January 16-17, Jesus is tempted. 1 Corinthians 13:4. Jesus fought temptation with truth.

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1 rd th 3-5 January 16-17, 2016 Jesus is tempted. 1 Corinthians 13:4 Jesus fought temptation with truth. Connect Time (15 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids into groups and begin their activity. Large Group (30 minutes): Begin 20 minutes after the service starts. Model what it looks like to be engaged in large group. During Large Group, make sure you re an active participant along with kids! Be energetic, respond to the presenter and interact with the lesson. In addition, make sure you re helping the presenter engage the room by sitting next to kids who need redirection, or separating those who can t focus while sitting together. Small Group (15 minutes): Keep kids in small groups until parents arrive. If you all have extra time at the end, you can review the video and songs together. Ask kids why they have a verse card, and how it can help them fight temptation. Today, we re talking about the temptation of Jesus. We all get tempted because the devil is trying desperately to keep us from following God but we don t have to give in. Jesus showed us how to combat temptation: through truth.

2 GOAL: Connect Time is all about engaging kids in an activity that allows them to connect with each other right away while simultaneously piquing their curiosity for Large Group and preparing their minds for what they re going to hear. PARTNER PULL-UP Tell kids to find a partner and sit next to each other. Have two volunteers demonstrate the following for kids: o Partners should sit down and face each other. Next, they put the soles of their feet on the floor, toes touching. o Partners reach forward (bending their knees if they need to) and grasp o hands. By pulling together (each partner pulling in their own direction) both partners try to slowly stand up. Once they ve done that, try to return to a sitting position in the same way. Let kids try to do it on their own. If they fall, they have to start over. Once they do it successfully, tell partners to pair up with another set of partners, and try to do the same exercise but with 4 people! TALK ABOUT IT What made it hard to pull each other up? Have you ever felt pulled to do something wrong? Something you knew you shouldn t do, but that you wanted to do? Tell us about it. Before you go to Large Group, you can ask kids how their week went. You can also remind kids of the expectations for Large Group behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader s instructions.

3 Goal: Kids will (1) understand how Jesus faced temptation and overcame it with truth and (2) identify temptation in their own lives and how they can fight against it. Why? Temptation is a universal experience, and we all struggle not to give in. We want kids to understand that Jesus knows what it s like to be tempted, therefore we can trust what he has to say about combatting temptation with truth. Tip: To help kids feel comfortable sharing the temptation they deal with, share your own example. Just make sure it s kid-appropriate. REVIEW THE STORY 1. Why did Satan tempt Jesus in the wilderness? (He wanted Jesus to sin, he wanted to tempt Jesus while he was fasting and praying to God) 2. What kinds of temptation did Jesus have to fight? (Food when he was fasting, testing God to save himself, worshipping Satan) 3. What temptation did you think of in Large Group? (Encourage kids to share, but if they really don t want to, that s okay.) 4. Why is it hard to fight temptation? (Sometimes we want to make wrong choices, even though we know they aren t right) 5. What can we use to fight temptation? (God s truth, the Bible, love) ACTIVTY Hand each kid a dotted line template and set out markers and glue sticks. Tell kids to think of the temptation they already came up with, or think of a new one. Write it down in the designated space on their paper. Next, hand out verse cards (Philippians 4:8). This verse is God s truth, describes what we should think about when we face temptation. Let kids glue it directly on top of their written temptation. Encourage kids to set this verse card somewhere they can see it all the time. It can help them remember what God s truth is, in the midst of temptation. Extra Time? Play some Simon Says!

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5 1 Energy, energy, energy! As the leader during Large Group, you should have the highest level of excitement and energy in the room. It will help engage kids and draw them into the story. You ll be reading a large portion of scripture today (in the script) since we don t have a video to tell the story. We do, however, have this Ask Shrimpola video that helps kids understand temptation a little better: *Click to play intro music WELCOME AND INTRO Hey guys! Welcome to Kids Club. It s great to have you here. Can I have two volunteers help me out with something? (Have two kids come up to the presentation area and get out the rope.) These two are going to play Tug-of-War! I ll stand here in the middle, and whoever pulls the other past me, wins! Are you ready? (Let volunteers pull each other until one wins.) Good job, can everyone give a round of applause for our volunteers? (Let kids respond.) Who can tell me why you think Tug-of-War is so fun to play? (Let 1-2 kids respond.) Yep, you re right! It s also hard to play though, isn t it? Who can tell me why it s hard? (Let 1-2 kids respond.) Yep, because you ve got two people, or two teams, pulling as hard as they can in opposite directions! One side wants to go one way, and the other side wants to go the other way! TEMPTATION Today we are going to talk about a different kind of Tug-of-War that we experience. It s called temptation. Can anybody tell me what you think temptation means? (Let 2-3 kids respond.) Good job. Temptation is when we think about making a wrong choice, or maybe we want to make a wrong choice, even though we know it s not right. Let s watch a video to see what temptation looks like. The kids in the video have one marshmallow that they REALLY want to eat. But if they wait to eat it, they ll get two. If they don t wait, they only get one. They know they shouldn t eat the one but they really want to. As you watch, think about something in your life you REALLY want to do even though you know it might be a wrong choice.

6 Video: Marshmallow Test Did you see how badly those kids wanted the marshmallows? They were tempted to eat the one marshmallow in front of them! JESUS WAS TEMPTED Jesus was tempted, too. He was 100% God, but also 100% human, which means he went through human experiences. Even though Jesus was tempted, do you think he ever actually made a choice to do what he knew was wrong? (Let kids respond). No way. Look at this verse: SLIDE: Hebrews 4:15 Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! Jesus understands how hard it is to be tempted, because he went through it! After he got baptized, and showed the world that he was ready to follow God, he went into the wilderness, where he fasted and prayed. (Click to show Jesus praying image.) Does anyone know what it means to fast? (Let someone respond.) It means to give up something so that you can focus more on God. Jesus decided to give up food. Would that be hard for you guys? (Let kids respond.) Yep, me too. When Jesus was fasting and praying, Satan decided to use it as an opportunity to tempt Jesus. In the Bible, Satan is called The Tempter. Why do you think Satan wanted to tempt Jesus while he was in the wilderness? (Let someone respond.) Yep, he thought Jesus might be weak, and he wanted to cause Jesus to sin. JESUS OVERCAME TEMPTATION Satan tried to tempt Jesus three separate times. Let s look at what happened. First, he tried to get Jesus to eat, even though Jesus was fasting from food. Here s what the Bible says in Matthew: SLIDE: Matthew 4:1-4 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. There the devil tempted him. After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry. The tempter came to him. He said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Jesus answered, It is written, Man doesn t live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God. That would be so hard to resist food when you re sooo hungry. Instead of giving in, though, he came back at Satan with something way more powerful than temptation. What do you think that was? (Let someone respond.) Good job! Jesus quoted words from someone way stronger than Satan. Who were the words from? (Let kids answer, God. They may not understand at first what Jesus was doing, but they will after the next few examples.) Yep, when Jesus said It is written, he was repeating the words that God said in the Bible. Let s see what happened next. SLIDE: Matthew 4:5-7 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down. It is written, The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you. They will lift you up in their hands. Then you won t trip over a stone. Jesus answered him, It is

7 also written, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, Satan tried to tempt Jesus. This time, he tried to get Jesus to test God, and see if he would save him. Satan wanted Jesus to jump off the roof on purpose, to see if God could keep him from getting hurt. Do you think Jesus fell for that trick? (Let kids respond, No ) Whose words did Jesus use to answer Satan? (Let kids answer, God s words ) That s right, he quoted God s own words at Satan again! Okay, here s the last part of the story. SLIDE: Matthew 4:8-11 Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed him all the mountains of the world and their glory. If you bow down and worship me, he said, I will give you an all of this. Jesus said to him, Get away from me, Satan! It is written, Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve. Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and took care of him. Once again, Satan tried to tempt Jesus to make a wrong choice, to sin. What did Satan want him to do this time? (Let a kids respond.) Yep, he wanted Jesus to worship him instead of God. He tried to trick Jesus, AGAIN, and said that he would give Jesus everything he wanted! And what did Jesus reply with? (Let kids respond.) That s right, once again he used God s own words to defeat Satan s lies. OVERCOMING TEMPTATION WITH TRUTH Everything Satan said to Jesus was a lie. Everything that God says is the opposite of a lie. What would you call that? (Let kids get to truth.) Exactly. God s words are truth, and they defeat temptation every time. Jesus used the truth to overcome the desire to make wrong choice. Let s watch a video that will help us understand a little bit better just what it means to be tempted, and what it means to actually sin. As you watch, try to think about a specific way you ve been tempted, just like Jesus was. VIDEO: Ask Shrimpola / Temptation So what s the difference between being tempted, and sinning? (Let someone respond.) Being tempted means you re thinking about making the wrong choice, or simply wanting to. Sinning is when we don t just think about it. We actually make the wrong choice. RESPONSE TIME Think of one thing you are tempted to do. Don t share it with anyone; just think of it in your head. Maybe you want to disobey your parents. Maybe you want to make fun of someone at school. Maybe you want to talk about someone behind his or her back. Raise one finger when you ve thought of ONE way you re tempted. (Model and wait for kids to raise fingers.) Now that you have something in your head, put your fingers down. No matter what you re tempted to do, you can always use God s truth to help you overcome it. Luckily, we have a whole Bible full of God s truth that we can use to defeat Satan. Let s look at a verse that s full of

8 God s truth, one that can help us remember to think about truth. (Lead kids in reading the following verse a few times.) SLIDE: Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. What is this verse about? (Let a few kids answer.) That s right; it s about thinking about God s truth and the things that please God. If we re tempted to tear someone down with our words, or get angry about something that s happening in our life, or to believe something about negative about ourselves and the way God made us, we can remember that to replace those thoughts with the truth God s word teaches us in the Bible God tells us to others, give thanks in all circumstances and God said he made us wonderfully! PRAY Ask for a volunteer to come up and pray for the group. Encourage them to ask God to help us overcome temptation by remembering his truth. WORSHIP Let s watch a video and listen to a song that s all about how God s love overcomes our temptation to be afraid and not trust God. You can sit and watch this video, or lay down, close your eyes and listen. Music Video: Love Beats Fear Now let s all stand up and worship together by singing out loud! Music Video: Before I Go *Dismiss kids to small groups

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10 "Partner pull-up" game - no supplies needed Per kid: 1 verse card 1 dotted line template Per group: Markers, glue sticks, Bible Bible, 1 10-foot-long piece of rope 1. Song slide: for when kids enter the room (All that You Need instrumental; mp3 only; can be downloaded on website) 2. Video: Marshmallow test ( 3. Slide: Hebrews 4:15 Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 4. Image: Jesus praying 5. Slide: Matthew 4:1-4 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. There the devil tempted him. After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry. The tempter came to him. He said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Jesus answered, It is written, Man doesn t live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God. 6. Slide: Matthew 4:5-7Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down. It is written, The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you. They will lift you up in their hands. Then you won t trip over a stone. Jesus answered him, It is also written, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. How was Jesus tempted? How can we overcome temptation? 7. Slide: Matthew 4:8-11 Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed him all the mountains of the world and their glory. If you bow down and worship me, he said, I will give you an all of this. Jesus said to him, Get away from me, Satan! It is written, Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve. Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and took care of him. 8. Video: Ask Shrimpola / Temptation ( 9. Slide: Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 10. Music Video: Love Beats Fear ( 11. Music Video: Before I Go (KC and SM media videos songs>songs>songs with slides)