Say Yes- 1 Samuel 1:1-28; 2 Samuel 2:12-26

-Persistence is greater than misconceptions. Say yes to pursuing God's plan.

-Faithfulness is greater than feelings. Say yes to submitting to God's sovereignty.

-Preservation is greater than perversity. Say yes to displaying God's holiness.

Sermon Title: Love Your Neighbor... not just the guy next door...

Scripture: Lev. 19:9-18, Matt. 22:36-39, Luke 10:25-37, Gal. 5:13-15, 1 John 4:7-8,

1. Defining Neighbors: Our definition of a neighbor is typically narrowly reduced to people who live near us. The Biblical concept of a neighbor is found more in our shared humanity and the image of God that is on each of us that makes us neighbors/friends/family.

2. Love & Eternity: The Pharisee’s answer to a question about inheriting eternal life was confirmed by Jesus. It is found in two equally important ideas: Love God. Love people.

3. Eyes Wide Open: We begin to love our neighbors when we make the decision to keep our eyes open. We cannot love God or people if we turn a blind eye to the needs of our neighbor.

Questions to ponder?

1. How well do you know the people in your neighborhood? Do you know their names? Their children? Do you know what they celebrate and what they lament? Do they know you?

2. In what ways are you actively showing love to your neighbors?

3. If love for people is just as important as love for God, what should we be doing more often?

4. What are some of the needs in the Shenango Valley that are easy to ignore if we don’t think about it?

5. How can your group take a step to meet one of those needs?

John 12:24-28; Mark 8:34-37

SERVANTS CHOICE- In a world that has everything to offer, how do you stay firmly rooted in your decision to forsake all of that and follow Jesus? This is one of the hardest decisions we will ever have to wrestle with in our lives. We might be quick to say that we are servants, but the proof is found in how we live our lives. A person who is master of their own life will make decisions based on what they think is best for them or for their family. A person who is a servant will always come back to the decision to choose a question over an answer, “What does God want me to do?” When we ask that question, we are committing to the fact that Jesus is our Master and that we are his servants. Without that question, we are living for ourselves and positioning ourselves as our own masters. We can make that decision because we have free will. But here’s the HARD TRUTH for us... If we are making our own decisions about our own lives and living like we’re our own masters, then we have forfeited the right to ever complain against God about our lives.

SERVANT'S STRUGGLE- If it was hard for Jesus to submit to the will of God, how much more difficult will it be for us?!? We cannot help it. Our survival instinct runs deep. At our most basic level, we are animals who want what is best for us while keeping ourselves out of harm’s way.

SERVANT'S CROSS- What is the nature of the cross you are bearing for God? There a a number of scriptural concepts that get misused and this is certainly one of them. We tend to equate the difficulties in our lives as crosses that need to be carried by us. We might equate this to a family situation, a job situation or even natural consequences for decisions we’ve made in our own lives. There is a simple concept here that we are overlooking. The cross is not a symbol of struggle. The cross is a symbol of choice. Jesus chose the cross. He chose the suffering for your sake. In Matthew 26:39 we see Jesus’ prayer in the Garden. He begs God to take the cross from him. He does not want the cross. But, he demonstrates the purest example of obedience to God’s will (his father/master) over our own desires. He gives in and is satisfied to fulfill his purpose and the will of God. To pick up our cross is to say NO to ourselves and YES to God’s plan. That’s what it means to carry our cross. That’s what it means to be dead to ourselves. It’s the way in which the Gospel is propelled and in which we are transformed.