New Ground
Week Two - Now is Our Time
John 4:19-26 and Hebrews 3:13-14
Bottom line: Jesus is here - now is our time.
We don’t get to pick our
What does our time look like?
- Politically divided - not the most politically divided (in the US, the Gilded Age between 1870 and 1900 still considered most politically divided), but still, we’re living in a time of extremes
- Extremes largely attributed to our information age - social media, AI, algorithms that reinforce our bubbles
- Recent pandemic that re-shaped our sense of what could happen
- Religious diversity at an all-time high with a rapid rise of those who don’t identify with any religion (“religious nones” not “nuns” :) - the great de-churching and/or deconstruction
- And yet, faith in Christ is still on the rise in parts of the world, the Church still out-gives any other organization or institution…
***We have opportunities and resources previous generations could not have fathomed - ability to travel and to connect across all kinds of cultures and divides
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
True of all times!
Tension - Paul described it to the Romans as a groaning as creation waits for the resolution of Christ’s return
Context: Jesus could have gone around Samaria, but the most direct route was to go through Samaria. And so, he finds himself at a well at an unusual time of the day which leads to a conversation with a woman about water, but not really about water…
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.” —John 4:19-26
We get caught up in place and circumstance and the limitations of our time, and Jesus asked us to pay attention to something far more significant -
Jesus is here -
The woman was caught between what she knew from her ancestor’s time and a time she knew was coming, but what changed everything for her was Jesus showing up in her actual life, in her actual town, and in her moment in time.
Now is
In our actual lives, in our actual town, and in our moment in time and history
What are you going to do with your time?
The invitation to follow Jesus isn’t for when you get your life together, or figure out a few more things. Jesus is here, now.
Is it going to be “Your life + Jesus”? Or does everything change and orient around the presence of Jesus and the call of Jesus to follow Him?
What are we going to do with our time?
Ashley Ridge is 14 years old this week! 🥳
Will we identify first and foremost as followers of Jesus?
Will we refuse to be categorized by the idioms of our day and instead pursue faithfulness relentlessly?
-Our lives look different (or should look different) because Jesus is in them.
-Our identity is Christ.
-We bow down and worship nothing that isn’t Christ.
It’s uncomfortable - we need
Hold on to your courage (the conviction of your faith in Christ) - encourage each other daily so you’re not hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. —Hebrews 3:13-14
We need to
It’s why we need each other - more on that next week!