What will our new normal look like? No one knows. But like he did with the Samaritan woman, Jesus invites us to walk with him into the unknown… together.
Series: A New Normal,
Speaker: Pastor Don Dodge,
Scripture: John 3:16-17, John 4:3-30, John 4:39-40, Psalm 139:23-24, John 4:7-8, John 4:10, John 4:26, Genesis 50:20,
Video: https://www.facebook.com/avalonchurch/videos/203695394087777/,
Sermon page: https://www.avalonchurch.org/sermons/a-new-normal-coming-back-message/,
Sermon Notes: 2020-06-14_a-new-normal_sermon-notes.pdf,
Discussion Questions: 2020-06-14_a-new-normal_discussion-questions.pdf,
Notes:
INTRO
Welcome back, Avalon Church Family!
…At least some of the Avalon Church-family!
For those of you who are still at home,
…We miss you!
…We love you!
And we can’t wait for you to join us soon.
Like every crisis before us,
God knew the Coronavirus pandemic was going to happen.
Crisis is part of living in a fallen world.
Me/We
And I heard someone say a few weeks ago,
“Never, ever waste a crisis.”
Because more than any other time in our lives,
It is in times of crisis,
…That we are more open to a change in our perspective,
…And more open to allow God to change us.
That’s been true to my experience.
And through this COVID crisis,
It seems the Church has realized
…Buildings are not a necessity,
But they are a huge blessing.
COVID has opened our eyes
…To our being defined as a family and community,
Not a Sunday service that we attend.
 
It has helped us appreciate the importance of being a community
…That GOES TOGETHER
…To love and serve and meet needs in Jesus name,
Sharing the life and hope and dignity Jesus offers.
…A family that GROWS TOGETHER,
Strengthening each other’s faith,
And caring for one another.
COVID has reminded us,
…That when we keep our light in the building,
no one can see it.
So once again,
A crisis offers us a new beginning.
Our lives have changed.
The way we work, and shop, and go to school has changed.
And the way we worship has changed.
The future is unknown.
But it will be different… better.
Because one thing we do know,
We can’t do this alone.
We need God.
And when we recognize our need for God,
It’s the beginning of something brand new.
God
I want to tell you a story that many of you are familiar with.
It’s in the Gospel of John, chapter 4.
It’s a long story, so I have to skip some of the details.
But I think it will help bring some perspective
to where we are today.
Because John wrote his Gospel,
His version of Jesus’ story,
With you in mind.
 
Jesus was the Jewish Messiah
And John wanted to make sure you knew
Jesus came for Everyone!
And today’s story comes right after
some of the most recognized words in the whole Bible,
16 For God so loved the WORLD that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him shall not perish but have eternal LIFE. –Jn 3:16-17 (NIV)
Today’s story is about the “Whoever.”
Those willing to be open to something new.
Willing to be humble, and admit they don’t know everything.
Today’s story is about accepting God’s offer of life
Through Jesus,
… God becoming a man.
Samaritan Woman
The story begins…
So Jesus left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. –Jn 4:3-4 (NIV)
 
Jesus and his disciples were around Jerusalem in the south
And were walking home to the north.
There were 2 ways to go.
…The quick way was straight through
a region known as Samaria.
The long way avoided Samaria and went up the Jordan River.
Very few Jewish people went the short way,
Because Jews despised Samaritans.
 
They considered them half-breeds.
 
Half Jewish, Half Gentile.
Diluting the Jewish faith with that of other religions.
Over the centuries,
the Jewish people oppressed the Samaritans,
…Robbed them of dignity,
…and even burned down their temple.
Hostility always boiled just below the surface.
Guess which route Jesus chose to travel?
Yep! Right through Samaria.
John tells us
 
5 [Jesus] came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. –Jn 4:5-6 (NIV)
Jacob was the grandson of Abraham,
The famous Abraham… the Father of the Jews.
…and also, the Father of the Samaritans.
Possessing Jacob’s well gave the Samaritans religious credibility.
They believed they were the true descendants of Abraham.
…and the well was his gift to them!
7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)  John 4:7-8
So, a Jewish man, and a rabbi at that,
Engaged in conversation with an unknown woman?
Even today in the Middle East, this does not happen!
Rabbi’s didn’t even talk to their wives in public.
And this was a Samaritan!
Normally, it was expected that a man
would withdraw twenty or thirty feet away
as the woman retrieved water.
The woman was stunned.
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) –Jn 4:9 (NIV)
In the parentheses, John was explaining the situation
to his non-Jewish readers.
Responding to her shock,
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” --John 4:10 (NIV)
“Living water” was a common phrase.
That’s what they called moving water, like in a river or stream.
But there were no streams or rivers in the area;
There was no living water around Jacob’s well.
She knew that, so Jesus’ statement didn’t make sense.
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? –Jn 4:11 (NIV)
Leading to the key question…
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” –Jn 4:12 (NIV)
Jacob, our Father, chose us.
Are you greater than Jacob?
It was a rhetorical question.
No one would claim to be greater than Jacob, right?!
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” –Jn 4:13-14 (NIV)
Am I better than Jacob?
Jacob gave you a well
that will quench your thirst on a hot day like this.
But, I offer that which quenches your deepest thirst;
…Water that gushes into a spring of full, abundant, eternal life.
I offer life and you will never be thirsty again.
She still doesn’t understand.
Is he offering magic water?  I
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” --Jn 4:15 (NIV)
Jesus changes direction to clarify what he’s talking about.
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” –Jn 4:16 (NIV)
What?!  She says,
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right…. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.” – Jn 4:17-18 (NIV)
 
Now, I’d like to clarify something here.
Most sermons I’ve heard condemn this Samaritan woman
as really bad.
5 previous husbands?
And now living with a guy?
It is interesting that for the first 1500 years of Christianity,
this Samaritan woman was considered a hero.
…She was inquisitive and courageous.
Her lifestyle was never in question.
But somewhere around the 1500’s,
…Pastors and priests began assuming that she was sinful…
…divorced 5x.
And that she went to the well at noon to avoid people.
This version became THE story.
 
I guess it could be true,
but it really goes against history.
In Jesus’ day, women married very young… like 13 and 14 years old.
And their husbands often died very young.
When a husband died, his widow was destitute.
She couldn’t own land. She couldn’t get a job.
She would often move in with family or friends to survive,
…Until she remarried.
So a woman to be married 2-3 times was common.
Five times. Not so much.
Her living arrangement was very likely
the result of a lot of tragedy.
Never judge someone when you don’t even know their story.
But this we know, Jesus never condemned her.
He doesn’t say “Go and sin no more” like he does elsewhere.
But Jesus does reveal something very extraordinary about her life… something no one could guess.
And she is taken aback.
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Here’s that difference in religion.
If you are a prophet, You’re a Jewish prophet.
…you’re NOT OUR prophet.
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. –Jn 4:21-22 (NIV)
Salvation through the expected Messiah,
which the Samaritans were very familiar with,
…Will come from the Jews.
But the surprise for both Jews and Samaritans,
is who the salvation is for.
Jesus continued,
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. –Jn 4:23-24 (NIV)
But concerning worship… both groups have it wrong.
It’s not about your heritage.
It’s not about how you do religion activities.
It’s not about where you worship.
It’s about God living in and among his people,
…those who worship Him.
We don’t go to a holy place to worship and meet God.
The people are the holy place.
It’s about spirit and truth.
…about our hearts being real before God.
Immediately, you can sense her eyes being opened...
Could this be… the Promised One?
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” –Jn 4:25 (NIV)
And Jesus replies…
“I, the one speaking to you—I am he.  John 4:26 (NIV)
In the original text, the word “he” at the end is not there.
Jesus says, “I, the one speaking to you -- I AM.”
Jesus uses the name of God revealed to Moses
and says, “I AM.”
 
Boom!
I am before Abraham.
I am greater than Jacob.
I am the expected Messiah.
I find it interesting.
He hadn’t even spoken like this to the disciples.
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. –Jn 4:29 (NIV)
Verse 39 records…
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony... 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. –Jn 4:39-40 (NIV)
 
So, Jesus, the Jewish rabbi,
stayed with the Samaritans for 2 days.
Eating Samaritan food.
Staying in a Samaritan house.
Sleeping on a Samaritan bed.
And he discipled them.
I cannot overemphasize how unexpected this is?
The disciples would have never done this before following Jesus.
YOU
So What?
For this community,
Jesus offered a new beginning.
For his disciples,
this unexpected encounter unleashed a new beginning.
They had no idea what the future held.
For God so loved the world he sent his Son,
…INTO THE WORLD!
Jesus wasn’t separate.
He broke every kosher law
to live among the Samaritans for those 2 days.
 
And what was the result?
Look at vs. 42.
42 They [The Samaritans] said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” –Jn 4:42 (NIV)
Jesus really is the Savior of the World!
Jesus loved those who were despised.
 
The marginalized.
The rejected.
The judged.
Those who didn’t care,
Those who sinned without regard,
…Even those who killed him.
No matter what anyone had done
or who they had become;
Jesus invested in them,
And invited them to follow him,
…To discover life, and forgiveness,
and purity, and freedom.
The essence of Christianity is loving God
And loving those he loves.
Christianity is not about separation… from people,
It’s about separation from the world’s idea that it’s all about me.
The call of Christianity is to live alongside people,
Building relationships,
And Loving people,
And listening to other people’s stories,
And sharing how Jesus has impacted your story.
That’s what the woman at the well did.
And it changed everything for those in her town.
They found everything they were looking for,
…in Jesus.
YOU
So What?
This has to be our Passion;
…What we live to do;
…Being intentional.
 
Developing relationships with those who are not like us.
Looking around and asking God to open our eyes
…To the things he sees,
…to ways we can be his hands, and feet, and voice.
It’s a new beginning
as God opens our eyes to how he sees our world.
…To share our lives with each other,
…And share our lives with everyone,
…Regardless of what they believe,
…And if they believe.
We are ambassadors of Jesus.
We invest in everyone we can,
…and we invite all to take steps toward God.
…appropriate steps for them.
You (Application. So What?)
Pray, Psalm 139:23-24 and finish with the words “Help me see as you see and respond as you would respond.”
Pray for my church leaders that God would do Gen 50:20
“Help me to see as you see and respond as you respond.”
Begin an ongoing dialogue with someone whose skin is a different color from you. When they suggest you read or listen, do so. Ask for permission to ask questions when you don’t understand. Be a student first and have patience before criticizing.
Closing Announcements
Connection Card and Prayer Team
 
Andy Stanley: Better for it
 
Closing Prayer
God, we are available to you.
As individuals and as a church,
Use us in the lives of others
That they might be filled with Living Water
And proclaim with us,
“Jesus is the Savior of the World!”

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