Welcome Families: Below is a short lesson plan/activity you can do with your child

at home. This lesson is suited for preschool and older. Thanks to Group Publish-
ing for sharing these resources to us for families to us during this unique time in our
lives. Enjoy!
Jennie

We can worship God everywhere.

Bible Verse
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him” (Psalm 24:1).

Growing Closer to Jesus

You’ll ■ discover new places for worship,
■ realize they can worship God anywhere and everywhere, and
■ discover that worship is serving God.

Adult Enrichment
Bible Background
■ Jesus explains true worship.
Jesus came to the well in Samaria at the sixth hour—noonday—which meant it was during the
heat of day. Women would usually go to the well to draw water in either the morning or the
evening. The fact that this woman was there at noon likely indicated that she was unwelcome
among the women who probably came in groups at cooler times.
In Jesus’ day, the Jews looked upon Samaritans with disdain. That Jesus would even talk with
this Samaritan woman was particularly amazing. The fact that this woman apparently had been
divorced five times and was living with a sixth man made her a social outcast.
When Jesus confronted the woman with what he knew about her history, she decided to
change the subject and bring up an item of contention between Jews and Samaritans: Where
was the appropriate place to worship God? She must have thought that would take the focus off
her. But Jesus let her know that the place of worship wasn’t important; what mattered was that
she worship God sincerely “in spirit and in truth.”
Then she believed, and because of her witness, many others believed in Jesus, too.

Bold text is spoken text.

Game
■Special Place Go-To Gallery
SUPPLIES: Bible, pens or markers, pieces of paper, 3 coins per family member

Many families are suffering from “cabin fever”—a nearly overpowering desire to get outside and
back to familiar, fun places. That might be a playground, soccer field, friend’s house, coffee shop,
church, even school or work. But since you can’t go to those favorite places, why not bring them to
you?
Each person will need two pieces of paper and these instructions: on one piece of paper draw a
nearby favorite place you can’t wait to get back to. A gym, hiking trail, or your Sunday school
class, perhaps.
On the second piece of paper draw a place you’ve never been that you’d love to visit and
have become a favorite place. Paris, perhaps, or the space shuttle.
Allow time to draw and share about the drawings.
Ask: • Why are these places favorites?
• What do all these places we showed have in common besides being our favorites?
Everyone will lay out the pages together on the floor in a grid, their edges touching. Then everyone
will stand back on the other side of the room and take turns tossing coins to try to get the coins to
land on the sheets of paper. When they do, everyone will shout out the place and, “here we come!”
Say: All the places we drew have this in common: God is in all those places. God created them all,
and each of those places reflect his creativity and glory. We can worship God anywhere in part because
God is everywhere!
At a soccer field we can worship God by thanking him for making our bodies able to run and kick
goals. At the Great Pyramids of Egypt, we can thank him for being a living God, not a dead king who
wished to be worshipped.
Ask: • Looking at the Favorite Places you drew, what’s there that can prompt worshipping God?
Say: Let’s learn a Bible story where Jesus talked about worshipping God anywhere.

Bible Exploration & Application

■ Woman at the Well

SUPPLIES: Bible

Tell everyone they’ll be helping you tell about a time Jesus had a conversation with a woman.
They’ll help by doing actions when you mention specific words.
Demonstrate each action and have family members rehearse them. Practice a few times. Then
have family members do each action as you mention each word. Emphasize the words as you tell the
story so it cues everyone to do an action.
The actions are:
• Jesus (Touch one palm with the index finger of the other hand. Then touch the other palm with the
index finger of the first hand. This represents the nail holes in Jesus’ hands.)
• Woman (Pretend to put a jug of water on your head.)
• Well (Pretend to dip your hands into water.)
• Drink (Put your hands to your mouth and pretend to drink.)
• Water (Put both hands to the right and say “splish,” and then put both hands to the left and say
“splash.”)
• Worship (Kneel and put your hands together in prayer.)

Open your Bible to John 4:4-28 and tell this story: (or use this script provided)

Jesus and his disciples were on a trip, and they traveled through the country of Samaria. They’d been walking
for a long time. They were hot and dusty. It was about lunchtime, so the disciples went to buy food, while Jesus
sat down beside a well. A Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water. Jesus said to her, “Please give
me a drink of water from the well.”
The woman said, “I’m surprised that you ask me for a drink. You’re Jewish, and I’m a Samaritan.” The Jews
and the Samaritans didn’t like each other much.
Jesus said, “You don’t know who I am. If you knew, you would have asked me for living water, and I would
have given it to you.”
The woman said, “Where will you get this living water? This well is very deep, and you have nothing to get
water with.”
Jesus said, “The living water isn’t from the well. Every person who drinks the water from the well will get thirsty
again. But whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again.”
The woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet of God because you know so much. My ancestors have
always worshipped on this mountain, but the Jews say everyone must go to Jerusalem to worship.”
Jesus said, “You no longer have to be in Jerusalem or on this mountain to worship God. God wants people
who worship with their whole hearts wherever they are.”
The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain all of this to us.”
Jesus said, “I am the Messiah you are waiting for.”
The woman was so excited that she left her water jug and ran to town to tell everyone about Jesus.
The end! Good job helping me tell the Bible story.

Ask: • What was special about the water Jesus offered the woman?
• What did the woman learn from Jesus?
• What can we learn listening in to Jesus’ conversation with the woman?

Say: Jesus explained that we can worship God with our hearts. Our hearts go with us wherever we
go. That means that we can worship God everywhere. It means we can worship God whether we’re stuck
at home or traveling to the moon!

Service With a Smile

Say: Worshipping God is simply honoring him for who he is—and what he’s done. It
doesn’t have to look like singing aloud, or listening to a sermon, or even reading the Bible. It
can look like taking a hike and pausing to look at a pretty view and thinking, “Way to go,
God!”
Let’s take turns honoring God for who he is and what he’s done for us. I’ll start…
 Share something you appreciate about God and then invite everyone to join you. See if together
you can find 25 things you can honor God for—there are plenty to choose from!
When you’re finished, say: We have just served God as we’ve worshipped him. Let’s serve
one another now, too.
Everyone will take turns sharing things they appreciate about each family member in turn. Pointing
out the good things God is doing in and through each of you is a way to serve each other!