1 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),
3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
4 And He had to pass through Samaria.
5 So He *came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Therefore the Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
11 She *said to Him, “ Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?
12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
15 The woman *said to Him, “ Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”
16 He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’;
18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”
19 The woman *said to Him, “ Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
21 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming ( He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
26 Jesus *said to her, “ I who speak to you am He.”
Background vv. 1-4
Theme: Eight phases of a gospel encounter so you might maximize the opportunities God gives you to be a witness for Christ.
I. Down time vv. 5-6
II. Divine appointment vv. 7-9
III. Direct the conversation vs. 10
IV. ____ with objections vv. 11-14
V. ______ to know more vs. 15
VI. _______ sin vv. 16-18
VII. ______ distractions vv. 19-24
VIII. ___________ interest in the Savior (or not) vv. 25-26
31 “ He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
32 What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
33 He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.
34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.
35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.
36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him
(John 3:31-36 NASB)
Introduction:
I. Jesus came from heaven vs. 31
II. Jesus bears witness of heaven vs. 32-33a
Two possible responses to His testimony
A. Rejection
B. Reception
III. Jesus confirms that God is true vs. 33b-35
What the Father does
A. The Father gives Jesus the Spirit without measure.
B. The Father loves Jesus and gives Him all things vs. 35
Theme: Three important lessons to learn from the ministry of John the Baptist so you will fulfill your own.
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized—
24 for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification.
26 And they came to John and said to him, “ Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.”
27 John answered and said, “ A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘ I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him. ’
29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease
(John 3:22-30 NASB)
I. Recognize the important role baptism plays in the Christian life vv. 22-26
A. Baptism pre-dates the formal establishment of Christianity vv. 22-24
1. Jesus was practicing baptism before He called the twelve disciples
2. John was baptizing simultaneously with Jesus as he completed his ministry
B. Baptism has always been a mark of devotion to Christ over all others vv. 25-26
II. Remember that ministry privilege is granted by God vv. 27-28
III. Rejoice in being a faithful servant of Christ vv. 29-30
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God
(John 3:16-21 NASB)
Theme: Two possible responses to God’s love so you may know whether or not you have eternal life.
I. Your belief in God’s Son results in eternal life? vv. 16-17
Four helpful assertions
A. God’s love for the world led Him to give His Son vs. 16a
B. God’s love for the world provides salvation for everyone who believes in His Son vs. 16b
C. Stated negatively – He did not send His Son to judge the world vs. 17a
D. Stated positively – God sent His Son to save the world vs. 17b
II. Your refusal to believe in God’s Son results in judgment? vv. 18-21
A. God’s judgment is determined by whether or not you believe in God’s Son vs. 18
1. Belief in God’s Son delivers from God’s judgment vs. 18a
2. Unbelief in God’s Son leads to God’s judgment vs. 18b
B. Your deeds will dictate your relationship to the light of Christ vv. 19-21
1. Committing evil deeds will keep you from the light vv. 19-20
a. The evil deeds of unbelievers compel them to love the darkness rather than the light
b. The evil deeds of unbelievers reveal their hatred of the light
c. The evil deeds of unbelievers keep them from coming to the light
2. Practicing the truth will draw you to the light vs. 21
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “ Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again. ’
8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?
11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.
12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life
(John 3:1-15 NASB)
Theme: Five essential truths you must know about the new birth so you may believe and be saved.
I. The new birth is necessary for you to be saved vv. 3, 7
II. The new birth is your spiritual birth vv. 5-6
III. The new birth is beyond your human control vs. 8
IV. The new birth is received by you through faith vv. 9-12
V. The new birth is provided for you through Christ’s death vv. 13-15
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “ Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again. ’
8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?
11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.
12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life
(John 3:1-15 NASB)
Theme: Five essential truths you must know about the new birth so you may believe and be saved.
I. The new birth is necessary for you to be saved vv. 3, 7
“The vitality of a congregation is not found in its size or in its programs or budget. The vitality of a congregation is found in its fulfillment of God’s purpose for the church. A church that has five thousand members and is growing may be just as unhealthy and ineffective as a church that has only fifty members and is declining. Conversely, a church with fifty members who are fulfilling God’s mission can be as healthy and dynamic as a church with thousands of members. Churches do not close because they lack members and financial resources. Churches close when they are no longer being effective in fulfilling God’s purposes for them.”
Glen Damon, Shepherding the Small Church
Three-fold Purpose of FBC
Looking up – this refers to our worship of God
Looking in – this refers to our work in the body
Looking out – this refers to our witness in the world
Theme: Three crucial needs of FBC so you will know where your focus should be as a follower of Christ.
I. We need Leadership Development Ephesians 4:11-16
II. We need Personal Spiritual Growth Ephesians 4:17-5:20
III. We need Marriage Enrichment Ephesians 5:21-33
