Materials: Palm Sunday Video Light colored card stock (1/2 sheet per every child in younger Colored Pencils (younger Grid paper (1 per every older child) Pencils (older March Calendar Invite card Note: All Scripture is taken from the New International Version (NIV). Getting Started I am going to read the first sentence of a popular children s book. When you think you know what book the sentence comes from, raise your hand. "I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." What book does that come from? Give the children an opportunity to recall - Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. From the time Alexander woke up, to the time he headed to bed, there were problems like these: He was squished in the car, there was no dessert in his lunch, the dentist found a cavity in one of his teeth, and he had to go to bed in railroad-train pajamas. If a book like that was written about you, what kinds of things would happen on your terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day? Encourage ideas. During our new series, Excuse Our Mess, we will dig into the Bible to uncover what happened during Jesus last week on earth. Some of the events we learn about will be very sad. Jesus last days seemed mostly terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad, but every moment was part of God s plan. Bible Study Imagine the scene with me. It was Sunday in spring. The holy city of Jerusalem was crowded with people. The holiday was Passover, the time when God s people remembered how God had rescued them from being slaves in Egypt. Every year, they killed a lamb and ate it. They would say, The lamb died instead of us, as they celebrated their freedom. This Passover was different for Jesus. Jesus knew that He would need to be the rescuer. Jesus knew that very soon it would be time for Him to leave this world. He was preparing to do what God had sent Him to earth to do take the punishment for all the wrong things everyone 1
had ever done or ever would do. He would be the lamb that died instead of us. Jesus and His twelve disciples were making their way to Jerusalem for the celebration. Long before that day, God had promised that Jesus would enter the city in a special way. Watch this video with me to get an idea of what happened on that day. Play the Palm Sunday video. Some of the people in Jerusalem celebrated Jesus arrival into Jerusalem. They wanted Jesus to become their king. Others were angry and jealous of Jesus angry enough to want to kill Him! As the week went on, Passover continued. Jesus and His disciples were about to begin a Passover meal together in an upstairs room of a home. As the meal began, Jesus did something that surprised the disciples. Please turn to John Chapter 13 with me. We will begin by reading John 13:4-5. 4 So He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. Ask: What did Jesus begin to do? You ve heard of washing your hands before dinner, but your feet? This may sound silly, but in those days, it was quite normal for feet to be washed before dinner. People didn t wear shoes they only wore sandals. The streets in those days were super-dirty. Imagine a true messy mania! If your imagination isn t giving you a messy enough picture, think about the fact that cows, horses, and other animals walked along the same dusty roads. We all know that those animals aren t potty trained! Now can you imagine the mess? So foot washing probably sounds like a good idea, but why would Jesus do the washing? This job was usually left to servants, certainly not the Son of God who had just been honored as a king! One at a time, 2
Jesus gently, lovingly washed the disciples feet. The disciples just stared at Jesus, speechless but not Peter! Follow along as I read Peter s response in verses 6-9. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? 7 Jesus replied, You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. 8 No, said Peter, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered, Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me. 9 Then, Lord, Simon Peter replied, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well! Ask: Did Peter want Jesus to wash his feet at first? Why did Peter change his mind? Jesus knew that the mess in Peter s heart was much worse than the mess on his feet. Like all people, Peter s heart was full of sin. What people need most is to be clean on the inside. Jesus washed the disciples feet in love, and He wants to wash our hearts in love. Our Big Idea for this series is, The disciples didn t deserve to have Jesus wash their feet. We don t deserve to have Jesus wash our hearts. Jesus sets to work on our hearts because He loves us. Pray: Dear Jesus, sin has made a huge mess in my life. Thank You for being willing to do construction on my heart. Thank you for excusing my mess and creating a good work in me. Extension Activity Younger Groups Jesus taught the disciples that they should serve others. Jesus wants you to serve others, too. Your friends may not need you to wash their feet, but they have other needs. How can you serve your friends? After 3
listening to the children s ideas, give each child a half-sheet of light colored cardstock and a pencil. Guide the children to step on their paper and trace their shoe with their pencil. Distribute colored pencils and ask the children to draw a picture inside the shape of their shoe showing how they could serve someone this week. If time permits, allow children to share their illustrations. Older Groups One of the things Jesus was teaching when He washed the disciples feet was the importance of serving others. He said, Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. If Jesus, who is Lord of all, would choose to lower Himself to do the job of the least important servant by washing His friends feet, then we should always be willing to serve others. Jesus said to follow His example. Foot washing was very common in Bible times, but not very common today. What is something you might do to serve another person today? Listen to answers. Give each child a piece of grid paper and pencil. Write the following words from the lesson in a visible location: messy, feet, wash, example, servant, blessed, Jesus, Peter, heart, Share the steps below as you guide the children to create their own word searches. The letters for the word search should fit on the top half of their papers so that they can write the list of words to be found on the bottom half. 1. Write one of the words listed on the top half of your paper, assigning one letter per block. You can position the word vertically, horizontally or diagonally, and you can spell it forward or backward. Use all capital letters. 2. Tie another word from the list into the first word that you wrote by looking for a common letter. For instance, if you wrote "SERVANT" vertically, you can write "BLESSED" horizontally with the "E" of SERVANT being an "E" in "BLESSED." 3. Continue to add words until you've used all of the words in your list. Tie some words together, and let some words stand alone. Try to keep the words on the top half of your paper. 4
4. Vary the direction in which you write the words for more interest and challenge. 5. Fill the empty boxes on the graph paper with random letters so that each box is filled. 6. Make a list of the words to be found at the bottom of your paper. 7. If time permits, have the children exchange word searches and find the words. If time does not permit, have the children exchange to enjoy at home this week. March Calendar/Invite Cards Display a March calendar and Invite Card in a location where all of the children can see them. Highlight this information found on the calendar: Bible reading, Family Mission, and important dates. Our Scripture Memory Verse for this month is Psalm 119:11, I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. What do you think that means? Wait for responses. The Bible is a construction tool that God uses as He works on your heart. Memorize this verse and more! Remember to Take 5 of these invite cards as you leave church today. Invite your friends to join you for this series. Just like you, they need to hear how God can excuse their mess! 5