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Good morning, boys and girls. When you are taking a long trip, how many of you like to make little stops along the way? (let them answer) Do you like to stop and get a cold Coke, stretch your legs, and just look at the strange town that you are in for the moment? (let them answer) I know that you do because almost everyone I know likes to do this.

I want to tell you about a day that was like that in the life of Jesus. The writers of the Bible remembered it so well that they could tell almost every detail. Jesus did not have to stretch his legs because he walked everywhere he went, but he had to do the opposite - rest. When Jesus wanted a break, he would find a well where he could get a cold drink of water (they didn't have Coke in those days) and a shady tree to sit under.

That's what he did one day when he and the disciples were on a long trip from Jerusalem north to the Sea of Galilee. They took a short cut through a land called Samaria where Jews did not go very often because they did not like Samaritans. But Jesus did not feel that way about the Samaritans, and so he made it a point to go through Samaria. After they arrived at the well, he sent the disciples into a town called Sychar to get some food to eat and some to take with them. The well was a famous one, named after a Bible hero, Jacob.

Jesus had just sat down when a woman approached the well and Jesus asked her to give him a drink. The woman had noticed Jesus and knew that he was a Jew. She was shocked when Jesus spoke to her. Many Jews in those days thought that they were too good for Samaritans. The woman knew this, so she could not believe that Jesus would talk to her. Jesus and the woman had a conversation that was so helpful that I want to tell you about it.

First of all, Jesus convinced her that he had special powers because he told her things that no one else knew about her. He also told her in the conversation that he was the Messiah, the Son of God, and as far as we know, she was the first one to know that fact. He also told her that the differences between people were not the same as the differences between God and humans. Jesus wanted the woman to change and be a good woman not only to God, but to all of the people in Sychar. The woman at the well was so amazed at what she heard about herself and about Jesus that she believed in him immediately.

Just then the disciples returned and saw Jesus talking to her. They were shocked that he would speak with a Samaritan, but they did not say anything about it. The woman left, and while the disciples ate, they listened to Jesus tell about how God was going to work through him to bring an end to the hatred. They tried to get Jesus to eat but he was so filled with the Spirit of God that this kind of food meant nothing to him at the moment.

Pretty soon the place was filled with other Samaritans who had heard about Jesus from the woman and had come to see for themselves. For two days Jesus stayed in Sychar and taught the people and made them followers. The woman at the well had become one of the best followers Jesus ever had.

I hope you remember Sychar and the way that Jesus turned an enemy into a friend and a follower. Talking with Jesus can change a lot of things and make everything better than it was before we knew him.