Childrens Sermon Service

So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. (v. 14)

Good evening, boys and girls. Tonight is a very special night. Christians call it a holy night, different than other nights because we remember Jesus and his disciples as they gather in an upper room to celebrate the Passover. The Passover was one of the most special days in Jewish history. Jesus was a Jew and he celebrated it every year as a holy time.

But Jesus made this a special night for all of his followers with two different experiences. The first experience was beginning something that we call holy communion. This was the first time it was ever done. Ever since that night, Christians have remembered Jesus with holy communion.

The other thing Jesus did on that night was also very different. After everyone had eaten and celebrated their first communion, Jesus took a towel and a basin of water and walked around the table to wash the feet of the disciples. A master, a teacher, a leader did not wash other people's feet. Servants or slaves washed the feet of masters, teachers, and leaders. It was a sign of great respect to have your feet washed when you visited the home of a friend. If the master of the house did not have a servant, maybe a son or daughter or even a wife would wash the feet but never the head of the house.

Jesus had a towel in his hands and a pan of water. Jesus knelt down at the feet of Peter and began to wash Peter's feet, but Peter jumped up and protested. He did not want Jesus to wash his feet. He felt it was not right for his Lord to be washing feet. Jesus told him if he would not let him wash his feet then he would have no sharing with Jesus. This was different. Jesus did things like this and Peter wanted to share with Jesus more than anything in the world. Peter said, "Don't just wash my feet but wash also my hands and my head." Peter wanted as much as he could get.

But the real lesson that Jesus wanted to teach was something really special. If the master, the teacher, the Lord, and the leader washed their feet then they should be willing to wash each other's feet. They should wash the feet of any person to show them that they are humble servants of God. Being a servant of God is greater than being a king or president or any other position on earth.

So, I would like to wash your feet and wipe them with a towel. I want to serve you and share my life with you. (Wash at least a couple of children's feet, if not all. You may need some assistance.) Amen.