Memory Verse:
I must finish the work that [God] gave me to do. John 4:34 (CEV)
Memory Verse Activity:
Make sickles. Use cardstock or cardboard to draw out the formof the handle and curved blade. Leave the
handle brown to resemble wood and cover the “blade” with aluminum foil.Write verse down handle.
Story:
John 4:31-38
Has your mom ever pointed something out to you that was around
you the whole time, but that you did not notice, like maybe your dirty
socks on the floor or your brother’s baby bottle.
Have you walked into theroom, looked around and said, “I don’t see it,” whatever “it” is? I bet your mom even walked back in the room with you and picked up exactly what
she asked you to go find! Jesus’ disciples had the same kind of problem.
They did not yet see the way Jesus saw. Let’s look back at the story of the
woman at the well and see what happened.
Do you remember our story about the woman?Jesus was tired from His journey through Samaria into Galilee and sat down by a well to rest. Did Jesus go to this Samaritan town alone? No, His disciples traveled with Him. Well, the woman came, around lunchtime, to draw water for her home but found out about the living water of having Jesus in her life. Do you remember where His disciples were while Jesus talked with the woman?
They went to town to find something for lunch. When the disciples returned with lunch, they
were surprised to find Jesus talking with this woman, this Samaritan woman, but none of them said anything.
Then, the disciples offered Jesus lunch, but He wouldn’t take it!
And you know what Jesus said? He said, “I have food to eat that you
don’t know about.” This confused His disciples! They asked each other if
anyone had brought Jesus something to eat while they had been away.
What they did not understand was that Jesus was not talking about
physical food like apples and ham and potato chips!
It is a little like what Jesus explained to the woman at the well about living water not being
physical water at all but Jesus in her life. Jesus was trying to explain to His disciples that telling people about God nourished Him and was more important to Him than food. Doing God’s work filled Jesus up inside and satisfied Him so that He did not even want to think
about eating. He was excited that the woman at the well had believed in God, through Him!
Jesus shared a story with them to explain even more! Jesus talked about the harvest, a time when farmers who have planted, go out into the fields and pick what is ready and what God has made grow. For Jesus and His disciples, it was the time of year when people would talk about
the harvest only being four months away. Jesus wanted them to see what He could see, that a harvest was ready right now! Do you remember thinking about those socks or a baby bottle in
the floor that you couldn’t see until your mom picked them up? Jesus wanted His disciples
to look around them. Yes, they were traveling from one place, through Samaria, to get to another, but God had plans for a woman at a well and many people in her town. They didn’t seem to see that. They had their minds on resting and eating lunch. Jesus wanted them to see that the people of Sychar needed to know, and wanted to know, about Him. Jesus told His disciples to look around them that the fields were ripe and ready for harvest. The harvest that Jesus was talking about was a harvest of people believing in God. Jesus knew what was happening in the city as the woman at the well told people she had met the One whom God
had sent and that He told her everything she had ever done! Do you remember, from last week, what happened next? Many people trusted in Jesus because of what the woman said and many others trusted when they listened to Him.
How about you? Have you trusted in Jesus, believing that He is the One sent from God? If not, will you now? And if you have, will you learn from Jesus and look around you? Who do you s
ee everyday at school/work, or on the way to school/work? Who do you see every afternoon? Have you ever told anyone about Jesus? Does it make you feel good when you get to talk about God with someone who wants to know why God loves them and why He sent Jesus to die in their place? Try it today!
Prayer:
Thank you, God, for loving me. Help me tell everyone I know that you love them, too. Help me to see like Jesus sees. I Pray for opportunities to share Jesus with someone today!
Amen
Craft:
I want to use this idea. With the memory verse on the palm, and the fruit basket above it, as shown here, and maybe carrots and pumpkins and broccoli and what not down the fingers?
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