WEBVTT 00:00:09.959 --> 00:00:12.679 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:20.879 you can have an encounter with Jesus that will 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.379 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:28.800 message from our preaching team. Fantastic. So 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.460 if you've been around church for any amount of 00:00:31.460 --> 00:00:34.060 time, you might have heard this story before. 00:00:34.140 --> 00:00:37.500 And if you haven't been around church, then welcome. 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:43.439 The Good Samaritan, it's on plaques, it's on 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:47.799 charity vans. probably shared my private school 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:50.640 devotion and assemblies at least once a term. 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:54.399 It's a phrase we hear in parliament speeches. 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:57.880 In fact, there's actually the Good Samaritan 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:00.560 Act, which was a law brought into Australian 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:04.900 law in 2011 that talks and protects people from 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:09.219 the civil liability or the repercussions of them 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:10.939 going to go help another person, like giving 00:01:10.939 --> 00:01:15.480 them unneeded CPR. It is in media headlines. 00:01:15.980 --> 00:01:18.719 You know, there was a man, Alan Dare, and the 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:22.079 headline said, Alan Dare, Good Samaritan. He 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:25.939 was someone in 2022 who died when he went to 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:30.060 investigate some smoke on a property and was 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:33.599 fatally shot. Alan Dare, the Good Samaritan. 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:42.680 But familiarity can mimic or fake understanding. 00:01:44.060 --> 00:01:47.159 Because one of the most unfortunate things that 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:50.180 can happen to a parable is that we turn it into 00:01:50.180 --> 00:01:54.620 a slogan rather than a deep revelation of the 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:58.760 Kingdom of God. Most of us here might hear the 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:03.159 Good Samaritan and think, okay, try harder. And 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:08.000 immediately something within us tightens. Because, 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:11.949 well, we're already tired. We're already stretched 00:02:11.949 --> 00:02:16.909 thin. We're already trying so hard to be good 00:02:16.909 --> 00:02:19.409 parents, be good employees, to be a good husband 00:02:19.409 --> 00:02:22.030 and wife, to be a good Christian perhaps. And 00:02:22.030 --> 00:02:24.770 this parable can feel like Jesus is saying, do 00:02:24.770 --> 00:02:27.669 more, love more, care more, just do a better 00:02:27.669 --> 00:02:32.449 job. But what if that is not the invitation? 00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:37.900 What if this parable isn't a to -do list or a 00:02:37.900 --> 00:02:41.060 how -to list on how to love, but rather a wake 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:46.759 -up call to the very grace of God? We live in 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:49.860 a moment in history where compassion is really 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:55.300 loud, but actual mercy is rare. You know, we 00:02:55.300 --> 00:02:57.139 can retweet, I don't think it's called that anymore, 00:02:57.500 --> 00:03:00.900 we can retweet empathy. You know, we can post 00:03:00.900 --> 00:03:04.610 slogans. We can share causes. Facebook has this 00:03:04.610 --> 00:03:06.530 whole thing set up on your birthday. You just 00:03:06.530 --> 00:03:08.629 click a button, click a cause, and you can ask 00:03:08.629 --> 00:03:12.310 for people's money. We can say thoughts and prayers. 00:03:12.830 --> 00:03:16.710 But when we come across someone actually bleeding 00:03:16.710 --> 00:03:20.590 at the side of our path, maybe they're suffering, 00:03:21.330 --> 00:03:25.650 losing it mentally on the public bus or falling 00:03:25.650 --> 00:03:28.469 apart emotionally in the hospital waiting room. 00:03:29.150 --> 00:03:34.219 Many of us quietly think, I just don't have the 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:38.419 capacity. These are my boundaries, and I'm not 00:03:38.419 --> 00:03:43.419 crossing them. You know, we are over -scheduled, 00:03:43.939 --> 00:03:49.300 over -stimulated, over -anxious, and under -connected. 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:54.680 We have a passion for causes, and I want to honor 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:59.379 that, but often we have no margin for people. 00:04:00.270 --> 00:04:02.710 You know, we live in a culture that is quick 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:06.629 to judge from a distance, metaphorical or through 00:04:06.629 --> 00:04:10.409 our phones, but we are very slow to kneel close 00:04:10.409 --> 00:04:14.770 to someone in need. And it is into this world 00:04:14.770 --> 00:04:19.009 and into that world that Jesus tells this story. 00:04:20.629 --> 00:04:25.069 He doesn't simply say, try harder, but instead 00:04:25.069 --> 00:04:28.430 He confronts us with something far more radical 00:04:28.430 --> 00:04:33.199 and transforming. that we don't just struggle 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:39.240 to help, but we needed help first. I'm not gonna 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:42.540 give you a surprise halfway through the sermon 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:44.279 at what it's gonna be about. I'm just gonna say 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:50.759 it right now. We can only be the Samaritan once 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:54.980 we first, once we admit we were first the man 00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:59.870 in the ditch rescued by Christ. or simply we 00:04:59.870 --> 00:05:04.709 want to be the helper, but Jesus shows us that 00:05:04.709 --> 00:05:09.850 first we are the one in need of help. Let us 00:05:09.850 --> 00:05:13.129 pray. Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that 00:05:13.129 --> 00:05:17.050 you've brought us here today. Whatever we've 00:05:17.050 --> 00:05:20.129 got going on in our weeks, Lord, may we just 00:05:20.129 --> 00:05:23.410 bring that to you. That is a part of us, but 00:05:23.410 --> 00:05:28.699 you carry all of that. Lord, may Your words speak 00:05:28.699 --> 00:05:34.740 so clearly today. And if nothing else, may we 00:05:34.740 --> 00:05:39.980 know of Your love. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 00:05:41.259 --> 00:05:43.680 So it was a Sunday morning, not this morning. 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:46.860 It was a different Sunday morning. It was a church 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:49.660 morning. And as you can imagine, it was a holy 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:53.139 and peaceful time, having to leave the house 00:05:53.139 --> 00:05:57.750 right at the kids' lunch time, every time. The 00:05:57.750 --> 00:06:00.829 kids were melting down. We were already late 00:06:00.829 --> 00:06:04.670 by like my standards. Shoes were missing. They're 00:06:04.670 --> 00:06:07.610 probably in the car. Couldn't find them. Ollie's 00:06:07.610 --> 00:06:09.470 hair had been done up and then undone and then 00:06:09.470 --> 00:06:12.810 done up and then undone. Lunch boxes had some 00:06:12.810 --> 00:06:15.889 snacks in them. Tim probably did that. Dinner 00:06:15.889 --> 00:06:19.089 was had been planned. It was some some packet 00:06:19.089 --> 00:06:23.259 of noodles. It was chaos and you know what, I 00:06:23.259 --> 00:06:26.139 was so close to losing my Jesus, but we got in 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:29.079 the car. We got in the car and we were driving 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:31.639 and I was like, Tim, you got to pull into the 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:37.160 IGA because I for sure needed a Coca Cola. So 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:41.819 yes, thank you. So Tim pulled into the car park 00:06:41.819 --> 00:06:43.639 and I was like, no, no, you and the kids stay 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:46.899 in the car. Please stay in the car. I just need 00:06:46.899 --> 00:06:49.680 a moment of space. Stay in the car. It's fine. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:53.600 I've got this. I'll be fine. And then I got out 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:56.939 and I was like, deep breath. And I walk into 00:06:56.939 --> 00:07:00.620 where the shop entrance was and I see a woman 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:05.180 sitting there at the front. And the look on her 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:13.379 face told me, I need someone today. She needed 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:19.560 someone. And all I could think of was not today. 00:07:20.819 --> 00:07:22.699 Have you seen the time? Do you know where I need 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:27.639 to be? Not today. I cannot. I am drowning. And 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:30.480 so I got my cola and I got the kids some sour 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:33.300 spray. That was a time that week, wasn't it everyone? 00:07:34.779 --> 00:07:36.920 Surely if I got them some sour spray that would 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:42.100 like temper their moods. It was fine. We got 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:44.019 to church, did the thing and I was sitting in 00:07:44.019 --> 00:07:49.300 worship later and it hit me. I had avoided someone 00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:54.720 in comfort because I was so desperate for comfort 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:59.120 myself. I didn't just fail to help someone in 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:04.699 need. I needed help. You know, sometimes we can 00:08:04.699 --> 00:08:08.230 imagine that we don't help people because Maybe 00:08:08.230 --> 00:08:11.449 we're cold -hearted or we think that we're uncaring 00:08:11.449 --> 00:08:13.649 or maybe we're selfish or we just don't have 00:08:13.649 --> 00:08:16.949 enough or there's idols in our life that take 00:08:16.949 --> 00:08:22.329 over. But often it's something else. We don't 00:08:22.329 --> 00:08:27.009 pass by pain because we hate people. We pass 00:08:27.009 --> 00:08:31.089 by because we are hurting too. We are tired, 00:08:31.569 --> 00:08:34.789 stretched, overwhelmed and trying everything 00:08:34.789 --> 00:08:38.809 to hold our own world together. And it's not 00:08:38.809 --> 00:08:43.210 that we have no heart, it's that our heart is 00:08:43.210 --> 00:08:48.190 wounded, it is empty, or it's running on fumes. 00:08:49.730 --> 00:08:53.409 Before Jesus invites us to be the Samaritan who 00:08:53.409 --> 00:08:58.909 offers help, He invites us, He meets us as the 00:08:58.909 --> 00:09:02.870 traveller who needs help. We don't just fail 00:09:02.870 --> 00:09:05.870 to rescue many, many, many days, we are the ones 00:09:05.870 --> 00:09:12.710 that need rescuing. And Jesus knows that. He 00:09:12.710 --> 00:09:18.529 meets us as the one in the ditch. Why don't we 00:09:18.529 --> 00:09:21.269 open up our Bibles? Probably on your phones. 00:09:22.190 --> 00:09:27.629 If you want a hard copy one, grab this one. Follow 00:09:27.629 --> 00:09:29.509 along with me. We're going to open up to Luke 00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:34.230 10 as Kyra read it out the second time. Verses 00:09:34.230 --> 00:09:38.980 25 to 37. I mean, who... I mean, more word of 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:43.600 God, hey? It's all good. And it begins like this. 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:47.740 One day an expert in religious law stood up to 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:53.639 test Jesus. From the very first line, we see 00:09:53.639 --> 00:09:57.299 his motive. He's not seeking truth, but testing 00:09:57.299 --> 00:10:01.159 Jesus. He asked, teacher, what do I have to do 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:06.240 to inherit eternal life? Look at those words. 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:14.220 What must I do? Not just accept and receive eternal 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:18.019 life freely, but how do I earn it? How do I control 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:24.360 it? And this is a human reflex. Tell me the rules. 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:27.679 I'll do them. Just tell me what it is I need 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:31.100 to do. Where is the benchmark? How can I secure 00:10:31.100 --> 00:10:37.830 my place? I'll do it. Just tell me. Jesus answers, 00:10:38.029 --> 00:10:41.129 what does the law of Moses say? How do you read 00:10:41.129 --> 00:10:45.769 it? The man quotes Deuteronomy in Leviticus. 00:10:45.909 --> 00:10:48.830 The man answered, you must love the Lord your 00:10:48.830 --> 00:10:51.090 God with all your heart, all your soul, all your 00:10:51.090 --> 00:10:54.649 strength and all your mind, and love your neighbour 00:10:54.649 --> 00:11:01.330 as yourself. Right! Jesus told him, do this and 00:11:01.330 --> 00:11:05.129 you will live. That's like a pat on the back 00:11:05.129 --> 00:11:09.809 from Jesus. But the man is not satisfied. He 00:11:09.809 --> 00:11:12.950 wants the bare minimum requirement, so he asks, 00:11:12.950 --> 00:11:17.769 justifying his actions, who is my neighbour? 00:11:19.990 --> 00:11:24.129 Translation, where is the limit? Where can I 00:11:24.129 --> 00:11:30.149 stop? How much love is enough? Where is the boundary 00:11:30.149 --> 00:11:34.840 that I can draw in my life? He is not seeking 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:39.519 clarity. He's seeking an escape clause. And we 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:45.179 do the same. I'll love my people. I'll help those 00:11:45.179 --> 00:11:48.379 who look like me, who think like me, go to the 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:52.200 same church as me, vote like me, agree with me, 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:59.320 live next to me maybe. But Jesus refuses this 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:04.950 very small version of love. Jesus does not answer 00:12:04.950 --> 00:12:08.649 who the neighbour is. Instead he tells a cool 00:12:08.649 --> 00:12:14.210 story, a parable. And at the end he asks who 00:12:14.210 --> 00:12:17.809 was a neighbour. He shifts the question from 00:12:17.809 --> 00:12:21.529 who is my neighbour to who was a neighbour. From 00:12:21.529 --> 00:12:28.210 who deserves my love to what kind of person am 00:12:28.210 --> 00:12:32.279 I becoming? Not, how do I love less? How do I 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:37.240 love enough? But instead, how do I love like 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:41.740 heaven? Because friends, Jesus wants to bring 00:12:41.740 --> 00:12:46.179 his kingdom to earth. And in Henley here we pray, 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:49.320 Lord, may your kingdom come here in Henley as 00:12:49.320 --> 00:12:52.320 it is in heaven. This prayer isn't just sentimental. 00:12:52.419 --> 00:12:53.960 It's not just something that sounds good because 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:57.940 of the alliteration. It is disruptive. It breaks 00:12:57.940 --> 00:13:00.620 walls that cross this boundary. It costs something 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:06.080 to pray this. The kingdom of God does not draw 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:10.919 circles to keep people out. It breaks them so 00:13:10.919 --> 00:13:16.190 grace can enter in. But what was the parable? 00:13:16.250 --> 00:13:19.129 What was the story, this cool little story that 00:13:19.129 --> 00:13:23.809 Jesus shared? Well, a priest walks by the man, 00:13:24.909 --> 00:13:27.389 a Levite, which is the temple assistant, walks 00:13:27.389 --> 00:13:33.029 by. These are the church people. They're respected. 00:13:33.970 --> 00:13:37.710 They're clean. The ones you would expect to help. 00:13:40.090 --> 00:13:44.509 And Jesus says, nuh -uh. The hero of the story 00:13:44.509 --> 00:13:49.889 today is a Samaritan. This is like a bomb in 00:13:49.889 --> 00:13:51.789 the middle of the religious heart of the people 00:13:51.789 --> 00:13:55.309 who are asking. It cuts through all the expectations. 00:13:55.409 --> 00:14:00.210 A Samaritan? To Jewish listeners, Samaritans 00:14:00.210 --> 00:14:05.509 were racially wrong, theologically wrong, culturally 00:14:05.509 --> 00:14:09.070 wrong. Which is wrong. That was not meant to 00:14:09.070 --> 00:14:14.360 be the hero. Jesus is blowing up ethnic superiority, 00:14:15.299 --> 00:14:18.620 spiritual pride, religious tribalism. This story 00:14:18.620 --> 00:14:22.360 is not like a soft little story about good morals 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:24.960 that we should follow. This story was a revelation 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:29.299 to that community. Enter now and it's speaking 00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:34.580 a holy truth. The racist categories of society 00:14:34.580 --> 00:14:39.289 do not exist in the Kingdom of God. In heaven, 00:14:39.330 --> 00:14:43.570 there is no us and them. There is only beloved 00:14:43.570 --> 00:14:48.250 and rescued. And we pray, God, let that kingdom 00:14:48.250 --> 00:14:56.190 come here in Hanley, as it is in heaven. So what 00:14:56.190 --> 00:14:59.110 does the actual Samaritan do? Why is he such 00:14:59.110 --> 00:15:04.090 a hero? What does he do for the traveller? Well, 00:15:04.110 --> 00:15:09.240 the Samaritan saw him. He was moved with compassion. 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:15.879 He came near. He touched wounds. He paid the 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:21.120 cost. And He promised to return. These aren't 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.840 good morals. This is not a good bedtime story, 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:25.980 although you could probably read it then. This 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:29.740 is the very heart of God revealed. And doesn't 00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:33.820 it kind of sound familiar? Like this is Jesus's 00:15:33.820 --> 00:15:38.759 job description. He's the one who saw you, had 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:42.860 compassion on you, drew near to you, carried 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:46.879 you, paid for you, and promised to return for 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:51.779 you. This story whispers, you are not the hero 00:15:51.779 --> 00:15:56.899 because there's already a hero and he came for 00:15:56.899 --> 00:16:03.460 you. We can only be this Samaritan once we admit 00:16:03.460 --> 00:16:06.399 we were the first, we were first the man in the 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:11.200 ditch rescued by Christ. We want to be the helper, 00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:15.200 but Jesus shows us first that we are the ones 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:21.799 in need of help. Jesus didn't come and save us 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:25.899 because we were really good at loving. Jesus 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:31.080 saves because He is good at loving. And nowhere 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:33.580 more do we see that any more clearly than at 00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:36.559 the cross. Grace does not stand at a distance 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:40.620 and applaud our effort. Grace climbs down into 00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:44.539 the ditch of humanity and bleeds there. Grace 00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:48.700 does not simply ask us to try harder. Grace takes 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:52.320 the nails, carries a cross, and wears a crown 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:57.419 of thorns. On the road between heaven and earth, 00:16:57.740 --> 00:17:00.240 we were not simply wounded in a ditch, but we 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:04.859 were dead to our sins. Jesus did not cross the 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:08.380 street for us. He crossed eternity. He stepped 00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:12.160 into flesh. He walked the long road of suffering, 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:15.700 carrying a cross through Jerusalem, willing to 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:20.000 move towards pain so that He could move us towards 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.529 life. and He hung on the cross that we deserved. 00:17:28.750 --> 00:17:32.309 At the cross, Jesus became the stranger, despised 00:17:32.309 --> 00:17:35.230 and rejected. He was the one left outside the 00:17:35.230 --> 00:17:37.910 camp, treated as the enemy, the outcast, the 00:17:37.910 --> 00:17:40.930 unwanted, so that you and I could be brought 00:17:40.930 --> 00:17:44.950 home and carried in His arms. The Gospel is not 00:17:44.950 --> 00:17:46.769 God saying, you're so close, just do a little 00:17:46.769 --> 00:17:51.440 more. The Gospel says you were helpless. so I 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:56.440 came to help you. You were broken, so I was broken 00:17:56.440 --> 00:18:02.640 for you. You were condemned, so I took upon your 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:08.339 condemnation. You were dying, so I died in your 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:13.339 place. Before we ever get to be the Samaritan, 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:17.680 Christ became the one who crossed the road, carried 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:23.000 us on his shoulders, and paid or we owed. Not 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:28.119 with coins, but with His very blood. The Gospel 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:32.359 does not say, try harder. It says, it is finished. 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:39.500 It says, come and be carried. I'll invite Charlie 00:18:39.500 --> 00:18:44.539 back up. So when Jesus shares this story and 00:18:44.539 --> 00:18:50.109 then He finally says at the end, go and do. likewise. 00:18:51.710 --> 00:18:54.430 He is not saying try harder in your own strength. 00:18:55.450 --> 00:18:59.049 He's saying now that you have been loved like 00:18:59.049 --> 00:19:07.130 this, go and love others. This is not grit your 00:19:07.130 --> 00:19:10.190 teeth Christianity. It is grace filled mercy. 00:19:10.890 --> 00:19:14.509 It is a love that flows because we have been 00:19:14.509 --> 00:19:19.059 carried first. Henley imagine imagine if mercy 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:23.259 became our instinct instead of avoidance and 00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:29.500 defensiveness Seeking out our coca -colas What 00:19:29.500 --> 00:19:35.539 if compassion outran Convenience that we seek 00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:39.680 even when our calendars full Even when it stretches 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:45.680 us beyond what we think we can bear What if we 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:51.319 cross the street for strangers? Cross the room 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:58.680 at church to greet someone on their own? What 00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:03.440 if we cross cultural lines? Opening our homes 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:07.220 and opening our hearts to those who look different 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:10.160 to us, who speak different, who live different 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:18.180 to us? What if we forgave faster than we judged? 00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:26.000 I know which one's kind of quicker. Choosing 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:30.839 mercy in the car park. Patience in the Woolworths 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:34.859 line as the order lady does one item at a time. 00:20:37.259 --> 00:20:44.420 What if we chose grace in our group chats? Gentleness 00:20:44.420 --> 00:20:52.140 at the school pickup. Kindness online. When people 00:20:52.140 --> 00:20:55.000 are just commenting the most inappropriate things. 00:20:57.380 --> 00:21:01.420 What if our love wasn't just inspirational quotes 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:04.720 or charity van slogans or good intentions and 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:10.019 really great headlines. But meals delivered. 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:14.880 Coffee invitations, checking on our elderly neighbors 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:19.539 or the non -old ones too. Showing up for a tired 00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:25.440 parent. Showing up for a tired student on placement. 00:21:28.140 --> 00:21:32.420 Slowing down to listen to someone who's hurting. 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:37.880 Sitting with someone in their grief. opening 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:43.940 our table to someone who needs a family, offering 00:21:43.940 --> 00:21:48.920 prayer and actually praying instead of passing 00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:54.079 by silently. Imagine the kingdom of God breaking 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:59.680 in. Imagine the Henley community noticing. Imagine 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:02.259 people saying, I don't know what's happening 00:22:02.259 --> 00:22:08.079 in that church, but love. Love just keeps spilling 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:15.140 out of it. That right there, that, that is heaven 00:22:15.140 --> 00:22:20.680 in Hanley. That is the kingdom of God near to 00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:25.599 us. Because when, when mercy walks across the 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:31.279 road, heaven walks with it. And when the church 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:40.470 moves towards pain, people meet. Jesus. Not because 00:22:40.470 --> 00:22:47.309 we are any good at helping. But because we remember 00:22:47.309 --> 00:22:56.490 that we were first helped. So where do you feel 00:22:56.490 --> 00:23:05.190 wounded, exhausted and unseen? Where do you need 00:23:05.190 --> 00:23:11.630 Jesus to kneel beside you today? I'm gonna take 00:23:11.630 --> 00:23:15.329 a moment in silence for you to have a think about 00:23:15.329 --> 00:23:21.950 that. Maybe write something down. Where do you 00:23:21.950 --> 00:23:27.829 need Jesus to kneel beside you today? Just like 00:23:27.829 --> 00:23:36.009 them. Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's 00:23:36.009 --> 00:23:39.210 message. If you felt challenged or need prayer, 00:23:39.789 --> 00:23:42.609 we'd love to hear from you on Instagram at encounterhemmy. 00:23:43.089 --> 00:23:45.450 Or if you're interested in how you can support 00:23:45.450 --> 00:23:49.410 this ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide 00:23:49.410 --> 00:23:53.569 .com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:23:53.569 --> 00:23:53.930 you.