Ready for Impact (5 minutes)
Catch up on how things have been since the last time your Impact Group met. Allow anyone new to introduce themselves. Then ask group members to:
- Tell a story of a time when you misunderstood someone, or they misunderstood you.
Ask for a volunteer to read Luke 10:25-37 to the group, praying a short prayer that – however much they’ve come to know Jesus, they’d know him better as a result of your time together.
Watch
Impacted by the Word (20 minutes)
As the expert in the law asks Jesus ‘who is my neighbour’, he was probably expecting Jesus to say: ‘other Jews like yourself’.
- Why do you think Jesus chose a Samaritan to be the hero of his story?
- In which ways did it cost the Samaritan to care for the wounded man?
- Jesus’ question (verse 36) is subtly different from that asked of him in verse 29. What point Jesus is making?
- What is ‘love’ according to Jesus? And who is a ‘neighbour’?
Jesus’ call to ‘love your neighbour’ is so radical, it’s supposed to be a mirror that shows us where we fall short.
- How do you think the expert in the law should have responded to Jesus’ words in verse 28, “do this, and you will live”?
- If our own efforts can’t achieve eternal life, why should we show neighbourly love to others?
The Good Samaritan is probably the best known, most frequently quoted and most appreciated of Jesus’ parables today. The parable is widely valued for the way it portrays sacrificial love – but it is also widely misunderstood. Most people think it’s simply a call to be kind to people who are different from us. It is that – but it’s much more.
We must keep the expert in the law’s original question in view – “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (verse 25). At one level, Jesus’ parable makes it clear that, if God’s standard of neighbourly love for all is that which is shown by the Good Samaritan, none of us can match it. We are all in desperate need of help ourselves.
Yet the parable also pictures the life to which Jesus calls those who’ve received eternal life in him. We are to ‘go and do likewise’ – to give ourselves to sacrificial neighbourly love that will require our time, energy and resources… and to offer it to everyone, without distinction.
Here’s how one theologian, Terry Johnson, puts it:
“Whom would God have me love today? Whom would he have me serve? Answer: anyone with whom I come into contact. Why should I? Not in order to be saved, but because I am saved. The Good Samaritan points me to both the way to life (not through law but by faith in Christ) and a way of life (the life of love for all).”
Impacting Our Hearts (10 minutes)
Just like the Good Samaritan, Jesus tenderly loves us in our helplessness, need, and mess, at great cost to himself. So much so that he died for us.
- How does this parable help you appreciate how much Jesus loves you?
Some of us are tempted to be proud of what ‘good people’ we are. Others of us might be crushed by how messed up we feel.
- In what ways are these attitudes both ways of trying to ‘justify ourselves’?
- Why is this parable good news for all of us?
Spend some time thanking Jesus that you don’t need to justify yourselves, but can receive his love and forgiveness.
If you’re able to sing in your group time, why not consider some of the following songs: This is Amazing Grace, Indescribable, Build my Life
Impacting the University (15 minutes)
Our own love for others springs from a place of thankfulness for the love we have been shown by Jesus. This is a love that is supposed to be shown in both word and deed.
- Who are the real-life neighbours that God has placed in your life? (they might not be people that you’ve chosen!)
- In what ways could you as individuals, and as a group, love these people in both word and deed?
Draw the table below, and write some ideas:
| As individuals |
As a group |
|---|
Commit to one idea each and spend some time praying for the real-life neighbours that God has placed in your life.
Wrap-up – TACOS 🌮
Thank You – Thank everyone for coming, and ask someone to thank God for your time together in prayer.
Ask – Ask those who are new to reading the Bible if they’d like to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in Mark’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate one of the earliest accounts of Jesus’ life alongside one of you.
Church and CU – What does the CU have planned ahead? And what help would group members value in finding a local church?
Others – Who else could you invite to join your CU Impact Group next week? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.
See You Soon – Tell the group where and when you’ll meet next week, and arrange who will bring snacks. (You might like to alternate healthy and less healthy weeks!). See if anyone would be up for sharing a meal or just hanging out in the meantime!