This week's topic for our sermon series on Believe is Compassion (Chapter 8) Ruth 2:1-4:17 and Luke 10:25-37Key Question: What should we do about people in need?
Key Idea: I believe God calls all Christians to show compassion to people in need.
Key Verse: Save those who are weak and needy. Psalm 82:4
What does it mean to put our love into action and show compassion to those around us? As my 5 year old so beautifully captured on her ad-libbed Sunday School drawing it isn't as straight forward as we would like. I love that dilemma she captured when after putting a bandaid on the injured man she continued by x-ing out the man walking away and then labeling him "deed" (5 year old spelling of dead). You can imagine that this has prompted some discussion at our house as killing people isn't something we endorse in any way. This will likely be on-going discussion for many years to come. It is so much easier to show compassion to those who are hurt and "need" us. But how do we show compassion to those who have hurt us, hurt our friends or family or even strangers around us? How do we show compassion to those who could help and choose not to? These aren't easy issues for my 5 year old or for myself.I am so thankful I live in a church community that believes in compassion strongly enough that we struggle with it each year in our KidsGames program -- helping our kids act out what it means to show compassion to those around us. Some of the topics my kids have been exposed to through the years in this program include:
- helping endangered California Condors in partnership with the San Diego Zoo
- building playgrounds in Mexico and collecting school supplies for other children
- talking about what it is like to have a disability and raising money for Challenged Athletes Foundation and learning Emmanuel Yeboah's story through Emmanuel's Gift
- discussing how we care for creation - recycling, reusing and renewing
- talking about children who are sick and partnering with Max's Ring of Fire.
