Welcome to First Christian Forest Grove! Since 1882 First Christian Church has been a lighthouse of God's love on the corner of 19th and Cedar in Forest Grove.The building has changed over the years and the congregation has grown in size, but the timeless values of Faith, Hope, and Love found in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ are still alive and unchanging here.

             9:3o am 

      SUNDAY SERVICE IN THE                 MAIN SANCTUARY

      Masks and social distancing        required

             11:00 am

SUNDAY DRIVE-IN PARKING  LOT SERVICE broadcast over your CAR RADIO.  Hand-held radios avalable for those without cars

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        We confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God and Lord and Savior of the World

            

                                     

                            Where Charity Begins

                            By Rev. Spencer King

                            First Christian Church

                            Forest Grove, Or.

Luke 10:25-37

“And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

I can't tell you how many times, over the course of my lifetime, I've heard someone say, “Charity begins at home.” Did you know that isn’t biblical?

It has been reported that about one-fifth of American High School students can't find the USA on an unlabeled globe. Many young Americans are geographically illiterate. The vast majority of high school students are unable to locate Israel on a map. But lately, many kids are becoming increasingly familiar with the world around us because of the international pandemic. 

There is no question that God has taught us that we have an unalloyed obligation to feed, clothe, and provide medical care for the poor. Jesus taught that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. When someone asked him, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the parable, we read about a wounded, destitute, man lying in the road who is cared for by a passing Samaritan. But who were the Samaritans?

Centuries before the birth of Jesus, the Assyrian army invaded northern Israel and deported all but a remnant of the people who lived there. Some were left behind to tend the land and they intermarried with the Assyrians. They began to practice a corrupted kind of Judaism not practiced by the other citizens of Israel. Samaritans were hated because of their international racial and religious mix. In the parable we are clearly taught that people are to love and care for one another regardless of the racial, ethnic, and religious divisions that often separate the people of the world.

As Christians, you and I have exactly the same moral obligation to care for the poor who live in Africa, or Mexico, or Haiti, or Indonesia, or India as we have to care for the poor in this country. Charity does not begin at home, after all, a lot of people couldn't find “home” on the map anyway. Charitable love begins with Jesus and Jesus is everywhere. 

Spencer