Temptation. A Youth Lesson for Grades 3-5, 6-8, & 9-12

Transcription

1 Scripture Lesson: Genesis 2: 15-17, 3: 1-7 Temptation A Youth Lesson for Grades 3-5, 6-8, & 9-12 Theme: Today s focus is on temptation. The question to be asked is: what is temptation all about? What is it s purpose and nature? Are we as people caused to sin by external forces? Or do we act upon inner desires? What happens when we give in to temptation? Supplies: Enough leaders/teachers to break into 3 groups Charades topics and cards (grades 6-8) Mousetrap and cheese (grades 3-5) Colored Pencils and paper (grades 3-5)

2 Scripture Lesson: Genesis 2: 15-17, 3: 1-7 Background information about the lesson: Today s scripture lesson is the Genesis account of temptation in the Garden of Eden story. The two humans are given a command by God in 2:17, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. The temptation and the fall in the story should be seen always in light of that command. In Chapter 3, the character of the serpent is introduced into the story, portrayed as more crafty than other creatures. The serpent tempts the woman by reminding her of the fruit of that tree and questioning the command not to eat of it. It s important to note that when the woman responds, she quotes the command but she adds something to it. She adds, nor shall you touch it. Perhaps the suggestion of misunderstanding on the part of humans is intentional. Traditionally, the woman in the story has been portrayed as the temptress that lures the man into the trap. But this sort of interpretation is overly misogynistic. The man and woman were made from one flesh and therefore are inseparable. It should be understood that the temptation came from an external voice, then was acted on by an internal desire on the count of both humans. United in their creation, they are united in their undoing. They are both equally responsible. When the humans give in to the temptation there is a coming-of-age story present. They realize they are naked and seek to clothe themselves. This begs the age-old question: If we didn t realize it was a sin, would it still be a sin? Remembering the old Mark Twain story The Mysterious Stranger will help bring this question to life. The 11 th & 12 th graders are likely to have read this story in school, so be prepared to discuss it. Today s focus is on temptation. The question to be asked is: what is temptation all about? What is it s purpose and nature? Are we as people caused to sin by external forces? Or do we act upon inner desires? What happens when we give in to temptation?

3 CYF (grades 9-12) 1. Discussion starter/group builder game/activity (allow 5-10 minutes) a. Read the text (Genesis 2: 15-17, 3:1-7) i. A good way to do this story would be to divide up the reading into five parts, one person reading as the narrator, one as God, one as Adam, one as Eve, and one as the serpent. ii. Or you could read it together as a group, then have a team of people act it out impromptu b. Lead Discussion on the following questions: --What was the original command God gave to the humans? --Do you think they understood the command? (If the group thinks they did, point out the addition that Eve made, saying nor shall you touch it. ) --Do you think it matters if she added anything to the command or not? --What method did the serpent use to peak interest in the fruit? --Why do you think this fruit was so tempting, so appealing? --What happened, what changed for the humans when they ate the fruit? (Some may jump forward to answering that they were banished from the garden. But bring them back to this text. What happened to them as a natural result of their decision? They realized they were naked. They had knowledge.) --So were they naked before they ate the fruit? --What s really at stake here is the humans desire to become like God. Did they become like God in any way? (Yes, they gained the knowledge of good and evil.) And was it a good thing to become like God in that way? Why or why not? --What sort of things are temptations for us? What things do we know we shouldn t do that we often have trouble saying no to? --Do you think that the devil makes us do it? Or are we tempted to do things that we really somehow want to do anyway deep down inside? --Some look at this story and see it as a story of punishment God banning them from the garden. Others see it and notice natural consequences of sin. Do you think there are consequences for us when we give in to temptation? --When God told them not to eat the fruit of that tree, was God being manipulative? Or do you think there was something experience that God wanted to spare the humans from enduring? --Have you ever been tempted to break a rule that your parents or your teacher set? Have you ever thought a rule was pointless only to later realize it was for your own good? --In the end, are we ultimately responsible for the decisions we make? If not, why not? If so, how? 3. Prayer (allow 5-10 minutes) a. Ask if anyone has any prayer concerns or celebration b. Lead the group in a closing prayer in one of the following ways i. You lead the prayer ii. Have silent prayer time, followed by closing iii. Allow different individuals to pray, then you close iv. Have time for people to write their prayers down

4 Chi Rho (Grades 6-8) 1. Discussion Starter/Group builder game/activity (allow 5-10 minutes) Preparation: You ll need a list of topics for the game Charades which you re sure will be a bit difficult for 6-8 graders to act out (choosing pop music stars or movie titles may be good, since they ll be know-able, but doing them without words is hard). Print the topics out separately on individual pieces of paper. You ll also need some sort of prizes (miniature candy bars work great). Begin the lesson by playing a game of Charades with the group. Students individually take turns performing the charade by taking a piece of paper and acting out the topic so that the others may guess it. Remind them that the performer may not use any words or sounds of any kind, and that they may not spell out letters with their hands or use sign language. They also may not write anything down. Set a time limit of 1 minute for each performance. If someone correctly guesses the topic both that person and the performer receive a prize. At the end of the game give a prize to each person who didn t win one. After playing for about ten minutes or so stop the game and lead the following discussion: --How hard was it to not talk? Did you want to talk? --Would the game have been easier if you did talk? --Would the game have been any fun if you d been allowed to talk? --Do you think rules help make games more fun? --Do you think sometimes rules don t make sense or don t help? --Games aside, do you think rules are a good thing? Why or why not? --Have you ever been tempted to break the rules? Say: Today we re going to study about temptation. Let s see if people in the Bible can relate. Read the text (Genesis 2: 15-17, 3:1-7) Lead Discussion on the following questions: --Why do you think God made the rule not to eat of the fruit from the tree? --Do you think God was trying to protect the humans from something? From what? --Do you think that the serpent made them eat it, or do you think they really wanted to do it deep down? --What happened to them when they ate the fruit? --Have you ever wanted to do something that you knew you weren t supposed to? --Have you ever done something you knew was forbidden? --Were there consequences for your actions? --God gave the people here clear rules to live by and it was for their protection. Are there other rules to live by in the Bible that were meant for us? (Ten Commandments, Love the Lord your God...neighbor as self...etc...) --What do you think will happen in our lives if we stay clear of temptation and follow the rules God laid out for us? Do you think there are consequences when we don t? 3. Close in prayer.

5 JYF (grades 3-5) 1, Discussion Starter/Group builder game/activity (allow 5-10 minutes) Preparation: You ll need a mousetrap and some cheese. As you wind down from the discussion starter or other activity have the kids sit in a circle with you on the floor. Show them the mousetrap and ask them if they know what it is and how it works. Discuss with them the concept of how the cheese sits in the trap and when the spring is sprung the trap snaps down on the mouse. Put some cheese on the trap. Using a popsicle stick or something similar, touch the cheese and spring the trap. Pick up the stick with the trap still attached. Discuss the following questions: --Have you ever seen a mouse get stuck in a mousetrap? --Why do you think a mouse would go up to one of these? --Do you think they know it s going to hurt them? --Do you think if they knew it was going to hurt them that they d touch it anyway? --If you had a pet mouse, do you think you d tell it to stay away from mouse traps? Say: I want to read you a story in the bible, a story about getting caught in a trap. Read the text (Genesis 2: 15-17, 3:1-7) Discuss the following questions: --Did the people in the story know the fruit of the tree was bad for them? (Maybe, maybe not. But they did know God told them not to touch it.) --So God told the people not to eat it, but they did anyway. And they knew they had sinned. Have you ever done something you were told not to? --Why do you think there are rules? Are there rules in your house because your parents don t want you to have any fun? Are there rules in the Bible because God doesn t want you to have fun? Or are rules there to protect us? --What happens when we break the rules? (Discuss consequences: as in getting caught or feeling badly, or hurting someone s feelings) --Discuss how rules usually help to protect us from bad things in our lives. Discuss how it s important to live the way God wants us to, because God wants what s best for us. And we can t always make as good a decision as God. --Can you think of a time when you followed a rule and realized it was there to protect you? 3. Activity Using colored pencils and paper allow the kids to draw the scene from Genesis Close in Prayer