Serving your Family

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the service module is to teach the children how to implement service in our lives. We want children to know that we show our true faith through our actions, not just by saying how much we follow God's commandments.The goal is to teach third graders how the Holy Spirit works through them everyday. Every week of this module will focus on serving different spheres of their lives: week 1 -- the family, week 2- the poor, week 3-the sick, week 4- the community. Week 5 is the capstone week to review and serve together. Please read through all the lessons in this module in preparation for this lesson.

In this lesson, children will understand the importance of serving our family.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 10 Minutes

Actions speak louder than words activity: Ask the children to point to their chin (as you tell them this, point to a different part of your body and see where the kids point to.) Some might follow your actions regardless of what you say. Do this a few more times pointing to different parts of the body, occasionally matching where you point and what you say.

See the first minute of this video for an example:

Why do you think some of you followed what I did instead of what I said? It's because a lot of the time, actions can be more powerful than words. We're going to focus on the theme of "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" for the next few weeks.

Have them discuss what this statement means. Give them enough time to think, talk, and attempt to define what this means.
Give them examples to help them develop the concept:
1. A boy tells his class that his family recycles all the time. The next day his classmates notice that he throws away his papers in the trash can, not the recycling bin.
2. A mom tells her friends that she doesn't have time to help at the school. The next day, she volunteers to help the teacher.
Talk about the examples and clarify the meaning of the action one takes in relation to the thing one says.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 10 Minutes

Memory Verse
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." James 1:22

Read together one or more of these Bible passages together with open Bibles.

Matthew 21:28-32 "What do you think? A man has 2 sons and he went to the first and said 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' And he said, "I will not.' But afterward changed his mind and went...
Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father...
James 1:22-25 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only...

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 10 Minutes

Service to your family - Our actions show our character and as Christians, we show our faith by our actions. How can we serve our family by our actions?

Give the children time to discuss this concept and share examples.
Concrete examples: Do what you say you will do...Serve your parents by obeying them.
Abstract examples: Showing more love towards your siblings is a service to them. Serve your siblings by not making fun of them. Serve your grandparents by praying for them. Serve your parents by not complaining.

APPLICATION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

Ask children how they will serve their families this week. Examples: Acting on what they say they will do -- cleaning room, reading a book, following time limits on games. Choosing words carefully -- ...

Make a physical reminder of ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS and bring it in next week. This could be a bracelet, a small poster for the room, a door hanger, etc.

PARENTS CORNER

Give your children opportunities to serve the family and to act out their responsibilities successfully. Please make sure to give them clear instructions on what they can do and their expected time limit. For example, if you say "I need help loading the dishwasher tonight" it most likely won't get done (tonight is too broad of a time limit). However, something like "Let's set a timer for when you should stop what you are doing and load the dishwasher" will help them remember to act out their service. Most important is that you help your child match their actions to their words. In this way, we can teach them to show their Christian faith through their actions.