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The Right Side of the Road

September 28, 2025

A lady driving from Washington, DC to Richmond had a flat tire and sat stranded by the roadside praying for help. Two cars passed by—one with a “Smile, God Loves You!” bumper sticker, another reading “Honk If You Love Jesus!”—but both drivers moved to the far lane without stopping. Then a man in an old pickup with no bumper sticker pulled over, changed her tire, and refused payment, saying he hoped someone would help his wife if she were stranded. Three men drove by that day, but only one chose the right side of the road. How can you know which side you would be on? Comfort is found on the wrong side of the road; compassion is found on the right side of the road. Through Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37, discover that when you have a heart for God, you’ll have the heart of God—a heart of compassion that shows love with no limits to a world desperately needing mercy.

In this series

The Heart of God

God is a God of compassion. In this 5-week sermon series, "The Heart of God," Pastor James Merritt will reveal how God's compassion is central to His character and invite us to reflect His compassion in our own lives.

Bible Reference

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
And he answered, “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 your neighbor as yourself.”
And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
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