Luke 6

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Book of Luke: Chapter 6

Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:17-26)

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most enduring and most loved teachings of Jesus' ministry. This radical teaching went against the popular rhetoric that said our 'good deeds' were enough for God. However, this series of 9 truths point to a God who cares about our internal transformation and personal relationship with our Creator, more than the acts we can do for Him.

Leaders Input

Benediction: Blessed are they who have little faith
Nadia Bolz-Weber shared a striking blessing, based on the Beatitudes, where she says, "Maybe the Sermon on the Mount is all about Jesus’ lavish blessing of the people around him on that hillside who his world—like ours—didn’t seem to have much time for: people in pain, people who work for peace instead of profit, people who exercise mercy instead of vengeance...This Jesus whom we follow cried at the tomb of his friend and turned the other cheek and forgave those who hung him on a cross. Because he was God’s Beatitude—God’s blessing to the weak in a world that admires only the strong"

You can download the words of the blessing below here

Visio Lectio
A beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission.
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Sermon on the Mount Leaders Training (The Gospel Project)
One of the more important questions we can help our kids answer is this one: What does a follower of Jesus—one of His disciples—look like? This question should naturally flow from our sharing of the gospel. We start with who God is and what He has done for us in Christ, but we cannot stop there. We need to get to the preceding question. We have to help kids know what practical differences Jesus should make in our lives. Continue here...

Gospel Conversations 2025: There is much of the Bible that is complex and open to many interpretations. There are other passages that are uncomfortably clear! "Love your enemies." No compromises, no concessions - just a clear statement of how God wants us to live. What would happen if we actually did it?

Intergenerational Worship

A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Melissa Neumann for Intergen Australia. Bible references: 1 Corinthians, Jeremiah, Luke, Psalms.

Activities

Jigsaw Puzzle (Sunday school Zone)
The Beatitudes Poster (Sunday school Zone)
Beatitude bookmarks (Sunday school Zone)
Colouring pages (The Colouring Pages)
Folding paper activity (Etsy - pay to download resource)
What are the beatitudes? (Children's Ministry Deals)
"Bee-Attitudes" Poster (Biblewise)
Reflective Colouring Sheet (Flame Creative)

Filled-Heart Sandwiches (childrensministry.com)
Make a snack together, changing the shape of the bread and filling it with good things You'll need: bread, a selection of fillings, heart shaped cutters, a plate and 2 slices of bread for each kid.

Say: It’s time for a snack—and this is one that’ll keep us talking about how following Jesus’ teaching changes our hearts for good.
Demonstrate how to take one slice of bread and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make a heart-shaped piece of bread.
Give each child a paper plate with two slices of bread. Take turns using the heart-shaped cookie cutters so everyone ends up with two heart-shaped pieces of bread.
Let each child choose a topping or two to spread on one of the heart shapes, then have kids place the other heart on top to create a simple sandwich. Have kids wait to eat until everyone’s finished.
Looking at everyone’s sandwiches around you, explain whether you can tell what’s inside those hearts.

Say: We changed the shape of our bread into hearts—and put something good inside each heart. Some of the hearts have the fillings oozing out—so it’s easy to tell what’s inside. Others might have a topping that’s harder to see from the outside. We’d have to open up the sandwich to see what’s in those hearts.

Let everyone begin eating as you continue.

How do you think others can tell what’s inside our hearts?
In what ways do our actions reveal what’s in our hearts?

Say: It’s true that our actions tell people more about our hearts than anything else. Our actions can let others know that we’re Jesus’ followers.

Kids Talks

The Upside Down Kingdom of the Beatitudes (Gary Neal Hansen)

Beatitudes Cards (not a talk, but a way to explain the beatitudes in child friendly language), plus ideas for props and a prayer activity. (Flame Creative)

What is a blessing? (Ministry to Children)

Teaching curriculum

If you're looking for a longer teaching series on the Beatitudes for children, then have a look at the Kid's Travel Guide to the Beatitudes by Group Publishing. It has 13 sessions, and provides some fun object lessons and activities for each of the beatitudes. Check out the introductory Full Session Plan which could easily be adapted for this week's session.

Prayer

Bless the broken-hearted prayer station (Flame Creative)

The Sermon on the Mount in Art

Clara Velasquez, Sermon on the Mount

Art is a wonderful way for kids to explore and express their understanding of stories and scripture and connect it to what is happening in their lives.

You might like to share some different artistic expressions of the Sermon on the Mount with your kids. Just google 'Sermon on the Mount artwork'. Try and choose a range of styles and cultures. Wonder about:

What do you notice?
Which is your favourite? Why?
What is the same? What is different?

Offer the kids art materials and the opportunity to create!

For more info on connecting to God through images check out Visio Divina here.

Media

Loving Your Enemies (Luke 6:27-38)

How we can love others the way that God loves us?

Leaders Input

Radical Humility, Radical Generosity (Gary Neal Hansen)
Jesus tells his disciples to live lives that are radically different from the world — even the world of good people of faith. The life Jesus calls them to — calls us to — is counter to common sense. Read the whole reflection here.

Visio Lectio

A beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West.
All Rights reserved, shared with permission.
Download
Terms of use

Gospel Conversations 2025: There is much of the Bible that is complex and open to many interpretations. There are other passages that are uncomfortably clear! "Love your enemies." No compromises, no concessions - just a clear statment of how God wants us to live. What would happen if we actually did it?

Kids Talks

Better than a game of tag with only two people (rfour.org)
Unexpected combinations (Ministry to Children)
How to treat your enemies (Gary Neal Hansen)
The Golden Rule (sermonsforkids.com)

Activities / Games

Bean Bag Toss
Set up three bucket or baskets at increasing distances from a starting line. Label the first bucket ‘Family,’ the second bucket, ‘Friends,’ and the last bucket, ‘Enemies.’ Take turns throwing the bean bag into each bucket. Say: It was pretty easy to get the bean bag in the first two buckets but harder to get it in the last one. It’s the same with loving people. It’s easy for us to love our friends and family but a little harder to love our enemies but we can still do it.

Spread Love to Others
Give each child a coffee filter and a washable marker. Let them decorate the coffee filter. Then spray the coffee filters with water from a spray bottle and watch the colours spread. Say: Do you see how the colors are spreading out on the coffee filter? That’s what love it like. We need to spread it around to everyone, especially our enemies.

Love One Another Colouring
Cut a large heart out of poster board. (Or use the Strandz Love/Aroha poster). As a group work together to cover the poster board with colour. Say, This week when you are at home, school, or anywhere, I want you to remember to spread love to everyone. Let’s help Jesus cover the world with love, just like we have covered this heart/poster with crayon.

Adapted from ministry-to-children.com

The Story of Tarore

The Story of Tarore is an amazing story of the impact of faithfulness, the gospel, and loving one's enemies. While we usually tell this story on Tikanga Youth Sunday it also fits very well with this week's of loving your enemies. Find resources on it here.

Intergenerational Worship

A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Melissa Neumann for Intergen Australia. Bible references: Genesis, Luke, Psalms.

Extra collect

God of welcome,
we encounter you in those different from us;
enlarge the tent of our lives
to embrace both friend and foe,
so that we grow to be more like you;
through Jesus Christ our Liberator, who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Media

Jesus' parables (Luke 6:39-49)

The gospel readings today cover several key teachings from Jesus, including the 'speck in your neighbours eye', the parable of the fruitful tree, and the parable of the wise and foolish builders.

Leaders Input

Gospel Conversations 2025: We continue on with the challenging, brilliant words of Jesus in the "Sermon on the plain." Jesus pulls no punches as he outlines a way of life that digs deep into who we are, at our core, and how that life flows out in our interactions with others.

Visio Lectio
A beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission.
Download
Terms of use

Videos from the Bible Project

Blind hypocrites (Luke 6:39-42)

The verses in Luke 6 that talk about taking the plank out of your own eye before taking the speck out of another’s are also found in Matthew 7:1-5.

Kids Talks

Don't Judge! (Ministry to Children)

Bible Project Video - This video offers some context on what Jesus means in Matthew 7:3-5 when he says to take the plank out of your own eye before taking the speck out of another’s.

Games/Activities

Shoe enough! (childrensministry.com)

Blindfold guide
You will need: blindfolds for half your group, a simple obstacle course.
Set up an obstacle course. Get your group to pair up and tell them one person is each pair is going to be guided around the obstacle by the other person. Get out the blindfolds. Ask all the "guides" to step forward. Then pretend with great drama you are going to blindfold the GUIDES, and not those being guided. After the hilarity subsides talk about - would you trust someone who was blindfolded to lead you around? Why? Why not? In real life what are some of the things that can 'blind us' to doing things Jesus way?

Media

A tree and its fruit (Luke 6:43-45)

Kids Talk

Good and Bad Fruit (Ministry to Children)
Good Fruit (SermonWriter) - very simple talk on bearing good fruit

Games / Activites

Reflective Colouring (Flame Creative)
Playdough/drawing Mats (Picklebums) - great for preschoolers

Media

Wise and Foolish Builders (Luke 6:46-49)

The Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders, is a parable of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount. The parable illustrates the importance of building one's life on obedience to the teachings and example of Jesus.

Kids Talks

House on the rock full lesson plan (Sparkhouse)
The parable of the wise and foolish builder (Christchurch London)
Two Bible Skits on the passage (Ministry to Children)
Wise Builder Object Lesson Talk (Kids Sunday School Place)
Parable of the Wise & Foolish Builder (Ministry to Children)
Build on the Rock Lesson plan including activities (Collective Church)
Building your life on the solid rock of Jesus (Ministry to Children)