We start our annual stewardship series with "Remember," looking back at Jacob's dream of the stairway to heaven and Jesus' call of Peter.

Concluding our Love Where You Are: The Art of Neighboring Series brings us back to the  story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus "flipped the script" on the legal expert, and how Jesus flips the script on us.

We have to see our neighbors to love them. Who are the people around you that you most easily overlook or see right through?  Who blends into the background? Even these are our neighbors. And followers of Jesus are commanded to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. 

In the first 4 sermons of this series, we focused on various answers to the "who is my neighbor" question. Today we look at what it means to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Some of us want to be or live or worship someplace beside where we are. Sometimes this is because we feel out of control or unappreciated. The world around us doesn't seem to value what we believe God calls us to value. Into this situation, the prophet Jeremiah speaks, and tells us to "Promote the welfare of the city where God has sent us into exile." The hardest part of this for American Christians is recognizing that we live in exile - in a place we don't control. God doesn't call us to control, though, but to trust God, and promote the welfare of the place where we are.

If you are a follower of Jesus you have no choice but to be a neighbor to others. To everyone. The bible teaches that God's people are commanded to "love your neighbor as you love yourself."  As a result, people ever since have been choosing who they have to consider a "neighbor." Jesus loves your neighbor as much as Jesus loves you, so do the same! Jesus' story in Luke 18 offers an awesome twist, convicting us when we try to decide that some people just don't count as "neighbor." Hint: they ALL count!

Some neighbors are harder to love than others. For some people, we are the hard to love neighbors!  Followers of Jesus don't just love the easy-to-love neighbors, though.

A 'legal expert' asked Jesus "Who is my neighbor?" trying to catch him saying something wrong. Jesus answered with the story we know as the Good Samaritan. Jesus taught 2 things with this story: that your 'neighbor' may not be who you think it is and that his followers view everyone as their neighbor.  Go and do likewise.

Rachel Heyduck preaches on how one of her favorite hymns, Hymn of Promise, gives her hope and assurance in challenging times of life. 

I quoted the Black Eyed Peas' "Where is the love?" on social media a few years back, and instantly received replies from people offering encouragement.  I wasn't depressed; I was empathizing with the message of the song. On this Sunday morning when we worship less than 24 hours after 2 separate mass shootings.  Our response as Christians to "where is the love?" is "Right here!"  Then we show others the love Jesus has shown us.