Embedded Files
Amid the Thronging Worshipers
Verse 1
Amid the thronging worshipers
the Lord, our God, I bless;
before his people gathered here
his name will I confess.
Come, praise him,
all who fear the Lord,
the children of his grace;
with reverence sound his glories forth
and bow before his face.
Verse 2
The burden of the sorrowful
the Lord will not despise;
he has not turned from those who mourn,
he listens to their cries.
His goodness makes me join the throng
where saints his praise proclaim,
and there will I fulfill my vows
with those who fear his name.
Verse 3
He feeds with good the humble soul
and satisfies the meek,
and they shall live and praise the Lord
who for his mercy seek.
The ends of all the earth will hear,
the nations seek the Lord;
they worship him, the King of kings,
in earth and heaven adored.
“He Will Be”
Verse 1
God is faithful to His word
Even when there seems no way
Though time may pass His memory will not fade
His promises will never fail
Chorus 1
Faithful He has been faithful He will be
Time and time again His Word returns complete
To His truth I cling when the night is deep
Faithful He has been faithful He will be
Verse 2
God is gracious when I doubt
He draws near though I retreat
Though I may wander through the wilderness
He goes with me and gives me peace
Chorus 2
Gracious He has been gracious He will be
What I don’t deserve the Father gives to me
Where He leads my feet I shall not want or need
Gracious He has been, gracious He will be
Verse 3
God is worthy of my song
Countless are His awesome deeds
His mighty hand has parted raging seas
For those He loves He has redeemed
Chorus 3
Worthy He has been worthy He will be
Crowned in endless praise all earth and heaven sing
Holy is the Lord who reigns in majesty
Worthy He has been worthy He will be
Chorus 3
Worthy He has been worthy He will be
Crowned in endless praise all earth and heaven sing
Holy is the Lord who reigns in majesty
Worthy He has been worthy He will be
Tag
Worthy He has been worthy He will be
“Behold the Lamb”
Verse 1
Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away
Slain for us and we remember
The promise made that all who come in faith
Find forgiveness at the cross
So we share in this Bread of Life
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of peace
Around the table of the King
Verse 2
The body of our Saviour Jesus Christ
Torn for you eat and remember
The wounds that heal the death that brings us life
Paid the price to make us one
So we share in this Bread of Life
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of love
Around the table of the King
Verse 3
The blood that cleanses every stain of sin
Shed for you drink and remember
He drained death's cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God
So we share in this Bread of Life
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of grace
Around the table of the King
Verse 4
And so with thankfulness and faith we rise
To respond and to remember
Our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As His body here on earth
As we share in His suffering
We proclaim Christ will come again
And we'll join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King
“I Will Sing of my Redeemer”
Verse 1
I will sing of my Redeemer
and his wondrous love to me;
on the cruel cross he suffered,
from the curse to set me free.
Verse 2
I will tell the wondrous story
how, my lost estate to save,
in his boundless love and mercy
he the ransom freely gave.
Chorus
Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
with his blood he purchased me;
on the cross he sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free.
Verse 3
I will praise my dear Redeemer,
his triumphant power I'll tell,
how the victory he giveth
over sin and death and hell.
Chorus
Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
with his blood he purchased me;
on the cross he sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free.
“Christian Hearts in Love United”
Verse 1
Christian hearts in love united:
search to know God's holy will.
Let his love, in us ignited,
more and more our spirits fill.
Christ the head, and we his members—
we reflect the light he is.
Christ the master, we disciples–
he is ours, and we are his.
Verse 2
Grant, Lord, that with your direction,
"Love each other" we comply.
Help us live in true affection,
your love to exemplify.
Let our mutual love be glowing
brightly so that all may view
that we, as on one stem growing,
living branches are in you.
Come, then, living church of Jesus,
covenant with him anew.
Unto him who conquered for us
may we pledge our service true.
May our lives reflect the brightness
of God's love in Jesus shown.
To the world we then bear witness:
we belong to God alone.
Build my Life
Verse 1
Worthy of ev'ry song we could ever sing
Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring
Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe
We live for You we live for you
Verse 2
Jesus the name above ev'ry other name
Jesus the only one who could ever save
Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe
We live for You We live for You
Chorus
Holy there is no one like You
There is none beside You
Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are
And fill me with Your heart
And lead me in Your love to those around me
Verse 2
Jesus the name above ev'ry other name
Jesus the only one who could ever save
Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe
We live for YouWe live for You
Chorus
Holy there is no one like You
There is none beside You
Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are
And fill me with Your heart
And lead me in Your love to those around me
Bridge
I will build my life upon Your love
It is a firm foundation
I will put my trust in You alone
And I will not be shaken
Bridge
I will build my life upon Your love
It is a firm foundation
I will put my trust in You alone
And I will not be shaken
Chorus
Holy there is no one like You
There is none beside You
Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are
And fill me with Your heart
And lead me in Your love to those around me
Chorus
Holy there is no one like You
There is none beside You
Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are
And fill me with Your heart
And lead me in Your love to those around me
“I Am Not my Own”
Verse 1
The one who made the heavens made my heart and soul
Before I drew a breath I was loved and known
I am His creation the Maker's masterpiece
And all that He designs will be done in me
Verse 2
My body is a temple of the Living God
I'll worship in this house that His blood has bought
As I bear His image O may I not profane
The holiness I hold in this earthly frame
Chorus
I belong to the Lord O I am not my own
I belong to the Lord I am not my own
I will honor Him for this I know
I belong to the Lord I am not my own
Verse 3
And if He has redeemed me I am not my own
The measure of my worth is His love alone
He declares my standing
and He declares my state
So I will know myself by the name He gave
Chorus
I belong to the Lord O I am not my own
I belong to the Lord I am not my own
I will honor Him for this I know
I belong to the Lord I am not my own
Verse 4
I am not my own and now my heart is free
O Maker come and make what You will of me
There is nothing broken that You can not repair
So Lord I leave my life in Your loving care
Chorus
I belong to the Lord O I am not my own
I belong to the Lord I am not my own
I will honor Him for this I know
I belong to the Lord I am not my own
You are with Me
Chorus
I know You're with me and You are for me
You've been behind me You go before
You walk beside me through darkest valleys
I know You are with me
Verse 1
My heart is heavy and tired in this valley
Mountains grow higher and higher
But I can't find You I'll keep lifting my eyes
I know You're with me
Chorus
I know You're with me and You are for me
You've been behind me You go before
You walk beside me through darkest valleys
I know You are with me
Chorus
I know You're with me and You are for me
You've been behind me You go before
You walk beside me through darkest valleys
I know You are with me
Our God Reigns
Verse
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him
who brings good news, good news,
announcing peace,
proclaiming news of happiness:
our God reigns, our God reigns.
Chorus
Our God reigns, our God reigns.
Our God reigns, our God reigns.
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Verse 1
All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!
Verse 3
Let every tongue and every tribe
responsive to his call,
to him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.
To him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all!
Verse 4
Oh, that with all the sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
“God the Uncreated One”
Verse 1
God the uncreated One
The Author of salvation
Who wrote the laws of space and time
And fashioned worlds to His design
The One whom angel hosts revere
Hung the stars like chandeliers
Numbered every grain of sand
Knows the heart of every man
He is King forever
He is King forever
He is King forevermore
Verse 2
God our fortress and our strength
The Rock on which we can depend
Matchless in His majesty
His power and authority
Unshaken by the schemes of man
Never changing Great I am
Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall
He is faithful through it all
Crown Him King forever
Crown Him King forever
Crown Him King forevermore
Verse 3
Mighty God in mortal flesh
Forsaken by a traitor's kiss
The curse of sin and centuries
Did pierce the lowly Prince of Peace
Lifted high the sinless man
Crucified the spotless Lamb
Buried by the sons of man
Rescued by the Father's hand
To reign as King forever
Reign as King forever
Reign as King forevermore
Verse 4
King eternal God of grace
We crown You with the highest praise
Heaven shouts and saints adore
You're holy holy holy Lord
What joy in everlasting life
All is love and faith is sight
Justice rolls and praises rise
At the name of Jesus Christ
King of kings forever
King of kings forever
King of kings forevermore
“Don’t Forget to Remember”
Verse 1
Did you know Creation is talking to you
Wherever you go and whatever you do
The earth will keep giving you clue after clue
So you won't forget to remember what's true
Chorus
Don't forget to remember you're never alone
No matter if you are up high or down low...
And as sure as the sun will keep rising above
Don't forget to remember that you're dearly loved
Verse 2
Like every day when the sun rises high
The warmth that you feel is God's love by your side
Oh and just like the birds Who keep humming their tune
Remember God sings songs of joy over you
Chorus
Don't forget to remember you're never alone
No matter if you are up high or down low...
And as sure as the sun will keep rising above
Don't forget to remember that you're dearly loved
Chorus
Don't forget to remember you're never alone
No matter if you are up high or down looow...
And as sure as the sun will keep rising above
Don't forget to remember that you're dearly loved
Verse 4
So just like the stars won't forget how to shine
Don't forget to remember that all of the time
God's light will guide you wherever you go
And you're loved from the top of your head to your toes
Verse 5
Let the whole earth remind you of what God has said
From the moment you wake up till you go to bed
Oh and even on days you forget what is true
Don't forget to remember God won't forget you
Chorus
Don't forget to remember you're never alone
No matter if you are up high or down low
And as sure as the sun will keep rising above
Don't forget to remember that you're dearly loved
Chorus
Don't forget to remember you're never alone
No matter if you are up high or down looow...
And as sure as the sun will keep rising above
Don't forget to remember that you're dearly loved
Tag
Don't forget to remember that you're dearly loved
God the Father of Your People
Verse 1
God, the Father of your people,
you have called us to be one;
grant us grace to walk together
in the joy of Christ, your Son.
Challenged by your Word and Spirit,
blest with gifts from heaven above,
as one body we will serve you
and bear witness to your love.
Verse 2
May the grace of Christ, our Savior,
and the Father's boundless love,
with the Holy Spirit's favor,
rest upon us from above.
May we now now remain in union
With each other and the Lord
And possess in sweet communion
Joys that earth cannot afford
Ebenezer CRC - March 1, 2026
Adam Veenstra
SCRIPTURE READING
SERMON INTRO SLIDE I invite you to turn to page 1524 in the Bibles in front of you, to Matthew chapter 17. For this morning’s message we are going to be reflecting on a pivotal moment of Jesus’ life and ministry, and what it means for our own lives as his followers today.
So I invite you to follow along beginning at verse 1:
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
MESSAGE
Part One - Context
SLIDE 1 This passage follows Jesus own prediction of his death in chapter 16; a death that this season of Lent traditionally commemorates.
So in the midst of death, this passage is a reminder of life.
Here we read an incredible moment of all of God’s power and wonder and life and colour on display for his people.
And it’s a unique moment in Christ’s ministry as well, a rare occasion that his full divine power is so obviously on display.
SLIDE 2 In a couple of weeks we’ll read about a miracle that he performs using mud, and that is more in line with the Saviour we’re most familiar with in Scripture: a humble, human, down-to-earth Saviour who has a feed trough for his first bed, and dies like a criminal on a crude piece of wood.
SLIDE 3 But here, he appears with all the brightness and glory of the sun.
The presence of God appears with him like a cloud. It’s reminiscent of how he appeared to his people in the Old Testament, and the original Greek describes it as “radiant” - “photeinos” - “full of light.”
This is a moment of indescribable glory and power, but also of weight and authority.
And those who witness it are terrified.
It is that unique biblical fear and terror that you read about shepherds having when they see the multitude of the heavenly host at Christmas: their senses are completely overwhelmed, and full of awe.
SLIDE 4 2 Thessalonians 1 promises that “he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.”
It is a promise that we will someday witness the same glory, and experience the same awe.
Author Charles Martin reimagines it in this way, that he “strips off the sin of humanity that had marked him. Like a dark blanket, or cloak…The light shoots forth from Jesus’ body, and the darkness rolls back like a scroll.”
For now, though, he slips it back on again. To be with us.
For now, for his ministry among us, Christ’s divinity is cloaked in humanity.
It is still present, and still powerful. Just a little more ordinary looking.
SLIDE 5 Peter, James, and John are being given just a glimpse of the full revelation of God’s glory that will equip them in their ministry, and show without any doubt that he is worthy of worship.
This is the full revelation of who Jesus Christ is - the Son of God himself.
SLIDE 6 New Testament professor H. David Zacharias calls this experience the start of an alignment with Christ - this is their own kind of vision quest in the wilderness.
There can be no ignoring who Jesus is, and who we will all someday experience him to be.
It is an incredible next step in the disciples’ ministry and mission, what New Testament professor Michael Wilkins calls the “unmistakable revelation of Jesus’ identity”.
That identity was codified by a group of church leaders in the Council of Nicea in the year 325. SLIDE 7 They came together to discuss and debate - and by debate I mean fight! - over that true revelation of Jesus’ identity.
SLIDE 8 That he truly is the Son of God, “begotten, no made…of the same essence of the Father.”
It is a doctrine called “homoousios”, and the document they developed, called the Nicene Creed, affirms that Christ is God from God, and light from light.
SLIDE 9 The voice of God himself affirms this, repeating the words from Jesus’ baptism, that this is his son, whom he loves, with whom he is pleased, and to whom God’s people should listen.
These words distill all that glory into the truth of who he is.
SLIDE 10 It is another doctrine in the Reformed tradition called Solus Christus - that by the grace of God alone we are forgiven, made new, and saved for eternal life.
This is who Peter, James, and John are meant to learn from. This is who they are meant to worship, and meant to follow.
This is who we are meant to learn from. This is who we are meant to worship, and meant to follow.
This is our Saviour - he came “for us and for our salvation.”
SLIDE 11 Philippians 2 explains it for us, that Christ “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!”
The Son of God becomes the Son of Man - a title he uses himself 80 times in the Gospels.
All of that glory and power and colour in the man Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
SLIDE 12 “Homoousios” - “in very nature God”.
Part Two - Mission & Application
SLIDE 13 I once read a little girl trying to describe a holiday with her family, but there were so many details to remember that they were hard to pinpoint, and she said the best way to describe it was like bits of coloured glass all shifting and changing.
SLIDE 14 Like a prism, or a kaleidoscope, or even a disco ball.
That is actually the suggested colour for this week’s message: a white so white that it becomes a dizzying reflection of silver, gold, and every colour. Like when the sun hits the snow just right.
Every colour of the transfiguration, swirling like a kaleidoscope or disco ball, reflecting everything. “Everycolour.”
SLIDE 15 It can sometimes be hard to pinpoint and concisely describe the singular truth of who Christ is, because there are so many details to remember: it can be a dizzying kaleidoscope or disco ball of Bible stories and parables and songs and paintings and stained glass and memes and personal experiences.
But that is Christ! He is everycolour. He reflects all things, all needs, all desires.
He is everything for us.
And he is everything for all of his people, in all times and places and contexts and backgrounds.
We all experience his grace in unique ways.
SLIDE 16 Last Sunday night at the British Academy of Film Awards, an activist who has Tourette’s Syndrome had an involuntary tic which caused him to shout the N-word, while two African-American actors were onstage.
His form of Tourette’s is called coprolalia, which causes him to shout the inappropriate things that he knows he shouldn’t; he once swore at Queen Elizabeth while she was giving him an award.
This is a situation in which different people require different, unique expressions of grace and love and understanding.
Grace for someone who has lived with a disability that is incredibly stressful and isolating, and confusing for the world around him.
Grace for two men of colour who had to hear one of the ugliest words of the English language directed at them, and on an international stage.
Grace for everyone else who was in that room, or saw it unedited online, and may be confused about what they witnessed and experienced.
We are all in need of the grace and love and understanding of Jesus Christ.
SLIDE 17 But our different lives and personalities and experiences necessitate Jesus showing up in different ways.
The Gospel was nuanced differently to Peter, James, and John than it will be to a single mom facing food insecurity here in Trenton.
That distilled core truth remains the same, but the impacts are reflected differently.
In every colour we need.
There may be an aspect of Christ’s identity that resonates most with you.
Teacher. Friend. Role model. Messiah.
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Prophet, priest, king.
The Son of God, the Son of Man. The Messiah, the Christ, the Redeemer, the Saviour.
The living water. The bread of life.
The alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.
The great shepherd of sheep. The lamb. The light.
Maybe you resonate with his strength, his kindness, his righteousness, his sarcasm.
He will be that for you.
And as the seasons of your life change - as winter melts to spring, and then back to winter again - he will be all you need.
“Solus Christus”.
SLIDE 18 For each and every one of us he will be the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
No one comes to the Father - no one comes to salvation, to true, eternal happiness and fulfillment and peace - except through what he offers.
And he offers it freely to his creation.
Painter Henri Matisse once said that most painters “look for an exterior light to illuminate them internally, whereas the artist or the poetry possesses an interior light which transforms objects to make a new world of them – sensitive, organized, a living world which is in itself an infallible sign of divinity, a reflection of divinity.”
As followers of Jesus, both ring true in some ways. Because that exterior light has come into us, and we are called to reflect all the light and life and colour of Jesus Christ.
As we reach out, he is the focus.
There may be an aspect of Chris’s identity that will resonate most with your neighbour.
Share that with them. Share him with them.
SLIDE 19 Help them to know that we have a great high priest who experienced all that we did, and who sympathizes with our weaknesses.
And if they can’t believe in him yet, believe for them.
Believe that Christ comes in all his dizzying, colourful, transcendent glory…for them. For you. For us.
Conclusion
SLIDE 20 When we reach out to our neighbours, when we join in Christ’s mission, it can be like reaching out into the wilderness - we don’t know how it will go.
Our senses can be heightened and maybe even hyperaroused.
But our senses will be overwhelmed by the transfiguration, this divine mystery and revelation, and the power of God at work.
We will begin to see the brilliant clarity of Christ’s essence - God’s Son, our Saviour.
The wilderness we talked about last week is only a place of discovery if we are following Jesus.
It is the place to find, discern, and distill the truth of who he is.
And then follow it, enjoy it!, and share it.
The story of the transfiguration ends with Christ alone. Presumably looking ordinary again.
But only looking that way.
Our focus is Christ alone and he is anything but ordinary.
He reflects every facet and colour of our lives in the most brilliant of ways.
He shines in a way that will cause all people to fall facedown to the ground in awe.
So as we close today, we are going to close with these words from further in Philippians 2, as a reminder of all the power and glory of Christ that we are called to worship and experience:
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Amen.
Ebenezer CRC - March 8, 2026
Adam Veenstra
SCRIPTURE READING
SERMON INTRO SLIDE I invite you to turn to page 1651 in the Bibles in front of you, to John chapter 4. This morning we will be reading the story of Jesus interacting with a Samaritan woman at a well - it’s a story that we’ve read a few times before here at Ebenezer, and this morning our focus is on Jesus as the sole provider for all of our needs.
So I invite you to follow along with me, starting at verse 4:
4 Now Jesus 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 the sixth hour.
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 flocks and herds?”
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 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, 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 spirit and 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 am he.”
MESSAGE
Part One - Context
SLIDE 1 The suggested colour for this week’s message arguably isn’t much of a colour at all: it’s black.
It’s meant to be simple and basic.
Because arguably this story is about the basics of what we value and what we need: the baseline for God’s people, captured in this one interaction.
SLIDE 2 Verse 4 tells us that Jesus had to go through Samaria.
The Greek wording could also be translated as “it was necessary”.
On a practical level, this was a shorter route to get where he was going.
But Jesus isn’t exactly known for taking shortcuts.
What seems more necessary, is that he has lives to change.
Starting with this woman’s: what was necessary, what he had to do, was demonstrate what it means for Christ to provide all the basic needs of our lives.
SLIDE 3 This woman’s story is very specific.
And perhaps compared to some of our life stories it might seem pretty dramatic.
We’re told that she has five previous husbands, and is currently living with yet another man.
She might be someone who is bad at marriage, and doesn’t give it the effort or respect it deserves.
Or she might be a victim in these relationships, and a system that wouldn’t have placed a high value on her as a woman.
Or she might be somewhere in between - maybe life just didn’t work out the way she thought it would.
So, like many others before and after her, she has been left wanting more.
And needing more.
Last week we talked about how God’s grace in Jesus Christ is nuanced: this woman has wants and needs that are specific to her situation.
But however specific, that grace is not reserved, or inconsistent.
New Testament professor Miguel Echerarria writes that “Jesus’ work is not for any particular people, but for the entire world.”
SLIDE 4 What Christ offers her, he offers us.
What’s spoken here for this woman is for so many others before and after her who have been left wanting more.
And needing more.
He offers himself. The living water, and the only source of fulfillment for all of our wants and needs.
Scripture assures us that God so loved the world - so loved us - that he gave Jesus Christ, that whomever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Will have living water, and never thirst.
All because of his love for the world.
All because of his love for you.
That love is what makes him the sole, incomparable source of our provisions.
SLIDE 5 In the 15th century, Catholic canon Thomas A. Kempis composed the “Imitation of Christ”, writing that “Nothing is more gentle than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing more complete, nothing better in heaven or on earth because love is born of God and cannot rest other than in God.”
Nothing is more complete. Nothing is more necessary. Nothing more fulfilling.
If we did have to distill Christ down, pinpoint one detail from the kaleidoscope or disco ball, perhaps it would be love.
It is from love that God provides through Christ.
His love is everlasting; his provision is everlasting.
SLIDE 6 Every week when we gather for worship, the songs that we sing together are intentional. They’re a means to profess specific truths that we believe together - to put that language on each of our lips, and then declare it together as a church family.
Today, we intentionally professed our faith in that love and provision, trusting that he is faithful and will meet all of our true needs.
SLIDE 7 “Faithful he has been, faithful he will be”
SLIDE 8 “He is my provider, covenant protector”
SLIDE 9 “Hold me with your powerful hand”
SLIDE 10 “Strong deliverer”
SLIDE 11 “From whom all blessings flow”
We sing these lines because we trust and believe what we read time and time again in Scripture: that out of his love for us, God will provide for his people, always.
It’s something we reflected on together in the opening devotions of our elders meeting last week.
Dick read a portion of Matthew 6 for us, in which Jesus tells his people, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
SLIDE 12 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”
I understand that it is hypocritical for me to say these words: I say them as much for my own benefit as yours.
SLIDE 13 One of the simplest but hardest aspects of the Christian faith is indeed trusting that the Father knows what we need, and that he will provide.
All the basics, and then some.
We could never begin to imagine all that he has planned for us.
SLIDE 14 The season of Lent is the ultimate recognition and celebration that the Father knows what we need, and does indeed provide. For now, and for all eternity.
Our thirst is quenched by the living water of Jesus Christ - of his grace, which ensures our salvation, that we will never thirst, but indeed have eternal life.
That when we accept Christ as our Saviour, we recognize that by his death on the cross, all of our sins are forgiven, and the things we have done or haven’t done aren’t held against us.
And that by his resurrection, all of our true needs are fulfilled, forever.
What he offers to this woman at the well, he offers to all of his people.
He is the true, and sole, source of all that we could ever want or need.
Part Two - Mission & Application
Having our needs provided for is one of the first things we ever experience in our lives.
We are all born helpless, and provision from others is vital for us to survive.
We require the basics of food, water, and rest to be given to us.
But hopefully - usually, ideally - they are given out of love.
And that love ensures that we will not just survive, but ultimately thrive.
The love of Christ ensures that our basic needs are met.
But also that we will thrive - today, and for eternal life.
It’s a fair assessment that the woman in our passage was surviving, but perhaps not much more.
SLIDE 15 And so Jesus offers her far more than what the world had so far.
Because he loves her, and wants more for her.
SLIDE 16 Because already centuries earlier God promised his people that he has plans for them: plans to prosper them and not to harm them, plans to give them hope and a future.
More than the basics - more than they could ever imagine.
SLIDE 17 According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there are 30 articles that people are entitled to as human rights. Everything from standards of living and medical care, to freedom and equality.
These rights are about more than just simple survival and existence, more than just food and water.
But about living water. Thriving.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission stresses that nobody gives you these rights, but that you are born with them.
But we can also see in our sinful world that even some of the basics aren’t always provided.
Christ has provided us with eternal life by his sacrifice on the cross - an indescribable act of grace that we commemorate at Lent and Easter.
That provision of grace, then, enables us to be agents of his provision for others.
To help fulfill one another’s rights and wants and needs.
SLIDE 18 I think we’ve shared this story before about a man who is out on the water and discovers a hole in his boat, and he prays for help as his boat starts to sink.
Another boat comes along and offers rescue, but he declines, saying that he is waiting for the Lord to help him.
Then another boat comes along and offers the same thing, and his response is the same.
It happens several times - someone comes along trying to help, but he is adamant that the Lord is going to help him.
SLIDE 19 To be honest I’ve never heard how the story ends, but we can make a pretty good guess.
A couple weeks ago we referenced the temptation to test God.
This is an inadvertent way of doing that.
We want the divine miracle of the transfiguration.
Sometimes Jesus shows up more ordinarily.
Sometimes Jesus shows up and provides through the people around you.
Christ is not going to solve the problem of food insecurity by magically manifesting a meal on someone’s front porch.
He is going to equip a neighbour to make it.
That provision is no less powerful, no less miraculous, no less from Christ.
SLIDE 20 The book of James reminds us that every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down to us from the Father.
But it can come down in a lot of different ways.
Because there are practical limitations to being in relationship with a Saviour who is not physically present.
So Christ equips and commissions us to be his hands and feet - to love and serve one another as he would.
To be a means of his provision.
Conclusion
SLIDE 21 The famous prayer of St. Francis of Assisi asks for God to “make me an channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.”
Where there is want, and need, let me provide.
That is our call as followers of Jesus: to be his hands and feet for creation.
To be the means and channel of all of his provisions - be the means and channel of his love.
In this season in particular, may each of us recognize what Christ has promised and provided for us, and take opportunities to demonstrate the power of his promises by providing for the world.
So as we go, we go with another promise from the book of Jeremiah. Will you please rise, however you are able, in body or in spirit, to receive it:
““Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’ For the Lord will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.”
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