Emerging Voices – Portage
What changes when we let our encounters with Jesus transform how we live, not just what we've stopped doing?
Speaker: Jaycie Stern
Date: August 23, 2026
An encounter with Jesus is an invitation, not an automatic transformation. Revelation, repentance, and response are what turn an encounter into a changed life. Don't miss this message from our Portage Kids Director, Jaycie Stern!
Here's a 5-day devotional guide based on this sermon:
Day 1: The Weight We Carry
John 4:7–15 | Psalm 55:22
The woman came to the well carrying a water jar that, when full, could have been heavy, walking alone in the heat of the day while others typically drew water at cooler hours. Jesus offered her something no jar could hold: water that would mean she would never carry that particular weight again. David wrote about casting his burden on the Lord, and the invitation has not changed. Whatever you have been hauling alone, in the heat, at the hour when no one else is watching, Jesus is offering to carry it instead.
Day 2: When Fear Keeps Us Quiet
John 4:16–19 | 1 John 4:18
When Jesus named her marital history, the woman did not deny it or run. She stayed in the conversation despite what it might have cost her. Fear often convinces us to protect a reputation rather than risk being honest about where we actually are, especially with the people we see every day. John writes that perfect love drives out fear, which means the safety we are looking for was never in staying hidden. It was always in being known.
Day 3: The Danger of Apathy
John 4:20–24 | Revelation 3:15–16
The debate over where to worship—this mountain or that one—missed the deeper point Jesus was making about worshiping in spirit and truth. It is possible to go through every religious motion and still be far from an actual encounter with God. Apathy rarely looks dramatic. It looks like showing up, going quiet, and letting the moment pass without response. Jesus told the church in Laodicea that being lukewarm was worse than being cold because at least the cold know they need to change.
Day 4: Pride’s Quiet Lie
John 4:25–26 | James 4:6
Jesus told this woman plainly, “I who speak to you am He,” revealing His identity to her before almost anyone else in the Gospels. Pride tells us we can follow Jesus right up to the edge of what is comfortable and no further, that transformation is welcome as long as it does not require anything costly. James is direct about it: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. The revelation Jesus offered her required humility to receive, and it still does.
Day 5: From Encounter to Response
John 4:28–30, 39 | Acts 2:14, 41
The woman left her water jar at the well and ran to tell the very town that had shamed her about the man she had just met. Peter did something similar weeks after denying Jesus three times, standing up in front of Jerusalem and preaching until three thousand people believed. Neither of them waited to feel ready. They simply told the truth about what had happened to them. An encounter with Jesus becomes a testimony the moment you decide to open your mouth.