Lent: Living the Questions (3) What Am I Willing to Give?
Jesus and the woman at the well have the longest conversation recorded in the New Testament. Interestingly, Jesus begins the conversation by revealing his need. He who walked on water and fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes asks her for a drink. The woman responds to his need defensively—who are you to ask me for a drink? He then flips the conversation on its head: If you knew who I was, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you living water.
He’s the giver and the receiver. The thirsty person, the well, and the water, all at the same time.
By the end of the long conversation, the woman’s defensiveness had cracked wide open. She cast it aside along with her water jug and her isolation, left them all lying in the dust while she ran back to tell her community everything that had just happened. The exiled one became the first evangelist of the gospel.
Give.
Receive.
These two words are containers for the energetic flow of God’s love in the world. We receive love from God. We give this to one another and to creation. We receive love from people and creation, and we give back this love to God by saying “thank you”.
This is the rhythm of our bodies. We draw breath in. We breathe it back out. Our hearts draw blood in. Our hearts pump blood out. It is also the rhythm of embodied Kinship. By giving and receiving, we are set free, brought out of isolation and into the flow of God’s living water. Over time, the distinction between giver and receiver falls away. We are all One in this flow of love. “Whatever you do to the least of these”, Jesus said, “you’ve done to me”.
This Lent, we make space for questions that can deepen the vitality of our relationship with Jesus. I invite you to live with with these questions this week:
What are you receiving?
What are you willing to give?
Deep peace and blessing,
Anne
Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Church at Southpoint
If you missed Sunday’s message…
Southpoint is Hiring! Community Life Coordinator
We Need Your Help!
This is an important position for our church, and we are a bit of a niche community! Finding the right fit for us feels essential.
Would you help us by utilizing your network of connections, passing this job description along to whomever you think might be interested, or who might have connections that would be?
While our ideal start date is May 1, we will wait until we find the right fit before we make a hire.
Worship Calendar
Location & Zoom. We meet on Sundays at 15639 24 Avenue, Surrey. Zoom is offered if you cannot attend in person. Zoom link. Meeting ID: 831 1690 9977 password: 753319
Listen to Sermons
Follow “Meditations from the Church at Southpoint” on Spotify, Apple and Google
Blogs
Catch up on Anne’s recent blogs under “News” on our website, southpoint.ca
Sun Apr 7
(2) Opening to Love
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
John 21:1-19
Sun Apr 14
(3) Receiving Clarity
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Acts 3:12-19
Sun Apr 21
Rev Scott Swanson
Acts 4:5-12
New to Southpoint?
At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and creation.
We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *
We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.
As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.
Curious to know more?
These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.
If you’d like to really peek inside, sign up for our weekly Southpoint News (scroll to brown footer at bottom of page). The Southpoint News is a MailChimp distributed email—you can unsubscribe anytime and will not be added to our contacts list. Email us at office@southpoint.ca. Website: southpoint.ca.
Sun Mar 19—(Lent 4) Why?John 9:1-41
Sun Mar 26— Lent (5) What Hope is There? ALL IN service
John 11:1-45, Ez 37:1-14
Sun Apr 2 Palm SundayCan I Trust This?
Matt 21:1-11
Good Friday Stations of the Cross
512 172 Street, 10 am -12 pm
Self-guided walk of reflection offered at Kingfisher Farm.
Easter SundayDo I dare believe?
John 20:1-18
New to Southpoint?
At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and creation.
We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *
We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.
As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.
Curious to know more?
These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.
If you’d like to really peek inside, sign up for our weekly Southpoint News (scroll to brown footer at bottom of page). The Southpoint News is a MailChimp distributed email—you can unsubscribe anytime and will not be added to our contacts list. Email us at office@southpoint.ca. Website: southpoint.ca.
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