KID’S MINISTRY LESSON ON THE GOOD SAMARITAN

Kids learn how to read and write, but often we assume they will naturally develop skills like kindness and empathy.

Some children have a hard time putting themselves in other people’s shoes or knowing how to be kind. 

Use this kid’s ministry lesson on the parable of The Good Samaritan (K-5th grade), found in Luke 10:30-37, to teach kids to be kind to everyone. 

– Nick Diliberto, Ministry to Youth

Looking for kid’s ministry curriculum?

ONE YEAR CHILDREN’S MINISTRY CURRICULUM, VOL 1 – Save 72% on one year of children’s ministry curriculum for 1st-5th grade helping kids fall in love with Jesus and discover what it means to follow him!

KID’S MINISTRY LESSON ON THE GOOD SAMARITAN (KINDNESS)

Bible: Luke 10:30-37 (NIRV)

Bottom Line: Be kind to everyone.

SUPPLIES

• Rolls of 2-ply toilet paper (2 rolls per group)
• 10 orange cones (or other type of marker)
• 2 Bandanas

OPENING GAME: I’VE GOT A BOO-BOO

GAME PREP

Use a cone to mark a starting point and place another cone about 20 feet in front of the starting point.

Throughout the game, kids will run from their team’s start cone, around the other cone, and back again.

If you don’t have cones, find something else to use as markers, such as: pieces of construction paper (different colors for each team), Solo cups, tape on the floor, etc.

Divide kids into groups of 5, give each group 2 rolls of toilet paper, and assign a starting cone to each team.

If you have more than 25 students, either make the teams larger, or increase the number of teams and rolls of toilet paper needed.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Say: This game is called “I’ve got a boo-boo.”

You have been divided into teams and given two rolls of toilet paper.

When I say GO, one person in your line will step forward, and someone from the team will wrap his or her arm in toilet paper until it’s completely covered. 

Now, because your teammate is injured, he will need help.

When the injured person’s limb is wrapped really well, he will shout, “I’ve got a boo-boo” and take off towards the other cone.

One person from your team will need to hold his or her arm while they walk around the cone on the other side of the room and run back to their team.

Each “injured” person will remain wrapped up until the end of the game.

When the first teammate returns, another teammate will step forward. 

This time, someone will wrap the next person’s leg until it is completely covered in toilet paper.

Then, someone will help that person get to the other side and back again by carrying the “injured” person’s leg while he or she hops along.

Everyone on your team will take a turn being wrapped and traveling to the other side and back again.

Be sure to alternate injury sites. For example, wrap the first person’s arm, then wrap the next person’s leg, and then an arm, and a leg, etc.

After everyone on your team has been wrapped and has gone around the cone and back again, your team members will rip of their bandages and shout “All better!”

The first team to accomplish this amazing feat will win the game.

TEACH

Say: I think it was really nice of you to help your teammates in the game we just played.

If you hadn’t helped each other, you wouldn’t have played the game very well.

You could never have won if you hadn’t worked together.

While Jesus was on the earth, He taught us that we should be kind and care about each other the way God cares about us.

In the Bible, there’s a story about a man who came to Jesus and asked Him what he needed to do to go to Heaven.

Jesus asked him, “What does the Bible say?” 

The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus said.  “Do this and you will live forever in Heaven.” 

But the man wanted to know more, so he asked Jesus another question, “Who is my neighbor?”

Ask: How would you answer that question? Who are your neighbors?

Allow a few responses from kids.

Jesus answers the man’s question by telling a story or a “parable.”

A parable is a simple story that teaches a valuable lesson about what God thinks.

We are going to take a look at this parable, but I need some of you to act out the story while I read it.

Choose a few kids to help illustrate the story: 

• Man who was attacked
• 2 robbers (wearing bandanas)
• Priest
• Levite
• Samaritan (will need some leftover toilet paper from the game)

Direct the kids to act out the story as you read it.

Read Luke 10:30-37. (NIRV)

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.”

Robbers attacked him.  They stripped off his clothes and beat him.

Discourage kids from stripping or beating the other kid. 

Then they went away, leaving him almost dead. 

A priest happened to be going down that same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 

A Levite also came by. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side too. 

But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was. 

When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. 

He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. 

Then he put the man on his own donkey. 

He brought him to an inn and took care of him. 

The next day he took out two silver coins. 

He gave them to the owner of the inn. “Take care of him,” he said. “When I return, I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have.“

“Which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”

The authority on the law replied, “The one who felt sorry for him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do as he did.”

Say: Thank you for helping me with our story! Let’s give them a big hand.

Clap for students and have them return to their seats for the remainder of the lesson.

It is important to be kind, but who should we sow kindness to?

EVERYONE!

Jesus tells us to not only love our neighbors, but to love even those we don’t know.

If we can help someone else, we should do it!

The story we just read teaches us to show kindness, even when it’s not the popular thing to do.

One of the people in the parable was a Samaritan—someone who was from a place called Samaria.

Jewish and Samaritan people didn’t get along, and it had been that way for a very long time.

So, it would not have been typical for a Samaritan to help a Jewish person, even if that person were hurt and needed help.

In this story, however, not only did the Samaritan man bandage the injured Jewish man and take care of him all night.

But the next day he took him to a hotel to make sure that he was able to recover in a safe place.

Jesus taught that we are to love our neighbors the way we love our ourselves.

What if a bully at school was sad because his grandma was sick?

You could just ignore him because he is always mean, or you could do what the Samaritan did and go out of your way to be nice to him.

Sometimes helping our neighbors is really hard, but we can choose to show others the love God has shown us.

Today, I want to encourage you to look for opportunities to be kind to everyone.

Someday you will need other people’s kindness in your life too!

Close in prayer.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTION

1. How do you show kindness to others?

2. Why is it important to be kind to be kind to everyone?

3. Is it difficult to be kind to people who are mean to you? Why?

4. What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

5. What is the nicest thing you have ever done for someone else?

Did you go out of your way to be nice? How? Why?

6. Can you think of any other times that the Bible talks about showing love or being kind to others?

7. As a group, come up with one thing you can do this week to show kindness to someone. 

Be accountable to each other. When you do something that is kind, share it with someone else.

Discuss what it means to be accountable to each other and how that can encourage them in their faith.

8. What could you do to show kindness to the people in your family

Describe what it looks like to be kind to each other in your home.

9. Do you think it’s easier to be kind to a stranger or someone you know? Why?

10. Take a minute to think about someone who doesn’t treat you very nice. 

As a group, pray that God will help each of you to show His love to those people.

End Lesson

Looking for kid’s ministry curriculum?

ONE YEAR CHILDREN’S MINISTRY CURRICULUM, VOL 1 – Save 72% on one year of children’s ministry curriculum for 1st-5th grade helping kids fall in love with Jesus and discover what it means to follow him!