Who does God call us to love? What does it mean to be a “neighbor”? The parable of the Good Samaritan shows that we are to love and care for others. As a natural outpouring of our gratitude to Christ, we pass along His love to the people He created. It’s easy to be kind to those who are nice back to us, but “loving our neighbor” means all people, even those who are tougher to get along with!
Lesson focus: In this lesson, students will experience the Parable of the Good Samaritan and contemplate what it means to us. In the story, Jesus is the Samaritan, giving His life for us and caring for all of our needs. Out of gratitude for His sacrifice, we can care for one another. The “neighbor” God wants us to love is not just the person next door, but everyone who is made in the Lord’s image…that’s all people!
Love Your Neighbor: Sunday School Lesson and Bible Activities for Kids from the Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37
Scripture Passage: Luke 10:25-37
Target Students: Elementary School, adaptable for K-6th Grades
Teaching Materials Needed: Construction paper, decorative materials, paper bags, glue, band-aids, snacks, scissors, Bible (all optional, depending which activities you choose to use—except for the Bible, you need that for sure).
Additional Bible Teaching Activities on the Parable of the Good Samaritan
- Watch the video for this children’s sermon lesson, and Bible craft activities based on Luke 10:25-37
- Compare our Good Samaritan Sunday school Lesson with Love Your Neighbor Biblical Lesson for Children
- Our Children’s Sermon On the Parable of the Good Samaritan
- All children’s ministry activities are available on Luke 10:25-37
- More Bible Verses about the Parable of the Good Samaritan
- Check out the Mission Bible Class free teaching activities on The Good Samaritan
- See the new Bible Bites Curriculum on the Parables of Jesus
Game Activities to Introduce the Bible Lesson
Lesson Opening: This lesson features an element of caretaking and healing, as well as love and how to demonstrate it. Open with some components from the parable.
Here are some activities to get kids thinking…(select the best ones for your audience and age group):
- Discuss what people around us need. For older students, look at articles or elements of poverty and need in the world. Are there ways that we can help people who don’t have enough?
- Care-taker relay: line students up in groups. Designate one child from each team to be the “hurt” person, and have other students run back and forth relay-style, taking turns to place band-aids on the “hurt” player. Race to see which team finishes first.
- “Heart repair”…draw a large heart on a white board or paper. Have students take turns running to the heart and writing ideas to help people. This could also turn into a relay race, if desired.
- Helper charades: have students come before the group and act out given items, demonstrating methods of helping people. Have other students guess the actions or jobs that are being mimed. This could also be done with illustrations, Pictionary style.
- What’s the message? Travel a phrase or word, playing the game of Telephone around the room to practice helpful communication.
Explain that today’s story is about loving people, and who God calls us to love. The most important thing we can do in life is love and serve the Lord and His people.
Ask: How do you show love for others? Who do you love most? Who is it harder to love and care for?
Children’s Sermon Object Lesson: Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan
This children’s sermon object lesson can be used in your kids church to teach about the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This powerful moral lesson is presented by Jesus in a story that both children and adults can understand. God calls us to love our neighbor and to do good to all who need our help. Get your object lesson props and prepare to preach this sermon to children in your congregation.
Lesson Objective The parable of Good Samaritan reminds that Christ wants us all to love and care about others. This message will remind students about the importance of caring for others. To illustrate why we should be kind to everyone, not just those we love the most, use the example of a balanced meal.
Bible Coloring Page Worksheet: Jesus’ Parable of Good Samaritan
Sunday School Lesson for Kids (Luke 10:25-37)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Bible Lesson: As always, how you choose to experience the passages will vary according to the ages and abilities of your children (and how many are participating). This story is a fun one to act out, either with puppets or with students taking on roles. It can even be fun to enlist a teacher as a “donkey” to carry the hurt man!
Open up with the exposition of the parable. Someone came to Jesus to try tricking Him, asking what was required to go to Heaven. The answer Jesus gave surprised the people…
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” -Luke 10:25-28
This might sound simple, but it wasn’t enough for the questioners. The people had heard Jesus tell them before how important it was to love God and love others. But how far should that go, they wondered…
Explore: You can cross reference this with the “Great Commandment” in Matthew 22.
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. -Luke 10:29-32
In the opening to this parable, Jesus set up a story of a man traveling, who was beaten and left for dead. That ought to arouse the sympathy of anyone, but not the first two men in the story! The church workers (explain, if helpful, what a priest and a Levite were) should have been the most likely to help someone in need, but they didn’t even get close to the hurt man. They passed by on the other side of the road!
Ask: What do you do when you see someone who is asking for help or needs help? If you see a person begging on the street, how does it make you feel?
Continue the story…
But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ -Luke 10:33-35
Explain that a Samaritan would not have been well-liked by the Jews. Samaritans were seen as outsiders, not believing all the same things as the Jews, and in a sense heretics or cult-like. The Samaritan would have been the least likely to help. Instead, he stopped, bandaged the man, and took him to be taken care of.
Jesus was actually our Samaritan. He was not liked by the church leaders, but He gave His life for us, sacrificing all of Himself so that we could live. He wants us to love and serve others, and used this parable to explain to people what it means to have mercy.
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” -Luke 10:36-37
This doesn’t leave much room for debate from the original question the people had asked. “Neighbor” doesn’t just apply to those close to us, but to all of God’s people. The least likely need love and attention. We demonstrate our love and gratitude to the Lord by caring for His people.
Ask: How can we show people we care about them? Why is this important to God?
Close with a prayer thanking God for loving and saving us. Ask for His help in demonstrating care and in being kind to others, even those who are harder to love. Ask for opportunities to serve and patience to genuinely love all people.
Sunday School Craft Activities: Luke 10:25-37
Crafts: Crafts accompanying the parable of the Good Samaritan can focus on ways that we love and serve others, and can also be small cards or gifts to be given. Consider one of these options:
- Make a series of puppet (popsicle stick puppets, paper bag or paper plate, etc.) to re-tell the story in an interactive way.
- Create a “goodie bag” of special items in a decorative bag, to be given to someone who might need encouragement or love.
- Make a decoration reminder of how to love and serve others, tracing a hand inside a heart and adorning with captions and notes of ways to love people.
