Lyrics to Weird Al’s Amish Paradise:
As I walk through the valley where I harvest my grain
I take a look at my wife and realize she’s very plain
But that’s just perfect for an Amish like me
You know I shun fancy things like electricity
At 4:30 in the mornin’ I’m milkin’ cows
Jebediah feeds the chickens and Jacob plows, fool
And I’ve been milkin’ and plowin’ so long
That even Ezekiel thinks that my mind is gone
I’m a man of the land, I’m into discipline
Got a Bible in my hand and a beard on my chin
But if I finish all of my chores, and you finish thine
Then tonight were gonna party like it’s 1699

We been spendin’ most our lives
Livin’ in an Amish paradise
I churned butter once or twice
Livin’ in an Amish paradise
It’s hard work and sacrifice
Livin’ in an Amish paradise
We sell quilts at discount price
Livin’ in an Amish paradise

A local boy kicked me in the butt last week
I just smiled at him and I turned the other cheek
I really don’t care, in fact I wish him well
Cause I’ll be laughin’ my head off when he’s burnin’ in Hell
But I never punched a tourist even if he deserved it
An Amish with a ‘tude? You know that’s unheard of
I never wear buttons, but I got a cool hat
And my homies agree I really look good in black, fool
If you come to visit you’ll be bored to tears
We haven’t even paid the phone bill in 300 years
But we ain’t really quaint so please don’t point and stare
We’re just technologically impaired

There’s no phones, no lights, no motor cars
Not a single luxury
Like Robinson Caruso, it’s as primitive as can be

We been spendin’ most our lives
Livin’ in an Amish paradise
Were just plain and simple guys
Livin’ in an Amish paradise
There’s no time for sin and vice
Livin’ in an Amish paradise
We don’t fight we all play nice
Livin’ in an Amish paradise

Hichin’ up the buggy, churnin’ lots of butter
Raise a barn on Monday, soon I’ll raise anutter
Think you’re really righteous; think you’re pure at heart?
Well I know, I’m a million times as humble as thou art
I’m the pious guy, the little am-lettes wanna be like
On my knees day and night, scorin’ points for the after life
So don’t be vain, and don’t be whiney
Or else my brother, I might have to get medieval on your
heinie

We been spendin’ most our lives
Livin’ in an Amish paradise
We’re all crazy Mennonites
Livin’ in an Amish paradise
There’s no cops or traffic lights
Livin’ in an Amish paradise
But you’d probably think it bites
Livin’ in an Amish paradise

Ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh
Ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-yecch!

[tags]Weird Al, Amish Paradise, music video, lyrics, movie, youtube, humor, funny[/tags]

Post a comment and let me know….
– Are you white and nerdy?
– Am I white and nerdy?

Sorry, apparently the embeded video above has been disabled by YouTube. Enjoy the parody below!

Lyrics to Weird Al’s White and Nerdy
They see me mowin’ my front lawn
I know they’re all thinkin’ I’m so
White and nerdy

Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Can’t you see I’m white and nerdy
Look at me I’m white and nerdy

I wanna roll with the gangstas
But so far they all think I’m too
White and nerdy

Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
I’m just too white and nerdy
Really, really white and nerdy

First in my class here at MIT
Got skills, I’m a champion at D&D
M.C. Escher, that’s my favorite M.C.
Keep your 40, I’ll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin, to the contrary
You’ll find that they’re quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Stephen Hawking’s in my library

My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
Got people beggin’ for my top eight spaces
Yo, I know pi to a thousand places
Ain’t got no grills but I still wear braces
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
I’m a wiz at Minesweeper, I could play for days
Once you’ve see my sweet moves, you’re gonna stay amazed
My fingers movin’ so fast I’ll set the place ablaze

There’s no killer app I haven’t run (run)
At Pascal, well I’m number one (one)
Do vector calculus just for fun
I ain’t got a gat, but I got a soldering gun (what?)
Happy Days is my favorite theme song
I could sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
I’ll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
I’m fluent within JavaScript as well as Klingon

Here’s the part I sing on…

You see me roll on my Segway
I know in my heart they think I’m
White and nerdy

Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Can’t you see I’m white and nerdy
Look at me I’m white and nerdy

I’d like to roll with the gangstas
Although it’s apparent I’m too
White and nerdy

Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
I’m just too white and nerdy
How’d I get so white and nerdy

I been browsin’, inspectin’ X-Men comics
You know I collect ‘em
The pens in my pocket, I must protect them
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shoppin’ online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now and have you R-O-T-F-L-O-L

I got a business doing websites (websites)
When my friends need some code, who do they call?
I do HTML for ‘em all
Even made a homepage for my dog, yo
I got myself a fanny pack
They were havin’ a sale down at The Gap
Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
Pop, pop – hope no one sees me, gettin’ freaky

I’m nerdy in the extreme and
Whiter than sour cream
I was in AV club and glee club
And even the chess team
Only question I ever thought was hard
Was “Do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?”
Spend every weekend at the Renaissance Fair
Got my name on my underwear

They see me strollin’, they laughin’
And rollin’ their eyes cause I’m so
White and nerdy

Just because I’m white and nerdy
Just because I’m white and nerdy
All because I’m white and nerdy
Holy cow, I’m white and nerdy

I wanna bowl with the gangstas
But oh well, it’s obvious I’m
White and nerdy

Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
I’m just too white and nerdy
Look at me I’m white and nerdy

[tags]Weird Al, White and Nerdy, music video, lyrics, movie, youtube, humor, funny[/tags]

This sermon is part of a 3-part sermon series I did for Vineyard Leadership Institute.

Compassion: Just Do It
http://www.brianstevenson.com/blog/?p=163

Compassion: A Catalyst for Restoration
http://www.brianstevenson.com/blog/?p=164

Compassion: Unlocking the Power of the Kingdom (This sermon)
http://www.brianstevenson.com/blog/?p=166

Subject: We do not have enough strength to minister to others if we rely on our natural abilities alone.
Complement: By relying on kingdom resources, we can find more than enough power to minister to others.
Central Thesis: We can find the power to minister to others in need when we stop relying on our abilities and rely completely on kingdom resources.

Compassion: Unlocking the Power of the Kingdom
Introduction:
[Play Intro Video - 2:43]

I feel sorry for Dr. Marvin. He was just trying to get away from work to get some rest at his lakeside retreat. In the next few scenes, Bob manages to trick Betty to give him the location of Dr. Marvin’s retreat, and Bob begins his relentless pursuit to be with Dr. Marvin.

Transition:
Today’s Bible passage tells a similar story about a crowd that decides to pursue Jesus even though he and his disciples were trying to get some must needed rest. Please follow along as we read from the book of Mark chapter 6, starting with verse 30.

Mark 6:30-44
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Setting the Stage:
So many people look at this passage and they just see another one of Jesus’ amazing miracles. But if we look carefully at the text, we see that Jesus is also illustrating a model for ministry. This model isn’t restricted to pastors and “professional” Christians. It’s a model for all Christians. We’re all servants and ministers of the body of Christ.

Let me bring the story into context. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus sends out his 12 apostles on their very first missions trip. He instructed them to take no food, no bags, and no money. All they had were the clothes they were wearing, a staff, and their sandals. They go from town to town preaching the gospel, driving out demons, and healing the sick. When they came back, it says in verse 30 they, “gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.” Can you imagine their excitement?! I’m sure they had an endless supply of stories to share.

Rest
But, we see in the next verse it says, “so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat.” In all of the excitement of their first missions trip, they had worn themselves out. Jesus sees their fatigue and invites them to a quiet place to get some rest. Which brings us to our first point: To be an effective servant, we must take adequate time to REST.

Jesus modeled a balance between ministry and personal time. Serving others can be exhausting, especially when we don’t give ourselves permission to take a break. When we fail to regularly separate ourselves from our ministry, we’ll become ineffective servants. Our physical fatigue catches up with us and we’re always tired. Our emotional stress will fail to find a healthy outlet and we will become short-tempered and snippy when we talk to people.

This lack of rest also affects our family. When we don’t take breaks, we can become mentally checked out of what’s going on at home. Without rest, we can become preoccupied with ministry and occasionally neglect our responsibilities as a spouse and parent. Since our priorities are out-of-whack, our family doesn’t feel the love that they need.

Finally, the flame of our spiritual life starts to die down. We become so busy with our ministry that we’ve forgotten to spent quality time with the Father. We’ll go days, maybe even weeks without quiet time. After awhile, we loose our sense of direction and purpose.

If you feel physically fatigued, emotionally stressed, or spiritually disconnected; listen to these words of Jesus in verse 31, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” If you’re not plugged into God’s power, you’ll run out of energy before the job is done.

Obedience
As the disciples were getting some much needed rest on the boat, they headed toward the solitary place that Jesus had in mind. To their surprise, a huge crowd of people had been waiting for their arrival! You can probably imagine what the disciples were thinking, “Sigh… This isn’t a solitary place!”

Jesus sees the crowds and has compassion. Mark even tells us why Jesus had compassion, “they were like sheep without a shepherd.” How does Jesus respond to the “need that he sees” and the “compassion that he feels”? He does something about it! Jesus meets their need by becoming their shepherd. This brings us to our second point: When we feel compassion, we must OBEY the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

At first glance, it may seem like Jesus immediately neglected the needs of his disciples upon seeing the needs of the crowd. This is NOT true. This story is told in all four gospels of the Bible. In the book of John, the author notes that Jesus did fulfill his responsibility to the disciples before ministering to the crowd. In John 6:3 it says, “…Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.” First, Jesus fulfilled his responsibility to his disciples, and then ministered to the crowd second. Practically speaking, if we’re ever in a situation where we’re called to minister unexpectedly, we should be careful not to neglect our other responsibilities. Jesus was obedient to the Holy Spirit’s call to minister unexpectedly, and he did it responsibly.

Power
Some time later in the afternoon, the disciples approached Jesus as he was ministering to the crowd and they said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” It seems like a valid concern and a reasonable solution, right? I find it hard to believe that these disciples didn’t have an ulterior motive. This is a REMOTE place and it’s VERY late. Send the people AWAY so they can eat. Clearly, they want the crowd to go so they can have Jesus all to themselves. After all, their time with Jesus on the mountainside probably got cut short because of the crowd. I love Jesus’ response, “YOU give them something to eat.”

The response from the disciples is hilarious! “That would take EIGHT MONTHS of a MAN’S wages! Are WE to go and spend THAT much on bread and give it to them to eat?” Their frustration with the crowd has now been exposed! To top it off, Jesus passed the responsibility of feeding the crowd over to his disciples. They’re clearly upset and don’t want that responsibility because they consider it be an impossible feat. Let’s see another clip from “What about Bob” to see what happens when we operate from our own strength.
[Play Closing Video - 0:57]

You’ve ruined MY life, you’ve ruined MY career, you’ve ruined MY book. Dr. Marvin completely snapped when he realized that he had lost the power to control the situation.

This brings us to our third point: We must meet needs with the power of the KINGDOM, not with the power of MAN. The disciples made the mistake of trying to fully satisfy the needs of the crowd by using the strength and resources of MAN. Jesus responds to the need using a KINGDOM mindset.
1) God will use what you have; in this case it was 5 loaves and two fish.
2) Dedicate what you have to the Father; in this case Jesus blesses the food.
3) If you’re lacking anything, God will provide the rest; in this case the food was multiplied to meet the need.

Kingdom resources never run out. God will always finance and provide for the things he has called you to do. If you’re operating from your own strength, your own understanding, and you own resources, you will burn out before fulfilling what God has called you to do.

Conclusion
When we read the New Testament, it seems like some of the best lessons about ministry are when the disciples are messing things up. They’re making the exact same mistakes two-thousand years ago that we making today. In this story alone, there are so many practical lessons about a kingdom-centric ministry that I want you to remember:

First, if your tank is empty, you won’t be able to finish the race. Like we saw in the first movie clip with Dr. Marvin, we must find time to remove ourselves from ministry to get some rest. If you haven’t had time alone with God in a long time, you’re probably not tapped into the full power of the kingdom. If you’re marriage and family is feeling neglecting instead of feeling loved, you’re probably not accessing the power of the kingdom.

Second, we must be obedient to the calling of the Holy Spirit. Every time Jesus was presented with an opportunity to minister, he did. His method was simple. He saw the crowds, felt compassion, and took responsible action. If you’re not making responsible decisions in your ministry, you’re probably not accessing the power of the kingdom. If you’re not being obedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you’re probably not accessing the power of the kingdom.

Third, put your faith in the power of kingdom resources not the power of man’s resources. If you’re looking into yourself for strength instead of looking up to the Father, you’re probably not accessing the power of the kingdom. If you’re placing your trust in man and not placing your trust in God, you probably don’t have a kingdom mentality. If you’re not dedicating all your resources to God, you’re probably not relying on the power of the kingdom.

We can find the POWER to minister to others in need when we stop relying on OUR abilities and rely completely on KINGDOM resources.

[tags]Sermon, Thesis, Compassion, Kingdom of God, Rest, Obedience, Power, Power of the Kingdom, kingdom resources, ministry, Mark 6:30-44, VLI, Vineyard, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christianity[/tags]

Title: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire – What Happens When God’s Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People
Author: Jim Cymbala
ISBN: 0310251532

Title of Review:
A Balance between Biblical Truth and Personal Experience

Book Review:
This book should be a must-read for anyone who is planting a church, has planted a church, or is currently the pastor of a church. The entire premise of this book is PRAYER and the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT.

Jim Cymbala starts off with his unusual call to ministry after finishing college. With no seminary degree or formal pastoral training, he followed God’s calling to become the pastor of a very small church in the slums of Brooklyn. From the very beginning of his ministry, he was in a position of complete dependence on God to provide for everything through prayer. It was then he discovered an astonishing truth, “God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately the need him.”

Sometime later, while Jim is somewhat burnt out and is on a vacation trying to recover from a lingering illness, and he cries out to God, “Lord, I have no idea how to be a successful pastor…” and the Lord responds, “If you and your wife will lead my people to pray and call upon my name, you will never lack for something fresh to preach. I will supply all the money that’s needed both for the church and for you family, and you will never have a building large enough to contain the crowds I will send in response.” This was the fresh wind that ignited the flame of the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

Jim comes back from vacation he lays out what will be the future of this church, “From this day on, the prayer meeting will be the barometer of our church. What happens on Tuesday night will be the gauge by which we will judge success or failure because that will be the measure by which God blesses us.”

PRAYER, not human cleverness, would be the driving factor of the success of this church. From that point on, everything changed for the congregation at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. God suddenly had room to move and they were graced with more of the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT. The rest of the book follows a cycle of Need > Prayer > Power of the Holy Spirit. Jim recounts dozens of stories of the POWER of PRAYER.

After reading this book, I walked away inspired and ready to pray!

[tags]Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Jim Cymbala, Brooklyn Tabernacle, 0310251532, Prayer, Christianity, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Revival, Power of Prayer, book review[/tags]

This sermon is part of a 3-part sermon series I did for Vineyard Leadership Institute.

Compassion: Just Do It
http://www.brianstevenson.com/blog/?p=163

Compassion: A Catalyst for Restoration (This sermon)
http://www.brianstevenson.com/blog/?p=164

Compassion: Unlocking the Power of the Kingdom
http://www.brianstevenson.com/blog/?p=166

Subject: Jesus calls us to be compassionate to everyone despite the high costs.
Complement: Our compassion is a catalyst for restoring the broken.
Central Thesis: Jesus calls us to be compassionate to everyone, despite the high costs, because he desires to restore human brokenness.

Compassion: A Catalyst for Restoration
Introduction:
At about 3:20 a.m. on March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese, a 28-year-old manager of a bar in Queens, New York, returned to her quiet residential neighborhood, parked her car in a lot adjacent to her apartment building, and began to walk the 30 yards through the lot to her door. Noticing a man at the far end of the lot, she paused. When he started toward her, she turned the other way and tried to reach a police call box half a block away. The man caught and stabbed her. She started screaming that she’d been stabbed, and screaming for help. Lights went on in the apartment building across the street. Windows opened. One man called out, “Let that girl alone!”

The assailant shrugged and walked away. Windows closed and lights went out. The assailant returned and attacked Genovese again. This time she screamed “I’m dying! I’m dying.” This time lots more windows opened and lots more lights went on. The assailant walked to his car and drove away, leaving Ms. Genovese to crawl along the street to her apartment building. Somehow, she managed to drag herself inside. The assailant returned a third time, found Genovese on the floor at the foot of her stairs, and finally succeeded in killing her.

During those three separate attacks over the course of 35 minutes, not one of Kitty Genovese’s neighbors tried to intervene. Worse than that, of the more than 30 people who saw at least one of the attacks and heard Genovese’s screams and pleas for help, not one of them called the police.

Interviewed afterward, the residents admitted, “I didn’t want to get involved.” One person said he was too tired to call police, so he went back to bed. Many of them said they’d been afraid to call, even within the safety of their own homes. People all over the nation asked themselves, “What was wrong with those people, anyway?”

Transition:
Many of you have heard this story before. That incident may be the defining moment of urban apathy in the latter half of the twentieth century. When it happened, many thought the incident was shocking and bizarre… but not typical of the way most people would respond. It was the kind of thing that would only happen in a big city like New York.

Today’s Bible passage tells a similar story. It is found in Luke chapter ten verse twenty-five:

Passage – Luke 10:25-37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Looking for the Legal Loophole:
Before I get into the meat of the parable, I want to briefly cover the situation that brought about this parable. Jesus was under close examination of the legal experts of the day. The lawyers questioned Jesus about eternal life. Like a good rabbi, Jesus answered their question with a question. When the lawyer responded with the correct answer “love your neighbor as yourself”, the lawyer felt the need to JUSTIFY himself (v. 29). Uh oh! There’s a red flag. We humans have a tendency to justify ourselves when we know we’ve done something wrong. The lawyer knew that he had not shown love to his “neighbor”, so he was looking for a legal loophole in Jesus’ definition of neighbor. Jesus turns the tables on their attempt to corner him and he responds back with a parable that redefines their perception of love.

An Inconvenient Truth:
First, compassion can be inconvenient. The first two characters that pass by the half-dead man were the Priest and the Levite. The passage doesn’t specifically say what the Priest and Levite were doing, but tradition says that they were going to perform their priestly duties. If this were the case, this would be a huge inconvenience for the Priest and Levite because contact with a dead body would make them ritually unclean and unable to perform their duties. The religious experts that are listening to this parable would have immediately understood the implications.

Inconvenience is a barrier to compassion. Think back to the story about Kitty Genovese. One of the witnesses to the crime said he was too tired to call the police, so he went back to bed! He found a way to justify his actions. Each of us does the same thing today when we are presented with an opportunity to show compassion. For instance, I’ve excused myself from Servant Evangelism because I didn’t want to wake up early on Saturday mornings. I’ve excused myself pulling over when I witnessed a minor fender bender at midnight because I didn’t want to stick around for an hour to fill out a police report. Sadly, I’ve even excused myself from several opportunities to show compassion without a reason. Apathy begs for an excuse.

Every Human is Your Neighbor:
Second, compassion means loving everyone. When Jesus told this parable, he left out all means of identifying the victim. He did not mention his skin color, his social class, his religion, his sexual orientation, his wealth, or anything. In fact, since he had been stripped naked, we can’t even determine his social class based on his clothes. He was a fellow human being in desperate need.

Often times, though we may not like to admit it, we place conditions on who will receive our compassion. Some will avoid gay and lesbians like the plague because we’re afraid that we’ll condone their behavior by being their friend. We divert our attention away from the homeless person who holds up a sign that says, “Please help me, I’m hungry.” We’ll look at criminals and terrorists with hatred because of their acts of violence. Jesus cut through every excuse. The truth is every human is created in the image of God and they need to be loved.

Bearing the Burden:
Third, compassion is taking upon the burdens of the other person. The NIV translation says the Samaritan “took pity” on the victim. In my opinion, that phrase was poorly translated. The Greek word is Splagchnizomai. Last week, we unpacked the meaning of that word. It boils down to allowing another person’s pain and misery to penetrate our heart. We effectively take their burden from them and make it our burden. This is exactly what the Good Samaritan did. Notice he first gave the victim immediate medical treatment. Second, he placed the man on HIS OWN donkey and brought him into town. Third, he took care of the victim for one night at the inn. Fourth, he paid two silver coins for the innkeeper to take care of him. [Many people don’t know this, but two silver coins is the equivalent of up to two months of care.] Finally, he tops it off by saying he will return to the innkeeper and reimburse him for all expenses over and above what he’s already paid.

This level of commitment is unheard of today. How many times have you heard of a story where someone bears the ENTIRE burden of a stranger in need? Jesus is challenging our perception of mercy by illustrating that mercy flows from a spring that will never dry up. Just when we think there’s no more mercy to be found, there’s more. Many of us would have drawn the line at giving medical treatment and taking him into town. Where would you have drawn the line? How much burden would you be willing to bear?

No Strings Attached:
Fourth, compassion has no strings attached. No one likes it when there’s a catch! Here are three strings that can get attached to our relationships: 1) The Gratitude String. This string has an expectation of appreciation. This string is used to get a “thank you” and to fulfill some kind of unmet emotional need. 2) The Conversion String. This string is attached by people who serve only if they see some indication that a person might be interested in becoming a Christian. They serve for the sole purpose of soul-winning and they could care less about the needs of the people they serve. 3) The Manipulation String. This string is used to control some aspect of a person, such as their money or behavior.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, none of these strings were found. He served without any expectation of gratitude, he showed no interested in converting the victim to his religion, and there was no hint of manipulating the victim’s money or behavior. When freed from all strings, compassion is a beautiful expression of the love of Jesus Christ.

Compassion is a Catalyst for Restoration:
As we look at the compassion of the Good Samaritan, we find a common thread. We see a desire to bring restoration. He saw the need, he felt compassion, and then he sacrificed his time, his energy, and his money to restore a human in desperate need. Compassion is a catalyst for restoration. Compassion ignites our hearts and propels us to become active instruments of God’s love and mercy. Compassion brings healing and hope to those who are broken and in despair.

If we loose our compassion, it’s like salt loosing its saltiness. What good are Christians if they profess to know Jesus Christ, but do not have the compassion of the very Person who saved them? We would become like the world we see around us. A world like the one Kitty Genovese knew all too well as she cried out for someone to help her while her attacker stabbed her to death in full sight of her neighbors.

I challenge you to see the world from a new perspective. Train your eyes to look at people at the grocery store, at the gas station, at restaurants, at the office, in the neighborhood, and the people you see as you drive. Ask the Holy Spirit for divine appointments where you can minister. When God has revealed the person, give yourself permission to be inconvenienced and to be filled with a compassion that is free from any strings. Finally, keep your eyes open to what God is doing and follow his lead. He desires to use each of his children in his redemptive plan.

[tags]Sermon, Thesis, Compassion, Catalyst, Restoration, Kitty Genovese, No Strings Attached, Luke 10:25-37, VLI, Vineyard, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christianity[/tags]