Third Sunday of Lent ©

INTRO: So… what are these?
WATER BOTTLES!!!

Remember I am OLD… when we were kids… we never had water bottles ???? When did all this “drinking” water out of a bottle become fashionable???

I suppose when they started building health clubs beyond the YMCA… not sure, but, water DOES help our bodies and our systems!

Amazing water…
……when I was at Saint Ann Parish in Cleveland Heights as pastor in 1996 at some point the school building needed water. Interesting, not water INSIDE the building, but water outside the building!!!

You see….. It was a limestone building built in 1915 and over the years the limestone became DIRTY with soot from exhaust fumes, etc……

Well, being the neat nick that I am… we orchestrated the cleaning of it with an environmentalist company that used water… not power washing, not with any chemicals…..but slow dripping from the roof down the sides.

It was amazing….. Very S L O W a LONG process, but it worked! It cleaned the building!!!

Ever have a dried on mac-n-cheese dish or sunny side up egg dish…. You leave it soaking overnight in water… if you can do that???!!!
I typically like everything cleaned up RIGHT AWAY
But, by morning… IT IS CLEAN!

Water purifies, cleanses, absolves, rinses!

SAMANTHA
JAYDEN
KYLIE
KENDRA
AND
JOHNNY
You have never had church water, baptismal water poured over you, but you will on the EASTER VIGIL

It will:
Purify you making you a CHILD OF GOD
Cleanse you from Original Sin
Absolve you from any sins
Rinse you with God’s arms!

You heard the lady, the woman in today’s story; it was about LIFE GIVING WATER!

CONCLUSION To all of you, “How has being baptized, washed by the water” enhanced your life?” Even in tough times…remember you are still a child of God.