Use this children’s sermon object lesson in your kids church when sharing about the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus’ gives us this powerful moral lesson in a story that children and adults can quickly understand. God wants us to love our neighbors and do good to everyone who needs our help! So gather your object lesson props, watch our message demonstration, and prepare to teach this children’s sermon in your congregation.
Lesson Objective: The parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us that Christ wants us to love and care for others, not just those nearest to us, but all other people. In this message, remind students of the importance of caring about others. Use the example of a balanced diet to exemplify why we should be kind not just to people we like the most, but to all of God’s people.
Love Your Neighbor: Children’s Sermon Message & Bible Object Lesson on the Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37
Law/Gospel Theme: The Good Samaritan is not just about us being kind to others. It’s about God’s lavish kindness to us. Jesus, is the Good Samaritan, who gave His life for us. He loves us in our sin and brokenness, and does not treat us according to what we earn or deserve, but out of His lavish and extravagant love. In the same way, we demonstrate our appreciation for that deep love by passing it on to others.
Object Lesson Supplies & Teaching Materials:
Various kinds of foods, some healthy (fruits, vegetables, etc.), and others junk food (candy, cookies, soda); lunch sack/paper bag.
Bible Passage: Luke 10:25-37
More Bible Teaching Activities on the Parable of the Good Samaritan
- Watch the video of this children’s sermon lesson and Bible craft activities on Luke 10:25-37
- Compare our Good Samaritan Sunday School Lesson and Love Your Neighbor Bible Lesson for Kids
- Compare our Children’s Sermon on the Parable of the Good Samaritan
- See all the children’s ministry activities on Luke 10:25-37
- Read more Bible Verses on the Parable of the Good Samaritan
- Compare the free Mission Bible Class teaching activities on the Good Samaritan
Object Lesson Tips for Teachers: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs. Use your judgment and ideas to best serve students.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
Children’s Sermon Object Lesson
Greet children and start with a discussion of food preferences…
Hello, children of God! So my mom asked me to pick out some things that I would want for lunch, and pack them up for a meal later. But she doesn’t seem to approve of what I put in my lunch bag here! (Pull items out of the bag to demonstrate as you describe.) I have some of my favorite things: cookies, Reese’s pieces, chips, soda, donut holes…I don’t know why she didn’t approve of them! It seems like a delicious lunch to me. These are all of the things that I like the best and want to have! But my mom does not agree. She seems to think that I need a more “balanced” and “healthful” meal, and wants me to put in things like carrots, cheese, fruit, and almonds. Those things are okay, I guess, but why do I need to have them in my lunch? Why can’t I just have the treats I want to enjoy?
It might sound strange to think of it this way, but sometimes this is our attitude when it comes to caring for other people. We tend to want to hang out with our best friends, with the people that we like the best. We might want to love and serve those who are close to us, like good friends and family. But we don’t always think about caring for those who we don’t know as well, or maybe even people who aren’t kind to us in return. Does God really want us to love them, too?
There’s a passage in the Bible where Jesus answers the question “Who is my Neighbor?” He provides a parable, a story to help people understand what He meant. In this parable, there was a man on the road, heading from Jerusalem to Jericho. He was beaten and robbed of all his money, and left on the side of the road for dead. Well, as he lay there, a priest, who worked for the church, happened to come along by. You would think someone who was a church worker would stop and give him a hand, but nope! That priest didn’t want to get himself dirty or waste time on this man, so he just rode right by like he didn’t even see the man. After that, a Levite came by. These were also special important people in the Temple, who followed the law and prided themselves on their righteousness. Do you think that Levite stopped to help the man? He didn’t stop, either! He rode right on by like the priest. Well, after this, another man came. This was a Samaritan. Samaritan people were not well-liked by the Jews of Jesus’s time. It’s hard to describe exactly why, but they disagreed on some things and were considered unclean outsiders. This Samaritan, however, didn’t waste a minute, stopping to help the poor beaten man. He got dirty, patched him up, put him on the Samaritan’s own donkey, and took him to the nearest inn (hotel) to get him taken care of.
What was the point of this story? Jesus wanted to reveal to the people that our neighbor is not just the person closest to you or the one who lives nearby. God wants us to love and care for everyone, because He loves and cares for everyone. The Good Samaritan in the story is not just a random person, but Christ Himself, who gave His life for all of us and was willing to love us in our messiness and sin. Jesus showed us His love and sacrificed for us. He wants us to love God and to love others. Not only should we love our family and friends, but we should treat people with care, even if they aren’t the closest or nicest to us. It isn’t always easy. There might be people that make it difficult to love. Maybe there are people who aren’t always kind. We don’t have to purposely let people do mean and hurtful things to us, but it is important to pray for others and realize all are made in God’s image. We can demonstrate the love of Jesus when we are nice to those near to us, as well as those who might be harder to appreciate. We can say kind words, share what we have, and help those in need. We can ask God to help us show love to others, and ask for opportunities to do that as we love Him and express our appreciation for His love. Why don’t we say a prayer now to thank God for loving us?
Children’s Prayer Moment
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for caring for us
And loving us no matter what
Help us to share your love and grace
And to care for all of your people
Even those who are harder to love
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!
Bible Verses/story to Reference: Luke 10:25-37 ESV
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.” 29 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. 33 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[e] 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.’ 36 “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 10:25-37