SUNDAY SCHOOL @ HOME – Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (July 18, 2021)

Bible Passage
Jesus Had Compassion for the Crowd (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56)

Today is the 8th Sunday of Pentecost.  During Pentecost, we grow closer to God and closer to one another.

 

This week, Jesus is with his disciples and he says to them that they should go away to a quiet place to rest.  But everyone recognized Jesus wherever he went.

 

Let’s watch this video together to hear what happened:

https://youtu.be/9a0dfdkQgMU

 

Jesus saw the crowds of people and he had compassion for them.  Compassion is how we feel when we see other people suffering or facing difficulty and feel motivated to do something to help them.  Being compassionate is being kind, showing concern, caring, and then helping others.

 

Wherever Jesus traveled, sick people were brought to him and he healed them.  Jesus healed people because he had compassion.  He knew that they were sick and what that was like and he wanted them to be well.  He had the power to make them well and so he did.

 

As followers of Jesus today, we are loved by God.  Jesus has compassion for us when we face difficulties and Jesus invites us to have compassion for others.  If our neighbor’s dog runs away, we know how sad that makes them and so we would want to help look for their dog or we might make posters and hang them up saying that their dog is lost.  If someone at school has no one to play with at recess, we know that could feel lonely and so we would want to see if they would want to play with us.

 

Discuss

  • People recognized Jesus everywhere he went.  What would it be like to be recognized everywhere you went?
  • When was a time you had compassion for someone else?
  • Who do you know who is facing a difficult situation?  How could you show compassion?

 

Song

Jesus Loves Me. Go Fish Guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmBGNdZ70bU

 

Activity

Thinking about compassion, consider the following situations.  Act out, talk about, or draw what you could do when…

  • Your friend accidentally knocks over his or her milk, spilling it all over the school lunch table.
  • A young man who looks and acts a little differently is cleaning tables at a restaurant.  You notice that one table of people laughs at him and calls him names.
  • You hear a news story about people far away who do not have clean water to drink.
  • One of your friends calls the bus driver “stupid.”
  • A classmate starts making fun of your new shoes.
  • You learn about an earthquake that has destroyed a far away town, including its library and school buildings.

 

Activity

Select from this list of ideas and do one of these acts of kindness or do one of your own choosing:

  • Pay a compliment each day to a friend or family member.
  • Give a thank you note to someone you appreciate.
  • Volunteer together as a family to help someone else.
  • Shop for and deliver donations to a food pantry.
  • Invite new or lonely looking students to sit with you at lunch or play with you at recess.
  • Bake treats and take them to a neighbor.
  • Offer to pick up groceries for an ailing neighbor.

 

Closing Prayer

God, we thank for you for Jesus who taught, healed, and had compassion.  Help us have compassion for others.  Thank you for loving us with a love that never ends.  We pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

 

Pastor Dan Fugate, Assistant to the Bishop for Discipleship in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA, put this lesson together for Sunday School @ Home.  There will be a new one for each Sunday while we are unable to gather together physically in our congregational buildings.  Contact him at [email protected].