A King of Compassion

Is Christianity good for the world? Join us this Sunday at CrossWinds Church in Spencer as we consider how Jesus's birth forever transformed the world's understanding of compassion.

Sermon Discussion

1. How would you respond to someone who sees Christianity as a negative influence in the world today? How would you make sure you respond lovingly? What evidence would you point to?
2. What is one takeaway from the sermon and one question that you had after hearing the sermon?
3. Read Psalm 35:10; 40:17; 113:7; Proverbs 14:31; 19:17. When you consider the pagan view of compassion toward the weak, how is God’s character so radically different?
4. Consider the following quote from author Tom Holland. How is this true today as well?

“The gods cared nothing for the poor. […] The heroes of the Illiad, favourites of the gods […] had scorned the weak and downtrodden. […] The starving deserved no sympathy. […] Pity risked undermining a wise man’s self control. [… Julian], sincere though he was in his hatred of [Christian] teachings […], was blind to the irony of his plan for combatting them: that it was itself irredeemably Christian.”

5. Read 1 John 3:17; Galatians 6:10. Why was the Christian view of compassion for others taken so seriously? What are some ways this was on display in the early church?
6. What would it look like for us to model the same compassion and concern for others that transformed the world in the first few centuries of the church?
7. What is one way that you can apply the sermon this week?