Forsythe Church.
Colossians 3:12 NIV Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Clothing ourselves with compassion is the theme for today. This is too have the heart of Jesus - for He was the greatest example of compassion. His death on the cross was the greatest act of compassion humanity has ever experienced.
Expressing the truth about the need for compassion due to poverty is not about producing guilt or shame, but is to empower us to make a difference whenever and wherever we can.
Compassion Sunday is an expression of willingness to make a difference and a commitment to love the world around us.
Here are 7 Reasons Why We Should Always Be Compassionate
1. Compassion Reminds us to be Grateful.
It may be hard for us to imagine the kind of poverty that robs people of dignity, quality of life, and sometimes their lives. Children living in poverty are lacking in critical resources: Not enough food, water, medicine, shelter, education, family or community. They look like vulnerable children, orphans, widows, prisoners, homeless, refugees, children forced into prostitution or slave labor, the abused, the exploited — those with no power to provide for or protect themselves. Now what were we complaining about? If you have shelter, running water, a vehicle, a job - you are so rich!
1 Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
2. Compassion is a Way of Spreading the Good News.
As the Church, the Body of Christ, our love and service to the poor are a light to the world.
John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The selfless act of giving to those in need is the kind of “love for one another” that causes the world to realize there is a different, deeper love available to them as well.
3. Compassion is a Way to Obey the Golden Rule.
Luke 6:31 NLT Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
Can you imagine yourself living in extreme poverty with no ability to change your situation on your own? Wouldn’t you long for help from those with the power to do so?
4. Compassion is a Way to Please God
James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Caring is more than just a feeling, it is expressed in action.
5. Compassion Takes the Focus off of Self
The biggest challenge we have to face in serving the poor will not be the devil or our finances but SELF. As in — ourselves, selfishness, self-obsession, self-gratification, or simply too much self-focus. Loving the poor can be a challenge for us Americans because, like it or not, we live in a “consumer culture” geared toward getting us to focus mostly on one person: ourself. Jesus did not teach self- gratification but SELF-DENIAL? Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
6. Compassion is the Key to Following Jesus.
Matthew 15:32 …“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
7. Compassion is the Way We Serve Jesus
When we serve “the least of these” we are serving Jesus
MT 25:40 “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
MT 25:45 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Of all of the motives to serve, this is the highest. If you knew Jesus needed help, would you help Him? Of course you would! Well, He says we are helping Him when we serve someone who is suffering.
Conclusion
On this Compassion Sunday, I urge us all to…
+Consciously and intentionally be involved in a helping ministry.
+Be open to new opportunities to serve / love the impoverished.
+Allow our hearts to be touched by needs of humanity and act.
Today another opportunity is available - Compassion International. When you go to the sponsorship table, you’ll see the faces of children who are living in areas of extreme poverty. When you choose to sponsor, you are providing a lifeline to the local church and helping to provide nutritious food, medical care, tutoring and the opportunity to hear the gospel message. Becky Solley will tell us about her experience with Compassion International in just a few minutes.
Each of us must think of ways to reach out to the hurting and impoverished around us. This is part of the path to being like Jesus.
Colossians 3:12 “clothe yourselves with compassion”
Compassion Sunday is really about establishing the heart and habit for Compassion Everyday. Jesus taught us how to do this.
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Video of this message will be available on our YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/ForsytheChurchofChrist
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Discussion Questions for Compassion Sunday
1. Why is it so easy to forget to be grateful, when we have so much for which to be thankful? What are some things for which we regularly fail to be grateful?
2. What are some ways that our efforts to be compassionate can be a reflection of the Good News of Christ? Should helping others always have an evangelistic purpose?
3. James 1:27 speaks of religion that God accepts. James mentions caring for those in distress but then adds “refusing to let the world corrupt you.” What is James warning us about here? What connection is there between compassion and corruption?
4. Jesus taught us in Luke 9:23 to deny ourselves and take up his cross and follow him. What are some ways that ‘self’ gets in the way of the teaching to ‘follow him’? How is ‘self’ in the way of compassion?
5. One admonition in this lesson was that we are consciously and intentionally involved in a helping ministry. What helping ministries in our church have you been involved with? Is there an area of caring for the impoverished you would like to be involved with - whether we offer that kind of opportunity or not?
6. Did you feel pressured today to take a child’s name at the Compassion table? Would you describe that pressure in positive or negative terms?
7. Colossians 3:12 instructs to “clothe yourselves with compassion”. How do you plan to obey that instruction?
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Resources include some sermon suggestions from the Compassion International website:
http://compassion.com
