Lesson 3: The good Samaritan.
Passage: Luke 10:30-37 — Speaking to an expert in the Law, Jesus told the story of a man who was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers, who beat him and left him on the side of the road. One after the other, a priest and a Levite happened to walk by, and each passed by on the other side of the road, not stopping to help the man. However, a Samaritan, when he came across the injured man, took pity on him and did everything he could to help him. When Jesus asked the expert in the Law which of the three was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers, the expert answered, “The one who had mercy on him,” to which Jesus replied, “Go and do likewise.”
Big Idea: God’s love crosses barriers.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Storytime — Activity Leader
Read: Are You My Neighbour?
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our third week talking about the stories of Jesus!
Today we’ll be hearing a famous story called The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Samaritans were a group of people who lived in Jesus’ time, and usually Jewish people (like Jesus and his disciples) and Samaritan people didn’t get along. They didn’t like each other at all.
Let’s watch today’s video to find out more about the story...
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Do you remember what happened to the man in the story while he was walking along the road?
Who were the two people who saw him and what did they do?
Who was it that helped the man in the end?
Do you think that would have been surprising to the people who were listening to Jesus? Why?
What do you think is the lesson we can learn from this story?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story that we learned today about the Good Samaritan, and how it teaches us to be kind to others, just like the Samaritan who helped the man that was hurt. Thank you that your love crosses all differences and that you ask us to show love and kindness to everyone, no matter who they are or how different they might be from us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Good Samaritan Craft — Activity Leader
There will be a blank page for the kids to draw their interpretation of The Good Samaritan story as well as a colouring page.
If child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit near the TV. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Storytime — Activity Leader
Read: Are You My Neighbour?
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our third week talking about the stories of Jesus!
Can anyone remember any of the stories we've learned about so far?
Today we’ll be hearing a famous story called The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Samaritans were a group of people who lived in Jesus’ time, and usually Jewish people (like Jesus and his disciples) and Samaritan people didn’t get along. They didn’t like each other at all.
Let’s watch our video to find out more about the story…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
What happened to the man in the story while he was walking along the road?
Who were the first two people who saw him lying there? What did they do?
Who was it that helped the man in the end?
Do you think that would have been surprising to the people who were listening to Jesus? Why?
What do you think is the lesson we can learn from this story?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story that we learned today about the Good Samaritan, and how it teaches us to be kind to others, just like the Samaritan who helped the man that was hurt. Thank you that your love crosses all differences and that you ask us to show love and kindness to everyone, no matter who they are or how different they might be from us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Good Samaritan Craft — Activity Leader
There will be a blank page for the kids to draw their interpretation of The Good Samaritan story as well as a colouring page.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class, ask how their week was.
Warm Up Activity: Who Am I? — Activity Leader
Different characters from the Bible will be taped to the kids’ backs without them seeing, and they have to ask others Yes or No questions to guess who their character is.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is week three of our series on Jesus’ parables.
Can anyone remind us what the first two stories were that we’ve learned about? (the parable of the father and his two sons, and the parable of the growing seed)
Can you remember what were the main lessons that we learned from those stories? (that actions speak louder than words, and that the kingdom of God grows in mysterious and invisible ways)
The parable that we’ll be learning about today is called The Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Has anyone heard it before? Does anyone know what a Samaritan is? (Samaritans were a group of people similar to the Jews but with their differences. Jews and Samaritans in Jesus’ time disliked each other)
Let’s watch our video to find out more about the story…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
What was it that happened to the man who was walking down the road?
Who were the two people were that saw him and passed by?
Why do you think Jesus chose a Samaritan as the example of the person who was kind to man who was injured?
Have you ever experienced kindness from someone you least expected it from? How did that feel?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, and how we are called to follow the Samaritan’s example of being kind and compassionate to others no matter who they are or how different they may be from us. Even people we don’t like or get along with, we are still called to show your love to them too. Please give us the humility to know that we are all your children, and to see others the way that you see them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Good Samaritan Story Wheel — Activity Leader
Kids will assemble the wheel and draw a picture of each part of the Good Samaritan story into the different sections.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What what the story you learned about in class today?
What did you learn about who the Samaritans were?
Why do you think Jesus told a story where the good guy was a Samaritan?
What do you think is the big lesson of the story? What kind of people do you think God wants us to show love and kindness to?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What’s something that you learned about the Samaritans?
Why do you think Jesus, who was a Jewish teacher, made the hero of his story a Samaritan man?
What do you think was the message Jesus was trying to teach?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Who were the Samaritans and how were they related to the Jews?
Do you remember who the two people were who passed by and didn’t help the one that was attacked by robbers?
What do you think is the significance of the fact that it was a Samaritan who ended up helping the man in the end?
What do you think is the message that Jesus is trying to get across?
