Childrens Sermon Service

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (vv. 36-37)

Object: A bible, a cell phone, and a bandage or strip of gauze.

Note: Select the children to play the roles in the story however works best for your group. You might ask for volunteers or select the children yourself. Since this is a simple story, it might be a great opportunity to give some of the more hesitant or “shy” children an opportunity to participate. As you tell the story, you can have the children act things out as much as you think will work best for your group.

Hello, everyone! It is great to see you today! Are you ready for a good story? (Let them respond.) Great!

One day, Jesus was teaching some people about God, and someone asked him a question. They asked Jesus what they needed to do if they wanted to always be close to God. Jesus told them that all God wanted them to do was to love their neighbor. That sounds like a good answer, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) Well, when he said it, everyone looked really confused. Finally, one of them said, “Um, just who is my neighbor?”

How would you answer that question? Who is your neighbor? Is your neighbor someone who lives right next door to you? (Let them respond.) Do you have any neighbors? (Let them respond.) What if you don’t have anyone living right next door to you? Does that mean you don’t have any neighbors? (Let them respond.)

Jesus told them a story to help them understand, and I thought it might be fun if we saw that story instead of me just telling it to you, okay? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s get started!

We’re going to need a few volunteers to help us show the story. (Select your first actor.) One day, someone was walking down a road. It was a dangerous road out in the country and some robbers attacked the man. They took all of his money, beat him up, and pushed him into the ditch to the side of the road. (Have the actor lie down on the floor.) He was hurt too badly to get up and just hoped someone might come along who would help him.

Then he heard something. He tried to look up, and he saw someone walking down the road in his direction. (Select your second actor and have them hold the bible.) The hurt man recognized the new person and started to smile. He knew the person was very religious and knew a lot about God, so he knew the person would stop and help him. As the religious man walked by, he saw the hurt man lying in the ditch and he stopped. And do you know what he did next? (Let them respond.) The religious man said, “Wow, it looks like you are hurt! I am so sorry you are hurting. I will say a prayer and ask that God will send someone who can help you.” And then the religious man turned and walked on down the road.

How do you think the hurt man felt? (Let them respond.) Probably pretty disappointed, huh? But, fortunately, just a few minutes later he heard someone else coming down the road. (Select your next actor and give them the phone.) He looked up and saw someone walking toward him really fast. Do you think they had seen the man in the ditch and were hurrying to help him? (Let them respond.) But as the person got closer, the hurt man saw that he was talking to someone on his phone. When the person saw the man in the ditch he stopped. He looked at the man and said, “I can see you need some help. But, if I come down into that ditch, I will get mud all over my suit, and I am on my way to an important meeting and can’t be late. I will see if I can call someone who can come and help you.” And the man went back to talking on his phone and hurrying down the road.

Now how do you think the hurt man felt? (Let them respond.) Probably even more disappointed now, huh? (Let them respond.) But then he heard someone else coming down the road, and he looked up. (Select your next actor and give them the bandage.) Then, he just shook his head. The person he saw walking down the road now was a man he knew was from another city. The people in that city were very different. They looked different, they ate different things, they believed in different things. In fact, people in the hurt man’s city and people in the other man’s city did not get along at all. The man in the ditch lay back down in the ditch because he knew there was no way the man would stop and help him. He might tease the hurt man, laugh at him, or even bully him, but he certainly would not help him.

And do you know what happened next? (Let them respond.) The man walking by saw the man in the ditch and he stopped. He got off the road and crawled into the muddy ditch. He wrapped a bandage around the hurt man’s head and helped him stand up. Then he helped the man walk down the road until they came to a hospital. He helped the man go inside, and he gave them money to take care of the hurt man so he would get better. How do you think the hurt man felt now? (Let them respond.)

Now, which of these three people do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? (Let them respond.) The last one, right?

And when Jesus finished the story, he told the people to, “Go and do likewise.” Jesus said we are supposed to love our neighbor, but being a neighbor doesn’t mean we live close to each other, look like each other, or even believe the same things. Jesus said that every person is your neighbor, and God wants us to take care of each other.

Let’s all pray together and ask God to help us remember how much God loves every one of us no matter who we are, what we have, or where we are from and ask God to help us remember to do the things God wants us to do to take care of each other. Let’s ask God to help us go and do likewise…

Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. Please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.