Bible Study “Facing Temptations”
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
Season of Lent. The Lenten Season may not be the longest season in the Church Year, but it is certainly one of the most important seasons. It is a time for spiritual preparation through repentance of our sins and growth in our faith for Easter. It is the time of the Church Year when the suffering and death of our Savior come into focus. It begins with a special day of repentance, Ash Wednesday, and ends in the depth of sorrow and tragedy on Good Friday.
Jesus, energized and equipped, goes to the wilderness where he faced-down three confrontations that challenge us to this day. The first: how do we make the distinction between what we "want" and what we "need;" "bread" really feeds us? Second: whom do we serve and what do we worship? Third: where are we smug, sure we are right, and putting God to the test? Jesus found his way through; Lent invites us to find our way through too.
Opening Prayer: Dear God, you are full of compassion and mercy. Help us to remember, experience, and know that you are there for us and we can trust you. Amen.
Please open your Bibles to Luke 4:1-13 and read or read the scriptures below.
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’[b]”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’[c]”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[d]”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[e]”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Reflection Questions:
- What do you think it was like to not eat for forty days?
- Verses 3 and 4: What would happen if Jesus turned stones into bread? What would be cool about loaves of bread all over the place? (Crowds would show up, for sure, people would get food.)
- What would not be good about this? (Jesus was not sent to do magic tricks nor do people's work for them.)
- Why do you think he chose not to do this? (He knew he needed to help people see what is the right thing to do — not just dazzle them.)
- How do we go about making decisions between what we might "want" to do and what we "need" to do?
- What are some of our "wants"? Which things do we really "need?"
- Verses 5 through 8: The devil was pretty sure he had all the kingdoms of the world under his thumb and could put Jesus in charge of all of them. Why do you think Jesus said no to the devil? (Jesus knew that he had not come to boss people around and be a fancy king. And he also knew he was not about to surrender to the forces of evil.)
- What forces of evil can get us into trouble? (Yes, drugs, alcohol, and things like that, what else?)
- What do you “worship?" What grabs our attention? For example having the latest CD. Wearing the coolest clothes. Finding big chunks of time to surf the Internet. Getting the lead in the school play. Getting on the best team. Being the most popular kid in the class.
- Do you think any of this is TOTALLY bad? What is the difference between "wanting" any of these and "needing" them?
- Verses 9 through11: Jesus knew angels would rush in, if he called on them, so why do you think he decided not to do this? (Pretty flashy. Silly use of angels. Again, people would show up for all the wrong reasons.)
- Can you think of a situation where someone is putting God to the test? (an example could be a someone driving way too fast and being sure he or she will not crash the car.)
- Can you think of times we are "smug" — times when we are sure WE have the right answer and are not open to listening to anyone else?
Click here for the young learner’s lesson
Videos (Click on the words or url)
Discover Jesus – The Temptation of Jesus Christ (Luke 4:1-13) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP8MZ9iZuMk
Overview: Luke 1-9 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIb_dCIxzr0
Song
Thy Word Have I Hid In My Heart - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UuMu1tzzN4
Activities:
Spring Training: You need a paper bag, paper and pencils. You will be developing individual Spring Training disciplines. Some options: finding a time during the week to read from the Bible, finding time during the week to pray for help with dumping something that is getting between you and God, giving up something that is getting in the way, or that will get you in better shape, etc. Write something now to put in your bag. You will be adding something to your bag each Sunday.
Temptation Banner: You will need a long piece of paper and some markers. First draw a STONE and write words for that temptation on or around the stone. Then draw some MOUNTAINS and write the words for that temptation under or on the mountains. Then draw an outline of a TEMPLE and write some words from that temptation. Make sure you write Jesus' answer from scripture for each temptation.
Crossword Puzzle: https://sermons4kids.com/temptation_of_jesus_crossword.htm?fromSermonId=591
Word Search: https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/3385956/facing-temptation/
Prayer: O God, during the six weeks of Lent, help us to be strong even when we find it most difficult and to remember Your great love for me so that I may choose what is right.
