Sunday Jan 22nd. Join us in the book of Luke Chapter 10

In one paragraph

On January 22, 2023, the pastor walked First Baptist Jackson through the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. He built the passage around a live audience poll, asking the congregation to name people they ought to be able to trust and then to name the group or person they find most offensive to the advance of the gospel. The result made the parable uncomfortably personal. The setup began with...

Read together

1. Psalm 34 opening call to worship, 'glorify the Lord with me, and let's exalt his name together'
2. Psalm 23 shared as a word of comfort, 'even though I walk through the darkest valley...you are with me'
3. Psalm 62 introduced the offering song, 'O my people, trust him at all times and pour your heart out to him'
4. Luke 10:25-37 main sermon text, the parable of the Good Samaritan
5. Luke 6:35-36 closing benediction, 'love your enemies and do good and lend and expect nothing in return'

Talk about it

1. The lawyer asked Jesus 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' and Jesus turned it back on him with 'What is your reading of it?' What does it tell us that Jesus answered a question with a question rather than just giving the lawyer a straight answer?
2. The pastor said that when Jesus told the lawyer 'Do this and you will live,' he wasn't affirming a works-based religion, but rather giving an impossible standard that none of us can meet on our own. Do you agree with that reading? What does it change about how you hear that exchange?
3. The congregation filled in the blank for the Samaritan with answers like 'someone from the woke culture,' 'LGBTQ,' 'Christian nationalists,' and 'abortionists.' What does it feel like to put your own answer in that blank and then watch that person be the one who stops and helps?
4. The pastor pointed out that Jesus flipped the lawyer's question from 'Who is my neighbor?' to 'To whom can I be a neighbor?' Why does that shift matter, and how does it change the way you think about who you are responsible for?
5. The benediction from Luke 6 says to love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return, because God 'is kind to ungrateful and evil men.' What would it look like practically, this week, to act on that toward the group or person you wrote down on your card?