3rdF Tues Nite Bible Study – Gospel of John Series – Chapter 4

YHC resumed hosting privileges this week after being away on work travel the past two weeks.  It was good to be back in the groove.  Opened the door.  Served up some crock pot chowder to Dirty Bomb who had come by early.  Planted the shovel flag in the yard.  Early Bird and Cold Cut pulled in, and we were off like a dirty shirt.

Warm Up:  Opening prayer and quick recap of YHC’s visit to Las Vegas last week and magician show experiences.

The Thang:

Read the portions of John Chapter 4 related to Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.  Discussed context and significance of the dialogue recorded in this section of John.  Applications:

•  This is always the way it is in the spiritual realm. Jesus comes to us first. If left to ourselves, we would leave Jesus sitting on the edge of the well forever. But He comes to us and initiates the conversation. He breaks through to our hearts. He draws us. You may think you were looking for God, but in reality it was He who chased you down.
• Who are the Samaritans in your world? Who are the people that Christians don’t seem to want to have anything to do with? Our Lord’s willingness to cast aside racial, gender, cultural, and theological barriers serves as a model for us.
• Based on Jesus’ model, how should we approach our “Samaritans”? When the opportunity arises, in an engaging manner, based on truth, educate them, gently confront, etc.

COT

Prayer Requests:  FixerUpper’s brother’s heart surgery; Praise for Cold Cut’s newly born grandchildren (twins); Fruity Pebbles’ family to get over sickness; Dirty Bomb’s travel next week.  Dirty Bomb closed us out in prayer.

Moleskin:  Lessons in evangelism learned from this passage:

• Our Lord witnessed in the midst of His normal activities. Two guidelines for when to witness emerge from this text: (a) When you have the opportunity. (b) When you have a listening ear.
• There is no one “canned” approach to evangelism that our Lord forced indiscriminately upon everyone He encountered; rather the gospel is presented individually. Jesus approached Nicodemus very differently than He did this woman. •Don’t water down the Word of God to make it less offensive.
• All evangelism has to be preceded by the work of the Holy Spirit. John 6:44, 65. •Our testimony is a valuable witnessing tool—just like the Samaritan woman’s testimony impacted a village. Do you have your testimony ready to share? Consider preparing several versions of different lengths to fit different situations.

Application: Make a top-ten list of people you know who need Jesus. Pray that their hearts would be open to the Lord. Pray that God would give you the opportunity to interact with them and share your testimony.