Welcome
We’re in week four now. How are you finding this Lent? We hope you and your family are having an adventure on this Come and See journey. Throughout Lent we’ll be exploring together the big theme of God’s love: how we can experience God’s love for ourselves and how we can grow in sharing God’s love with others.
This week we are exploring what it means to love our neighbour. Who even is our neighbour? How might we show God’s love through acts of kindness and blessing?
Chat together/Activity
Where have you experienced kindness or goodness this week? Perhaps you have been kind or received kindness. What does it feel like when others are kind to you? How do you feel when you are kind to others?
Story
Do you have a favourite story or bit of the Bible that shows you God’s love and kindness?
Read it together and chat about it.
If you’re not sure what to read, have a look at Luke 10:25–37: The parable of the good Samaritan.
For younger children (Key Stage 1): If you have a storybook Bible, read the parable of the good Samaritan.
For pre-school children read “The Good Stranger” in Stories Jesus Told by Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen.
Luke 10:25–37
Then a teacher of the law stood up. He was trying to test Jesus. He said, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
The man answered, “Love the Lord your God. Love him with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” Also, “You must love your neighbour as you love yourself.”
Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will have life forever.”
But the man wanted to show that the way he was living was right. So he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
To answer this question, Jesus said, “A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes and beat him. Then they left him lying there, almost dead. It happened that a Jewish priest was going down that road. When the priest saw the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. Next, a Levite came there. He went over and looked at the man. Then he walked by on the other side of the road. Then a Samaritan travelling down the road came to where the hurt man was lying. He saw the man and felt very sorry for him. The Samaritan went to him and poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. He put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn. At the inn, the Samaritan took care of him. The next day, the Samaritan brought out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. The Samaritan said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”
Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by the robbers?”
The teacher of the law answered, “The one who helped him.”
Jesus said to him, “Then go and do the same thing he did!”
Space Makers practice: Mending
The Mending practice invites us to consciously encounter forgiveness (forgiving self and others and being forgiven) and healing.
Our Space Makers practice this week brings us to times when we have been on the receiving end of unkind words or behaviour. Mending is about acknowledging that we all get things wrong, and are sometimes on the receiving end when others do wrong to us. When Jesus died, everything seemed dark and empty, but on Easter day Jesus was alive again – human again, all of God still. When we ask for or give forgiveness it is like an Easter Day moment. New life has come.
God’s power is in life, creativity, love and light (rather than anger, burden, force or fear). If you have bubble mix and would like to, blow bubbles and watch them as you each pray. Pop a bubble when you say “Amen”. If you don’t have bubble mix, don’t worry, you can still use the “Thank You, Sorry and Sad, and Please” prayer format to pray simply.
Amen at the end of prayers means “I agree.” It’s like giving a thumbs-up at the end of the prayer. Would you like to say “Amen” in a creative way today?
Pray “Thank you” prayers to God for all that God is and the good things you have seen and experienced this week.
Say “Sorry or sad” prayers for the things you have said or done that you know are contrary to God’s kingdom way of being.
Pray “Please” prayers for God’s kingdom to come, naming people and places you are concerned about. If you have a map or globe, use sticky notes to mark the places and people.
Pray together
Dear God,
I love you, you love me,
That’s the way that it should be.
You love me, I love you,
Help me love my neighbour too.
Amen
Weekly film and questions
Watch this film, pausing when prompted to think and talk about the questions.
Watch the film | Audio-only version | Download the transcript
Now wonder together
- How does this story make you feel?
- Who do you think might be your neighbour?