Sunday 8th March 2026

LENT 3A 8th March 2026

A short act of worship and daily devotions

Opening Prayers

As you sit here in this space you call your own ready to meet the living God remember…

You are connected to people of faith worshipping in different ways and places.

You are part of a community of saints that have worshipped for generations.

You are joined with others across the world choosing to do the same.

Here in this special space where God has been for all time you are free to worship.

So take a moment and give thanks in the quiet places of your heart.

For all you have, All you are, And all you might be.

Pause

If you feel able speak the following

All I have, all I am and all I might be I offer to you as I worship – today and always. Amen

You may now wish to say the Lord’s Prayer in a version or translation with which you are familiar

Hymn: 24 STF – Come, now is the time to worship – YouTube

Reading: John 4:5-42 – Click for reading

Responding to the reading

Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at a well in the heat of the day – alone, outside the bounds of societal norms. He’s tired. She’s wary. He asks her for a drink.

It begins so simply. But what unfolds is a conversation that breaks boundaries and opens hearts.

She is a woman. She is a Samaritan. She has a complicated past. By every cultural standard, she is someone Jesus should ignore. But Jesus not only speaks to her, he listens. He sees her. He honours her dignity. And he offers her something that no one else has: living water.

Water that doesn’t run dry. Water that quenches something deeper than thirst.

This is discipleship at its most radical: not about climbing a spiritual ladder or earning approval, but about showing up and being seen. About being known, fully, and still loved.

For those of us who are liberal, inclusive, justice-seeking Christians, this story speaks profoundly. It challenges us to consider the kinds of boundaries we’ve inherited – religious, social, even internal – and asks: Where are we still drawing lines that Jesus would cross?

It reminds us that revelation often comes in unexpected places. Not in the temple, not in the synagogue, but at a well, in a dusty town, with someone on the margins.

And it inspires us to see that this woman, once isolated, is the first evangelist in John’s Gospel. She becomes the one who carries the message. She runs back to her community and says, “Come and see…”

There’s power in testimony, especially when it comes from people who’ve been told they don’t belong. Her voice matters. So does yours.

So today, ask yourself:

• Where are the “wells” in your life, those ordinary moments where the Spirit might be trying to get your attention?

• What boundaries might God be calling you to cross, with compassion, not conquest?

• Where might your own story, however messy, however complex, be the very thing that helps others see Jesus more clearly?

  
  

Jesus offers living water to all who are thirsty, not those who have it all figured out, but those willing to be present, to be honest, to be transformed.

May we drink deeply. May we listen bravely. And may we, like the woman at the well, go and tell the story of love that sees us – all of us – and sets us free.

Blessing

May you meet Christ at the wells of your life: in the ordinary places, in the honest questions, in the moments you feel unseen. May you know yourself held in love: not for who you might become, but for who you already are. May the living water of grace refresh what feels dry, revive what feels weary, and flow through you into a world that is still so thirsty for justice, for welcome, for peace. Go now, seen, known, and beloved, to tell your story and live your faith with courage and compassion. Amen.

Prayers and Prayer Pointers For This Week

Monday 9th March

• Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.

• Help me to understand something of your holiness, Lord God, and remind me that I can embody your holy nature, here on earth.

• Draw me close and fill me with your love. Amen.

Tuesday 10th March

• Light a candle. Jesus is the light of the world. Pray about the places you experience darkness in your life, that Jesus light might shine there.

Wednesday 11th March

• Open your Bible at the Psalms and read one as a prayer to God. What resonates with you? Consider in what ways these old words feel new to you and offer them to God.

Thursday 12th March

• On this day in 1989 Tim Berners-Lee submitted his proposal for an information management system, which eventually became the world wide web, the internet. Today, we pray for all who work in digital spaces – all who are responsible for making social media, websites and other digital tools safe for all who use them. May sense and safety reign over capitalism and exploitation in key decision making, we pray.

Friday 13th March

• Justice-seeking God, today we pray for peace.

• It can seem difficult to know how to pray for peace when we know there is still much violence and conflict in our world, but we bring all that to you today, knowing that the world is not ‘as you would have it.’

• Come, Prince of Peace, come to a broken world in need, we pray. Amen.

Saturday 14th March

• Hear the invitation to be still this Saturday. To hold a moment of quiet and reflect on the week just gone, to ‘check in’ with yourself and how you are doing, and to listen to the still small voice of God.

• Perhaps try to position yourself where you can see a tree or bush or some flowers, and just hold the stillness as you watch and pray.

• Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.