In the scriptures, we can find many instances when Jesus was “moved with compassion.” He exemplified this attribute often, and one of those special stories is found in this week’s reading! Christ shows compassion when He heals a man who was “sick of the palsy.” The man’s friends also show compassion by going to great lengths in order for the man to be seen by Jesus.
When a compassionate person recognizes the suffering or sadness of another, they are quick to respond with love and to try to offer some kind of relief. This lesson will help your kids to observe, practice, and reflect on what it means to show compassion - as Jesus did!
LESSON BUNDLE DOWNLOADS:
➤ L E S S O N
Open the lesson with a song and a prayer.
🎶 K A R A O K E V I D E O : "Kindness Begins With Me"
➤ P R E P A R A T I O N:
You will need a soft, warm blanket and two dice.
➤ I N T R O D U C T I O N
Ask for a volunteer. Invite the volunteer to sit in a chair in the center of the room. (If there is only one child present, have a different person be the volunteer.) Ask the volunteer to pretend that they are stuck outside on a freezing winter day and to pretend that they are shivering in the cold!
Tell the rest of the group that they can wrap the blanket around the volunteer to help them warm up, but before they can use the blanket, they must first roll a 12 with the dice! (This will prolong the experience and allow the children to feel greater compassion for the volunteer and an increasing desire to help them.)
After you complete the activity, discuss the following questions:
1) How was the volunteer feeling? (They were very cold!)
2) How did you know what the volunteer was feeling? (By watching the expression on their face and watching what the volunteer was doing.)
3) How did you feel when it was taking a long time to roll a 12? (Talk about how much they wanted to help the person who was cold.)
Explain that when we see that someone is suffering and we feel bad for them and we want to help them, that feeling is called compassion. Whenever He saw someone who was suffering, He felt sad with them, and He always wanted to help them. Jesus feels compassion for all of us!
🎥 V I D E O : " Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man | Animated Scripture Lesson for Kids"
Say: “Now we are going to watch a video about a time when Jesus showed compassion for someone. Watch and see if you can figure out who it is!”
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) Who did Jesus show compassion for? (He showed compassion for the paralyzed man.)
2) Who else showed compassion for the paralyzed man? (The man’s friends!)
3) What did the friends do to help the man? (They carried him on his bed to see Jesus, and they even carried him onto the roof and lowered him down into the house so he could see Jesus!)
4) How can we show compassion for people around us? (By paying attention to how someone is feeling, and trying to find ways to help them if they need help.)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Read the scripture verses below and discuss the questions that follow.
I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
1) What did Jesus do to show compassion for the man who was paralyzed? (He healed the man!)
2) Do you think Jesus has compassion for us too? (Yes! Jesus has compassion for all of us! He wants to bless us, and he wants to help us.)
And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
1) What did the man’s friends do to show compassion for their friend? (They found a way to bring him into the house to see Jesus, even when it was too crowded for them to go in the door!)
2) Is it always easy to show compassion for others? Or do we need to do some work sometimes to show compassion? (Sometimes it takes a little bit of work to show compassion.)
And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.
1) What did the blind men ask Jesus for? (They asked Jesus to have mercy on them.)
2) Did Jesus ignore them? Or did Jesus have compassion on them? (He had compassion on them and He healed them!)
3) If we seek Jesus and ask Him for mercy, do you think He will ignore us? Or do you think He will have compassion on us too? (Discuss.)
4) If someone needs love and compassion, should we ignore them? Or should we try to have compassion on them like Jesus? (Jesus taught us to show compassion for one another.)
➤ C O L O R I N G P A G E
Pass out the coloring page, one to each child. Invite the children to color the scene from the video. Use this time to talk about how Jesus showed compassion for others, and how we can also show compassion for others.
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
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