Woman at the Well
THE WOMAN AT THE WELL
Objectives:
- Children should be able to tell the story of Jesus and the woman at the well.
- Children should be able to say the word, “evangelism” and know that it means telling people about Jesus.
Possible Lesson Plan:
- Open with prayer.
- Read the story of the woman at the well in The Zondervan Bible Storybook (2 copies total) on page 246. It is not in the Read with Me or the Children’s Bible. Or read the story here, using the icon for your illustration:
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The Story of the Woman at the Well
Jesus was tired. He was on a long journey and was resting by the well when a
woman arrived. When the woman started to draw water, He said, “Give me a drink.” The command shocked the woman because Jews didn’t associate with Samaritans. Jesus was a Jew and she was a Samaritan.
“How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?”
“If you knew the gift of God,” He said, “and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask Him and he would give you living water.”
His words confused her.“Sir, you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this living water? You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you?”
Could she dare to hope that this man was truly different? Maybe he could give her something that would take away her emptiness and shame. If He was greater than Jacob, who had given them the well, maybe there really was hope for her.
But then Jesus asked about her past. He asked the woman about her sin, revealing He knew EVERYTHING! How could he know? Was Jesus a prophet? She began to ask him questions about spiritual things.
“…An hour is coming,” He said, “when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah is coming… When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” Jews and Samaritans were both waiting for the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.
To the woman’s great surprise, Jesus replied, “I am He, the One speaking to you.”
His words hung in the air, and the woman could feel her heart rise up. Her thoughts swirled! Was she really speaking to the Messiah? Is that how He knew everything about her? She had to go and get others!
The woman went into the town and brought those she had avoided before to hear Jesus. Soon they, too, believed Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for!
That day, salvation came to those who believed and the Samaritan woman’s past was forgiven. Jesus knew her, even before she spoke a word, and Jesus knows you, too. He knows everything you have ever done… the good and the bad, and He loves you anyway. You can also know God and worship Him with your whole heart just like the woman at the well!
- Why was Jesus at the well? Where were the disciples? What was the woman doing? What did Jesus say to her? What did she do?
- True/False Questions:
True False
Jesus was sitting at a well. Jesus was sitting in his car.
A woman came to draw water. A woman came to buy a goat.
She went and told everyone to come. She went home for a nap.
- Talk a bit about evangelism: Say the word and repeat it until the children know it. What does it mean? Was that what the woman at the well did? Was she excited to tell her friends what Jesus had said? Is there anyone you know who does not know about Jesus? Have you told them? Why or why not?
- Make the Woman at the Well Game: Cut several jars for each student. Write on each a question about the woman at the well. Make a well from a 28-32 oz. tin can; the outside can be covered with gray construction paper and lines drawn like stone. Tie a string to a small hole in each jar and put the jars in the well with the strings hanging over the side. See if the student can answer the questions drawn from the well.
- Close with prayer. Lord Jesus, make me so excited that I want to tell everyone about you, like the woman at the well.
