Before class, connect with your church office or benevolence committee to obtain a list of families or individuals in your church or community who have needs that could be met by the teens in your class. If your class is meeting online, invite your students to bring a pen/pencil and index card with them to class.

Israel was fasting to show that they served God, but God used Isaiah’s words to challenge them. God saw right through their actions and looked at their hearts. Although they were going through the motions of worship, the people of Israel were fighting among themselves and weren’t helping those in need.

The following verses show us God’s view of true worship: “Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:5b-7).

• Why does God see meeting the needs of others as a true act of worship and love toward Him? (Answers will vary but may include that God cares about all people and we are His hands and feet to minister to them, Jesus said that when we meet needs of “the least of these,” we are ministering to Him directly.)

Oftentimes, youth groups will set out to help those in their community, which is great! But Isaiah 58:7 also says, not to “turn away from your own flesh and blood.” This is usually interpreted as family, but could also apply to the church family of Christian sisters and brothers—or to people anywhere, even those who don’t share our beliefs. Allow for a few minutes of sharing about needs they’ve observed within families in your church. For example: sickness, broken bones or surgeries, a parent’s job loss, the loss of a family car, a death in a family or cancer diagnosis, a physical move to another home, etc. Share the list of needs of families or individuals in your church or community that you were able to obtain before class.

Make a plan for meeting some of these needs as a group or as individuals this week. For example: providing a meal, doing a fundraiser, distributing flyers, calling someone in need, visiting an elderly person, yardwork for someone deployed in the military, etc. Students may choose to work alone or as a small group.

Distribute supplies (or invite students to have them ready at home). Have students write down on an index card what their plan of action this week will be and commit to living out their faith by expressing worship with deeds that will help those around them. Encourage them to be ready to share their worshipful experience when they come to class next week.

Remember, this is a great way to show God and others the great love you have for them!

Close today’s lesson in a time of quiet reflection and prayer.