Sermon preview--The Good Samaritan

On September 1, 1983, a Russian Air Force pilot named Major Osipovich volunteered for night duty, patrolling the skies over the eastern region of the Soviet Union. He did this because he had been asked to give a speech about world peace at his children’s school, and he needed some time off. That night, as Osipovich flew his lonely night patrol, he spotted an unidentified aircraft in Soviet airspace. After asking his superiors what to do, Osipovich followed standard procedure. He fired on the aircraft, shooting it down. Osipovich didn’t know it at the time, but he had just shot down a commercial airliner, Korean Airlines flight 007. No one knows why the plane strayed into Soviet airspace, nor why the Major had such a quick trigger finger. What is indisputable is that 240 innocent civilians died that night, including several American passengers. Some of you remember that time. It wasn’t quite like the Cuban Missile Crisis, but it was a very tense moment in world events. It felt very much like the Cold War was about to get hot. Ironically, a man who was getting ready to talk about peace almost started World War III.

Talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words. We all know those cliches, but how many of us back up our profession in Christ with Christ-like actions? We wear our WWJD bracelets, put a fish on the back of our cars, and call ourselves by the name “Christian,” a word that literally means “little Christ.” But how many of us really want to be like Him? Sure, we want Him to bless us. We want to spend eternity with Him. But do we really want to live like He lived? The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) shows us what it really means to live like Jesus. This Sunday, we'll explore this great story that is still just as revolutionary today as it was 2000 years ago. Do you really want to be a Christian? Find out what that means this Sunday.