Third Sunday of Lent                               

          March 10, 2023

Dear Road Church Friends,

One of the best known stories about a woman who crossed paths with Jesus is “the woman at the well. Her encounter with Jesus is told in John 4. In the course of her extended conversation with Jesus we learn a lot about her personal life but not her name. She is a Samaritan, not a Jew, but she worships the Jewish God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They meet at Jacob’s Well on the outskirts of the Samaritan town of Sychar. Jesus is passing through, and has stopped to rest. It’s high noon, it’s hot and he’s thirsty. A Samaritan woman carrying a bucket arrives at the well. An observant Jew would not acknowledge her presence, but Jesus politely asks her for a drink of water. She is shocked that this Jewish man would violate such a strong Jewish taboo. She understands his request for a drink of water as in invitation to carry on a friendly conversation. It soon becomes a theological discussion as deep as Jacob’s Well.

Is this the beginning of an unlikely romance? After all, Abraham’s servant found a wife for Isaac at a well, and Moses met his future wife at a well.

John’s telling of the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well is both charming and convicting. Her encounter with Jesus still speaks powerfully to us today about our spiritual priorities and our attitude toward others whose religion and politics differ from our own. Gather with us Sunday morning when we will consider the possibility that Jesus is romancing us out of our prejudices and settled convictions.

SCRIPTURE:  John 4:5-42     SERMON:  Romancing the Samaritan Woman

“In Samaria he came to a town named Sychar, which was not far from the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by the trip, sat down by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw some water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink of water.” The woman answered, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan—so how can you ask me for a drink?” (Jews will not use the same cups and bowls that Samaritans use.) Jesus answered, “If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water.” “Sir, you don't have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where would you get that life-giving water?” …..

BEFORE THY THRONE  

Before thy throne, O God, we kneel,

Give us a conscience quick to feel,

A ready mind to understand

The meaning of thy chastening hand,

Whate’er the pain and shame may be,

Bring us, O Father, nearer Thee.

Search out our hearts and make us true,

Wishful to give all their due,

From love of pleasure, lust for gold,

From sins which make the heart grow cold,

Wean us and train us with thy rod,

Teach us to know our faults, O God.

by William Boyd Carpenter

Blessings to you all,

Pastor Norm

REMEMBER TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD 1 HOUR THIS SATURDAY NIGHT.

Our service on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/EOXlljAtyeU?feature=share