Loving those in need
Family worship guide · theme: The Good Samaritan · ages 4–14 · 20 min
Opening
Before everyone arrives, leave a stuffed animal lying on the living room floor with a makeshift bandage. See who notices and who walks right past. Then ask, without scolding: why do we sometimes walk right by someone in need and not see them? Or see them and pretend we didn't?
Reading
First read verses 25 to 29, the conversation, and pause: each person says who they think their neighbor is. Then read the story (vv. 30 to 37) with roles: narrator, priest and Levite (who cross the room on the other side) and Samaritan (who kneels down and takes care of the stuffed animal). Little ones love acting it out.
25One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” 27He 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 said. “Do this and you will live.” 29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, when a Levite came to that spot and saw him, he passed by on the other side. 33But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he said, ‘and on my return I will repay you for any additional expense.’ 36Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37“The one who showed him mercy,” replied the expert in the law. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Teaching
The expert in the law wanted a list: who is my neighbor and who isn't? Jesus answers with a story in which the hero is a Samaritan, from a people with whom the Jews had an old hostility. The priest and the Levite were religious men; the text doesn't explain why they passed by on the other side, and that takes away our excuses. The Samaritan sees, is filled with compassion, comes close and pays the price: oil, wine, his own animal, the inn, two denarii and the promise to return.
Jesus turns the question around. He doesn't answer who deserves my love; he asks who acted like a neighbor. The question is no longer where my boundary lies but whom I draw near to. Love, here, costs time, money and follow-through. From early on, Christians also saw in Jesus the Samaritan who found us fallen and paid for everything. With the kids, make it clear: helping doesn't mean putting yourself in danger; sometimes helping means calling an adult.
Conversation
For little ones
- The man was hurt. Who stopped to take care of him?
- If a friend falls on the playground, what can you do?
For kids
- The Samaritan did many things for the wounded man. How many can you remember?
- Is there someone at your school who is always alone or whom others laugh at? How can you be that person's neighbor?
For teens
- Who are today's Samaritans, the people your group looks down on? What changes if Jesus holds one of them up as the example?
- What makes you pass by on the other side the most: being in a hurry, embarrassment or fear of what others will think?
For adults
- Where have I been asking who deserves my help, instead of asking whom I can draw near to?
- What concrete price, in time or money, is our family willing to pay for someone this week?
Activity
Samaritan kit: put together a small bag of useful things (bandages, a small bottle of water, a cookie and a handwritten note with a word of encouragement). Decide who it goes to: an elderly neighbor, someone who is sick, a family going through a hard time or a person experiencing homelessness, always with an adult along.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for drawing near to us when we were fallen on the road. Open our eyes to those who are suffering near us. Today we want to remember [each person says the name of someone who needs help]. Take away our hurry and our prejudice, and give us hands that truly care. Amen.
Blessing
Hebrews 13:20–21
During the week
Choose one specific person to care for all week long, not with just one gesture: visit, call, bring a meal, help with a task and come back, just as the Samaritan promised to come back. At the next family worship, share what you discovered about that person and about yourselves.