Playlist: How to Save a Life
There are moments – when a life is threatened - that we recognize how valuable, how irreplaceable, how important each life is. In those moments we would give just about anything to save a life.
Listen: How to Save a Life
Sermon Notes
“Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness and I would have stayed up all night had I known how to save a life.” (Sung by The Fray)
Jesus had a very broad understanding of how to save a life. He would get into broken lives and messy situations. Jesus knew how to save a life – both here for this life and eternally.
Three things we can learn from Jesus about how to save a life
1) Jesus believed every life mattered and was worth saving
- In Jesus day, the religious leaders thought only religious people were worth saving.
Jesus first thought was not “How did their life get so messed up?” or “Is their situation their own fault?” but rather “How can I save a life?” - Could you imagine if I had left the scene of the accident without helping because the woman in the accident was at fault? That would have been remarkably irresponsible and judgmental. Yet sometimes in other situations we make an assessment of whether someone is worthy of being saved.
- “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:21
2) Jesus knew every life has an earthly shelf life, so he lived with a sense of urgency
- We are one heartbeat away from eternity.
- “Savin’ Me” video by Nickelback.
- If we lived life seeing the amount of time each person had left above their head as in the video, we would live with a lot more intentionality.
3) Jesus placed himself where other people placed themselves.
- Jesus would hang out with sinners despite his critics.
- If you’re a lifeguard and you’re going to save a drowning person you’re going to have to get wet. If you’re going to save a soul, you’re going to have to hang out with people who are not Christians.
- “I Stand By the Door” poem by Sam Shoemaker.
- We need to be intentional and set aside more time to spend with those who don’t know Christ.
Next Steps
- Make a list of the people in your life you would like to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Begin praying for them and for opportunities to explain the Gospel to them.
- Be intentional about spending time where people who aren’t Christians hang out.
- Take a day where for each person you see you say to yourself “This person matters to God.”
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