Water to Wine: Jesus’s First Miracle

BIG IDEA: Jesus reveals that He is amazing.

This free Bible lesson, Jesus’s First Miracle, will teach preschool and elementary students about the miracle of Jesus turning water to wine at the wedding in Cana. His first public miracle showed that He is God.

FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: John 2:1-11

All of the printable activities and digital slides needed for the lesson, as well as a full printable lesson plan for both elementary and preschool are available.

Below is the outline of the free elementary Bible lesson.

PREP & SUPPLIES

• printed and trimmed “Paper Plate Toss” verse parts (enough for two teams per class)
• 3 things for students to taste (enough for all)
  • 3 types of juice
  • 3 types of candy
  • cracker, candy, juice
• video: The Wedding at Cana Lego Stop Motion from Go Chatter Studios (link)
• pencils
• copies of “Mystery Message” (one for each student)
• copies of “Water to Wine” craft pages
• markers, crayons, colored pencils
• metal brads
• scissors

MEMORY VERSE: “When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.” Romans 6:23 (NIrV)

THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:

• Divide the students into two teams.
• Position each set of paper plates in random order on the floor in front of a start mark. Each team will have their own start mark in separate areas of the room.
• Instruct each team to stand in a line behind the start mark. Give the first student on each team 3 small bean bags. That student must throw the bean bags and hit the plate with the first part of the verse. Once they hit the correct plate, they can run and get the plate and the bean bags.
• They will give the bean bags to the next person in line. The next person tries to hit the next part of the verse. Once they hit the correct plate, they can run and get the plate and the bean bags.
• The game continues until all of the parts of the verse are collected and are laid in order on the floor.
• If a student is unable to hit a plate in three tries, instruct them to gather the bean bags and pass them to the next person in line.

ALTERNATIVE: You may want to allow students to hit and collect the plates in ANY order rather than requiring them to collect them in the correct order. The team can work together at the end to place the words/phrases in order.

LESSON HOOK ACTIVITY

(SLIDE 3) Before we get to our Bible story today, we are going to have a taste test. I have 3 things for each of you to taste. As you are tasting each of the things, think about which one you think tastes the very BEST and keep that in your mind without giving your opinion out loud.

(Be sure there are no food allergies.)

Allow students to come to the table to taste each of the items.

Lead a vote for the BEST.

Our Bible story today comes from the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible. It is about a miracle that Jesus performed at a wedding celebration. During the celebration, the hosts ran out of wine, so Jesus turned water into wine. Not only wine, but the BEST wine! It was normal for someone throwing a party to serve the expensive, better tasting wine at the beginning of the party, and then start serving the less expensive, not as tasty wine later in the party. But when Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine AFTER the really good wine was all gone, it turned out to be EVEN BETTER than the expensive wine.

BIBLE LESSON

Show the video: The Wedding at Cana Lego Stop Motion from Go Chatter Studios (LINK) [If the video does not work, you can read this summary: Jesus went to a wedding at Cana in Galilee. His friends and family were also invited. The party was going well, but soon an awkward problem came about. Jesus’s mom, Mary, came to Him and told him “their wine has run out!” If the wine was all gone then the groom would be blamed. He would start off his marriage embarrassed and shamed. So would Jesus help this disaster pass by? Could He make things better by finding more wine? “Why involve me in this?“ Jesus asked His mom. But she trusted that Jesus would stop this disturbance. ”Do what He tells you,” she said to the servants. Nearby, there were some large jars that were made for water and washing. It was normal tradition to wash before eating. Jesus told the servants, ”Now take those big pots, and fill them with water right up to the top.” Then He told them to put some from one of the jars into a glass and take it to the person in charge. They did what He said and were startled to find that what had started as water had turned into wine. The head of the banquet was shocked and assumed that this wonderful wine was all thanks to the groom. So he called the groom over and was grateful to him because he had waited to bring out the best wine until now. Even though the groom had done nothing, he had been saved from embarrassment and shame, and the joy Jesus brought them that day was far more than it seemed, because this was a sign. Jesus was starting to show us His glory. This part is only the start of His story. He would make all things better with what He would bring soon. A new life with Him as a life giving King.]

(SLIDE 4) This miracle was the very first one that Jesus performed in public to begin His earthly ministry. He was in his early 30s during this time.

As a guest at a wedding near His home, Jesus found out that the wine had run out before the party was over, so He performed a miracle and turned regular water into fine wine that was better than the wine that had already been served at the feast.

Why was Jesus’s mother Mary so concerned that they were out of wine? (In the culture at that time, this would have been very embarrassing for the hosts of the wedding feast.)

What does this show us about how Jesus cares? (He takes care of even seemingly “small” things.)

The story of the first miracle is recorded in the Gospel of John. Where in the Bible do we find this book? (The New Testament)

What lesson can we learn from the servants in this story? (to obey Jesus)

What else is special about this miracle? (Since it was Jesus’s first public miracle, He was showing the people, and us, that He is the promised Savior.)

(SLIDE 5) Our Big Idea for this week is: Jesus reveals that He is amazing.

Dear God,

Thank you for the story about how Jesus turned water into wine to show us His glory. We know how amazing Jesus is and we thank you so much for sending Him to earth to die on the cross for our sins, and most of all we thank you that Jesus rose from the dead so that we can accept His free gift of eternal life in Heaven. Please continue to be with us today, and as we go through the week ahead, guiding us to love and live more like Jesus every day.

We love you and we pray all of these things in Jesus’ sweet name, Amen.

LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY

To review the Bible story, we are going to fill in some missing parts. By the end of the story, you will have solved a…

(SLIDE 6) MYSTERY MESSAGE!

PREP: Each student should have a pencil and a copy of “Mystery Message”.

Optional: For younger students, leaders may choose to break into small groups so they can guide students with this activity. (Large group leader can operate the slides so the questions are seen by all students at the same time, but small group leaders will be gathered with students to help them with the tasks.)

You are going to see several slides that will retell the Bible story. Your job is to fill in each blank with the correct missing part of the story. Then, you will use your answer to fill in the letters of the MYSTERY MESSAGE. If you think you know the mystery message before the game is over, please keep it to yourself so others can still work to solve the puzzle.

Questions, slide/question numbers, and answer guides begin on the next page.

LEADER NOTES: Read the story directly from the slides out loud, allowing time in between for students to find the correct answers on their paper, and fill in the letters of the mystery message. *ANSWERS ARE FILLED IN ON THE NEXT PAGE, SO BE CAREFUL NOT TO FILL IN THE BLANKS AS YOU ARE READING!*

(SLIDE 7) Question 1: On the third day there was a wedding. It took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’s mother was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited, so they were there.

(SLIDE 8) Question 2: When the wine was gone, Mary said to Jesus, “They have no more wine.” Then she told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do.

(SLIDE 9) Question 3: Then Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the top. Then he told them, “Now dip some out. Take it to the person in charge of the dinner.”

(SLIDE 10) Question 4: They did what he said. The person in charge tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He didn’t realize where it had come from. But the servants knew.

(SLIDE 11) Question 5: Then the person in charge called the groom to one side. He said to him, “Everyone brings out the best wine first. But you have saved it until now!”

(SLIDE 12) Question 6: What Jesus did here in Cana in Galilee was the first of his signs. Jesus showed his glory by doing this sign. And his disciples believed him.

(SLIDE 13) Question 7: This Bible story is found in John 2:1-11.

SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY

You are going to make a special craft that will help you tell the story of Jesus’s first miracle.

• You will get one pitcher, and one water/wine circle.
• Cut on the dotted lines at the bottom of your pitcher to make an open space.
• Cut around your circle on the dotted lines only. Do NOT cut on the solid line.
• Color the “water” side of your circle blue and the “wine” side of your circle dark red or purple.
• Poke the brad through the black dot and connect both papers together with the pitcher on top.
• Color and/or decorate your pitcher.

PREP:

• Print one “pitcher” and one circle for each student on white card stock.
• Provide each student with a metal brad to connect their papers.

BREAK INTO SMALL GROUPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY.

Discussion Prompts for Leaders:

• Why was the miracle at the wedding in Cana significant? (it was the first public miracle Jesus performed)
• How do you think Jesus’s disciples felt when they saw Jesus perform this miracle?
• It is important that we notice that Jesus took care of this “small” problem. What other small problems has Jesus taken care of in your life?
• What other lessons can you learn from this Bible story?
• Who said “Do whatever He tells you”? (Mary, Jesus’s mother)

CLOSING REFLECTION

We learned about the very first miracle that Jesus performed in public. At a wedding in Cana in Galilee, the hosts of the feast ran out of wine before the party was over. Jesus’s mother Mary was very concerned that the hosts would be embarrassed, so she asked Jesus to help. Jesus told the servers to fill 6 jugs with water and take some to the master of the banquet. Miraculously, the water had been turned to wine. This miracle revealed that Jesus is amazing and it helped those people believe in Him.

Reflection Questions:

• What miracle did Jesus perform in today’s Bible story?
• In what part of the Bible can we read about Jesus’s life on Earth?
• What other miracles do you know about that Jesus performed?
• Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?

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