Being a Good Neighbor This Week
Month 6: Stories Jesus Told · Family Worship
Today's Scripture
Read together: Luke 10:25-37 & Galatians 6:10
25 One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, when a Levite came to that spot and saw him, he passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he said, ‘and on my return I will repay you for any additional expense.’ 36 Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 “The one who showed him mercy,” replied the expert in the law. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” — Luke 10:25-37
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith. — Galatians 6:10
Memory Verse
“He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’””— Luke 10:27 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Psalms 54-56
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 164 of 365 — "Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you.")The Heart of It
It's our family worship day. So let's gather the whole week into one bundle and set it on the table together. We met a man left for dead. We met two religious men who walked past. And we met one unlikely hero who stopped, knelt down, and loved with his hands and his wallet. We learned that Jesus flipped the question. He turned "Who is my neighbor?" into "How can I be a neighbor?" We saw that love starts with really seeing. We saw that the Holy Spirit pours such love into us. And we saw that real love always ends in "go and do." Underneath it all sits our memory verse. It holds up everything with two great loves. Love God with all you are, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Paul gives us the marching orders for the week ahead. "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith" (). Notice "as we have opportunity." Neighbors aren't just people far away in a story. They're the opportunities God drops into our ordinary days. The tired mom at the store. The new kid down the street. The brother who needs a turn. The friend who's lonely. And behind every neighbor we love stands the greatest Neighbor of all. Jesus found us beaten by sin and left for dead on the side of the road, and He didn't pass by. He came near. He bound up our wounds at the cost of His own blood. And He is bringing us safely home. We love because He first loved us (). Let's worship Him together, and then go and do likewise.
Around the Table
This week we learned about the kind helper. Jesus is the kindest Helper of all. He helped us when we couldn't help ourselves!
Let's do it: Sing a simple praise song or "Jesus Loves Me." Then each name one kind thing you'll do this week, and pray for that person.
Paul says do good "as we have opportunity." That means we watch for the chances God gives every day.
Let's talk: Look back at the week. Was there a time you got to be a good neighbor? Was there a chance you missed? What will you do differently?
Step back and see the gospel under the story. Jesus is the true Good Samaritan. He came to us in our ditch, paid the full cost, and is bringing us home.
Let's go deeper: How does remembering that you were the one rescued change the way you treat the people you'd rather pass by?
💬 Conversation Starter
If our family could be known by our neighbors for ONE thing this year, what would you want it to be? How do we start this week?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says, "Why bother with church? Can't I just be a good person on my own?" you might answer gently: "The Good Samaritan shows the what of love, but Jesus shows the power and the reason." We don't love to earn God's favor. We love because He first rescued us when we were helpless (). And His Spirit supplies the love we can't drum up alone. Being "good" on willpower runs dry. Being loved by God overflows. Offer it warmly, "with gentleness and respect" (). Make it an invitation, not a scolding.
For Dad · Go Deeper
Family worship is your chance to lift the children's eyes from the moral of the story to the Hero of the story. The Good Samaritan is rightly preached as a call to action, "go and do likewise." But if we stop there, we hand our kids a heavy law with no gospel under it, and they'll either despair or grow proud. The early church fathers, including Augustine, loved to read the parable also as a portrait of Christ Himself. Humanity lies robbed and dying on the Jericho road. Jesus is the unexpected Stranger who crosses every barrier to rescue us. He carries us to the inn, which is the church, and He pays in full, promising to return. Both readings are true, and they need each other. We go and do likewise because we ourselves have been found and carried. So as you close the week, preach grace before duty. Let your children leave the table not mainly thinking "I must try harder to be kind." Let them leave thinking "I have been loved like that, and now I get to pass it on." Worship-fueled obedience lasts. Guilt-fueled obedience burns out.
Draws on: Augustine, Quaestiones Evangeliorum (the Samaritan as Christ); .
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You for Your Word. And thank You most of all for Jesus, our true Good Neighbor. He rescued us when we couldn't help ourselves. Fill us with Your Spirit, and send us out to love. Help us love You with our whole hearts, and love people with our hands. In Jesus' name, amen."
Jesus crossed every barrier to rescue me. Now I get to go be a good neighbor too.