A Beautiful Collision Series

A Beautiful Collision

John 4:23-24

Intro: I love football, as you know.

I watched it most of my life, but I remember really seeing my first game and getting into it when the Steelers beat the Cowboys in the Super Bowl back in 1976.

I went on to play pewee football and a little bit in high school.

When I got into college I continued playing intramurals and pick up games after band practice…and a plus of being in the band was getting to attend all of the football games.

I love all aspects of the sport, and to be honest, I love it when a great hit is made.

We have one of those DVR’s at home that can record what you are watching while you are watching it…and it sometimes drives my wife nuts when I’m watching football.

If someone makes a good hit, you know one of those crunching hits that takes a second or two to recover from, I will call her and the kids into the living room to gather around the TV and witness it with me…over and over and over again.

It’s a beautiful thing!

Part of the reason I enjoy a good solid hit in football is because of my experience from playing.

When I played high school football my position was left guard and one of my primary roles was that of pull blocking…explain.

My sophomore year in 1987 I had the opportunity to play in my first high school game, I was the back up and we were playing McKinley High out of Baton Rouge and we had a big enough lead that they felt comfortable with leaving us in for the remainder of the game.

We had a little drive going and they called a 35 Belly…explain the play.

It was a beautiful collision in football terms, the end stood straight up and wasn’t expecting this little guard to come around…and I took him out.

We got back into the huddle and the WR’s switched and the play was 35 Belly again…and the same thing happened, first down.

Another WR switch and our QB laughed when he gave us the play, 35 Belly again.

You would think by now this end would have figured out someone might be coming after him and not stand up straight…but guess what: he didn’t.

Bubba stood straight up as if to say “Hit me!”, so I did.

Transition: Now, not every collision is something we would call beautiful; in fact most are not.

If you have ever been in an auto accident or witnessed one…there is nothing quite as disturbing as the crunching of metal and fiberglass at the point of impact.

Another disturbing sound for many is the collision that takes place in a fall, when the human body just collapses onto the ground.

And I’m sure there are many others, but this morning the collision I want us to speak of is truly a beautiful collision….and it is unlike any other.

This beautiful collision is what should be taking place when we come into this worship arena.

It is the beautiful collision that takes place between us and God as the mortal and the immortal meet; the heavenly unites with the earthly for a time of fellowship; a truly beautiful collision.

Let’s read about it together in the teachings of Jesus.

Read John 4:23-24

Background: We now this passage as the dialogue between Jesus and the woman at the well.

The woman is a Samaritan, considered a “half-breed” because she was from a Jewish and non-Jewish heritage and considered the lowest of the low by Hebrew standards; sadly not so much for what she had done as much as for what her parents or grandparents might have done.

Jesus is sitting at the well around noon time according to vs. 6 and this Samaritan woman came by.

Now this was an usual situation because women generally did not get water in the middle of the day…it was generally a task done at the beginning of the day before the heat became unbearable.

But here she came at noon time, probably because of what Jesus addressed with her.

After asking for drink of water from her, Jesus offered to give her the living water to drink from and then she would never thirst again.

Of course this peaked her interest and Jesus encouraged her to go get her husband and her reply in vs. 17 was “I have no husband”.

Of course you know how the story goes, Jesus then explains to her that He knows she has had 5 husbands and the man she is with is not even married to her…the word for that is adultery and it is violation of 7th commandment.

Jesus was confronting her with her sin so that she might see that she too needed the forgiveness that only the Savior can offer.