First Lutheran Church • 3 Lent and First Communion • Sunday, March 8, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Jesus meets us in our ordinary, weary places.

He finds us not in moments of spiritual triumph, but in the midst of our daily routines and exhaustion. He approaches us when we are tired, thirsty, and simply going about the tasks required to get by. In this common space, Christ initiates a conversation, offering a divine gift within a human need. He meets us exactly where we are. [15:30]

So 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. (John 4:5-6 NRSV)

Reflection: Where in your current daily routine—perhaps a task that feels mundane or exhausting—might Jesus be waiting to meet you and offer you His living water?

Day 2: The living water Christ offers satisfies our deepest thirst.

The world offers temporary solutions that leave us longing for more, requiring us to return again and again to the same wells. Jesus presents a different kind of water, a gift that becomes a spring within us. This living water is not a temporary relief but an eternal source of life, gushing up from the inside to quench our soul’s deepest longing forever. [16:41]

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.” (John 4:13-14 NRSV)

Reflection: What is one ‘well’ you frequently return to for satisfaction that consistently leaves you thirsty, and what would it look like to ask Jesus for His living water in that specific area instead?

Day 3: Christ sees our true identity beyond our labels and past.

He looks past the external judgments and the internal shame we carry. Jesus knows the full story—the parts we hide and the chapters we wish we could rewrite—and He speaks the truth about them with grace. In being fully known, we are not condemned but are invited into a new understanding of who we are in Him. [17:10]

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 have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” (John 4:17-18 NRSV)

Reflection: What label or story from your past makes you feel unqualified to be used by God, and how does Jesus’ truthful yet gracious encounter with the woman challenge that narrative for you?

Day 4: Authentic worship flows from spirit and truth, not just location.

Genuine connection with God is not confined to a specific mountain or building; it transcends physical spaces and traditional practices. The Father actively seeks those who will worship Him from the heart, in alignment with who He truly is. This worship is rooted in the Spirit and grounded in the truth of who God is. [17:37]

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. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24 NRSV)

Reflection: How can you move beyond the routine of worship to engage with God more authentically ‘in spirit and in truth’ this week?

Day 5: Our testimony invites others to their own encounter with Christ.

We are called to share not a perfect argument, but a simple story of how we have been met by grace. We leave behind the old containers of our identity to point others toward the One who knows them. Our invitation is not to have all the answers, but to simply say, “Come and see,” allowing Christ to reveal Himself. [18:26]

Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” (John 4:28-29 NRSV)

Reflection: What is one thing you feel you need to ‘leave behind’—like the water jar—in order to more freely share your story and invite others to come and see Jesus for themselves?

Sermon Summary

At Jacob’s well in Samaria, a midday encounter changes a life and a city. Jesus meets a Samaritan woman who comes at noon to avoid notice; he offers living water that promises an internal spring leading to eternal life. The woman engages with bold questions about worship, theology, and identity; her misunderstanding of metaphors gives way to a growing hunger for what Jesus actually offers. When Jesus names the details of her life, that revelation shifts her self-understanding from outcast to witness. She leaves her water jar and runs into the town, calling others to “come and see” someone who told her everything she had done.

Those who respond move from curiosity to conviction. Many Samaritans believe after hearing her testimony and then hearing Jesus for themselves; they conclude that this is truly the Savior of the world. Jesus then reorients the disciples’ notion of ministry: spiritual nourishment comes from doing the Father’s will, and the harvest is already ripe. The passage frames evangelism as shared labor—sowing and reaping across seasons—and insists that ordinary encounters can yield extraordinary fruit.

The text connects ancient story to present invitation. Labels and presumed scandal do not determine God’s use of a life. Vulnerability and questions function as genuine theological work; honest seeking invites clearer revelation. The Samaritan woman models faithful curiosity and immediate evangelism: she does not wait for perfect doctrine before inviting others to meet the one who claimed to be the Messiah. A contemporary parallel shows how choosing to stop hiding—leaving the jar—unlocks new vocation and witness.

The call toward action appears plainly. Every person carries an identity marker, a “jar,” that limits belonging and service when clung to. Leaving that jar at the well means stepping into reclaimed life, embracing a role as theologian and evangelist without needing credentials or spotless history. The narrative presses toward living in the light, confessing need, sharing testimony, and joining God’s harvest now, rather than waiting for qualification or certainty.

Key Takeaways

1. Living water transforms personal identity Living water reconstitutes longing into a continual spring that reorients how life gets lived. This transformation does not merely satisfy present thirst; it rewrites the narrative a person carries about deserving and belonging, making witness the natural overflow of new life. Transformation shows up most clearly when shame-driven routines fall away and new, public action follows. [16:41]
2. Labels do not define worth Social or self-imposed labels compress a person into a single story, but encountering Christ uncovers fuller, truer identity. When truth meets a labeled life, the resulting liberation unsettles assumptions and empowers bold testimony rather than retreat. Identity becomes rooted in divine address, not public rumor. [17:10]
3. Everyone can practice everyday theology Theological work begins in questions, dialogue, and honest seeking, not in credentials or polished answers. Curious engagement with doctrine opens space for revelation and equips ordinary people to interpret God’s action in their lives. The vocation of interpreter belongs to those willing to ask hard questions and report honestly what they find. [35:52]
4. Leave the jar; invite others Leaving the jar symbolizes abandoning the defensive goods that keep people isolated and ineffective. Testimony that invites others grows out of that letting-go: it trades private preservation for communal harvest. Evangelism begins with a simple, vulnerable “come and see,” not perfected theology. [18:26]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[15:30] - Gospel at Jacob's well
[16:41] - The promise of living water
[17:10] - Jesus names her life
[18:03] - Messianic disclosure
[18:26] - She leaves the jar; testifies
[19:00] - Harvest and shared labor
[29:54] - Leaving the jar as symbol
[36:57] - Stop hiding; live in light

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading: John 4:5-42 (ESV)

Observation questions

What was the woman's initial reaction when Jesus asked her for a drink, and what does this reveal about the social norms of the time? (John 4:9)
What does Jesus mean by "living water," and how does the woman misunderstand his metaphor? (John 4:10-15)
What specific detail from the woman's life does Jesus reveal to her, and how does this knowledge change the direction of their conversation? (John 4:16-19)
What does the woman do immediately after her conversation with Jesus, and what significant object does she leave behind? (John 4:28-29)

Interpretation questions

Why is it significant that Jesus reveals he knows about her past husbands? How does this act of seeing her fully shift her understanding of who he is and who she is? [17:10]
The woman engages Jesus in a theological debate about the proper place of worship. How does her willingness to ask hard questions open the door for a clearer revelation from Jesus? [27:18]
What does leaving the water jar at the well symbolize? How does this act represent a shift from her old life and identity to a new one? [29:54]
The townspeople initially believe because of the woman's testimony, but later say they believe because they have heard for themselves. What does this progression suggest about the relationship between personal testimony and personal encounter with Jesus?

Application questions

Living water reconstitutes longing into a continual spring that reorients how life gets lived. [16:41] What is the "thirst" or longing you are trying to satisfy on your own that Jesus is offering to meet with his living water?
Social or self-imposed labels compress a person into a single story. [17:10] What label—either given to you by others or one you’ve given yourself—makes you feel unqualified to be used by God? How does Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman rewrite that narrative for you?
Theological work begins in questions, dialogue, and honest seeking, not in credentials or polished answers. [35:52] What is a hard question about faith or God that you have been hesitant to ask? Who is one person you could be vulnerable with to explore that question together?
Leaving the jar symbolizes abandoning the defensive goods that keep people isolated and ineffective. [18:26] What is your "water jar"—the thing you cling to for identity, safety, or comfort—that God might be inviting you to leave behind to step more fully into his purpose for you?
Testimony that invites others grows out of that letting-go; it trades private preservation for communal harvest. [18:26] When was the last time you simply invited someone to "come and see" something of God in your life, without feeling the need to have all the answers first?
We can stop hiding at noon and start living in the light. [36:57] What part of your story or current struggle have you been keeping in the shadows out of fear or shame? What would it look like to bring that into the light of God's grace this week?

Sermon Clips

We all have a water jar in our life. We all have something that we have been carrying with us that we use to identify ourselves and who we are. What's that thing that you've been carrying or relying on for your identity that you might need to leave behind to fully follow Jesus? Elphaba was labeled as wicked because she was different. The woman at the well was labeled as an outcast because of her past. [00:34:24] (32 seconds) #LeaveTheJar

We'll be forced to admit how many times we have overlooked opportunities for giving testimony about the savior of the world. How often are we satisfied enough that Jesus is for me? Jesus is for me. The woman didn't wait to have perfect theology. She simply said, come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Why do we often feel that we need to be experts before we share our faith? [00:32:54] (30 seconds) #ShareNotPerfect

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