Preparing Yourself to be a Servant

OBJECTIVE

  • Today's objective is to present to youth the core elements of service and give them instruction on how they may grow in these areas in preparation to serve.

INTRODUCTION AND HOOKS - 5 Minutes

  • Service starts with God When we serve others, we're actually serving God. Today you'll demonstrate this concept for your kids by using a simple pool of water
  • Before class, draw the Five Rings of Service on a large sheet of newsprint or a chalkboard. (Draw in concentric circles like the waves in a pond after you drop a pebble into the water.) The Five Rings of Service are God, family and friends, church family, community, and world
  • Have kids stand around the tub of water. Pick up a marble and say: When we serve God, we serve others around us. Let's say this marble is a person who has chosen to serve God. Drop the marble in the tub
  • Say: See? This one little action affects the whole pool of water. That's just how it is with service. Everything we do as we serve God has an effect on our world

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 10 Minutes

4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills (1 Co. 12:4-11).

Memory Verse

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I Send me.'" (Is. 6:8)

CONTENT - 20 Minutes

  • Becoming a Servant
    • Calling to Serve
      • Service is ultimately a calling from God
      • The Lords seeks love, longing, and faithfulness to God in the heart of the servant
    • Spirit of Discipleship
      • A servant must struggle for repentance, never discount criticism or advice, and should look for every opportunity to grow and increase in the love of God
    • The Servant is the Christian with Ministry
      • The qualities of the servant are often the qualities of the Christian
      • Although not every Christian is called to serve, every servant is called to be a faithful Christian, and those who teach are given a stricter judgment (cf. Jm. 3:1)
      • Therefore, in preparation for servant, we look to the very basics of the Christian life
  • Qualities for the Service
    • Love
      • As the Lord taught that we must love God and love our neighbor (cf. Mt. 22:37-39), so too, in our service, we must love God and love our neighbor, serving them
      • We must learn to love and care for others, as God loves and cares for us
      • By loving others, we reveal God, for "love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (cf. 1 Jn. 4:7-8)
    • Prayer
      • Prayer is the center of the life of a Christian, let alone the life of the servant
      • The primary service of each servant is to pray, lifting up each person served to God
      • Prayer is central to preparation for service, for as we present ourselves and all issues to God, we learn to rely on His grace and mercy, and as we present thanksgiving and appreciation for His dispensation of goodness, we are continually aware of His presence and blessings
    • Participating in the Liturgical Life
      • A servant must participate in the liturgical life
      • It is through the Eucharist that we unite with our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is through this union that we have life and are filled with grace, without which we cannot serve
      • In preparation to serve, we must attend liturgy and confess regularly
    • Bible Reading
      • The servant must have a healthy relationship with the Scripture, not only because a servant may be called to teach, but because through the Bible we know Christ, we know His will, and we know His commands to which we are obedient
      • The servant who lives according to the Scripture becomes a living testimony and living Gospel, whether or not the servant speaks
    • Obedience
      • Obedience is a fundamental quality of a servant, and, as the title implies, the servant must be obedience to the master, Jesus Christ
      • In preparation for service, we must learn to listen to and obey our parents, priests, and servants, so that we may learn to obey our Lord Jesus Christ
    • Repentance
      • A servant must constantly live a life of repentance, and a servant must constantly look to his own faults and weaknesses and present these to God
      • The servants who does not repent does not grow, and becomes a stumbling block within service, while a servant who repents is an icon of the Resurrection and a model of the Christian life
    • Purity
      • A servant must be pure, meaning without spot or blemish, through Christ
      • Although not perfect, servants strive for purity through examination, repentance, and confession, by which we may become more like Christ
      • Servants purify their hearts and their minds not to make judgment or assumptions about the people they serve, but rather to treat each person with respect, love, compassion, and sympathy
  • Serving Today
    • Service is a calling, but as we prepare ourselves to serve, God grants us grace by allowing us to participate in services by which we may grow in love, compassion, obedience, and faith
    • For example, God puts people in our lives who are in need or who ask for help, such as a needy family, someone who needs tutoring, or a friend in need
    • As prayer is our primary service, we may pray for people today and lift them up to God

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

  • How is prayer the most important service?
  • What are possible ways to serve God besides teaching Sunday School?
  • Is a servant a leader or a follower? How does obedience play into Christian leadership?

APPLICATION (Action) - 10 Minutes

  • The calling to service comes from God, but we are called in our baptism to live a holy life in Christ
  • As the most important service of every servant is to pray, we must practice prayer
  • We must take time every day to examine our lives, to identify impurities, and to present these to God so that we may continue to grow as Christians

ACTIVITY - 5 Minutes

  • Pass a flashcard to each of the children, each of the cards will have a list of the following: Prayers, Meditating on the Word of God, Liturgies, Almsgiving, Constant Confession, Fasting, Spiritual Readings
  • Each of the kids should mark the items that they are constantly participating in. Ask the children to take this card to their father of confession to help improve their spiritual practices.

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

  • Pray an hour of the Agpeya with your children so that they may learn the importance of praying together as a family and may also learn how to pray as the Orthodox Church teaches us
  • Pray with your child for those who are needy, and teach your child to always lift up every matter in prayer, whether it be in thanksgiving or asking for God's grace, mercy, or protection
  • Take your child to liturgy and make sure they are setting up appointments with their father of confession