Studying the Scriptures

Watch the following video together as a group.

JESUS WITNESSES IN SAMARIA

Read John 4:1-9.

Read 2 Kings 17:24-41 and Ezra 4:1-5. What facts about the Samaritans help explain why the Jews did not associate with them?

Review John 3:1-20. List the differences and similarities between the Samaritan woman and Nicodemus, including their encounters with Jesus.

How does Jesus’s approach to His conversation with the Samaritan woman reveal something we could put into practice?

What did Jesus tell the Samaritan woman she needed to know and do?

When and how have you awakened to this truth?

Read John 4:10-18.

What is the main difference between ordinary water and the water Jesus offers?

What is symbolized by “living water”? (There are various interpretations; see also John 6:35, 7:37-39.)

For what things do people “thirst”? How has this type of thirst affected your life? (See also Jeremiah 2:13.)

How did the woman show both belief and unbelief in John 4:15? What did Jesus say that specified her immediate problem?

In what ways has Jesus led you to recognize your own most urgent need? (See also 1 John 1:8-10.)

Read John 4:19-26.

What difference between the way the Samaritans and the Jews worshiped did the woman note in verses 19 and 20? Why might she have raised this point?

How did Jesus identify Himself with the Jews and God’s revelation to them?

What does this truth say about the importance of the Old Testament for believers today?

What kind of worshiper does God seek? (See also Romans 12:1.)

How might you worship God in this way?

Read John 4:27-30.

Why might the disciples have been surprised when they returned?

What does Jesus’s conversation with the woman at the well indicate about His character?

Why did the woman leave behind her jar?

What is the first thing she did, and what were the results?

What new or deeper truth does Jesus reveal to you through His conversation with this woman?

What has God revealed to you this morning about your deepest longings and satisfaction?