Once students have arrived to class, invite them to participate in a discussion.

Over the last year and a half, you’ve likely heard about the war happening in Ukraine. Since early 2022, Russia has been attacking and attempting to overtake the country of Ukraine. In the process, innocent people have died, buildings and properties have been destroyed, citizens’ access to basic resources has been limited, and millions of people have been displaced from their homes.

When such crises as this war occur, it can be easy to focus on the horrible events and headlines rather than thinking about ways to help those in need. Thankfully, countless organizations and individuals have been taking action to help people displaced by the war.

• Have you heard about people or organizations helping Ukrainian refugees? If so, what are they doing to help? (Accept all reasonable responses.)

Let’s watch a short video about an organization seeking to love and serve Ukrainian refugees.

Invite students to watch the following video [1:22]:
Loving and Serving Ukrainian Refugees

• Why do you think it’s important for Christians to care about serving refugees? (Accept all thoughts, though students may talk about serving and loving others as Jesus did, caring about the oppressed, or serving the marginalized.)
• What might be challenging for the people doing the daily, on-the-ground work of serving refugees? (Answers may include: workers may be in dangerous situations, they may be physically or emotionally exhausted, they may be discouraged that the war continues, etc.)

People serving refugees in all parts of the world make sacrifices to do that work. They put themselves in potentially dangerous situations, witness the devastating effects of war and violence, and are willing to be made uncomfortable.

While most of us will never do this particular work, we all have the opportunity to serve and sacrifice for others.

• Think about a situation where serving others may be challenging or where you may not get recognition for serving others. How could you choose to serve anyway? (Accept all thoughts, though students may reference praying to ask God for help, remembering a Bible verse about serving others, or thinking of a time when others have served them.)

Today, we’ll look at a biblical parable in order to understand how and why we should serve unselfishly.