Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13
- Students will learn even Jesus was tempted by Satan.
- Students will learn that just like Jesus ignored Satan when he quoted from the Bible, we must learn some people use scripture out of context to tempt us to disobey God.
- Students will learn quoting scripture, praying and fleeing the temptation are ways we too can avoid sinning when tempted.
- Students will learn how to avoid temptation.
Guiding Question: How can we turn to God when struggling with temptation?
Materials: Desserts, paper, pencils
Procedure: Review the story of the temptation of Jesus. Ask the students what are some of the things Jesus did to keep from sinning even though he was tempted. Remind students that even though we may not feel like it at the time, we ALWAYS have a choice when faced with temptation whether we will follow what God tells us to do or whether we will sin. We can turn to God through prayer or the Bible for strength and advice for how to avoid temptation. God gives us clear rules and words of support in the Bible. Through prayer, we can talk to God about how we are feeling and talk to Him about what we should do to avoid temptation.
*Prior to the activity, give each student a type of dessert (give choices students will want) and tell them that if they don’t eat it during the lesson, you will give them another one when you are done teaching. Give the students four minutes to come up with as many temptations as possible that children and adults may struggle with (each students does this independently). After time is up, have the students share out and discuss how they could stay away from those temptations and turn to God for help. Afterwards, check in with students to see if anyone has eaten their dessert. Talk about the self control that it takes and if that was easy or difficult. When finished, you can provide the other dessert.
Additional Questions: How does the Bible support us when we struggle with temptation?
Supplemental Activity: Have students research and create a mini poster with Bible verses that they can turn to when they are struggling with temptation.