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Pastor Tim takes us through this main scripture today: John 4:1-30
Check out the message!
**If you would like to join us for our Day Retreat on January 30th at 9am – 12pm you can RSVP at HERE! It will be a Saturday spent centered in guided contemplation, intentional reflection from scripture and refocusing our attention.
STEP 1- Ice Breaker
Help people to loosen up and share. It will be helpful if someone is new to go around and do names and have each person share about a question and share a bit about themselves. CLICK HERE for ice breaker questions ideas.
Scriptures from Sunday: John 4:1-30
STEP 2- Take Time For Learning through Observation, Reflection & Discussion
(Group Leader Note: These are set questions meant to spur conversation. It may be helpful to watch/listen to the message together if people did not have a chance to listen on their own time.)
Read through the main scriptures together from Sunday’s message:
John 4:1-30
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he 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.
7 When 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.)
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.)
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.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 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?”
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.”
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.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
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.”
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. 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. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
The Disciples Rejoin Jesus
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
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.
- What stuck out to you as meaningful, confusing, impactful and/or important?
- What might this message and portion of scripture relate to in your life or our cultural moment?
STEP 3- Take Time To Process
- Is anyone willing to share some thoughts, questions or curiosities about what you sense God speaking to you about through the message and scripture?
- Is there a need for deeper reflection or observation? What might be some ways to dig deeper, if necessary?
STEP 4- Work Towards Application
- What area of life is God working in through this? (Inner, Outer & Other Life Map)
- What might God be asking of me in this? What is my response?
- What might be a practical application or action step to take over this next week?
STEP 5- Prayer
Please don’t skip prayer!! Cut the discussion short if needed to pray for one another. Try one of these options, don’t be afraid to mix it up.
- Have people split into groups of 2-3 to share prayer needs and pray for each other.
- Share requests as a group and pray for one another. Assign requests to people that are comfortable with praying and go around the circle praying for each others needs.
- Meditation with silence and stillness- A short scripture, word or phrase to focus your group. A time of silence and stillness, set a timer for 5 minutes if you want. Close the time with a prayer for your group.
- Develop someone in your group as the Prayer Coordinator. Have them write down prayer needs, ask them to pray for those needs during the week, have them send a list to the group to keep in prayer, go through the list regularly to celebrate answered prayers and check off or add on prayers.
