Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – May I?
No materials needed
Tell kids that they will play a game. You will call out actions for them to do but before doing them they must ask, “May I?” and wait for the response “Yes, you may.” If someone does the action without asking the question, he is out. Call a child and give an action. Wait for the question and give the response. Continue calling names and giving actions. Play for a few minutes. Call the “out” kids back into the game and restart play. Comment that today they will be learning about what they should and should not do.
Live It Out
Game – Knockdown
Materials: empty, clean drink cans; permanent marker; beanbags; masking tape
Write the words of the Life Point on the bottom of drink cans, one word per can. Make one set for the kids to play the game as one group. If you want to play as teams, create a set of cans for each team. Mix and arrange the cans at one end of an open area. Use masking tape to create a toss line. The first player tosses the beanbag to knock down a can. If a can falls, she runs to the can and retrieves it. If multiple cans fall, she runs down, takes one can, and resets the others. The next player tosses the beanbag to knock down another can. As kids gather the cans, they work to put the words in order. Say the Life Point together and talk about ways people can follow Jesus’ example to resist temptation.
Craft – Stick Puppets
Materials: paper plates, wide craft sticks or paint stirrers, markers, tape
Lead kids to make self-portraits on the paper plates. As they work, talk about the Bible story and say the Life Point. When kids finish their portraits, they can tape the top of craft sticks or paint stirrers to the back of the plates to make handles for their stick puppets. Talk about times kids may feel tempted to do wrong things. Use the puppets to act out situations in which kids may be tempted and ways they can follow Jesus’ example and resist temptation.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Spell-o-rama
Materials: letter tiles; or index cards and marker
Pull the letters T, E, M, P, T, A, T, I, O, N from sets of letter tiles. Or write these letters on index cards, one letter per card. Pull or make 2-3 sets, enough so that every preteen will have one letter card. Tell kids to work together and use their letters to spell words. Encourage kids to spell as many words in different groups as they can in 2 minutes. List the words they spell on a white board or large piece of paper. Encourage them to make a word with as many letters as they can. Tell them that at least one 10-letter word can be made. If the word isn’t created, tell kids to spell temptation as many times as they can with the letters the group has. Tell them that this is a key word today in the Bible study.
Live It Out
Game – Could Be Trouble
Materials: large piece of paper, self-stick notes, marker, pen
Write It Could Be Trouble on the large piece of paper with a marker. Using the pen, write positive and negative numbers on the sticky side/back side of the notes. (For example, +2, -1, +5, -5, etc.) Make 10-15 (or at least one note per child) notes. Stick the notes to the large piece of paper. (The visible side will be blank.)
Group kids into teams if you choose or play as one large team. Ask a child a review question. If she answers the question correctly, she goes to the poster and pulls a note. Give or take away points as shown on the note. After you have completed the game, comment that kids didn’t know if they would get something positive or something that was trouble. Say the Life Point. Tell kids that God helps people know what is trouble and temptation. Tell them that Christians can follow Jesus’ example to resist and say no to temptation.
Craft – Mosaic Magnet
Materials: colored heavy paper, construction paper scraps, gel pens, glue sticks, scissors, magnet tape
Say the Life Point together and talk about times kids may face temptations. Talk about what they learned from the Bible story about how Jesus resisted temptation. Open the Bible to Matthew 4:10 and read today’s weekly verse. Guide kids to cut large Bible shapes (or other shapes) to make reminders. They can write the Life Point in the middle of the shape. Then they can cut squares of different colors and make a mosaic pattern around the Life Point. When they finish the mosaic designs, they can place pieces of magnet tape on the back to make a magnet reminder. Suggest the kids place the reminders in a place they see daily. Pray and ask God to help kids when they face temptations.
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