The Good Samaritan Preschool Lesson
Preschool lesson (ages 3–6, 20 minutes)
1. Welcome (3 min)
Sit in a circle, greet every child by name and show one thing from the story to touch.
2. The little story (5 min)
Teach the refrain first: “The Samaritan stopped to help.”
One day a teacher of God’s law came to Jesus. He wanted to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” That means: how can I live with God forever?
Jesus asked him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” The man knew God’s law well. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart. And your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus said, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.” But the man asked, “Who is my neighbor?” A neighbor is someone near you. So Jesus told a story.
A man was walking down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was a long, lonely road. It went down and down, past rocks and hills. Robbers sometimes hid there.
Robbers came. Oh no! They took his things and hurt him. Then they went away. They left him lying by the road, badly hurt. He could not get up.
A priest came down that road. A priest served God in the temple. He saw the hurt man. But he passed by on the other side. Step, step, step, away he went.
Then a Levite came – a helper in God’s temple. He came to the place and saw the man too. But he also passed by on the other side. Who do you think will help the man?
Then a Samaritan came. Samaritans and Jews were not friends. They did not even like to talk to each other. But when he saw the man, he was moved with compassion. Compassion means his heart was full of love for him. The Samaritan stopped to help.
He went to the man. He poured oil and wine on his hurts. Oil helps a hurt feel better. Wine helps to keep it clean. Then he bound up the hurts. Can you pretend to wrap a bandage? Round and round. Gently, gently.
He put the man on his own animal. Maybe it was a donkey. Clip-clop. So the Samaritan walked. He took the man to an inn – a house for travelers. There he took care of him. The Samaritan stopped to help.
The next day he took out two silver coins. He gave them to the innkeeper. That was as much as a worker earned in two days. Let’s count the coins: one, two! The innkeeper would use the money to care for the hurt man.
“Take care of him,” he said. “Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.” Repay means pay back. The Samaritan would come back. The Samaritan stopped to help.
Then Jesus asked a question. “Which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him?” The man said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Mercy means being kind to someone who needs help.
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Likewise means the same way.
God is good to all, and full of mercy. The Samaritan stopped to help.
3. Talk together (3 min)
- Why do you think the Samaritan stopped when the others passed by?
- How do you think the hurt man felt when someone came to help him?
4. Move (3 min)
Refrain Freeze: move around the room; when you say the refrain, everyone freezes and says it together.
5. Make (4 min)
Color the 2 silver coins and the 1 inn.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart” — Luke 10:27 (You shall love → cross your arms over your heart; the Lord your God → point up; with all your heart → give yourself a big hug)
Dear God, thank you that you love every person. Thank you for the people who help me. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: Be a good neighbor to everyone
Memory verse: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” — Luke 10:27 · WEB
The Bible story
A hurt traveler lies all alone on a lonely, dusty road, until one surprising stranger stops to help. Who will show real kindness when it matters most?
Talk about it
- What question did the expert in God's law ask Jesus? — Who is my neighbor?
- Where was the man in Jesus' story traveling? — From Jerusalem to Jericho
- What did the Samaritan give the innkeeper? — Two silver coins
- What did the robbers do to the traveler? — Beat him and left him
- What did the priest do when he saw the hurt man? — Walked past him
- What did the Levite, a temple helper, do? — The same as the priest
Where is Jesus in this story?
Jesus' enemies once insulted him by calling him a Samaritan (John 8:48). In a way, Jesus is like the Samaritan in his own story. When we were hurt by sin and could not help ourselves, he did not pass by. He came near, cared for us and paid the full cost himself, by giving his life on the cross.
What God wants to tell us
God shows us that real love is not just kind words, but kind actions. The Samaritan did not walk past when someone needed help. He stopped, he cared, and he gave what he had. God wants us to help anyone who is hurting, even people who are different from us. When we are kind like the Samaritan, we are showing God's big love to the whole world, one caring act at a time.
Prayer
Father God, thank You for loving me and always coming to help me. Please make my heart kind like the Good Samaritan. Help me to see people who are hurting and to stop and care for them. Teach me to love everyone, even when it is not easy. Amen.
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