While a Samaritan woman is looking for water, Jesus is looking for her. Jesus crosses many "red lines" to give her "living water."
Jesus instructs the one known as the Teacher in Israel about the necessity of a new birth from above.
The miracle of turning water into wine pictures the failure of the Old Testament Law to bring joy and the power of Christ to provide lasting joy through his salvation.
We are called to love, even when by the world's standards it looks like failure or defeat, trusting that God’s lovingkindness always wins in the end.
The Jewish remnant repent as they see the seriousness of their sin in marrying foreign wives.
Sin is often the “elephant in the room”, which we ignore to our detriment. In this passage, Ezra provides a pattern of prayer for repentance that leads to renewal.
One way we mature is to have set before us examples of godly men and women of faith who are worthy of our emulation. Ezra is a great example to follow.
The dedication of the second temple speaks to the dedication of our lives as temples of the Holy Spirit.
The angel's announcement to the shepherds assures us that when we come home to God we can have joy, salvation and peace.
Given our failure and doubts, we sometimes wonder if we're welcome if we come to God. In this parable, Jesus tells us we are!