Jesus is the living water

When visiting a friend, your friend asks, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Yes, I would," you answer.

"What would you like?"

"What do you have?"

"I have soda, fruit juice, and water."

Which drink would you choose? (Give the children time to answer.) Your answer probably depends on whether you are actually thirsty or just want something to drink. The number one choice that children make is soda pop. Now, I must admit that sodas taste pretty good, but if you want something that will satisfy your thirst and provide what your body needs, a soda wouldn't be the right choice. Sodas are high in sugar and have a lot of calories that we don't need. You might think that fruit juice would be a good choice, but surprisingly, they often contain as much sugar and calories as soft drinks. If you want a healthy choice, the choice is clearly water!

In our Bible lesson today, Jesus teaches us the most important lesson about drinking water that we will ever learn. One day Jesus was walking through a town in Samaria. He was hot and tired so he sat down beside a well to rest. A woman came to the well to get some water and Jesus asked her if she would give him a drink. The woman was surprised that Jesus spoke to her because Jews would not usually speak to Samaritans. She said to him, "Why do you ask me for a drink since you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan?"

Jesus answered and said, "If you knew who was asking you for a drink, you would ask him for a drink and he would give you living water."

"You don't even have anything to get water in, how can you give me living water?" the woman asked.

Then Jesus explained, "Whoever drinks from the water from this well will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst again."

Jesus wasn't talking about the thirst for water from a well, he was talking about a thirst for God. The Bible teaches us that we have a thirst in our heart for the living God and that is a thirst that only Jesus can satisfy. So, when we have Jesus in our heart, he totally satisfies our thirst for God and we will never thirst again!

Dear Father, we thank you for sending Jesus, the Living Water. We pray that each one here today will drink of that Living Water so that they will never thirst again. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.