JESUS' REFRESHING SERVICE (2 OF 5)
by Steve Jones
Scripture: John 4:1-3, John 4:5-38, John 4
This content is part of a series.
Jesus' Refreshing Service (2 of 5)
Series: Jesus Refreshes
Steve Jones
John 4: 1-38
INTRODUCTION: A few years ago, when the elders were formulating the benevolence policy for this church, everyone on the leadership at that time read a book entitled, ''When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and yourself'' by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. (I know this is not a message about helping the poor but what I'm about to share is applicable to spiritual refreshment and how Jesus dealt with the woman at the well in Samaria). The book opens with this real-life example:
This was the second week of small-business training class held in a local church, deep in the heart of a slum in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Elizabeth, the director of women's ministries for a major Ugandan denomination, had kindly agreed to help Steve Corbett (one of the authors) test the biblically based small- business training curriculum that he was writing, so we ventured into the slum every Monday. Elizabeth started that day's class by asking, 'Has God done anything in your lives as a result of last week's lesson?' A rugged lady raised her hand and said, 'I am a witch doctor. After last week's lesson, I went back to church for the first time in twenty years. What do I do now?'
Elizabeth firmly ordered her, 'Go and get your herbs and medicines, and we will burn them up right here on the floor of the church!'
After running home, the witch doctor marched to the front of the Church and dropped her bag of herbs on the floor. Elizabeth lit a match and dropped it onto the bag of herbs. When Elizabeth finished praying, she hugged the witch doctor and said, ''From now on, your name will be Grace.' It was a dramatic event, but the drama wasn't over.
Many weeks later, Elizabeth and Steve trudged through the slum to visit Grace's house. After a ten-minute walk, they entered Grace's one-room shack, Grace was lying on a mat on the dirt floor and writhing ...
Series: Jesus Refreshes
Steve Jones
John 4: 1-38
INTRODUCTION: A few years ago, when the elders were formulating the benevolence policy for this church, everyone on the leadership at that time read a book entitled, ''When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and yourself'' by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. (I know this is not a message about helping the poor but what I'm about to share is applicable to spiritual refreshment and how Jesus dealt with the woman at the well in Samaria). The book opens with this real-life example:
This was the second week of small-business training class held in a local church, deep in the heart of a slum in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Elizabeth, the director of women's ministries for a major Ugandan denomination, had kindly agreed to help Steve Corbett (one of the authors) test the biblically based small- business training curriculum that he was writing, so we ventured into the slum every Monday. Elizabeth started that day's class by asking, 'Has God done anything in your lives as a result of last week's lesson?' A rugged lady raised her hand and said, 'I am a witch doctor. After last week's lesson, I went back to church for the first time in twenty years. What do I do now?'
Elizabeth firmly ordered her, 'Go and get your herbs and medicines, and we will burn them up right here on the floor of the church!'
After running home, the witch doctor marched to the front of the Church and dropped her bag of herbs on the floor. Elizabeth lit a match and dropped it onto the bag of herbs. When Elizabeth finished praying, she hugged the witch doctor and said, ''From now on, your name will be Grace.' It was a dramatic event, but the drama wasn't over.
Many weeks later, Elizabeth and Steve trudged through the slum to visit Grace's house. After a ten-minute walk, they entered Grace's one-room shack, Grace was lying on a mat on the dirt floor and writhing ...
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