Intro – John 4:1-42
In this story we see Jesus breaking through the barriers of…
Culture, Nationality, Ethnicity, Sex/Gender, Shame, Intellect, and Religion
Jesus is jumping every fence to reveal the boundary transcending love of God to her
In Christ there are no barriers…
In Jesus we are reconciled and reconnected to God. Every barrier that has kept us estranged from God has been dealt with. (Gal 3:28, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Colossians 3:11, Ephesians 2:13)
Love Unbounded
Bounded Set __________________________________
Centered Set __________________________________
Conclusion
Nice passage from John 4, Bro. Maybe you should have a couple trusted friends act that out for you? (Ha! - inside joke.) I’ve heard you speak on some of this before at VCFK, and enjoyed hearing it again. Entering into another’s world hit me harder this time, and you have to love that. As you said, looking at all the fences Jesus jumped over to enter into the Samaritan woman’s life (not to mention our own) is truly eye opening.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the single biggest point I’m taking from this sermon is the fact that Jesus did not make her jump through hoops – make her believe in him so to speak - before he entered her world. He simply entered into her world where she was, and while he did reveal himself (by referencing her past and then claiming to be the Messiah), he was more concerned in showing her that she was worthy of the love of God right now, in the midst of her troubled life. And can’t we all use a savior like that? I sure can. The result? She would never forget that moment, and in all probability was able to begin living a changed life.
Reconciled to reveal the reconciler through entering their world… given love to give love... blessed to be a blessing…. Thank you for continuing to directly and indirectly emphasize that as the core of what we profess to believe. And thanks for the story of how you interacted with the guy at the party. That’s where the rubber meets the road for sure. Good stuff, Bro. Thanks. TA
PS: I heard your whisper that “math is evil” but I won’t hold it against you – LOL!