Ice breaker
Ask your children to share what they may have learned from the sermon. Commend them for listening and they will listen more. Ask if they have any questions about what they heard. Share two or three things that you may have gleaned [Put it in THEIR language!].
Opening Prayer
Ask your child if she/he would like to lead the family's prayer time. If not, pray a simple prayer and ask them to recite The Lord's Prayer when you are finished. Be sure to tell them that prayer is talking to God and that they can talk to God anytime about anything.
SCRIPTURE READING - Matthew 4:1-11
If your child is old enough to read, ask them to read Matthew 4:1-11 in a modern translation. We encourage the New Living Translation or English Standard Version but by all means - NO KING JAMES VERSION - LOL!
How About A Movie?
Children love movies! And small children especially love cartoons. Watch the "Jesus Is Tempted" video. It is less than 4 minutes [We understand the short attention spans]. Encourage them to pay attention as there will be questions and very exciting exercises after the video.
RETELL THE STORY!
Repetition is very important in learning. Take 60-90 seconds to retell the story. Tell it in your own words in a way that your child can grasp it.
Let's Have Even More Fun!!!
Why don't you and your child(ren) reenact the story? Allow them to choose a character and to explain why they chose that character. When done, ask them about the significance of each character.
Let's Talk
Ask the following questions -
What happened in the story?
What is sin?
ANSWER - Words, thoughts and actions that break God's heart and hurt other people. [Repeat the answer several times.]
Has anyone ever encouraged them to do wrong? Do you know what that is called?
ANSWER - That is called temptation.
What do we know about the devil?
[Their answers will vary, redirect them when necessary]
ANSWER - The devil is the evil one; he is the enemy of God and God's people.
What did we learn?
Today's Exercise
Download the coloring sheet below. We'd love to see your work!
This Week's Verse to Remember
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 6:23]
This Week's BIG Word - "TEMPTATION"
When the devil or someone provides an opportunity to do something wrong and encourages you to do so.
CLOSING PRAYER
Ask your children to repeat this prayer -
God we love you and want to please you. Forgive us for everything that we have done to hurt You and other people. Give us strength to resit the devil. AMEN.