1 In this module we are going to consider COMPASSION what it means, how it can affect your behaviour and the behaviour of others. First of all what does the word compassion mean? Compassion is caring so deeply for another that you choose to do what you can to help meet their need. It is much more than having empathy for someone. It actually means taking action to help alleviate someone s suffering and/or to stand beside them through their trial. What does the Bible say about compassion? Therefore, as God s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Does the Bible give us any examples of compassion? Let s look at the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10 verses 30-35: (Either read this out to the children or get them to read it out to you.) Here are some interesting facts about this parable: 1) The man set out on the journey alone. 2) Because he was alone he was vulnerable and fell prey to robbers. 3) He was beaten and left half dead and may well have died if help had not come when it did. 4) Three people journeyed along the road that day. The first was an important priest who worked in the Temple, and was revered and respected, but when he saw the state of the man he was too busy to help and passed by. 5) The second person was a Levite, a man of the law and very clever. Even before he drew near to the man he made up his mind that he didn t have the time or the inclination to help him, so he crossed over to the other side of the road so he wouldn t have to look at him. 6) The third man was a stranger in those parts and came from Samaria. 7) When he saw the injured man he had compassion on him.
2 8) But as we know, compassion requires action, not just feeling sorry for someone, so he tended the man s wounds, laid him on his donkey and walked all the way with him to an inn, where he paid for the man s care until he returned. Compassion does not come from our importance or cleverness but from our heart and extends to those we don t even know or who come from a completely different culture. (This is a good story to act out. You will need a traveller, robbers, a Priest, a Levite, a Good Samaritan and an innkeeper.) The Bible has another example of compassion, but this time not everyone in the story shows it! Let s look at the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke chapter 15 verses 11 32. (Again, read it to the children or get them to read it to you.) Here are some interesting facts from this parable: 1) Both the man s sons had an expectation of their father s inheritance, but one wanted his share now. 2) So his father gave him his share and the son left and travelled far away squandering the money on lavish parties, perhaps in an effort to buy new friends. 3) When all his money had run out, and his new friends had deserted him, he had no choice but to get a job. The only job he could get was keeping pigs. This was a terrible job for a Jew, as pigs were considered unclean animals. In fact he was so hungry that he even considered eating the food given to the pigs. 4) One day he realised how foolish he had been and decided to return home to his father and tell him how sorry he was. He even decided to ask if his father would take him on as a hired servant, at least he would get better food than this. 5) But even while the son was some distance away from home, his father saw him coming and looked on him with compassion. The father ran to him and threw his arms around him as he was so thankful that his son has returned home safe and well. 6) The son told him how sorry he was and asked if his father would let him become one of his hired servants, but his father would have
3 none of this and commanded his servants to get his son a robe and a ring and to kill the fatted calf ready for a party to celebrate his son s safe return. 7) His older brother was working for his father in the fields and could hear music and dancing. He asked the servants what all this was about. 8) They told him that his father had prepared a party to celebrate his brother s safe return. 9) The older brother was very angry and jealous and showed no compassion for his younger brother. He had stayed with his father all the time and worked tirelessly, but he had never been given a party to celebrate with his friends. 10) The father noticed that the elder son was missing and came out to ask him to join the celebration for the younger son s safe return. But the elder brother was angry with his father and told him that he hadn t ever given him a party despite having stayed with his father all these years. 11) The father told his elder son that in staying with his father all these years he had enjoyed everything that his father had, whereas his brother had been lost, but was now found, he was dead to them, but was now alive. 12) Despite the father s invitation, the elder son would not go in. Activity As you read aloud the story of the Prodigal son get someone to act out the journey of the prodigal. Different hats can be used for the different characters in the story. So the same person can pretend to be all the different characters by putting on the appropriate hat. Going to a far country could be walking around the room. Dropping money on a metal plate to make a loud noise can show how much money the Prodigal spent on parties. Others could make pig sounds when they are mentioned in the story. Then on the Prodigal s return he can walk around the room. Someone could run to him like his father did in the story, putting their arms around him. When they greet him they can hold their arms out like a cross. Discussion Discuss with the children the different outcomes of the two stories. How did the Good Samaritan s compassion have an impact on the
4 traveller? How did the father s compassion have an impact on the younger son? How did the father s compassion for the younger son have an impact on the elder son? When compassion is shown by a number of people amazing things can happen! Healing of the Paralysed Man from Luke chapter 5 verses 17 25. Activity Here is a fun activity and visual aid you can use to tell the story and involves using four sticks.
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6 Question: Ask the children who showed compassion and what the outcome was. Answer: The friends of the man showed compassion by being willing to carry his bed through the streets to get him to Jesus. They overcame the problems created by the crowds and the building and managed to lower the man down at Jesus feet. Jesus also showed compassion and because of the faith of the man s friends, He healed him. This story shows compassion in action. Compassion may require us to overcome really difficult problems. Sometimes people can be the problem or even things can get in the way, just like the building in this story, but the man s friends were not going to be put off. Personal testimony Share about a time you either chose to extend compassion or a time that you did not choose compassion. Regardless of your choice, what were the circumstances that caused it to be difficult to be actively compassionate, and share the natural consequences that ensued. Ask them if they have ever been in a position where choosing to extend compassion was a challenge. Here is an up-to-date story that demonstrates compassion in action: Pranav loved cricket and he was very good at it. He was a brilliant batsman and a good bowler too. In fact, he had been appointed captain of the school cricket team. One day the team was due to play a match against their closest rivals but one of Pranav s bowlers fell in the morning and broke his arm. Pranav didn t know what to do. He didn t have any reserves and knew if his team played one man down they would surely lose. Aarav lived next door to Pranav, but he hated sport. He felt he wasn t any good at it because he couldn t run very fast. You see when Aarav was born something went wrong with his foot, which had remained twisted; stopping him from running without a limp. Pranav called around Aarav s house and begged him to join the team as the last batsman. Aarav told him that he couldn t because of his limp, but Pranav confidently assured him that even before Aarav went into bat, they would have won! Reluctantly Aarav agreed. He was very scared because he knew that although his eyesight was very good, and he could hit the ball hard with
7 the cricket bat, he couldn t get the runs that the team might need. The opposing team were all out for 120 runs. Pranav s team went in to bat. Although they started off well, first one then another batsman was caught out. When Aarav was called in to bat, the team only needed two runs to win. Pranav thought that surely Aarav could manage that. The bowler delivered a ball that came so fast, but Aarav saw it coming and struck out at it confidently. The ball flew to the boundary and Aarav tried to run...but he found his feet didn t respond and it took him ages to get them moving. The rest of the team shouted encouragements, but try as hard as he might Aarav only managed to get to the other end of the wicket as the ball was being thrown towards it. Aarav was bowled out and his team threw up their hands in horror. They had lost the match! His team mates gathered around Aarav and started to shout at him and push him. Aarav fell to the ground and began to cry. Pranav was very disappointed too, but he felt very sorry for Aarav, because he knew that Aarav had agreed to help them out knowing that he couldn t run very fast at all. Pranav shouted at the rest of the team and told them to stop being so cruel. He explained to them that they would have lost the match in any case if Aarav hadn t have joined them. Pranav showed compassion for Aarav and the two boys became good friends. Despite having lost the match, Aarav had enjoyed the game in a funny sort of way, especially being part of the team. Pranav began to think about what could be done to help Aarav and
8 suddenly he had a brainwave. What if Aarav with his brilliant eyesight became their wicket keeper? A wicket keeper crouches down behind the batsman ready to catch the ball from the bowler if the batsman misses it. Sometimes he has to hit the wicket before the batsman gets to his crease. The two boys practiced every day for weeks and weeks. Soon Aarav became a fine wicket keeper, (even though when he went in to bat his score wasn t all that good!) and the school team went on to win the trophy. The rest of the team agreed that Aarav was the best wicket keeper the school had ever had, thanks to the compassion shown by Pranav. Prayer time Ask them how they can choose active compassion even if it s a difficult choice to make. Get them to think about a situation in which they can show compassion and then ask them to pray about it. Pray with them that God will help them have self-control and to choose to honour Him through compassionate choices.
9 Jesus came to Seek and to Save the lost to die on the cross to win our Salvation. Nothing would detract Him from His mission but on this road He met people, crowds, the sick, the lame and the blind and He was stopped by his compassion to help and heal. Some of the avenues of compassion Matthew 9:36 When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them. Matthew 14:14 He had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 15:32 Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, I have compassion for these people Mark 1:44 Luke 15:20 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man...his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son Memory verse Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Text of the week Below are three activity sheets. The first is a crossword puzzle with clues from the three Bible stories. The second and third are pictures to colour in.
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13 TEACHING NOTES TO ACCOMPANY THE MODULE ON COMPASSION These notes are to be used in conjunction with the teaching module on Compassion. The Bible Stories used in this module are from the Gospel of Luke. The module demonstrates the compassion shown by the Samaritan for the man attacked by robbers on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho; the compassion of the father of the Prodigal Son on his return home; and, finally, the compassion of Jesus as he heals the paralysed man. The activity using the strips of card to tell the story of the paralysed man being brought to Jesus on his bed also demonstrates the love and compassion of the paralysed man s friends who battled against the crowds and the difficulties presented by the building Jesus was in to get their friend to the feet of the Master. It will be useful to familiarise yourself with these stories before presenting the module to the children. Good Samaritan This is a wonderful story that shows compassion from the unlikeliest of people. Despite needing help urgently, the injured man was neglected by a representative of the church in those days, i.e. the priest, and also abandoned by a lawyer of those days, i.e. a Levite. Extraordinarily it was the foreigner, a Samaritan, who stopped and tended to the injured man. Not only that, the Samaritan went out of his way to take the injured man to an inn where he could be looked after until he was well enough to resume his journey. In fact the Samaritan also covered the entire cost of the man s care. Compassion does not come from our importance or cleverness but from our heart and extends to those we don t even know or who come from a completely different culture. Prodigal Son Despite the fact that the father must have been so disappointed when his son asked for his share of his inheritance so that he could leave home and travel to a distant country, he allowed his son to do just that. Only after squandering all his money and being reduced to eating the food the pigs ate did the son realise just how foolish he had been to leave the protection and comfort of his father s home. The son, having decided to return home and beg his father s forgiveness, had no expectation of a warm welcome from his father. However, the father saw his son while he was still some distance away and ran to him and hugged him. The father s heart was so full of compassion and love for his son now that he was home safe and sound. The elder son, however, was jealous of all the fuss made
14 by his father on his errant brother s safe return. He would not celebrate with the rest of the family and stayed outside peeved. Even when his father begged him to come in and celebrate, the elder son refused. His father rebuked him reminding him that by staying with him all this time the elder son had enjoyed all the comforts and benefits of being looked after by his father and so he shouldn t be jealous of his brother. We should stay close to our Heavenly Father and not be lured away by the attractions of a godless life, and, moreover, we should welcome all who return after wandering away from their faith. Paralysed Man Again, this is a wonderful story demonstrating the compassion shown by the paralysed man s friends, who despite so many hurdles, such as crowds of people, and the difficulties presented by the building Jesus was in, managed to carry their friend and place him at the feet of Jesus. This was true friendship in action. In fact the story says that Jesus saw their faith and had compassion on the man and healed him. Compassion may require us to overcome really difficult problems. Sometimes people can be the problem or even things can get in the way, just like the building in this story, but the man s friends were not going to be put off. Conclusion All these stories demonstrate the need to show compassion to others, despite the difficulties that presents. Be prepared to share your experiences with the children. Tell them about occasions in your life when you have found it difficult to show compassion, or what benefits you have seen from times when you did show compassion. Our love and compassion for others should give us a desire to bring others to know and love our Heavenly Father.