VBS Day 3 - Magnify God’s Love

Overview

The Big Truth 

God is not OK with sin, and yet He still loves sinners like me.

Zoom In 

I can be confident God loves me. 

Bible Verse

Proclaim the LORD’s greatness with me; let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:3

Today’s Point

God loves me.

Bible Story

The Woman at the Well (John 4:1-42) 

Introduction

Older Kids

Start It (3 MINUTES) 

Form two relay teams. Assign each team a water cup on the opposite side of the room and put the pitcher of water on a level surface between the teams. 

Set the timer for two minutes. At your signal, players will fill their droppers with water, run to the cup, empty the dropper, and return it to the next person in line. 

When time expires, use the measuring cup to determine which team collected the most water. 

FOR OLDER KIDS 

Instead of using eye droppers, give each player a drinking straw. Require a player to create suction by inserting one end of the straw into the water, then covering the other end with a finger. He must press his finger to the end of the straw until he reaches the measuring cup and can release the water. Allow all kids to walk back and forth from the water source to their team’s cup at the same time. 

Place a droplet of water on your hand. Ask: “What would you see if you magnified this drop of water under a microscope?” Mention that a single drop of untreated pond or lake water can be home to thousands of single-celled living things. Say: “Jesus told a woman about a different kind of living water—one that could keep people from ever being thirsty again.” 

Younger Kids

TAKE CLOSE-UP PHOTOS 

Supplies: Bible, “Book: What Fruit Is It?” (pack item 28), digital cameras or other devices the children can use to take digital photos 

Open the Bible and take a close-up photo of the text in the Bible. 

Show the Bible photo to preschoolers. Send one or two children around the room to take a couple of close-up photos of objects in the room. Assist as needed. 

Read the book (pack item 28) to other preschoolers as you wait for those children to return. 

Ask children to show their photos. Other children can guess what the objects are. 

Repeat, sending two other children to take photos. 

Bible Story

Show the Jesus picture from “Peekaboo: Bible” (pack item 10). Ask preschoolers to tell things that Jesus did in the two stories they have already heard at VBS. 

Say: “Today we will hear another story about Jesus.” Show the peekaboo envelope and lead kids to look at the window and guess what the picture is. 

TELL THE BIBLE STORY 

Open the envelope and remove the picture from it. 

Show the preschoolers the picture as you say: “This is a well. In some places, people use wells to get the water they need. They dip a bucket or jar into the well and pull out the water. Listen to what happened one day beside a well.” 

Set aside the picture and open your Bible to John 4. 

Younger Kids

THE WOMAN AT THE WELL 

John 4:1-42 

Jesus and His disciples had walked for a long time. They stopped to rest near a well. Jesus’ disciples (helpers) went into the town to buy food. Jesus sat down by the well to rest and wait. 

Before long, a woman came to the well to get some water. Jesus asked, “Will you give Me a drink of water?” The woman was surprised that Jesus talked to her. Most people where Jesus was from did not like the people in Samaria. She asked Jesus why He would talk to a Samaritan woman. 

Jesus wanted to talk to the woman. He wanted her to know how much God loved and cared for her. Jesus told the woman many things she needed to know. He even told her about ways she had disobeyed God. Jesus told the woman about God’s love. He also told her that He is God’s Son. The woman was amazed at the things that Jesus said to her. 

When the disciples returned, they were surprised to see Jesus talking to the woman. The woman was very excited about the good news Jesus had told her. She left her water jar and hurried into town to tell the people what Jesus had said. 

The people came from town to see Jesus. They wanted to talk with Jesus and learn more about God. They were glad they had heard Jesus themselves. The people knew that Jesus is God’s Son. 

Older Kids

Learn It (8 MINUTES) 

Call attention to the “Day 3 Bible Story Picture” (item 3). Say: “In Bible times, there were no garden hoses or water fountains. Each day, women would bring water jars, a bucket, and a rope. They would lower the bucket into the well, pull it up, and fill the jars. Without a rope or a bucket, how would you get a drink?” 

Open your Bible to John 4. As you tell the Bible story, place the appropriate “Conversation Balloons” (item 20) above the illustrations of Jesus and the woman in the Bible story picture to show summaries of their conversation. Remove the previous balloon each time you add a new one (see directions in parentheses). 

The Woman at the well 

As Jesus and His disciples were traveling through a place called Samaria, Jesus was tired. He stopped at a well to rest while His disciples went to buy food. A Samaritan woman came to get water from the well. Jesus asked the woman to give Him a drink of water. (Balloon 1—Jesus) The woman was surprised because Jews usually didn’t speak to Samaritans. 

She asked Jesus, “Why are You, a Jew, asking me, a Samaritan, for a drink?” (Balloon 2—woman) 

Jesus said, “If you knew the gift God has for you and who is speaking to you, you would ask Me for water, and I would give you living water.” (Balloon 3—Jesus) 

The woman said, “Sir, You don’t even have a bucket and this well is deep. Where do You get this ‘living water’?” 

Jesus replied, “Whoever drinks from this well will get thirsty again. Whoever drinks from the living water I give will never be thirsty! He will have eternal life!” 

The woman said, “Give me some of this living water so I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to keep coming to get water.” (Balloon 4—woman) 

“Go get your husband and come back,” Jesus said. 

The woman replied, “I don’t have a husband.” Jesus already knew this was true. Then Jesus told the woman about ways she had disobeyed God. These were things that a stranger would not know about her. She recognized that Jesus was different. 

The woman replied, “I know God’s promised Savior is coming.” (Balloon 5—woman) 

Then Jesus told her, “I am God’s promised Savior.” (Balloon 6—Jesus) 

The disciples returned from town and saw Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman. They were surprised to see Jesus talking to the woman, but they did not ask why. The woman left her water jar at the well and told other people in the town about Jesus, the Savior. (Balloon 7—woman) She explained how Jesus had told her things about her life that only He could know. Many Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of what the woman said, so the people came to Jesus and asked Him to stay in the town longer. Jesus stayed in the town for two days. When people heard the things Jesus said, they told the woman, “Now we believe in Jesus, not just because of what you said, but because we have heard for ourselves. We know that He really is the Savior of the world!” (Display Balloon 8) 

John 4:1-42 

Activities

Older Kids

Younger Kids

Do the possum gospel plan

PLAY A MOVING GAME 

Play “Magnified!” Tell preschoolers to pat their stomachs to the music. Toss the “Game Cube” (pack item 24). If the cube lands on 1, pat your knees; if 2, continue to pat stomach; if 3, pat your shoulders. 

Continue tossing the cube randomly and adjust the pats accordingly. 

As time allows, replay the song or play another song and change the movements. (Suggestions: 1 = bounce on toes; 2 = clap hands; 3 = lift shoulders) 

TALK ABOUT THE BIBLE STORY 

Show the picture of the well from “Peekaboo: Bible” (pack item 10). Ask preschoolers to tell what they remember about the Bible story with a well. 

Show the picture of Jesus. Ask what Jesus said to the woman. 

Show the name Jesus. Say: “This is Jesus’ name. What did the woman and the people learn about Jesus?” 

Lay the other word cards on the floor: God loves me. Read the words. Say that Jesus taught the woman and the people that God loves them. 

Use the “Bible Story Picture 3” (pack item 3) and the “Questions” (pack item 20) for more conversation about the Bible story as time allows. 

Conclusion

Older Kids

Younger Kids