Leader Guide
Game
- Two large towels—bath towels
- Two large bowls—plastic, wood or metal
- Two shoes
- Bible or the Superbook Bible App
- Optional: a helper, such as a sixth grader
- A plastic—unbreakable—tray filled with lots of small, unbreakable items that will roll— such as marbles, crayons or pencils
Place the bowls at one end of the room, leaving space between them.
Use the shoes to mark a starting line about 15-20 feet from the bowls.
You or a helper should be ready to carry the plastic tray between the teams as they are competing, and “accidentally” drop it so the items spill widely and make a mess. The secret object of the game is to see if any children help clean up the spill without being asked, even if it means that their team loses the game!
At the beginning of our video today, did Chris think an important person should serve or be served?
Yes, Chris expected all the members of his band and even Gizmo to serve him. He didn’t help them move the heavy band equipment. By the end of our video, what had Chris learned from Jesus?
Someone who wants to be a good leader must first serve others.
In our SuperBook Bible story today, we saw how Jesus humbled Himself to serve His disciples by washing their feet.
Read John 13:3–5:
Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him.
Let’s play a fun game about how Jesus served His disciples!
Divide the class into two teams. Have the two teams SIT in two single-file lines behind the two shoes. The verse we just read tells us that Jesus got up from the table before they had the Passover meal; He took a towel and wrapped it around His waist. Wrap a towel around your waist and loosely tie it in front of you. Then Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and dried them with the towel. When I start the race, you will wrap the towel around your waist as I showed you walk through the process as you talk and walk quickly to the bowl. Get down on your knees as if to wash someone’s feet, tap the bottom of the bowl with your hand, stand up, and then walk quickly back. Remove your towel and hand it to the next player in line, who will repeat the process. Take the towel off. Give one towel to the first player on each team and start the race. In the middle of the game, you or a helper should walk between the teams and “accidentally” drop the tray full of small items, spilling them so they roll all over the floor. Notice if any children rush to help, or if they are too busy trying to “win.” At the end of the game, declare which team is the fastest, but announce that the real winners are the children who helped clean up the mess!
When Jesus and His disciples gathered for the Last Supper, any of the disciples could have volunteered to wash the others’ feet—but they probably thought the job was too dirty or lowly. Jesus was God’s Son with all authority over heaven and Earth, yet He chose to humbly lay down His special privileges and came to Earth to be a servant. Let’s say our SuperTruth for today: “Jesus humbled Himself and became a servant.”