Use this lesson to teach kids that they can still help people during difficult times. Get the full lesson resources here—including a kid’s page!
- Connecting: Play a game about helping others.
- Teaching: Hear the story of 4 friends who helped a paralytic (Mark 2:1–12).
- Responding: Choose a way to help someone this week.
SUPPLIES
You’ll need to prepare for the first activity ahead of time, so read the whole activity so you can prepare the supplies you need.
Note: In the lesson, you will see both bold and regular type. Bold type indicates things to read out loud to your children. Regular type indicates information for you, the parent.
This lesson focuses on helping other people. Serving others, even while in this pandemic crisis, helps calm us and give us a sense of wellbeing despite our own difficulties.
Leader/Parent Devotion
We love because [God] first loved us.
1 John 4:19
God first loved us. Love is His idea. He is the source of love and shows us how to love. We can only love as we stay connected to His love. When we fully receive God’s unconditional love, it changes the way we treat others. His love moves us to show love to others in ways we may never have thought to do before.
So, what does love do? It acts! It sees people and responds to their needs. Love is what moves us to comfort, help, encourage, correct, and support others. Love is what causes us to put forth the effort to bring others to Jesus, just as the 4 friends brought the paralytic to Jesus.
This week ask God to fill you with all the fullness of His love. Then let it splash out of you and onto others as you look for ways to safely help others with social distancing in place.
LESSON TIME
1. Connecting: Play a game about helping others.
Since you’ll be doing a game with water, you will want to do this game outside if possible. If that’s not possible, do it in a kitchen or garage where spilled water can easily be cleaned up.
Mark a starting line and a finish line for a race. Place a spoon and a bowl full of water at the starting line and an empty bowl at the finish line.
Tell your kids that you will have a race. Your family members will line up at the starting line. Give the first person a spoon and explain that they’ll fill their spoon with water from the bowl. Then they will walk quickly to pour the water into the empty bowl. After they empty the spoon, they will hop or jump back to the starting line and give the spoon to the next person. The other family members should cheer for the person who is walking the water to the bowl.
If you are playing inside, be sure to wipe up any spilled water so the children won’t fall. See how quickly your family can fill the bowl at the finish line with water. If you want, do the game again and see if you can beat your time from the first round. Be sure to do the race with your kids too! Playing with your kids builds great memories!
After the game, tell the children that helping each other as they did in the game is similar to a Bible story they may know. Ask them to try to guess what the story is.
2. Teaching: Hear the story of 4 friends who helped a paralytic (Mark 2:1–12).
Read aloud Jesus’ words from John 15:12:
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:12
Ask your children what Jesus tells us to do in this verse. Once they’ve had the chance to answer, share with them that Jesus wants us to love each other just as He loves us. Sometimes that’s easy to do, and sometimes it can be hard to do. One way we can love others is by helping them.
Next, tell your children you will read them a story. Explain that there are several places where you will pause and read 3 different ways that the story might continue. The correct answer for each question is italicized for your quick reference. Your children will get to pick what they think really happened by doing an action.
If they think the answer is 1, they should jump up. If they think the answer is 2, they should clap their hands. If they think the answers is 3, they should stomp their feet. Take a moment to allow your children to practice these responses before you begin.
Bible Story
Explain that this Bible story is about 4 friends who showed love to their friend by helping him in a very important way.
Jesus was teaching in someone’s house. The house was crowded with people because everyone was eager to hear Jesus. There were four friends who wanted to bring their paralyzed friend to see Jesus, but they couldn’t get in.
- What do you think the friends did?
- They gave up and decided to come back the next day.
- They put the man in the doorway so Jesus would stumble over him when He came out.
- They dug a hole in the roof and lowered the man on the mat down to Jesus.
If needed, read the choices again. Then ask them to do the motion for the number they think really happened. Repeat this process for each question during the story.
After your children have chosen an answer, share that the friends dug a hole in the roof and lowered the man down to Jesus.
When the man was placed right in front of Jesus, He looked at the paralyzed man on the mat. Jesus cared about this man’s physical disability. He also cared about the man’s heart.
- What do you think Jesus did?
- Jesus touched the man and healed him without saying a word.
- Jesus reminded the man’s friends to fix the hole in the roof before they left.
- Jesus said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus knew that while the man needed healing physically, he had a greater need for forgiveness. Every person is a sinner who needs God’s forgiveness. Jesus forgave the paralytic because He was concerned about his physical sickness as well as his heart sickness.
Jesus Cares for Us
Share with your children that Jesus cares about our health and our hearts! He cares about our physical sickness, and he also wants our hearts to know God and His love.
- Jesus then asked the religious leaders a question. What do you think He asked them?
- What is easier to say: “Your sins are forgiven” or “Stand up and walk”?
- You religious leaders are always questioning Me. Why don’t you stop it?
- If you have something to say, why can’t you say it directly to Me?
After your children have chosen an answer, share that Jesus asked them if it was easier to forgive the man’s sins or tell the man to stand up and walk.
Jesus forgave the man’s sins because He cared about the man’s heart, but He did not stop there. He also cared about the man’s health. Everyone in the room was listening to see what Jesus would do.
- What did Jesus say to the man?
- “I am sorry, but I won’t heal you until your friends fix the hole in the roof.”
- “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
- “Your sins are forgiven, but you’ll remain paralyzed.”
Let’s Imagine
After your children have chosen an answer, ask if they can imagine how the man felt when Jesus told him to pick up his mat and go home. Ask then to imagine if they had been there to see this miracle.
Right before their eyes, they would have seen the man get up and grab his mat when just moments before, he had been paralyzed and unable to walk. Everyone was amazed.
- What do you think the people said?
- “Wow! Jesus certainly is a great doctor.”
- “I wish I had brought my sick friend.”
- “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”
The people had never seen anything like that before. Jesus forgave the man’s sins, and He healed his body. Jesus showed care for the man’s heart and his health. What an amazing thing they witnessed, and it started when 4 friends decided to help a paralyzed man!
If you have a copy of The Action Bible, you can read your children the story on pages 560–562.
Talk with your kids using the following questions:
After the children share their answer, point out that Jesus is the most loving if they don’t mention it. He healed the man’s heart as well as his body.
3. Responding: Choose a way to help someone this week.
Read John 15:12 to your children and invite them to say it with you. Repeat it in a whisper and then shout it out.
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:12
Share with your children that Jesus wants us to love others because we have received His love.
Think about how much Jesus loves you. He loves you when you are having happy days and when you are experiencing difficulties. He wants to fill you up with His love.
Now let’s think about ways we can obey Jesus’ command and love others as He loves us, even with social distancing in place.
Ideas for Helping Others
Share these ideas of ways to safely help others during COVID:
- Use technology to check on family or neighbors
- Play a game with a friend or relative online
- Make and send notes or cards to healthcare workers
- Make encouraging signs to post on windows or fences
- Pray for others
- Paint rocks to leave around your neighborhood with encouraging notes
- Draw encouraging notes on your sidewalk with chalk
Talk with your kids to think of people you can love by helping them this week.
Make plans as a family to do at least one of these ideas this week.
Give your children the Kid’s Page where they can draw pictures of the people they choose to help and what they will do to help.
Listen to the song, “I Will Follow” by Chris Tomlin remembering that we can follow Jesus and help those around us.
Close class by praying this blessing based on 1 John 4:19 over your children:
We love others because Jesus first loved us! May you be filled up with Jesus’ love so you can show His love by helping others this week!
Download the full lesson below.
I Can Help Others COVID-19 Lesson and Resources for Kids
I Can Help Others COVID-19 Lesson and Resources for Kids
I Can Help Others COVID-19 Lesson and Resources for Kids
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