Lesson: The Spiritual Discipline of Serving

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Serving Hands
This simple Bible lesson will teach children about the spiritual discipline of serving others. It’s designed for a smaller group of children, but could be adapted for any Sunday School or Children’s Church setting.

Bible Topic: Serving Others
Scripture: Mark 10:45
Target Age Group: Elementary (1st -5th grade)
Learning Context: Any small group setting like Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 30 minutes
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Lesson Objective: Children will learn about the spiritual discipline of serving.
Introduction: Begin the lesson by reading the key verse to the children. For older elementary, encourage a volunteer to read this verse to the group.
Explain: Give a definition of what serving means.  Explain the key verse: Jesus didn’t come for others to serve Him, but to serve and help others.    Our motivation for serving must come from a love for God and others and our desire to be more like Jesus.  We can see examples of serving in Scripture.
Look at John 13:2-5 and see that Jesus washed the disciples feet.  This is an act of serving.  Serving isn’t something that we should dread doing.  It should be something that brings us joy!  We don’t have to wash feet as Jesus did to be serving.  As children, we can serve by helping our parents with chores around the house.  We can help out at church by opening a door for an elderly person.  Serving is possibly one of the easiest of the disciplines to practice – IF we have the right attitude about it.  There are always ways to serve and help others.
Another way to serve is to pray for others.  Instead of only praying for our own needs, we can be servants by praying for those around us.  Serving is basically about others and not ourselves!  When we serve, we should strive to be more like Jesus, caring for those around us more than we do our own needs and wants.
Activity: Practice serving!  Take kids out to the church parking lot after the lesson and have them clean car windows!  Have them help take out the trash collected during the church service.  Pray for others specific needs.  Set up a time to rake leaves for a shut –in or to help clean up the church grounds.
Craft: Make cards for shut-ins or someone you know is sick and deliver them personally (or mail them if delivering them isn’t possible). For younger children, use our free coloring pages to create artwork to give away.
More Options: Another option would be our love your neighbor coloring page or short video. For additional ideas, you can explore our preschool Bible lesson about serving others based on this same passage of Scripture. You could also encourage church families to take on their own service projects.

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