Living Water: Transforming Water

SERMON TITLE:   “Living Water:  Transforming Water”
SERMON TEXT:    John 2:1-12
PREACHER:           Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:           July 25, 2021, at First UMC
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                Many of you have asked me how my vacation was.  My husband Steve and I went to Oregon to visit his 95.5 year old mother, his two brothers and their wives, and the Oregon coast.  As planned, we spent quality time with the family, relaxed, and feasted our eyes on lots of natural beauty. 
                One afternoon, when we didn’t have much to do, we took our books to a city park.  It was our intent to spend some time reading.  But because the lawn-mowing crew was out and because of where the available shade was, we ended up sitting near the children’s playground and watching what was happening there. 
                Besides the usual climbing bars, slides, and swings, this children’s playground had a neat water feature.  When the kids would put their hand in front of the motion sensor, a bunch of fountains would begin to spout water.  As we watched for a while, we could see that the water had a couple different patterns—first squirting in these ways and then squirting in those.  One part of the water fountain squirted water into some hanging buckets.  When the buckets got full, they tipped over—dumping the whole buckets on any kids that happened to be underneath at that moment.  Steve and I enjoyed watching the children frolic and squeal with life.  However much it cost the city to install and maintain that water park, it definitely was transforming a hot summer day into a cool afternoon of fun.
                In this hot, dry summer here in Utah, I thought it might be refreshing for us to spend some weeks focusing our attention on water.  So, for seven Sundays, we’re going to dive into the water stories that are so abundant in the Gospel according to John.  Today, we begin with the living water story in John, chapter two.  Let’s join Jesus and friends at the wedding in Cana of Galilee and experience the joy and life in this miracle story of transforming water.

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