Joyful Moments in Christ

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

All lessons on this website are protected by copyright, but you can use them for free in small groups or Bible classes. You may share a link to this page, but please do not copy these pages and put them on other websites.

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Can you share about a time when someone helped you when you were having a hard time? What did they do?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will hear a story Jesus told about a kind man who helped a stranger. We will learn what it means to be a good neighbor and how God wants us to care for others.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Acted — Did something or behaved in a certain way.
2. Animal — A living creature that is not a person or a plant.
3. Attacked — Hurt someone by surprise.
4. Bandaged — Wrapped something soft around a wound to help it heal.
5. Beat Him Up — Hit someone many times to hurt them badly.
6. Came Upon — Found or saw something while going somewhere.
7. Concluded — Decided something at the end of a story or talk.
8. Eternal Life — Life with God that lasts forever.
9. Filled — Made full.
10. Going Down — Moving to a lower place.
11. Good — Kind, helpful, or doing what is right.
12. Gave — Handed something to another person.
13. Heart — The part of you that feels love and emotions.
14. Happened — Took place or occurred.
15. Half Dead — Very badly hurt and almost dead.
16. Inn — A small hotel where travelers can stay.
17. Innkeeper — A person who takes care of an inn.
18. Interpret — To explain or tell the meaning of something.
19. Justify — To try to show you are right.
20. Kind — Good and caring to others.
21. Levite — A man from a special family in Israel who helped in God’s temple.
22. Live — To have life and be alive.
23. Lord — A name for God, showing honor and respect.
24. Love — To care about someone very much.
25. Mind — The part of you that thinks and makes choices.
26. Neighbor — A person near you or anyone you can help.
27. Oil — A liquid used for cooking, cleaning, or healing.
28. Opinion — What someone thinks about something.
29. Other Side — The opposite side of a road or place.
30. Parable — A short story Jesus told to teach a lesson.
31. Pay — To give money for something.
32. Pity — A kind, sad feeling when you see someone hurt.
33. Poured — Let a liquid flow from one thing into another.
34. Priest — A religious leader in a church or temple.
35. Put — To place something in a spot.
36. Receive — To get something.
37. Road — A path for cars, people, and animals to travel.
38. Robber — A person who steals and sometimes hurts people.
39. Same — Not different.
40. Samaritan — A person from Samaria, a place near Israel. Jewish people usually did not like Samaritans.
41. Say — To speak words.
42. Scriptures — God’s Word written in the Bible.
43. Silver Coins — Money made from a gray-colored metal.
44. Soul — The part of you that lives forever.
45. Spend — To use money to buy something.
46. Strength — Power in your body and mind.
47. Teacher Of The Law — A person who knew and taught God’s laws.
48. Took Care — Helped someone by keeping them safe or well.
49. Took Out — Pulled something from a pocket or bag.
50. Trap — A trick to catch or hurt someone.
51. Traveling — Going from one place to another.
52. Tried — Made an effort to do something.
53. Whatever Else — Anything more that is needed.
54. Wine — A drink made from grapes.
55. Wounds — Places where a person’s body is hurt or cut.
56. Went Over — Moved closer to someone or something.
57. Walked On By — Kept going without stopping to help.

Summary of the Passage

This passage starts with a teacher of the Law asking Jesus a big question: how can a person live forever with God? Jesus asked him what God’s Word says, and the man answered, saying we should love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love others like ourselves. Jesus told him he was right.

Then the man asked, “Who is my neighbor?” To answer, Jesus told a story. A man was traveling on a dangerous road. Robbers attacked him, hurt him badly, and left him half dead. First, a priest came by but did not help. Then, a Levite came, looked at the hurt man, but also walked away. Finally, a Samaritan man came. Even though people did not like Samaritans at that time, this man felt sorry for the hurt traveler. He cleaned the man’s wounds, put him on his animal, and took him to an inn to care for him. The next day, he gave money to the innkeeper to keep helping the man.

After the story, Jesus asked which person was a good neighbor. The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who was kind to him.” Jesus told him to do the same.

This passage shows us that our neighbor is anyone who needs help. God wants us to care for others, no matter who they are. It teaches us to love with kind hearts and open hands.

Read The Passage

The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 A teacher of the Law came up and tried to trap Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”
26 Jesus answered him, “What do the Scriptures say? How do you interpret them?”
27 The man answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”
28 “You are right,” Jesus replied; “do this and you will live.”
29 But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered, “There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead.
31 It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by on the other side.
32 In the same way a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity.
34 He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he told the innkeeper, ‘and when I come back this way, I will pay you whatever else you spend on him.’”
36 And Jesus concluded, “In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?”
37 The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who was kind to him.”
Jesus replied, “You go, then, and do the same.”

Luke 10:25-37 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:

• Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 10:25-37 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 10:25-37 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 10:25-37 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 10:25-37 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. What question did the teacher of the Law ask Jesus at the beginning?
2. How did Jesus answer his question?
3. What did the teacher of the Law ask next?
4. What happened to the man traveling on the road?
5. What did the priest do when he saw the hurt man?
6. What did the Levite do when he saw the hurt man?
7. How did the Samaritan help the hurt man?
8. Where did the Samaritan take the hurt man?
9. What did the Samaritan give to the innkeeper?
10. At the end of the story, what question did Jesus ask the teacher?
11. Who did the teacher say was a good neighbor?
12. What did Jesus tell the teacher to do?

Application Questions

1. Why do you think the priest and Levite did not help the hurt man?
2. Why is it sometimes hard to help people we do not know?
3. How can we show love to people who are different from us?
4. What is one kind thing you could do for a neighbor this week?

Theological Insights

1. Jesus teaches that our neighbor is not just the people we like or who live near us.
2. God wants us to love others with our actions, not just our words.
3. Jesus uses stories to help people understand deep truths about God.
4. The Holy Spirit gives us hearts that feel pity and care for people who are hurt.
5. Loving others is one way we show love for God.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for teaching us to love others. Help us to be kind and caring to the people around us. Make our hearts soft and ready to help. Amen.

ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke

More ELL Resources

You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.