[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 12th of March, 2017, the second Sunday in Lent. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
During Lent, we reflect on the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. We also look at what our response is, or should be, to our Lord’s selfless act.
If nothing happens in the coming week, next Sunday we will be blessed to participate in the baptisms of two adult members of our church family, and with bringing in four new family members! I want to prepare us a little for this wonderful occasion. I want us to think about what it means to come to Jesus. Listen and follow along to the Gospel account of the Apostle John, from chapter 4, verses 1 through 30 and verses 39 through 42, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…
If nothing happens in the coming week, next Sunday we will be blessed to participate in the baptisms of two adult members of our church family, and with bringing in four new family members! I want to prepare us a little for this wonderful occasion. I want us to think about what it means to come to Jesus. Listen and follow along to the Gospel account of the Apostle John, from chapter 4, verses 1 through 30 and verses 39 through 42, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…
1 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that He was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself didn’t baptize them — His disciples did). 3 So He left Judea and returned to Galilee.
4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually He came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give Me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because His disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are You asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But Sir, You don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would You get this living water? 12 And besides, do You think You’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can You offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, Sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband — 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “You must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that You Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
21 Jesus replied, “Believe Me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the One you worship, while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming — indeed it’s here now — when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming — the one who is called Christ. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
27 Just then His disciples came back. They were shocked to find Him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do You want with her?” or “Why are You talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a Man who told me everything I ever did! Could He possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see Him.
39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” 40 When they came out to see Him, they begged Him to stay in their village. So He stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many more to hear His message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard Him ourselves. Now we know that He is indeed the Savior of the world.”
--John 4:1-30, 39-42 (NLT)
Let us pray… Father God, You showed Your boundless love for us by sending Your own Son to live among us on earth. Jesus offers us the living, eternal water if we will only recognize and accept just who He is. Help us to understand, Father. Speak directly into our hearts and our minds the message You need us to hear this day. In the loving name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Young Assistant Pastor Bill was giving his 427th children's sermon. "Now kids," began Pastor Bill, "What's green, lives in the pond, sits on a lily pad, and hops?" The children looked at each other with vacant eyes as silence ruled. "Surely, someone has an idea!", exclaimed Pastor Bill, nearing exasperation. Finally, little Susie stood up and said, "Well, it sounds like a frog, but it must be Jesus!"
The story is told of a young student who went to his spiritual teacher and asked the question, "Master, how can I truly find God?" The teacher asked the student to accompany him to the river which ran by the village and invited him to go into the water. When they got to the middle of the stream, the teacher said, "Please immerse yourself in the water." The student did as he was instructed, whereupon the teacher put his hands on the young man's head and held him under the water. Presently the student began to struggle. The master held him under. A moment passed and the student was thrashing and beating the water and air with his arms. Still the master held him under the water. Finally, the student was released and he shot up from the water, lungs aching and gasping for air. The teacher waited a few moments then said, "When you desire God as truly as you desired to breathe the air you just breathed, then you shall find God."
The kids were so used to Pastor Bill talking to them about Jesus, they were puzzled to the point of absolute silence by him describing what surely must be a frog. They just knew he had to mean Jesus, since Jesus is all he ever taught them.
Students depend upon their teachers, and can be confused if the message isn’t clear to them. Do you think our poor student who was held under the water until he thought he’d drown got the message? Do you think he understood?
If we desire God as much as our last, gasping breath on this earth, if we seek Him above all things of this world, then we shall surely find Him. Then we’ll know that it really is all about Jesus… even if we are using a frog in our lesson.
This story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well is one of my favorites. I use it frequently as a Biblical example of the importance of women in our churches. There are many such examples available, for all the chauvinists out there. But this one makes it very clear, in verse 39, that many of the Samaritans in that village came to believe and be saved that day only because the woman ran to them and told them to come see this Man that must be the Messiah! Yes, they truly believed after they had a chance to see and listen to Jesus, but they would not even have gotten that chance had it not been for her.
Another point I like in this message is that God can take anything or anyone and make good come from it or them. This woman was far from perfect. Her past was sketchy and her present situation would be frowned upon by many today and certainly the majority of her village neighbors. But did Jesus accuse her or judge her for any of this? Did He condemn her for her sins and tell her to repent? Did He even mention that her life was a mess, other than to say, “That’s right”, when she admitted she had no husband.
No, Jesus did not accuse or judge or condemn the woman. Instead, He called her “dear woman”. And He offered her everlasting life if she would accept and believe that He was indeed the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of the world.
One other aspect of this story I like is the comparison Jesus makes of Himself to water. Water is arguably the most important necessity to life. Without water, we fairly quickly die. Without water, we have no chance. Jesus says that without Him we die, and not necessarily in this earthly existence but in the eternity to come. Without Him, we have no chance at everlasting life in heaven with God.
And this is far from the only instance that Jesus invokes an image of water when inviting people to believe in Him. Listen to what He says a little further along in John’s Gospel account, in chapter 7, verses 37 and 38…
Young Assistant Pastor Bill was giving his 427th children's sermon. "Now kids," began Pastor Bill, "What's green, lives in the pond, sits on a lily pad, and hops?" The children looked at each other with vacant eyes as silence ruled. "Surely, someone has an idea!", exclaimed Pastor Bill, nearing exasperation. Finally, little Susie stood up and said, "Well, it sounds like a frog, but it must be Jesus!"
The story is told of a young student who went to his spiritual teacher and asked the question, "Master, how can I truly find God?" The teacher asked the student to accompany him to the river which ran by the village and invited him to go into the water. When they got to the middle of the stream, the teacher said, "Please immerse yourself in the water." The student did as he was instructed, whereupon the teacher put his hands on the young man's head and held him under the water. Presently the student began to struggle. The master held him under. A moment passed and the student was thrashing and beating the water and air with his arms. Still the master held him under the water. Finally, the student was released and he shot up from the water, lungs aching and gasping for air. The teacher waited a few moments then said, "When you desire God as truly as you desired to breathe the air you just breathed, then you shall find God."
The kids were so used to Pastor Bill talking to them about Jesus, they were puzzled to the point of absolute silence by him describing what surely must be a frog. They just knew he had to mean Jesus, since Jesus is all he ever taught them.
Students depend upon their teachers, and can be confused if the message isn’t clear to them. Do you think our poor student who was held under the water until he thought he’d drown got the message? Do you think he understood?
If we desire God as much as our last, gasping breath on this earth, if we seek Him above all things of this world, then we shall surely find Him. Then we’ll know that it really is all about Jesus… even if we are using a frog in our lesson.
This story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well is one of my favorites. I use it frequently as a Biblical example of the importance of women in our churches. There are many such examples available, for all the chauvinists out there. But this one makes it very clear, in verse 39, that many of the Samaritans in that village came to believe and be saved that day only because the woman ran to them and told them to come see this Man that must be the Messiah! Yes, they truly believed after they had a chance to see and listen to Jesus, but they would not even have gotten that chance had it not been for her.
Another point I like in this message is that God can take anything or anyone and make good come from it or them. This woman was far from perfect. Her past was sketchy and her present situation would be frowned upon by many today and certainly the majority of her village neighbors. But did Jesus accuse her or judge her for any of this? Did He condemn her for her sins and tell her to repent? Did He even mention that her life was a mess, other than to say, “That’s right”, when she admitted she had no husband.
No, Jesus did not accuse or judge or condemn the woman. Instead, He called her “dear woman”. And He offered her everlasting life if she would accept and believe that He was indeed the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of the world.
One other aspect of this story I like is the comparison Jesus makes of Himself to water. Water is arguably the most important necessity to life. Without water, we fairly quickly die. Without water, we have no chance. Jesus says that without Him we die, and not necessarily in this earthly existence but in the eternity to come. Without Him, we have no chance at everlasting life in heaven with God.
And this is far from the only instance that Jesus invokes an image of water when inviting people to believe in Him. Listen to what He says a little further along in John’s Gospel account, in chapter 7, verses 37 and 38…
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
--John 7:37-38 (NKJV)
Jesus is in us, He flows from us to bless others with salvation. All they have to do is come to the water. The prophet Jeremiah, speaking for God, cautions those who do not accept that invitation. He begins in chapter 17 verse 13 of his prophecy by saying to God…
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
--Jeremiah 17:13a (NKJV)
“Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the Lord,
The fountain of living waters.”
--Jeremiah 17:13b (NKJV)
As I mentioned, next week, if all goes as planned, two of our family will accept Jesus’ call to come to the water and four will be coming into the open arms of our family. They all chose long ago to follow Jesus, but now they want to openly acknowledge and show their acceptance of the covenant God made with them, sealed by the blood of our Savior. If you’d like to join them and recommit yourself to Jesus, then simply come forward next week when I extend the invitation.
Come to the water, come to Jesus, and be washed clean. All in the blessed name of Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You love us so much that You give us every chance in the world to be granted eternal salvation. All we have to do is believe in Your Son Jesus, accept Him as our Lord and Master, and turn from our sins. Thank You, Father, for Your faithfulness to us, for Your love that knows no end, for Your infinite mercy and grace.
Please hear us now, Father, as we cry out to You in the quiet of this place, acknowledging our belief in and acceptance of Your Son and our Master Jesus, promising to turn from our disobedience and sin, seeking Your forgiveness, listening for Your voice…
Lord Jesus, You tell us to come to You, to come to the Living Water and receive eternal life. In You we are refreshed in our souls just like clean water refreshes our bodies. In You we are washed clean of the stains of our sins. In You we find life everlasting. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming to us when we were lost. Thank You for sacrificing Yourself so that we might be saved. Thank You for approaching us, for holding out Your hand to us and saying, “Come. Come to the water, stand by My side. I know you are thirsty – you won’t be denied. I felt every teardrop, when in darkness you cried, and I strove to remind you that for those tears I died.”
Thank You, Jesus. This we pray in Your blessed name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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