Faith: Private or Public? (2)

Welcome! Here and Online

Announcements

Audrey’s baptism

Points -

A few weeks ago we talked about Jesus’ compassion for the crowds and we asked where that compassion came from. It was from His purpose…to save people. It wasn’t just to help them have a good day or get something to eat (remember that was the feeding the 5000 miracle).

His compassion should drive us as a church family to have that same compassion for others…not that we can save them like Jesus, but that we can help them find Jesus or at least be the witness or testimony for what Jesus has done in our lives.

We then talked about the value of what Jesus is offering. Are we willing to give up our old self …everything about it…so we can accept what Jesus is giving us?

Is the Kingdom that valuable? And if it is…and we acquire it from Jesus…that new life…what follows? And last week we looked at a passage in Acts that showed us what happened when people got ahold of what this new life really was…they told everyone they could.

The question was, last week, is faith private or public? And we found, over and over in scripture that the point of the Gospel is to be public…very public. Faith might be personal…very personal. But it is also meant to be public…very public.

SLIDE - This week we’re going to continue looking at this idea of a public faith. If our goal as a church family is to influence and bless our neighborhoods here, our community, the circles of friends and such we’re in each day…then our faith needs to be public. And I think…this becomes very natural as we allow Jesus to change us. Our faith is public…with a purpose.

Today, we’re going to be in the book of John. John 4. We’re going to read a whole passage…and as I read, you can follow along or just listen. One key verse will soon be on screen…but today we’re going to just read the narrative…the account of Jesus and the woman at the well.

As we read I’ll stop occasionally, give some context so the story comes a bit more alive....and I think it will be very easy to place ourselves in this story.

Remember our focus is on being public with out faith.

John 4:39 CSB

39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.”

New Identity

Shared with others

Kingdom Ambassador

Public Faith....why? The purpose given to us in the beginning was to carry well the image of God. To share His glory with everyone around us. Of course sin happened…separation from God happened. But the initial purpose of humanity never fell away. And now…we carry our faith in God, our belief in Jesus in a way where we can still…share God with others.

This lady didn’t quite know everything about Jesus. She knew what she knew when she walked away from the well…it was enough to begin talking…in spite of her being on the fringe of culture because of her situation…or moral state. But she spoke up anyways.

He quick intro to Jesus pricked her heart in a way that it began to change…

She was at the beginning of a recreation process from the inside out.

That’s what Jesus does. And when that happens, public faith becomes natural…because it just is.