March 25-26, The Good Samaritan. Luke 10:25-37; Matthew 22: God wants us to love our neighbor.

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1 March 25-26, 2017 The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37; Matthew 22:37-39 God wants us to love our neighbor. Connect Time (15 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids into groups and begin their activity. Large Group (30 minutes): Begin 20 minutes after the service starts. Model what it looks like to be engaged in large group. Small Group (15 minutes): Keep kids in small groups until parents arrive. If you all have extra time at the end, you can review the video and songs together. Every sticker, every time. That means we check every single kid s sticker before he/she leaves the room, and we make sure that it matches his/her grown up s sticker. This is vital to the safety of kids, and we want adults to know that they can always count on their kids being safe in Kids Club. As kids leave, remind them to share their own versions of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told a parable about a Good Samaritan who helped his enemy. The story reminds us that Jesus wants us to love our neighbors and help anyone who needs it!

2 GOAL: Connect Time is all about engaging kids in an activity that allows them to connect with each other right away while simultaneously piquing their curiosity for Large Group and preparing their minds for what they re going to hear. LOVING.OR NOT Split kids into small groups. Give each group paper and markers. Give each group a scenario from below to act out in front of the other groups. After they act it out, give everyone in the room a few minutes to write their own ending to the scenario. (Encourage them to imagine what they would do in that situation, or how it could be done differently.) After kids have written down their endings, have a few kids from each group share what they wrote. Here s the scenarios: Scenario 1 - Sitting at the table in the cafeteria. One kid is sitting by himself/herself, while the other kids whisper about him/her. Scenario 2 - Picking two teams in gym. One person is standing by themselves because no one wants them. Scenario 3 - Everyone is on the bus on the way to school, and they re making fun of someone on the bus that they don t like. If not everyone in the group wants to act out, that s okay. As long as the group can communicate the scenario to the rest of the room, it ll work! TALK ABOUT IT Have you ever been in a situation where you knew you should show love to someone, but you didn t? What happened? Why do we decide to NOT show love to others sometimes, like in the scenarios above? Before you go to Large Group, you can ask kids how their week went. You can also remind kids of the expectations for Large Group behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader s instructions.

3 Goal: Kids will (1) understand from the parable of the good Samaritan that God wants us to love our neighbors (everyone) as ourselves and (2) identify specific ways we can show love, even when it s hard to do. Why? We can love others because Jesus showed us the most powerful love: He died for us! Tip: Give the kids some ideas for their own personal versions of the Good Samaritan. For instance, they could write about themselves as the Samaritan helping someone they would normally overlook. REVIEW THE STORY 1. What s a parable? (A story that teaches a lesson, told by Jesus.) 2. Who were the three people who saw the Israelite who had been beat up? 3. Why was it a big deal for the Samaritan to love the Jewish man? (Because Jewish people and Samaritans hated each other!) 4. Jesus wants us to love our neighbors. Who are our neighbors? (Everyone! Our neighbors, our friends, our classmates, our family, and even people we don t like.) 5. Why is it hard to love people sometimes? (They don t like us, or we don t like them. Sometimes we want to treat mean or uncool people badly, etc.) 6. Who is someone you could show love to this week that you normally don t pay much attention to? MAKE IT PERSONAL Create a modern version of the parable of the Good Samaritan: Have kids think of the characters in the story, and replace them with people from their own life (They can also put themselves in this story!) Who would be the Jewish man that was beat up? (In their story, he doesn t have to be beat up. Maybe there s something else that s happened to make him sad, angry, alone or hurt, etc.) Who would be the people that passed the hurt man by? Who would be the Good Samaritan? Give each kid a blank template and set out markers. Kids can write and draw the story in their own words in the dotted spaces on the template. (Continued on next page.)

4 As kids are creating their modern Good Samaritan story, ask these questions to get them thinking of what/how to create: Is there a group of people you don t like? Do you have neighbors/kids at school you avoid? Can you think of a specific neighbor you don t usually talk to? What could you do to treat that person more loved? Are you the Good Samaritan in the story, or are you someone who passes the man by? Extra time? Have kids share their stories with the group.

5 Check out this new music video before the lesson! Music Video: Only Wanna Sing ( z1vgnmvqou) WELCOME AND INTRO Main Goal: Review Connect Time and introduce the lesson. Notes: You can preview today s Good Samaritan Lego video here: JCK4Wy-0 Watch the KC Raps video here: Say: Hi everybody! Welcome to Kids Club. It s great to see you here. During Connect Time, you guys were given certain situations and acted out a loving or kind ending. It sounded like you did a pretty good job. Which is good because do you guys think Jesus wants us to be loving and kind to each other? (Let kids say: with!) Yes of course Jesus tells us to love one another! Say: In fact, today we re going to start with a verse. Here s what Jesus said about love in Matthew 22:37-39: SLIDE: Matthew 22:37-39 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind. This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Ask: So how does Jesus say to love our neighbors? (Let kids say: like ourselves!) Yes! That might sound strange but think about it: we all love ourselves, even if we don t think we do. And that s how we should love our neighbors too. Say: What do you normally think of when you hear the word, neighbor? (Let kids respond.) Yep, someone who lives nearby probably! Do you guys know who Jesus was talking about when HE used the word neighbor? (Let kids respond.) Great answers. Today, you might be surprised by what neighbor really means to Jesus!

6 A LEADER ASKS JESUS A QUESTION Main Goal: Set the scene for identifying a neighbor. THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN Main Goal: Have children learn who Jesus considered a neighbor. Say: You see, when a guy who worked with the church heard Jesus command that we love God with all our hearts and love our neighbor as ourselves (Point to verse still on screen), he asked, Who s my neighbor? Jesus told a story to help us understand who our neighbors are. Ask: Does anybody know what it s called when a story is told in order to teach a lesson? (Let kids say: parable.) Yes, Jesus told a parable and we now call it the parable of the Good Samaritan. Say: To really understand this story, you need to know that God s family was called the Israelites, because they were from Israel. And another group of people were called the Samaritans, because they were from Samaria. Say: They were rivals, or enemies. The hatred goes way, way back to when land was being divided. By the time of Jesus, people from each place didn t like each other...and they probably didn t even know why. (Image: Map) But these two would do almost anything to avoid each other. This map even shows us the extra-long route Israelites would take to avoid going through Samaria! It was so bad, that if an Israelite saw a Samaritan coming, they would just expect to be treated badly. Say: So one day, a man from Israel was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he got robbed and beat up. He was left lying by the side of the road. Say: Three people passed him, and one was his enemy, the Samaritan. Let s watch a little video to see what happened. See if you can figure out who helped the guy who was beat up (you can probably guess already) and who didn t. Video: Good Samaritan in Legos Ask: Wow, crazy story! So first, who DID help? Yep, the Samaritan the one who was supposed to be an enemy. But it s kind of interesting to think about who did NOT help, too. Does anyone remember? (Let kids say: a priest and a temple assistant.) Say: That s right, two men who actually worked with churches. But going to church doesn t make you like Jesus. Loving your neighbor does!

7 THREE DIFFERENT MEN Main Goal: Retell how the three men in the parable reacted to the man on the side of the road. LOVING ISN T ALWAYS EASY Main Goal: Understand that loving others is a way to follow Jesus, but sometimes it s hard. (Loop: Walking Man) Imagine if a Kids Club leader from another room sees you lying on the side of the road they don t know you so they keep walking. Then maybe a pastor from another church sees you. But he or she walks right on by too! Say: Then the meanest person at your school or that you know comes up. Think for a second about who that would be (let kids think). That person actually stops, helps you, pays for you to stay somewhere and won t leave until you re OK. How would that feel? (Let kids respond.) Ask: And what would YOU do if you saw the meanest person you know in trouble. Would you care for them as well as you d care for yourself? Just think about that one in your head! Say: Let s watch one more video to help us understand the story in a new, and different way. Music Video: KC Raps / The Good Samaritan Say: Here s what Jesus was trying to say through all this. He wants us to love ALL people, even people we don t feel like talking to them.and even when nobody else is looking. Say: Is this always easy to do? (Let kids respond.) Nope, it s not. Sometimes it can be tough. We meet people that we don t like, or who are mean to us. Sometimes we just don t feel like showing love. Has that ever happened to you guys? (Let kids respond.) Say: Yep, that happens to all of us. None of us are perfect, and we all mess up sometimes. Sometimes we don t show love to people that we should. Say: Right now, everybody close your eyes tight, and think of ONE person that you could be a good neighbor to this week. Remember, they don t have to live near you. They can be ANYONE. Even someone you don t like. Maybe especially someone you don t like. (Pause.) Got it? Okay, if you want to try and show love to them this week, silently ask God to help you do that. (Pause.) Okay, you can open your eyes.

8 RESPONSE TIME Main Goal: Give kids a chance to actively respond to what they heard, and listen to what God is telling them. PRAYER AND WORSHIP Main Goal: Close the lesson with prayer and worship. Say: The Bible tells us even more about WHY we love. Sure, it s because Jesus commands us to do it. But it s also because Jesus loved us first. In fact, He loved us so much, that he died for us, to rescue us from all our wrong choices. And because he did that, he wants us to follow him, and love others too. Say: Let s look at another verse that tells us this, plain and simple. Slide: I John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. Ask: So why do we love? (Let kids respond.) Yep, because Jesus first loved us. And when we experience his love, we should want to love him back and spread that love to others too. Say: Let s show love to Jesus right now by praying to him. Then we ll get up and worship with singing and dancing! Pray: Dear Jesus. Please help us to show love to everyone, including the people that aren t our friends, or that we have a tough time loving. Thank you for loving us first, and rescuing us. Amen! Say: Let s all stand up now and lift our voices to Jesus with some worship! This first song is a new music video, and it s all about singing to God with everything we have! Music Video: Only Wanna Sing Music Video: Dance Laugh Love Dismiss kids to small groups.

9 3rd-5th March 25-26, 2017 Tell me about the Good Samaritan. What does it mean to love our neighbor as ourselves? Connect Time Item Usage Details Provided by Markers 1 set per small group, reused Paper 1 per kid 8.5x11 white paper site Item Usage Details Provided by Markers 1 set per small group, reused Template page 1 per kid 8.5x11 cardstock, double sided, color, Page site Item Usage Details Provided by Adventure Bible 1 per room site Small Group site Large Group site

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12 Kindergarten-2nd Song slide: for when kids enter the room (All that You Need instrumental; mp3 only; can be downloaded on website) SLIDE: Matthew 22:37-39 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind. This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Image: Map Video: Good Samaritan in Legos ( Loop: Walking man ( Music Video: KC Raps / The Good Samaritan ( ) Slide: I John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. Music Video: Only Wanna Sing ( Music Video: Dance Laugh Love (