International Sunday School Lesson March 15, 2026
Introduction
Hi, I’m Donnie Bryson. Welcome to another edition of the International Sunday School Lesson. Today’s lesson is taken from Deuteronomy 15:4-11 and Matthew 25:42-45. The title of today’s lesson is, “Giving to the Community”. Let me be clear about something. The first priority of the church is to preach the soul-saving, blood-bought, grace-through-faith, gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But, every church, every ministry must have a component of, what I call, a mercy ministry. That is taking care of things like disaster relief, sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry, fostering orphans, visiting the sick, and comforting the grieving. If your ministry has very few staffers then allocate some resources to groups that do have the staff to distribute the help to those in need. Every ministry must have a mercy ministry component even if it’s a one-man shop. Every Christian must lend a helping hand when they can and do it without making a big deal out of it. It isn’t a photo-op.
1 Conditional Blessings
We will hear a very strange statement. “There will be no poor among you”, which we know has never been reality. But, listen to the condition that follows, “if only you will strictly obey the Lord your God.” That statement was conditional.
Deuteronomy 15:4–6 (ESV) 4 But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— 5 if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.
This is a very conditional promise. It’s one that the descendants of Jacob never obeyed.
2 Open Your Hand
We should not be hard-hearted. Be generous to those in need.
Deuteronomy 15:7–8 (ESV) 7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.
John said in 1 John 3:17-18, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” Folks, talk is cheap. We have to put action behind our words.
3 Year of Jubilee
We need to know something for the next section to make sense. The law required that debts in ancient Israel were forgiven every seven years. This celebration was called the year of Jubilee. It was nationwide and to be observed every seven years nationwide.
Deuteronomy 15:9 (ESV) 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin.
God is dictating that they could not game the system. Folks couldn’t loan to the poor only when the Jubilee was a good bit in the future. That would mean the poor would be in a horrible condition right before the Jubilee.
4 Give Freely
Give freely. Don’t grip when you give.
Deuteronomy 15:10–11 (ESV) 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
The writer of Proverbs says in Proverbs 28:27 (ESV) “27 Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.” Now, this doesn’t mean that we should be only generous so we would get something or so we wouldn’t be poor. You give because the love of God is in your heart. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESV) “7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
5 Done it Unto Me
Now we come to a troubling thought. Jesus is that poor person. Jesus is the downtrodden. Jesus is the poor immigrant child.
Matthew 25:42–45 (ESV) 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
We need to see the face of Jesus in every needy person we see. You can’t do favors for God. You can’t feed God. You can’ clothe God. You can’t take God in when the gangs in his homeland kill and kidnap the poor and weak. But it is the face of Jesus we should see in that orphan’s eyes. It’s the face of Jesus we should see in that immigrant’s face. It’s the face of Jesus we should see in the blank stare at the nursing home. We didn’t do it the least of these, then we didn’t do it to Jesus.
Concluding Thoughts
A couple of concluding thoughts. Talk is cheap. Put your checkbook behind those prayers. Cook a meal and pray. Sit at the nursing home and pray. Mow a lawn and pray. Teach that immigrant English and pray. Well friends, good Lord willing, I’ll be back with you next weekend.
Leave a Reply