Gotta Serve Somebody Bible Story: Gotta Serve Somebody (Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet) John 13:1-17 Bottom Line: Serve others because of what Jesus did for us. Memory Verse: Jesus sat down and called for the 12 disciples to come to him. Then he said, Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last. They must be the servant of everyone. Mark 9:35, NIrV Life App: Service Lending a hand to help someone else Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated. 1. Countdown 2. Announcements 3. CG:Transition Slide then Host Opener (5 minutes) Host Ten kid volunteers (two teams of five) Desk call bell Apron Cooking pot Two dish towels Two identical sets of hard plastic dishware (dishes, cups, plates, bowls); about ten pieces per team Four large plastic bins, Water, Soap - Fill the four bins with water. Add dish soap to two of them. Four dish drying racks - On the stage, set up two dishwashing stations with the following items in this order: dishes, bin with soapy water, bin with clean water, towel. Set up the dish racks on the other side of the stage. Media Eat It by Weird Al Yankovic Upbeat music to use as kids exit the room Theme Slide Service Slide Dish Scrub Relay Slide Blank Bottom Line Slide Bottom Line Slide 4. Praise and Worship (10 Minutes) End with CG:Transition Slide 5. CG: Word Video and CG:Transition Slide 6. Bible Story (15 Minutes) Storyteller Host with Bible Pitcher of water Chair Seat cushion (from a patio chair, for example) Tape measure Giant multicolored lollipop Two large bath towels Plastic bin Dish soap Media Big Stinky Feet by Kidz Crew, Brett Johnson Service Slide Bottom Line Slide At the end the Storyteller should pray for the group and dismiss kids to Small Group 7. Small Group (20-30 Minutes) 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church 2019 1
Bible Story Outline Week 1 Gotta Serve Somebody (Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet) John 13:1-17 SETTING UP THE STORY Service is lending a hand to help someone else It feels good to help someone out, but the hard part is actually choosing to do it Jesus gave us the perfect example of what it means to serve What He did had to do with feet SMELL YOU LATER John was one of Jesus closest friends, wrote down what happened Just before the Passover Feast; Jesus knew that it was almost time for Him to leave and go to heaven to be with His Father Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and asked them to prepare the Passover meal Everyone had gathered for the meal, but there was something they had to do first People mostly wore sandals; their feet were disgusting They ate at long, low tables with cushions; people s feet would be right next to where the person next to them was eating HOW LOW CAN YOU GO? People had to wash their feet before they could eat a meal like that Normally a servant was supposed to do the foot washing There were no servants around, so a disciple had to do the foot washing instead It s possible that the disciples started arguing about who should do the servant s job Jesus began to wash His disciples feet A PERFECT EXAMPLE When Jesus came to wash Peter s feet, Peter asked: John 13:6 Jesus: John 13:7-8 Peter: John 13:9 Jesus asked His disciples if they understood what He had done for them Jesus: John 13:14-15 Jesus did it to set an example, to show His friends and us that we should be willing to serve like He did WRAPPING UP THE STORY Sometimes we just don t WANT to serve We think we re too important, too busy, don t want to do something uncomfortable Jesus chose to take the place of a servant and wash everyone s feet He chose to die on the cross for our sins He put US first; our challenge is to follow His example and serve BL: Serve others because of what Jesus did for us. We can lend a hand instead of thinking we re too important to help 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church 2019 2
Gotta Serve Somebody Bible Story: Gotta Serve Somebody (Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet) John 13:1-17 Bottom Line: Serve others because of what Jesus did for us. Memory Verse: Jesus sat down and called for the 12 disciples to come to him. Then he said, Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last. They must be the servant of everyone. Mark 9:35, NIrV Life App: Service Lending a hand to help someone else Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated. 1. Countdown 2. Announcements 3. CG:Transition Slide then Host Opener (5 minutes) SFX: Play Eat It by Weird Al Yankovic as kids enter. CG: Theme Slide Optional CG (Media Package): Theme Loop Video Optional CG (Media Package): Countdown Video Optional CG (Media Package): Theme Video Host enters, wearing an apron. He carries a pot in one hand and a dishtowel in the other. HOST: Welcome to the [your environment s name] Diner! If it s food you re lookin for, look no further than our door! We got bun pups, frog sticks, and chicks on a raft! We can even burn one, take it through the garden, and pin a rose on it! You want a flop two with a cup of mud? A jack benny with a houseboat on the side? You got it! Anyone out there hungry? Want some tasty treats? Shout it out: what s your favorite food? Every time someone shouts out a favorite food, ring the desk call bell and shout out something like, Yeah, with cheese! or, Come and get it! After a handful of favorite foods are suggested, ding the bell multiple times to get everyone s attention. We re eatin good in the neighborhood, because here at the [your environment s name] Diner, we are at your service! What IS service? CG: Service Slide Optional CG (Media Package): Life App Video Service is lending a hand to help someone else. Optional CG (Media Package): Theme TransBack Video After you serve all those hash browns and milkshakes and fries to your customers, the job s not quite done, is it? (Pause for response.) Nope. Those dishes aren t going to wash themselves. Plop the pot into one of the dishwashing bins. 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church 2019 3
Raise your hand if you ve ever had to wash the dishes at your house. Maybe you don t have to actually physically wash them, but I m guessing that you do have to either load or unload, am I right? That s a great way to lend a hand and serve... even if it is a little gross. Take the pot out of the bin, and slowly pour water out of the pot and back into the bin. Well, guess what. I m here to show you that serving doesn t have to be boring! As Mary Poppins once said, In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. And then she sang a song, I think. You can find a game in pretty much any chore there is! Let me show you what I m thinking. Two teams of five. Relay style. First person tosses the dish to the second person, who washes it in the soapy water bin. They hand it to the third person, who rinses the dish in the clean water bin. They hand it to the fourth person, who dries it off. Finally, they hand it to a fifth person, who runs and stacks the dish on the rack. Let s get our teams and play the Dish Scrub Relay! CG: Dish Scrub Relay Slide Choose two teams of five to compete. Two rules. One? Everyone on the team has to do their specific job. Two? The first person cannot toss the next dish to the second person until the last person has stacked the previous dish. That s it! On my Go, let s see who can clean up the fastest. The first team that has all their dishes tossed, washed, cleaned, dried, and stacked is the winner! Ready? Go! Encourage the audience to cheer on the teams. Declare the winner and dismiss both teams to their seats. Nicely done! Service with a smile! Before we get our feet wet with the Bible story, let s worship together. Jump up on your feet! Worship Leaders enter. Host exits. 4. Praise and Worship (10 Minutes) End with CG:Transition Slide 5. CG: Word Video and CG:Transition Slide 6. Bible Story (15 Minutes) CG: Blank Bottom Line Slide Storyteller enters as Worship Leaders exit. 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church 2019 4
SETTING UP THE STORY STORYTELLER: Hey, everyone! Like [Host s name] said, we re talking about service this month. CG: Service Slide Service is lending a hand to help someone else. It s deciding to put others first and choosing to do something FOR someone instead of just thinking about yourself. Does that sound easy to you? (Pause for response.) Not really! I mean, it always feels good to help someone out, but the hard part is actually choosing to do it. The good news is Jesus gave us the perfect example of what it means to serve. He LIVED service 24/7. He fed people, healed people, prayed for people. He even gave up His life for people people like you and me. But there s one time in particular I d like to talk about today. (Hold up Bible.) Jesus did one very specific thing to demonstrate what service is all about, and it had to do with feet. Thankfully, we have two of the most spectacular feet in town standing right here. Please welcome [Host s name] and his feet! SFX: Big Stinky Feet by Kidz Crew, Brett Johnson (starting at 0:23) Host enters, bopping to the music. He s no longer wearing the apron. He walks over to the chair and sits down. That s beautiful. Here s the story. [Host s name], I ll let you know when we ll need your size nines. HOST: I m here to serve! SMELL YOU LATER STORYTELLER: A man named John was one of Jesus closest friends. John wrote down what happened on this one particular day. It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that it was almost time for Him to leave and go to heaven to be with His Father. Jesus loved His friends. He didn t want to leave them, but He knew that He had to. Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and asked them to prepare the Passover meal. When Jesus arrived, everyone had gathered for the meal. All of the disciples were there probably talking, laughing, and telling stories. But there was something they had to do first. HOST: Right! Before one eats the tasty treats, one must deal with stinky feets. STORYTELLER: Ummmm... I don t think they said THAT. But you re right. People didn t wear shoes or boots back in Bible times. No socks, either. People mostly wore sandals, and they walked EVERYWHERE through mud, dirt, and whatever the animal in front of them decided to leave there. People s feet were disgusting! Storyteller walks over to Host s chair. And they didn t have chairs like these. Storyteller sets the cushion on the floor in front of the table. Host gets off the chair and sits on the cushion, angling his feet to the side. They ate at long, low tables with cushions around them. That meant people s feet would be right next to where the person next to them was eating! 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church 2019 5
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO? STORYTELLER: As you can imagine, people had to wash their feet before they could eat a meal like that. Normally a servant was supposed to do the foot washing... except, in this case, there were no servants around. That meant one of the disciples had to do the foot washing instead. It s quite possible that the disciples started arguing about which of them should do the servant s job. Maybe they figured the shortest one should do it. Or maybe the youngest. Host stands up and uses the tape measure to measure his height. Host picks up the giant lollipop. Or maybe the one who was the worst at holding their breath. Host gasps in some air and then quickly has to take another breath. Okay, it probably wasn t about THAT. But the point is, none of the disciples wanted to do the servant s job. None of them wanted to wash everyone s feet. Jesus decided to take matters into His own hands. Jesus took off His outer clothes and wrapped a towel around His waist. He poured water into a large bowl. Storyteller pours the pitcher of water into the plastic bin. He adds some dish soap. Then He began to wash His disciples feet. Storyteller motions toward the bin of soapy water. Host stands up, takes off his shoes and socks, and then steps into the bin. A PERFECT EXAMPLE STORYTELLER: It came time to wash Peter s feet. Jesus came over to him, and Peter was immediately taken aback. He said this. Storyteller opens the Bible to John 13:6 (NIrV) and reads. Lord,... are you going to wash my feet? Storyteller reads John 13:7-8 (NIrV). Jesus replied: You don t realize now what I am doing. But later you will understand.... Unless I wash you, you can t share life with me. Storyteller reads John 13:9 (NIrV). And Peter was like: Lord... not just my feet! Wash my hands and my head too! [Host s name], you can go ahead and step out now. All squeaky clean? Storyteller places a towel on the ground next to the bin of water so Host can step onto it. He tosses the other towel to Host so he can use it to dry his feet. HOST: (Sniffing feet) Whoa, nice! Is that vanilla? STORYTELLER: When Jesus finished washing everyone s feet, He returned to His place at the table and asked the disciples if they understood what He had just done for them. HOST: Oh! Ummmm... He washed their stinky feet. Storyteller turns to look at Host and pauses, awaiting a response. 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church 2019 6
STORYTELLER: Oh, but it s so much more than that. Jesus explained it this way. Storyteller opens the Bible to John 13:14-15 (NIrV) and reads. I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another s feet. I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you. HOST: We should... wash other people s feet? STORYTELLER: Well, foot washing isn t something we really do nowadays. But Jesus did it to set an example. He did it to show His friends and us that we should be willing to serve like He did. (To audience) Let s give [Host s name] a big hand. (To Host) Thanks for your help, buddy! SFX: Big Stinky Feet by Kidz Crew, Brett Johnson (starting at 0:23) Host exits, carrying his socks and shoes. WRAPPING UP THE STORY STORYTELLER: The truth is, sometimes we just don t WANT to serve. Instead, we think like the disciples probably did. We think we re too important. We think we re too busy. If we re honest, we don t want to do something that could be gross or uncomfortable. But none of those things mattered to Jesus. He gave us the perfect example of what it means to serve. Jesus, the Son of God, chose to take the place of a servant and wash everyone s stinky, smelly, disgusting feet. Not long after that, He chose to die on the cross for our sins so that if we believe and put our trust in Him, we can have a relationship with God that will last forever. Jesus chose to put US first. Our challenge is to follow His example and choose to serve the people around us. CG: Bottom Line Slide [Bottom Line] Serve others because of what Jesus did for us. Jesus served His disciples even though HE was the one who deserved to be served! We can serve others in the same way. Maybe not by offering to wash their feet that d be a little weird but we can lend a hand instead of thinking we re too important to help. We can choose to serve. It might be doing your chores without being asked, helping your mom bring in the bags of groceries from the car, being kind to someone who maybe doesn t have that many friends, or taking time to listen to someone who s having a hard time. We can all choose to serve because we ve seen the example Jesus gave us. He gave His life for us. He showed us what it looks like to serve. I bet you ve got some great ideas of how you can serve. I bet your friends do, too. Why don t you head to Small Group and talk about it? At the end the Storyteller should pray for the group and dismiss kids to Small Group 7. Small Group (20-30 Minutes) SFX: Play high-energy music as the kids exit. CG: Theme Slide 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church 2019 7