We are given one of the most comprehensive overviews of the identity and mission of Jesus. The people of Israel at this time, were looking to first persecute and then even find ways to kill Jesus because of the insult He brought in healing on the Sabbath and making Himself equal with God the Father.

In this world, there are many things vying for our affection, trying to distract us and keep us from the true joy that only comes from God. And so, today, we will ask, as Christians, what is it to be normal? How can we live out a wholesome Christian life? Are some of the things that we do really not normal when considered from God's perspective? How can we identify but then also alleviate ourselves from these things, in order that we can walk by the Spirit, that we can enjoy the rejoicing that only comes from God when we walk humbly with Him? And so, today, join us, as we ask some very serious questions, that would hopefully help us as we continue on this year, to make it the best year for God in our lives.

In the sermon today we see how important it is to take our

Previously we saw that the Samaritan town by Jacob’s well, came to faith in Jesus, confessing Him as Savior of the world. This week, John will teach us another dimension to faith that is equally important and that is that Jesus is Lord and King of our lives. We come to see that Jesus rebukes the Galileans because their faith was only in the fact that He was doing miracles. They didn’t trust in Him for who He was, and what He could do for them. In this next miracle that Jesus does within the Galilean region, He shows a royal official that He is to be obeyed. The royal official and his whole household come to realise that faith is more than just what God can give us but also that Christ is King.

As the Samaritan woman hurries back to town to ask the people if Jesus is the Messiah, the disciples return and wonder why Jesus hasn’t eaten. Jesus tells them that there is food that they know nothing about. In this sermon we will talk about that food which Jesus refers to and how the fields are ripe for harvest. No doubt as He was saying those words, a multiple of Samaritans are heading towards them, their faces smiling and rejoicing, as they come up to meet this Man of God. That is the harvest and that is the field. A question that we have today is; are we hungry? Do we see the same food that Jesus described as He offers Living Water and the Bread of Life to sinners. Let us also, as He did, love those who are around us, even the outcast, and share the precious eternal life that is found only in Jesus, the Son of God.

This is at the point where Jesus’ ministry takes a big turnaround. Many others, even of His own people, and religious teachers of His day would not listen and receive. This rejected and lonely Samaritan woman, does that which they failed to do. She does listen and receive. Not only that, she ends up bringing the whole town of the Samaritans to meet this man of God who has just professed Himself as Messiah. What we will also see is that Jesus prophesies a time that is already now here. Where God’s true worshippers will not worship at a temple at all. The big difference between the Samaritans and the Jews was that God would be worshipped in a certain location. But this woman sees past that, receiving Jesus’ words as Jesus goes on to say that the true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth. In a nutshell we see that it is because we are indwelled by the Spirit and have received the Truth of God which is Jesus His Son, that we now worship. This is an incredible wonderful truth for all believers as Jesus intwines His life so intimately to ours, that we become that place of worship and when we gather, we gather as that place of worship on the Lord’s Day.

As we go back through Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan

As Jesus begins His ministry, we see quickly that many do not understand who He is and what He has come to do. Everybody has an idea but nobody listens until Jesus meets a reject of rejects, the Samaritan woman by the well. This woman, unlike the other groups, asks to receive what Jesus has on offer. She listens to Him and before you know it, she believes. Not only that, she goes back to her people and they come to listen and know who Jesus is – the Saviour of the World. The Samaritans are a people who were looked down on by the Israelites, they were rejects and in particular, this woman who has had five husbands and one relationship now of adultery. She is the first one, besides John the Baptist, who understands the ministry of Jesus by listening to and receiving His words. Here we get a glimpse of the love of God – that He has come to truly seek and save the lost.

As Jesus' ministry ramps up, John’s disciples question why

Though Nicodemus was still in the dark and didn’t understand all of what Jesus said, nor could he receive it, this did not stop our Lord from preaching the gospel which is the power of God that saves us from our sin. In the gospel, John, cannot help himself, by declaring that for him, this is the very proof that God loves him and God loves us in the sending of His Son. The entire world is transformed once the love of God is understood and poured into our hearts by God. We are never the same again. In this sermon, we are going to explore the gospel but also faith in God. That it is He who does the saving, that it is He who must do the convincing. We, the ambassadors of