Bible Reading
John 4:1-26 “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?' (For Jews have no dealings 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 nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.' Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.' Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come here.' The woman answered him, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.' The woman said to him, 'Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 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 is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.' The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am he.”
[01:11:56]Psalm 73:1-28 “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, 'How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?' Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, 'I will speak thus,' I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.”
[01:27:20]Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
[01:33:11]Observation questions
- In John 4:1–26, what social and religious barriers does Jesus cross to speak with the Samaritan woman? How does she respond to his request for water? [01:12:20]
- What does the woman expect the Messiah to do, and how does Jesus move the conversation from that expectation to his own identity? [01:15:33]
- In Psalm 73, what troubles the psalmist about the lives of the wicked? What does he recognize about their future and his own heart after entering God’s sanctuary? [01:30:21]
- In Philippians 4:4–7, what practices accompany bringing needs to God, and what does God’s peace protect? [01:33:27]
Interpretation questions
- How does Jesus’ offer of living water in John 4 challenge the idea that worship mainly supplies something God needs? What difference could this make for someone who approaches worship only as a duty? [01:11:03]
- Jesus redirects the woman’s attention from competing worship locations to the Father. What does this reveal about worship in spirit and truth, and how might a familiar religious tradition help—or distract from—a relationship with God? [01:22:05]
- How does deliberately remembering God’s goodness differ from simply trying to think positively? Why can thanksgiving be honest even when pain or uncertainty remains? [01:20:14]
- Why does belonging to God become more valuable to the psalmist than the prosperity he previously envied? How does that change his understanding of a good life without denying his suffering? [01:31:00]
Application questions
- When does worship feel more like an obligation than an invitation to you? How might approaching Jesus as someone who welcomes you and has something to give change your next time of worship? [01:14:04]
- Think of a difficult or uncomfortable situation you are facing. Without minimizing what hurts, what ordinary signs of God’s care can you name within it? How could you turn one of those memories into personal thanksgiving this week? [01:20:14]
- Is there a place, style of music, or familiar routine you strongly associate with feeling close to God? What might drawing near to the Father look like when that familiar setting is unavailable? [01:22:14]
- The Father’s invitation is into relationship and belonging, not merely inherited tradition. Which parts of your worship express a personal relationship with him, and which tend to happen on autopilot? What might help you engage more honestly? [01:24:25]
- Where has comparison with someone else’s comfort, success, or health stirred envy in you? What would it look like to bring that honestly into God’s presence rather than letting it quietly become bitterness? [01:30:47]
- What concern keeps returning to your mind right now, if you feel comfortable sharing? How could you bring both a specific request and a specific thanksgiving to God about it, even before the circumstances change? [01:33:30]
