"40 DAYS" FAMILY DINNER LITURGY: "Serving God and Being Served By God"

During this "40 Days of Faith" (Lent), we encourage you to try the Family Dinner Liturgy once a week. We hope that this will be a fun way to take a moment to turn toward God together as a family. How do you do it? It’s easy.

1. Pick a day of the week when you are most likely to have everyone in the family at the dinner table. 
2. Take 3-5 minutes to do the liturgy below before the dinner.
3. Repeat weekly during the "40 Days of Faith."
4. Consider getting together with other families for dinner and liturgy.

For this week's "Serving God and Being Served By God" liturgy, click here and/or see below.

Family Dinner Liturgy: "Serving God and Being Served By God"
 
Opening Prayer
(Together holding hands)
We make room for you,
Come and fill us with your Spirit.

Candle Lighting
(Any kind of candles; as many as you want)
 
Blessing
(This is worth memorizing. A grown-up can say the blessing as she/he looks into everyone’s eyes OR everyone can recite this together for each other.)

“The Lord bless you
   and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine on you
   and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn His face toward you
   and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)

Story of the Week | Serving God and Being Served By God
(Families with young kids might want to skip this part.)

John 13:1-17
Right before Jesus’ last meal with his friends on Earth, He knew the time had come to leave this world and return to God. He had loved His friends on earth and now He loved them to the very end, with His Upside-Down, Never-Running-Out Love.  

Jesus got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash His friends’ feet, drying them with the towel. 

When Jesus came to Peter, Peter said to him, “This is wrong. You will never wash my feet!” (Washing others’ feet was usually a job for the most lowly servants. Peter felt that it was beneath Jesus to wash his feet. If anything, he should be washing Jesus’ feet to honor him!)  

But Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Peter was shocked. He shouted, “Then wash my hands and head as well!”  

Jesus must have smiled at this. He replied, “You are clean. Just your feet need washing.”  

After washing their feet, Jesus put on His robe again and sat down. He said, “Do you understand what I was doing? You need to let Me serve you, for it is you who need life and strength from Me. God does not need help from you. But if you understand my Upside-Down Love, wash each other’s feet. Love one another.”

Reflection

• “Jesus is __________ in this story”
• Discuss how you would fill in the blank (e.g. “forever,” “loving,” “humble”).
• Together, decide on one word.
• On a post-it, draw an upside-down heart and write the word inside it.
• Stick the post-it where it will be visible for a week. Every time you see it, hold the word inside of your heart for a few moments.