Don’t Walk By

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

November 9th Sermon, Day 5

As Jesus concluded His parable, He didn't ask the religious expert to admire the Samaritan's actions or debate the finer points of neighborly love. He gave a simple, direct command: "Go and do likewise." This is your invitation too. Not to analyze or theorize about love, but to live it out. Not to debate who deserves compassion, but to demonstrate it. Not to walk by the needs around you, but to engage with them.

Every day, you encounter people who are wounded in some way. Maybe not physically beaten like the man in the parable, but emotionally bruised, spiritually lost, financially struggling, or relationally broken. These encounters aren't accidents - they're divine appointments. God has strategically placed you in your neighborhood, workplace, school, and community. He's given you unique gifts, resources, and opportunities.

The question isn't whether you're qualified to help - the Samaritan wasn't a trained medical professional. The question is whether you're willing to be interrupted by love. Your interruptions might actually become your ministry. That conversation with a struggling coworker, that meal for a grieving neighbor, that time spent listening to a lonely friend - these aren't distractions from your purpose. They might be your purpose. As you go through this week, remember that every interruption might be an invitation from God. Don't walk by. See the needs, stop when called, sacrifice when necessary, and serve without barriers. This is how you become the neighbor God has called you to be.

Bible Verse

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." - James 2:17

Reflection Question

What is one specific way you can "go and do likewise" this week, showing practical love to someone in need?

Quote Don't walk by. See, this is the call your heavenly Father is making to you. Don't miss it. Don't miss your moment.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of the Good Samaritan and for Jesus' call to love without limits. Help me to be someone who doesn't walk by but stops to help. Use me as Your hands and feet in this world. May my life be a reflection of Your boundless love. Amen.

Breaking Down the Barriers

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

November 9th Sermon, Day 4

Perhaps the most shocking part of Jesus' parable was His choice of hero. The Samaritan was the last person anyone expected to be the good guy in the story. Jews and Samaritans despised each other. They had centuries of ethnic, religious, and cultural hatred between them. Yet this despised outsider became the example of what it means to love your neighbor.

Jesus was making a radical point: love doesn't ask who is like me. Love asks who needs me. We all have our barriers - people we find it easier to love and people we struggle to care about. Maybe it's based on politics, race, social class, lifestyle choices, or past hurts. We create mental lists of who deserves our compassion and who doesn't. But Jesus shatters these categories. The religious expert wanted to know who qualified as his neighbor so he could limit his responsibility. Jesus flipped the question entirely. Instead of asking who deserves your love, Jesus asks: to whom can you be a loving neighbor? T

his is both challenging and liberating. It's challenging because it removes our excuses and expands our responsibility. But it's liberating because it frees us from the exhausting work of judging who is worthy of our care. Everyone who needs compassion is our neighbor. Today, ask God to reveal any barriers in your heart that might be limiting your love. Who have you written off? Who makes you uncomfortable? These might be exactly the people God is calling you to serve.

Bible Verse

"If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" - 1 John 3:17

Reflection Question

What barriers - whether cultural, social, or personal - might be preventing you from showing compassion to certain people in your community?

Quote Love doesn't ask, who's like me. It just says, who needs me?

Prayer

Lord, break down the walls in my heart that limit my love. Help me see all people as You see them - precious and worthy of compassion. Give me courage to cross barriers and show Your love to everyone You place in my path. Amen.

Love That Costs Something

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

November 9th Sermon, Day 3

The Samaritan didn't just stop and offer thoughts and prayers. He rolled up his sleeves and got involved. He used his own oil and wine - expensive supplies - to treat the wounds. He put the injured man on his own donkey and walked alongside. He paid for a room and promised to cover any additional expenses. This wasn't convenient love. This was costly love.

We often want to help others, but only if it doesn't inconvenience us too much. We'll donate our old clothes but hesitate to give something we actually need. We'll help when it fits our schedule but struggle when it disrupts our plans. We'll serve when it's comfortable but resist when it requires real sacrifice. But Jesus teaches us that authentic love always costs something. It costs time, energy, resources, and comfort.

The Samaritan's love cost him money, time, and probably some personal risk. Yet he gave freely because he understood that love without sacrifice isn't really love at all. Think about how Jesus loved you. His love cost Him everything - His comfort, His safety, His very life. He didn't love you from a distance or offer you empty words. He entered into your mess, paid your debt, and continues to care for you daily. When helping others feels inconvenient or expensive, remember that you're being invited into the very heart of what it means to follow Jesus. Love that costs nothing changes nothing. But love that sacrifices has the power to transform lives.

Bible Verse

"If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" - 1 John 3:17

Reflection Question

What is one area where you've been hesitant to help others because of the potential cost to you, and how might God be calling you to step forward anyway?

Quote Helping people requires sacrifice. It does. So go into it with open eyes. It takes time, it takes money, it takes comfort, it takes energy. But love that never costs anything isn't love. It's convenience.

Prayer

Jesus, thank You for Your costly love toward me. Help me to love others the way You have loved me - sacrificially and generously. Give me a heart that's willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of others. Amen.

The Power of Stopping

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

November 9th Sermon, Day 2

Seeing is just the beginning. The priest and Levite in Jesus' parable both saw the wounded man, but they made a choice that changed everything - they kept walking. They had places to go, people to see, religious duties to fulfill.

Sound familiar? We live in a culture that celebrates busyness. We wear our packed schedules like badges of honor, rushing from one commitment to the next. But what if some of our most important moments happen when we're willing to stop? The Samaritan saw the same wounded man, but he made a different choice. He stopped. He didn't just feel bad and keep walking. He didn't promise to pray about it later. He interrupted his journey and engaged with the need right in front of him.

Stopping requires sacrifice. It means your schedule gets disrupted. It means you might be late to your next appointment. It means choosing someone else's urgent need over your own convenience. But here's what's beautiful about stopping: it's in these moments that we become most like Jesus. Jesus could have stayed in heaven, comfortable and undisturbed. Instead, He stopped His eternal existence to enter our broken world. He interrupted His divine agenda to meet our desperate need.

When we stop for others, we're following His example. Compassion isn't just a feeling - it's a decision to engage. Today, be willing to stop when God presents you with an opportunity to show His love.

Bible Verse

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." - James 2:17

Reflection Question

What would need to change in your schedule or priorities to make room for the unexpected opportunities God might place in your path?

Quote Compassion begins with seeing, but it requires stopping.

Prayer

Father, help me value people over productivity. Give me the wisdom to know when to stop and the courage to act when You present me with opportunities to serve. May my life reflect Your heart for others. Amen.

Opening Your Eyes to See

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

November 9th Sermon, Day 1

Have you ever walked down a busy street, completely absorbed in your phone or your thoughts, only to realize later that you missed something important happening right beside you? We live in a world full of distractions, and it's surprisingly easy to become blind to the needs around us.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells us about three people who encountered a man beaten and left for dead on a dangerous road. The first two - a priest and a Levite - saw the wounded man but chose to pass by. They weren't blind; they simply chose not to truly see.

Seeing requires more than just having functioning eyes. It requires intentionality, compassion, and a willingness to be interrupted by the needs of others. When we rush through life focused only on our own agendas, we miss the divine appointments God places in our path. The beautiful truth is that God wants to use you to be His hands and feet in this world. But it starts with seeing - really seeing - the people around you. The lonely coworker, the struggling neighbor, the overwhelmed parent at the grocery store. These aren't just random encounters; they're opportunities for you to reflect God's love.

Today, ask God to give you eyes to see. Slow down enough to notice the people He places in your path. You might be surprised at how many opportunities for compassion surround you every single day.

Bible Verse

"If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" - 1 John 3:17

Reflection Question

What distractions in your daily routine might be preventing you from truly seeing the needs of people around you?

Quote You can't help what (and who) you don't see.

Prayer

Lord, open my eyes to see the world as You see it. Help me slow down and notice the people You place in my path. Give me a heart that is sensitive to the needs around me and the courage to respond with Your love. Amen.