John 4:1-26 (NIV)

¹ 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.”

By confirming her true identity, he reveals his own identity, and that is how it still happens. The Messiah is the one in whose presence you know who you really are--the good and bad of it, the all of it, the hope in it.”

– Barbara Brown Taylor

1. Jesus meets her where she is (a particular time and place)

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.”

2. Jesus sees her and knows her

• “a triple outsider”
• “The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’”

3. Living Water

John 4:13-14: 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.”

John 7:37-38: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

4. Come, See

John 4:27-30: 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.

Next Steps: In your time alone with God, read John 5 and 6. Circle, highlight, or write down the words that seem most surprising or important. Then, read the passages again. Journal with the question: How am I encountering Jesus through these passages?

As needed, refer to the Order of Worship and Resources at solanabeach.church for sermon video, message outline, and small group questions print version.

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 

Before beginning your time in John and the message, create intentional time getting acquainted and re-acquainted with one another. Share together, using the following ice-breaker question: What’s one of your favorite childhood memories?

CONNECT WITH GOD (Use the below practice or choose one from a previous week.)

• The Practice of Confession: This historic practice is part of the liturgical rhythms of worship. In our daily life, though, we often lose sight of its restorative and reconciling power. When we first turn inward and “pay attention to the plank in our own eye before trying to remove the speck in our neighbor’s eye,” we encounter our own fragile humanity and cultivate grace for others. A practice of confession is a declaration of holy trust in the God of grace who is at work in us and in others. 
• Take a few minutes to slow down and name those things that need to be confessed in your own life. After a time of personal examination, pray this prayer:

Holy and merciful God, in your presence we confess our failure to be what you created us to be. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from your ways, in wasting your gifts, in forgetting your love. By your loving mercy, help us to live in your light and abide in your ways, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior.

• Pause and receive the mercy of God. Pray:

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy. 

• In confidence, pray:

The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. In the name of Jesus Christ we have been forgiven.

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 

Read John 4:1-30

• Before digging into the scripture and message more, pray together. Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate and enlighten, and to speak to each one of you through the passage.
• Together: Read John 4:1-30.
• In pairs, reflect together on the below prompts:
• How do you connect to this story in your own life? 
• What are you most curious about?
• Together as a whole group: Around the circle, share your personal reflections and questions about the passage. Encourage one another to engage curiosity, confusion, or bigger questions. 

CONNECT WITH SCRIPTURE 

If you haven’t watched it yet, watch the Bible Project video (John, Part 1) and, if needed, read the passage again. Then select the best questions or customize the questions for your group.

• Were you surprised by anything you learned through the Bible Project video?
• Review the main points from the sermon outline. 
• How did God meet you in the message this week? 
• How does Jesus break societal norms in the encounter with the Samaritan woman? 
• What similarities or contrasts do you observe in this passage and the story about Nicodemus? 
• Which themes of Jesus’ life and ministry do you notice in this passage? 
• How do you connect this story and its themes to what it means to be like Jesus in our communities? 
• Reflecting on the main points of the message, what will you continue to wrestle with in the coming days?

ENGAGE AND EXPLORE 

Together: explore the quote below, in connection with John 4:1-30.

“Blessed are we, the graced. We who don’t deserve it, whose failures haunt us, the things we said, the things we left unsaid, the decisions and addictions and broken relationships that have ripple effects we still feel today. Somehow, we are the recipients of this mysterious gift. Grace doesn’t erase the pain or harm we’ve caused, but grace is still for us, the redeemable. And if we are, by implication, that means they are too. Yes, even them. The rude, the estranged, the unforgiven, the selfish and the unrepentant. Despite what we have all done and left undone, we are graced. Blessed are we who live here. In this mystery… in this scandal… of grace.”  - Kate Bowler, a blessing for grace that makes no sense

PRAYER 

Return to the blessing by Kate Bowler above. Use it once more: this time as a blessing and prayer for one another as you go back out from your group. Breathe deeply and receive the mysterious grace of God for you.