Imitate: Luke Chapter 10 | CRC Sunday

Devotional

Day 1: The Most Important Thing: Loving God with All Your Being

Loving God is not a compartmentalized activity. It is the complete and total submission of every part of our nature to Him. This means offering our heart, soul, mind, and strength—our feelings, our spirit, our intellect, and our actions—back to the One who gave them to us. It is a lifelong journey of learning to hand everything over, walking in the direction of His will. This is the foundation upon which all else is built, the first and greatest command. [50:42]

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30, NIV)

Reflection: As you consider the different parts of your being—your heart, soul, mind, and strength—which area feels the most distant or withheld from God right now? What would it look like to begin offering that specific part of your life back to Him in surrender today?

Day 2: The Call to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

The second command is inextricably linked to the first. Once we are oriented toward God, we are positioned to love others rightly. This command calls us to an intentional, active love that mirrors the care we naturally show ourselves. It is not merely a feeling but a conscious decision to extend the same grace, concern, and practical compassion to those around us that we would want for ourselves. This is how the world sees the love of Christ made tangible. [56:37]

“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31, NIV)

Reflection: Think about the practical ways you care for your own needs for rest, nourishment, and encouragement. How might you intentionally extend one of those same acts of care to a specific person in your life this week?

Day 3: Examining Our Lists and Justifying Ourselves

It is a human tendency to create lists that define who is worthy of our love and compassion and who is not. We often seek to justify ourselves by categorizing others based on their actions, beliefs, or backgrounds. This inward focus directly contradicts the expansive, unconditional love demonstrated by Jesus. The parable of the Good Samaritan challenges us to confront the ways we rationalize withholding love from those we have deemed ‘other.’ [58:39]

“But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” (Luke 10:29, NIV)

Reflection: What unspoken list do you carry of people or groups you find difficult to love or pray for? What reasons do you use to justify keeping them on that list, and how might those reasons conflict with the heart of God?

Day 4: Redefining Neighbor Through Compassionate Action

Our neighbor is not defined by proximity, similarity, or agreement. Jesus radically redefines ‘neighbor’ as anyone in need whom we have the capacity to help, especially those we consider enemies or outsiders. True neighborly love is shown through merciful action, not passive feeling. It involves seeing past labels, moving toward pain, and willingly incurring cost—whether of time, resources, or comfort—to embody the compassion of Christ. [01:01:12]

“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.” (Luke 10:33-34a, NIV)

Reflection: Who in your sphere of influence—perhaps someone very different from you or even at odds with you—is in a place of need? What is one tangible, compassionate action you could take to move toward them as a neighbor?

Day 5: Going and Doing Likewise in a Divided World

The call to follow Christ is a call to action. In a culture deeply divided and fueled by outrage, we are commanded to be agents of a different kingdom. This means consciously rejecting the patterns of division and instead choosing the way of love, even when it is inconvenient and counter-cultural. We are to ‘go and do likewise,’ allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts so that our lives consistently reflect the mercy we have received. [01:04:59]

“Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” (Luke 10:37b, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you noticed yourself being passively pulled into cultural divisions or arguments this week? What would it look like for you to actively ‘go and do likewise’ by choosing a purposeful act of love or reconciliation in that specific area?

Sermon Summary

Gratitude for children’s ministry opens into a focused study of Luke 10, centering on the great commandment and the parable of the Good Samaritan. Scripture emerges as the authority: love God with all heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love neighbor as oneself. The call to love God demands wholehearted surrender rather than compartmentalized devotion; worship appears as the submission of every faculty—feelings, inner life, intellect, and action—to the Creator. Loving God with everything reorients priorities and gives moral cohesion to how choices get made in public and private life.

The parable of the Good Samaritan exposes religious failure and moral clarity. Two respected religious figures avoid the wounded man, while the social enemy stops, binds wounds, and pays care costs. The narrative flips expectations: the outsider becomes the model of mercy, and mercy defines who qualifies as neighbor. Love transpires as concrete, costly action, not mere feeling or cultural posturing.

Contemporary society reflects the same tendency to divide. Algorithms, tribal media, and social scoring amplify lists of who belongs and who does not, encouraging dismissive attitudes toward the suffering across lines of politics, ethnicity, and class. The diagnosis lands squarely on personal responsibility: consuming divisive content fuels separation, and personal hearts must change before culture will. Repentance requires honesty about the inner lists that exempt certain people from compassion.

The ethical conclusion stands blunt and urgent: obedience to the greatest commandment requires practice. Loving neighbor as oneself translates into practical mercy—showing up, helping, bearing cost, and refusing to let enemies remain dehumanized. The community must examine where identity in Christ competes with cultural allegiances, name the dark corners of the heart, and actively surrender them to God. The final summons asks two pointed questions for confession and change: where is God not fully loved, and which neighbors fail to receive love as oneself. The response involves concrete repentance, renewed allegiance to Christ’s lordship over heart, mind, soul, and strength, and a commitment to go and do likewise.

Key Takeaways

1. Love God with all of you Loving God means surrendering feelings, inner life, intellect, and actions to divine lordship so worship shapes every decision. This refuses compartmentalizing faith—no private zones kept from God—and makes moral choices coherent with Creator truth. The discipline of whole-hearted devotion reshapes judgment, softens self-righteousness, and fuels compassion for others. [45:43]
2. Love neighbors beyond your list The Good Samaritan makes the social enemy the exemplar, insisting neighborly love crosses ethnic and cultural boundaries. Mercy chooses proximity of need over comfort, identity, or deservedness; it pays cost, takes risk, and refuses neat categorization. Practicing this love undoes tribal boxes and reveals true likeness to the crucified and risen Christ. [60:59]
3. Name the lists that divide Personal “not my neighbor” lists form quietly—political, cultural, or moral—then harden into judgment and exclusion. Honest inspection of those lists exposes where image-bearing people get written off and where hypocrisy hides behind righteousness. Naming these lists breaks their power and opens the way for genuine repentance and relational repair. [48:10]
4. Repent and practice merciful action Repentance must move from remorse to repeated, costly deeds that reflect mercy’s grammar: bind wounds, pay costs, accompany the hurting. Turning theological assent into habitual compassion trains the heart to love enemies and reorders loyalties away from culture and toward Christ. The community’s witness depends less on rhetoric and more on the visible work of mercy. [71:04]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[40:49] - Opening & announcements
[42:29] - Series: Luke 10 introduction
[45:15] - The lawyer's question and commandment
[50:42] - Loving God wholly explained
[60:10] - The Good Samaritan narrative
[63:45] - Enemy becomes the neighbor
[65:17] - Culture, media, and division
[71:04] - Two questions & call to repent
[84:28] - Altar invitation & closing

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

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Observation questions

What four aspects of a person’s being are included in the command to love God?
What specific actions did the Samaritan take to help the wounded man?
According to the parable, who did the religious leaders (the priest and Levite) fail to help, and who ultimately showed mercy?
How does Jesus redefine the term “neighbor” in his response to the expert in the law?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think the expert in the law felt the need to “justify himself” after Jesus affirmed his answer?
What might have been the reasons the priest and Levite chose to “pass by on the other side” instead of helping the injured man?
How does Jesus’ use of a Samaritan—a cultural and religious enemy—challenge the assumptions of his audience about who qualifies as a “neighbor”?
In what ways does loving God with “all your heart, soul, strength, and mind” directly affect how a person loves their neighbor?

Application questions

Where in your life are you not fully loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? What would it look like to surrender those areas completely? [50:42]
Who is on your “not my neighbor” list—people you struggle to see as worthy of love, compassion, or mercy? What would it look like to begin praying for them or serving them? [48:34]
How have algorithms, media, or social circles influenced you to dismiss or dehumanize certain groups of people? What practical step can you take this week to break that pattern? [01:05:45]
When was the last time you actively showed mercy to someone who couldn’t repay you—emotionally, financially, or practically? What held you back or compelled you to act?
Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.” What’s one tangible way you can “go and do likewise" this week in your neighborhood, workplace, or family?
How does identifying with the priest or Levite—rather than the Samaritan—reveal areas where your faith has become compartmentalized or disconnected from compassion?
In what ways have you allowed cultural or political identity to compete with your identity in Christ when it comes to loving others? What would repentance look like in this area? [01:10:45]

Sermon Clips

We got our vertical love right. I'm gonna love you with all I have because I'm made in your image. Everything I have you gave to me. I give $5 back in church, the 500 that I have, all of it belongs to you. I'm just giving you back what you gave. I'm borrowing the breath you let me use. This breath is on lease. How dare I use my mouth to shame you with it? Every part of me is to give our life is is is walking on this narrow road, this trajectory of learning how to hand everything back to the one who gave it to us. [00:54:11] (36 seconds) #AllToGod

He said this is the most important thing And then we've got a list of people we won't do it for because I suppose they're not made in the image of God, but I am. Love is not a feeling. It's an intentional action. Jesus asked the crowd, which of these three do you think proved by their actions to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? He said, the one who showed him mercy. Jesus said to him, you go and do likewise. [01:04:12] (44 seconds) #LoveIsAction

And that's it. Commit to what Christ said is most important. The church in, singing, the groups, the studies, all that is awesome. The most important thing. We have to commit to this or we are wasting our time And the world's got to see what Jesus looks like and they don't know. And sometimes you look in the mirror and you don't know either but the benefit is you can say, Lord, I I want to look more like you today. Take this area of my life that I'm struggling in and show me what to do. [01:13:59] (40 seconds) #LiveLikeJesus

Not a one. But it ain't the media's fault. It's the heart of us. What do we do? We go and do likewise. We go and love our enemy. We refuse to be caught up in the fray. We start with the person on our list that we don't want to be our neighbor and we say, God, change my heart because how dare I not pray for love or open my home or extend my hand to somebody that you died on a cross to save. [01:06:32] (33 seconds) #LoveTheEnemy

So Jesus tells the story and makes the enemy the hero. And what's the point of him making the enemy the hero? The enemy shows compassion. The enemy becomes the neighbor. The the enemy didn't consider himself an enemy of his enemy. Does that make sense? We put our enemies in boxes and say because you're that, I don't have to. Because you're that, I don't have to pray or care? Because you're one of them, I can ignore what Jesus said because you don't matter that much? [01:03:28] (44 seconds) #CompassionBecomesNeighbor

If we would say, Jesus is Lord over every other voice, my sheep know my voice. If we would listen to him and not do all these other things, that everything could change. Everything would change. Everything would change. But Jesus has to be Lord over all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. We cannot allow the culture to dictate this stuff. I need you to repent with me because none of us are innocent. And I would really like to give this to God, especially the people on my list that I don't wanna love, that he commanded me to. [01:10:42] (47 seconds) #JesusLordOverAll

That ain't the heart of God. And it's it's it's breaking my heart that we can just be dismissive of fellow image bearers because they're on our list as enemy. Because even if they are legit an enemy, we are commanded to love our enemies. We we don't have a way. Stop skipping the pages you don't like. You know what I mean? Why do you call me Lord and not do what I say? Literal stuff Jesus said. If you're not gonna call if you're not gonna love your enemy, don't call Jesus your Lord. Please. It's off brand. [01:09:05] (55 seconds) #NoCompartmentFaith

The divided states of America is tearing itself apart at the seams. And you can blame the media all you want to and say, it's not us, it's them. Because when we look at what's happening, the tendency is to think, well, it's not my fault, it's them. Somebody's to blame but it's definitely not me. If you read this and don't get introspective, you miss the entire point. [01:05:17] (24 seconds) #LookInward

Number two, what neighbors do you not love as yourself? Who's on the list? Who's on the list? Who don't you have compassion for? Who don't you care about? If they get they if they get what's coming to them, you would rejoice. When God says, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Where is my heart not lining up with his? [01:12:58] (37 seconds) #WhoIsOnYourList

So, Jesus prays on earth as is in heaven, we are walking in the direction of that here. He's not saying, just hold on till you get there and it'll be alright. He's like, now. Right now. In the way you live with your neighbor, with yourself. Yes, you're you're going to have hard days but you know you're going to have trouble, he promised that, but fear not. I've overcome the world. I've overcome the fact that these consequences and these struggles and these challenges identify you and keep you to I've overcome all that. Your identity is in me and we get to enjoy that now and then we get to enjoy in his fullness for eternity. [00:55:48] (39 seconds) #LiveKingdomNow

because we're not gonna when we're in face to face with him and we're surrounded by his glory and there's zero darkness trying to infiltrate us all the time, we're not gonna be distracted with our selfishness, with with who we with who's not on our list, with my 401K and am I gonna be able to do this in thirty years? Like, we're not Zero distractions and all I have to do with all my day forever is enjoy the goodness of God. [00:55:21] (26 seconds) #LiveInGodsGoodness

So the pastor sees one of his people beaten and bloodied on the side of the road and says, I don't want anything to do with this. I don't know how you got here. Maybe it's unclean if I touch you. Maybe if I get you, they're gonna get me. Maybe they're waiting. Whatever the reason is, I'm not willing to inconvenience myself to love you even though you're my own countrymen, close proximity neighbor. I'm not here to help. And he walks away. [01:01:32] (26 seconds) #DontPassBy

The worship leader who sung all the great good good father songs and songs about Jesus and he sees you in the temple with them, love it, they're just worshiping the song and shook his hand, the great music, I love it. And he sees you on the side of the road bloody, bruised and battered and says, ah, it was a fun time we had for thirty minutes but I can't get involved with this. It leaves you there. And they're your neighbor. They're supposed to be the ones to help. [01:01:57] (25 seconds) #WorshipBeyondSongs

What area of your life do you not love God entirely? What area of your life do you not love God entirely? Where don't you wanna hear what he has to say? Where do you know what he said and you just don't care? Or you care, but you just haven't given it up yet and you feel guilty about his eating you up? When you know you can do, what area of your life do you not love God entirely? [01:12:16] (38 seconds) #GiveGodEveryPart

William Temple said this. I think we've said it here a few times, but I love this definition. Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It's the submission of all of our nature to God. It's giving everything over, heart, mind, soul, and strength. I know Kevin said this a few weeks ago. A w Tozer said, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. [00:51:30] (26 seconds) #WorshipIsSubmission

Do you think God agrees with your list of who's not your neighbor? I want them to agree with mine. I got a really good list. It's very detailed. I've thought about it. You know what mean? These people definitely, but not those. Right? God. You know I mean? You can't like them because they fill in whatever blank we use to justify ourselves. [00:51:56] (29 seconds) #AlignYourHeart

What list do you have that says, not my neighbor? Well, of course, of course, they shouldn't have an easy time when they get out of jail. I know they served twenty years, but if they wouldn't had to do it, if they didn't do the thing, so it's not my fault they the the only job they can get is base level stuff and they'll never be able to afford anything. And then if they go back, they keep making bad decisions. Zero compassion. [00:48:33] (28 seconds) #CompassionNotCondemnation

It's not that it wasn't an important conversation because I believe I'm an artist. I believe it was. I don't like subliminal messaging. I don't like demonic stuff. I don't like stuff going on. I don't like Jesus being hijacked for political means. I can make an argument against both the shows. I watch both of them. I can make arguments against both of them. My point is this, we are really good at division and really bad at unity. [00:47:28] (22 seconds) #ChooseUnity

I don't I don't I don't want I'm not the country's not gonna figure it out. I don't have hope in that. I don't care anymore. The politicians ain't finna figure it out they need to fight to say you're on your team so they can get your votes, stay in power and then keep making money. They're not gonna figure this out. The culture's not gonna figure it out. The artist ain't gonna figure it out. The pundits ain't gonna figure it out. The media is is feeding off of you not figuring it out. [01:10:15] (23 seconds) #FixYourHeartNotPolitics

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Imitate: Luke Chapter 10 | CRC Sunday

Devotional

Day 1: The Most Important Thing: Loving God with All Your Being

Day 2: The Call to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Day 3: Examining Our Lists and Justifying Ourselves

Day 4: Redefining Neighbor Through Compassionate Action

Day 5: Going and Doing Likewise in a Divided World

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Imitate: Luke Chapter 10 | CRC Sunday

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