Becoming a Co-Journer

Becoming a Co-Journer
John 4
helping others on their journey
Travis’ Story
• Everyone is on a spiritual journey.
(Travis)
• God is already at work.
(God)
• He wants to use you!
(Me/NLCC community)
Colossians 4:5-6
5
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders;
make the most of every opportunity.
6
Let your conversation be always full of grace,
seasoned with salt, so that you may know how
to answer everyone.
John 4:3-9 NASB
He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He
came to a city of Samaria called Sychar… 6 and
Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied
from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was
about the sixth hour. 7 There came a woman of
Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me
a drink." 8 For His disciples had gone away into the
city to buy food. 9 Therefore the Samaritan woman
said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask
me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For
Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
A CoJourner …
… enters their world and uses natural life
situations
Defining a Divine Appointment
Defining a Divine Appointment
• Outlooks and Perspective
– God’s love and sovereignty
– Man’s need
“…all things have been created by Him and for
Him.”
Col 1:16
“You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and
our hearts are restless until they find their rest
in You.”
Augustine
Defining a Divine Appointment
• Outlooks and Perspecitve
– God’s love and sovereignty
– Man’s need
– Preparation is required
John 4:9 NASB
…"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 CoJourner …
… crosses ‘boundaries’
– A man talking to a woman.
Rabbinic Judaism and Literature
“Daughters of the Samaritans are menstruants
from the cradle.”
13.6.2 Mishnah Niddah 4:1
‘The Laws of Purity and Jewish Sectarians’
A CoJourner …
… crosses ‘boundaries’
– A man talking to a woman.
– A Jew talking to a Samaritan.
A CoJourner …
… crosses ‘boundaries’
– A man talking to a woman.
– A Jew talking to a Samaritan.
– A Rabbi talking to a woman. (Mishnah
Sotah 3:4)
Action Points:
• Look past the external
• Know their world
• Invite a conversation
• Relax
John 4:10-14 NASB
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…?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who
drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever
drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed,
the water I give him will become in him a spring of
water welling up to eternal life."
A CoJourner …
… initiates and guides the conversation
A CoJourner …
… Jesus uses powerful imagery of “living
water”
The Art & Science of a Co-Journer
Songs
Word Pictures
Hyperbole
Parables
Creation
History
Poetry
Proverbs
John 4:15-18 NASB
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.”
A CoJourner …
… makes the Gospel personal
John 4:21-26 NASB
Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, 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 spirit and truth, for they are the
kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit,
and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Action Points:
… find common ground
… looks for windows of the soul
… and traces of the Spirit
John 4:26
Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am
he."
A CoJourner …
… makes the Gospel clear
•Sin
•Salvation is the topic
•The Messiah will bring salvation (I am He!)
John 4:13, 14
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty
again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him
will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will
become in him a spring of water welling up to
eternal life."
John 4:28-42
… 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 Christ?" 30 They
came out of the town and made their way
toward him... 39 Many Samaritans … believed in
him because of the woman's testimony…
40 they asked him to stay with them, and he
stayed there two days. 41 And many more
believed because of his word. 42 They said to
the woman, “…we know that this is indeed the
Savior of the world."
The Roles of a Co-Journer
1. Explorer
?
The Roles of a Co-Journer
1. Explorer
?
2. Guide
The Roles of a Co-Journer
2. Guide
1. Explorer
?
3. Bridge-Builder
‘SouLarium’ a dialog in pictures
‘SouLarium’ Questionnaire
1. Which three images describe your life right now?
2. Which three images represent what you wish were part
of your life right now?
3. Which image would you choose to describe God?
4. Which image BEST describes what you’ve experienced
spiritually so far in your life?
5. When you think about your spiritual journey, which image
best describes what you wish were true?
Reflection
•
Look over CoJourner Bridge Builder
supplement
•
Training and Fun :: June 3 First
Fridays, 5:30-8pm. NLCC at 5:30pm
•
CoJourners course – next fall