SundayMAXleaders Sunday School Resource Produced by Jane Tibbs—Children’s Adviser 19 March 2017, the third Sunday of Lent
Introduction Today we will hear about a meeting between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. The Samaritans came from a place called Samaria. The Jews from Galilee and Judea hated them because the Samaritans had built a temple for God on Mount Gerizim, in their own country, and didn’t want to worship at the temple in Jerusalem.
Game Collect the water
This is a wet game!!
You will need A dessert spoon for each child A bowl of water An empty bowl
Readings Exodus 17:1-7 Psalm 95 Romans 5:1-11 John 4:5-42
Divide the children into teams of four, kneeling in lines, sideways on (or vary the numbers according to your group) and give each child a dessert spoon. Place the full bowl of water at one end and the empty bowl at the other end. The first child takes a spoon of water and tips it into the next child’s spoon and so on until the end of the line, where it is poured into the empty bowl. At the end of a given time see who has collected the most water.
Pass the message Play this old game of passing on a whispered message, but play with half of each team at one end of the room and half at the other. When someone hears the message, they then have to run and tell the next person in line at the opposite end of the room. Which team passed the message most effectively?
Discussion Why was the woman surprised that Jesus had spoken to her? The woman was a Samaritan and Jesus was a Jew, but Jesus had come to share his message with everyone, not just the Jewish people. When Jesus was alive there were no taps or water pipelines, so where did people get their water from? Help the children to imagine what a difference it would make to our lives today, if we had to collect water from a well. For example, when Washing our clothes Having a bath Filling a swimming pool Watering the garden Water is a symbol of life and without it everything would die. Jesus called the water he could give the “water of life”. What do you think he meant? The water he was describing was the life which God gives. This life, or grace, is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit so that we never have to “thirst” for God.
Songs Come, Lord Jesus, come God’s not dead Have you heard the raindrops? If you see a special way Let’s get fit Worship the King
Kidsource 85 Kidsource 99 Kidsource 134 Kidsource 227 Kidsource 790
Craft Activity Water jars You will need play dough, salt dough, plasticene or some similar modelling material a picture of old water jars Make model water jars out of the modelling material. Check beforehand if the material used is water tight as some children will want to put water in them!
The Education Department, The Old Deanery, Wells BA5 2UG Tel:01749 685134 email:
[email protected]
Prayers Mirror prayers You will need some small mirrors, enough for each child if possible Give each child a mirror and invite them to look at themselves while you read this reflection. Look at yourself in the mirror. What do you look like? Think about the things you do and say every day, who you play with, who you are friends with, the things you enjoy doing. What makes you happy and what makes you sad or cross. Jesus loves you and wants to be your friend. He wants to talk about the things that make you happy or sad. He wants to talk about the things you like to do. He wants to help you be more like him. Loving Jesus, Thank you that you want to talk to us, And be our friend. Thank you that you love us as we are. Amen
The Education Department, The Old Deanery, Wells BA5 2UG Tel:01749 685134 email:
[email protected]
SundayMAXkids Sunday 19 March 2017
Today is the third Sunday of Lent
There has been no rain for two years now
This reservoir should be full of water
What will These places are just as dried up. They need God’s living water.
n
e p p
ha
Why?
These places are in need of water
now?
Thank you, Jesus, That you are interested in everyone. Help me to be a friend to the people that are left out and ignored. Amen
SundayMAX
story
Sunday 19 March 2017
Eyewitness It might be an idea to ask someone to dress up in costume to tell this story It was a hot day, I had no water and so I went out towards the well. I knew I would meet no one there, as no one else would walk with a heavy water jar at noon! When I got to the well, a Jewish man was sitting there. He looked tired and hot but, as a woman from my city would never talk to a Jewish man, I stayed quiet and began to fill my jar. Then he spoke to me and asked me for a drink. I was stunned – he talked to me. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I asked him why he spoke to me. Then he said the strangest thing. He told me he had living water so I would never be thirsty again. But I was very confused. There’s no such thing. Then this unusual man told me about my past, my private things. I got more and more surprised and started asking questions. Suddenly I thought, “Could he possibly be the Messiah?” I didn’t realise I had spoken aloud until he said, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” I knew this was too important to keep to myself, so I abandoned the water jar and ran to the city. I told everyone to go and see him. They believed me, a woman, and went to see Jesus. For two whole days, Jesus and his friends stayed, and many people believed that he truly was the saviour of the world.
SundayMAX
craft
Sunday 19 March 2017
Water jars from Jesus’ time
A jar found at Jerusalem
A jar found at Qumran
A jar found at Cana
SundayMAX
activity
Sunday 19 March 2017
This map shows the location of Judea and Samaria with the other countries around them
