Samaria - Next Steps
Next Steps, Road Trip, Samaria
Message Summary
Your past will either be Satan’s greatest weapon, or God’s most powerful tool. Satan wants to chain us to our past, to hurt us. But God offers complete forgiveness—and freedom. In John chapter four, a shamed sinner experiences a radical change after her encounter with Jesus. She confessed her mess, believed and received. Then she used her past and her freedom from her past to reach the very people who had despised her with the love of God. This is an amazing story of a life transformed. Now, God offers you the same Living Water he offered the woman. Accept God’s grace and reject Satan’s guilt, then worship God passionately in Spirit and in truth. Like the woman in the story, let God use your past for His glory.
1) What are some ways that Satan uses shame to deceive and enslave people today?
2) Do you feel complete freedom from your past? What does, or would freedom from your past, look like to you? How can it be obtained?
Consider This
Christianity is about forgiveness, reconciliation and love. Jesus said “Father forgive them,” to those who were unjustly murdering him (Luke 23:24). And the Apostle also reminds us that, “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus loves us so much that even while we were his enemies He died to save us—from ourselves (Romans 5:8).
1) Forgiveness and deliverance from shame doesn’t mean denial of guilt. What was the woman-at-the-well’s first response when Jesus confronted her with her sins and past (see John 4:19-20)?
a. What are some other ways we deflect and deny our sins today?
2) Read 1 John 1:8-10. What happens when we admit and confess our sins to God? Do you believe this?
3) Jesus confronted the woman-at-the-well with truth and revealed himself as the Messiah (John 4:21-26). The woman immediately left her valuable waterpot and returned to the city.
a. What does that tell you about her state of mind?
b. What did she say to the men of the city (V 29)?
c. What lessons about sharing your faith can you learn from these words?
4) According to 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Galatians 3:27, how does God see us once we confess, believe and receive God’s forgiveness? Where did the shame go? How should we respond?
5) What (or Who) is the Living Water Jesus referred to in this passage (see John 7:38-39). Who receives this Living Water and when, according to Ephesians 1:13?
6) What else does Jesus promise those who believe according to John 8:31-32, 36 and 10:10? What does this mean to you? What does it look like in your life?
7) Everyone worships something (Romans 1:25). But true worshipers of God worship in Spirit and Truth. What is truth according to John 14:6? What does it mean to worship in Spirit (see also John 1:18)?
Moving Forward
The Jews and Samaritans of Jesus’ day hated one another because of their racial and religious/cultural differences. But Jesus and the Gospel message broke down these differences. In this passage, Jesus and his disciples stayed with the Samaritans 2 days, and together they had a revival (John 4:35, 40-41)!
1) To whom were the disciples commanded to bring the gospel according to Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 13:10, Luke 24:47 and Acts 1:8. What will be the result in heaven Revelation 5:9?
2) What does Genesis 1:26-27 and “Galatians 3:28 teach you about equality among human beings?
3) Initially, in her encounter with Jesus, the Samaritan woman focused on racial division, challenging what she perceived would be a Jewish man’s claim to racial superiority (John 4:12).
a. How did Jesus respond to this provocation (v 13-14)?
b. What can you take from Jesus’ response that you could apply to your life today?
4) The Golden Rule and neighbor love are the guiding commands for believers (Matthew 7:12, 22:36-40). When a certain lawyer wanted to categorize and divide people, Jesus replied with the story of the Good Samaritan. Read Luke 10:31-37 and try to apply this mindset to your life each day for the next week.