Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding in the city of Cana. When the hosts ran out of wine to serve the guests, Mary had total confidence that her son, Jesus, would take care of the situation. He miraculously turned plain water into excellent wine.

Scripture References: John 2:1-11

Suggested Emphasis: The miracles of Jesus were more than just tricks. They were ways to show the power of God and build faith in people.

Group Share Time

Share experiences of weddings and wedding feasts among the group. If you have planned ahead then participants can show photos from their own wedding. What were the decorations and food like? If you were to plan an ideal wedding feast what would be served and what would the entertainment be? Did you know that Jesus’ first miracle was performed at a wedding feast?

Story from the Bible

An adult or young reader can read the words below as the slides are shown.

1. Cover: Wedding at Cana, John 2:1-11

2. Jesus and the disciples were invited to a wedding in the town of Cana. When they arrived at the wedding they saw Jesus’ mother, Mary. She had been invited to the wedding too. There were many people at the wedding. After the wedding they had a big wedding feast. They celebrated and ate lots of good food.

3. The groom provided wine at the wedding. Wine is a kind of alcoholic drink. The problem with alcohol is that some people do not know when to stop drinking it. That is what happened at this wedding. Some people drank so much that there was none left for the rest of the guests.

4. Jesus’ mother knew that Jesus could help. She told him the problem. Then she told all the servants to do exactly what Jesus told them to do.
Jesus reminded his mother that fixing the wine problem was not the reason he came to earth. Jesus came to earth to be the Messiah.

5. But Jesus wanted to help his mother. He told the servants to go and get water. Then he told them to put the water in six large water pots. After all the pots were full he told them to dip out the water and take it to the man that was in charge of the wedding feast.
The servants did just as Jesus said. They filled the six pots with water and then they dipped out some water and took it to the man in charge of the wedding feast.

6. The man took a taste and he could not believe it! How could this have happened? The servants put plain water into the jars and the water turned to wine. That is impossible! No one could make that happen, could they? But Jesus made it happen.
When something is impossible but it happens anyway – that is called a miracle. Jesus performed many miracles after this but turning water to wine at the wedding in Cana was Jesus’ first miracle.

7. As the man and the other servants served the wine everyone was amazed at how delicious it was.

8. This was the best wine he had ever tasted. Usually, the best wine comes first and then the cheap wine. This time it was just the opposite. The last wine (the wine that Jesus made) was the best wine.

9. Turning water to wine at the wedding at Cana was the first miracle Jesus performed. When they saw this miracle his disciples (followers) began to see how amazing Jesus really was.

Verse(s) to Think About

“So in Cana of Galilee, Jesus did his first miracle. There he showed his glory, and his followers believed in him.” John 2:11

“Jesus did many other miracles before his followers that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you can believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Then, by believing, you can have life through his name.” John 20:30-31

“It was the Lord himself who first told about this salvation. And those who heard him proved to us that this salvation is true. God also proved it by using wonders, great signs, and many kinds of miracles. And he proved it by giving people gifts through the Holy Spirit, just as he wanted.” Hebrews 2:3c-4

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles, wonders, and signs God did through him. You all know this, because it happened right here among you.” Acts 2:22

Choose Activities and Learn Together

Select activities that suit your family or group. Consider ages and abilities and how to involve everyone present in at least one of the activities.

HOME: Gather a selection of drinks (water, juices, soft drinks, for example) and taste test to find the drink that tastes the best. Talk about how the wedding guests said that the water Jesus turned into wine tasted better than all the rest.
EXPLORE: Research online or in books to find out how wine is made.
IN THE WORD: Read John 20:24-30 together. Discuss the fact that Thomas is often referred to as “doubting Thomas” and why. How does this relate to a need to see a miracle to believe in God.
GAME/ACTIVITY: Psalm 105:5 to-gether. Divide into teams (or individuals can play) and provide each with paper and pens. Each team brainstorms and then writes down as many miracles of Jesus that they can think of. Come back together and compare lists. Mark out any miracles that you have both written down. Whoever has the most miracles left on their list is declared the winner of the game. Click here for a list of miracles.
GAME/ACTIVITY: Memorise John 20:30-31 together as a group. Try this “Chalkboard Relay Game”to help everyone learn. Divide the class into two teams. When you say “go” the first person on each team walks up to the chalkboard (or large paper) and writes the first word of a memory verse. Then they put the chalk down and go back and tag the next person on their team. Then that person walks up to the board and writes the second word of the memory verse before tagging the third person. The first team to write the whole memory verse wins.
CREATIVE: A woman or girl from the group could drape a cloth over her head like a veil and then tell the story from Mary’s point of view (or a servant’s point of view). A man or boy could then tell the story from the bridegroom’s point of view.
LIFE APPLICATION: Use index cards or pieces of paper
LITTLE ONES: Provide a plastic goblet or cup and various stickers, glitter, stick-on jewels, etc. so younger children can decorate a cup. Alternatively, use this printable Water to Wine craft.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Serve wedding cake and drinks in goblets.

Song Suggestions:

Singing does not have to be a performance. Don’t take yourself too seriously. In the privacy of your own home or within a small group allow yourself to just be genuine and enjoy the experience together.

Singing songs yourself is more reliable than viewing them online. If you are viewing published videos online on forums such as YouTube be sure and preview them first to make sure there are not unhelpful advertisements. To avoid long pauses due to internet speed issues play the song through once before you begin and then hold it paused and ready to go at the beginning of the song.