Memory verse
“Go, and do thou likewise.”
Luke 10:37
Roman Urdu Ja, tu bhi aisa hi kar.
Teaching the lesson
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The question behind the question
A lawyer asked who counts as my neighbour, and he asked it wanting to limit the list. Ask the class honestly: who do we quietly leave off our list?
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Two religious men walked past
A priest and a Levite u2014 the two people you would most expect to help. Both crossed the road. Jesus did not explain their reasons and neither should you. They had reasons. Everyone does.
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The one nobody expected
Samaritans and Jews despised each other. Jesus deliberately made the hero the man His audience would have least wanted to praise. In our own context, ask the class who that would be today u2014 and let the answer be uncomfortable.
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What he actually did
Count the actions: he saw, he had compassion, he went to him, he bandaged him, he put him on his own animal, he paid, and he promised to come back. Kindness in this story is specific, physical and expensive.
Activity
Seven actions. In groups, the children list the seven things the Samaritan did, then rewrite each one as something a child could actually do this week for someone at school or in their street. Every item must be specific enough to do on Monday.
Craft
A road across a long strip of card, with the injured man in the middle and small figures the children can move. On the back they write the name of one person they will help this week — kept private.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, it is easy for me to walk past. Show me the person in front of me who needs help, and give me the courage to stop, even when it costs me something. Go and do likewise — help me to. Amen.
This lesson is free to use
Print it, photocopy it, retype it or translate it into Punjabi, Sindhi or Pashto for your own class. You do not need permission and you do not need to tell us. The only thing asked in return is that it is never sold to a teacher who cannot afford it.
