Adam used a very helpful technique to help us get inside John 4 at homegroup this week – making us summarise chunks of narrative using only 20 words, then getting us to summarise the import of the text in only 15 words. Here are a few selections (bearing in mind my comments in the previous post, can you tell which ones are mine!?)...
What’s going on? [in 20 words]
(Verses 1-15)
Jesus, his following growing, went through
OR
Jesus met a Samaritan lady at Jacob’s Well. He offered her special water not from the well. She wants it.
OR
Jesus stopped by a well in
Jesus exposed her promiscuity with supernatural insight. Jewish worship preferable to Samaritan, but God seeks spiritual worshippers, as Messiah announces.
OR
Jesus asks woman for her husband: his knowledge amazes her. They discuss worship. She gradually realises he is the Messiah.
OR
Jesus identified her sin. She changed subject to theology. Jesus brought it back to God’s call, saying “I am Christ”.
So what? [in 15 words]
(Verses 1-15)
Old hostilities broken by Christ through compassion for marginalised. Eternal life on offer like water.
(Verses 16-26)
Now we can worship Jesus anywhere without constraint. Jesus addresses sin so we can worship.
Jesus is Christ. He gives us spiritual food and service opportunities in spiritual harvest fields.
