‘The Greatest Servant’ Childrens Lesson on Jesus Washing Disciples Feet

1. ‘What a Mighty God we Serve’ by Listener Kids
2. ‘Shine and Serve’ by Yancy
3. ‘Gonna Serve’ by Yancy

1. Super Speedy Service.(regular/widescreen) Children must set out a dinner table for four people with knives and forks, spoons, placemats, and cups for four people. The child to do this the fastest is the winner.
2. Candy Giveaway. (regular/widescreen) Label some tubs with different numbers and put them on a table on the other end of the room. Give each group one of these numbers and a tub of sweets. The children must relay and put a handful of their sweets in another team’s tub. The team that has the least amount of sweets at the end is the winning team.
3. Blind Feeding. (regular/widescreen) Have two sets of partners compete. One of the players from each team is blindfolded and sits behind a chair. The partner slips their hands under the arms of their partner and must feed their partner a bowl of cereal. The team to eat the most/the fastest is the winning team.

Read John 13:5-20. You could also use the sensory story to help children aged 5-7 connect. Download here.

Washing feet was not a new thing in Jesus’ time. There are many Old Testament references to feet washing. (Genesis 18:4; 19:2; 24:32; 43:24; Judges 19:21; 1 Samuel 25:41; 2 Samuel 11:8; Song of Solomon 5:3; Psalms 58:10) In ordinary households guests would wash their own feet as they walked in and the host would provide the water. However, in richer houses, a servant or slave would wash your feet as you entered. This was considered the lowliest of jobs.

1) A SERVANT HELPS OTHERS
One Big Blur. (regular/widescreen) (For 8-11s) Place all the images below into your own PowerPoint presentation. Play the game ‘One Big Blur’ where children must try and guess what each blurred picture represents. There are different types of people that serve others. Show them the unblurred images once they have guessed. For 5-7s simply use the unblurred images.

Dance Teacher: regular/widescreen        Unblurred image: regular/widescreen

Vet: regular/widescreen    Unblurred image: regular/widescreen 

Waste Collector: regular/widescreen     Unblurred image: regular/widescreen

Doctor: regular/widescreen    Unblurred image: regular/widescreen 

Dentist: regular/widescreen     Unblurred image: regular/widescreen 

Fire Fighter: regular/widescreen   Unblurred image: regular/widescreen 

Say: By washing his disciples feet Jesus showed us what it meant to serve others. There are many people that serve as part of their job. Can you work out what these might be? (show examples)

A servant is someone that does things for other people that help people. Jesus showed us what it means to be a servant when he bent down and washed his friends feet. He was showing them what it meant to help and to do something for someone else. Something that you may never get a reward for doing.

Jesus was the greatest servant because he was never paid to do any of the good things he did for others. He did them because he loved people and he wanted to show them how important they were to Him and to God.

FETCH THE BIBLE VERSES. (regular/widescreen) You will need: tub of water, laminated Bible verses, cloths.

Laminate the Bible verses found here. Float the bible verses in a tub of water, only moments before playing this game, to make sure they don’t sink. Encourage kids to take turns to try and fish out the bible verses using their toes.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What is a servant?
2. Do you want to be a servant? Why/why not?
3. How are others a servant to you? (your mum/dad/teachers etc)
4. How did Jesus behave like a servant during his life?
5. How did Jesus behave like a servant during his death?
6. How might we be servant hearted?

Encourage the children to think about the answer to the question below as they do one or more of the activities.

Why did Jesus wash his follower’s feet?

1. Sensory: Have a Feet Washing Station with a tub of water and cloths.
2. Feet Painting: Create a painting walkway or prayer walk for the kids on long paper.
3. Sensory station: Walking through mud, sand and water. Then washing one another’s feet at the end with soap and water. Alternatively, have the leaders wash the children’s feet.
4. Using the Greatest Servant Feet Printable create a printed foot washing scene. Paint the inside of a bowl blue and cut around the feet printables, color them in and place them in the bowl.
5. Lego: Create a giant foot out of lego or create a house scene with someone as the servant.
6. Mould some feet out of play dough or clay.
7. Fill in/Color in the Greatest Servant activity sheets for 5-7s and 8-11s.

Who is God asking you to serve this week? Write or draw one person that God is calling you to be more helpful towards.

• Write or draw it on footprints.
• Put feet in mud to show you are ready to serve and put yourself out there for someone else.
• Encourage the children to pray and decide what they can do this week to serve others. Ask them to fill out the Week of Serving Printable as a commitment to do what they believe God wants them to do.