The Orchard Church doesn’t exist for our own sake… We’re here FOR Gilmer County. We’re for people here because we believe JESUS is for people.
So, as we roll into the holiday season, we have several big opportunities for us to take a stand for children and for families who happen to be our neighbors. I know you will want to be part of being FOR GILMER. How will you and your lifegroup participate in the following two opportunities?
Downtown Halloween Event
This is an incredible opportunity to meet our neighbors right where they are! Each year, we provide a loving environment for Gilmer County children downtown, and invite parents into our Orange Strategy of helping them become better parents.
We’re collecting candy now on the weekends. We need THOUSANDS of pieces of candy to hand out to kids. Will you bring bags of candy to the dropbox at the church this weekend?
We still need volunteers!
There are two shifts to serve on at Halloween. Last year, groups served together. What a great way to bond as a group, and have a local missions/outreach experience together!
Shift 1: 3pm-6pm (includes setup)
Shift 2: 6pm-9pm (includes breakdown)
Community Thanksgiving Dinner
Churches throughout Gilmer County come together to provide a “Thank you” lunch and dinner to anyone and everyone in our community on November 17. Last year we served hundreds of meals in the Name of Jesus at First Baptist Church of Ellijay, and this year we hope to serve even more.
There are lots of ways to be part of this clear demonstration of Jesus’ love, at the actual event, and before. You can be part of prepping and delivering food ahead of time, or you can serve on the day of the event on the 17th. Another great way for your group to serve together!
SIGN UP FOR THANKSGIVING FEAST
Lifegroup Discussion Questions
Sunday’s message was about our “vertical” relationship, vs our “horizontal” relationships. Were you there?
Discuss briefly the “how low is to low” mentality. What is wrong with asking the question, “is ___ a sin?” Have you ever slid into that thought process?
Discuss briefly the “how high can I go” question. What about that thought process can leave you frustrated and empty?
Jesus, introducing the NEW COVENANT, shows that the “vertical, if/then” covenant is over.
Matthew 22:37–39 (NLT)
‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
What was it that was so radical about this connection that Jesus makes? How is this different from the “if/then?”
In the Jewish mind, “neighbor” specifically meant “Jewish neighbor.” It meant someone who was like you. Someone who was part of your circle. Frankly, it meant someone who was easy to love.
But, Jesus is clearly rolling out a new understanding of who God’s children really are, right? So, a religious lawyer steps up and asks Jesus the obvious question, “Who is my neighbor?” He’s really asking “who do I have to love?” He still has that old vertical “What is the minimum required of me” mentality.
You know how Jesus responds… He launches into one of His most famous parables, certainly bringing A LOT of discomfort to his Jewish, vertical-only crowd.
Luke 10:30–35 (NLT)
“A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.”
“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.”
How do you think the crowd was responding at this point in the story? This was likely a situation that they could relate to. A guy gets beat up, and those religious, vertical-minded people refused to have compassion on him. What do you think the crowd was saying to each other at this point in the story?
“Then a despised Samaritan came along,”
Samaritans were definitely NOT easy to love. They were different. They were bad. We hate them. Maybe this Samaritan will get beat up, also! But Jesus continues:
when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.
What? No way. SURELY Jesus is not going to make a Samaritan the hero of this story???
But he did.
Not only did he make the Samaritan the hero, but this hero goes way beyond the extra mile for this injured Jewish man.
The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
THE NEXT DAY?? You mean to say that this Samaritan stayed all night with this poor guy, and THEN offered to pay the bill in full? You MUST be kidding me.
That’s when Jesus asks the religious lawyer the big question:
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?”
Now, of course, we read this story and it makes perfect sense to us… But for a vertical-minded Old Covenant with one chosen people group keeper, this was astounding… Jesus redefines “neighbor.”
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Apparently, this guy can’t even bring himself to utter the the ethnic identity of the hero.
From this moment forward, neighbor no longer applies to people who are like us.
In 2018, our culture is far more open and accepting to people of all backgrounds, cultures, and religions. Why is this still so hard for us today?
Gilmer County is full of people who are both like us, and unlike us. What are some specific ways we can show this love for our neighbor, especially now as we enter into the holiday season? (hint: scroll right back up to the top of this post for a few corporate ways to do this.)
Do you have a neighbor you live near that might need some love from Jesus this season? Who is that, and how can we as a group pray specifically for you to have a divine appointment to show love to that neighbor?