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NOTE TO PARENTS: Each of the main points can be taught/discussed over different days throughout the week.
MORE FROM THIS LESSON:
POINT #3 – GOD WILL NEVER TEMPT YOU & HE WILL PROVIDE A WAY OUT OF TEMPTATION
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POINT #2 –
BEING TEMPTED IS NOT A SIN & YOU ARE NEVER ABOVE BEING TEMPTED
What is SIN? (Allow your child to answer: anything we do or say, or a mistake we make that go against God; it separates us from God) Can you think of some people in the Bible that sinned against God? Who were they and what did they do? (Allow your child to answer…) How about when Cain killed Abel? Saul kept things for himself when God told him not to do so. Paul killed lots of Christians before committing his life to serving Jesus. Ananias lied to the apostles and the Holy Spirit about how much money he had when he sold his field. He held back some of the money for himself. These are just a few examples.
All of us will be tempted by the enemy. We must be careful not to think that the enemy will not tempt us. That he will just leave us alone. 1 Corinthians 10:12 (ERV) says, “‘So anyone who thinks they are standing strong should be careful that they don’t fall.” Even Jesus was tempted. We can expect to be tempted by the enemy if Jesus was. But remember, Jesus overcame temptation.
It’s also important to know that SIN and TEMPTATION are not the same thing. SIN is NOT TEMPTATION. So, what is the difference between SIN and TEMPTATION? (Allow your child to answer: TEMPTATION is the thought or desire we have to sin. SIN is the action of doing that thought.) The enemy will bring on temptation to try to get us to sin. Maybe he knows that you really get mad when your brother or sister takes something out of your room. So he will tempt you with the thought to maybe say something mean to him or her; or maybe to hurt your brother or sister. He will give you a bad idea to try to get you to do a bad thing. The enemy likes it when we are not nice to each other, when we don’t respect each other and when we do or say something to hurt one another. This is not the way of Jesus. With Jesus, we forgive and turn away from our sin. We make a choice to say no to temptation, no to the bad thought or idea; and we choose to do the right thing. We choose to have mercy and forgive and love the person that sinned against us.
Discussion Questions
- What is something the enemy tempts you with, maybe more than once?
- Do you ever give in to that temptation and then sin?
- How do you feel afterwards? (Maybe feel like you wish you hadn’t done it?)
- Have you ever said no to a temptation?
- What happened afterwards? How did you feel?
Prayer
Jesus, we know that you endured through temptation, you said no to temptation and you overcame temptation and did not sin. We know that your word says that we WILL be tempted. Holy Spirit, help us to be aware of when the enemy is trying to tempt us and with what he is trying to tempt us to do. Help us to remember Your TRUTH and Your Words in the Bible. We refuse to give in to sin. Open our eyes, Lord, to see the temptation and the sin and run away from it. To turn from it and run to You. Give us all the strength and courage we need to stand against the enemy. We pray all of this in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
Scripture Memory Verse
“So anyone who thinks they are standing strong should be careful that they don’t fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12 (ERV)
Application/Activity