Third Sunday in Lent - A Time to Grow: Water
Good Morning and welcome to the Mantua Center Christian Church! We are blessed with your presence and grateful that you have made time to be with us this morning in worship. Today is the third Sunday in Lent and we continue our Time to Grow series. This morning the lesson from Garden to the Table is “Water”. What are you thirsty for spiritually? Please reach out to us if you have any questions or want to connect. Welcome to worship!
Prelude -“Praise Him, Praise Him” [by C.G.Allen] Sarah Park
Welcome to the Mantua Center Christian Church
Welcome to the Season of Lent. We are a community seeking to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms. We want to extend an invitation to all for this to be a Time to Grow in your faith and this Sunday to drink deeply from the Living Waters
- Thank you for joining us here in the house and online. Welcome to everyone!
- ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Choir
Scripture Reading - Psalm 42:1-2
1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God?
Welcoming Song - Morning Has Broken #53, v. 3
3 Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where God’s feet pass
*Call to Worship - Frederic Vigne
ONE: We’ve come to praise God who makes streams flow from rock,
ALL: who turns the parched earth into springs of water,
ONE: who sends the rain from heaven
ALL: who makes the wilderness blossom and flourish.
ONE: As the deer thirsts for flowing streams, so we thirst for you, O God.
ALL: Come, let’s praise the life-giving God, who pours out living water on all who thirst.
~ written by Christine Longhurst
*Opening Hymn - Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing #16, vs. 1-3
1 Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love.
2 Here I raise to thee an altar; hither by thy help I've come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.
3 O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, how I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.
Invitation to Generosity
Invitation - Frederic Vigne
Offertory
Music: - “Tis so sweet to walk with Jesus ” [by A. B. Simpson] Sarah Park
*Response - Accept, O God, The Gifts We Bring #379, 2 lines
Accept, O God, the gifts we bring of spirit and of clay,
transform them into blessings on those we serve today.
Offering Prayer - Frederic Vigne
Children’s Moment - Rev. Chad Delaney
- Spray Bottle -- what does water do for us?
- I’ve Got Peace like a River
Special Music
“Rain Down on Me” [by Ruth Elaine Schram] - MCCC Choir
Pastoral Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer - Rev. Chad Delaney
One: God of Living Waters…
Response: Help us choose the path that leads to love.
Divine Creator, source of all life,
We come before you this morning thankful for all the ways you reach out and connect with us. We meet you in quiet and loud places. We see you amongst trees and flowers and streams and among the big city lights, traffic, and hustle. Thank you for reaching out to us, pursuing us, and making yourself known to us in big and small ways. We are filled with gratitude each day for all the blessings you give to us and want to praise your name with our lives. God of Living Waters….
Help us choose the path that leads to love.
Today, in this season of reflection and growth, we thank you for the gift of Water which sustains all living beings on this earth. We can see the fragility of ecosystems, communities, even our homes and gardens when there is drought or shortage, pollution or boil-alerts…water is precious. In some places in the world, corporate interests divert rivers, leaving communities dry, their livelihoods withering as toxic waste contaminates their water sources. In the face of climate change, droughts intensify leaving many communities without reliable water supply, all the while exacerbating already existing inequalities as it is the poor and marginalized groups who bear the brunt of scarcity. God of Living Waters…
Help us choose the path that leads to love.
God of Grace, we pray for justice to flow like a river, righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Grant us the wisdom to cherish and protect the precious gift of clean water, to stand in solidarity with those who suffer, and to advocate for change. May we be inspired by the living waters, flowing with grace and mercy, nourishing the land and all its inhabitants, reminding us of your abundant love and provision. May we always seek you for sustenance…the living waters that never run dry. God of Living Waters
Help us choose the path that leads to love.
Here us now as we lift our joys and concerns to you in silent prayer….
Join us together now in your spirit as we pray the prayer Jesus taught us saying…
Communion
Meditation - Sandi Kossick
Communion Hymn - I Hunger and I Thirst #409, vs. 1-4
1 I hunger and I thirst; Jesus, my manna be!
O living Waters, burst out of the rock for me!
2 O bruised and broken Bread, my life-long needs supply.
As living souls are fed, so feed me, or I die.
3 O true life-giving Vine, let me your goodness prove.
By your life sweeten mine, refresh my soul with love.
4 For still the desert lies behind me and before:
O living waters, rise within me evermore!
Prayer - Roger Cram
Words of Institution - Roger Cram
Music: “Saviour! Thy Dying Love” [by R. Lowry] - Sarah Park
Scripture - John 4:5-29
5So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. 8(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ 11The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ 13Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ 15The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’
16 Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ 17The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ 19The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ 21Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ 25The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ 26Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’
27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ 28Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’
Sermon - “A Meditation on Thirst” - Rev. Chad Delaney
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship Thee
What are you thirsty for?
Are you thirsty for Justice?
As people of faith, our hearts break when the world’s injustice meets the lives of people especially the most vulnerable. In the world today is a Global Water Crisis --
- 703 million people lack access to clean water. That’s 1 in 10 people on the planet.
- More than 1,000 children under 5 die every day from diseases caused by contaminated water, poor sanitation, and unsafe hygiene practices.
- 1.69 billion people live without access to adequate sanitation.
- Millions of clean water is wasted in our throwaway culture.
- While we water our lawns and gardens may we be mindful of our impact on planet earth and our fellow inhabitants. Let’s grow in our capacity to preserve and conserve our precious water resources. To maintain our commitments to loving God and our neighbor through our stewardship of the Earth’s resources.
- Thirsty for Justice?...let’s go to the Living Waters and renew our commitment to care for the earth.
Are you thirsty for Goodness?
- The poet Mary Oliver has a beautiful poem, Thirst, that begins this way:
- “Another morning and I wake with thirst for the goodness I do not have.
- The Pandemic and Divisive Politics have made a deep impact on our culture today. Talk to any teacher and they will talk to you about the changes. Talk to any mental health providers and they will tell you of the rising rates of anxiety and depression. Divisive politics have riven wedges in families and friendships.
- We believe there is Goodness in the world, that God is alive and working…can we look for it more? Can we pant after it and pursue it?
- A segment of Mary Oliver’s poem goes this way:
- “Another morning and I wake with thirst for the goodness I do not have. I walk
out to the pond and all the way God has given us such beautiful lessons. Oh Lord, I was never a quick scholar but sulked and hunched over my books past the hour
and the bell; grant me, in your mercy, a little more time. Love for the earth
and love for you are having such a long conversation in my heart.”
- “Another morning and I wake with thirst for the goodness I do not have. I walk
- Thirsty for Goodness?..come to the Living Waters and be renewed so we can SEE and BE the good we want to see in the world.
Are you thirsty for Connection?
- In our story today about the Samaritan woman at the well…we don’t get her name. Like so many other women in the Bible she goes nameless. The Samaritan woman comes to the Well just like so many other women do--not just then, but today--yet with a few small differences that are easy to overlook. The scripture tells us that she comes at noon…and that she is alone. Why would she come to get water during the hottest part of the day? Not typically the time that you would want to be lugging around a pail of water. And she comes alone which isn’t safe for any traveler in that time as she is then vulnerable to robbery or worse. Why didn’t she come with all the other women that morning to get her pail of water?
- As her conversation with Jesus unfolds, it becomes clear why she is alone and must come at that time of day. She is an outcast. Perhaps through no fault of her own as she has been passed from husband to husband 5 times over. And among Jews at the time, she--as a Samaritan--would have been viewed with disdain.
- What we can surmise is that she has been relegated to rejection and loneliness. To befriend her is a risk and to welcome her could border on heresy. Yet, Jesus speaks with her, teaches her, and welcomes her. How long had it been since she had a sincere, genuine, unconditional connection?
- Thirsty for Connection?…come to the Living Waters and find peace and welcome.
Are you Thirsty for God?
- What’s different about the woman at the well than the other disciples is that she understands Jesus' teaching. She listens to Jesus deeply. He talks in metaphors and her ears and heart were open to them. Jesus tells her that he IS the Living Water…and she didn’t hang for too long on the literal meaning. What she was looking for was right before her and give her strength and sustenance for whatever she might face ahead of her.
- Beautifully and powerfully, when she went back to town she put her water jar down and left it there. Did you notice it? She drank deeply of the Living Waters and it was all she needed. She didn’t need the jar. What would be essential for her going back to live and share the Good News with the world was that Jesus would be her sustaining power. The Living Water would always be with her and strengthen her.
What are we thirsty for? What well are we drinking from to give us strength and renewal? To be people who work for justice. To be the goodness we want to see in the world. To connect with one another and more deeply with God. To continue to Grow and be who God created us to be.
Our passage today reminds us about the sustaining power of water in our lives…our gardens, our homes, our health, our communities and our world. Water is a gift of God and let’s not take it for granted. And we are reminded to keep going to the Living Waters that sustain us spiritually. For all Disciples of Jesus there is always potential for uncertainty, confusion, and exhaustion. There can be discouragement and pain. We can seek alternative avenues to sustain us. We could think we can do it all ourselves and just press through it. We could grow weary and give up. Instead may we trust in the Living Waters -- the running, active, dynamic Spirit of the Living God. Drink deeply from the well and always be satisfied.
As the deer panteth for the water….So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my heart's desire….And I long to worship Thee
*Closing Hymn - Fill My Cup, Lord #351
1 Like the woman at the well I was seeking for things that could not satisfy;
and then I heard my Savior speaking; “Draw from my well that never shall run dry”
[Refrain]
Fill my cup, Lord, I lift it up, Lord! Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of Heaven, feed me ‘til I want no more -
fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!
2 There are millions in this world who are craving the pleasure earthly things afford;
but none can match the wondrous treasure that I find in Jesus Christ my Lord. [Refrain]
3 So, my friend, if the things this world gave you, leave hungers that won't pass away
My blessed Lord will come and save you if you kneel to him and humbly pray. [Refrain]
**International Affairs Seminar Commissioning
Benediction Rev. Chad Delaney
- Stay for fellowship and Sunday Chat
- Wednesday Dwelling and Time to Grow Study
Go now from this service of worship to the service of God’s people near and far,
refreshed by the living water that Jesus offers to you.
Listen for the parched voices of the least of these;
search out the dry places and the arid souls,
and become for them a spring of living water.
And as you go, may the blessings of the God of life,
the Christ of love, and the Spirit of grace
be upon you this day and forevermore. Amen
Postlude - “When Upon Life’s Billows” [by E. O. Excell] Sarah Park