Sunday School Lesson: St. Patrick's Day—Loving Our Enemies
Share
The Main Takeaway: God calls us to love people even when they have been unkind to us.
The Lesson Objective: Children or teens will be introduced (or perhaps reintroduced) to Matthew 5:44-45 and discover that God calls us to love and serve, even those who persecute us.
St. Patrick's Day Sunday School Lesson: Loving Like Jesus
Has anyone ever been mean or unkind to you? Has anyone ever treated you unfairly? That is never okay, and we should always tell adults if that’s happening. It may help to tell the person being mean that you don’t like what they’re doing and ask them to stop. If they won’t, it’s right to get away from them to be safe.
But once we’re safe, God wants us to be careful that we don’t become mean or unkind in our hearts like the people who mistreated us. He wants our hearts and thoughts to be full of love and forgiveness, like Jesus. That never means the way they behaved is okay with God, but God loves all of us, even when we aren’t acting like Jesus. One way God wants us to be like Jesus is to treat even our enemies with love and kindness. This is almost never easy for anyone.
You may have heard about a man from ancient Great Britain named Patrick. Some people call him Saint Patrick to honor him. According to a story Patrick wrote about his life, when he was sixteen, pirates from another country took Patrick far from his home to Ireland and forced him to work for them and take care of their animals. After six years, Patrick escaped from Ireland on a ship and was able to get back home where he was safe.
Patrick loved God, and when he returned to safety in Great Britain, he studied the Bible and learned how to minister to people. He became good at preaching and teaching God’s Word. Then Patrick says God gave him a vision to return to Ireland and teach people like those who had forced him to work for them—his enemies—about God’s love.
So, now that Patrick was a grown man, that’s what he did. He went to Ireland and taught people about Jesus. Telling people about how Jesus loves us, died for us, rose again, and forgives us of our sins when we confess them is a powerful way of loving them. Patrick taught the Irish people many lessons about God. Some people say he used three-leaf shamrocks that are found in Ireland to explain the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, what we call the Trinity. Even though as a teenager he’d been forced to work as a slave, Patrick became a leader in the church of Ireland and served thousands of people for forty years before dying in Ireland on March 17, 461—a day many still celebrate today as the feast day of Saint Patrick.
Following the Example of Jesus and Saint Patrick
Jesus is God’s Son, and when He was on earth, He taught people many truths about God and how to live like God. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told people:
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45 ESV).
Patrick, who lived long after Jesus was on earth, loved and prayed for the people who had mistreated him. This love and prayer translated into an active ministry serving them—now willingly—for the rest of his life. He lived out Jesus’s words in Matthew 5:44-45.
Jesus is our ultimate example of living the words of this verse. Jesus didn’t just say or teach words; He lived those Words. Even as He was being crucified, Jesus forgave those who were hammering in the nails. He gave His life for all of us, even while all of humanity was still enemies of God (Romans 5:10).
You and I can live like Jesus every day, even if other people are mean to us, try to hurt us, or don’t include us as friends. We know every day we are loved by Jesus, He is never mean to us, and He is always our friend.
Activity Ideas and Scripture for St. Patrick's Day Sunday School Lesson
Craft Idea: Shamrocks to Remember
Instructions:
- Depending on the age group, have children draw and cut out construction-paper shamrocks. (Video instructions on creating a simple shamrock.)
- Next, have them write Matthew 5:44 at the center of their shamrock.
- On one leaf, write “I will love my enemies.”
- On one leaf write, “I will pray for my enemies.”
- On the third leaf write, “I will live like Jesus.”
- Children can then secure their shamrocks to straws and “plant them” in paper cup flowerpots they decorate as they like.
For older children (even middle school and high school students):
With older children, provide poster board and markers or colored pencils so they can create a poster from Jesus’s Words in Matthew 5:44. As they work, lead a class discussion with these questions as a guide:
- How have you responded in the past when people have been mean or unkind to you?
- What would it look like for you to pray for those people and to love them?
- What are some ways Jesus keeps you safe? How does He use the people in your life to provide safety from people who might be mean or unkind to you?
- Have you ever been mean to anyone? What helped you change?
Main Point of the St. Patrick's Day Lesson
When people are unkind to us or mean, even if they want to be our enemies, we don’t have to become mean and unkind like them.
- First, we can ask them to stop their hurtful behaviors.
- Second, if they won’t stop, we can ask adults for help or get away from them so we are safe.
- Third, we can continue to love and pray for them, even if we do it from a distance. This might be hard, so it’s always good to ask Jesus to give us His love for them. God is love and has plenty to share with us.
When Jesus told His followers to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” He knew how hard that would be. The Israelites at that time had been conquered by Roman armies. Like St. Patrick, they weren’t free but had to do what the Romans said to do. Many of Jesus’s followers viewed the Romans as their enemies and here was Jesus telling them to love and pray for them!
Jesus knew that His love can change people’s hearts. He also knew that eventually, even many Roman people would come to see that He is God and they would believe the gospel, change their ways, and follow Him. He also knew it wouldn’t be easy.
The Lesson Conclusion: We can get help when others hurt or mistreat us, and if they won’t stop, we can move away to be safe. But even when we’re safe from our enemies, we can be tempted to become mean and unkind like them, so God wants us to instead keep love in our hearts and pray for those who mistreat us. Doing this helps us avoid becoming like them and to instead become more like Jesus.
Prayers for Sunday School St. Patrick's Day Lesson
A short, simple prayer for younger children:
“Jesus, help us to love everyone, even if they are unkind or mean to us. Keep us safe and help people who hurt others to change and learn to love. Thank you for the example of Jesus and other Christians like Saint Patrick. In your holy name, Amen.”
A lengthier prayer for older children: A Portion of Saint Patrick's Breastplate Prayer
"Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the threeness, through confession of the oneness of the Creator of creation.
Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of Christ. May your salvation, Oh Lord, be ever with us.”
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Hakase
Children’s Ministry Deals offers fun & creative ideas for children’s Sunday School lessons. With 100+ Bible-based curriculum packages to keep your kids engaged, you’ll find the perfect children’s ministry resources for your Sunday School and kids ministry classes.
