Barrier or Bridge

ME

Starting new series today - Come and See. For next 3 weeks explore what it means to be a church that has an “invest and invite” culture. A church that is actively reaching toward those who need life in Jesus.

This morning: Are we more of a barrier or bridge to others who don’t know Jesus?

Set up this way: There had been need for a reliable traffic corridor between NWA and River Valley for many years. Problem: incredible barrier to making this happen - the Boston Mountains! Some of you remember what it was like to drive old Hwy 71 up to Fayetteville. Now its a nice scenic drive - back when it was major route - dangerous and congested!

In 1987 the DOT broke ground on I-49. It would take over 10 years to build at a cost of $500 million. And essential to the project was a way, not to go AROUND the barriers, but to go OVER them. They did this with over 40 bridges and viaducts - more than 2 miles of bridge if laid end to end. Incredible engineering feat.

Worth it? The old way was hazardous. The new road is way safer, has opened up greater commerce, and created more job opportunities. The time and expense to build these bridges over the barrier of the Boston Mnts was worth the cost.

Now, let me ask you. How much is a human soul worth?

If you are a Jesus-follower, you know the answer: a soul is priceless. It’s honestly the most valuable thing you’ll ever encounter.

Reality, a lot of barriers in reaching people.

But speaking just for me, I have lived at times in ways that show I’m functioning more as a barrier than a bridge. In the past, I have lived as if those who don’t believe as I do are enemies not worth my time. I had no interest in getting to know them, to find out why the think the way they think. I treated them as if they had NO value. I know I came off as condescending and self-righteous.

That might be a little harsh. For the most part I wanted people to come to faith, its just that I was often too wrapped up in myself and my personal needs to present an inviting welcome to others.

I was a barrier to entry to life with Jesus instead of a bridge.

WE

How about you?

You probably haven’t been like me - self-righteous and judgy. I imagine most of you desire that your friends and loved one come to faith. But what might we be doing - intentionally or unintentionally - that puts up barriers to entry instead of building bridges? A few reasons - not us - but other churches. Sometimes churches…

Are defined more by what we’re against than what we’re for.

Make political beliefs a test for inclusion.

Focus of preaching becomes the problem with the world “out there” instead of the problem of sin “in here”.

Are hypocritical - accommodating our “little” acceptable sins why condemning the “big” sins of others.

Function as spiritual consumers. We become engrossed in MY needs and MY likes that we are no longer looking outward. Church needs to be where I get my needs met. It needs to have the programs I want. It needs to cater to the music style I like. The messages need to be always relevant to me - and not too long.

Lose sight of the value of a human soul.

And while most of us genuinely want our family and friends to know Jesus, we live in ways that are more barrier than bridge.

We’re going to look at a story this morning about barriers and bridges, and it involves Jesus and and a woman from a Samaritan village found in John 4. If we’re to become a “Come and see” church, if you want to become a “Come and see” Christian, then we must understand that Come and see people build bridges, not barriers, to Jesus.

GOD

Jesus and his disciples were traveling from Jerusalem in the south back up to Galilee in the north. The most direct route took them through a region called Samaria that was populated with people of mixed race. They were Jews who had been left behind in the exile and had married foreigners. As a result, ethnic Jews wouldn’t have anything to do with them. The was incredible animosity between the two groups and many Jews would actually take a much longer route in order to avoid Samaria altogether.

Jesus decides to go through Samaria. He stops at a town called Sychar, and while he’s resting at the well outside of town, his disciples go into town to see if they could find some food. As the story goes, along comes a woman carrying a jar to draw water. It’s around noontime. Jesus asks her for a drink, and so begins one of the most incredible dialogues in the NT.

Before we get to the verses I want to focus on, we need to understand that there are at least five significant barriers Jesus had to break in order to build a bridge to this lady.

Cultural Animosity

Already mentioned, there was deep-seated hostility toward one another. Both sides were guilty of committing atrocities toward the other. Suffice it to say that “hatred” is not too strong a word to describe the relations that existed between the two groups. The first surprise in the story, the first bridge Jesus begins to build is that he chose to lead his disciples through Samaria, not around it.

Gender Stereotypes

While the disciples go into town to try and find some food, Jesus is resting by a well when a woman approaches. He strikes up a conversation. Jesus dialogue is not just with a Samaritan. It was with a woman. In his culture, Jewish men did not associate with women in public - at all. Often not even their wives. There were strict cultural boundaries that were observed. Jesus dismantled them in order to build a bridge.

Questionable Past

This woman he is talking to is someone of questionable morals. She has had 5 husbands and is now living with a man she’s not married to. While we don’t want to jump to too many conclusions, the story leaves us with little doubt that the reason she has come alone is that she is ostracized by her own people. Again, no God-fearing Jew would have anything to do with her. But Jesus refuses to let her past to be a barrier to relationship with him.

Religious Differences

Because of the cultural animosity between Jews and Samaritans, Samaritans created their own place of worship - probably bc they we no longer welcome to worship in Jerusalem. Not only is Jesus addressing a Samaritan, not only is it a woman, but it is someone who participates in a false religion. But again, Jesus refuses to let that be a barrier to bridge-building. Finally,

Convenience

While traveling through Samaria was a quicker route to the north, it wasn’t necessarily a more convenient route. These people were not kosher- ie they didn’t necessarily keep the food purity laws that Jews kept - which meant it was harder to find acceptable food when traveling through Samaria. When we pick up with the story we’re going to see that the disciples had been away in the village trying to find food. Perhaps most applicable for us, Jesus refused to let inconvenience keep him from building bridges to others.

Interlude:

To what extent do we allow these reasons, and others, to keep us from building bridges? Do we pursue the person with a complicated past? Do we invite those who have different lifestyles, or do we avoid them because their presence would be messy or inconvenient? Are those who vote differently than you do accepted? Or those who have a different cultural or ethnic background?

I’m not asking if we welcome others. The thing I hear over and over is that we’re a very welcoming church. Whoever shows up, we’ll welcome them.

I’m asking if we’re willing to become “Come and see” people. People who actively seek out those who are different. Those who are far from God. Those who would make us uncomfortable or make life inconvenient. Ultimately, I think “come and see” people are those who lay down their preferences and say “church is not about me”. They break barriers in order to build bridges.

And what seems as insurmountable barriers will fall when we’re willing to build bridges. There is an amazing shift that happens in this story. Because Jesus chose to look past the barriers, this marginalized woman became the first missionary in the Bible. She became a catalyst for a “come and see” culture in her village.

There are four essential bridges we must build if we’re to become “come and see” people.

Bridge 1: From Self-Absorption to Missional Urgency

“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,” (John 4:28, NIV)

We shouldn’t ignore this detail. The whole reason she came to the well, at noon, by herself, was to get water. We could say that jar represented her survival, her comfort, her daily routine. But when she met Jesus, her priorities shifted. Her immediate physical needs were eclipsed by a new spiritual reality. She left her jar at the well.

We have our jars - our personal comfort levels, daily tasks, and self-centered schedules. Bridge-builders are willing to leave these jars behind to reach the spiritually thirsty around them. Creating a "come and see" culture requires a similar shift: moving from being passive consumers preoccupied with their own routines to active witnesses compelled by a higher priority.

Bridge 2: From Religious Perfection to Vulnerable Authenticity

“‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’” (John 4:29, NIV)

So amazed by Jesus, this woman rushes back to the very people that ostracized her. Her invitation is striking in its simplicity and vulnerability: "Come and see”. 

She doesn’t offer an argument; she offers an encounter. She doesn’t attempt to try to explain theologically why they’ve been worshipping in the wrong place all this time.

She leverages her past rather than hiding it. By referencing "everything I ever did," she highlights the miraculous nature of Jesus’ grace. He knew her fully yet received her completely.

The invitation is non-coercive. It invites curiosity rather than triggering defensiveness: "Could this be the Messiah?"

We often think we need to hide our mess and appear like we’ve got it all together before we can build bridges to others. But that fakeness becomes a barrier of its own. We don’t need to appear perfect or be experts. Come and see people build bridges of honest vulnerability, not self-righteous perfection. 

Bridge 3: From Social Taboos to Kingdom Vision

“Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”” (John 4:27, NIV)

“Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:31–35, NIV)

The disciples were shocked that Jesus crossed so many barriers to talk to a Samaritan woman. They had been totally absorbed with getting food. Jesus challenged their insider mindset: "Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest". 

In church, sometimes the greatest obstacle to a "come and see" culture is the internal friction of existing insiders. We get siloed with others just like us, we live with unchallenged prejudices, we have discomfort with those who don’t observe our social norms, and this often stop long-time believers from engaging outsiders. The disciples’ silence in verse 27 shows restraint, but their underlying mindset still needed radical expansion.

The saw social taboos; Jesus saw a spiritual harvest. Come and see people see others through the eyes of Jesus and are willing to cross cultural, political, and social lines because they see people who need hope.

Bridge 4: From Having Answers to Pointing to Christ

“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”” (John 4:39–42, NIV)

This woman became a bridge-builder to her community. Not because she had all the answers but because she pointed them to what Jesus had done for her.

Often we feel like we must convince people through wise arguments or fix all their problems ourselves. But bridges don’t carry the weight of being the final destination—it simply provides the pathway for someone to encounter Jesus firsthand.

YOU

There is always a cost to being a bridge-builder. It may be your comfort level. It might be your reputation. But how much is a human soul worth to you?

They are worth everything to Jesus. So much so that he refused to let any barrier keep him from you. If you are a Christian, think about what barriers Jesus overcame in your life so that you could find life in him? Today he’s asking us to put down our jars that represent our comfort or schedules or fears, and instead embrace the value of a human soul.

Here’s our challenge this week if we want to be serious about putting this into practice. As promised, I have invite cards made for our Advent series and Christmas services [Arrival]. Would you make one low-pressure invite this week to someone you have influence with - a coworker, friend, or family member?

Your simple invite can be a catalyst for a friend, coworker, family member, neighborhood, or community to find new life in Jesus.

WE

A human being is the most valuable commodity you will ever deal in.

Imagine a church that isn't defined by high walls to keep the world out, but by dozens of personal bridges extending into every neighborhood, school, and workplace in our city.

Picture what happens when we stop waiting for people to find their own way to God and instead step out to bridge the gap ourselves.

I think if we’d do that, people who feel far from God, who have heard lies about what God is like, will walk across our lives and meet the One who changes everything.

And it all begins with a simple invite: Come and see.

Ministry time

Invite Spirit/response

Communion

Invite people to stand.

Step down to the table

Invite Communion/ministry team forward.

Invitation to the Table

Jesus did not wait for us to figure things out or clear our own hurdles to get to Him. He crossed every boundary—moral, cultural, and spiritual—to reach us. At the well in Samaria, He offered living water to a woman who thought she was beyond grace. At this table, He extends that exact same invitation to each of us.

This table is not a barrier; it is a bridge. It is not reserved for the spiritually flawless, but set for those who recognize their need for a Savior. Here, the One who paid the ultimate cost for your soul invites you to come, see, and receive.

If you’ve never made a commitment to follow Jesus I invite you to do that now. Believing in Jesus won’t necessarily help you; following him will transform your life. You can reach out to me if you’d like to talk about Next Steps.

The Preface

We praise and thank you, Loving Father, Creator of all things. You formed us in your image and declared the value of every human soul. When we turned away and built barriers of self-absorption, pride, and sin, you did not abandon us on the other side of the chasm.

In your relentless grace, you sent your Son, Jesus, into our world. He walked through our Samarias. He sat at our wells. He bridges the vast distance between your holiness and our brokenness. By His life, He showed us how to love without condition. By His death on the cross, He tore down the wall of separation forever. And by His resurrection, He opened the way to eternal life.

The Words of Institution

On the night before He gave Himself up for us—a night marked by betrayal and brokenness—our Lord Jesus took bread. When He had given thanks to you, Father, He broke it, gave it to His disciples, and said:

“Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

After supper, He took the cup of wine. Again, He gave thanks to you, gave it to them, and said:

“Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”

The Epiclesis

Lord God, send your Holy Spirit upon us now, and upon these gifts of bread and wine, that they may be for us the Body and Blood of your Son, Jesus Christ.

By that same Spirit, unite us to Christ and to one another. As we receive this holy meal, transform our hearts. Wash away our self-righteousness, break down our prejudices, and free us from our self-centered routines. Make us to be like Him—living bridges of grace and truth to a world that is thirsty for hope.

The Invitation & Distribution

The gifts of God for the people of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on Him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.

Come and see. The table is ready.

Invite the worship team to receive Communion first and then everyone else.