Jeremy Hoover

[Note: I'm providing this information early! I'll be on vacation next week and won't have internet access to post, so although I'm putting this content up now, it is for the sermon I will preach on July 18.]

When we struggle with who to serve and who we should love, we are not loving our neighbors as Jesus told us to (Luke 10:25-37).

Part of transformation--whether with God or with others--deals with overcoming our prejudices and sacrificing ourselves for others. Jesus taught the hypocritical "expert" that very thing when he taught that a Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews, was a true neighbor to a Jew who was beaten up, surpassing the priest and a Levite who were more concerned with their "ritual purity" than with helping one in need.

Our neighbors are those in need. We love them, and transform our relationships with them, when we serve them by using the time and resources God has given us.

This sermon picks up on the first of four transformational relationships I introduced a couple weeks ago. Everything starts with God and must be traced back to God and flow from God. Relationships with our neighbors are tied to our love of God (Luke 10:27) relationship with God. These relationships are critical if we truly want to be transformed.

Use my "get-started" post, this chart, the outline, and the slides to begin thinking more deeply about how your relationship with other believers needs to be--and can be--transformed.

This MP3 is only a recap, due to technical failure with the recording software. It's a short version of the sermon and is presented more casually than my regular sermons.

Sermon: Transforming Our Relationships with Our Neighbors

To grow spiritually, we need to regularly engage in four different areas of relationship: with God, with believers, with neighbors, and with strangers. This graphic describes these four areas by focusing on a core thought, a key scripture, a leading action, and several examples of each.

My personal view is that we should always be focused in our relationship with God and at least one other significant relationship in one of the other three areas. We can supplement this with ongoing activity in the other two relationship areas.

By taking action and cooperating with God (Philippians 2:12-13), we'll grow spiritually and be transformed (Romans 12:1-2).

The sermon MP3 is located beneath the Sermon Theme graphic.

Sometimes we think God's will is so mysterious that we doubt we'll ever find or understand it. But the bible is clear that God's will is both findable and understandable. We understand God's will in the gospel that provides us hope and teaches us how to live sacrificially like Jesus, we experience his will in prayer and in spiritual growth that provides knowledge of him, and we express God's will when we bear fruit by serving others in love.

Use this sermon outline and these slides to help you think through God's will and prepare for Sunday's sermon.

How do you know if your faith is mature? How do you know if you are growing spiritually? Paul gives us some guidelines in Philippians 3:1-16. Use this sermon outline and sermon slides to help you prepare to hear God's word on Sunday.