Healing Ten Men with Leprosy 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: “Only one came back to say thank you.”
Jesus was walking to the big city of Jerusalem. On the way, he walked along the edge of two lands. One land was called Samaria. The other land was called Galilee.
Jesus came into a little village. There, ten men met him. Let’s count them on our fingers: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!
The ten men were very sick. They had leprosy – a bad sickness of the skin. People with leprosy had to live away from everyone else. They could not go home to their families. They could not be close to their friends.
So the ten men stood far away from Jesus. They called out with loud voices, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Master means teacher and leader. Mercy means kindness and help.
Jesus saw them. He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Priests were men who served God at his house. In those days, a priest looked at your skin. If it was well again, you could go home.
But their skin was not well yet! What do you think the ten men did?
The ten men went. They started walking to the priests, just as Jesus said. Step, step, step. Can you walk in place, like the ten men?
And as they walked, they were healed! Their skin was clean and well. Maybe they looked at their hands and their arms. The sickness was gone! All ten of them were well! Jesus had made every one of them well.
One man saw that he was healed. He stopped. He turned around. He went back to Jesus. And all the way, he praised God with a loud voice!
He fell down on his face at Jesus’ feet. He thanked Jesus. Only one came back to say thank you.
This man was a Samaritan. He came from Samaria, from a different people. Most Jews and Samaritans did not get along. But Jesus had healed him too.
Jesus said, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” Cleansed means made clean. Let’s count again: ten were healed. One came back. Where were the other nine? Only one came back to say thank you.
Jesus asked, “Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” A foreigner is someone from another land. To give glory to God means to tell how great and good God is.
Then Jesus said to the man, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.” Faith means trusting Jesus. Only one came back to say thank you.
Now the man could go his way. He was well and clean. He could be close to people again. And he had said thank you to Jesus. Can you say thank you with a big, loud voice, like him? Thank you!
Ten men went away. One man came back. God was kind to all ten men. He is kind to us too, every single day. Only one came back to say thank you.
3. Talk together (3 min)
- How do you think the men felt when they saw their skin was well?
- Why do you think only one man came back?
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 10 men Jesus healed. Then color the 1 man who came back to say thank you.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“Glorifying God with a loud voice” — Luke 17:15 (glorifying God → lift both arms high; with a loud voice → hands around your mouth)
Dear God, thank you for all the good things you give me. Thank you, Jesus, for your kindness. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: Always remember to say thank you
Memory verse: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:18 · WEB
The Bible story
Ten sick men called out to Jesus for help, and He healed them all, but only one came running back to say a great big thank you.
Talk about it
- How many men with leprosy were waiting for Jesus? — Ten men
- Why did the ten men have to live far away from everyone? — They were sick with leprosy
- What did the men shout when they saw Jesus? — "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
- Where was the man who came back from? — He was a Samaritan
- What did Jesus tell the men to do? — Show yourselves to the priests
- When were the men healed? — While they were walking
Where is Jesus in this story?
God's law told a priest to check whether a skin disease had gone (Leviticus 14:2–3), but the law could not make anyone clean. Jesus did what the law could not: He cleansed all ten men with a word. And the Samaritan understood that thanking God meant coming back and falling at Jesus' feet (Luke 17:15–16). We can bring our thanks to Jesus too.
What God wants to tell us
Jesus healed all ten men, but only one came back to say thank you, and that made Jesus glad. God gives us so many good gifts every day, like our families, our food, the sunshine and our friends. When we stop and say thank you to God, it fills our hearts with joy and reminds us how loved we are. Being thankful is one of the happiest things we can ever do.
Prayer
Thank You, God, for loving me and for all the good gifts You give me every day. Help me to remember to say thank you, just like the man who ran back to Jesus. Fill my heart with joy and kindness. Amen.
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