TRUST GOD John 4:43-54 Introduction: Most of us have probably prayed for a miracle at some time. Some of you, perhaps, and can relate immediately to this nobleman, this servant of a king who came to Jesus looking for help for his deathly ill son. It may be that you have seen a child desperately sick. Perhaps an injury, perhaps a sickness, maybe even the doctors offering little hope, and you yourself helpless to take the pain away, to help the one you love. You would switch places in a heartbeat if you could, you would give anything. I’ve witnessed such grief in my family. We were there through the weeks my nephew, 5 going on 6, my sister’s son, was treated for leukemia, diagnosed at the end of October, chemotherapy, a series of crises, pancreatitis, an emergency surgery, and death all within about seven weeks. Devastating. I saw the pain my parents experienced when my brother lay dying in a coma, hooked up to a respirator, after crashing his motorcy...
Decisions, Discipleship, and Mission John 4:27-42 Introduction: Last week we saw the initial encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar. She came looking for water from Jacob’s well, and instead found much more: she encountered Jacob’s God, she found living water, the source of life itself, Jesus. As we continue in the chapter, the disciples return, and this unnamed Samaritan woman, having heard from Jesus himself that he is the Messiah, is seemingly so excited that she can’t even take the time to fill her bucket, she leaves it behind and goes back to town and tells others the good news. We all need to drink water, it is essential for life. I read somewhere that by the time you start feeling thirsty, you are already dehydrated. But as humans, created in God’s image, we have an even deeper thirst, a longing that can only be satisfied through a life-changing relationship with the living God. I am not saying that unsaved people are seeking God. The Bible ...