PRAYER / WORSHIP ACTIVITY
OPTION 1
10 mins
You will need: a gift box with a lid, containing a ‘heart’, a thank you card and a certificate saying ‘You are special’. Think about worship and what it means. Worship is described as an ‘expression of reverence or devotion’. Open the box, inviting three volunteers to help. Remove each item. What do they symbolise? A ‘heart’ means love. In worship, we tell God we love him. A thank you card reminds us to thank God for who he is and all he has done. The certificate reminds us God is very special. Ask everyone to imagine one item and invite the Holy Spirit to inspire worship.
OPTION 2
10 mins
You will need: a short video from YouTube of someone meeting the Queen.
Invite everyone to imagine they are meeting the Queen. Play the clip and ask how it might feel if they met a king or queen. What might they say? Jesus is the King of Kings, and greater than any famous person. He wants to talk with us. As you lead prayer, ask everyone to open their hands. Thank God that he is always beside us. In his presence there is hope, peace, and joy.
STORY
10 mins
This is an interactive story, told by the Samaritan woman about her amazing meeting with Jesus by the Well (John 4:1-30, 39-42). You will need: a well- this could be the Font or an empty paddling pool, something to act as the Samaritan woman’s home, a jug of water and a plastic cup by the ‘Well’. We are retelling the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (John 4:1-42). Ask a few people to be friends at the Samaritan woman’s home. The congregation are people from Sychar in Samaria. It’s lunchtime on a hot day. We will call the Samaritan woman ‘Miriam’ (the Bible doesn’t name her).
(Miriam runs to the house, breathless.)
Friend: Miriam why have you been such a long time?
Miriam: ‘I’m so sorry. You will never guess what’s happened. I’ve just had a conversation with a Jew, named Jesus. I can’t believe he spoke to me, Jews never speak to us! He asked me for water from the well, I was really surprised. It’s so hot and he had no bucket or rope to draw water. Oh, no I’ve left my bucket by the well! He said that if I knew who he was and the gift God has, I would be asking him for a drink! I was puzzled because he said he would give me living water! How was that possible as he had no bucket or rope? He replied that unlike the water in the well, his water is a gushing fountain of life, eternal life! (Miriam waves excitedly).
I asked him for some of that water and he told me to fetch my husband. I was very embarrassed and said I didn’t have one. He looked at me and told me that I’d had five husbands and my current one is a boyfriend! Incredible! How did he know? Was he a prophet? I asked him why the Jews say we must worship in Jerusalem and he told me we can worship God anywhere but we don’t understand who we worship. Also that salvation comes through the Jews and true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth... (Miriam touches her heart.) I said I know Christ the Messiah will come one day and explain everything. Jesus told me he was the Messiah! Can you believe that I’ve just met the Messiah! Come with me, you will be amazed.’ (Miriam and her friends lead the villagers i.e. the rest of the congregation, to the well).
Narrator: When the people saw Jesus they asked him to stay for two days and explain his message. Many of them believed.
Take the water jug and fill a glass. Jesus is the source of life giving water. Do you know this source of life? Are you thirsty? Does the Holy Spirit lead you to worship from your hearts? This simply means asking the Holy Spirit to inspire our worship. True worship comes from our hearts.
REFLECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE STORY
OPTION 1
10 mins
You will need: glasses filled with water for everyone (plastic ones are ideal), and bowls of plain and bowls of salty popcorn, labelled accordingly (check for allergies). They will only need one or two pieces of popcorn each.
Ask parents to assist their children. Each person takes a glass of water. Jesus used this to symbolise eternal life. As they drink the water, invite everyone to reflect on their relationship with God. Taste the plain popcorn. What is it like? Does it have any flavour? Taste the salty popcorn. What’s the difference? Just as salty popcorn has flavour, when we ask the Holy Spirit to inspire us, he adds flavour to our worship. He helps to know who God really is. How will you respond?
OPTION 2
15 mins
You will need: pebbles or heart-shaped post-its, pens, several lists containing some of God’s names, and a large sheet of card with ‘God is….’ written on it.
Look at the list of God’s names. Think about what they mean. People may also have their own words to describe God. Parents can explain God’s names to their children. Write or draw on the pebble or post-it any word that stands out. Thank God for this. Pebbles may be taken home as a reminder, or they could be placed on the ‘God is….’ sheet and used during group discussion.
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
10 mins
Split into small, all-age groups and explore the following questions:
- What part of the story did you like best and why?
- Which of God’s names touched you and why?
- If you were the person at the well, how would you respond to Jesus saying ‘True worshippers worship in spirit and in truth’?
- When the Samaritan woman met Jesus, she brought many people to him. Can you think of someone you can share Jesus with?
Tanya Lord leads Ablaze Worship at Holy Trinity, Leicester
