Grace:
That we invite and support neighbourhood-based discipleship and worship.
http://www.womeninthebible.net/Samaritan_1420_German.jpg
Devotion 1
Wait: Take time to quiet your heart and use the following confession together:
God of living water, we confess the dryness of our lives:
the brittle words we have thought and spoken . . .
the relationships that are crumbling . . .
the arid perspective that centres on self . . .
the cracked and jagged edges of our world . . .
Hear our confession, O Christ,
and rain down your mercy upon us.
[Silence]
(Assurance of Pardon)
Jesus says,
“Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty.
The water that I will give will become in them a spring of living water.”1
Read: John 4:1-15
Share: What stands out to you in the passage?
– Jesus turns the social order upside-down. Marvel together at this! What does this teach us about God?
– ‘You don’t know what God wants to give you’ v10. How does Jesus reveal to us humanity’s true needs? How can we reflect this in our interactions with our neighbours?
Share communion together.
Pray: Spend time praying that we would have Jesus’s attitude and priorities as we go about our work today, sustained by his living water.
Pray for God to break down the dividing walls of hostility – gender, rich/poor, race… others you feel passionate about.
1 written by Joanna Harader, and posted on her Spacious Faith blog. http://spaciousfaith.com/
Devotion 2
Wait: Take time to quiet your heart and centre your mind on Jesus. Perhaps use the image above to draw you back into the story, ready to meet Jesus at the well with the woman.
Read: John 4:16-26
Share:
What stands out to you in the passage?
What would it look like for people in your community to worship God in Spirit and Truth?
Share communion together.
Pray: For God to find his worshippers as we invite and support neighbourhood-based discipleship and worship, as per this week’s grace.
You may also want to read the following prayer for yourself, or on behalf of a neighbour:
God:
meet us at the wells
where we are lonely
where we are forgotten
where we are hurt by others
and give us to drink
of the grace that brings life again
God:
speak to us in the meeting places
where the sinners gather
where the prejudices are made known
where our histories are broadcast
and give us to drink
of the forgiveness that brings peace again
God:
Renew all that we are and have been
fill us with a new future
inspire us with recreation
pull us into resurrection
and give us to drink
from the promise of heaven 2
2 written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Mucky Paws.
http://www.nkchurch.org.uk/index.php/mucky-paws
Devotion 3
Wait: Take time to quiet your heart and centre your mind on Jesus
Read: John 4:27-38
Share: What stands out to you in the passage?
‘My food is to do what God wants!’ – How is this true for you? Reflect on times in your life that you could or couldn’t say this.
How does ‘doing what God wants’ relate to the harvest?
Share communion together.
Pray: “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
Amos 9:13 (ESV)
Praise God for the ‘un-natural’ harvest and for the celebration and abundance in his Kingdom.
Pray for each other.
Devotion 4
Wait: Take time to quiet your heart and centre your mind on Jesus
Read: John 4:39-45
Share: What stands out to you in the passage?
The woman’s testimony is that Jesus is ‘a man who told me everything I have ever done!’
– In what way has Jesus revealed to you your true self? What difference does this make? What difference could this make if it happened in your neighbours’ lives?
Share communion together.
Pray: Spend some time praying for your UNOH brothers and sisters, for your families and your neighbours.