Bible Study “Noticing Who We See”
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
What do we choose to notice as we race through our daily tasks? Who are the invisible ones in our midst? Who is holding out a hand to us?
Make a list of people who do work that we usually do not notice. For example, the law enforcement officer who drives around the town at night to protect us, or the Emergency Room nurses who are ready when people need them. (Other options could include day-care workers, school crossing guards, the people who clean our schools and our church, etc.) Today’s story is about someone who was not noticed.
Opening Prayer: Thank you, God, for stories Jesus tells that help us notice people we might never see. Amen.
Please open your Bibles to Luke 16:19-31 and read or read the scriptures below.
Luke 16:19-31
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Reflection Questions:
- In the story, what happens to the poor man on earth, and then after he dies? (When he was alive his life was very hard and now he is being comforted.)
- In the story, what happens to the rich man on earth, and then after he dies? (He has everything he wants in life — and nothing afterwards.)
- Who is Father Abraham? (Abraham, of the Hebrew Scriptures [Old Testament])
- What does the rich man want from Lazarus? (Relief. The relief he never gave Lazarus.)
- What does the rich man request, when he sees that he is to get no relief? (A warning sent to his brothers who are still alive.)
- What does Abraham reply? (verses 30b and 31b)
What does this story tell us about choices we can make? (We can learn to notice people who need our help.)
What do you think Jesus was trying to convey in this story? (It is not so much about what Hell might be like as what life could be like.)
Click here for the young learner’s lesson
Videos (Click on url)
The Gospel of Luke 16:19-31 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejl0W3zZJCY or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS382rfB7po
Song
Rock-a My Soul - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPkBMWpK4V0
Activities:
Journal: (Try and keep a journal for each Sunday for a year) write or draw in your journals: “Here are some choices I helping those in need.”
Story Etchings – You need a piece of paper and marker. Write words from the lesson (such as rich man, wake up, Jesus, pray and God’s voice) on different parts of the paper, then draw squiggly colorful lines around each word or set of words. Then hang the story etching for everyone to see.
Lazarus and Rich Man Art: You will need 10 different shapes and sizes of cut out construction paper. Do your best of shaping and forming Lazarus and the Rich Man from today’s lesson and glue onto a piece of construction paper. Write a title or words from the Bible verse today around picture to “tell the story”!
The Rich Man and Lazarus Crossword: https://sermons4kids.com/rich_man_lazarus_crossword.htm?fromSermonId=642
The Rich Man and Lazarus Fill in the Blank: https://sermons4kids.com/rich_man_lazarus_cloze.htm?fromSermonId=642
Word Search: https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/4074789/noticing-who-we-see/
Prayer: Thank you, God, for the stories Jesus tells us to help us serve you. Amen.
