When Jesus Meets You at the Well · Group Guide

Discussion Questions

1. 1

   John says Jesus "had to pass through Samaria," and James pointed out he did not have to — most Jews walked the long way around to avoid it. Given how deep that hatred ran on both sides, what does it mean that this was the route he chose?

2. 2

   James played love it or leave it with the room — pickleball, the mountains, Pura Vida — to make one point: whatever you love, you will pay for, be inconvenienced by and be uncomfortable for. Where do you see all three of those costs in what Jesus does at that well?

3. 3

   James lined Jacob up against Jesus: Jacob dug the well, Jesus is the living water; Jacob wrestled for a blessing, Jesus is the blessing. What is the woman being asked to trade, and why would that trade be hard for her in particular?

4. 4

   James listed the wells people keep going back to — relationships, possessions, position, popularity, pleasure — and said each one leaves your mouth parched and dry. Which one do you keep returning to, and what does it actually deliver when you get there?

5. 5

   James told about Heidi, the girl his friends said was way out of his coverage, and about the breakup that showed him a good thing had become an ultimate thing — two people trying to draw life out of each other. What good gift in your life has been handed a job it was never built to do?

6. 6

   The woman left her water jar and went straight into town, and James said the point of living water is that it overflows — it was never only for you. Name one person who would be surprised to hear this from you, and say what you will tell them this week.