Using the Good Samaritan parable as your text (Luke 10:25-37), instruct the participants to close their eyes and imagine that they, themselves, are in the story as you read it aloud to them. They can be watching the story unfold as eyewitnesses on the scene or they can track their emotions to see which character they are most naturally drawn to. Give the participants a few minutes to write their thoughts and feelings at the conclusion of the reading and then have each person share his written reflections with the group.
Using Luke's version of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 as your focal text, read the parable together out loud a few times. Be sure to emphasize Jesus' closing words in verse 37, "Go and do likewise." Begin the discussion with the question of "what, specifically, are we to go and do?" Be sure and encourage participants to think about specific modern day contexts and situations that accurately mirror those in the parable and allow would them to respond to Jesus' call.
Focusing again on Luke's Good Samaritan tale, instruct the participants to find out as much as they can about Samaria in the first century AD. Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias are helpful here. Be sure the participants discover how Samaritans were viewed by the Jews during Jesus' lifetime. After participants share the fruits of their research with one another, wrestle with the question of why Jesus would have chosen a Samaritan as the hero in this parable, while also having two Jewish priests as negative examples.
Assign each participant a role in the parable. To include the maximum number of students, have one or two people serve as the donkey and be sure to assign an innkeeper as well. You or another participant can serve as the narrator and anyone without a role can serve as an audience for your simple production. After the play, discuss any insights that emerged from participating in the dramatization.