CELL NOTES 11/1/10

ICE BREAKER

Have you ever helped a stranger in distress? What happened?

THEME

Who is my neighbour?

Readings  Luke 10 : 25 – 37

                 2 Corinthians 5 ; 14  - 20

SERMON OUTLINE  

1) Intro to Galeed House bringing(largely) Muslims and Christians together. Opportunities to serve there.

2) Origin of the word “neighbour” means “near Farmer.”  Implies somebody you know and may well need their help at some time. Implies more than we usually understand.

3) Mandy’s story of the treatment of her garden, and her subsequent building of a fence.

4) If they were the only Pakistanis Mandy knew she could well have assumed all were like that. Because she knows many others she knows that many Pakistanis would feel as outraged as her.

5) Easy to accept stereotypes and prejudice. Even Paul appears to (Titus 1 : 12 – 13).

6) Story in Toronto airport when helped by a Muslim woman swathed in black.

7) The parable underlines that Jesus frequently crossed barriers, thought of the person, and not the stereotype.

8) 2 Corinthians 5 : 14  Jesus died that ALL may live in Him.

9) I hate being judged, even dislike it when Christians are lumped together for criticism – so others feel like that when I am the accuser.

10) Story of teenagers at party.

11) 2 Cor 5 : 18 – reconciling, bringing people together. At Galeed House they frequently see how vastly Christians and Muslims misunderstand each other.

12) Who do we feel is too hard for God to change? God’s activity in Peter’s life to change his views about Gentiles (Acts 10) shows the lengths He will go to.

13) Impact of what we learn from childhood, parents, media etc on our values and beliefs.

14) Story of militant Muslim woman who was in fact reading the Bible.

15) Loving neighbours – even Christian neighbours – can be tough.  Took decades for Jewish Christians to accept Gentiles, who had some different values.

QUESTIONS OF APPLICATION

1) Read the Luke passage. What hits you most from that, and/or from the message on Sunday?

2) How did you feel about Mandy's comments about the Taliban?  Where are you most likely to judge somebody via stereotype or prejudice, rather than real knowledge?

3) Read the 2 Corinthians passage. Has anybody ever been a reconciler for you? Where can you be a reconciler?

4) Is there a person or situation that you have decided is too hard for God?

5) How do you distinguish between values that you have imbibed from childhood, culture etc, and those which God wants us to hold?