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Upper Elementary

First or Last?

  • Lesson 11
  • Summer 2026
  • By: RLD Editorial Team
  • August 16, 2026
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Lesson Focus:

If you want to be great, you must serve others.

Bible Basis:

Mark 10:35-45

Materials Needed:

Step 1:

  • Internet access
  • Whiteboard and markers

Step 4:

Summary & Links:

Students will discuss the importance of people who serve others and watch a video about a couple who found ways to bless others.

Memory Verse:

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”
—Mark 10:43-44

Step 1:

Students will discuss the importance of people who serve others and watch a video about a couple who found ways to bless others.

Materials Needed:

  • Internet access
  • Whiteboard and markers

If you are meeting in person, write the question, “What do you want to be when you are an adult?” on the whiteboard before class. Invite your students to write their answer on the board as they enter.

If you are meeting online, make sure all your participants are unmuted. Ask the question: What do you want to be when you are an adult? Give students 30 seconds to answer. They may all talk at one time and that is okay.

  • What are some reasons that you think you would enjoy jobs like these? (Allow brief discussion.)
  • Are there any jobs you know you wouldn’t want? What are they and why? (Students may bring up jobs or careers they see as difficult or tedious.)

Believe it or not, every job that people have involves some kind of service. Doctors serve their patients, first responders serve people in need, and people who work at food establishments serve the people who order from them.

  • If you end up doing the job you mentioned, who will you be serving? (You may need to provide some examples to get students thinking about jobs in terms of service rather than in terms of a set of duties.)

Sometimes, people have opportunities to serve in ways they didn’t expect. Even outside of the jobs or specific roles we may have, God can still provide opportunities to help and serve others. This is true for one young couple who found a few ways to serve others in observance of National UPLift Day. Let’s take a look.

Play the video for the class [1:45]: We Paid for Strangers at the Drive-Thru! – Paying it Forward on National UPlift Someone Day

  • How did the couple from the video serve others? (They served others through paying for their food and drinks, asking a homeless man whether he needed food or water, and delivering pizza to their local fire station. Even though they could have found plenty of things to do with their time and money, they chose to help others instead.)

It would have been easier for this couple to only think about themselves and their needs. Instead, they were looking for opportunities to serve and be generous to others. Like for this couple, when we pay attention, there are a lot of chances to serve others. The disciples in our lesson today learned all about that.

Looking for Steps 2 & 3?

You can find Steps 2 and 3 in your teacher’s guide. To purchase a teacher’s guide, please visit: Bible-in-Life or Echoes.

Step 4:

Materials Needed:

Before class, print off enough Balancing Service handouts so that each student has a copy—the template can be found at the end of this step. If you are meeting online, send the template to students ahead of time and ask them to print it off so they have it ready to use.

Remind students of the lesson focus with the following questions:

  • What did Jesus do for His disciples? (He washed their feet while they were arguing over who was greatest.)
  • How did this surprise them? (Possible answers: they were not used to service being done by people who were in charge.)

It must have been shocking for Jesus’ disciples to hear what He was saying. The idea that serving is what makes you great, rather than being served, was unlike anything they had ever heard.

  • What happens more often for you—serving or being served? (Answers may vary; encourage discussion.)

Let’s see if we can get a closer look at the opportunities we have to serve others. Distribute supplies (or invite students to have them ready at home). Let’s brainstorm a list of the people you interact with every week. Include friends, family members, people you know from church or school. For each person, decide whether they are someone who ordinarily serves you. If so, write their name on the left side of your sheet under People Who Serve Me; if not, write their name on the right, under People I Serve. Help your students with ideas on who they might be serving without thinking about it (examples might be reading to a younger sibling while Mom is cooking dinner, setting the table, or walking the dog). 

After students have had time to complete the first part of their exercise, give the rest of the instructions. Here’s the twist. Even though the names you wrote on the right side of the paper are People I Serve, the truth is that you can find ways to serve EVERYONE on this list. For the rest of the class, talk about ways you can serve the people on the left side of your list. As needed, offer suggestions such as helping, leaving thank-you notes for service workers, or simply greeting people in a kind way. Challenge your students to follow through on those acts of service for at least two people listed in the left-hand column.

Balancing Service handouts

Close in prayer.

Take a minute to model service to your group by sending them a text or email reminding them to serve at least one person on their list this week.

Spread the word

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