B-17 (Victory in the Wilderness)

 Theme: Jesus' Temptations

Supplies:

• Rocks of various sizes in a paper bag
• Ladder
• Smartphone or computer to show pictures of beautiful cities. Links here or here.

Directions:

• Request a volunteer to come up and pull a rock from a paper bag.
• Ask:
• What would happen if you tried to eat this rock?
• Answer: You couldn’t chew or digest it.
• Can you turn this rock into bread?
• Answer: No.
• Can God turn a rock into bread?
• Answer: Yes.
• Explain:
• Satan asked Jesus Christ to turn a rock into bread. Why didn’t Jesus do it, even though He had the power?
• Answer: Satan wanted Jesus to prove He was the Son of God. But God had already said that Jesus was His Son. If Jesus had done it just to prove it, He would have been showing a lack of trust in God.
• Stand next to the ladder (do NOT have a child climb it).
• Ask:
• What would happen if I fell from the top of this ladder onto my head?
• Answer: I would be badly hurt or could even die.
• Could God protect me if I fell?
• Answer: Yes.
• Explain:
• Satan told Jesus to jump from the top of the temple (which was much higher than this ladder) to prove God would protect Him. Why didn’t Jesus jump?
• Answer: God never told Jesus to jump. Doing something dangerous just to “test” God would have been disobedience.
• Show pictures of beautiful cities and let the children guess where they are.
• Ask:
• What might happen if people tried to capture all these cities in war?
• Answer: The cities could be destroyed, and many people would be hurt.
• Explain:
• Satan offered to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He would worship him. Why didn’t Jesus accept?
• Answer: We are to worship only God. If Jesus had worshiped Satan, He would have been breaking God’s commandments and going against God’s plan.
• Main point: Each time Jesus was tempted He chose to trust and obey God—and we can too.