Children’s Sermon

Luke 10:25-37

A Good Neighbor

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Luke 10:25-37
A Good Neighbor

By Lois Parker Edstrom

Object suggested: Large stones.

Click here for pictures of stone fences

There are places in our world that are very rocky. We see rocks along the shore, in the mountains, and in desert areas. The rocks can be small or very large.

Rocks become a problem when they are in areas where farmers try to farm the land. The rocks or stones make plowing the fields difficult. Farmers work hard to remove stones so they can plow and then plant crops. Often, when farmers remove stones from their fields they pile them up along their property lines.

In New England, in the northeastern part of the United States, the farmers there found many stones in their fields. They used the stones to make fences to mark their property lines and to keep their cattle in. (Show picture.) People in other parts of the world such as Ireland and England also have stone fences.

A poet who lived in New England, Robert Frost, said in one of his poems, “Good fences make good neighbors.” What he meant by this is that at least once a year two neighbors, who shared a stone fence, would walk together, one on one side of the fence and one on the opposite side. If a stone had come loose or there were areas in the fence that needed repair the two neighbors would work together to replace stones and mend the fence. They helped each other. That’s a good way to be a good neighbor.

In the Bible Jesus teaches us about how to be a good neighbor. He teaches us to love “your neighbor as yourself” (10:27).

Think about how you would like to be treated and treat others in that way. Being a good neighbor means showing respect, helping, and caring about others––working together to make this a better world.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2008, Richard Niell Donovan