A Woman Seeking for God (John 4:1-26, 39-42)

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What are you thankful for today?
How have you seen God working in your life this past week?
What difficulties are you experiencing in life? How may we help?
How did you apply last session’s discovery? What happened?
With whom did you share last session’s discovery? What was their response?

Instructions:

Please use the following steps to guide your discovery of God’s truth in the passages below. Need to review the Group Guidelines?

Discover

Step 1-Participants take turns reading sections of the passage (clarify new words/terms)
Step 2-One person reads the entire passage out loud while the rest listen
Step 3-A participant retells the passage in his/her own words (others add their thoughts)

A Woman Seeking for God (John 4:1-26, 39-42)

1Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2(though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” 10Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” 11“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” 13Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” 15“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” 16“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. 17“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—18for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” 19“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” 21Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” 25The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”26Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”

39Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” 40When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, 41long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. 42Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Ask/Answer:

What do you see in this passage?
What does this passage mean to you?
What do you like/not like about this passage?
How does this passage change the way you see God/people?

Respond: If this is true...

How should it change the way you live?
With whom will you share today’s discovery?

Close

Decide when the group will meet again
Close in prayer (for needs mentioned above)

A Woman Seeking for God (John 4:1-26, 39-42)

Connect

Instructions:

Discover

A Woman Seeking for God (John 4:1-26, 39-42)

Ask/Answer:

Respond: If this is true...

Close

Feedback/Comments