The Children's Chapel Award-winning site, featuring Bible stories from a variety of authors, excellent Christian resources for children, and over 140 links to other Christian and family-friendly sites for kids. ~ A Ministry of the Missing Link ~ IT IS WRITTEN! The Story of Jesus' Wilderness Temptation (This Bible story lesson was lovingly prepared for you by a team of seven Internet volunteers.) "I'm going to GET you!" laughed Nina, as she chased her little sister around the sofa. Savanna giggled as she ran. Usually the sun shone bright and hot, but the past few summer days had been stormy. The girls had played board games, and colored, and read stories. Their mom had helped them bake cookies. Today, it was STILL raining and Mom had to go to the doctor, so Mrs. Murphy was staying with them. It wasn't as much fun having a babysitter as having Mom with them, so the girls were making their own fun. Round and round the sofa they ran. It was such fun...UNTIL Savanna bumped into the end table, and the candy dish crashed to the floor. "WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE, GIRLS?" Mrs. Murphy called from the kitchen table. "Nothing!" the girls shouted together. "Let's hide the broken pieces in the trash can," suggested Savanna. "I think Mom will notice that it isn't here," replied her sister. "I think we should just TELL her what happened." "We could tell her that Mrs. Murphy bumped into the table and broke it!" Savanna said in a whisper. "No, Savanna," Nina said with a smile, as she hugged her little sister. "We CAN'T lie to Mom about the dish. She won't get mad if we tell the truth." Just then, the front door opened, and their mom came into the living room. "Oh, dear! What HAPPENED here?" she asked. * * * John the Baptist had just baptized his cousin Jesus in the Jordan River. God, the Father, was SO well pleased, He TOLD Him so, straight from heaven, in a voice SO loud, everybody around Him heard it: "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED." The Bible says that right after Jesus was baptized, while He was still wet and had just come up out of the water, the heavens above him opened straight up and the most beautiful thing happened. * * * As Jesus looked up, He saw God's Holy Spirit coming down right out of the heavens. As a matter of fact, the Holy Spirit landed smack on top of Him, in the beautiful form of a dove. The sun beat down HOT on the desert wilderness. Jesus had listened when the Spirit of God spoke to Him. Far into the country He had walked, leaving His friends and His family behind. After a few days, He saw no travelers. Jesus was ALL ALONE in the wilderness. He prayed and listened to His Father God. For forty days and forty nights, He didn't eat. At the end of that time, He was very, very hungry. The devil came and tempted Him by saying, "If you are the Son of God, COMMAND that these stones be made bread." Could Father God turn those stones into bread? Of course, He could...if Jesus had asked! But Jesus said, "IT IS WRITTEN, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out from the mouth of God." * * * The devil wasn't going to go away so easily, so he took Jesus into the holy city and set Him on a top corner of the temple. The temple was VERY, very tall. Would you hurt yourself if you fell off your house? Well, this temple was MUCH taller than your house. As Jesus stood up on that temple, He looked down at the ground far below Him. The devil said, "Now if You really are the Son of God, cast yourself down." This time the devil quoted a Bible verse: "FOR IT IS WRITTEN, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash Your foot against a stone." Jesus answered back: "IT IS WRITTEN AGAIN, that you shall not tempt the Lord thy God." Jesus knew God's Word WELL. * * * Finally, the devil took Jesus up a very, very high mountain. He showed Him all the kingdoms of the world with all their beauty and wealth. What a sight that must have been! The devil told Jesus, "All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and worship me." The devil had the power to do this for he rules over the earth. This time, Jesus said to Satan, "Begone, devil! FOR IT IS WRITTEN, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall you serve." With this, the devil left Jesus, and the next thing He could see, was the comforting sight of angels coming to minister to Him and care for Him. * * * THINK! 1. Something wonderful happened the day Jesus was baptized. What was it? 2. Where did Jesus go as He walked? 3. How long did Jesus fast or go without food? 4. How many times did Satan tempt Jesus? 5. Jesus answered the devil the same way all three times. What did Jesus say to the devil? REMEMBER When you find yourself tempted, call on Jesus to help you through it. A VERSE TO LEARN "...Pray that ye enter not into temptation" (Luke 22:40). PRACTICAL APPLICATION Can you think of a time when you were tempted? For example, have you ever been tempted to tell a lie or take something that didn't belong to you, or to speak badly about a person or hurt someone? What did you do? Were you able to resist temptation? What should you have done? Who can help you when you're tempted? How did Jesus handle temptation? [After discussion:] There's a promise in the Bible that says tells us God will not allow you to be tempted more than you can handle, but He will also provide a way for you to resist and flee from it, just as He did for Jesus. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.) Jesus resisted temptation by knowing, obeying and speaking the Word of God. You can learn to do that too. Ask God to help you. LET'S PRAY **************************************************** Loving God, I praise You for this day and every day. Many times I am tempted to do things that I KNOW I should not do. Help me to resist doing those things that I know would not please You. In Jesus' Name. Amen. **************************************************** CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE? Matthew 3:13-17; 4:1-11 Mark 1:9-13 Luke 3:21,22; 4:1-13 John 1:31-34 BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE childrenschapel.org/bibstory2.html Copyright (c) 2002-2022 by Barbara Wilmerton Haas. You may NOT re-post this Bible story. However, you may freely link to it, provided visitors can see our web address when they click on the link. ----------------------------------------------------------------- JUST FOR FUN Craft God With Us Pocket Rock ************ GAMES HOPSCOTCH Use drafting tape or chalk to draw a hopscotch grid on the floor. Tape the Bible verse words into the grids. Have students jump through the hopscotch in order while saying the verse. NAME THAT TUNE! Hum or replace a song's words with "la-la" notes. The first person to name that tune leads the class in singing it. PUT ON A PLAY! Cut two pieces of fabric into large rectangles. Cut a hole in the middle to slip over the head. Use a long piece of fabric for a tie. Let one child play the part of the devil and one play the part of Jesus and reenact the Bible Lesson. The other children should be told to listen carefully to see if they detect any mistakes, then after the skit is over questions can be asked and a discussion could take place. SING A SONG! When Mr. Satan knocks at my heart's door, And says, "May I come in?" I say, "No! No!" for Jesus loves me so, And He took away my sin. Then he turns around and runs away. I hope he's gone away to stay. When Mr. Satan knocks at my heart's door, I just say, "No! No! No!" Sword Drill TASTE THAT FOOD! Have a food tasting game where kids are blindfolded (or just close their eyes) and try different foods, being tempted not to try them, but trade them for the next item to try. Bananas, pickles, crackers, etc. WORD SEARCH Easy Hard Hardest ************ TEACHER RESOURCES The Temptation of Jesus - A Rotation Lesson Set Bible Story Card #56 for story, questions, and coloring page ----------------------------------------------------------------- Free Bible Stories! To receive a new Bible story each week, enter your e-mail address under "Subscribe... " at http://tscpulpitseries.cis.to/mailman/listinfo/stories You will be sent a message requesting confirmation of your subscription request. IMPORTANT! YOU *MUST* REPLY to this confirmation request to activate your subscription to this list. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 2002-2022 - The Lorain County Free-Net Chapel North Central Ohio, U.S.A. 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