This week worlds will collide around a watering hole outside a small Samaritan town.  At this “village pump” Jesus will engage in a very personal conversation.  It looks like a clash of cultures on many fronts: he is a man, she is a woman; he a Jew, she a Samaritan.  Men and women, Jews and Samaritans, do not talk in private, let alone in public.

This past Sunday we continued our journey with The Gospel Project.  Sunday’s Bible story took place chronologically after the death of Moses. The Israelites had reached the edge of the promised land. God called Joshua to lead the people, and He promised to be with Joshua every step of the way. God would lift up Joshua in front of all the Israelites so they would know that God would be with Joshua just as He had been with Moses. The Israelites reached the Jordan River during flood season. With the river overflowing its banks, the Jordan River would have been as difficult to cross as the Red Sea! God gave Joshua specific instructions concerning the crossing, and Joshua obeyed.

This Sunday we come to John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son…”  A man named F.F. Bruce wrote several decades ago that this is “the best-known and most often preached text in the entire Bible. It is a masterly and moving summary of the gospel, cast in terms of the love of God.”

And there is one word that grabbed my heart more than any other in my preparation: “Whoever…”

For five weeks this fall, the Holy Spirit is taking us slowly through John 3 and John 4.  We’ll hear some of the most quoted words in the Bible – “You must be born again…” and “For God so loved the world…” and “…never be thirsty again.” 

We’ll meet two people who appear different but deep down are the same.  One is a Jewish male from a prominent family and who is highly religious. The other is an unnamed woman with a checkered past. He seeks Jesus out at night. Jesus seeks her out by day.