A few days ago, I posted some thoughts on John 4. Having given it some more thought, there were four subconcsious questions driving the women's interractions with Jesus. These four questions are in the heart of every person as they move toward a life with God. I shared my thoughts with the New Life Alamosa congregation this morning. If you find the outline below intriguing, you may want to go to www.newlifealamosa.org where podcasts of the messages presented on Sunday mornings will soon be available.
Why Would You Have Anything To Do With Me?
She was a Samaritan
She was a woman
She was an outcast
Can I Trust You?
She wondered about Jesus' motives.
Are you greater than Jacob?
Jesus was focused on the spirtual while the woman was mired in the physical.
Where Can I Find God?
Jesus confronts her with the truth of her situation.
In response, she wants to know where she can go to connect with God.
She is still rooted in the physical
Jesus helps her move to the spiritual
Can You Help Me?
She speaks of the Messiah
Jesus reveals that he is the Messiah.
A Woman Transformed
The woman makes the leap from the physical to the spiritual
She leaves her jar
She moves from being someone who goes to draw water when no one else would normally be there to one who is intentionally engaging others.
As the people of God we not only ask these questions, we must embody the answers.
Why Would You Have Anything To Do With Me?
Is your life an open invitation?
Are you assertively building relationships?
Can I Trust You?
Are you a safe person?
Will you be shocked by my sin?
Will my sin illicit grace or judgement?
Will you see past my insecure behavior?
Where Can I Find God?
Is Jesus alive and well in you?
Is Jesus alive and well in your church?
Can You Help Me?
Will you invest time with me?
Will you help me connect with other Christ followers?
Will you tell me about Jesus?
One of the most interesting visuals in this encounter is the woman's jar. She brought it to the well with a focus on meeting her physical needs. Her encounter with Jesus causes a shift in her focus from the physical to the spiritual, from the temporal to the eternal, from the mundane to the transformational. What's in your jar? What are you so focused on that it is distracting you from the truly imporant? Maybe it's time for you to leave your jar behind.
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