March 12, 2023
WORDS OF Greeting and NomoFomo
Chris Zepp
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A New Season at RISE
Those of you who are on the RISE E-mail list received an e-mail last week highlighting some of the transitions that are happening at RISE. (If you have not yet seen that letter you can view it HERE.) Leadership Team would like to know what questions and feedback you have after reading it. To submit your questions, thoughts, and comments, please complete this FEEDBACK FORM. Leadership team will be reviewing the submissions received, responding as necessary, and compiling a FAQ document as appropriate.
WELCOMING STATEMENT
RISE believes that God has open arms, and so should we. Our Creator wants us to love, accept and affirm every human being, including persons of every age, race, ethnic background, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, family or socioeconomic status, educational background, and physical or mental ability. We celebrate our diversity and recognize the sacred worth and dignity of all. Everyone is invited and encouraged to join us as we seek to follow Jesus with mutual respect, understanding, and love.
*Read more about “Why Pronouns Matter” HERE.
Hit Pause for a Moment
Caroline Pamore
OPENING SONG
Brent Holl
“Jesus met the Woman at the Well”
Jesus met the woman at the well
Jesus met the woman at the well
Jesus met the woman at the well
And He told her everything she'd ever done
He said, "Woman, woman, where is your husband?"
He said, "Woman, woman, where is your husband?"
He said, "Woman, woman, where is your husband?"
"I know everything you've ever done"
She said, "Jesus, Jesus, I ain't got no husband"
She said, "Jesus, Jesus, I ain't got no husband"
She said, "Jesus, Jesus, ain't got no husband"
"And You don't know everything I've ever done"
He said, "Woman, woman, you've got five husbands"
He said, "Woman, woman, you've got five husbands"
He said, "Woman, woman, you've got five husbands"
"And the one you have now, he's not your own"
She said, "This man, this man, He must be a prophet"
She said, "This man, this man, He must be a prophet"
She said, "This man, this man, He must be a prophet"
"He done told me everything I've ever done"
THEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION
Abby Butler-Cefalo
Katrina Weiland
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS OR TEXT THEM TO 833-803-0868!
Before we dive into the scripture, this week we’re exploring the concept of “evangelism.” How do you define that word? What sights, sounds, smells, experiences come to mind?
When have you experienced “evangelism” to harm?
Let’s jump into scripture - it’s a long one!
John 4: 1-45 (CEB)
1 Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was making more disciples and baptizing more than John (2 although Jesus’ disciples were baptizing, not Jesus himself). 3 Therefore, he left Judea and went back to Galilee.
4 Jesus had to go through Samaria. 5 He came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, which was near the land Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his journey, so he sat down at the well. It was about noon.
7 A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” 8 His disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food.
9 The Samaritan woman asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.)
10 Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.”
11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket and the well is deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here to draw water!”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, get your husband, and come back here.”
17 The woman replied, “I don’t have a husband.”
“You are right to say, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus answered. 18 “You’ve had five husbands, and the man you are with now isn’t your husband. You’ve spoken the truth.”
19 The woman said, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you and your people say that it is necessary to worship in Jerusalem.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you and your people will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You and your people worship what you don’t know; we worship what we know because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—and is here!—when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. The Father looks for those who worship him this way. 24 God is spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one who is called the Christ. When he comes, he will teach everything to us.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I Am—the one who speaks with you.”
27 Just then, Jesus’ disciples arrived and were shocked that he was talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 The woman put down her water jar and went into the city. She said to the people, 29 “Come and see a man who has told me everything I’ve done! Could this man be the Christ?” 30 They left the city and were on their way to see Jesus.
31 In the meantime the disciples spoke to Jesus, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
32 Jesus said to them, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”
33 The disciples asked each other, “Has someone brought him food?”
34 Jesus said to them, “I am fed by doing the will of the one who sent me and by completing his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘Four more months and then it’s time for harvest’? Look, I tell you: open your eyes and notice that the fields are already ripe for the harvest. 36 Those who harvest are receiving their pay and gathering fruit for eternal life so that those who sow and those who harvest can celebrate together. 37 This is a true saying, that one sows and another harvests. 38 I have sent you to harvest what you didn’t work hard for; others worked hard, and you will share in their hard work.”
39 Many Samaritans in that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s word when she testified, “He told me everything I’ve ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of his word, 42 and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is truly the savior of the world.”
43 After two days Jesus left for Galilee. (44 Jesus himself had testified that prophets have no honor in their own country.) 45 When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem during the festival, for they also had been at the festival.
How would you sum that story up in two sentences?
What resonated with you from this story? In other words, what sticks out?
How does this story challenge that harm that is currently associated with evangelism?
Where is the good news in this scripture? In other words, how can we reclaim this idea of evangelism, even though the word can feel "icky"? Can we even?
SHARE YOUR QUESTIONS OR TEXT THEM TO 833-803-0868
Prayer
Chris Zepp
FINAL SONG
Brent Holl
“Oh Healing River” (Call and Response)
O healing river, send down your waters,
Send down your waters, on this barren ground
O healing river, send down your waters,
and wash the blood from off the sand.
This land is parching, this land is burning,
no seed is growing in the barren ground.
O healing river, send down your waters,
O healing river, send your waters down.
Let the seed of freedom awake and flourish,
let the deep roots nourish, let the tall stalks rise.
O healing river, send down your waters,
O healing river, from out of the skies.
FINAL BLESSING
”Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.”
~attributed to St. Francis of Assisi
Go now and be the river of God’s love.
Go now and share living water with your neighbors.
Go now and be the gift that this world needs.
Amen.