“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15
Some call it a magic trick, to others it was a casual favor to a friend, but to John it was the way in which Jesus showed forth His glory.
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, why do you involve me,” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind the Jews use for ceremonial washing, each holding from 20 to 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water,” so they filled them to the brim. Then He said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from although the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink, but you have saved the best till now.”
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed His Glory and the disciples put their faith in Him. (John 2:1-11)
Exploring God’s Word The Wedding at Cana John 2:1-12
“His disciples put their faith in Him.” John 2:11 (CEV)
Have you ever gone to a wedding? Imagine having Jesus be a guest. Today we will read how Jesus helped at a wedding.
Once there was a wedding in a town called Cana. Since Mary and Jesus knew the bride and groom, they were invited to the wedding. Jesus’ disciples were invited, too.
Everyone was happy to see the bride and groom get married. All the guests went to the groom’s house for a big celebration. In those days wedding celebrations would sometimes last several days.
At the wedding dinner, they ran out of wine long before the celebration was over. Now all the guests would have to drink water. Mary knew Jesus could help. She told Jesus, “There is no wine.” Jesus assured Mary that God provides for all needs when He knows the proper time to help has come.
Mary told the servants, “Whatever Jesus says to you, do it.” Jesus told the servants to fill the water pots with water. This was a big job. There were six huge water pots and each one would hold as much water as a bathtub. The servants did as Jesus said and filled each pot to the very brim with water.
Then Jesus said, “Take some out now and take it to the master of the feast.” The servants obeyed. Something wonderful happened to the water. It turned into wine! The master of the feast tasted the wine. He did not know where it came from. The servants knew that it had come from the stone pots that they had filled with water. They knew that Jesus had changed all the water into wine.
The master called the bridegroom and said, “Every man serves his best wine first, and then later serves the cheaper wine, but you have kept the best wine until now!”
This was the first miracle Jesus performed. He changed the water into wine to show His glory as God’s Son. His disciples believed in Him as the Son of God.
Dear Jesus, We thank You for showing us by Your miracles that You are God. Help us to pray to You about all our needs. Help us to trust that, as God, You can always help us. Thank You for taking away our sins. We are so happy You have promised to take all Your children to heaven one day. Please keep us faithful until that day. Amen.
Theme Verse “His disciples put their faith in Him.” John 2:11 (CEV)
Treasure Seekers Form four teams and designate one child in each team as the "Seeker." Give each team a small bag of individually wrapped candies, and have each team use a nonverbal signal to communicate with their teammates, such as clapping, snapping fingers, or stomping feet.
Have each team's Seeker leave the room. Remove all tripping obstacles from the room by clearing the floor. Then have each team hide its candy in the room.
Bring the Seekers back in and blindfold each one. Have the Seekers move around the room. Whenever a team's player gets close to its candy, the team members use their nonverbal signal to communicate loudly. No one can talk. As a Seeker moves farther away, the team signals quietly. Play until all the Seekers find the candy.
Afterward, ask: How were our Seekers able to find the candy when they couldn't see? How could the Seekers have found the candy if their teammates hadn't helped? How does Jesus help us in the same way that the teams helped the Seekers?
Wedding Gift Wrap Race For every four children, you'll need one box, one roll of gift wrap, one pair of child-safe scissors, a roll of ribbon, a roll of tape, and a gift bow.
Form teams of four. Give each team its supplies.
Tell kids that they're to wrap an imaginary gift for the wedding couple. They have to decide what gift they'd like to give and wrap it beautifully in the shortest time possible.
When the race is over, have group members show the wrapped boxes and tell what gift they chose. You can honor groups with awards such as "the most inventive gift," "the fastest wrap," "the most beautiful ribbon," or "the best placed tape." Make sure that each group receives recognition.
Game 1: Stressed Out! Studies show that kids' lives are filled with an increasing amount of stress. This game teaches children that God wants their life to be stress free and can help them release the stress in their lives before they reach the point of bursting.
Give each child a balloon to inflate and tie off. Have children each place the balloon under one of their feet.
Say: I'm going to call out things that can cause stress in your life. Maybe the thing I call out causes a little stress for you. If so, put a little pressure on your balloon. Or perhaps the thing I call out causes a lot of stress for you. If so, put a lot of pressure on your balloon. Don't release the pressure between things that I call out.
Call out things that can cause stress in a child's life, such as parents fighting, a test at school, a family move, being sick, a pet dying, too much to do, breaking a friend's toy, and so on. Continue to call out stresses kids face until the list is exhausted or the balloons are broken.
Have kids turn to a partner and discuss these questions: Which thing made you put the most pressure on your balloon? How did you feel as you pressed on your balloon? How do you feel when you're stressed in real life?
Perhaps that’s how the host of the wedding felt when the wine was gone. Read aloud Philippians 4:6. Ask: How can God help us deal with the stress in our lives? Say: Let's do what God tells us to do when we're anxious or stressed. Let's pray for one another right now.
Game 2: Throwaway Heed the wisdom found in the Bible and throw away discouragement and your concerns with this fun game and help kids understand God's wisdom by having a fun-filled paper fight.
Help kids understand wisdom by having a paper fight with their written concerns.
You'll need a Bible, paper, pencils, masking tape, and a large trash can.
Have kids take several sheets of paper each. Say to the kids, "In this game, we start by writing one thing you're concerned about on each sheet of paper. You might write 'grades,' 'family,' or 'friends'-anything that upsets or discourages you. Don't put your name on your paper. This is strictly between you and God, and we're going to learn His wisdom in dealing with our concerns."
When each of the kids has written at least three to five things, have them wad their papers.
Then form two equal teams of kids and have the teams face each other on opposite sides of the room. Use masking tape to create a dividing line on the floor between the teams.
Say to the kids, "On 'go,' throw all your concerns onto the other team's side while trying to keep the other team's concerns off your side.
The object of the game is to get as many concerns as possible on the other team's side in one minute. Go!"
When the time is up, put a large trash can in the middle of the room. Say to the kids, "This time, you'll have 30 seconds to work together to get all the concerns into the trash can. Go!"
After the game, have a child read aloud 1 Peter 5:7, a verse helping us have wisdom in dealing with our concerns.
Then ask, "Was the way you treated your concerns in this game like or unlike the way kids really treat their concerns? Explain. How does God give you wisdom? How does that wisdom and working together help with concerns?" Talk about today’s Bible lesson: Jesus turns water into wine. How did the wedding host feel when the wine was gone? Why?
