Jesus Gives Me Living Water
A Bible Lesson over the Woman at the Well
Opening Activities:
1. As the kids come in, give them some saltine crackers or pretzels, but don’t give them anything to drink. Talk with them about what it is like to be thirsty. Have you ever had a time when you were really thirsty? What did you do? Keep offering them the crackers or pretzels as you discuss what it is like to be thirsty. Then say, “Today we are going to talk about what it means to have LIVING WATER!” Depending on the kids, you may want to offer them a drink before going on to the lesson. If your kids can handle it, though, don’t give them the drink until the lesson is over.
2. Do a science experiment to demonstrate LIVING WATER. Beforehand, fill two glass canisters with liquid. In one glass canister, have simply water. In the other one, have Sprite (or a drink like Sprite). Then hold up a couple raisins. The raisins represent our lives. Put some raisins in the glass with water. The raisins should sink to the bottom and stay there. Say, “This is what it is like when we do not have Jesus in our lives. We go through life but we never really experience true life. We stay at the bottom, in the dumps, not really getting anywhere at all. But when Jesus comes along, He gives us living water . . . water that causes us to have true life! With Jesus, we can SOAR!” Put the raisins in the Sprite and watch what happens!
3. Give the kids water and straws and let them blow into the straws to make bubbles in the water. Who can make the largest bubbles? Who can make the fastest bubbles? The kids will have a blast with this . . . let them explore and have fun! For even more fun, add food coloring to some of the water! When they are finished playing with the water, say, “It was a lot of fun making bubbles in our water, wasn’t it? Well, today we are going to learn about the LIVING WATER that Jesus gives us . . . water which makes our life BUBBLE with joy!”
The Lesson
For added fun during this lesson, have a teen or adult volunteer standing nearby. Every time the word “water” is said, have someone spray that volunteer with a squirt gun or throw a cup of water on him. The kids will LOVE seeing this happen!
(Have someone dressed in a Bible costume share today’s lesson. This is the woman at the well.)
Have you ever had a time when you were really, really thirsty and all you could think about was having a drink of nice, cool, refreshing water? Let me tell you about a time when I was thirsty . . . but then I met someone who showed me that what I really needed wasn’t a drink of this water (holds up a cup) but a drink of LIVING water!
It all started when I was getting some water from the well in our town. Have you ever had to get water from a well? It’s not easy! First, I had to walk to the well, carrying my empty bucket! Can you show me what you think it would look like to walk to a well carrying a bucket? (encourage kids to walk in place acting like they are carrying a bucket).
Once I got to the well, I had to lower the bucket down into the well, fill it with water, and then bring it back up again. Show me what you think that would look like! (have kids act like they are drawing water out of a well)
Getting water from a well takes a lot of work! It makes you tired! What do you look like when you are tired? Can you show me? (have kids show “tired” expressions).
Well, when I got to the well on this day, I noticed that I wasn’t alone! There was someone else at the well with me! There was a man at the well. This man wasn’t from my town. In fact, I could tell by looking at him that he was from a group of people that didn’t like the people of our town very much at all. I was sure he would go away when he saw me a the well next to him. And, if he didn’t go away, I was sure he would act like he didn’t even see me. Show me what you look like when you want to act like you don’t see someone. (have kids close eyes or turn head away to act this out)
But this man didn’t go away and He didn’t act like I wasn’t there! No, he started to talk to me! Yes, you heard me right, he TALKED to me! I was very surprised! What do you look like when you are surprised? Show me your most surprised look. (have kids show “surprised” looks).
This man asked me to give him a drink of water. I couldn’t believe he would ask ME for water, and I told him so. Then he told me that if I knew who he was, I would have asked HIM for water and he would have given me living water.
I thought that was very funny! How could HE give ME water? He didn’t have anything to use to get the water! He didn’t have a bucket or anything. He couldn’t give me water. What do you look like when you think something is funny? Do you laugh? Show me! (have kids laugh)
But this man didn’t stop there. He told me that everyone who drinks of this water would thirst again, but whoever drinks the water that he gives would never thirst again! Wow! I wanted that water! Could you imagine? I would never have to go to the well again! I would never be thirsty again! That would be something worth celebrating! Can you celebrate with me? (have kids cheer and clap their hands).
Guess what happened next? This man started to tell me about ME! He knew about the bad life I was living. He knew about all the wrong things I had done. He knew ME! That’s when I found out who this man was. This man was JESUS – the one who had been promised to come and save us! And here he was, talking to me at the well and offering me living water!
Meeting Jesus changed my life, and meeting Jesus will change YOUR life, too!
Yes, a nice, cool, refreshing cup of water will take away your thirst for awhile, but only Jesus can truly satisfy! I want to THIRST for JESUS! I want Him to change my life and make me more like him. What about you? Will you let Jesus change your life?
Beforehand, use large blocks to make the shape of a well. (You can even have the kids do this with you before the lesson begins). Say, “The woman in today’s story needed Jesus to change her life. She had done a lot of bad things, and Jesus knew all about those things — but He still loved her and wanted to give her that living water. Jesus wants to give you that living water, too! He wants to forgive you for all the bad things you have done and help you live for Him!” Give the kids a piece of paper shaped like a bucket or glass of water. On this bucket, have them draw or write a prayer to Jesus asking Him to change their lives or a picture of something they need Jesus to forgive and to help them not do anymore. Once they have drawn their pictures, have them drop them in the “well” that you made out of blocks. Say, Jesus can give you LIVING WATER, too!
Additional Activities:
1. Play water games! If it is a hot day, go outside and run through the sprinkler or play a game of sponge dodge ball. Talk about how refreshing water can be . . . but that the water that refreshes our soul is only found in Jesus!
2. Set some empty two liter bottles up on a table. Give your kids a squirt gun and have them try to shoot the two liter bottles so that they fall over. Each time the kids get one to fall over, ask a review question from today’s lesson.
3. Give the kids grapes (or other fruit) and yogurt and have them design (and then eat) their own wells.
4. Service project: Have the kids collect unopened water bottles and then deliver them to people in your area who could use them!
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Hope you enjoyed this lesson and that you are able to use it with your kids! If you are looking for a longer study to do with all ages, check out Journeying Through James. This is study that we did in all of our children’s ministries a few years ago (we used it with elementary, junior high, and high school aged kids). It takes you through the book of James in one school year. Click on the image below to find out more!
May God bless you as you serve Him!
Cheri
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Cheri Gamble 
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