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Today is the third and final Sunday of a three week sermon series called Core. This is an

Evangelism series, but Im talking about Evangelism in a different way compared to how we

often think of Evangelism. Usually we think of Evangelism as inviting people, or going door-to-

door, or sharing ministries that get the message of the church out. Evangelism is about bringing

people to Christ or to the church. Evangelism is about the other person. This series is not about

the other person. Its about us.

The AIM of this series is for all of us to know with 100 percent certainty that God loves

us so that we can share that love with others. During this series I taught you that Evangelism or

Outreach is six words. Remember the words. Sharing-the-love-of-Jesus-Christ. We share that

love through our words, through our actions, through our relationships and through our

ministries. When people who arent connected to God or to the church experience that love

through us, then they might be ready to get connected.

The image in this series is Living Water. Each Sunday weve looked at the story of Jesus

and the woman at the well in John 4. In the story Jesus offered Living Water to the woman who

came to the well. This Living Water is the love that God has for every person in the universe.

SLIDE The picture were sharing in this series is Old Faithful. This is the geyser in

Yellowstone National Park. The water comes out of the ground so consistently that its called

Old Faithful. It erupts every 91 minutes.

As disciples of Jesus Christ our hope is this Living Water will come out of us as naturally

and consistently as Old Faithful.

As your pastor my heart sings when I see this Living Water flow out of you. This week I

had someone from Chain of Lakes share with me how they talked to a family member who was

going through a difficult time. During the conversation this person from our new church shared

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with her family member how deeply God loved her. She encouraged her to access that Living

Water that is inside of her. When I heard that story I couldnt help but say, Yay, God. Thats

evangelism. Thats sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

We share this love through our ministries. This past Thursday night we had a Steering

Committee meeting. After the Steering Committee I drove over to the Community Gardens on

our property. Kate OBrien and her husband Jeff were there. We had a wonderful conversation.

Kate & Jeff said how much they love to come out to the gardens just to talk to the other people

who are gardening. Thursday night was so peaceful. If you want a place of peace just go out to

those gardens. Those gardens are a reflection of Gods love. Were sharing something that we

have with the community to bring the community together.

Lets push this even farther and ask the so what question.

So what difference does it make that God loves me. If someone came up to you and

asked you on the spot, so what difference does it make that God loves you, what would your

answer be?

I would answer the question with four words. I encourage you write these four words

down. We have a Savior. So what difference does it make that God loves me? I, we, our wrld

has a Savior. Today Im going to explore what it means to say we have a Savior.

With that introduction I want to encourage you to get out this brochure that is in the

bulletin. This week in the devotion I shared a Bible Study about salvation. To say we have a

Savior means that we are saved. We receive salvation. The Scriptures have all sorts of passages

about being saved. I think youll be blessed if you use this. In this brochure you have a place to

take notes. I believe that God might say something to you today that youll want to remember.

On the back you have a place for prayer requests. I want to encourage us to keep Ruthann

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Coburn in our prayers. She has been struggling with her health. She told me this week that she

has a new wheel chair and it can ride for eight miles. Shes planning on riding her wheel chair

over to Northpoint Elementary this Wednesday for the first Sundaes on Wednesday. What an

inspiration. If shes willing to ride a wheel chair to attend worship, I can do whatever it takes to

attend worship.

What does it mean to say we have a Savior? Lets look at the story of the woman at the

well. At the beginning of the story a woman comes to the well at noon. She is hiding from her

own community because of the shame she feels. We discover that she has had five husbands and

is living with a man that isnt her husband. When Jesus acknowledges this part of her she comes

alive. She can tell that Jesus is a prophet. Jesus gave her Living Water.

When the woman becomes known by Jesus she comes alive. She goes back into her

village and tells the people about Jesus. She openly talked to the very people from whom she

was hiding. She brought others from the village to see Jesus. A group from the village goes to

the well to talk to him. They are all Samaritans. The Samaritans were so impressed with Jesus

that they invited him to their own village. Jesus took up the invitation. He stayed in their village

for two days.

For two days the Samaritans got to learn from Jesus. They got to hear his stories and

learn from his teaching. They got to experience the Living Water that he had for them. Jesus

undoubtedly taught them about the Kingdom of God. At the end of those two days the people in

the village said this:

SLIDE

It is no longer because of what you [the woman] said that we believe, for we have heard for

ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world. John 4:42

Look at the progression in the story. This is significant and worth writing down

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Womanhiding from her villagers. Came to the well at noonWoman receiving Living Water from Jesus. She is no longer hiding

Woman goes to her village and invites other Samaritans to meet Jesus

Samaritans meet Jesus at the well. They invite Jesus to their village.Jesus stays for two days with the Samaritans in their village.

Samaritans come to believe in Jesus.

They had a belief. What did they believe? They believed that Jesus was the Savior of the world.

This is the belief that cements us to God. When we believe that Jesus is the Savior of the

world we are connected or cemented into God. When we believe that we have Jesus is our

Savior the Living Water that we have will naturally flow out of us.

As Presbyterians we always push into the meaning of a statement. What does it mean to

say that Jesus is our Savior. I briefly want to share three ideas

The first is that you and I participate in Gods overarching story of salvation. The first

story in the Bible is the story of creation. When God looked at the world God said that it was

good. The Hebrew word that is translated as good is tov. God saw the world and saw goodness.

God looked all over and said, tov, tov, tov, tov. Seven times in the first chapter of Genesis

God said tov. Say that with me. Tov.

Then when God looked at humans God said very tov. If one tov is a single scoop of ice

cream you and I are a double scoop. Very tov

In the last story in the Bible in the book of Revelation we find another vision of paradise.

Its a garden. Youll read the story this week. Gods light illumines the garden. Everyone in the

garden will be worshipping God. There will be no poverty in the garden. It will be an

experience of joy and love and tov. Living Water will be the dew of the garden. These are the

bookends of the Bible.

Humans messed up tov. The first two residents of the garden followed the voices in their

own heads instead of the voice of God. They were fooled by the beauty of the fruit of the tree in

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the middle of the garden. They ate of that even though Gods voice told them not to eat it. That

brought sin into the world.

Ever since God has been moving the world towards the perfection that is shared at the

end of the Bible. This is the overarching story of salvation.

God wants to reclaim the tov in the first story of the Bible. God doesnt do this alone.

God asks us to do this. God asks humans to partner with God to move the world towards

ultimate tov. God asks us to participate. When we say that we have a Savior we are declaring

that we are participants in Gods reclamation project. We partner with God to move towards the

vision that God has for us.

I think this is really cool. If someone came up to you and said, how would you like to

participate in Gods reclamation project? What would we say. We would probably be

astounded to even be asked the question.

To say Jesus is our Savior is to say that we participate in Gods reclamation project.

Thats the cosmic picture. Lets get personal. What difference does it make to our own

personal lives that we have a Savior.

One answer is there is always a way out.

Let me ask you a question. You dont have to answer the question out loud. Keep the

answer to yourself. The question is this, What is causing you the most anxiety in your life right

now.

I talk to people from our new faith community every day about these questions. This

summer Im going out into the neighborhood around the Lakes area every Tuesday. George

Black and I talked about hitting every home in the Lakes area. This past Tuesday we talked to

people. A family came to the Ice Cream Social on Wednesday because we talked to people on

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Tuesday. At the Ice Cream Social I asked the family how they heard about the Ice Cream Social.

They said, two guys came to our door. I said, that was me.

Even though I spend a lot of time talking to people outside our congregation, I spend a lot

of time with you. I am your shepherd. I love you. I love to listen to your stories, to listen to

your sorrows, and to offer guidance when it is appropriate. I do that a lot. Ive probably heard

every one of you share with me the anxieties in your life.

Some times our anxieties can overwhelm us. They can overwhelm us to such an extent

that we might believe there is no way out.

Thats where I have to say stop. There is always a way out. There is always a way out of

every problem. Theres a way out not because you and I are so smart at problem solving. There

is a way out because of God. God always offers us a way out of our anxieties.

Sometimes we just cant see that. When that is the case I say we just have to have

faith. Even though we cant see a way out, God knows there is a way out. Lets have faith in

God.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by a problem. Come and talk to me. I cant solve your

problem. I do know that God can offer a way out.

Look at the woman who came to the well. She had a lot of problems at the start of the

story. She was hiding. She didnt think there was a way out. Jesus gave her a way out.

To say that we have a Savior is to say that God offers a way out of any problem we

encounter.

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Finally to say we have a Savior is to care deeply about the problems of the world. As

disciples or followers of Jesus Christ we dont ignore the problems of the world. We enter into

the problems just as Jesus would.

At the Ice Cream Social this past Wednesday I talked to a man who is captivated by the

Social Gospel. People who follow the Social Gospel believe in the common good. With a wry

grin he looked at me and said you preachers like to talk about the personal gospel, but you often

miss the social gospel.

I cant agree more. I decided to go into church because of the social gospel.

When we say that Jesus is our Savior we say that we care about the world. Faith is more

than a personal relationship. Were willing to enter into the problems of the world just as Jesus

entered into the problems of the world. We believe in the Common Good.

Today is Fathers Day. We are celebrating all men in the church. I can hardly think of

an issue that is more important to men than their own children.

Last Sunday Mary Ann Archer gave me a book called Half the Sky. (slide) It was

written by NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and his wife Eheryl WuDunn. I havent read

the entire book, but Ive read some of it. The book shares how women have been trafficked for

their bodiessexually exploited.

The book opened with the story of Srey Rath. She is a teenager from Cambodia. She

isnt that different than the girls at Chain of Lakes, just a little older. When Srey Rath was

fifteen her family ran out of money so she went to work as a dishwasher in Thailand. When she

went to a big city she fell into the hands of gangsters who took her to the capital of Malaysia.

She was forced into prostitution. This 15 year old girl. She was forced to do things that would

make us cringe. She had no choice.

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Her story is not unlike the story of many young women. In the north side of Minneapolis

the African-American church Kwanzaa, a Presbyterian church, has helped women in the sex

trade. This isnt an issue that is happening halfway across the world. It happens here.

These young girls have have no choice. IN a way they are like the woman who came to

the well. They are poor, they are completely dependent on the men in their life.

My daughter is going to be a teenager soon. The only difference between Hannahs story

and Srey Raths story is Amy & I have the financial resources to support her. Amy and my love

for Hannah is no greater than the love that the parents of Srey Rath have for her.

Most of the people who are trafficking the girls are men. They are disgusting enough to

think that they can make money off of womans bodies. I can be gentle, meek and mild. When I

read about these stories, I want to put on my football uniform and go to battle. This is wrong.

Why would we care? Why would we care that women halfway across the world are

being trafficked or women on the northside of Minneapolis are working as prostitutes. We care

because we have a Savior. This is not Gods vision for the world.

Jesus didnt come into the world so teenage girls would be trafficked. Jesus came into

the world to offer life to all. To say that Jesus is our Savior is to say were not going to accept

the world as it is. Were going to work to change it.

Living Waterit flows when we work with God towards living into the vision of

salvation in the Bible; it flows when we live and believe that God offers us a way out of every

problem; it flows when we work towards the common good.

Friends-let it flow; let it flow; let it flow!