Great Fast Week 4: Samaritan Woman
OBJECTIVE
Lent, also known as "the Great Fast," is the main fast of the Coptic Church. It 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 - 5 Minutes
Option 1:
Listen to the Lent Communion Melody:
Option 2:
Display the icon attached below and ask the kids what the picture depicts.
Explain to them that many people mentioned in the Bible lived lives full of sin but they started following Jesus afterwards. Examples are: Mary Magdalene who was possessed of seven demons, Zacchaeus who was a tax collector known for cheating the taxpayers, Saul who became Paul...etc.
Option 3:
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 - 10 Minutes
The reading for this Sunday of the Lent is John 4:1-42.
Please read the story from the Bible.
Memory Verse: "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst." (John 4:13,14)
CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes
The story of the Samaritan woman at the well is one of the most iconic encounters in the Bible.
Narrated in John 4: 1-42, it 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 associate with, as the Scripture explains.
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.
She apparently put down her waterpot, but she actually left her sinful life and slavery to sin, and gained the gifts of believing in Christ as God, freeing herself from sin, living water and preaching God's word.
Her encounter with Jesus is the longest between the Messiah and any other individual in the Gospel of John.
This woman not only has an encounter with Christ but also receives eternal salvation.
The Samaritan Woman in Our Coptic Church:
The Church, inspired by the Spirit, stresses in the period of Lent the use of prostrations during private prayers and in the Divine Liturgy .The practice of this week is to worship the Father in spirit and truth "for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." (John 4:23)
The Coptic Church devoted three occasions for the Samaritan woman throughout the year:
- The 4th week of the Great Lent (the middle Sunday)
- The 3rd week in the holy fifty days (the week of the living water)
- The 3rd prostration of the Pentecost
That means that this Gospel reading is read in our Coptic church three times a year.
The church prays the liturgy of the fourth Sunday with Lenten hymns.
DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 10 Minutes
- What was the name of the well Jesus and the Samaritan woman sat by?In what city? Jacob's well-Sychar.
- The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans,so why did Jesus talk with the Samaritan woman in the first place? He loves everyone unconditionally..He came for everyone and not just the Jews.
- The Samaritan woman, despite being a sinful woman, started following Jesus and preached to her community, how can this have an impact on our own lives?
- 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.
- What are you thirsting for? Friendship? Acceptance? Forgiveness? Healing? Boldness? Is your thirst inviting you to open more deeply to God?
LIFE APPLICATION - 10 Minutes
Lessons learnt from Jesus:
- We learned in this story about not despising the sinners and those who went astray. We either guide them to the right way if we can, or at least pray for them. "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14)
- We were taught how to be gentle when talking to even the worst of sinners. Having a big heart that fits everyone, could be a turning point in their lives.
Lessons learnt 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..."Be ashamed when you sin, not when you repent."---St.John Chrysostom
- Let others see Christ by helping them and loving them in a way that doesn't depend on who they are, but upon who Jesus is.
Think about some bad habits that are controlling your life and try your best to work on them during this fast, asking for the guidance of your father of confession.
- Examples are: Too much screen time, unhealthy eating habits, gossip, having bad friends, not listening to your parents, being too lazy to attend church services or read the Bible...etc.
- "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.." (Hebrews 3:15).
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: Crossword Puzzle
See attached below.
Option 3: Unscramble Worksheet
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 work on their weak points during the Lent and to always remember that God accepts true repentance from us as long as we work hard to quit bad habits just like the Samaritan woman who started a new life and even became a preacher to her community.
Encourage the kids to fast at least on Wednesdays, Fridays and during Holy Week.