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JU Basic Faith: The Woman at the Well Print E-mail
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Preparation:

  • Scripture readings from:    John 4:4-26, John 4:39-42
  • Spend some time in prayer for the lesson and each student—that God will open their hearts and minds and teach them from His Word.


Introduction: 
In this lesson we are going to look at the story of the woman at the well.  This woman had a lot of things that would make it seem that Jesus would not stop to talk to her, but He did and the amazing thing is that she believed in Him and through her, others came to know Him!  This lesson is to show that Jesus is reaching out to every single one of us, no matter what we have done or what our circumstances are.  He is still desirous of a relationship with us and will make a difference in our lives.  This woman was not only a woman (women of that time were treated as second class citizens) but she was also a Samaritan (that was a hated race) and she was living in sin.  So this story shows that whether it’s something we are born with (like our gender or our race) or something that we have chosen to do (various sins), God loves us no matter what!!

Activity:
Have the students’ think of a famous person who they would like to meet (someone from the past or the present, but someone that the majority of the group would also know).  Have each student either act out or give clues in order to have the rest of the group guess who the person is.  After the group has guessed who it is have the student explain to the group why he or she picked that particular person and why they want to meet them. 

After a few minutes, say: Now talk with your group about your "brushes with greatness"—about important people you or someone you know have already met. For example, (take a minute to describe your own brush-with-greatness experience). Remember, if your grandmother's next-door neighbor's cousin knows someone…that counts.
Allow a few minutes for kids to recall their brushes with greatness. Then invite groups to share.
Ask: How did your life change as a result of your brush with greatness? Why do we want to meet important people?
Say: It's fun to encounter important or famous people. But most of the time, our brushes with greatness are momentary encounters that don't have much impact on our lives. Today we're going to talk about a woman who had a brush with greatness that not only changed her life but also many other people’s lives and He can also change our lives—Jesus Christ!

Digging Deeper
Discuss:
  • Do you ever feel that you have done too many bad things that God would not only have a hard time forgiving you, but He also certainly wouldn’t want a relationship with you?

We are going to look at a story of a woman who had many things stacked against her, but Jesus took the time to reach out to her and point her to God. 

Read:  John 4:4-26

Discuss:
  • Who were the Samaritans?  (Historically, some of the Jews had intermarried with foreigners and the Samaritans were the descendents of those Jews and foreigners.  Samaritans were seen as impure by most Jews because they felt that their fellow Jews who had intermarried had betrayed the Jewish nation)
  • Say:  being a Samaritan was one “strike against her”, another was the fact that she was a woman and not only that, she was known to be living in sin.  Any one of these reasons would have been enough for Jesus (as a Jewish male) to not talk to her.  This did not deter Him at all, however, He stopped to talk to her (which shocked her!) and shared with her the truth of the gospel.
  • How would you feel if you were this woman?
  • Do you ever feel like God couldn’t possibly love you because of either something you were born with (your race, you come from a “bad” family, a handicap, your personality etc.) or because of something you have done?  What does this story show you about that?  (Hopefully every student will be able to identify with the fact that this woman had many things “against” her—some that she had no control over like her gender and race and some that were because of choices she had made.  This did not matter at all to Jesus, though.

Say:  Even though Jesus loved her where she was, He still wanted her to have a better life and stop living in sin.  He did not ignore the fact that she was living with a man who wasn’t her husband, He confronted her on it because He knows that when a person is living in sin, it causes a wedge to come between the person and God and they will live a fulfilled and satisfied life until they change their ways.

Sometimes, we just end the there, but the exciting thing is that there is more to the story!

Read:  John 4:39-42
  • What did this woman do after she left Jesus?
  • What effect did this have on the entire town?
  • What does this story tell you about yourself? (no matter what we have done or who we are, God can still use us in the lives of others!)
Application:
Take some time to consider areas of your life that you thought were keeping you from a relationship with Jesus (if there are any).  Jesus doesn’t want you to continue to live in sin (just like He didn’t want the woman at the well to live in sin) because He knows that there is a better life out there for you, but if you confess your sins…you are forgiven (1 John 1:9)!  Go to God and talk to Him about the things that have been coming between you and Him—whether it’s part of your past that you have no control of or things that you have chosen to do.   

Close it out:
Don’t ever allow yourself to be deceived into thinking that God couldn’t possibly want a relationship with you—He definitely does!  He made you and no matter what you have done He wants to spend time with you and for you to go to Him.  Find time to do that throughout this coming week!

Pray together and for each other!  Thank God for His constant love and forgiveness.  Pray that each student will be able to go to God and see His love for them no matter what their background!
 
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