Series: The New Humanity
Message: Worshippers
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Tim Gillespie
Live Wonder: Verity Were
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Beyond: Moe Stiles
Live Purpose: Vanessa Rivera
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: John 4:1-26 in the New Living Translation (NLT). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: The story of the woman at the well is so fascinating, not only because Jesus breaks so many of the social norms of the day (speaking to a woman, speaking to a Samaritan, having such a seriously intimate conversation about her social status, etc.), but also because Jesus brings a very difficult conversation around to becoming a conversation about worship. Why would He do that?
We see the woman coming to the well in the middle of the day. While there is no commentary on this fact in the text itself, it is strange that she would be interested in going to the well during the hottest part of the day. As the conversation unfolds, we begin to understand why she wanted to go to the well when no one was around. She had very little to offer the social structures of the town, to be sure. But her chance encounter with Jesus would leave her deeply changed, converted, and would even change her social status in the community.
Jesus asks her for a drink (4:7), which was disconcerting for her, as Jews did not speak to Samaritans nor men to women. By breaking this particular rule, Jesus reminds us that our rules are not His. Jesus then responds to her question with almost a reprimand (4:10). Of course, she does not understand what He is asking of her; she thinks that He is putting himself up to be greater than Jacob, who was first given the well.
Then, Jesus changes the conversation from water to living water (4:13-14). This is something that the woman would love to have. This was a practical issue for her. She would have loved to not have to come to well any longer. It was a pain because of the heat, and it caused her pain because of the way she was looked upon in the community.
When she finally realizes that Jesus is something more than just a Jew asking for water, she asks a very specific and very personal question. It is a question of identity, and it is a question of worship: “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is Jerusalem” (4:19-20).
Why would she ask a worship question? More on this tomorrow.
Recalibrate: Why is worship so closely related to identity? Why was it this way for the Samaritan woman?
Respond: When we meet Jesus, we ask the deepest question that gets to the very heart of who we are. What question would you ask Jesus if He were in front of you today? Spend five minutes thinking about this and write down your question or questions. No question is too silly or too unimportant. What do you most deeply desire to know?
Research: Read Worship By the Book, a short book on worship by some very thoughtful pastors and scholars.
Remember: “God is spirit. Those who worship God must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24, ICB).
Dr. Timothy Gillespie is lead pastor of Crosswalk Church in Redlands, CA. He also teaches at several universities and consults on mission integration for Adventist Health.
Sing the Hokey Pokey with your little one. Here is a Jesus version. I love the final verse where we put our whole selves in. This week our text says we must worship Jesus in spirit and in truth. This is worshipping with our whole selves. Jump in, turn around, and get really good at this song.
Our text this week comes from John 4 and it tells the story of the woman at the well. Watch these videos (Video 1, Video 2) and listen out for the questions she asks. What questions would you like to ask Jesus?
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word “worship?” Is it a place you go to or a thing you do? Where did you learn your concept of worship? What if worship is who you are? The passage this week is an interesting one because the story starts off at the well with a conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. That in itself was a big fat no-no—a Jewish man, talking with a Samaritan woman—not only culturally but historically. These two nations did not see eye to eye. Yet here we are in this story. There is no accidental meet up with God. He is intentional and purposeful, and this encounter demonstrates those qualities. One of the main characters in this story is the Samaritan woman, whom, from reading into her story, went to fetch water at a time of day that we can only assume was a time that no one else from her town was likely to be around. She thought she was safe to avoid encountering anyone else on the way, but then found herself encountering Jesus. And so their conversation goes from Jesus asking for water to acknowledging the fact that they were both from nations opposed to one another and shouldn’t have been talking to each other at all. Jesus being Jesus steered the conversation regarding water from the well to water that would quench the woman’s thirst so much that she would never thirst again. They went from talking about water to worship and one might wonder if there were any connection between the two concepts. But like I said, God is intentional in His workings. And this segue is no random thing. Read the passage for the week and see what you think Jesus was getting at.
Have you ever seen a well? To be honest, I haven’t. I did see a fake one at Disneyland. I remember at first thinking it was real but then looking inside and realizing it was just full of coins. Wells were most people’s main source of water back in the day. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that because Jesus was so tired, He decided to rest by a well. I mean, why not? He was probably tired and thirsty so being by a well was perfect. As you read through the story, you’ll notice that once Jesus and the Samaritan woman discussed regular water versus living water the idea of not being thirst again was very appealing to the woman. She was begging for that type of water! Imagine you didn’t have to be thirsty ever again! What Jesus was communicating was that He was willing to offer eternal life—which is better even than providing eternal thirst-quenching. Are there things that you sometimes think might be better than eternal life? What are those things?
Verity Were is a registered nurse at the largest pediatric intensive care unit in Sydney, Australia. She attends Kellyville Adventist church with her husband and two toddlers.
Zan Long is GRC director for faith development for ages 0-17. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Moe Stiles is lead pastor at Oasis Church in Vancouver, WA. She is married to Adrian and is mother to Caleb and Johnny.
Vanessa Rivera is a therapist at a community mental health center in Denver, CO, and serves as the faith engagement pastor at Boulder Church.