Jesus and the Woman at the Well

Passage

Familiarize yourself with the following:

John 4:1-43

Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Galilee from Judah. Most Jews would take the long way, to avoid Samaria because they did not like the Samaritan people, but Jesus wanted to go straight through this land. They stopped at a well on the outskirts of a little village. Jesus was hungry, so the disciples all went into the village to buy some food. While Jesus was waiting for them to return, a woman from the village came to get water. Jesus asked her for some water to drink. This request surprised the woman, because not only was she a woman (men and women did not speak very often in public), but she was also a Samaritan and Jesus was a Jew.  Jesus began to speak to the woman about living water. The woman wanted this living water of which Jesus spoke. Jesus told her to go back to the village and get her husband. When the woman admitted that she had no husband, Jesus commended her for her honesty, saying in fact that she was also currently living in sin with a man.  At this the woman realized that Jesus was a prophet and asked questions about the proper place to worship. She revealed that she knew the Messiah was coming and would explain these things to them. Jesus then told her that he was that man they were waiting for. At this the woman left Jesus and ran back to the village to tell everyone what had happened. They all came out to see the man she had told them about.
As the woman was leaving, the disciples came back with food. Jesus told them that he had food they did not know about, that his food was to do the will of God. As the villagers were coming out to see him, Jesus told his disciples to look up, for the fields are ready for harvest. Many people believed in Jesus that day because of the testimony of the woman. Jesus stayed with them for two more days. Many more believed in him during that time. After this, Jesus left for Galilee.

Object Lesson

Supplies Needed:
• A glass of water
Directions:
1. Before you share the story, hold up the glass of water. Ask the children:
a. What is this?
b. When do you like to drink water?
c. After you drink, are you ever thirsty again?
i. Why?
2. Explain to the children that science says we are thirsty again because water escapes our body in many ways and has to be replenished if we are to live. In this story Jesus defies logical science and says that he can give us water that will make us never thirst again!

Memory Verse

John 4:42
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Jesus Connection

From the time of Adam and Eve, when God pronounce the curse over mankind, to the time of Noah, to the time when Jesus was born, people had been waiting for the arrival of their Messiah. The woman in this story revealed that people knew he was coming (vs.25). Jesus not only confirmed that they should be waiting, but also revealed to her that he was the one they had been waiting for. The long awaited Messiah had finally arrived!
God loves the whole world. We saw that in the story of Nicodemus. (John 3:16) While most Jews found it difficult to interact with Samaritans and with women, Jesus casts aside social barriers and accepts the Samaritan woman as she was; a sinner who needs the love of God. God extends this same love to us today. He still reaches past social barriers with the love of Christ. Jesus is ‘not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.’ (2 Peter 3:9)

Songs

Deep and Wide

Deep and wide,
Deep and wide,
There’s a fountain flowing
Deep and wide.
Deep and wide,
Deep and wide,
There’s a fountain flowing
Deep and wide.

Wide and deep,
Wide and deep,
There’s a fountain flowing
Wide and deep.
Wide and deep,
Wide and deep,
There’s a fountain flowing
Wide and deep.

Games/Activities

River Tag:

Directions:
1. Explain that Jesus is the living water.
2. This is a game of tag. Choose one child to be it. All other children can run around the playing area as if they are swimming. (You may want to clear away any obstacles that can be tripped over or cause injury.)
3. If someone is tagged by the person who is it, they must sit down.
4. To get a sitting person back in the game, someone must swim in a circle around them.
5. The game is over when everyone has been tagged or when the teacher says stop.
6. Repeat this game as many times as you wish, giving a different child the chance to be it.

Drops of God’s Word

Supplies Needed:
• Rain drops templates
• Marker
• Bible verse
• Paper clips
• Magnet
• Plastic cup
• String
• Hole punch
Directions:
1. Prep this game before class. Print and cut out the rain drops templates (on blue paper if available). On one side of the raid drop write a word from the bible verse. On the reverse side write the number corresponding with that word’s location in the verse. Attach a paper clip to each rain drop.  Punch two holes in the top of the plastic cup. Tie a sting in the holes so that the cup can be raised and lowered like a bucket. Attach a magnet to the bottom of the cup.
2. In a contained area, scatter the rain drops. One at a time, have the children ‘scoop’ up the water drops. Encourage the children to work together to put the rain drops in order to reveal the bible verse for the day.

Crafts

3D Well

Supplies Needed:
• Well templates
• Scissors
• Colors
• Glue
• Tape
Directions:
1. Give each child a well template page to color.
2. Cut out the template along the solid lines.
3. Fold along the dotted lines, gluing/taping the tabs in place.

Coloring Page