Church Blog

Love Your Neighbor, Part 3: Application

Yesterday Isaac Hydoski preached from Matthew 9:9-13, in which Jesus calls Matthew the tax collector and addresses the Pharisees over dinner. Isaac said, “We must remember our own need for God’s mercy and then recognize God’s call to show mercy.”

You can listen online or download the message here.

And here are some application questions prepared by pastor Brian Chesemore:

1.  Is there anyone is your life that you have moved into the unbiblical category of “unreachable” and, in effect, “written-off” as beyond the saving power of the Gospel?

2.  Reflect on the mercy of God in saving you: Who shared the Gospel with you?  Where might you be today if it were not for God’s saving grace in your life?

3.  Isaac considered how we have the potential to reflect the portrait of the Pharisee in two ways: self-righteousness and complacency.  How do you see either of these tendencies at work in your thinking and hindering your concern for the lost?

4.  Because we need God’s heart for the lost, Isaac encouraged us to begin our application of this message with prayer.  In what ways do you need more of God’s mercy for the lost?  With which specific people have you been complacent in sharing the Gospel? Pray.

5. To whom can you go tomorrow or sometime soon and show the love of Christ?  Pray that God would give you the Savior’s heart of mercy and urgency about their need for Him.