Leader Notes Dear Jesus, help us to understand your perfect love for all people. We thank you that you came to seek and to save those who were lost. Help us never to look down on or despise any other person. Thank you. Amen.
The Woman at the Well John 4
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus said to her, Give me to drink. The mundane, everyday task of a woman drawing water is about to be the encounter of her entire lifetime.
Good Jews avoided Samaria. (the Samaritans were considered the black sheep of the Jewish family) Jewish men did not speak to women who were unaccompanied by their fathers or husbands, let alone a Samaritan woman. But here we see Jesus in Samaria talking to a Samaritan woman, alone! God isn't limited by human judgments or prejudices.
He was tired, he was thirsty, after all, He may be the Son of God but He was human also. Being born of a woman, He had a human need for food and water. He says to her, "Give me to drink."
Jesus the living water asking a mere woman, an outcast woman at that, for water. Jesus treated her with tenderness and respect despite the cultural mores that gave him permission to judge her.
Their conversation and her faith led to her whole community believing in Jesus. Here was the Messiah, who told her everything she had done! Not in judgment, but in mercy and with an offering of cleansing and forgiveness.
The heart of this woman who came to the well to quench physical thirst, found the living water of forgiveness and mercy and never thirsted again.
No more being afraid of being alone without protection, of being at the mercy of her circumstances. Never having to defend herself to those who would judge her or ever having to make compromises with the world to survive. Never being ashamed again. For the Messiah had told her the truth and shown her mercy by forgiving her sins.
Welcome Activity A Cup of Cool Water
Bring a jug of water and small cups. As you sit in a circle, give each child a cup and pour each person a small amount of water in the cup. Discuss where they think water comes from. Explain that in Jesus’ time, people got water in different way. The people had to get water from a well.
Bible Story Text: John 4:1-26 The Woman at the Well
Bible Lesson Verse Focus: Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14 NIV)
As Jesus was going from place to place, He stopped at a town called Sycar (Sigh-car). This town was in an area that people of Jesus' race would never enter. In fact, the people that lived there were laughed at and ignored. They were called Samaritans.
Jesus did a very unusual thing. He went to the town. By this time it was the afternoon and Jesus was hot and thirsty. He stopped beside a well (explain to the kids what a well is) while His friends went into town to buy food. Just then, a woman came out with a jug to get some water.
She was surprised to see someone at the well. Most people got their water when it was cooler outside.
Jesus spoke to her, asking for a drink. The woman was shocked. You see--in that time, men did not talk to women or boys to girls. Also, people of Jesus' race did not talk to the Samaritans.
The woman asked Jesus why He was speaking to her. Jesus replied by saying that He could give her living water so she never would be thirsty again. She was curious. She was tired of getting water from a well every day. She thought that if she could get this living water, she would never have to come to the well again.
Jesus, however, was talking about Heaven, not real water. Jesus asked her to get her husband. She told him only part of the truth. She said that she didn't have a husband. Jesus replied by telling her that she had had 5 husbands and she was living with another man.
The woman was surprised that He knew so much about her life. She knew He had to be someone special, but she had no idea that He was God’s Son!
After talking to the woman some more, Jesus explained that He was God's Son. The woman was full of joy! She ran to tell the news to the people of the town just as Jesus' friends were coming back from getting food. She told the people how Jesus knew everything about her and how He might be God's Son. Many people came to see Jesus and they believed in Him just like the woman did. They were very thankful to the woman for running and telling everyone the good news of Jesus. The woman was happy because Jesus had changed her life. She was excited and wanted to tell everyone she knew about Jesus.
Bible Challenge “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)
Help students learn today’s Bible Memory verse by…..
Quote the verse if you... ate breakfast this morning, took a bath last night, have brown eyes, like broccoli, made your bed today, have a sister, are wearing red, etc.
Crazy Voices -- Put several different types of voices on index cards for the kids to draw: British accent, frog croak, mouse squeak, cheerleader yell, Southern accent, football player voice, underwater, etc.
Volume Control - Demonstrate by moving your hand up and down. Up means increase the volume while you are saying your verse; down means lower the volume. Let the children come up one at a time and be the volume controller.
One Way Game I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
In this game there is only one way to win and that is by keeping the balls inside the pathway. In the same way, Jesus says there is only ONE way to get to God, and that is through him. Jesus is our pathway to God.
You’ll Need: Masking tape, ping pong balls, and straws To Play: using masking tape, mark off straight pathways for each team, approximately five inches wide (you can make it wider for younger kids). Give each team one ping-pong ball and each player a straw. At the go players must take turns blowing through their straw to propel their ping-pong ball inside the pathway. If the ball rolls out of the pathway, the player must return to start to begin again. When players reach the opposite end of their path they must bring the ball to the next player in his or her team line. Play continues like this until all players have their turn.
Closing Activity Close by saying: Thank you God for loving us every day. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Blessing:May God, who is all around you, Beginning at the bottom of the circle, slowly pour his love upon you.make a large circle with your hands. Finish by bringing your hands down and wiggling the fingers to resemble rain.) And Jesus, his life a sacrifice,Slowly make a large sign of the cross. Then walk right there beside you.move your hands out to the sides. And may God’s Holy Spirit, Cross your hands over the heart. the one who lives inside you, keep you strong, Move to a “strong man” position. Then comfort, lead and guide you!cross your arms with the hands on corresponding upper arms to communicate comfort. Bring one hand forward with “lead” and the other with “guide” to complete the blessing.)
