Groups Questions

1. Summer is almost here! What is your favorite cool drink on a hot summer day?

2. Tell us one thing you’ve enjoyed about being in group this year.

Read John 4:4-18

3. Back when this story took place, groups of women would usually go to the town wells together in the morning before it got too hot outside. However, the text shows this woman going by herself to the well around noon (v 6). What could this detail tell us about her life and experience with others in her town?

4. Has shame ever kept you from wanting to be around other people? What happened?

5. If you had a friend whose shame led them to withdraw rather than be known by others, what would you say to them?

6. In verse 18 we see that Jesus point blank acknowledges the woman’s past and yet chooses to forgive her and restore her. What can this tell us about God how relates to us?

7. On Sunday Pastor Josh said, “Sometimes freedom starts with confrontation.” Do you agree with that statement? Why or why not?

8. If you had to be confronted, how would you want someone to do it?

9. How do you handle confrontation?

10. In verse 9 the woman asks Jesus, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” This question is loaded because she is acknowledging that, culturally, because of both her lineage and gender, Jesus should not be talking to her. 

When you feel unworthy of love, or that God should stay away from you too, what can learn from this story?