Order of Worship
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Lord God, Great I Am, you are living water. As we worship you this day show us who we are: channels of your love and vessels of your grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray for the needs of the world, saying,
Wellspring of mercy, hear our prayer.
Saving God, you are the giver of living water, the source of deepest
compassion, the fountain of eternal life. Therefore we pray to you:
Wellspring of mercy, hear our prayer.
For all who are thirsty— thirsty for a life of meaning, thirsty for a word
of grace, thirsty for a drink of water...
Wellspring of mercy, hear our prayer.
For all who are weary— weary from life’s long journey, weary from
quarreling and testing, weary from pain or grief...
Wellspring of mercy, hear our prayer.
For all who are broken— broken by sin and suffering, broken by hard
disappointment, broken by acts of violence...
Wellspring of mercy, hear our prayer.
Living God, through your Spirit, pour your love into our hearts, your
grace into our lives, your healing into our world, until the earth is filled
with your glory as the waters cover the sea; through Jesus Christ we
pray.
Amen.
Living God, through the reading of the Scriptures and by the power of your Spirit, may we hear for ourselves the good news, and believe, because of your Word, that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. Amen.
Romans 5:1-11 1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ?And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ‘and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, °and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. SFor while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ‘Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person— though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. °Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. '°For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. ‘But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. John 4:5-42 5So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. °Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. ’A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” §(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) ‘Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ‘‘The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? '2Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” **Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ‘*but 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 water gushing up to eternal life.” ‘SThe woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” ‘*Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” '7The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘| have no husband’; ‘*for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” ‘The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 7°Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 2‘Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 2?You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ?°But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 74God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” >The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ?°Jesus said to her, “Il am he, the one who is speaking to you.” 27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” 2®Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 7°“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” *°They left the city and were on their way to him. 31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So0 the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” *4Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. °°The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. °’For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 81 sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” °*Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. “‘And many more believed because of his word. **They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”
Questions for Reflection: Rev. Johan Dodge
As you read John 4:5—42, think about the meaning of water—its
symbolic qualities, its presence in nature, and its use in human life.
How is Jesus like water? What are the things that are most necessary
in your life? Where do you get them?
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING — Marylee Thomsen
See how the fields are ripe for harvest! Already, God is gathering fruit
for eternal life. With rejoicing, let us offer our lives to the Lord.
O Lord, you are our God; we are the people of your pasture, the sheep of your hand. As you have fed us by your mercy, may it be our daily bread to do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, springing up like living water, fill your heart, and flow through your life. Go forth to worship the Lord your God in spirit and in truth, in all that you say and do. Blessed Be the Tie that Binds Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.