Rev Chris Roth

  Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Psalm 25:1-10; Colossians 1:1-14;  Luke 10:25-37 Today we are looking at the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The phrase “Good Samaritan” has entered into our language, and is used by people who don’t know it comes from the Bible. We have “Good Samaritan” laws that protect bystanders from liability who help people in trouble. “Good Samaritan” is a familiar phrase, but there is a lot that is in this parable that might not be so familiar. I thought we could spend some time walking through the parable and unpacking it a bit today. Jesus tells this parable in response to the questioning of an expert in the law. This expert starts by asking about how a person can inherit eternal life. This expert in the law answers Jesus’ question about how he understands the law by giving the two commandments that summarize the law-  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and yo...

2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 In our reading from 2nd Kings we encounter a powerful man, a commander of an army- and an enemy of Israel. This powerful man, named Naaman, contracts a skin disease. All his muscular strength, and wealth, and political power were unable to protect him from this. … This powerful man was powerless against this skin disease. In this powerful man’s house there was a little girl. She was not powerful. She was kidnapped by Naaman’s army, and he gave her as a slave to his wife. This powerless little girl becomes the key to healing this powerful man. … This little slave girl speaks to Naaman’s wife, and this little girl seems to have compassion for this man who has enslaved her. She also seems to have held onto her faith in the God of Israel, in spite of her circumstances. She says, "I wish my master would go and see the prophet who is in Samaria. He would heal my master of his skin disease." She continued to believe th...