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Children’s Sermon

John 4:5-42

Jesus Shares God’s Living Water

March 12, 2023

3rd Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Year A

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ASK (a.k.a The On-Ramp)

Good morning!
Have you ever been thirsty? Can you tell me what it feels like to be thirsty? (Mouth and throat gets dry; you just really want something to drink)
That was a very good description of what it means to be thirsty. Thank you.
Can you now tell me what helps you be NOT feel thirsty? (Water, Gaterade, Juice, etc.)
Those are all good answers. But what if you were really thirsty and I gave you…oh, I don't know...some crackers…Would that help your thirst? (No!)
Why not? [pause for answers] It'd only make you thirstier? Really?
Ok, what if I gave you...a pile of salt! Would that help? No? Are you sure? (Noooo! It would not help!)
So what would happen if we kept eating things that didn’t help our thirst? What would happen to us?
You’re right… We would not feel very good – at all!

TELL (a.k.a. The Freeway)

So this "thirsty" word mostly gets used in the way we just talked about: Our throats and mouths get dry and maybe raw -- and we need something cool and wet to make it better.
And if we don't drink something, then our bodies don't do too well. We don't feel well.
In a different way, our heart and mind and soul can also get thirsty for God's love.
But you know what we sometimes do? We sometimes try to give our hearts, minds, and souls something else for that thirst.
And that doesn't work out very well for us just like eating crackers and piles of salt don’t help a thirsty person.
In today's scripture story, this is the kind of thirst that Jesus is talking about with the woman at the well.
The woman has been giving things to her thirsty heart, mind and soul that left her feeling not very good.
And Jesus knows this.
Which is why he tells her, "Ask for living water so that you'll never be thirsty again."

SHARE the Good News (a.k.a. The Destination)

And you know what? Because the woman at the well listened to Jesus, it helped her to know what her heart, mind and soul needed.
Which made her so excited that she went and shared with everyone who was near her what she had learned.
And that led to all of the people in the town choosing to go listen to Jesus.
So Jesus stayed there for two more days to talk to them about how they could receive God's love.
The same thing is true for us: As we listen to and learn from Jesus about God's love that our hearts and minds are thirsty for, then we can better receive God's love and share it with those around us.
And that is the Good News for today.

CLOSING Prayer

Let’s pray. This is a repeat-after-me prayer.

Dear God,
Dear God,

Thank you for Jesus…

Thank you for Jesus…

…who teaches us about your living water.

Help us to receive and then share…

…your living water.

…your living water.

Thank you and Amen.

Originally posted March 14, 2014
Updated on February 12, 2023
Written and edited by Nathanael Vissia

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