LOVE YOUR NEIGHBORS

THE SECOND GREATEST COMMANDMENT

SCRIPTURES ABOUT NEIGHBORING

• Jeremiah 29:7
• 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
• Proverbs 12:26
• 26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
• 1 Corinthians 10:24
• 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
• 2 Corinthians 5:20
• Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
• Acts 18:1-3
• 1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade

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SCRIPTURES ABOUT NEIGHBORING

• Matthew 25:31 ff
• 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

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SCRIPTURES ABOUT NEIGHBORING

• Acts 11:19-26
• 19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

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BEING A NEIGHBOR

• What do we bring to the table?

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WHAT DO WE BRING TO THE TABLE?

• What does God offer through Christianity?

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WHAT DO WE BRING TO THE TABLE?

• What does Christianity bring to the table through the church?

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SECULAR LESSONS FROM A NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP�VIKTOR FRANKL’S - “MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING”

• What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him.
• In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.
• Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
• No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same.
• No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him.

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SECULAR LESSONS FROM A VIETNAMESE PRISONER OF WAR

• Throw out a lifeline of communication
• Ensure your fellows know they are never alone
• Identify your internal and external resources
• Learn from others
• Little things can make a big difference.

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SECULAR LESSONS FROM ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

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WHAT DO WE BRING TO THE TABLE?

• What do I as a neighbor bring to the table?

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