NOTES
SCRIPTURE
SERMON SUMMARY
Selflessness takes mind because love requires us to see both sides. Through the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus challenges us to look beyond ourselves, beyond people’s problems, and beyond good intentions into action. When we see people the way God sees them—with value, potential, and eternal significance—we move from simply “seeing” a need to becoming the person who does something about it.
KEY POINTS
- Selflessness takes mind.
- Loving God with your mind means learning to see beyond one perspective and consider the whole picture.
- Selfless people see beyond themselves.
- Faith isn’t just about getting to heaven; it’s about seeing the people God has placed around us and bringing His kingdom to earth.
- Selfless people see beyond the problem.
- The Samaritan didn’t just see a wounded man or an inconvenience; he saw a person with value and potential.
- Selfless people see beyond intentions.
- It isn’t enough to notice a need or have good intentions. Compassion moves us to action: “Go and do likewise.”
- Selflessness starts with how you see yourself.
- We can’t effectively love others when our own minds are trapped by shame, insecurity, bitterness, or lies.
- We need the renewed mind of Christ and must learn to see ourselves as God sees us: valued, loved, and made new.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- The sermon says selfless people “see both sides.” Where are you most tempted to see a situation from only your own perspective?
- The Samaritan saw beyond the man’s problem and saw his value. Who is someone you may be tempted to define by their struggles, mistakes, or behavior rather than by who God created them to be?
- “The person you see is not the person inside.” How might slowing down and asking, “What might be happening beneath the surface?” change the way you respond to difficult people?
- The Samaritan didn’t just see the need—he acted. What is a need you’ve noticed recently that God might be asking you to stop, reverse course, and do something about?
- Jesus ends the story with “Go and do likewise.” What is one practical way you can live out selflessness this week—in your family, workplace, church, neighborhood, or community?
