Session 3 Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet John 13:1-17 Worship Theme: Jesus is a servant. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will worship Jesus for showing us how to be humble servants. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing To God Be the Glory (track 5) Sing Unto the Lord (track 19) He s the King (track 13) Servant of All (Mark 9:35b) (track 22) How You Should Pray (Matthew 6:9-13) (track 9) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver CD player, treats Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) A Gentle Game Play a game to practice being gentle. Washing Up Hear the Bible story and wash each other s hands. * Servant Gift Make a gift for the church s custodian. Dustpans, packing peanuts, markers, paper Disinfectant hand gel Bowls, trail-mix ingredients, spoons, tray, towel (or other covering), colored cellophane, 1 large paper cup per 4 or 5 children, construction paper, 1 craft stick per child, markers, glue sticks, yarn, scissors, ribbon 30 KidsOwn Worship Spring Quarter
Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * If I Were in Charge Imagine what it would be like to change the world. * The Foot-Washer Watch a DVD segment and act out examples of servanthood. Build-a-Crown Make crowns representing a servant kingdom. Current newspaper articles KidsOwn Worship Kit: Lesson Videos DVD: The Foot-Washer TV, DVD player Pens, markers, construction paper, scissors, glue, decorations, stapler Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Offer their gifts to God. Feet to Prayer Consider where their feet may go in service. Love the Lord Sing a song with foot motions. KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Servant of All (Mark 9:35b) (track 22) Offering bowls, CD player KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver: Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) (track 8) CD player * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 31
Bible Background for Leaders Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet John 13:1-17 In examining this passage, it s interesting to reflect on what Jesus knew was coming. He knew that one of his disciples was going to betray him, that another would deny him three times, and that all of them would scatter and desert him. Still, he was determined to show them his love. It is especially significant that Jesus washed the disciples feet because none of the disciples was willing to stoop below the others to do this demeaning task. The washing of feet, necessary because people in Jesus day all wore sandals, was customary before the beginning of any meal and was normally done by a servant as guests entered the house. However, since this was a private meal, there was apparently no servant there. The water, the basin, and the towel were there, and certainly the disciples thought about the fact that no one had washed their feet. But none of them took the initiative to do the washing before the meal. After the food had been set out, Jesus took action. John records all this in detail, likely feeling guilty for not being the one to pick up the towel and basin to serve his brothers and his Lord. Peter s resistance to allowing Jesus to wash his feet revealed that Peter didn t understand what was really happening, part of which was Jesus illustrating the cleansing power of his death. Peter also exhibited pride in his refusal to let Jesus wash his feet. He didn t yet understand that Jesus came to serve, not to be served. Peter s rejection of Jesus act was based on an understanding of the Messiah that didn t allow for such a humble, servantlike action. Through his actions and words, Jesus commands us to serve one another as he served his disciples, but not specifically in the washing of feet. To claim to be exempt from such service would be to claim to be greater than Jesus himself. And it would not be enough for the disciples to recognize that they were to serve one another; they needed to take action if they were to receive the blessing promised in John 13:17. Devotion for Leaders Jesus entire mission was one of humility. Imagine a king leaving his posh palace to live as a homeless man, facing abuse and mistreatment. Ridiculous? Absolutely. Why did Jesus do what he did? All for the love of you and me. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Thank Jesus for making a way for you to live where he is someday. Acknowledge that because of him, you don t have to be afraid or ashamed about meeting God. Jesus bent down low to lift you up high. How can you live out your gratitude? 32 KidsOwn Worship Spring Quarter
Why We Worship for Leaders It s difficult to imagine God taking on the role of a servant, partly because so few of us are willing to take on that role. Surely, our minds say, if we were God, we would rule not serve. That is exactly why we need a God who shows us another way. We need to understand that Jesus came to this earth to serve others so that we would know how. We bow before God and worship his greatness the greatness that bowed itself in love for us. Jesus was a servant. We worship a Servant-King. Hallelujah! Easy Prep for Leaders If I Were in Charge Clip age-appropriate articles from local newspapers. You ll need one article for every four or five children. The Foot-Washer Set up a TV and DVD player. Cue the Lesson Videos DVD to the segment titled The Foot-Washer. You ll want to watch the segment at least once before the children arrive. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver as children arrive. Greet children by name, and say to each one, Before you sit down, do something a servant would do. Hello, all you servants! It was great to watch you doing things a servant would do. I use the word servant as a term of honor, but is that how the world views servants? Why? (No, servants are not considered important; servants always have to do the yucky stuff no one else wants to do, so they don t get much respect.) Why would calling you a servant honor you? (Because Jesus was a servant, and I want to be like Jesus; because God likes it when we re being servants.) Jesus set the example of serving. Jesus came and served among us. He could have come with enough power to force us to serve God, but instead he came to teach us how to love and serve God and each other. He was an almighty King, yet he was a gentle Servant. Let s praise the Lamb of God. For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship Kit. Sing To God Be the Glory. Track 5 Great job! Think about this: A king has a lot of power. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 33
When might a king use his power? (When he wants people to do things for him; when he wants to boss other people around.) When might a king choose not to use his power? (When he s being nice to his servants; when he doesn t need help.) How do you feel when someone forces you to do something? (I feel angry; I get frustrated.) Jesus, our king, came to show us a way to live that s better than living by force and violence. Jesus chose to bring his kingdom by working in our hearts, causing us to want to serve him out of love and gratitude instead of fear. Jesus was willing to put aside his power to come serve us. That makes me want to celebrate with a joyful song! Sing Sing Unto the Lord. Track 19 Jesus came so every one of us can have a Lord and King. He came so that we can all have the best Father you can imagine. We have a Father who loves us no matter what a Father who is kind, patient, and forgiving. And our King! Let s celebrate that we are the children of such an amazing God. Sing He s the King. Track 13 Jesus is the King of kings, yet he knows who we are and what we need. Jesus showed his love by becoming a servant. He led people by serving them and taking care of their needs. Jesus is still doing that today. What needs has God met for you? (He makes me feel safe; he gives me peace when I m afraid; he comforts me with his love.) In Bible times, the people of Israel were looking for someone who would free them from Roman rule. That s what they really wanted God to do for them. Let s play a game that will help us find out what happened. Help children form lines of four in the center of the room facing a wall. Well, this wall looks like your goal, people of Israel freedom from the Romans. Follow my directions exactly. In order to get a reward, the first person in line should turn to the second and say, You first, and then walk to the back of the line. The person who was first will now be last and should not take any more steps toward the wall. Then the second person in line is first and does the same thing. Do this until you can no longer follow my directions. Let s see what happens when you follow my instructions as quickly as you can. 34 KidsOwn Worship Spring Quarter
If the children follow your instructions exactly, the lines will move toward the opposite wall. As groups reach the opposite wall, give each child a treat. Have children sit down to enjoy the treats. How did you feel as you followed directions? (Confused, because I thought I d never get to the goal; annoyed.) What did you discover as you continued? (That the directions weren t crazy after all; that the only way to get where you want to go is to let someone go ahead of you.) How is your experience like the disciples experience? (Maybe they were frustrated at first, too, but then things made sense; that we all got something different from what we expected.) When Jesus set the example of serving, it may have looked to the disciples and others as if they d never reach their goal. But the reward for them wasn t in reaching their goal of being freed from the Romans, just like the reward for you wasn t in getting to your goal, which was the wall. The reward came from following Jesus direction and example. The only way to win this game was to let others go first. God wanted us to know that the only way we can win is to serve, and he sent his own Son, Jesus, to show us how to be a servant of all. ALLERGY ALERT See Session 2. Sing Servant of All (Mark 9:35b). Track 22 Jesus showed us what it means to be a servant when he prayed the Lord s Prayer. It was Jesus example of how we should pray. In this prayer, he said to God, Your will be done. What is someone s will? (When someone gets his or her own way; when somebody wants something badly.) What does it mean to want someone else to get his or her way? (It means you don t care if they get their own way; it means you re trying not to be selfish.) Jesus served people because he was God s servant. He said to God, Your will be done, instead of saying, God, please let me have my way. Let s follow Jesus example and offer ourselves to God with this musical prayer. Sing How You Should Pray (Matthew 6:9-13). Track 9 Jesus, we worship you, our servant-king. We want to follow your example as we serve God and those around us to live your life on earth. In your name, amen. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 35
Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages 37-38 At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * If I Were in Charge Have the children form small groups of four or five. Give each group an ageappropriate newspaper story. When I read the paper, I sometimes think about what I would do about these stories if I were in charge of the world. Your job now is to read the newspaper story I ve given you. Then talk with your small group about what you d do about the situation if you were in charge of the world. Have the kids share what they would do in relation to the specific stories. Then have them share what they would do in general if they were in charge of the world. Give the children four or five minutes to read and discuss. 36 KidsOwn Worship Spring Quarter What would you do if you were in charge? (I would be nicer to kids; I would tell people what they should do.) Do you think you d enjoy being in charge? Why or why not? (Yes, because I d be kind; no, because I wouldn t be able to please everybody, and that would frustrate me.) What would be good about being in charge? (Being able to tell everyone what to do; having control over what happens to you.) What would be not so good about being in charge? (Some people might not like what you decide for them; maybe it would be hard at times to know what the right thing is to do.) Jesus is in charge of the world. What do you think Jesus thinks about being in charge of the world? (He s probably OK with that; he knows everything, so I ll bet it s easy for him to be in charge.) Listen to these verses about Jesus. Read Philippians 2:3-8 from an easy-to-understand version of the Bible. When we think of being in charge, we often think of enforcing rules or punishing people for doing wrong. When God put Jesus in charge, Jesus helped people. He was a servant. God gave Jesus complete authority over the universe, and he used that authority to serve the world. Let s discover how that happened through a Bible story. (continued on page 39)
Preschool Activities Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet Session 3 Worship Theme: John 13:1-17 Using Theo Jesus is a servant. Easy Prep for Leaders A Gentle Game Set several dustpans around the room. Servant Gift Put trail-mix ingredients (such as dry cereal, raisins and other dried fruit, soy beans, and M&M s candies) in small bowls. Put the bowls on a tray and cover them with a towel or other covering. Cut 2- or 3-inch circles from construction paper, at least two circles per child. Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo try to blow packing peanuts in A Gentle Game. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. A Gentle Game Give each child a packing peanut (or a cotton ball). Provide markers, and encourage children to mark the peanuts so they will recognize their own. Often when people talk about Jesus being a servant, they call him a gentle servant. What does it mean to be gentle? Good answers. Jesus was gentle and loving. We are going to practice being gentle. Everyone put your peanut on the floor. See the dustpans around the room? Your goal is to get your peanut into a dustpan, but you cannot touch it. You can blow on it or fan it with a piece of paper to try to get it where you want it to be. Be gentle. Let the children blow and fan their peanuts until they get them into one of the dustpans. They can help each other as long as they are gentle. What does it feel like to be gentle? Why are you glad that Jesus is our gentle servant-king? Washing Up Have the children be seated in a circle. The Bible tells us about a time Jesus was a gentle servant to his disciples. In Bible times, when someone came to your house, a servant would wash your guest s feet. How does it feel to have your feet washed? What kind of a person would you want to wash your feet? When Jesus and the disciples got together to eat a special meal called Passover, everyone s feet needed to be washed. Jesus surprised his disciples by putting a towel around his own clothes and washing each disciple s feet. Why do you think everyone was surprised that Jesus acted like a servant? When Jesus got to Simon Peter, Simon Peter said, Oh, no, Jesus. I don t want you to wash my feet. I could wash your feet, maybe Peter knew that Jesus was the greatest of them all. But Jesus said it was important. Then Jesus asked, Do you understand what I ve done? He told them, I have given you an example to follow. You need to be servants. Let s do something to show Jesus we understand that he wants us to be servants. Squirt a small amount of disinfectant hand gel into your hands and rub them together to wash them. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 37
Preschool Activities Washing Up (continued) To show Jesus that we want to be servants, we are going to help each other wash hands. Squirt a small spot of gel into the hands of the child on your right, and help him or her to rub the gel around. Then have the child repeat the process with the child to the right until all the children have had their hands washed. Do you know that if Jesus were standing here today, he wouldn t mind washing your hands or helping you blow your nose or fixing you a snack? The story of Jesus washing the disciples feet helps us to understand that to be like Jesus, we need to be willing to be servants to do anything for our friends. How do you feel knowing that King Jesus would serve you because he loves you? What are some other things we can do to be servants? What would you be willing to do for Jesus? * Servant Gift Jesus showed us how to be servants and serve others. Jesus he wants us to be servants, too. What can you do to be a servant? How do people serve you? I know someone who serves us by keeping our church clean. Tell children the name of your church s custodian or a volunteer who helps with maintenance. Give examples of things this person does for the church. Let s thank [name of custodian]! We ll make a gift to say thank you for being a servant to us. Set out the tray of trail-mix ingredients, paper cups, and spoons. Have children work together to spoon ingredients into the cups. Then set out the construction paper circles, markers, pieces of yarn, and glue sticks. Tell children they should each decorate a circle to look like them. Explain that you ll put these circles with the trail-mix gift so the person receiving it will know who it s from. As children finish their circles, glue each circle to a craft stick, leaving at least 2 inches of stick below the circle. Write the child s name (or have the child write it) on a second circle, and glue that to the other side of the craft stick. Put about five craft-stick children in each cup of trail mix. Pull the corners of a piece of cellophane up around the cup, and tie the cellophane and craft sticks with ribbon to make a pretty gift. Our gifts will make [name of recipient] happy. We re serving [recipient s name] because [he or she] serves us! 38 KidsOwn Worship Spring Quarter
(continued from page 36) * The Foot-Washer Jesus was a great teacher. He didn t just talk to his disciples about how to live. He showed them how he wanted them to live. Let s watch a video that ll show how Jesus was a servant. Watch the segment from the Lesson Videos DVD titled The Foot-Washer. It tells the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet (John 13:1-17). What do you think it was like to be the one in charge of washing guests feet? (Nasty; dirty; unpleasant.) Do you think Jesus enjoyed his task? Why or why not? (No, because it would have been yucky; yes, because he liked to serve.) What would it have been like to have God doing a servant s job for you? (Embarrassing; weird; nice.) When Jesus washed his disciples feet, he was teaching them that he came to serve people and that he wanted them to serve each other. Have the children form groups of three. Have the groups discuss the following questions: What kinds of tasks might a servant do today? (Wash windows; vacuum floors; cook meals.) If you really wanted to make the point that we should serve each other today, what task would you perform for someone else? Why? (Help my mom do the dishes so she could rest after dinner; help my dad wash his car, so he could finish faster.) Have groups make up skits to dramatize their answers to the questions. Let several groups share. Jesus washed feet. Review the other acts of service you saw performed. Jesus humbled himself to become a servant. Instead of acting like the powerful King he was, he served the people he loved. How do you feel when someone does something important for you that he or she doesn t have to do? (I feel good; I wonder why they are doing it.) That s what Jesus did. He gave up his position to act in love and showed us true greatness. We worship him because he was willing to serve so that we can have a real-life example of how to live. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 39
Build-a-Crown Jesus was building a servant kingdom. Every king needs a crown that represents what is important to that kingdom. What kind of crown do you think a servant kingdom would have? (A work cap; a helmet.) Provide pens, markers, construction paper, scissors, glue, and other decorative materials for the crowns. Have the children each cut a sheet of construction paper lengthwise in two pieces. Help the children staple the two pieces together to form a crown that fits. Today you re going to have a chance to design a crown that reflects Jesus kingdom. To help you get started on your design, think about these questions. What might be the servant-kingdom tree? flower? bird? (An oak tree; a rose; an eagle.) What colors might its flag be? (Red; blue; green; purple.) What might its motto be, and how could you show that motto? (Help others, and then help them; be nice to others; put others first, and then do something that puts them first.) After the children have had an opportunity to design their crowns, let them explain their crowns. Then have them set the crowns aside to be used later. Let s Pray! The Offering The Bible tells us that Jesus came as an example to us. Jesus wants us to be like him. If you made a crown today, put that crown on to show that you want to be a servant just like Jesus was a servant. There are many different ways to serve. One way we serve is to give our money in the offering. I m going to leave the offering bowl here. You can come by and put your money in the offering bowl if you brought an offering. As you stop at the offering bowl, think about what Jesus might want you to do to be a servant in his kingdom. If you want, silently promise Jesus you ll do that. Let s sing while we give our offerings. Let the children give their offerings. Sing Servant of All (Mark 9:35b). Track 22 40 KidsOwn Worship Spring Quarter
Feet to Prayer Have the children sit in a circle with their feet all pointed into the center. When Jesus came to Peter to wash his feet, Peter said No, Lord, you can t wash my feet! Jesus said, Peter, unless I wash your feet, you have no part with me. Then Peter said, Then don t just wash my feet! Wash all of me! Peter meant that he wanted whatever Jesus had for him. Look at your feet here in our circle. Some of your feet may serve God on a mission field. Some of your feet may run and play with little children to share God s love. Some of your feet may walk hospital hallways bringing God s healing power. Whatever God has for you, if you obey, you will be great in God s eyes, because you will be a servant like Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for putting aside your power and authority and becoming a servant. We want to follow your lead because we love you. In Jesus name, amen. Love the Lord While the children are still seated in the circle, challenge them to move their feet from the ankle only to make movements to the song Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). You have the power to use a whole strong leg to move your foot. Jesus has all the power of almighty God. Instead of acting out his power, Jesus held back his power and showed himself to us as a gentle servant. Hold back the power of your strong leg muscles. Use only your ankles to make motions with your feet as we sing Love the Lord. Sing Love the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Track 8 Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 41