Lent Three
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Preparation
Gathering
Story Time
Response
Closing
Preparation:
Read the Gospel for the day over - John 4: 5- 42 it can be found online at http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/ALent/aLent3.htm
Pay attention to the words or phrases that jump out at you.
Read over the lesson so that you are familiar with what is intended to happen. Gather the materials that you will need for each section of the lesson. If you can, print up the picture for the week from the website. For deeper thinking or for ways to extend the lesson take a look at the following websites:
http://www.textweek.com/yeara/lenta3.htm
http://www.efree.mb.ca/lectionarypuzzles/in-awmp.htm#top
http://www.homiliesbyemail.com/leaf/cas/current.html
http://msssbible.com/newtestament/womanatwell.htm
Materials needed:
Small table or end of one table
Purple candle
Bible & Bookmark
Rocks of various sizes
Purple cloth (optional)
Bowl or container with deep sides filled up just over half way with water
Map or globe showing water and land
Gather around the small table or at the end of one table. If you have the purple cloth, put it down and place the candle in the middle of it. Have the children put the rocks around the candle. Ask the children if they know how many days of Lent have gone by since you were last together (6, because we do not count Sunday).
Light the candle.
Pray the following prayer together:
Holy God,
We come to learn,
We come to grow,
We come to find Jesus,
Be with us in all we do. Amen.
Blow out the candle. Put the bowl/container of water where everyone can see it. Ask the children where water comes from - they will probably have a number of different ideas - keep track of them. Look at the map/globe and see how much water the earth is made from. Spend a few moments talking about how we can live without food for a long time but we can't live without water for very long. If you printed up the picture of the day from the website take a look at what is happening in it. Ask them if they can identify the people who are in the picture. If they can't don't worry about it as it will become clear during the story.
Materials needed:
Comfortable place to set up a story area - around a table or on the floor with cushions
Container with water in it
Jug of water and cups to drink from
Jesus and his friends had been walking a long way. They were all tired. They were making their way back to Galilee where many of them lived with their families. They came to a city called Sychar. It had a big well in the middle of it. This well had a special name; it was called Jacob's Well for an ancestor of their people. It was also in a country where Jesus and his friends did not usually go. They were strangers in that town.
Jesus sat down by the well. The water looked very good and he was very thirsty. Then he noticed a woman coming to the well. She was carrying a jug to get some water for her home. Jesus was just a bit curious. It wasn't the usual time for women to be coming to the well. He decided that he needed to talk to her.
When the women put her jug down, Jesus said to her, "May I have a drink?"
Well the woman was so surprised. How was it that a stranger was talking to her? She said, "How come you are talking to me? You are a stranger here. I am a woman and you are a man."
Jesus smiled at her. "If you knew who you were talking to and the gift of God that I could give you, you would be asking me for the living water."
The woman was astonished by what Jesus was saying. She looked at Jesus and said, "You don't have a bucket and this well is very deep. Where does this living water come from?"
Jesus knew that this woman was curious about what he was saying. He looked at her and said, "When you drink the water from this well you will get thirsty again and need some more water. The water I want to give you is the water of God's life. It will satisfy you all the time. It will be like a spring bubbling up inside of you."
Now the woman didn't understand what Jesus was saying. She said to him, "Then give me this water, so that I never have to come back here and get water again."
Jesus told her, "I know so much about your life. You are very sad. Things have not gone the way you wanted them to."
"What you say is so true. I can tell that you are someone who comes from God." The woman was looking straight at Jesus when she said this.
"The time will come," said Jesus, "when your people and my people will be together. We will worship God together and know God together."
The woman said, "I know that the Messiah is coming. The one who will save us all."
Jesus said to her, "You are looking at the Messiah. I have come from God to bring the living water to everyone."
Jesus' friends showed up just then. They were astonished to see Jesus speaking to this person who was both a stranger and a woman.
Right away the woman left Jesus and went into the city. She told everyone she met to come with her and meet the man who told the truth about her life. She told them that she had found the Messiah.
Many people came to see Jesus and they too came to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the one from God.
Idea #1: Water Containers
This idea connects with Jacob's Well that the Jesus met the Samaritan woman at. It probably won't be a good idea to use it for water but the children can put other things in their containers when they are dry.
Materials needed:
Play Clay Recipe
1 cup flour
½ cup salt
1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons crème of tartar
1 cup boiling water
Put all the ingredients except the water into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour the boiling water over and mix with spoon. Take out of bowl and knead with hands. If the dough seems sticky add some more flour, if too dry add a little bit more water. Knead until smooth. Put into plastic bag or container to keep before using.
Cookie sheet lined with waxed paper
Instructions: Make up the play clay ahead of time. The recipe is about enough for two children but can be easily multiplied if needed. Give each child some of the clay. Let them feel the clay in their hands. Explain that they are going to create water containers like the woman would have used at the well. Let them use the clay to create their containers. When they are finished have them put them on the cookie sheet. They will take a few days to air dry so tell the children that they can have them the following week.
Idea #2: Living Water Prints
This idea is one that will make the connection between water and the promise of life that Jesus gives to the woman at the well. In First Nation communities' water is important to everyone - it is used for cleansing and drinking. Water is also used for leisure and travel. The gift of water comes from God.
Materials needed:
Card Stock - white if you can get it
White crayons or white candle
Blue tempera paint
Paint brushes
Container for paint
Newspaper
Instructions:
Print with the white crayon or white candle the words LIVING WATER COMES FROM JESUS and if you have room try to make it look like water is gushing out of the words onto the card stock. You might also want to put the following symbols on which come from the First Nation tradition - a river, lake, or clouds. Mix up the tempera paint with more water than usual so that it is quite thin. Spread the newspaper on the table where the painting will be done. Give everyone a prepared card stock and tell them that a special message is on it. Show them how to spread the paint over the card and when they are done show them the words come up to the front. When the paint is dry invite the children to put up the print where they can see it and remember the story of Jesus at the well.
Idea #3: Outreach Water Project
This idea will help the children connect with the issues of water around the world. Water is a precious resource for all of us. Jesus emphasized this when he talks about eternal life being like living water.
Materials needed:
Websites:
http://www.pwrdf.org/fileadmin/fe/files/res_2007_calendar.pdf
http://www.pwrdf.org/fileadmin/fe/files/res_2007_calendarbk.pdf
http://www.freethechildren.com/programs/healthcare/index.html
http://mcc.org/reliefsales/children/action/waterprojects/
Instructions: Take a look at the above websites. Find an idea or project that you are willing to present to the children. With the children explore the issue of water shortages, accessibility to clean water, and any others that may come up in your explorations. With the children decide which project they want to take on. This may take more than just this week, so if you decide to go with this idea, make time each week to connect with the children on how things are going.
Gather with the children around the worship table again. Relight the candle. Say the prayer line by line and encourage the children to repeat it after you:
Jesus be with us in Lent,
Jesus be near us each day,
Jesus be with our families. Amen.
