Revised Common Lectionary: Third Sunday in Lent

Year A

Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95:1-11; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42

Called to serve the Lord, we begin with worship, praying and listening to His Word.

Worldly people create problems (Exodus 17:3). Moses asks, ‘What shall I do...?’ (Exodus 17:4). Indecision asks, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ (Exodus 17:7). He gives victory (Exodus 17:8-9, 13). Joshua is being equipped for special service - ‘in the ears of Joshua’ (Exodus 17:14). God’s great concern is that His people move forward together. The work is not to be left to the few (18:18). God is looking to faithful servants who will ‘bear the burden’ together (18:21-22). There is much to be done, but we must never forget this: ‘prayer and the ministry of the Word’ (Acts 6:1-4). You may not be a Moses or a Joshua, but you can play your part. We rejoice in who God is and what He has done for us. Assured of His presence with us, let us worship Him: ‘Blessed be the Lord...’ (18:10-11).

We are to worship the Lord with joyful thanksgiving.

‘Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord... Let us come before Him with thanksgiving... Come, let us bow down in worship...’ (Psalm 95:1-2, 6). We are to worship the Lord with joyful thanksgiving. We rejoice in the Lord. We give thanks for His love. He is ‘the great God’. He is ‘our God’. He is the God of creation - ‘In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land’. He is the God of salvation - ‘We are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care’ (Psalm 95:3-5, 7). If we are to learn to worship the Lord with joyful thanksgiving, we must open our hearts to Him: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’ (Psalm 95:7-8). When we hear the call to worship, we must open our hearts to the Spirit of worship.

In our worship, we are being prepared for God’s heavenly and eternal glory.

God has great things in store for His people! (a) ‘Much more’ (Romans 5:9-10): ‘Justified by Christ’s blood’, ‘reconciled to God’, ‘We shall be saved by Christ from the wrath of God’, ‘saved by His life’. (b) ‘Much more’ (Romans 5:15, 17): ‘The grace of God’has ‘abounded for many’. In Christ, we have ‘received the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness’. Through Him, we shall ‘reign in life’. (c) ‘More than that’ (Romans 5:3): Our pathway to eternal glory will not be easy. There will be ‘suffering’. God has given us a glimpse of our eternal destiny: ‘grace reigning through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord’ (Romans 5:21). ‘We rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God’ (Romans 5:2). Having caught sight of the heavenly and eternal glory, we see our ‘suffering’ in a new light, the light of ‘God’s love’ (Romans 5:3-5).

In our worship, we are equipped for sharing the Good News of  Jesus Christ.

Here, we see Jesus’ ministry of love. He brings the Samaritan woman out of her bondage to sin and into the joy of His salvation. Jesus comes to the woman in love. His love overcomes cultural divisions. His love breaks down cultural barriers (John 4:9). This is not simply the story of one woman. It is the story of ‘many Samaritans’ coming to faith in Christ (John 4:39). There are two ‘stages’ in their coming to faith. First, they ’believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony’ (John 4:39). Second, ‘they believed because of His Word’ (John 4:41). The Samaritans came to trust Jesus as ‘the Saviour of the world’ (John 4:42). The woman said that ‘salvation is of the Jews’ (John 4:22). It is also ‘to the Greek’ (Romans 1:16). The Gospel is for all. Pray that the human word will be empowered by the divine Word (1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2:13).

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Year B

Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22

“Moses” cannot save! There is only one Saviour – Jesus!

God does not want to see sin in us (Exodus20:20). He wants to see Himself in us. Sin robs us of His great blessing. He wants to fill us with love (Mark 12:28-31; Galatians 5:14; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13). Before our love for Him, there is His love for us. He is the God of redemption. He has redeemed us. We are His people. This is His doing. All the glory belongs to Him (Exodus 20:1-2). We are to live as His people. He is to have first place in our lives (Exodus 20:3). The ‘law’ is ‘holy’ and ‘good’, but it cannot make us holy and good - without ‘the new life of the Spirit’ (Romans 7:12, 6: 8:2; 2 Corinthians 3:3). ‘Moses’ cannot save! There is only one Saviour - Jesus! Not under law, we yield ourselves to the God of salvation (Romans 6:13-14). Our obedience comes from faith in Christ - not legalism (Romans 1:5-6)! Our holiness comes from the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Christ is the high-point of God’s revelation.

God reveals Himself in creation and Scripture. He speaks through His created world. He speaks through His written Word. God is always speaking. He is never silent. Through His created world, God is speaking to us - every day, every night. He is showing us His glory (Psalm 19:1-2). He makes us aware of His presence. He whets our appetite for His written Word. The Scriptures lead us to Christ. Through faith in Him, we receive salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). Christ is the high-point of God’s revelation. He is the living Word (John 1:1, 14). The testimony of the Psalmist - ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul’ (Psalm 19:7) - becomes real for us through faith in Christ - ‘I came to Jesus...My soul revived and now I live in Him’(Church Hymnary, 212). Make it real. Come to Christ. Come alive in Him!

Christ is our full salvation. Let us rejoice and be glad in Him.

Paul preached the Gospel, ‘not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power’ (1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 2:4). He preached ‘Christ crucified’with a determination ‘to know nothing except Jesus Christ crucified’ (1 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Corinthians 2:2). This is the message of our salvation - ‘Christ crucified... Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). All the glory belongs to God. We have no right to steal away any of the glory for ourselves: ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). Our faith is ‘not based on human wisdom but on God’s power’ (1 Corinthians 2:5). ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace’ (Mission Praise, 712). Christ is our full salvation. ‘Let us rejoice and be glad’ in Him’ (1 Corinthians 1:30; Psalm 118:24).

Through the transforming power of Christ’s grace, we receive new life.

Andrew brought his brother, Simon Peter, to Jesus (John 1:40-42). ‘You are... You shall be...’ (John 1:42). Jesus looks beyond what we are now. He sees what we will become through the transforming power of His grace. The ‘water’ became ‘wine’ (John 1:9). This was the Lord’s doing. In Christ, we have been ‘made alive’. This is the work of God. He is ‘rich in mercy’. He loves us with a ‘great love’ (Ephesians 2:4-5). At a wedding, Jesus rejoices with those who rejoice (John 2:1-11). In the temple, He rebukes those who are proud (John 2:13-17). There was ‘death’in the temple. Those who were spiritually ‘dead’ acted in complete disregard for the true purpose of God’s House - ‘My House shall be called a house of prayer’ (Matthew 21:13). ‘Raised from the dead’, we receive ‘new life’ (John 2:22; Romans 6:4). Be real with Jesus. He will bless you (23-25).
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Year C

Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9

God has given His promise: ‘My Word will not return to Me empty.’

The Word of God is spoken - ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found...’(Isaiah 55:6-7). No one seems to be listening. What are we to do? We must remember God’s promise: ‘My Word will not return to Me empty’(Isaiah 55:11). We do not see all that God is doing. He is doing much more than we realize - ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts...’(Isaiah 55:8-9). We may be feeling very despondent - ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything’(Luke 5:5). The Lord still comes to us with His Word of encouragement: ‘You shall go out with joy...’(Isaiah 55:12). Before there is joy, there may be many tears. When there seems to be nothing but disappointments, we must remember the Lord’s promise: ‘Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy...’(Psalm 126:5-6). We must not ‘judge before the time...’(1 Corinthians 4:5).

The Lord is ‘my Rock and my Salvation.’

The Lord is ‘my Rock and my Salvation’(Psalm 62:2,6). As you read the Psalmist’s words, let your thoughts turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our ‘Rock’- the ‘Rock’of our salvation. Through ‘the blood of Christ’, we receive the greatest ‘blessing’ of all - salvation (1 Corinthians 10:1-4,16). No other blessing can ever compare with the joy of knowing Christ as Saviour: ‘Your steadfast love is better than life.’ Through our great Saviour - the Lord Jesus Christ - , we are learning to ‘praise’God. We are learning to say, with the Psalmist, ‘I will praise You as long as I live’(Psalm 63:3-4). What a great Saviour we have. He is greater than all our songs of praise. He is ‘too marvellous for words’- ‘Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!’(Mission Praise, 788; 2 Corinthians 9:15).

Participate ‘in Christ’ – not only in ‘the Church’!

‘Participation in the blood of Christ… participation in the body of Christ’(1 Corinthians 10:16): There is nothing more important than this. We are not to be spectators, standing on the side lines, watching what’s going on without ever getting involved. We are to be participants, getting to know the Lord Jesus Christ, growing in our love for Him, strengthening our faith in Him, bringing more glory to Him. We eat bread. We drink wine. We remember Jesus Christ, ‘the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us’. We do not only remember this great event from the past. We participate in Christ here and now. He has brought us out of our old life - ‘I have been crucified with Christ’ - and into His new life - ‘It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me’(Galatians 2:20). Participate ‘in Christ’ - not only in ‘the Church’!

Don’t put if off until tomorrow! Today is ‚the day of salvation.’

Jesus stresses the need for both repentance (Luke 13:1-5) and the fruits of repentance (Luke 13:6-9). God’s Word, planted in our hearts at conversion, is to bear fruit. This requires continual repentance and faith (Colossians 2:6; Galatians 3:1-5). Don’t put it off until tomorrow! Today is ‘the day of salvation’. Don’t ‘neglect’ God’s ‘great salvation’(Luke 13:15-16; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Hebrews 2:3). Let there be spiritual growth, affecting the whole of your life (Luke 13:18-21). Jesus was ‘journeying toward Jerusalem’- to ‘finish His course’ at the Cross (Luke 13:22,32-33). He came from the Lord (Luke 13;35). Through Him, we come to the Lord (Luke 13:24; John 10:9). There is no salvation in ourselves (Luke 13:25-27). Apart from Him, there is ‘no peace’(Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11). Jesus loves you (Luke 13:34). Make ‘sure’that your trust is in Him. He will never fail you (2 Peter 1:10-11).