AVBC - "Live It Out Loud at AVBC" - Sunday - 09/13/26 - Sermon Title: “The Good Samaritan” - “The Parables of Jesus” – Sermon Series – (Part 2 of 6) - Luke 10:30-37

Sunday 09/13/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church

Sermon Title: “The Good Samaritan” - Luke 10:30-37 - “The Parables of Jesus” – Sermon Series – (Part 2 of 6)

(Cover Picture – The Good Samaritan and A Full Puzzle - Picture)  

          Last Sunday, I started a sermon series on the “parables” or stories of Jesus. In total, we will be looking at six of these parables in this sermon series. Last week we talked the “Prodigal Son,” but this morning we are going to talk very briefly about the parable of “The Good Samaritan.” For those of you that have my preaching schedule, you might have noticed that I switched this week’s message to last Sunday, and last week’s message to today. Why did I switch to the parable or story of “The Good Samaritan” on this our Live It Out Loud at AVBC or fall kick off 2026 Sunday Service? I did, because this parable captures the essence of the idea that we are all part of the puzzle of God’s kingdom through this church. This is because in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus calls us to love everyone, show mercy and care to everyone, no matter who they are. You will notice in this parable that the two religious leaders that see the beaten man do nothing.

For a man is walking from Jerusalem to Jericho, he is beaten, stripped, and left for dead by robbers. Two religious leaders, priests, see the man and his situation, and do nothing. Yet a Samaritan of a different cultural and religious tradition cares for the man and gets him the help he needs. The Samaritan even pays for the man’s care in an inn to ensure that he gets healed. This of course is in response to Jesus being asked the question by a religious expert, “who is my neighbor”? Jesus then gives this religious expert the parable of “The Good Samaritan.” Jesus ends the parable with telling the religious expert, “Go and do likewise.”

          Imagine a church, brothers, and sisters, where everyone matters, not just the religious leaders? Imagine a church where your piece of the puzzle is not only needed, but is it necessary for us to complete our mission in Adams and in the world? At the Adams Village Baptist Church, whatever part of the puzzle you are, wherever you fit, we welcome you, as we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. So powerful is the parable of “The Good Samaritan” that our hospital in Watertown is called Samaritan. One of our nursing homes in Watertown is called Samaritan’s Keep, and one is called Samaritan Summit Village.

I remember taking a friend to Samaritan Medical Center to get some outpatient surgery. As I was waiting in the surgical waiting room, it dawned upon me that the hospital has a coffee shop just downstairs. I love coffee! As I walked downstairs to go to the coffee shop though, I saw a wall tapestry or quilt. I stopped and looked at it for about 10-20 seconds, as it portrays in the hospital, the parable of “The Good Samaritan”. This reminded me of who Jesus is, and who he has called all of us to be. It reminded me that every time that I go to visit someone in Samaritan hospital, at Samaritan Keep Nursing Home, or at the Samaritan Summit Village care facility, that I am to love others like the Good Samaritan loved others.

          Now we all are not called to be the one who physically heals a beaten or broken person, but we are all called to be a part of this thing called God’s kingdom. We are called to believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and live and love like He did and still does. We are all like puzzle pieces, and we can all grow closer to Christ and to each other when we live out what God has called us all to do. When we do this, this church will continue to flourish like we have not seen in years. Further, when the church grows, when our puzzle pieces come together, the mission of the Adams Village Baptist Church can further be fulfilled in new and powerful ways, like never before! Wherever we fit in the puzzle here at AVBC, as we are all welcome to be a part of this church, I have four guiding questions that I want us to all consider. Here they are:

(Fulfilling our Mission at AVBC - Picture) 

          The application points for the story of “The Good Samaritan” to have this brief message walk out the door with us into Adams and the world this week are:

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is a story told by Jesus in Luke 10:25-37 that teaches people to show mercy and love to everyone, regardless of social or religious differences.

 

The Story

 

·         The attack: A traveler is beaten, robbed, and left half-dead on the dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho.

·         The religious leaders: A Jewish priest and a Levite both see the injured man, but they cross to the other side of the road and do nothing.

·         The Samaritan: A Samaritan—belonging to a group despised by Jews—sees the man, feels deep pity, and stops to help.

·         The care: The Samaritan cleans the man's wounds with wine and oil, puts him on his own animal, takes him to an inn, and pays the innkeeper to care for him.

 

The Meaning

 

·         Who is a neighbor: Jesus explains that a neighbor is not just someone from your own community, but anyone in need who crosses your path.

·         Action over status: The story challenges prejudice by showing that an outsider acted with true mercy, while religious insiders failed their moral duty.

·         The lesson: Jesus tells his listener to "go and do likewise," meaning love requires concrete, compassionate action.

 

 

At the AVBC, whatever part of the puzzle you are, you are welcome here. When we have all the gifts, graces, and abilities of God, we can truly be a complete and beautiful puzzle of God’s kingdom. We can remember this whenever we are in Watertown, and we see the name Samaritan. Amen!