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Come Follow Me - Week Four

March 08, 2026 0 0

 

Come follow me to the watering place — Reconciliation

 

Week beginning Sunday 8 March.

 

Introduction:

Jesus leads us to the watering places, the places of restoration and reconciliation. This week, the "stone table" is no longer dry. We find it stocked with water, like a hydration station at the midpoint of a marathon or a relief tent in the wake of a storm. We begin looking at Exodus 17, where the thirst of the people meets the provision of God.

 

Seeds to sow:

What can we do to help widen the access to safe drinking water for all?

 

Part 1 The Nature of the Journey: Athletes or Victims? — Exodus 17:1-7

In Exodus 17, the Israelites are "camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink." Their reaction defines their spiritual posture.

  • When the thirst sets in, the people "quarrel" with Moses and "test" the Lord. Do you see the Israelites as spiritual athletes who are simply hitting a "wall" in their endurance, or as victims of circumstance who have forgotten they are being led by a Deliverer? How do you view your own struggles—as training or as a tragedy?
     
  • The "Why" of the Wilderness: The people ask, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" (verse 3). Why is it our first instinct to view a temporary "dry spell" as a death sentence rather than a stage of the journey?
     
  • They long for the water of Egypt — the very place of their slavery. In your own Lenten journey, what "familiar waters" (old habits or comforts) are you tempted to return to when the road with Jesus gets parched and difficult?

 

Part 2 Respite and Reconciliation: The Table of Bottled Water — John 4: 1-26

Imagine that stone table now covered in clear, life-giving water, set up for people who are exhausted and "running on empty.” Could it even become a well of reconciliation…

  • Respite is a temporary rest that gives strength for the next leg of the race. Are you allowing it to be a ‘watering place’ where your soul is actually being refilled?  Discuss the importance of taking time to rest and reflect and receive spiritual refreshment.
     
  • Notice how Jesus asks for a drink from the woman drawing water. Notice how he placed himself to receive rather than to give, and then how he used that encounter to offer  the woman the water of life that she was longing to have.  Is there a pattern here from which we can learn? In sharing our vulnerability do you think we can open up opportunities to offer to others the reason for the hope that lies within us? (See 1 Peter 3:15)
     
  • See how Jesus uses the ‘Water of Life; as the catalyst to bring about reconciliation between Jews and Samaritans, but notice how he opens it up to reconciliation between all peoples. Why do you think the metaphor of spiritual water still works in today’s context of ‘running on empty’?

 

Part 3 Streams of Water — An invitation John 7: 39-42

In this passage Jesus is referencing Isaiah 55 where the prophet calls on thirsty souls to receive the water of life. Here Jesus offers himself as that very water of which the prophet speaks. Notice how he describes the water as the Spirit.

  • How do you respond to this text? Do you see it as a personal invitation to receive Christ?
     
  • If you are a believer, can you share with others what it means to you to be aware of “the streams of living water“ that Jesus said will flow from you?
     
  • Discuss with others the significance of the metaphor “Streams of water”.