The Well

Pastor Laura's Blog

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well

In Jesus' time, the town well was the place where people gathered and shared news and ideas. It was also the place they could be refreshed. In the book of John, chapter 4, the town well was where Jesus offered his living water to the Samaritan woman. In this blog, I will offer some thoughts on upcoming Scripture passages that I will be preaching on. Each week, I will post some thoughts and ideas about the passage on Monday, and I welcome your thoughts, questions and insights into the passage in conversation with me. Your feedback will help me as I pray about what word from God I can bring to people in the sermon. Please check in weekly and send me your thoughts via email through our Contact Us form. (Please send your thoughts by Thursday morning if possible. I will not mention which question or insight came from who unless I ask your permission first.)

September 26, 2005

Well, I learned last night that I can't just jump into John 17 as if it were like any other passage of Scripture. Preaching about what Jesus meant in this prayer is not for the faint-of-heart. I fear I may have added more confusion than clarity to the meaning of verses 20-16. What I hoped to convey is that Jesus' desire for us, the goal of the Christian life from his perspective (really the only perspective that counts), is that we should first experience the oneness with God that he experienced. This is a whole new way of living - a whole new reality. Living as one with God unites us with all others who are also living as one with God. Jesus prayed that we would be one. The reason it is so important for us to live this way is so that the world will know that God sent Jesus. These three words changed the course of human history. The Creator of the universe freely sent his Son to us to reveal to us the nature and character of God (remember our story last week of Jesus and the Samaritan woman?) and to offer us a way to have our own relationship with this holy God. Jesus prayed that our lives would spread this message to the whole world, so that everyone would know how much God loves them and desires to be one with them. It's a little mystical perhaps, but there are no words more revolutionary and life-changing than those three - God sent Jesus.

Next week we'll tackle the topic of faith. What is it? How do we get it? How is faith supposed to help us through the rough times of life? What does it mean if we have doubts or fears? Does that mean that we have no faith? Send me your thoughts and questions about faith (maybe I'll even be able to answer a few of them!) on our Contact Us form.

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September 19, 2005

It was so great to spend time last night with Jesus and the Samaritan woman (the above picture is Chinese artist He Qi's interpretation of that story). The fourth chapter of John is like a deep well - everytime I come back to it there is more and more there for me to discover. It is kind of sad that the story has lost most of its ability to shock us. It is an earth-shaking, ground-breaking story of Jesus tearing down barrier after barrier. He is a man speaking to a woman, a Jew speaking to a Samaritan, a rabbi teaching a woman, an upstanding member of society speaking to a social outcast. And the writer of John's Gospel gets it because he portrays this woman as Jesus sees her - a child of God who is hungry to learn more about who God is and how we should worship. She is a smart woman, a lonely woman, a tired woman, and her encounter with Jesus transforms her. She becomes a preacher, a missionary, an evangelist to her town, and the people of the town come to know Jesus because of her. It's the story of a life-makeover, the result of simply tasting the living water Jesus offered her. My sermon asked the question, "Why Follow Jesus?", and this story gives me the answer - he is the one who is worthy.

Next week we'll try to answer the question, "What is the goal of a Christian life?" Is it just about getting into heaven or being holy? Does it require us to do evangelism or serve at a food kitchen? Is there a checklist somewhere so we can see how we're measuring up? We'll be looking at another passage from John - chapter 17:20-26. This is another wonderful passage for us to sink our teeth into! Send me your thoughts, comments and questions on the Contact Us form as we look for ways to "walk the walk" of Jesus.

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September 12, 2005

Last night was our healing service. It's a little nerve-wracking to plan a service that attempts to offer people God's healing touch. You run the risk of building up expectations that some might experience instananeous healing of an illness. You also run the risk when you talk about emotional healing that some will try to resolve years worth of emotional scars in just one service. And yet...I do believe that God can and does heal some people instananeously. More often, I see God work through the medical community, but sometimes God just heals, poof!, like that. And sometimes people really do release all their pain and guilt in one moment, while others journey with God to a path of emotional wholeness, sometimes involving professional counseling and even medication. People have different understandings and expectations about the way God heals. And that's the wonder of a healing service. You don't know what will happen. So we planned and prayed and allowed people an opportunity to connect with God, and it was an amazing thing. God is always surprising me with a profound sense of the holy when we gather to worship, and last night was no exception.

Next week we begin our new series Walkin' the Walk. I will spend six weeks looking at the characteristics of a follower of Jesus Christ. For the first sermon in the series, I will preach on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4. I am very excited about this passage because it is the source of our name, Living Water Christian Church. It is my favorite passage in the Bible, and I haven't preached on it since Living Water began! What a great opportunity for us to look at this life-changing encounter, and see what it says to us about the ways we can live as a follower of Jesus. I welcome any comments, questions or insights you have. Use the Contact Us form and let me know what you're thinking.

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September 5, 2005

It's been a hard week. Obviously, for the people whose lives were devasted by Hurricane Katrina, "hard" doesn't begin to describe it. But for those of us whose lives weren't turned upside down, those of us who simply stared at our TVs and tried to take it all in, it was hard to know what to do or what to think about the images we saw. There were lots of theological questions - how could God have let this happen (or did God, in fact, spare the city even worse damage by downgrading the storm to category 4 and veering to the east of New Orleans)?; how could people turn on each other and their rescuers?; how could the richest country in the world not have the resources to rescue those people who were desperately waiting to be rescued? These questions and more swirled through our minds. As people of faith, we must do more than simply write checks, although that is the first thing we must do. We must wrestle with these questions and others raised by the hurricane and its aftermath because the world is asking these questions of us. We did some of that in Act(s) II this week, and it was helpful to hear what others were thinking. This is a catastrophe that will change many things, but it can also bring new hope and new understanding, even as we are beginning to hear stories of people opening up their homes to strangers who have no place to go after the storm. God is at work...

This next week in worship we will have a healing service. Those of us who come from mainline (or oldline) denominations don't really have a lot of familiarity with healing services. We sometimes imagine a healing service as a pentecostal-Benny-Hinn-thing that involves yelling and crying and people falling down. That can sometimes happen when God decides to heal in powerful ways. But our service will be more of a quiet searching our hearts for our own brokenness - physical, emotional and spiritual - and then allowing ourselves to be open to the possibility that we can find healing from that brokenness in God. The service will involve unique and beautiful music, an improvisational dramatic prayer, a short movie and stations for prayer. I am very excited about this service, and I have been in prayer for a long time that God will indeed work through the various elements and bring healing to those who come. What are your thoughts and impressions about healing? Does God heal miraculously? Can we find miracles in stories of people who have been healed through following the medical advice of doctors and nurses? What does it mean to be healed emotionally? Send me your questions on our Contact Us form and we'll mull them over in Act(s) II this week. Or come to the service and find out for yourself.

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August 29, 2005

I have really enjoyed spending the summer looking again at some of these wonderful stories from the Old Testament. It always surprises me how much I learn from them and how contemporary they sound. The story of David and Bathsheba that we looked at yesterday has been played out over and over again. Although David's sins in that story are often listed as adultery and murder, the underlying sin is his abuse of power. The other sins happened because David had the power as king to summon Bathsheba and to have Uriah killed. Something about the saying "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" comes to mind. But each of us has some power in our lives, too. And we can also abuse that power over our children, our employees, or anyone else we come into contact with. David's story reminds us how quickly we too can fall from people of integrity to people of questionable (or non-existent) morality.

Next week we will finish the summer series by looking at Naaman and Elisha in 2 Kings 5. This story may not be as well known as some of the others in the series, but it is still worth a second look. It's hard to really imagine what it must have been like to have leprosy - the physical pain and the emotional pain of being an outcast. What's so amazing about this story is that Naaman was healed without Elisha taking an active part. There were no prayers or ointments or even laying on hands. Elisha gave the instructions, but it was up to Naaman to decide if he would follow them or not. What questions does the story raise for you? Send them to me on our Contact Us form and I'll do my best to find some answers!

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August 22, 2005

Last night we looked at the sorry story of Samson. What a jerk! Here was a guy who had everything going for him, he had every reason and advantage to do something great with his life and he blew it. He lived his whole life looking out for his own best interests and nursing his own grudges. Even his last "heroic" deed - pushing down the pillars and killing a bunch of Philistines - was done for his own revenge. The book of Judges shows how the judges went from good (like Deborah), to mixed (like Gideon) to downright awful (like Samson). It's no wonder that Samson was the last judge. But it's easy and comfortable for us to look at Samson's life and point fingers, without realizing that we are also guilty of squandering the gifts, talents and opportunities God has given us.

Next week we take on the challenging story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. David is another great leader who had everything going for him when he had this stunning lapse in judgment. I must admit that it makes a great story worthy of a primetime soap opera, but when we read on and discover David's great sorrow and cries of repentence, we realize how devasting this was for him and Bathsheba. For my part, I wonder what Bathsheba thought of all of this. When David called her to his chamber, did she have a chance to refuse? Was she a willing participant or just a loyal subject who must do whatever the king commands? Perhaps that is the unspoken tragedy of the story, because we know that she grieved when her husband was killed. Maybe she really loved Uriah, but she was powerless to resist David's advances. And how could God ever forgive a sin as huge as adultery/murder? What questions come to your mind as you read the story? Send them to me on our Contact Us form.

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August 15, 2005

Yesterday we talked about Gideon, the least likely person God could call to do a big job. His story is repeated throughout the Bible and throughout history as God continues to call people who are unlikely heroes. God uses people who aren't good public speakers - like Moses. God uses young people - like David. God uses people who just want to get married and lead a normal, quiet life - like Mary. It's amazing how many times I've convinced myself that it's not really God's voice I hear leading me because surely God wouldn't ask someone like me to do something important like that! The story of Gideon reminds us that the least likely person is often exactly the person God wants for the job.

Next week we look at another story from Judges, the story of Samson and Delilah found in Judges 13-16. It's not a happy story. In the book of Judges, things go from bad to worse, and the story of Samson is found near the end of the book. There's dysfunctional relationships, deceit, lots of killing and even some maiming. Where can we find the Good News in this story? That's my challenge this week. If you have questions or comments for me as I work through this passage, please send them to me on our Contact Us form. It really helps to hear what others think about a story.

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August 8, 2005

The sermon yesterday was on the story of Deborah, a great leader of the Israelites who happened to be a woman. Her story is found in Judges 4-5. When I was driving to church yesterday afternoon, I was focused only on the service and the sermon I would preach. But as we rounded the hill in front of the church, we encountered a terrible car accident that had just happened moments before. There were people assisting the victims, and the police arrived just as we did, so there was nothing we could do - nothing except pray. So that's what we did. We knelt down in the front yard of the church building and prayed for those involved in the accident and their families. Eventually we were able to offer our parking lot for the Life Flight helicopter and offer our restrooms for the newspeople and others helping on the scene. By the time the accident was cleared, it was almost time for worship. All thoughts of creating a worshipful mood were set aside as we simply opened with prayer for the people involved in the wreck. And then, entrusting them to God's care, we began to sing praises to God. It felt right to be in that place with those people offering praise to God. And when it came time to read the violent story of Deborah, we were able to put it in it's historical perspective. Sisera, the one who cruelly oppressed the Israelites for 20 years, was brutally killed so that God's people could have a chance at life. Life and death, pain and suffering - it's all there in the Bible, just like it's all around us, too. God doesn't brush it aside or ignore it. God deals with it alongside us.

Next week we look at the story of Gideon, another judge from Israel's history. His story is found right after Deborah's, in Judges 6-7. It is a story filled with more pain and suffering, but also some real growth in faith. I can't help smiling when I read about Gideon's boldness in speaking to God and asking for signs. I wonder if there is still a place for signs, putting out a fleece before God, in our lives, too. What are your thoughts and questions as you read this story? Send them to me on our Contact Us form.

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August 1, 2005

We had some fun with the story of Balaam and his talking donkey, but we also found some pretty deep theology there, too. It's a funny little story, and I discovered that some life-long church folks had never heard it before, certainly not in a sermon, in any case. The Bible is full of gems like that - stories that seem quaint or humorous on the surface, but still convey wisdom to us. I'm glad I could help uncover some of these hidden treasures.

This week I'm living with the story of Deborah in Judges 4-5. I chose it because I wanted to find stories that had women characters (especially strong women characters), and they don't come much stronger than Deborah. Actually, these chapters tell of another strong woman, too. But my pleasure at finding Old Testament stories with strong women characters is tempered by the violence in the passages. It's a vivid reminder of how different life was for the Israelites at that time in their history compared to our lives today. I wonder why Deborah, as a woman, was allowed to judge Israel, and I also wonder why other women weren't given the same opportunity after Deborah's success. What are your questions as you read the story? Send them to me on the Contact Us form.

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