5: The Testimony of the Samaritans-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan
Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, November 2, 2024.
Main Theme: John recounts the encounter between Jesus, the woman at the well, and the people of the Samaritan city of Sychar.
Read in Class: John 4:5-15. Ask the class the identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: How did Jesus use this opportunity to open a dialogue with the woman at the well? How does Jesus begin witnessing to this woman?
Apply: Read John 7:37-38. What is Jesus saying to us in these verses, and how do we experience what He is promising here?
Share: Your friend asks, “What are some of the taboos in your own culture that could hamper your witness to others? How do we learn to transcend them?” What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: John 4:16 and Ezekiel 36:25-27. Ask the class to define the common thread in these passages.
Study: How did Jesus respond to the woman’s request? What truth in Ezekiel 36:25-27 was Jesus trying to bring home to the woman?
Apply: In John 4:16 Jesus gets very personal with the woman to make her aware of her need for healing. How do we react when a friend or maybe even a sermon in church may expose an area where we need healing? Do we become defensive, or do we acknowledge our need for healing?
Share: Your friend asks, you how God has taken away your heart of stone and given you a heart of flesh?
Read in Class: John 4:16-26. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What did Jesus do to show this woman that He knew her deepest secrets, and how did she respond? How did Jesus reveal His identity to her?
Apply: What should this story tell us about why the gospel needs to break down the barriers that we humans create with each other?
Share: Your friend mentions how you can see a friend you have not seen in years, and once you get back together it was like you were never apart. Could it be because you had been together “in the Sprit” even while you were apart? What do you tell your friend? See One in the Spirit.
Read in Class: John 4:27-42. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What surprising action did the woman take?
Apply: What happened following this encounter, and what does it teach about how the gospel can be spread?
Share: What should this story tell us about how powerful the witness of even one person can be? How powerful a witness are you to what Jesus has done in your life? Who can you share your story with this week?
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