February Cell Extra

CELLEXTRA Welcome to Cell Extra!

Cell Extra is a series of six devotional style readings designed to complement and expand the theme presented in the corresponding month’s cell groups. Cell Extra will guide you to additional key Bible passages, people and stories that will build on the topics you are discussing in the cell group and facilitate your personal space as you begin to develop the biblical truths in your life.

Whether or not you are part of a cell group, you can still use Cell Extra. You can download Cell Extra from the ALOVE website and get started straight away. If you are in a cell group you could encourage other cell group members to get hold of Cell Extra too. That way you know that you are all reading, considering and praying about the cell group theme in your own time, which can only enhance the time that you spend together.

If you aren’t in a cell group, Cell Extra will give you the opportunity to follow the themes that other young people around the territory will be discussing.

You won’t need lots of equipment for Cell Extra. A pen, pencil and highlighter will be essential and a Bible extremely useful… and that’s about it. You may also like to use a journal to write down your thoughts, questions and feelings. Occasionally some suggestions are made for you to access something online, maybe from YouTube or an image search. Many people can do this on their smart phones, but you may need to be near a computer to follow these links.

Pray before, during and after!

The Bible verse or passage.

Exploring the Bible text in more detail.

What’s going on? Who’s who?

What stands out?

Getting the Bible into you!

It would also be good to have your own copy of Shelf Life, ALOVE’s Bible discovery guide, as many of the elements that are outlined in Shelf Life will be incorporated in Cell Extra. The most important of these are the Shelf Life Bible ‘apps’.

Each daily Bible reading in Cell Extra should only take about 10–15 minutes. You need to decide when is the best time for you. Are you a morning person or a night owl? You should find 15 minutes where you know you won’t be distracted by the TV or homework… or fall asleep! And what day works best for you? Perhaps you have more time at the weekend, so you could find 15 minutes every Saturday and Sunday during the month. Or maybe you would prefer to do six days in a row and then have a three-week break. You decide… and then stick to it.

Living the words of the Bible in your life.

We really hope you enjoy Cell Extra and that it does what it says on the tin… it adds to your experience of cell and gives you other avenues to access the theme of each month in your own personal space.

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this new resource. Please contact us at ALOVE UK.

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CELLEXTRA

February 2013: The Water Woman

“Everything happened at the village well. I don’t just mean at the particular well in our story today. I mean everything happened at every village well.

The mums met and chatted... about their children and their grandchildren.

The children of the mums met and chatted... about their friends and friends’ friends.

The visitors to the friends’ friends met and chatted... about how long and hard the journey had been.

The animals of the visitors met and chatted... about their sore feet and aching limbs.

Oh, and they all also fetched some water in between the chatting!

It was basically a chatty sort of place. If you wanted to know anything about anything, then the well was the place to go. It was a resting place, a refreshing place, a meeting place and a chatting place.

Now, the well I’m thinking about in my story was no different. If you wanted to know who was who and what was what in Samaria - that’s a small country between Jerusalem in the south and Galilee in the north - then spend some time at Jacob’s well in Samaria. But of course, you must choose the right time to go. The early morning is best or maybe in the cool of the evening; but it’s no good fetching water in the middle of the day. No one was foolish enough to stand around chatting at the hottest time of the day.

That was why it was so strange on that particular day. You see, the water woman in this story chose to go at midday. And of course, there was no one there: no one to chat to; no gossip to share; no news to find out; no, nothing and nobody. But that is exactly what she wanted. This lady’s life was in a mess. People used to call her names and be nasty to her. Ever since she was no longer with her husband and had gone off with other men, things had been bad. No one liked her. No one had a good word for her and no one had time for this water woman. So no chat, no talk, no gossip at the well was fine by her. That’s why she was there, alone in the middle of the day.

Until he came along. This man turned up. A man at a well! At midday! In the heat! He was kindly looking, but he was a stranger. From Jerusalem or maybe Galilee, but certainly not a Samaritan. Samaritan sorts don’t mix with those folk. Perhaps, if she kept her head down, he wouldn’t bother her and she could get away without any gossip or insults or unkind words.

But he spoke to her. This man was different. He spoke to her, a woman and that was odd enough in those days. He, an outsider, spoke to her from Samaria. Very unusual! But at least what he said was kind. Just a simple ‘Can have a drink?’ He even said ‘please’. This man certainly knew how to take someone by surprise. And then came the strangest of conversations.

‘How come you’re asking me for a drink?’ said the woman.

‘If you knew who I am, you’d ask me for a drink,’ said the man.

‘But you haven’t even got a jug,’ said the woman.

‘The drink I’m talking about is like water bubbling up from your inside,’ he replied.

‘I’ll have some of that then,’ said the woman with a laugh!

‘OK I’ll give you some... bring along your husband.’

Now that did it. He must know all about her - about the mess in her life.

But how could he, if he were a stranger? He was clearly someone very special. Someone from God, who could see right into your life. She felt uncomfortable and she did what a lot of us do when we feel that way. She asked a question about something completely different.

CELLEXTRA

February 2013: The Water Woman

‘Which church is best to worship at?’ she asked ‘It doesn’t matter which church you worship at, because it’s all about what your worship is like on the inside, in your heart,’ replied the stranger.

‘Only God’s promised rescuer - the one who is coming - can know what people are like on the inside,’ said the woman.

And then came the amazing words.

‘I am God’s promised rescuer,’ said the man.

The woman opened her eyes wide in amazement. This man was God’s promised rescuer. The one God was sending to sort out all the mess of the world. The one who would sort out the mess in our lives. The one who was already sorting out the mess in her life. She became so excited. She forgot about getting water from the well and left the jar on the ground. She rushed back into the village and started to... wait for it... started to chat to the people of the village. Now, she wanted to speak with people because she had some news to share that she could not keep in.

‘I have met God’s promised rescuer. He knows all about me. But he’s not unkind or cruel. He actually wants to talk to me. It feels like water is bubbling up in my heart and I feel clean on the inside.’

It wasn’t long before the whole village had heard about Jesus because of this woman. They came and found Jesus for themselves and they, too, experienced that feeling of water bubbling up inside them, as they chatted to Jesus.

‘It’s not just some gossip we’ve heard from you now,’ they said to the water woman. ‘We’ve discovered for ourselves that this man - this Jesus - is the promised rescuer, not just for Jerusalem, not just for Galilee, not even just for us in Samaria, but he is the Saviour of the world.”

(Story from http://www.barnabasin churches.org.uk/the-water-woman/) (Image sourced from http://www. communitycovenant.net/pages/where-toconnect/women/women-at-the-well.php)

1. THE WATER WOMAN - Women at the Well

The story in the introduction is a rewritten version of John 4:1-28, when Jesus met and talked with a Samaritan woman a well near Sychar. If you’ve never read the Bible text… now would be a good time to do so!

The Samaritan woman came to the well bruised, lonely, broken, and ashamed. But when she met Jesus, she was totally changed. Jesus bought her back to life by simply asking for water. And he offered her a long deep refreshing drink of his life-giving water. As he creates a bubbling spring in her, he challenges her to allow its waters to flow to those around her.

Watch this thought-provoking video clip. It portrays a ‘modern day’ version of the Samaritan woman reflecting on her encounter with Jesus and how her life was changed.

Woman at the Well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y2GlmTxpkM

Jot down any words that you hear the woman speaking that relate to your life.

Where is your well? (i.e. a place or a way that you can meet with Jesus daily?)

Come, all who are thirsty says Jesus, our Lord, come, all who are weak, taste the living water that I shall give.

Dip your hands in the stream, refresh body and soul, drink from it, depend on it, for this water will never run dry.

Come, all who are thirsty says Jesus, our Lord. (http://www.faithandworship.com/prayers_Lent.htm#ixzz2JSqHZxQZ)

2. THE WATER WOMAN - Drenched!

“When my people in their need look for water, when their throats are dry with thirst, then I, the LORD, will answer their prayer; I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.

I will make rivers flow among barren hills and springs of water run in the valleys.

I will turn the desert into pools of water and the dry land into flowing springs.

I will make cedars grow in the desert, and acacias and myrtles and olive trees.

Forests will grow in barren land, forests of pine and juniper and cypress.

People will see this and know that I, the LORD, have done it.

They will come to understand that Israel’s holy God has made it happen.”

Isaiah 41:17 -20 (GNT)

Water is an essential and valuable resource. If a community in the Bible had a clean, safe water supply they could thrive, if they didn’t have water, they couldn’t. Throughout the Bible water is used to illustrate God’s creating, sustaining, healing, cleansing, refreshing & transforming work….just like the passage above!

So for us to have a living, breathing, developing relationship with Jesus we need to meet with him regularly so that we can take on our own ‘water’.

We need to remain saturated in Jesus’ life-giving water and allow this water to brim over and spill out to others.

Find some way to listen to the sounds of water.

‘Sound of Water 3D sound’ http://www.youtube.com watch?v=o35nCeMo2zQ (waves) ‘Sleep Sound Flowing Water’ http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=8913yxvX8eA (Stream) ‘Heavy rain Sounds’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0sM4ooBLK0 (Rain) As you listen to the water sounds read the Bible passage above out loud and imagine God’s refreshing water streaming onto the dry ground and creating life!

Read the Bible passage again changing the words so that it becomes a prayer for your own life to be filled and refreshed by this life-giving water. e.g. Jesus, when I look for water, when I am thirsty for you, thank you that you will never abandon me and that you will always answer my prayer…

The next time it rains…..run outside and allow yourself to get totally drenched!!!

3. THE WATER WOMAN - Stagnant Well

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/

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http://matteroffactsite.blogspot.com/2010/03/

pritchett/00ghalib/063/63_01.html

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Isaac dug again the wells which were dug in the days of his father Abraham but had been clogged up by the Philistines after Abraham’s death. And he renamed them, using the original names his father had given them.

Genesis 26: 18 (MSG)

Many things get in the way of us spending regular time at our ‘well’. Perhaps we are ‘too busy’, or maybe we don’t really appreciate what our well can do for our lives. We fill our lives with so much rubbish and dirt that over time, our well gets clogged up and its harder and harder to be filled with Jesus’ clean, fresh life-giving water. Read the following story about something most unusual found blocking up a well in Somerset!

Pony and trapped! Firefighters rescue five-year-old horse Nova stuck 8ft down a well.

PUBLISHED:16:03, 27 January 2013| UPDATED:00:12, 28 January 2013(Daily Mail)

More than 30 firefighters were called to a property over the weekend to rescue a pony after it fell down a well.

Mrs Hilliar de Alvero, 47, said:

Grace Hilliar de Alvaro became concerned about family pet Nova when she couldn’t find the animal after a search with son Ignacio, six.

After looking through a number of fields they found the five-year-old pony stuck eight foot down a well and chest deep in water. Nova was eventually rescued six hours later and miraculously emerged from the well without a scratch.

‘Nova is a very sweet and unflappable little pony. She was calm and quiet, despite being stuck down a hole and covered up to her neck in cold water.

‘She ended up down the well and it was very lucky she landed on her feet and not her back.’

‘We would love to thank the amazing team of more than 30 firefighters who came to Nova’s rescue.’

“Dear Jesus, Thank you for your promise of life-giving water. I don’t want anything to clog up my relationship with you. I want to be filled to the brim with your clean, refreshing water, not surviving on stagnant water. Amen”

Is there anything clogging up your well?

4. THE WATER WOMAN - Wells of Lent

Lent begins this month. Read the following 8 statements about Lent and highlight one phrase that you would like to put into practice this month.

• Lent is a 40 day opportunity to make positive changes in our lives in preparation to rejoice at the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter.

• Lent is a time to consider the things that come between us and God ….

To make sure there is nothing clogging up our wells!

• Did you know that the six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days? Each Sunday should be a celebration of Jesus’ victory over sin and death.

• The three main facets of Lent are Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving (helping the poor). How can you do more in at least one of these areas this month?

• Whatever we are giving up for Lent, we must try to put something positive in its place.

• Since Jesus was willing to face up to all his fears and confront his darkest doubts, we can draw the kind of courage to do the same.

•

Instead of giving something up today...try something new: a prayer walk; helping out a stranger; an act of kindness; sing out loud; take public transport; give away some money; buy a homeless person a coffee.....

• It is only in walking through the shadows and darkness of this Holy Week and Good Friday that we can truly understand the light and hope of Sunday morning!

Lent has traditionally been a time of reflection and of prayer. How about creating a ‘quiet space’ in your home or bedroom that will encourage and remind you to spend more time with Jesus at your well? You might want to add objects such as a cross, a candle, pictures of Jesus, natural objects such as pebbles, shells or a feather….and of course, be sure to include some water!

“Lord Jesus, thank you for this day. Be with me as I travel through these weeks of lent. Through the small sacrifices that I may make help me to become less selfish and more aware of your ways. Fan the flame of my desire to draw ever closer to you. Amen.”

5. THE WATER WOMAN - Brim and Spill

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.”

John7:37

Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Saviour of the world!”

John 4:39 - 42 (MSG)

The Samaritan woman came to draw water that would quench her thirst for an hour or two. She returned to the village carrying ‘water’ that would quench a persons thirst in their spirit forever. She couldn’t wait to get back and tell everyone about Jesus and the ‘water’ of the spirit he had given her.

Truly an example of the verse from John 7 which underpins the whole water theme for the year….Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way.

Who can you take some water to today?

Is there someone who needs to hear about Jesus? Do you know someone who is in need of some practical help? Can you take someone an encouraging word? Who can you pray for this week?

Write some names on the bricks of the well below, and take them some water this week!

Pray for the people whose names you have written on the well. Receive some more water from Jesus into your own life so you can ‘brim and spill’ his love to those people who need him!

6. THE WATER WOMAN - If you are thirsty, come!

Image sourced from http://www.flickr.com/photos/briani29/3644936620/

We need water to survive, literally! Water makes up more than half our body weight and we can only survive a few days without it. Every cell in our body needs water to function properly. That’s why we get thirsty and that’s why it’s important that we take in enough fluids each day!

“If you are thirsty, come!

If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It’s free!”

(Rev 22:17 CEV) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit— where we all come to drink.

(1 Cor 12:13 MSG) “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.

But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again.

It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

(John 4:13-14 NLT) “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.”

(John 7:37-38 MSG) As a deer thirsts for streams of water, so I thirst for you, God. I thirst for the living God. (Psalm 42:1-2 NCV)

Get yourself a large drink of cool water! Drink it slowly, sip by sip, and feel the cool clear liquid refreshing your body with every gulp!

“Lord Jesus, as I come to you and draw water from the well of your spirit, refresh my body and soul. I drink from your water, knowing that this water will never run dry. Amen”