Great Fast Week 4: Samaritan Woman
OBJECTIVE
Lent, known as "the Great Fast," is the main fast of the Coptic church. Lent starts with a pre-Lent fast of one week, followed by a forty day fast commemorating Christ's fasting on the mountain, followed by the Holy Pascha week.
The Gospel reading for the fourth Sunday of the Lent is John 4:1-42. The reading is about the story of the Samaritan woman who lived a sinful life but despite this, Jesus called her to eternal salvation. We are taught that Jesus came for everyone and not just the Jews.
INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 10 Minutes
Option 1:
Listen to the weeks of the Lent song:
Option 2:
Display the icon of Jesus and the Samaritan woman attached below and ask the children what it depicts.
Ask the children if they know saints whose lives changed from darkness to light and they started following Jesus. Examples are: St.Paul, St. Moses the Strong, St.Augustine, St.Paesia, etc.
Option 3:
Bring a pitcher and a large deep bowl filled with water to class as demonstrative tools. Engage a boy (Jesus) and a girl(Samaritan woman) in the conversation of the story.
Option 4:
Hold a sponge over a bowl and slowly pour water onto the sponge so that the sponge is soaked up.Keep pouring until the water drips and flows out of the sponge to the bowl.The idea is that Jesus(the living water) fills us to overflowing so we give the extra to others.Use this example as a hook to the story.
HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes
The reading for this Sunday of the Lent is John 4:1-42.
Memory Verse: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst." (John 4:14)
CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes
The story of the Samaritan woman describes how Jesus, traveling through Samaria on His way to Galilee, sat by a well in the city of Sychar.
There, around noon, while His disciples were in town buying food, He met a Samaritan woman who was coming to draw water from the well known as Jacob's well. He asked her for a drink and the conversation started from there.
This surprises the woman very much. Do you know why? It is because Jesus is a Jew, and she is a Samaritan. And most Jews do not like Samaritans. They won't even talk to them But Jesus loves all kinds of people. So He says: 'If you knew who was asking you for a drink, you would ask Him and He would give you life-giving water.'
'Sir,' the woman says, 'the well is deep, and You don't even have a waterpot. Where would You get this life-giving water?'
'If you drink water from this well you will get thirsty again,' Jesus explains. 'But the water I will give can make a person live forever.'
'Sir,' the woman says, 'give me this water Then I will never be thirsty again. And I won't have to come here to get water anymore.'
The woman thinks Jesus is talking about real water. But He is talking about the truth concerning God and His kingdom. This truth is like life-giving water. It can give a person everlasting life.
Jesus now tells the woman: 'Go and call your husband and come back.'
'I don't have a husband,' she answers.
'You answered right,' Jesus says. 'But you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband.'
The woman is amazed, because all of this is true. How did Jesus know these things? It is because Jesus is the Promised One sent by God. At this moment Jesus' disciples come back, and they are surprised that He is talking to a Samaritan woman.
We are told some key facts about this woman, we know that she was a Samaritan woman(whose name was not mentioned in the Bible), belonging to a race that the Jews did not like.
The story of the Samaritan woman brings with it many teachings. When she discovers His identity as the Messiah, she puts down her waterpot, just as the disciples left their nets, and becomes an effective evangelist for her community.She told the men that He told her everything she ever did.
This woman not only met Christ but also received eternal salvation.
DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 10 Minutes
- What was the name of the well Jesus and the Samaritan woman sat by?Jacob's well.
- Is it OK if we treat only the people who are similar to us nicely?No.
- Why did Jesus talk with the Samaritan woman although the Jews did not like the Samaritans?Because He loves everyone and came for us all and not just the Jews.
- What did Jesus mean when He said He was the living water? He could wash away her sin,he could change her life and fill her with joy.
- Think about some bad habits you need to quit.
LIFE APPLICATION - 10 Minutes
Lessons learned from Jesus:
- Jesus taught us how to be gentle when talking to everyone.Having a big heart that fits everyone is the key.
Lessons learned from the Samaritan woman:
- We also learned that a single mouth can teach the whole neighborhood about Christ. Once the Samaritan saw and knew Jesus, she preached to the whole city, and they believed her although she lived a sinful life.People can know Christ through my actions.
Think about some bad habits and try your best to work on them during the fast.
- Examples are: Too much screen time, unhealthy eating habits, not listening to your parents, being too lazy to attend church services or read the bible...etc.
ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes
Option 1: The Waterpot Craft
Materials needed: Hole puncher, Foam cups, Pipe cleaners, Tape, Memory verse printout to tape onto each cup.
Punch two holes opposite to each other at the top of each cup and attach one pipe cleaner through the holes of the cup as a handle then tape the memory verse printout on the cup. Fill the cup with water(optional). Encourage them to memorize the memory verse at home.
See Image of craft and Memory Verse printout attached below
Option 2: Coloring Sheet
See attached below.
Option 3: Wordsearch
See attached below.
SERVANT RESOURCES
PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK
Review the story of the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-42) with your kids. Encourage them to give up bad habits just like the Samaritan woman who started a new life and even became a preacher to her community.