Scripture: Luke 14:7-35
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn God expects us to be humble.
- Students will learn God expects us to be unselfish when we serve others.
- Students will learn being a disciple of Jesus may mean sacrificing many things.
- Students will learn how to work with division by creating various seating arrangements.
Guiding Question: Why is serving others important to God?
Materials: Paper, pencils, Paper “people” and “tables”
Procedure: Review the story of the Banquet Parables. Explain that God values a humble attitude and expects to be unselfish when we serve others as He selflessly gave Himself up for us to be saved. Remind students that we serve God through serving others and should serve others with a humble and caring attitude. Our service reflects obedience to God and our love for Him. Even though this may mean sacrificing on our end, God will bless us through our service. (Provide personal examples if appropriate)
Have the students create seating charts for a banquet. During the activity, change the number of attendees, the number of tables, and the number of seats to a table (Example: 20 people, 4 tables, how many people will need to sit at each table? 35 people, 7 tables, how many will need to sit at each table?) You may want to start out with paper “people” and “tables” to practice before trying to do it on paper.
Additional Questions: How can students create a banquet seating arrangement and proportionate dinner feast?
Supplemental Activity: Give students a certain number of guests and tables/seats per table to work with. Have the students then create a meal for the guests and divide the meal evenly among all guests. Students can work in pairs or groups to create different arrangements or meals.