The Power of Compassion: Unpacking the Parable of the Good Samaritan Are you looking for a story that has stood the test of time, teaching generations about the essence of true kindness and compassion? The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one such timeless gem from the Bible, that not only enriches your soul but
We'll continue exploring the gospels to learn what he taught and why it was controversial. Why did Jesus speak in parables? Why didn't he write part of the Bible or travel the world? What was he like as a person? I have TWO printables for you in this part!
Scripture Reference: Luke 10:25-37 Suggested Emphasis: “Love your neighbour” by helping anyone who is in need. Memory Verse: “The man answered, “Love the Lord your God. Love him with all your heart…
Parables are a wonderful way to teach children biblical truths in a story format they will understand. We use them in our everyday teachings with "morals of the story" already, so many children are familiar with the parable concept and format. As I began prepping to teach my children some of the parable stories, I realized I wanted more resources. Today I am sharing with you those I have gathered for a handful of the parables in the Bible.
If one sheep out of a hundred wanders off from the rest of the flock, a good shepherd will go out in search of the one until he finds it and brings it back to the fold. Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep in John 15:3-7 highlights the love of God for every sinner and the joy God has when a sinner repents and returns home.
The students that were in class for this lesson were all at VBS this year when I taught The Prodigal Son. We used this lesson more as a review. They love filling in the lapbooks and seeing the goodies that I hand out for this lesson. Today's visual is The Prodigal Son feeding the pigs. I covered Ken up with brown fabric, painted 'dirt' on him and the pigs, and then cut the fabric edges to look ragged. Today's lesson is a parable that Jesus told the people. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. We can find the parable in Luke 15:11-32. There was a man that had two sons. The younger son told his father that he wanted his part of the inheritance. So the father divided what he had, and gave part to the son. A couple days later, the younger son packed up his belongings and traveled to a country far away. And he wasted what he had with extravagant living. He partied, spent time with women and wasted his money. After he had spent all the money that his father had given him, a severe famine came to the land. This means there was a food shortage, and now he doesn’t have money or food to take care of himself. He went to work for someone in that country and he was sent into the fields to feed the pigs. He was so hungry, he would have gladly eaten the pigs food, but no one gave him any food. He thought to himself…My father has servants, and they have bread to spare, and here I am hungry! He decided he would go home to his father and tell him: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” I’m not even worthy to be called your son! Make me one of your servants. He made the journey back to his father. When he was far away, his father saw him and had sympathy for him. His father ran and kissed him! He told his father that he has sinned and “I’m not worthy to be called your son.” BUT, the father told his servants to bring out the best robe and put it on him…put a ring on his hand…and sandals on his feet. He told them to bring the fatted calf and let us eat and be happy! My son was dead and now he is alive! He was lost and now he is found! But, the older son was in the field. As he came to the house, heard the music and asked a servant what was going on. He told him that his brother has returned home. He is safe and sound and your father is having a celebration. Well, he was angry. He wouldn’t go in the house. So his father came out to see him and pleaded with him. He told his father that he has stayed home and helped him and his father hasn’t ever had a celebration for him and his friends! But as soon as my brother comes back, who has wasted all his money, now you serve a great meal for him. His father told him that yes, he was always there for him, and everything that he had, would be his. But it is right to be happy, because his brother was dead, and is now alive. He was lost and now he is found. In this parable, Jesus is telling us that when we are sinners and are doing things with our money and friends that God doesn’t like it's like we have left Him, like the son that left home. We are lost, but when you decide to change your life, you go back to the Father, Who is God in heaven. You ask for forgiveness of what you did wrong. God is always happy when we come back to Him! Jesus loves us, and, He will welcome us just like the son was welcomed back home by his father. The kids also brought up another point about friends, and it was a good opportunity to bring up picking the right friends. I am always looking for small pigs to hand out for this lesson. I found some at Target Dollar Spot for $1.00. The ones you see above were from Dollar Tree. I also give them the money bags, which they love. One of the things to learn from this parable is choosing our friends wisely. This worksheet is a discussion starter for friends. There are directions in the download for this Friendship Lift-the-Flap worksheet. Teacher should have these prepared before class. Read the scripture, and add thoughts under each flap. Some are to discuss being careful on having good friends and some are being the kind of friend that Jesus would want them to be. This can be used for other lessons, too. Click here to print it in color and black & white. Click here to print the worksheet. This set of visuals have been updated as shown. The 'cloud' effect has been removed and background has been cleaned up. All the visuals are not shown and all available Sweet visuals for this lesson are included. Click here to download the updated visuals. Click here to download the pictures to color. (These are the same as the visuals but are black & white.) Click here to see the Parables of Jesus lapbook printables. Bible Verse: Luke 15:24 Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. Click here to print the lesson.
Here are six activities to effectively teach about the parables to young people today, plus a downloadable worksheet to use in class.
There are some key hidden meanings and lessons learned in the parable of the talents that most miss when reading it...
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.2 Timothy 3:1…
This set of visuals is a little different than what I normally have from Cathy.
The Parable of the Persistent Widow is a great Bible study for teens. It's a great way to learn about how to be persistent in prayer, and how to trust God.
printable Crafts Abraham (Activity Page) Download Abraham (Colour Page) Download Abraham(God's promises to you) Download Ananias and Saul(Folding Page) Download Armour of God (Good News Sandles) Download Armour of God: Good News Shoes Download Armour of God: Breastplate of Righteousness Download Armour of God: Helmet of Salavtion Download Armour of…
The Parable of the Two Debtors is a powerful illustration of God’s mercy. It is also a cautionary parable about not judging the sins of others.
Jesus used parables to help people visualize and understand a lesson He taught, much like how we use object lessons to teach kids today. The...
Display for lesson: on a table set up a field (green fabric) with rocks, shepherd and sheep. Put a couple together and one far away looking lost & trapped in rock and shrubs. Click here to download poster. Preview: We have talked about parables the last couple of weeks. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning that Jesus taught. There were 3 main jobs for men during the time of Jesus. They were shepherding, fishermen and farming. So Jesus is going to use a lesson that they will understand. Click here to download poster. Jesus told the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the Prodigal son at the same time to these people wanting to listen. We did the Prodigal Son last week and we are going to talk about the lost sheep and the lost coin today. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Great Shepherd. Jesus, like shepherds, is always watching over us. Shepherds protect their sheep, and always want to make sure they return home safe. Scripture: Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:1-7; John 10:1-18 One of the parables Jesus told was about a lost sheep. Jesus wanted to show that God loves everyone and is happy when anyone repents. God wants everyone to go to Heaven. There were people in the time of Jesus who thought they were better than every else. We have people like that now. When they all came to see Jesus, the Pharisees and the scribes started complaining that Jesus welcomes sinners…He even eats with them! So Jesus told a parable about a shepherd. He said that if any man had 100 sheep and he lost one of them, wouldn’t he leave the 99 in the wilderness to go find the one that is lost until he finds it? So, if we quit coming to worship and start doing things that God doesn’t like, then we are lost. When the shepherd finds the lost sheep, wouldn’t he lay it on his shoulders and celebrate that he found it? When he gets home, he would call together his friends and neighbors saying to them “Celebrate with me because I have found my lost sheep!” Jesus said just like the found sheep, when a sinner repents, there is more joy in heaven than over the 99 who do not need to repent. Who is the Shepherd? Jesus is the GREAT Shepherd Who is watching over us? Jesus Who is the lost sheep? the ones who are not faithful to Jesus I found this Shepherd's Hook at a Halloween store. (This is in pieces, and you screw the plastic pieces together to make it the 68".) The sheep would usually graze all day, then be kept in caves or pens at night. They usually had one opening, and if it didn’t have a door to block, the shepherd would lay in front of the opening to sleep at night to protect the sheep. Several flocks of sheep could be kept together, and in the morning if a shepherd called for his sheep, they recognized his voice. Jesus said that He is the gate for the sheep. He protects from thieves and robbers. He takes care of His people like a shepherd and would check the sheep at night when they came in for injuries and fix with oil if needed. In the New Testament book of John, Jesus told the people about a shepherd and his sheep. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” {Today’s Bible verse} Which Jesus gave His life for us by dying on the cross. This can printed in color or black and white to use as a picture to color. You can print them here: Color B/W I walked around the room with a broom and a candle 'looking' for my lost coin. Parable of the lost coin: Open your Bibles to Luke 15:8-10. We are going to read this parable. This parable is only 3 verses, but very important. There was a woman that had ten silver coins. But she lost one of the coins! She lit a lamp, swept the entire house, corners and all, to search carefully for the lost coin. She looked and looked for the lost coin... She didn't stop looking until she found that lost coin! Update information: I set up a display for this lesson. Even the older students would appreciate seeing some hands-on visuals! For the Lost Coin, I have these lamps on the table. I give each student a bag with 9 silver coins and have them count them. Oh, no! They have lost a silver coin! They look until they find the lost silver coin which I hid before class. I have a small broom from Dollar Tree and use the lamp to search around the room for the lost coin that I 'find' while I tell the lesson. Put clay oil lamp in the search bar where you like to purchase items to look for the oil lamps. These are from Amazon to help you get started. first lamp middle lamp last lamp The lamps are palm size, so don't be surprised by their size when you see them in person. For the Lost Sheep, I have a sheep 'hiding' on top of the cabinet. I use a shepherd's crook to walk around looking for the lost sheep and explain what the hook on the end was used for. I 'find' the lost sheep and bring it down and lay it on my shoulders and talk about how happy I am to find the lost sheep. Then the students find a lost sheep I have hidden before class. I find the stuffed lambs here and they don't always have the same ones in stock. Put in stuffed lambs in the search bar. When she finally found it, she called her friends together to celebrate that she had found the coin that was lost. Even though she had 9 other coins, she looked carefully until she found the lost coin. Jesus wanted the people to understand that for those that are lost, Jesus will welcome you back and rejoices when you return. Please note: Due to a comment, I redid the Lost Coin posts. In my original notes, I have about the woman’s coins probably would have been kept on her headband, but when I put the lessons online, that was not stated. At least, not clearly. All the probably and maybes that were the habits during the time Jesus told the parable. One of my main points of this Bible blog is keeping the lesson to what the Bible says. So, I corrected the lesson, worksheets, etc. and kept it to the facts in the Bible. Please leave a comment on the post if I missed something. For hands on fun, I made 1 ½ inch round circles on grey cardstock (Cricut machine, George, shadow blackout O). I hid extra ‘coins’ around the room and let them seek & find. They had so much fun looking for the coins! You can print this worksheet here. Bible Verse: John 10:11 There are 2 lapbook printables for today's lesson. You can print them here: Lost Shepherd This is the printable for today's lesson. The students will cut out the shepherd and glue him to the worksheet. You can print it here. You can find all the download links for the Life of Jesus lapbooks and the lapbook worksheets here. I also made these super cute scratch offs for the kids. They are really easy, and they are a lot of fun! Here is the original link with the free printables. Lost Coin visuals found here. and are the copyright of FreeBibleimages.org. (Used with permission) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Two of the parables he told were the parable of the pearl and the parable of hidden treasure.
Today, I'm going to share with you a Bible lesson that will help you teach your students about the parable of the ten maidens.
