The Art of Neighboring: Lesson #3
Overview
Loving Your Neighbor with Authenticity, Boundaries, and Small Faithful Steps
Good neighboring begins with knowing the names and lives of those God has placed around us, but it doesn't end there. As we move from stranger to acquaintance to genuine relationship, our motives matter. There's a sharp difference between an ulterior motive—something concealed or manipulative—and an ultimate motive: the longed-for hope that those we love will come to know Jesus. Christ himself was never manipulative; he simply presented himself honestly and invited people to follow. We are called to do the same. Engaging neighbors authentically, without an agenda, is exactly what Matthew 5:14-16 describes: letting the light of Christ in us shine through ordinary, honest living so that others see good works and glorify the Father.
As relationships deepen, real life surfaces—messiness, hurt, and need. This is where the art of neighboring requires wisdom about boundaries. Henry Cloud and John Townsend describe boundaries as what defines "where I end and someone else begins." A helpful distinction: we are called to be responsible to others—to love, encourage, bless, pray for, and serve them—but we are not responsible for their outcomes, emotions, choices, or spiritual progress. Common pitfalls include neediness (becoming someone's crutch), dependence (stepping into a role that belongs to a trained counselor or therapist), and being drawn into crises beyond our capacity. When Jesus sent out the seventy in Luke 10:4-11, they faithfully proclaimed peace and the nearness of God's kingdom—but they were not held responsible for how people received them. Neither are we. Jesus alone is the Rescuer; we are messengers walking alongside our neighbors, not saviors.
Healthy neighboring also flows in two directions. If you are always the giver, your neighbor can begin to feel like a charity case rather than a friend. Receiving requires humility, a willingness to be vulnerable, and grace toward those who want to bless us. Even Jesus, who needed nothing, received the costly gift of the woman in Luke 7:36-38, honoring her love. He came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom Mark 10:45—a service we cannot replicate—but he also modeled the dignity of receiving from others. Real community is built on give and take.
Finally, loving your neighbor rarely looks dramatic. Our culture celebrates the famous and the spectacular, but the kingdom advances through small, faithful investments: a meal shared, a conversation across the driveway, a Bible study, a phone call to check in, time spent watching a game or playing together. God has gifted you with particular skills and interests precisely so you can use them to bless the people he has placed around you. Keep at it. The little things, offered consistently in Christ's name, make a lasting impact on your neighborhood—and on the kingdom of God.
Transcript
Good morning. How are you doing today? It is so wonderful to be able to gather with you 4s
again and to continue today. We're actually wrapping up our adult education hour on the 9s
art of neighboring. I hope that you found this to be not only informative but encouraging 16s
and giving you some ideas of how to love your neighbor. So let us begin with prayer. Lord, 22s
we thank you for this time that we are together. We thank you for your command to love one another 30s
and for the command to love our neighbors as ourselves. Lord, we ask that as we go forth in our 37s
day-to-day lives that we would take this command seriously, noticing who our neighbors are and 43s
engaging with them as you call us to do just that. We ask that your spirit would guide the 49s
remaining time that we have together in this class and that you would inspire us to love our 56s
neighbors as you have loved us, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and to go forth 61s
proclaiming your good news to the ends of the earth beginning in our own neighborhoods. Lord, 66s
we lift all of this to you thanking you and praising you through the name of the Blessed Jesus 73s
Christ. Amen. Okay, so quick recap of what we've been doing. So when we started this class, we made 79s
these maps, these block maps with our house in the center and then these squares all around our 87s
house trying to see if we can fill in who is our neighbor, that immediate neighbor in our 93s
neighborhood. And hopefully you've been able to get the names maybe a little bit of information 100s
about your neighbors. The whole intent is to be connecting with those that God has placed us in 106s
the midst of. It's been very exciting to hear some stories from some of you you've taken the 113s
opportunity to email me or text me letting me know how you've been using this block map already, 122s
which is super exciting since we're supposed to stay very distanced from everyone that you're 128s
still able to use this block map and put it to practice whether it's calling people around, 136s
seeing if they need groceries, how they're doing, sharing the gospel with them, the love of Jesus 142s
with them, checking in. Some of you have used this block map or a form of it of who you are near, 149s
who is your neighbor at church. I've heard from many of you that you're calling and reaching out to 157s
some of the people you know here at Living Word, which is awesome. We are neighbors in this community 163s
where neighbors in our own neighborhood. So it's really great to see that you're putting this into 170s
practice. I love, I got one video of a family and impromptu family dance party. Our family is our 175s
neighbor. There are most close and immediate neighbor that we certainly should be sharing the love of 183s
Jesus with. During this time, it's really cool to see how we've been able to reach out in new 189s
and different ways and that God has opened so many doors for us to connect with different people, 196s
connecting with our neighbors, connecting with our community, even though the world is trying to 203s
keep us isolated. God's Word goes forth. God's love goes forth and it is really, really cool to see 209s
this. So keep doing what you're doing. Keep reaching out to your neighbors. Keep checking in with people 216s
and helping out how you can. So we've been using this block map. I encourage you to keep this 223s
and keep working through it. Keep getting to know your neighbors. You'll notice when someone moves 231s
in or moves out, right? So it's just an awesome opportunity to kind of keep in front of your face 237s
who you're living around, who God has placed in your lives, who you've been placed in their lives 243s
by God. Then we talked last week about that art of moving from stranger to acquaintance to 248s
relationship. When we know our neighbor's names, they're no longer strangers. But how do we go from 256s
stranger to acquaintance? We talked about that last week about different ways that we can connect. 261s
We talked about block parties or creating an environment or a space that we can connect with our 267s
neighbors in a manner that's easy. That's very easy going, very natural, a block party or a 275s
gathering of any sort is going to really create that atmosphere for engagement and for talking 282s
with our neighbors. Then we also talked about speaking with people without an agenda. Of course, 290s
we want to talk to people about Jesus. And as I said last week, you have every right, you have 298s
the authority and you have the call to speak to people about Jesus. Absolutely. You should never shy 304s
away from it. But to do so with an agenda is very inauthentic and it's very uncomfortable and it 311s
turn people off. I think that we've all experienced someone asking us, do you know where you're going 319s
to go if you die? That's a very agenda way of trying to share Jesus. And it's just not a good way. 326s
I'm not going to try to be nice about that. It's just not a good way, period. So don't go into the 334s
conversation with an agenda. We do want to talk about Jesus, but are you engaging with your neighbor 341s
with an ulterior motive or with an ultimate motive? So ulterior is when we keep something secretive, 351s
we keep it intentionally concealed. It often involves manipulation. People can tell when they've 360s
been manipulated. You don't like it. Your neighbor doesn't like it. Let's not manipulate people. 367s
It's when we're saying or doing one thing in public, but then we have a different intention 374s
privately, right? The ulterior motive as opposed to the ultimate motive, which is that eventual or 379s
longed for destination. The ultimate motive is always, as a Christian people, it's always to share 387s
Jesus to reach people for Jesus, right? We had this sermon a couple weeks ago about Paul with 395s
the greater purpose. The greater purpose in all his relationships with people was to reach people 402s
for Jesus. It's the same thing or should be the same thing in our lives. 409s
Reaching people for Jesus though should never be manipulative and it should never be a 416s
surprise for people, right? They shouldn't be shocked that all of a sudden that's the only thing 423s
you talk about, right? It shouldn't be manipulative. Jesus, think about this. Jesus was not manipulative 429s
in sharing himself, right? He wasn't. He was who he was. He presented himself as he was, 435s
and he didn't manipulate people into following him. He would say, come follow me, and they would, 443s
right? But he wasn't manipulative with inviting them or with reaching out to them. We shouldn't be 449s
either. So how do we share Jesus? And how do we know if we're not being manipulative or if we are 458s
being manipulative? And this is where I'd like to again remind you that we have three witnessing 466s
classes or workshops. We have the everyday missionary course with Steve Burke, where we're looking 472s
at who our mission field is, right? Then we have the everyone, his witness workshop that I lead, 479s
and that's really the how. How do I share Jesus with people? How do I do this in a non-manipulative 485s
way, authentic, intentional, loving, non-judgmental? And then we have the everyday boldness workshop that 493s
Steve leads, which is really that do. Just do it. So we have the who, the how, and the do. I really 501s
encourage you, if you have not taken those workshops or classes to do so. It will be very beneficial 510s
for you. Every time I lead that everyone has witnessed, I come away going, I love this workshop. 518s
There's so much good material here and it's really so easy to do. When we're engaging with 525s
our neighbors in a real way with authentic care and concern, there's no ulterior motive, we are 534s
living what is shared in Matthew 5, 14 through 16. So let's open up our Bibles to Matthew 5. That is 541s
the first Gospel, so the first book in the New Testament, Matthew 5, 14 through 16. 550s
It says, you are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one, 559s
after lighting a lamp, puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand and it gives light 566s
to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your 572s
good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. When we share our lives with our neighbors, 578s
with anyone, they see that we aren't perfect, right? But they also see that something is different, 587s
that our faith affects our lives, our faith affects how we do life, how we share life, how we engage 595s
with others in our lives, and how we live on a day-to-day basis. Let's look at verse 16 again, 604s
in the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and 612s
give glory to your Father in heaven. It is not our light that shines. It is the light of Christ 617s
in us that shines and it's that light that directs us and directs others to glorify God. It's never 627s
for our own glory. It's always for the glory of God. So up to this point, we're going to shift into 637s
today. Up to this point, when we've talked about the art of neighboring, we've really studied the 647s
pros, like why we should be good neighbors, why we should love our neighbors, and the goodness 653s
that comes out of it. We have so many wonderful stories of how being a good neighbor affects 660s
lives, impacts lives, and impacts and grows the kingdom of God. That is wonderful. We should 667s
always rejoice in those stories, but when we start to get to know people, what happens? 676s
We start to really get to know people, right? Real people have real life issues. Sometimes when we 685s
encounter the real lives of people, we remember why we've avoided getting to know them in the first 694s
place, why we've tried not to be a good neighbor. Now, I have not met a single person yet in my 700s
entire life who did not have some sort of messiness or difficulty in his or her life. Now, this can 708s
be relational, like relationships. It can be difficulties in health, in finances. When I say that 716s
everyone deals with messiness or difficulties, it's not an indictment of individuals. It is a 723s
matter of life when we are in a world that remains under the curse of sin, which we do, right? There is 731s
sin in this world, and so everyone is affected by it in one way or another. It's not a matter of 739s
whether or not we're bringing the messiness into our own lives. Some things are just out of our 749s
control, but it does not mean that we won't have difficulties, that our neighbors won't have difficulties. 755s
When we begin to find deeper relationships with people, it's really natural for some messiness to 764s
arise. It's the reality of life, of who we are and what we experience. So the art in this, then, 772s
in this neighboring is going to be knowing about boundaries. Boundaries are going to be key. How we 783s
talk about this story in the art of neighboring, where it talks about how this couple had moved into a 803s
neighborhood. They got to know their neighbors. The neighbor across the street, they were having 810s
marital issues, and the husband reached out because they had a connection, right, through neighboring, 816s
they had a connection. He reached out and said, my wife and I are in a big fight. Can I crash on 824s
your couch for a night? And so this couple wanting to be good neighbors, they said, of course, 828s
they had a couch in their basement. They welcomed him in. He spent the night, but then one night turned 834s
into another night, turned into another night, and several weeks later, he was still crashing on 841s
their couch in the basement. Well, they gave him a key. They said, you know what, you're staying here 848s
right now. Here's a key. Now you don't have to knock on our door every time you want to, you know, 855s
every time, during this time period, every time you need to come over, here's a key. We, you know, 861s
this will just make things easier. So after a few weeks, this man reconciled with his wife. He 866s
moved back in with her, and then three weeks later, they had another huge fight. She kicked him out, 874s
and in the middle of the night, the original neighbors, they heard a noise. What was this man? He 880s
had used the key that he had been given when he was originally crashing on their couch, and he was 888s
coming in, and he just said, oh, we got in a fight. I didn't want to wake you. There's a huge line 895s
that has been crossed there. The boundaries had not been set, and they were very, very much 901s
needed. Some of the pitfalls that we can find in being a good neighbor are neediness. So you're only 909s
40 feet away from your neighbor if a problem arises, you're there. And that's great. But sometimes, 919s
this turns into you becoming a crutch, right? There's a man and a wife, another story in the book. 926s
They were wanting to be good neighbors. They reached out and engaged with a single mom and her 935s
teenage daughter, and the teenage daughter missed the bus one morning, and the mom called the wife. 940s
In the neighborhood called her and said, my daughter missed the bus. Can you drive her? Yep, okay. 946s
Well, that happened a few times. It turned out she was oversleeping, and it was not a convenient 951s
thing for this woman to be a chauffeur. She had two small children of her own, and so they had to 957s
sit down and set boundaries. This woman and her teenage daughter had become very needy and using 963s
this couple as a crutch. Oversleep, call this new chauffeur, right? So they had to set boundaries. 972s
Another pitfall of being a good neighbor can be dependence. When there's unresolved pain in 980s
someone's life, they want to share with anyone who will listen. When we show interest, it opens that 985s
door that really should be opened by a therapist, by a professional. Most of us are not trained 992s
therapists, right? And we need to know our limitations. We need to know our boundaries. 999s
Don't steer clear of people who need help, right? This is not saying don't engage with anyone 1005s
who needs a therapist. No, that's not at all what I'm saying, or those who are hurting. I'm just 1012s
saying know your limits, know your boundaries, set them. If someone truly, truly has unresolved 1017s
pain, if they are in a depth of hurt, you know when it's over your capabilities, when it's over 1024s
your head, over your skill set. I know Pastor Eibel and I are very clear that we are here as 1032s
biblical counselors. We are not here as therapists because we don't have that training. We are not 1039s
licensed therapists. So we can give biblical counsel. It's the same thing with you reaching out 1045s
to your neighbors, right? If you are not a trained therapist, don't let yourself become one, 1051s
right? Unless you get the training for real. Anyway, and then another pitfall of being a good 1059s
neighbor is our difficult crises. So on the whole, when we're in our neighborhood, we see the 1065s
surface of people's lives, right? We see that lawns are mowed, kids look to be well fed, they 1073s
still have lights on, so their bills are getting paid. But when we start to get entwined in a neighbor's 1079s
life, we get to know about life under the surface. And as we learn more, we can start to feel 1086s
responsible. We can start to feel responsible for those people. If you see any of these pitfalls, 1095s
the neediness, the dependence, or the difficult crises, if you see these showing themselves, 1102s
you need to take a moment, recognize the unhealthy aspect of these relationships and then reexamine 1108s
whether or not you've set boundaries and how to set them if you have not yet. Boundaries, 1116s
defined by psychologists, doctors, Henry Cloud and John Townsend, in the book named boundaries, 1124s
boundaries, they say, are what? Define us. They define what is me and what is not me. A boundary 1132s
shows me where I end up and someone else begins. So boundaries define the terms of what's allowable 1139s
or not in any relationship. When we love God and we want to do the right thing, it's really 1146s
easy for us to forget our own limits. Very simple, but it's important to establish the norms and 1153s
expectations in relationships. Boundaries are not a bad thing. It's important to have boundaries 1161s
in our relationships. So we can think of a boundary as the difference between being responsible 1169s
to someone and being responsible for someone, for a person. So we're going to look at this little 1176s
list. So being responsible to a person is healthy. It means we're responsible to love them, 1184s
we're responsible to encourage them, to bless them, to pray for them and to serve them. That is 1195s
all very healthy. This is all being a good neighbor, loving our neighbor as ourselves. Being 1203s
responsible for another person is where we get into that unhealthy category. It means we're mistakenly 1211s
thinking we're responsible for their well-being, that we're responsible for someone else's finances, 1221s
that we're responsible for their spiritual progress. Maybe we feel like we're responsible for the 1227s
strength of someone else's marriage and so on, etc. We are not responsible for the outcomes, 1233s
the consequences, the emotions, the feelings, the reactions, or the choices of other people. 1241s
Set that boundary. It's really, really difficult when you have a servant's heart, when you have 1249s
great mercy for others when you want to help, when you want to love your neighbor. It's very easy 1258s
to blur this line. That's not an indictment on you. We're having a lot of non-indipements today. 1265s
That's not saying that you're wrong for feeling this. It's just saying, let's recognize these 1273s
boundaries and know that this is healthy, where we're responsible to another person, but it's not 1281s
healthy to feel responsible for another person. Let's go to Luke, chapter 10. We're in Matthew, 1287s
verse 4 will be in verses 4 through 11. I'm in chapter 11 there. Whoops. Okay. So this is when 1308s
Jesus sends out 70 disciples to places where he is going to eventually get to. So Luke 10, chapter 10, 1319s
verses 4 through 11. He said to his disciples, carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on 1331s
the road. Whatever house you enter first say peace to this house. And if anyone is there who shares 1338s
in peace, your peace will rest on that person. But if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same 1345s
house, eating and drinking whatever they provide for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move 1352s
about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and it's people welcome you, eat what is 1358s
set before you, cure the sick who are there and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near to you. 1363s
But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 1369s
even the dust of your town that cleans to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know 1374s
the kingdom of God has come near. The disciples did as they were told. They did as they were called to 1381s
do, but they could not force anyone to believe. They could not force anyone to welcome them, right? 1389s
They weren't responsible for people's reactions to them. They were not responsible for those who 1397s
rejected them. We find this a lot in Scripture. In Acts 13, we had it, in Acts 18, we had it, 1405s
where it was that dusting off the clothes or wiping the dust off the feet. It was a sign of, 1414s
I'm not responsible for this, right? Not responsible for. They were responsible too. They were 1424s
bringing peace. They were bringing the gospel, but they were not responsible for the reaction. 1430s
So that's really important to think about. We are not here for handouts, right? We are here to walk 1437s
alongside those in need. When we're setting boundaries, it's really easy to second guess ourselves. 1445s
We can ask ourselves, have I done enough? Could I have done more? Am I doing too much? Is there 1452s
something else I should be doing right now? But remember that boundaries are for your own protection. 1458s
The devil will use any way he can to make you doubt, mistrust, or allow yourself to be used. 1464s
And when we get caught in those trappings, we start backing off. We start backing off our care 1471s
of our neighbor, and we start backing off, sharing the gospel. The devil is tricky, right? He wants us to 1479s
blur these lines so that we end up with an unhealthy relationship with people, and we get burned out, 1487s
and we back off, and we no longer are as outgoing with the gospel. We're no longer going forth, 1495s
as we are called to do. As a good neighbor, the greatest gift that we can bring the best way we 1505s
can love our neighbor is to introduce them to Jesus. That is the kindest, most generous loving thing 1513s
we can do for our neighbor. And don't forget that Jesus is the only one who is responsible for 1522s
people. He is the only one responsible for and to humanity. And he is the only one who can bring 1532s
healing to our neighbors or to ourselves. Another aspect in a healthy relationship with a neighbor 1543s
is going to be the give and take. Even though you may be the first one to engage with your neighbor, 1551s
it doesn't mean that that relationship should be one direction. It also doesn't mean that you need 1558s
to be the one, the only one, I should say, maintaining the relationship. It can be really difficult 1564s
to receive from others, but a healthy relationship and an enriching relationship with our neighbor, 1572s
it's going to be too sighted, right? You are not sent into your neighborhood to rescue your 1580s
neighbors. You are sent to relate with them and to bring the love of Jesus to them. Jesus is the one 1586s
to rescue us all. We are bringing that good news. We are not actually rescuing anyone. 1593s
Neighboring is also not charity work. If you're the one doing all the giving, then your neighbor 1601s
may feel like he or she is a pet project or a charity case. And it diminishes that relationship. 1609s
It takes something out of that relationship. Good neighboring, instead of having it one sighted 1617s
or uneven, good neighboring is really going to bring a sense of community into your neighborhood. 1623s
And a sense of friendship and relation into those relations that you have with your neighbors. 1629s
Have you ever heard the saying, a doctor makes a terrible patient? Right? I love that saying because 1637s
it's so true. No, I love doctors. Really, we as a Christian people, we want to do, we want to 1644s
serve people, we want to help, help, help. And this can really make it easy for us to become 1653s
terrible recipients of God's love through others service to us, right? When we want to just do, 1661s
do, do, and give, give, give, it's really difficult for us to step back and receive that love from 1671s
God through others. We have neighbors that have been put into our midst. Maybe we are supposed to 1678s
be that recipient at times, right? A few reasons that the authors of the art of neighboring suggest 1685s
that receiving can be a challenge. The first one that they suggest is humility because when we're 1693s
receiving, we're acknowledging that we need help. It can be very humbling, very difficult. We want 1698s
to be the capable ones. We're the ones bringing the help, but we need to get help sometimes too. 1708s
To have means can be kind of unsettling, but as God's people, we can have humility, we can be humble, 1716s
we should be humble, and we should also be open to receiving from others. Another difficulty can be 1725s
that we don't want to impose on others. We're taught to not be in another's debt. So if someone does 1733s
something for us, we feel that we owe them something in return. Now, we know that when we help our 1739s
neighbor, when we love our neighbor, we aren't doing it because we expect something from them, 1748s
we aren't doing it because we want them to owe us, right? Well, the same is true. Have some grace 1753s
for your neighbor. If he or she wants to help you out, you are not imposing on them. If you 1761s
would rather be watching a TV show, but your neighbor needs a babysitter for a couple of hours, 1769s
you may want to rather watch your TV show, but you're willing to help out your neighbor. The same 1774s
is true. Your neighbor may want to do something else, but be more than willing to help you out, 1779s
out of their love for you. So we're not always imposing on others. It's not a bad thing to ask for help. 1786s
We don't want to bother someone to go out of their way just for a little us, but we would be 1798s
willing to go out of our way for them. It can be the same in reverse. Another challenge with 1805s
receiving can be vulnerability. It takes a lot of courage to put ourselves out there and to ask 1812s
for a favor or admit that we need help. To be vulnerable is very risky, but it's also opening up 1818s
that door for authentic and true relationship. Giving and receiving is a natural part of community. 1826s
It's how we're built to be in relationship with others. This is how we are created to work together, 1836s
to help one another out. Let's turn to Luke 7th. So we're already in Luke. Let's just go back a 1844s
couple of chapters. Luke 7, verses starting in verse 36, we're just verse 36 through 38. 1850s
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisees' house and took 1860s
his place at the table, and a woman in the city who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating 1866s
in the Pharisees' house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, 1871s
weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears, and to dry them with her hair. Then she 1878s
continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. The woman offered Jesus 1884s
all that she had. Did Jesus need anything from her? No, he didn't. He's the Son of God. He doesn't 1892s
need anything from us, but he showed us how to receive. He received that love from her. She needed 1899s
to be able to give it to him. Others in the room thought it was very excessive, that it was in 1910s
appropriate. She was a sinner. She shouldn't have been doing that, but he received her gift. He 1916s
received her service because it was what she needed to be able to do. We looked to Jesus how to 1925s
serve because he serves everyone, and he was always serving. But we also see how he received 1936s
as well, and how we can receive. We need to keep mindful that Jesus served and serves in a way 1944s
that we cannot. We are not Jesus. We can't serve in the same way that he did, but we can receive. 1953s
In chapter 10, verse 45, it says, for the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, 1962s
and to give his life a ransom for many. Christ serves in a way that we cannot. He's served 1968s
as the sacrifice for our sin. He's served to bring us at one with the Father, and he's served to 1975s
give us his own spirit so that we can serve others, so that we can love our neighbors. 1984s
The final thing we're going to talk about in this art of neighboring class is that 1992s
this does not have to be an artwork that is very, I can't think of the, I can't think of what 1998s
the word is, I'm going to say it wrong. It doesn't have to be huge and very detailed. How about that? 2010s
It's so close to making it through. No, it doesn't have to be monumental. It doesn't have to be 2017s
this huge undertaking, right? We think that the only way that we can make a difference is by being 2023s
a big deal, by doing big things. But the art of neighboring is really about the simple. It's really 2031s
about the minutia, the little stuff. We are fascinated in our culture and we're fascinated 2039s
in this society with celebrity, with talent. We praise anyone who is famous for their philanthropy. 2047s
We praise anyone who has a little bit of celebrity when they do good deeds, when they serve in any 2056s
capacity. But then we skip over the little guy. We skip over the person that we don't know because 2064s
we don't know them and they, we don't celebrate them. We think that we can't be the little guy that 2072s
there's an unworthiness to it, but loving your neighbor most likely won't play out as an action-packed 2080s
thriller, right? Loving your neighbor is not going to be the movie that people pay money to see. 2088s
We go to the movies to see action, to see a lot of stuff happening, bigger than life sort of stuff. 2095s
That's not how loving your neighbor is going to look on a general day-to-day basis. 2103s
The world you live in, your household, your neighborhood, your community is affected for the 2111s
better by the little things that you do as you engage with your neighbors, as you love your 2117s
neighbors as yourself. God has gifted you with the skills and the interests that will guide you 2124s
in reaching out and loving your neighbors. Some easy ways to connect might be baking or cooking, 2130s
playing sports. Right now, maybe it's online video games. I don't know. Watching sports or TV 2137s
shows together, having a Bible study together, doing the simple things and connecting in the small 2145s
ways make a huge and everlasting impact. And that is how we are called to love our neighbors. It may 2152s
not feel like you're doing anything big or monumental or maybe it won't feel like you're doing 2161s
anything at all. Certainly nothing interesting. But lasting change comes in our lives through 2167s
investments, through small investments of time, of skill, and of interest that add up, making a 2174s
big impact on our lives, making a big impact on our neighbors' lives, and making a big impact for 2182s
the kingdom of God. I hope that this study has been helpful for you. If you have any thoughts on how 2190s
we can engage with our neighbors at this time, I would love to hear it. I love to hear the stories. 2199s
I've been hearing stories all week long and even before that of how you're bringing the love of 2206s
God to your neighborhood. I love hearing it. It's so wonderful to see God's word continuing to go 2212s
forth and to see his love continuing to work through us. I ask that you would not give up, 2219s
that you would keep keeping at it and keep loving your neighbor as yourself. God bless and I cannot wait 2227s
to be with you again. 2235s