Stop Defining, Start Doing
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the full sermon here.
Preached by Pastor Mike Woodard
Follow The Valley Church
We’re continuing our Kingdom Culture series, where we’re learning how Jesus’ upside down kingdom leads to a right side up life. In Luke 10, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan to reveal what His kingdom culture looks like in action: mercy, compassion, and love that goes beyond definitions and boundaries.
An Upside Down Kingdom
Jesus’ way of life often runs counter to the world’s values. In His kingdom:
The greatest are the servants.
The first are last.
It’s better to give than to receive.
True life is found when we lay ours down.
Living this way gives us a new perspective, new priorities, and a joy that only comes from reflecting who Jesus is.
Who Is My Neighbor?
When an expert in the law asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”, Jesus pointed him back to two core commands: love God and love your neighbor. But the man pressed further: “Who is my neighbor?”
That question revealed a deeper problem. He wanted to define who counted as a neighbor—because if some people qualified, then others didn’t. But Jesus shifted the focus. The question isn’t, “Who is my neighbor?” but rather, “Who can I be a neighbor to?”
The Good Samaritan
Jesus told a story about a man beaten and left for dead on the road to Jericho. A priest and a Levite—religious leaders who should have known better—walked by without helping. But then a Samaritan, someone considered an enemy by the Jews, stopped and showed compassion.
He bandaged the man’s wounds, put him on his donkey, paid for his stay at an inn, and promised to cover any extra expenses. The Samaritan didn’t ask whether the man deserved it. He simply chose mercy.
That’s the upside down kingdom: stop defining, start doing.
The Deeper Meaning
While we can draw lessons from the Samaritan’s example, Jesus’ story points to something greater. Spiritually, we’re the ones beaten down on the side of the road—broken, hopeless, and far from God. And just like the Samaritan stopped for the injured man, Jesus stopped for us.
Even though sin made us enemies of God, He had compassion. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, He healed our wounds, paid our debt, and secured us a place in the Father’s house.
The Good Samaritan isn’t just a story about being kind—it’s a picture of God’s extravagant love for us.
Living Kingdom Culture
So how do we live out this story? We make the internal decision to love, even when external factors say otherwise. We stop debating who qualifies as a neighbor and start being neighbors ourselves.
That’s kingdom culture: leading with mercy, grace, and compassion. Because Jesus stopped for us, we can stop for others.