During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.
Mark 10:43
Imagine that someone important came to your house for dinner. But instead of sitting down for a meal, he or she went to the dirtiest place in your house and began to clean. How would you feel? Embarrassed? Ashamed? You might ask your guest to stop, saying that you wish to serve him!
This is how the disciples must have felt when Jesus began to wash their feet. Washing feet was a job for the lowest of household servants. But Jesus willingly washed His friends’ dirty feet to serve them and show His love for them. He wanted His disciples to see that if even He, who was both God and King, was willing to serve, they should be willing to serve too.
What is the “dirty job” God is calling you to do today? Will you lead as He did—by serving? There is no greater way to become like Jesus than to serve as Jesus did.
Encourage the students to ask a family member, “What is 1 way you would like to serve others?” They can then make a plan to serve others together.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Welcome the students as they arrive. Ask them to think of a famous or important leader. Tell them not to share their idea with anyone else. They will discuss this person as part of the opening activity.
When you are ready to begin class, divide the students into groups of 3. Then share these instructions:
Close your eyes and think about the important or famous leader you thought of. Picture that person in your mind. What characteristics does she have that cause others to respect or admire her?
Pause for the students to do this.
Now tell your group who your person is. Each of you will have 2 minutes to share whom you chose and why you think he is a more famous or important than the leaders others chose. After everyone in the group has shared, the group must choose the most important leader.
Give the groups about 10 minutes to complete the activity. Then allow each group to share their famous and important person and why he or she is the most important.
What characteristics did these people have that made them the most famous or important leaders?
Allow 2–3 students to share their thoughts. Bring to their attention the characteristics that would make a person famous or important by worldly standards: appearance, wealth, power, and celebrity.
Can you think of some leaders who are famous or important who do not have these characteristics?
Allow 2–3 students to share their thoughts.
When we think about famous and important leaders, we often think about people who are wealthy or powerful or beautiful or well known. We consider them role models and may try to become like them. But while these things seem important, God has completely different standards for leadership. Today we will talk about how to lead the way Jesus did.
We are all leaders, even if we do not see ourselves that way. We may not feel famous or important, but we can have influence with our friends, families, and communities. Because others look up to leaders, becoming a good leader can help draw others to God too.
Many people believe that Jesus was a famous and important leader even if they are not Christians. And those who follow Him still recognize Him as a great leader. What characteristics does He have that made Him a great leader while He was on earth?
Students may share things such as the fact that He was a good public speaker and very influential, that many people listened to what He said and followed Him, or that many people reacted both positively and negatively to Him.
All of these are important qualities of Jesus’ leadership, and some of them are true of many other leaders. But there is something about Jesus’ leadership that is unexpected. Listen to these verses.
Have a student read Mark 10:42–45 aloud from the Bible. If that is not possible, the passage is printed here for you.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:42–45
What leadership quality does this verse tell us Jesus had?
Allow 2–3 students to share their thoughts.
Leaders in Jesus’ time were much like leaders today. They often led through wealth, power, and appearance. Though Jesus was well known and important when He was on earth, He did not gain power or fame because of wealth or appearance. But Jesus’ leadership was different. He was a servant. He led others by serving them.
Even His closest followers did not understand the way Jesus led. One day as Jesus and His disciples were traveling, the disciples began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest. Listen to Jesus’ response to them:
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Mark 9:35
Does anything surprise you about Jesus’ answer? What?
According to Jesus, if we want to be an important person in His kingdom, we must be willing to serve others. In fact, we must be willing to serve everyone.
Some people are easy to serve, such as the people we love. We enjoy serving them because it makes them happy and helps them. But it can be very difficult to serve people who are unkind to us. We often do not want to help them since they do not treat us well. But Jesus tells us that good leaders serve everyone.
Leading in this way is called servant leadership. It means putting the needs of others before your own. It means serving by doing things that others cannot or do not want to do. This is God’s way of leadership, and it is the opposite of the kind of leadership we often see around us. But when we allow God to work in our hearts and help us to love those around us, servant leadership can flow naturally from us.
Jesus’ servant leadership can be seen in how He lived. He truly cared about the people around Him, and He showed that in His leadership. As the Son of God, He showed us how to serve others as a leader. Here are some ways He was a servant leader:
Jesus listened. Leaders in our world are often most concerned about their own ideas and opinions. But Jesus teaches us that asking questions and truly listening to others is the way of a servant leader. The Bible says that those who express their own opinions without listening to others are fools, not leaders.
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.
Proverbs 18:2
Have the students quickly and quietly find partners and talk about a specific way that listening can help them be good leaders. Then ask a couple of pairs to share their answers with the whole group.
Jesus showed empathy. This means that He understood and cared about the emotions of others. When we empathize with people, they can see that we truly care about how they feel. Listen to this verse that we read when we studied persecution.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Romans 12:15
Turn to your partner and share a specific way empathy can help you be a good leader.
After a couple minutes, ask a couple of pairs to share their answers with the whole group.
Jesus led sacrificially. He gave His life for us. Most of us do not give our lives for those we serve. But we can serve sacrificially and generously. Listen again to this verse we read earlier:
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45
Turn to your partner and share a specific way that leading sacrificially can help you to be a
good leader.
After a couple minutes, ask a couple of pairs to share their answers with the whole group.
Jesus set an example for us to follow in the ways He served His disciples. One time, Jesus and the disciples were all reclining at the dinner table after enjoying a meal together. Jesus got up, took off His outer clothes, and wrapped a towel around His waist. Then he did something surprising. He poured water into a basin and washed the disciples’ feet. This was a job the lowest servant would do.
Optional: If possible, share the image from The Action Bible.
How do you think the disciples felt when Jesus began washing their feet?
Students may give answers such as embarrassed, ashamed, honoured, or loved.
Listen to what Jesus said after He had finished washing their feet.
Have a student read John 13:12–15 aloud from the Bible if possible.
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 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.
John 13:12–15
Jesus showed us how to be servant leaders—even if we do not feel like we are leaders. Sometimes leading means doing things that no one else can do or things no one else wants to do. It is the act of serving that helps us to become servant leaders. When we serve others, we are leading as Jesus did.
Have you ever had the opportunity to serve someone as Jesus served His disciples? Why did you choose to serve? Share the story with your partner.
There are many benefits to serving others. But let’s be clear: some people may want to be thought of as important leaders so much that they serve with selfish motives. When someone serves selfishly, it takes a lot of energy. That person may be looking for the applause of others. This type of selfish service usually involves deciding whom to serve based on the benefits to the leader and not the needs of those being served. But service motivated by selfishness is not the type of servant leadership Jesus taught.
In order to be the kind of servant leader Jesus taught us to be, we must be in relationship with God. It is His Holy Spirit working within Christians that empowers them to serve others without concern for themselves. This type of servant leadership is offered to anyone, anytime, in both big and small ways. Servant leadership builds community and honours the Lord.
There are many good leaders in the world today. Some are Christians, and some are not. But those who are servant leaders are following Jesus’ example. Servant leaders make things better for their friends, families, and communities.
Place the bucket filled with water where the students can see it. Give each student a stone.
We all can be servant leaders. When we lead by serving, it creates a ripple—like the ones created when a stone is dropped into a bucket of water. Our acts of service change our lives, just as dropping a stone in water changes the surface of the water. Our small splashes then radiate out, making ripples to the edge of the water. As we lead others by serving, the ripples go farther and farther, and more lives are changed.
Think about a specific thing you can do to begin being a servant leader. Maybe you want to begin a relationship with God or ask His Holy Spirit to help you serve more. Maybe you will listen more carefully to others. Perhaps you will show more care for others’ emotions or choose to be fully committed to others. Once you have your idea, come drop your stone into the bucket. Watch the splash it makes, and watch the ripples until they go all the way to the edge of the bucket. Think about how much your actions can change the hearts and lives of those around you. You can pray and ask God to work within you to help you to be a servant leader.
The students should come up 1 at a time and drop their stones into the bucket of water. Give them enough time to do this activity so that they do not feel rushed. Encourage the class to be quietly respectful as each person goes to the bucket. Invite the teens to pray about becoming servant leaders and to ask God to help them to find ways to lead and serve.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, give the teens time to complete the activity on their pages.
Close with a blessing based on Philippians 2:7–8:
Blessing: May you follow the example of the greatest servant, Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself by giving His life for us. May you lead by serving as He did.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
