Praise & Thanksgiving

Songs of Praise

• Jesus at the Center

• Down to the River

• Fill My Cup, Lord

• Come Thou Fount

Celebrating the Gift of Community

• Celebration of experiencing Living Water during this retreat

• Celebration of experiencing sitting by the well with others

Offering

• Response: Commit to digging wells, seek reconciliation in a relationship that needs mending, release something from your schedule, commit to a practice of self-care, etc.

Closing Thoughts: “Digging Wells”

• Discipleship - Think of Christian maturity as moving toward our source of Living Water

• Digging Wells - Takes a lot of work and can be dangerous

• Filling Wells - In the Old Testament, filling in someone else’s well was seen as an act of aggression. We have to be careful not to be well-fillers, especially the organizational church, with the committees, programs, and ‘have to’ statements quickly filling up our schedules until time with God gets squeezed out.

• Sitting Down By Wells - Even in the heat of the day, even with those people outside our normal spheres (Samaritan, woman, etc.)

• Wells are made for drinking

  • We need to drink long and satisfying from the well

  • We need to offer a cup of cold water to the weary traveler that crosses our path

• Water Cooler Ministry

  • “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” - Deuteronomy 6:11

  • Everyone is facing their own desert

  • Use ordinary places and situations of life to connect with others, extend a drink to the thirsty

  • Use time and words well - See people, take time to listen well, you don’t have to have the answers

    • Build others up rather than tear down with gossip, complaining, etc.

• Rely on Jesus as Living Water

  • We merely dig the wells and sit down beside them waiting for people to gather

  • Jesus is power

    • Not Safe, but Good (C.S. Lewis)

    • Paradox - Parts of water are flammable (Oxygen & Hydrogen)