Do you know any Wandas? How could you make a Wanda feel accepted at CHCC?

John 4:7-9

Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

Why did it surprise the Samaritan woman that Jesus would ask a for drink from her?

John 4:10-11

Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?”

John 7:37-39

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

What is living water?

John 4:15-18

 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

Why did Jesus tell the Samaritan woman to go and get her husband? What do you think the woman felt like when her past was revealed? How would you feel if your past was brought to light?

What is the difference between guilt and shame?

The Samaritan woman changed the subject when Jesus brought up her past. What do you tend to do when your secrets, your sin, your wounds are brought to the surface? 

John 4:39-42

Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Notice this same woman who was an outcast is now bringing people to Jesus. How could God use your story to bring others to him? The Bible is filled with people who sinned and made mistakes; yet God still worked through them.

Take time this week to write down how God is redeeming your story. 

Remember that shame is not your name.

Share your story. Shame dies when stories are told in safe places.