Awkward. Did they really just say that? Is this conversation really happening?
The apostle John is on a mission to show us Jesus. To show us who he is and what he is doing. To show us his strength, wisdom and grace. To show us his beauty; to show us that he is better than anything else we could ever possibly imagine. To show us that we can indeed entrust our lives to him. We can put our lives in his hands.
In this section of his Gospel, John is allowing us to listen in on several of Jesus’ conversations with people just like us. Last week we met Nicodemus, and this week we meet the Samaritan woman at the well. Read John 4:16-18. Put yourself in the place of that woman. Can you believe Jesus just said that? Why would Jesus put his finger on an area so full of shame, disappointment, and failure? Why would he bring up a topic so awkward and painful? Because that is where she needed him the most. That is the barren desert land where she needs living water the most.
The Samaritan woman learned that she could trust Jesus with the most painful and shameful areas of her life. She learned that Jesus rescues her from the inferiority and fear of those areas, and replaces it with joy and abundance. Jesus is that good and we need him that much.
Read John 4:1-26 this weekend. You many not have had five husbands and be currently living with a man who is not your husband, but if you were at the well alone with Jesus what might he say to you? To what dry, dark and dead part of your life is Jesus wanting to bring living water? Jesus stands ready to restore you, to bring you joy and hope and a future.
I cannot wait to worship together. We need it desperately.
Pastor David
A Woman From Samaria
February 9, 2014 • Rev. David Juelfs
The Visit of the Wise Men
January 5, 2014 • Rev. Adam Feichtmann
Listen to Sermon Audio Player 00:00 00:00 Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. Download Files Download Sermon Audio (.mp3) Download Order of Worship (.pdf) Summary Happy New Year! 2014 has arrived, but Christmas is still here. Sunday is the 12th and last day of the Christmas season. To give Christmas one last celebratory hurrah, before we have to wait another 353 days, we will be opening our Bibles to Matthew 2:1-12 to study The Visit of the Wise Men. Who were these men? Why were they wise? And why are they in our Christmas nativity scenes if Jesus was 2-years-old when they visited? Join us on Sunday to find out these answers and to explore how God’s wisdom turns the wisdom of the age upside down. I look forward to worshiping with you. Adam Feichtmann
In the Beginning, Jesus
January 12, 2014 • Rev. David Juelfs
Words fail us. There are just some areas, some topics, that cannot be described well in words. We can try and it is good and right for us to do our best, but we must live with the tension that our words just can’t quite get us there. This Sunday we begin a series on the Gospel of John. John opens with some of the most important words ever written; they change everything. They soar and penetrate and inspire, but as you read them you can tell he is straining to express what words can barely describe. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” John writes his gospel so that his readers ”may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). John writes so that we would see Jesus, his beauty and majesty and unrivaled significance, and thereby place our complete trust in him. This is the doorway to life. Close your eyes and you can see the glory of that light shining under the door. This winter we open the door of John’s gospel. I can’t wait to worship together. Pastor David
Exponentially More
January 19, 2014 • Rev. David Juelfs
When you meet someone for the first time what kinds of questions do you ask them? This Sunday we will take a second look at the opening paragraphs of John’s Gospel. He is introducing us to Jesus. The apostle John want to show us the beauty of Jesus, so that we would believe and entrust our lives to him. Last week I asked you to find someone you trust and who knows you well, and to ask them to help you honestly answer these questions: Where am I placing my trust? What am I functionally trusting in to get the kind of life I want? Asking these question will help us engage with the gospel of John. Page by page John wants to show us the beauty of Jesus, his worthiness to be trusted, so that we actually want to entrust our lives to him instead of the many other options around us. Take a few minutes and ask those questions. Then read and pray through the opening words of John’s Gospel. Jesus offers us exponentially more than we can imagine. Look for his beauty in John 1:1-18 and entrust yourself to him. I look forward to worshiping together. Pastor David