Forever Changed 4

Week 4 (Mar 10): Woman at the Well
Shame is often a silent prison that alienates us from the connection that offers freedom. The story of the woman at the well found in John 4 reveals the power that love has over shame. In our study, we will discover a woman racked with shame from years of choices that alienated her from the community that she grew up in. In one revealing conversation, Jesus invited this woman into a relationship where she was honestly seen, known and loved anyways. Instead of heaping more shame on the woman, Jesus invited her to taste a living/spiritual water that would leave her life, Forever Changed. The result of this conversation started a revival in a Samaritan village that would eventually be the place that Philip and others would carry the Gospel Message after the resurrection. Jesus sows seeds into this community that will be reaped a few years later.
How often have we allowed shame to determine the shape of our relationships? Jesus models for us what it means to know the details of a person’s life and hold them in a way that is sacred and offers healing. Hopefully by understanding the heart of God as it relates to shame, we can learn the value of unlocking prisons of shame verses committing people to longer terms.