“The Good Enemy”

​YEAH! Church - Sunday, May 23, 2021

"Stories of Jesus” – Religious leaders sometimes liked to trick Jesus—they thought they could prove that they were smarter than him. One day, one of the experts in religious law asked him which was the most important commandment; Jesus’ answer would have surprised them all. He told them a story, but he made one of their enemies, a Samaritan, the hero!

Today’s Lesson - “The Good Enemy”

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX-aAg4_U2Q (The Bible Project – Parables of Jesus for adults and older children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLzdQtetedc (God’s Story – The Good Samaritan)

Jesus’ Story – “The Good Samaritan”
Luke 10:25-37, NLT

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” 27 The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[b] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[c] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Engage:
• An expert in the law thought he could trap Jesus with a hard question. What did Jesus say was the most important commandment?
• He then asked ‘who is my neighbour?’ Who do you think your neighbour is?
• To answer the question, Jesus told a story and he made a Samaritan, a Jewish enemy, the hero. Why would he do that?
• Jesus was trying to tell the people that everyone is our neighbour and there isn’t anyone we shouldn’t be kind to. Is there anyone you have trouble liking? Someone you might call your enemy?
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Theme verses:
Matthew 5:43-44 - “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
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Prayer - Thank you, God, for loving me even before I knew about you. Help me to love other people, like you love me. Help me to be kind, even to people who aren’t kind to me.
~ Pastor Jane