The Good Samaritan: Pre-Teen Sunday School Lesson (Ages 11-13)
Ages 11-13 · 45 minutes · free lesson plan · Luke 10:25-37
An interactive 45-minute lesson for pre-teens on Luke 10:25-37. Students explore Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan through a story, a pass-by-or-stop game, group discussion and a craft. They leave with a concrete plan to show mercy to someone this week.
Memory verse
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (Luke 10:37, KJV)
Lesson objectives
- Retell the parable of the Good Samaritan in order.
- Explain that Jesus calls us to show mercy to anyone in need, including people we find hard to love.
- Choose one practical way to show mercy this week.
The full lesson plan
Welcome: The Excuse Olympics (5 min)
Setup: none.
Say: "Welcome! Let's start with a quick game called the Excuse Olympics."
Say: "In 30 seconds, call out the best excuse for not helping someone, like 'I was too busy.'"
Let students shout excuses. Pick a funny 'gold medal' winner.
Say: "We all have excuses. Today Jesus tells a story that takes every one of them apart."
Ask: "Have you ever seen someone who needed help and walked on by? You don't need to answer out loud. Just think about it."
Say: "Now let's hear the story and the question that started it."
The Story: A Lawyer's Question (8 min)
Have students open Bibles to Luke 10:25-37. Read aloud or retell in order, using the KJV names and events.
1. A lawyer stood up to test Jesus: "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus asked what the law said. The lawyer answered: love God fully and love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus said, "Thou hast answered right."
2. Wanting to justify himself, the lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbour?"
3. Jesus told of a man going from Jerusalem to Jericho. Thieves stripped him, wounded him and left him half dead.
4. A priest saw him and passed by on the other side. A Levite did the same.
5. A Samaritan saw him and had compassion. He bound up his wounds with oil and wine, set him on his own beast and took him to an inn. Next day he gave the host two pence and promised to repay any extra cost.
6. Jesus asked which one was neighbour. The lawyer said, "He that shewed mercy on him." Jesus said, "Go, and do thou likewise."
Say: "Notice that the lawyer asked who counts as his neighbour, but Jesus asked who acted like one."
Say: "Let's look at what this means."
Teaching: Mercy Costs Something (8 min)
Say: "Jesus changes the question from 'Who is my neighbour?' to 'Will I be a neighbour?'"
Background: Jews and Samaritans generally had a deep, long-standing hostility. Jesus made a Samaritan the hero of the story, which would have shocked the lawyer.
Point out three things the Samaritan did, straight from the text:
- He saw and had compassion. He didn't look away.
- He acted. He bandaged, carried, and paid with his own oil, wine, animal and money.
- He kept going. He came back to the care of the man the next day and promised more.
Say: "The priest and the Levite saw the man too. The difference was what they did next."
Say: "Mercy is not just a feeling. It is love with hands and feet, and it usually costs time or money."
Gospel link: Jesus showed us this kind of mercy when we couldn't help ourselves (Romans 5:8).
Ask: "Which excuse from our Olympics would have stopped the Samaritan? He didn't use any of them."
Activity: Pass By or Stop? (8 min)
Setup: Tape a line down the middle of the room. One side is "Pass By", the other is "Stop to Help". Write 6 scenarios on index cards, such as: a classmate eating lunch alone; someone dropped their books in the hallway; a kid everyone teases is struggling with homework; a new student looks lost; a neighbor's trash can blew over; someone online is being left out of a group chat.
Time: 8 minutes. Students walk (no running) to a side.
1. Read one scenario aloud.
2. Students quietly walk to the side they would honestly choose.
3. Invite 1-2 volunteers from each side to say why. No shaming.
4. Ask: "What would make 'Stop to Help' harder? What would it cost?"
5. Repeat with 3-4 more cards.
Say: "Honest answers are welcome here. Naming what holds us back is the first step to changing it."
Say: "Now let's talk about what we noticed."
Discussion: Neighbors Near and Far (7 min)
Split into groups of 3-4 with an older student or leader in each. Give about 5 minutes, then share one answer per group.
1. Why do you think the priest and the Levite passed by? (Fear, busyness, or not wanting the trouble. The text doesn't say why.)
2. Who might be the "Samaritan" in our world, someone we would find hard to help or accept? (Someone from a rival group, someone who was mean to us.)
3. What did the Samaritan's help cost him? (Time, money, oil, wine, his own animal, plans.)
4. Jesus ended with "Go, and do thou likewise." What is one small way you can do that this week? (Sit with someone alone, help a sibling without being asked, include someone online.)
Say: "You don't have to fix the whole world. Just be a neighbour to the person God puts in front of you."
Craft: Neighbor Challenge Card (6 min)
Safety: Students use scissors, so supervise. Check for sticker or marker allergies and sensitivities.
Setup: Pre-cut cardstock into wallet-sized rectangles, or let students cut their own.
Time: 6 minutes.
1. Write "Luke 10:37" and "Go, and do thou likewise" on the front.
2. Decorate with a simple road, a bandage, or a heart.
3. On the back, write the name or situation of one person you will show mercy to this week.
4. Add one specific action, such as "sit with him at lunch."
5. Keep it in a pocket, phone case or locker as a reminder.
Say: "Mercy gets real when it has a name and a plan."
Closing and Prayer (3 min)
Say: "Jesus' last words to the lawyer are for us too: 'Go, and do thou likewise.'"
Say the memory verse together twice.
Pray aloud, or invite short sentence prayers:
- Thank God for His mercy toward us through Jesus.
- Ask God to open our eyes to people in need around us.
- Ask for courage to act instead of walking by.
- Pray for the person written on your card.
Say: "Amen. Go be a neighbour this week!"
Materials
- Bibles (KJV)
- Index cards
- Masking tape (to mark two sides of the room)
- Cardstock or heavy paper
- Scissors
- Pens or markers
- Stickers or colored pencils for decorating
Teacher notes
- Adaptation: Use picture or printed scenario cards for visual learners. Offer a quiet option, such as pointing instead of walking. In mixed-age groups, pair younger students with older buddies.
- Craft safety: Supervise scissors and check for allergies to markers or stickers before the craft.
- Keep the "Pass By or Stop?" game kind. Don't let students mock a choice, and don't force anyone to share.
- Stick to the text: it never says why the priest and Levite passed by or who the wounded man was. Invite discussion without making up details.
Send it home with parents
Today we studied Luke 10:25-37, the parable of the Good Samaritan. A lawyer asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbour?" Jesus told of a Samaritan who stopped, cared for a wounded man, and paid for his care. Jesus calls us to show that same mercy, even to people who are different from us. Students made a card with one person and one action for the week.
- Who is someone at school or online who might need a neighbour right now?
- What usually keeps us from helping, and how could we handle it differently?
As a family, choose one person or family nearby who could use help, such as a neighbor, relative or classmate. Do one kind act together this week, like a meal, a note, yard work, or a ride.
Do the action written on your Neighbor Challenge card. Then tell a parent what happened and how it felt.
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