The Golden Rule

May 6, 2019

DAILY READING

Today’s reading: Matthew 7:7-12
This week’s challenge: PRAY

FIELD NOTES

Welcome to the BUMC Love Your Neighbor Challenge! Each Monday for 8 weeks, we’re using the Field Guide to share a church-wide challenge that is designed to help us form meaningful relationships with our geographic neighbors based on the Scripture reading and teaching lesson from Sunday. In Galatians 5:14 Paul says succinctly, “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Did you know only about 10 percent of people can name their 8 closest neighbors? If we are honest with ourselves, perhaps we’re not loving our neighbors as well as we thought. You might find yourself thinking, “A good neighbor is someone who leaves well enough alone!” But if that were true, Jesus would not have demonstrated such radical hospitality in his ministry. Jesus didn’t wait for neighbors to cross his path: He put himself on the path of his neighbors, hearing their stories and making it his business to know their pains and their joys.

This 8-week challenge accompanies our “Neighbors” sermon series. The challenge will help us dive deeper into what it means to be a good neighbor. We’ll start slow, but go deep. Our hope is that we will find parts of this journey challenging and parts deeply enriching. And the best part is, we are in it together! Let us work together to shine Christ’s light in the city of Brentwood and beyond!

This week’s challenge: Pray. Begin in prayer. If it helps, set a timer for 5 minutes and devote that time entirely to God. Ask God to help you see your geographic neighbors. Ask to remain open to receiving the blessings deep relationship with your neighbors will bring. Ask for fortitude to engage with strangers and not shrink from the challenges that are sure to arise. To end your prayer time, simply be still and listen.

Ideas to complete this challenge: 

1. Identify the immediate neighbors you wish to focus on for the next 8 weeks, then pray for the people of that area. This can be your:
   1. Street
   2. Apartment/retirement complex
   3. Work
   4. School
2. How neighborly are you? Take our 3-question quiz to find out!
3. Don’t forget to stop by the Neighbor Wall outside of Haney Hall on your way to worship this weekend to mark your progress and how you were able to pray for, communicate with, and invite your neighbors into deeper relationship this week! And if there’s a particular story of impact from the week, would you share that with Rev. Shelby Slowey?