Join Us for a ‘Neighborly’ Service and Cookout on Sunday
In the Gospel of Luke, an expert in the law asks Jesus a very important question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by asking, “What is written in the Law?”
The expert then says, “‘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.’”
Jesus replies, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” But the expert in the law asks for one final clarification: “Who is my neighbor?”
It is at this point that Jesus shares the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which, as we know, details the saga of a man who provided special care for a stranger who had been beaten and robbed and then ignored by a priest and a Levite, both of whom chose to turn their back his plight and pass by on the other side.
All these years later, we continue to ask, “Who is our neighbor?” Is it the person who lives next door or across the street? Is it someone on the other side of town or the other side of the country? Is it, perhaps, even someone on the other side of the world?
The answer to all of those questions is a very emphatic “Yes!” Everyone on God’s green earth is a neighbor, and how we treat each person is foundational to our journey in this world and our fate in the world to come.
This coming Sunday, we will have an opportunity to worship and fellowship with our neighbors from New Pittsburg United Methodist Church, with whom we will become yoked in July. The autonomy of the two churches will remain in place, but the relationship will be forever united.
Please plan to join us for a meal in Fellowship Hall after our worship service. The men of the church will provide hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. If everyone could provide a side dish, salad, or dessert to share, that will make the meal complete as we celebrate with our neighbors in Christ Our Lord.
Until we meet again, Be Blessed!