Bob And Darla’s Wedding
(Serving God)
 
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ 4 ‘Woman,[a] why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come.’ 5 His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim.  8 Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’  They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’ 11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory;
and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:1-11
 
The Basic Bible Truth
 
Jesus’ ministry began at a wedding celebration and will finish with the Wedding Supper of the Lamb when His bride, the Church is presented to Him.  We also see a basic premise of how God works in people’s lives.  The old, clay pots represent us.  The water is the Word of God.  We are to be filled with the Word of God and as that Word is ladled out to the world around us, it becomes something amazing.  It’s God working through His Word, and we are but vessels to help make it happen.
 
The Object
 
Brown Paper Grocery Bags
Magic Markers

​The idea here is to draw faces on the grocery bags, and place them over the heads of volunteers to be your actors for the play.  For this lesson I printed out a half-page wedding program, got a few volunteers to play the parts and then simply re-enacted a simple wedding ceremony.  Sponge Bob as the groom, Darla from Finding Nemo as the bride, Patrick of course was Bob’s best man, The Little Mermaid was Darla’s maid of honor and Bruce from Finding Nemo was the minister.  Nigel the pelican from Nemo was the ring bearer.  And, could there be a wedding without Crush, the turtle?  By the way, many Bible stories can be re-enacted in this way.  They are always fun.
 
The Lesson
 
After the silliness of the wedding is over, we get to the meat of the lesson. 
 
John, more than any of the other Gospel authors, uses time and geography in his recounting of the life of Jesus.  Here is a perfect example.  On the third day, a wedding in Cana is quite specific.  We would only be guessing as to who the bride and groom were, or even why Jesus and the disciples had been invited.  What is significant to me is that John mentions that this was the first of His miracles.  Jesus begins his ministry at a wedding feast and everything will be complete when His Bride, the Church, is presented to Him at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb in Heaven. 
 
His mother is there and urges him to become involved in a beverage issue.  The point to remember here is that she knows clearly who He is.  Gabriel had spelled it out plainly before her pregnancy began.  She urges Him to show the world who He is and what He can do.  At the very least, it might clear her name of the social offense of becoming pregnant before marriage.  Don’t get bogged down in the alcohol vs. no alcohol issue here.  That is of very little importance.  What is worthy of note is the picture this paints for us of what God expects of us.
 
We are nothing but clay pots—jars of clay, to be used in whatever method the owner wishes.  Jesus commanded them to bring the clay jars and fill them with water.  I believe this represents the Word of God.  The water of the Word should fill us, but for a reason far greater than just being storage jars.  If read carefully, the miracle was not that the jars were suddenly filled with wine, but that as the water was ladled out and served to the guests it turned into wine.  So should our lives be.  We are filled with the Word of God for a purpose—to make a difference in the lives of people that we meet everyday.  God’s Word is powerful, and He said that it will not go out from Him and return void or empty.  The Holy Spirit is the source of the power in our lives.  He works hand in hand with the Word of God, and we need to allow Him access to our lives and our hearts.  We are not to be simply storage jars holding the truth of God in ourselves.  We are to be sharing what we have and what we are with the whole world around us.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

PDF of Lesson