"Helping Hurting People" Scripture To Memorize Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” When we reach out to our community as a church, we cast out a net without prejudice and partiality, and we bring in a wide variety of people: some are spiritually mature, some are spiritually immature, and some are searching for salvation. Of those who are searching, many have a background where they have been wounded from abuse, worn from sin, or bound by addictions. They’re hurting. They’re hurting and they are unable to fix themselves. They need help, but they need someone who will see their mess and not run away from it. They need acceptance and love. They need someone to see beyond their scars and beyond their chains to assure them that they are worth saving. They need someone to give them hope for healing and to show them that there is a way of restoration. Helping the hurting is part of ministry. What compels us to want to help the hurting? It should be the genuine love of God that gives value to a person, whatever state that they are in. It should be the pure love of God that shows compassion to someone who is suffering. It should be the transparent love of God that wants to see each and every person returned to God in repentance. APPLICATION: Describe a situation that you have dealt with in which a hurting person resisted you or even tried to harm you.