Note to the Teacher

The key idea in this scripture for this lesson is “whoever serves.” The icebreaker invites youth to quietly get one another out of the group. The discussion encourages students to think about the way nature lives, dies, and lives again. The activity allows youth to take a look at another modern example of the scripture. Times are based on a fifty-five-minute lesson period but may be adjusted.

Wink ‘Em (15 minutes)

Have everyone get a partner. Have one member of the duo sit in a circle on a chair. Add one empty chair to the circle. Those not sitting should stand behind their partner. Make sure there is a person standing behind the empty chair. Those standing must be looking at the back of their partner in the chair. They must also have their hands behind their backs. When you say go, the person standing behind the empty chair begins as the “winker.” They wink at anyone currently sitting in the chair. The person who was winked at must then get out of the chair without being tagged by the person who is standing behind them. If they are tagged, they must return to their seat. If they are successful in getting out of their chair, the person who could not catch them becomes the “winker.” After a few minutes of play, switch the outside and inside circle.

Option 1:

To add excitement and change it up, rotate the inside and outside circles to keep the game moving.

Read Scripture (5 minutes)

Our scripture reading today suggests how we should serve.

Read Matthew John 12:20-33.

Discussion (15 minutes)

Describe in your own words the illustration of nature found in John 12:24.
Do think the disciples and others listening to Jesus at this point knew he was predicting his own death?
Have you ever planted seeds and helped them grow? What was that experience like?
How did Jesus follow the principle of the grain (or seeds) in the ground?
Did Jesus die by accident? How do we know?

Activity and Discussion (20 minutes)

Hold up an acorn. Ask the group what it is and what it will be when it sprouts (an oak tree). Ask the group what they think acorn roots look like (you can provide a picture if desired). Ask the group where the acorn went. Ask, does the acorn have to stop being an acorn to be an oak tree?

Points for discussion:

Just like the acorn, a grain of wheat can’t grow into its purpose if it doesn’t stop being a grain of wheat. The plant will grow into something much more than the seed if given the opportunity, but it will have to die in order to grow.
Jesus knows he will die and be resurrected into something new.
We can become something new, through God’s grace, in the processes of salvation and redemption. Sometimes periods of immense change can feel uncomfortable because both we and the world around us are changing.

TOTAL TIME: 55 minutes.