Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Reading

Intro

This has to be one of the most unique interactions that this woman must have had in her entire life.

She goes out to get some water and she meets the Son of God.

And she is an extremely unlikely candidate to be used by God to spread the Gospel.

An unusual candidate for sure.

But we see that in the Scriptures God chooses those who we may pass over.

Think about Abraham, or David or Moses or Peter.

Maybe these people seem like heroes for you but what about Rahab, or Samson, or Paul.

Not very honorable men and women but the ones who God chooses to do a perfect work through.

Gladys Aylward was a missionary to China in the early 1900’s.

Born in London in 1904 she worked for several years as a parlor maid, and during her time in London she attended a revival meeting at which the preacher spoke of dedicating one's life to the service of God.

Gladys responded to the message, and soon after became convinced that she was called to preach the Gospel in China.

At the age of 26, she became a probationer at the China Inland Mission Center in London, but was failed to pass the examinations.

She was part of the working class, which does not mean much now like it used to then, but she was lower class citizen and not well respected.

She had to work multiple jobs saving money hoping to make it to China to help a 73-year-old missionary, Mrs. Jeannie Lawson, who was looking for a younger woman to carry on her work.

She spent her entire life saving and, not knowing Chinese.

She did not have enough money for the ship fare, but did have enough for the train fare, and so in October of 1930 she set out from London with her passport, her Bible, her tickets, and two pounds ninepence, to travel to China by the Trans-Siberian Railway, despite the fact that China and the Soviet Union were engaged in an undeclared war.

The perilous trip took her across Siberia with the Trans-Siberian Railway.

She was detained by the Russians, but managed to evade them with local help and took a lift from a Japanese ship.

She traveled across Japan with the help of the British Consul and took another ship to China.

While there, God used this uneducated and woman with no background of prestige to preach the Gospel in prisons and He used her to save the lives of about 100 orphans during the war.

They began to call her Ai-weh-deh, meaning virtuous one.

It is an amazing testimony that has been captured in books and a movie.

Body

And it is interesting when we read of the night Jesus spends with this Samaritan Woman.

There are a lot of similarities between this night’s conversation and a previous’ night’s conversation.

In the movement within John’s Gospel, we move from prominence to outcast; from Nicodemus, a religious leader and well respected person, to a Samaritan.

Similarities

Evening

Private discussion

Analogy of water is used with relation to eternal life and both misunderstand Jesus

Both acknowledge Jesus as a prophet and in their lives we know that both come to faith and have lives changed by Jesus

Content of their conversations is on salvation

Differences

Jesus goes to Samaritan woman; Nicodemus went to Jesus

She was a Samaritan and considered an outcast and no Jew would associate with them; Nicodemus is well-respected by the Jews and all would want to associate themselves with him

He sought her out.

Samaria was a region populated by those who were descendants of the Northern Israelites who intermarried with the Assyrians.

They worshiped the pagan gods in addition to Yahweh so they had a mashup of truth and fiction.

Because they were descendants of intermarriage they weren’t allows in the Temple to worship and so they would worship around their own temple on Mt.

Gerizim.

And it is to her that Jesus is compelled to go to.

He could have easily avoided Samaria in order to reach Galilee.

Avoided these half-breed and rejected ones.

But just as we learned in chapter 3, salvation is not just for the Jews, but for all who will believe.

Salvation is for all and comes only from Jesus

Not only do we see this being the case as he goes to the people in Samaria, but also with the woman that he encounters.

It is very likely that the city had many other wells that she could have gone to, but because of her immoral lifestyle she goes to this one at this time to potentially avoid contact with the other women.

And Jesus approaches her.

This could even be a good model for us in how we witness.

You can start with the natural and then move to the spiritual to engage them in conversation

John 4:7- natural (relate), 10-spiritual (create opp to move to spiritual), 18- law (convict them), 26- revelation (reveal Jesus to them)

How do you start a conversation, I get asked that a lot.

This is what I have learned in my experience.

Magical word- "Hello"

Have you seen one of these?

Give them a Gospel Tract.

Do you consider yourself a good person?

If you don’t have a tract, you can use any subject.

Candy Crush

Pokemon Go

9/11

Looking at the beauty of a building

I want to tell you what Christianity is and I want to hear about your opinion

Christmas

7 bn people in the world, what % of people do you think are good people?

Halloween is based on old Jewish fesitval called Sawee, they thought there was a thin line b/w the living and the dead.

What do you think happens when you die?

Asking people what their thoughts are on belief systems

Saw someone breastfeeding, what do you think about that?

Saw a sign for bridget jones' new movie, you think morals in movies are making society go out the window?

Why are you dressed up like that in a costume (comiccon)

Biggest illusion in the world?

People think they are good

Heaven exists- and I have a ticket would you need it?

Try and rip it.

Do you have a New Year's Resolution?

I have one, but I need to ask you first a question, are you a good person?

This is what I recommend, you repent and place your faith in Jesus

What is easter about?

Let me tell you what it is about

What is the most important thing in life

What is the greatest act of love- valentines day

Why is there evil in the world

What happens if you don’t share the Gospel?

You are disobeying God

No reward for winning souls

People lost in hell for eternity (1 John 5:12)

If it is true that no one goes to hell if they have never heard of Jesus, then we ought to go out and silence every Christian and close our churches so that no one will ever hear about Jesus.

Jesus was a bad person for telling us to go and preach the Gospel.

C.H. Spurgeon "Have you no wish for others to be saved?

Then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that!"

2. Past sins and current sins do not keep us from the salvation he provides

That truly is an amazing thing.

You see Jesus did not just point out the sin in this woman’s life.

He offered her eternal waters that never run dry.

She was given faith to believe and to live eternally.

3. Jesus satisfies our deepest longings and needs

This was a woman who had tried everything to find satisfaction.

And we are very much like the Samaritan woman.