Children’s Sermon

Luke 10:25-37

Jesus Answers a Question

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Luke 10:25-37
Jesus Answers a Question

By Dr. Carol J Miller

[Have copies of Leviticus 19:18b “…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” For each child].

One day Jesus taught the people that if they wanted to be Jesus’ followers they had to “love their neighbors”. A man in the group asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus knew the man really wanted to know who he did NOT have to treat as a neighbor––who was on the neighbor list and who was not.

So Jesus told him this story. A man was walking on a rocky, dangerous road. Robbers sometimes hid behind those rocks, waiting for someone to come along. Then they would run out, beat the man up and take everything; even his clothes. One day a man was walking down that road. Robbers beat him, took his stuff and left him to die. Someone would have to come soon to get him out of the hot sun, or he woulddie!

Well, someone came; a priest on his way to worship. [Explain that a priest is like a minister. He helps people know God. Do you think a minister or priest would help? Accept all answers. Then say, “Let’s see what happened”]. He saw the poor man lying in the road and he tiptoed past, not getting too close! Wow! I didn’t expect that!

Here comes someone else. It’s a Sunday school teacher on his way to temple. [Do you think he will help? Accept all answers]. Oh, no! He sneaked past too! What will happen to the hurt man?

Wait! Here comes someone else! It’s a Samaritan! The people listening to Jesus hated the Samaritan people. They had fought wars with them. They had done very mean things to each other.

He won’t help! But look! The Samaritan did stop! He went to the man and looked at him. “He was filled with compassion.” “Compassion” means he thought about how the man must feel. The Samaritan felt sorry for him. I’m going to read what the Samaritan did for the man and everyone count how many things the Samaritan did:

• First, he went over to him, that’s one

• Poured oil and wine on his cuts to make him feel better [Whose oil and wine—his own!]

• Bandaged him [where do you think he got strips of cloth for bandages?—He tore up his own robe!]

How many things so far? [3]

• He put him on his own donkey [that meant the Samaritan had to walk].

• He took him to an inn

• He took care of the sick man all night

• He paid for the room

• He told the innkeeper to take care of him and he would pay the innkeeper.

How many things is that? [8]

If you were the hurt person, is that they way you would like to be treated? Jesus was telling the man who asked the question that there is no list of who is a neighbor and another list of whom you can ignore. We are to act like a neighbor to anyone who needs a neighbor! Anyone!

[Hand out copies of Leviticus 19:18b (see above). Ask the children to put it on the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror and read it every day for at least a week].

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible.

Copyright 2013, Richard Niell Donovan