4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

27 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?”

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 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. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Many Samaritans Believe

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 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 Ch 2 verses 1-12

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b]

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

Sermon on the Mount Part 3

•We start with a recognition that we are poor in spirit

•We continue with a mourning over sin

•We relate to others as fellow-sinners

•We hunger to be more practically righteous

Now the beatitudes point to the way we relate to people in the world around us

•Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

•Mercy deals with the effects of sin: pain, misery and distress

•Grace deals with the guilt of sin

•Mercy extends relief

•Grace extends pardon

•Mercy cures heals and helps

•Grace forgives, cleanses and reinstates

•Our hunger for righteousness may be tested by God

•He allows us to be hurt and let down

•Do we follow nature and seek revenge?

•Or follow God and show mercy?

•RT Kendall suggests two kinds of mercy…

•Affectionate mercy

•Real pity for someone who has hurt you that flows from genuine affection

•Aggressive mercy

•Mercy shown by actions that overrule our feeling for revenge

•Showing mercy is not about being easy-going or laid back

•It takes action: think of the Good Samaritan

Forgive us our trespasses…

•This beatitude links the receipt of mercy with giving mercy

•Jesus goes on to say…

•Matthew 6 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

•And…  12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

•We cannot earn God’s mercy

•But neither can we continue to receive mercy unless we

give mercy

•God’s mercy to us moves us to imitate him

•Our acts of mercy demonstrate that we have been forgiven

•Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

•Jesus’ audience would have thought of purity as ceremonial

•An outward purity

•Jesus says to the Pharisees…

•Luke 11 39 Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

•Matthew 23 27 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

•But, like the other beatitudes, it refers to our relationships

•The pure in heart are… the single-minded, who are free from the tyranny of a divided self (Tasker)

•In which case, the “pure of heart” are utterly sincere

•Free from falsehood

•Their whole life, public and private, is transparent…

•Before God and others

•Most of us wear a different mask for each situation

•Which obscures our vision of God

•We need the work of the Holy Spirit to slowly, maybe painfully, helps us to not pretend

•…for they will be called children of God

•The pure in heart seem themselves objectively

•They will seek truth rather than be biased towards self

•From that perspective they will seek peace

•Jesus said: I did not come to bring peace, but a sword

•His coming brings conflict

•But we should not seek it or be responsible for it

•Peace-making is divine work…

•Colossians 1 19 For God was pleased… 20 to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his (Jesus’) blood, shed on the cross.

•Peace-making is not appeasement at any price

•In our own quarrels, it may involve the pain of…

•Apologising unreservedly to the one we have injured

•Correcting the person who has injured us

•Holding back reconciliation until you see repentance

•In the quarrels of others, it may mean…

•Listening and more listening

•Ridding ourselves of prejudice

•Striving sympathetically to understand both points of view

•Risking misunderstanding, ingratitude or failure

Blessed are those who are persecuted…

•because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

•However hard you try to live in peace with others…

•They may refuse to live in peace with you

•This is persecution because people find Jesus distasteful

•Not because we have been objectionable or tactless

•Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…

•Can expect persecution

•It is happening to Christians around the world

•Luke 6 26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you

•How can we be glad when we are mocked and slandered?

•Because our reward is great

•Because we belong to a noble succession of persecuted believers

•Because we are suffering on account of Jesus

•Acts 5 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name

Eight beatitudes…

•First, the Christian acknowledges their spiritual poverty and mourns over it

•Then the Christian is meek and gentle in all their relationships

•But, far from acquiescing to sinfulness, they hunger and thirst after more and more righteousness

•We see them next with others, out in the human community. Their relationship with God does not cause them to withdraw from society.

•On the contrary, they are in the thick of it, showing mercy to those battered by misery and sin

•They are transparently sincere in all their dealings, seeking to play a constructive role as a peacemaker

•Yet they are not thanked for their efforts, rather they opposed, slandered, insulted and persecuted on account of his stand for righteousness, and for being identified with Christ

Conclusion

•We are in conflict with the values of society around us

•With every beatitude the gulf is widened between the disciples and the people and their call to come forth from the people becomes increasingly manifest . . . they are to notice that despite all the jollity on board, the ship is beginning to sink. The world dreams of progress, of power and of the future, but the disciples meditate on the very end, the last judgement and the coming of the Kingdom. And in this way the disciples are strangers in the world, often most unwelcome guests and disturbers of the false peace. No wonder the world rejects them. (Bonhoeffer)

•But we must know Jesus as Saviour before we know him as Teacher

•We must be born from above

•He came to make us what he teaches us to be

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Simon Bagg from Jubilee Church and Bishop Wand School talking about the Trinity

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Parable of the Lost Son

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

Psalm 145

A Psalm of praise. Of David.

1 I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

4 One generation commends your works to another;

they tell of your mighty acts.

5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[b]

6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7 They celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The Lord is good to all;

he has compassion on all he has made.

10 All your works praise you, Lord;

your faithful people extol you.

11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might,

12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises

and faithful in all he does.[c]

14 The Lord upholds all who fall

and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and faithful in all he does.

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

20 The Lord watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.

Let every creature praise his holy name

for ever and ever.

Church of the Latter Day Saints