Garden of Eden | Temptation | Sunday School Lessons

Garden of Eden
Sunday School Lesson
Photo: yimmy149 Flickr
 

Just saying the words 'Garden of Eden' sends my mind to a tropical paradise filled with friendly animals, fresh clean water, amazing plants, and the most delicious fruit I can imagine. I've often wondered what kind of place that must have been.

Imagine - Adam and Even didn't have to worry about any thing in the Garden of Eden. God supplied their every need.

But, just like today, we often want something we shouldn't want. That is exactly what happened to Eve. Even though the serpent was smooth taking, Eve could have resisted, but instead she gave into temptation.

Let's see what happens in the Sunday school lesson - Garden of Eden.

Garden of Eden - Sunday School Lesson

The Garden of Eden must have been a sight to see. Words couldn't possibly describe what it looked like. Adam and Eve didn't even have to work for their food. God supplied it all. He supplied food, water, and companionship for Adam, Eve and all the animals. God even walked and talked with them.

What more could they want?

Temptation is a bad thing. It is hard to overcome, but no matter how hard, we must walk away and always do the right thing.

Lucifer

Temptation didn't just start with Adam and Eve though.

Begin your Sunday school lesson by telling the kids a bit about Lucifer who became Satan and just how much danger temptation can cause.

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Sunday School Coloring Page

One day, we are not told exactly when, an angel named Lucifer wanted to take over heaven and all things that God had made. He even tried to turn the other angels against God. Some of the angels listened to Lucifer.

God was stronger than Lucifer though and God cast Lucifer and all the angles that were doing what Lucifer said, out of heaven. Lucifer should have known that he couldn't over throw God. Even he gave into the temptation to be ruler of everything.

Where did that get him?

Let the kids answer and see what kind of answers they give you. Some kids may not even want to say the words. They may just point down and that's okay as long as they know the answer.

Temptation

Talk a little bit about temptation. Temptation is anything that makes us want something we shouldn't or desire to do something that is wrong. It's anything that can cause us to do something that is not right or not wise.

Adam and Eve

Adam and Even had it all, but what did they do? They gave into temptation. Let's see what happened.

Lucifer became Satan after he was tossed out of heaven, but that didn't stop him. He wanted to win more than ever and tried to deceive Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden.

And guess what.

It worked.

Satan disguised himself as a serpent and slithered his way into the Garden of Eden.

The serpent found Even and began his plan to tempt her to do something that was wrong. What was it?

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Sunday School Activity

He wanted her to eat of the fruit off the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This was the one tree in the whole garden she and Adam were not allowed to eat from, but did she stand firm for God or did she give into temptation?

Wait for answers.

She gave in.

First, think about this for a minute. If a creepy snake began talking to you, wouldn't you think something was up? Second, Eve had all of the other fruit and food in the garden, why was the fruit from this tree so important for her to eat?

Because she was told not too.

As children, you are given rules to abide by. These rules are set by God and by your parents or guardians. These rules were made to protect you and to guide you.

How often have you been tempted to do the opposite of those rules?

Let's look at a few rules you may be tempted to break.

• going to bed when told
• staying up later than told
• telling a lie to get out of trouble
• being jealous of what others have
• taking cookies or sweets when told not to

Try to think of several circumstances that may work well with your age children.

 

How Should You React to Temptation?

First, remember, temptation is never good. Second, before giving in, stop long enough to pray to ask God to help you not go along with whatever you're facing.

Last, pray each day that God will help you when situations like this arise because they will arise.

Creation Story Flannel Board Figures

What Do We Learn?

After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, God cast them out of the Garden of Eden. Not only that, but now they would have to work for their food. God wouldn't supplying them with every thing as he had before. They had to till the ground and plant food. It was hard work.

Do you want to know what else?

Adam and Eve could have lived forever in the Garden of Eden, but now after giving in to temptation, they will grow old and die.

Why would they want to give up everything for a single bite?

Answer that question with another...Why do you do the things that you do when you know they are wrong?

Satan tempts us every day just as he did Adam and Eve.

It may be small things like taking someone's ball or hair bow, or it could be something big like stealing a car or robbing a bank.

Satan does all he can to tempt us into doing wrong things. The next time you are faced with a temptation like Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden, remember to pray for God's help.

And guess what.

He will help you.

 

 

 

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Gideon Bible Story for Children - Asking God for a Sign

Sunday School Lesson
Gideon

Bible stories for children are a fantastic addition to any Sunday school lesson. Kids and adults can pick up little (and big) points from these bible stories.

Today our Sunday school lesson is going to focus around Gideon in the bible. He does what we all want to do from time to time. He asks God for a sign. When he is asking God for a sign, God gives him one. Actually, God gives him several.

Let's look at what God needs Gideon to do and how Gideon reacts by asking God to give him a sign.

Gideon - Bible Story for Children

You can find the bible story of Gideon in Judges 6.

 

Begin your Sunday school lesson by asking if any of the children know what an idol is. For younger children, stick with idols made out of wood, stone, or gold. For older children or adults, you can even talk about idols being money, video games, or sports.

An idol can be anything that takes more of your time than you give to God.


The Sunday School Lesson

Start the story by telling the kids how the children (or people) of Israel would worship God for a


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Sunday School Activity

while, then worship idols, then back to God, then back to idols again.

At a time when the children of Israel were worshipping idols, God began to let the Midianites come into their land to take their food, destroy their crops, and take their animals. He wanted Israel to look to him instead of the idols.

The bible tells us that there was a young man by the name of Gideon whom God chose to save Israel.

Now, that doesn't mean that Gideon went right then at that very moment to take on the entire Midianite army by himself. No. He needed to be sure that God was really going to go with him and that God was really going to use him to save Israel.

You see, Gideon's family was poor and he was the least of his brothers. Gideon wondered why God had chosen him instead of someone stronger or richer.

Explain to the children that God doesn't make mistakes.

Bible Verse for this Sunday School Lesson

Isaiah 55:8-9 KJV

 

 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

 

 





We may not fully understand God's plans, but he always has a plan. We need only to trust him. He knows what he is doing. He doesn't make mistakes.

God Can Use You Too



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for your kids.

God was going to use Gideon.

Did you know that God can use you too. He may not use you to defeat a huge army, but he may need you to bring your friends to church, to help your grandparents with work that needs done, or even to grow up to teach others about him?

Gideon didn't think he was the right man for the job, so he asked the Angel of the Lord for a sign.

The angel gave him a sign he couldn't miss...

The angel told Gideon to set his meat and bread onto a rock, then pour broth over the food. When Gideon did as the angel said, fire rose up out of the rock and consumed the food. Immediately, the angel disappeared out of his sight.

Another Sign from God

After this, Gideon still wasn't sure. So, days later, Gideon began asking for another sign from God.

This time, he laid a sheep's fleece on the ground and asked God to make the fleece wet with dew during the night, but keep the ground dry. Then, Gideon went to bed.

The next morning, the ground was dry and the fleece was so wet that when Gideon wrung it out, there was a whole bowlful of water that came out of it.

Guess what!

Gideon Sunday School Lesson
Sheep's Fleece
Photo: Mike Nass Wikimedia

Gideon still wasn't sure God was going to use him to save the Israelites.

So, what did he do?

He asked God for another sign.

This time, he laid the fleece down on the ground and asked God to make the ground wet, but to leave the fleece dry. Then, he went to bed.

The next morning, Gideon went to the fleece.

Guess what!

The ground was wet and the fleece was dry just as Gideon had asked God to do.

This was the third sign from God Gideon needed. Finally, Gideon was ready to go into battle.

 

What We Learned from This Sunday School Lesson

Gideon shouldn't have needed a sign from God. God told him he was the one and he told him he would go with him. Still, Gideon doubted.

We are like that sometimes.

Did you know that God speaks to us too?

Think about it.

Have you ever been about to do something wrong and you 'feel' like you shouldn't? It's that feeling that tells you not to do something you know is wrong.

Maybe you have a friend at school or a family member that doesn't know about Jesus. Have you ever had a 'feeling' that you should tell them about Jesus or ask them to come to church?

That feeling is God.

He is talking to you from the inside. The next time you have that 'feeling' listen to it and obey it.

You don't need a sign from God. He is already there telling you what you should do.


 

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Gideon | Sunday School Activity

We designed this Sunday school activity to go along with the Gideon bible story Sunday school lesson. All you need to do is print out one copy for each child. Don't worry - it's FREE. We do what we do to spread God's word and love every minute of it!

You will need some glue and cotton balls too!

Sunday School Activity

After you've told the Gideon Sunday school lesson, give each child one copy of the page below, some cotton balls, and some glue. The bottle glue works better than stick glue, but you can use either.

Show the kids how to pull the cotton balls apart to spread them over the sheep. If you'd like, add the glue to the sheep yourself and let the kids add the spread out cotton balls.

If you'd like, have the kids color grass under the sheep, draw some clouds, and add eyes to the sheep before gluing on the cotton.

The top of the page gives the parents an idea of what their child learned in Sunday school today. You can always cut off the top of the page if you decide to use the sheep for a different lesson.

Sunday School Activity

 

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Moses - Sunday School Lessons

Moses Sunday School Lesson
Burning Bush
Photo: pixydust8605 flickr

The bible story of Moses would take many hours to tell from start to finish, so instead of beginning when Moses was a baby and put into the basket (that's another Sunday school lesson), we're going to focus on the type of man he was, the burning bush, and how God has a plan for us just like he did Moses.

Moses

Who was Moses? Moses was a man who began his life running from death. You see, when Moses was born, it was a time when all the baby boys in the land were not supposed to be left alive. It was a horrible time, yet God saved Moses through the Pharaoh's daughter who raised him as her own.

As years passed, Moses became a man who didn't believe he could do the things God needed him to do.

Ask the kids, "Do you think you could do the things God needs you to do?"

Ask other questions to prompt the children to think like:

• Do you think you could move away from your family if God ask you to?
• Do you think you could live in a different country if God asked?
• Could you leave everything behind?
• Would you become a preacher who preaches on TV or pastor a small church?
• Could you give all your money away to live in a tent?
• Could you study your bible to teach Sunday school?
• What about just telling your best friend about God?
• Could you write a book of bible stories?

Moses was a man who didn't think he was capable of doing anything. He watched his father-in-law's flock. He didn't have a lot of money. He was not famous. He didn't talk well. What could he do for God?

The Burning Bush

One day, when Moses was watching the flock, he came to a mountain. Suddenly, the angel of the Lord (Jesus before he came to earth) appeared to Moses in a burning bush. Moses looked and saw the burning bush, but the bush was not burning away.

Ask the kids, "Have you ever been camping?"

When you put wood on the fire, did it burn away or did the wood stay the same? Of course, the wood burned away. That is why it was a miraculous event that happened when the bush was blazing flames, but not turning to ashes.

As the angel of the Lord spoke to Moses, he told Moses to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground. Moses realizing who was talking to him out of the bush was afraid to look at it. Long ago, people believed that if you saw God face-to-face, you would surely die.

But, the Lord had a job for Moses.

Moses was to lead his people, the Israelites, out of slavery. The were being treated terribly and God needed Moses to go to the Pharaoh, and tell him to let his people go.

The trouble was that Moses didn't believe he could do it. He didn't think he was the right man for the job. He said, "I do not speak very well. I talk slowly." Even though God told Moses he would be with him during this time, Moses still didn't think he was worthy of doing this job for God.

God was upset with Moses and told him to take his brother, Aaron, with him when he went to Pharaoh.

Moses did go and he did lead God's people out of slavery.

Moses Flannel Board Figures - Pre-Cut

What Can We Learn?

What can we learn from this Sunday school lesson about Moses? We can learn that no matter how well we speak, how well we read, whether we are super smart, whether we are rich, where we live, what kind of clothes we have, if we are scared, or if we don't believe in ourselves, that when God goes with us we can do anything. God has a plan for each of us.

God doesn't ask us to do anything we can't do.

He can use each one of us. We only need to listen for him and to do what he needs us to do. We may not hear the words of God coming out of a burning bush the way Moses did, but we can hear the voice inside us that helps guide us to do what we are supposed to do.

Bible Verses for this Sunday School Lesson

Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV

 

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

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The Good Samaritan Crossword Puzzle- Parables

Having an extra Sunday school activity for kids to do is always a blessing as sometimes the lesson isn't as long as you first had thought. Too much down time allows the kids to become restless and loud.

That's exactly what happens in our Sunday school class and I'm sure it happens in yours too. The good news is that when you print out FREE Sunday school activities like the crossword puzzle below, you're not out any money and if you run out of time, you can always send the puzzle home with them as a reminder of the lesson they just heard.

This crossword puzzle was designed to go along with The Good Samaritan Sunday school lesson.

We hope you find this activity helpful. Be sure to check out our other Sunday school activities as they are being added continuously and will be until God sees fit otherwise.

The Good Samaritan Sunday School Activity

To print the image below, click on it to bring up a new page. From there, you can save it as a picture or print it right from the screen.

 

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Parables - The Good Samaritan | Sunday School Lessons

The Good Samaritan - Parables
Photo: Martin Bodman, Wikimedia Commons

Parables were Jesus' way of teaching a lesson or getting his point across for others to understand simply and easily. There are many parables in the bible with each one teaching something different, yet all with the same goal in mind - to teach us how to be more Christ-like.

This week's Sunday school lesson is about The Good Samaritan.

The parable of the good Samaritan is a wonderful story to help teach kids to love their neighbor as themselves, to be more humble, and to look at one another through God's eyes.

Below is the Sunday school lesson. Be sure to check out the Sunday school activity that goes along with this lesson.

Sunday School Lesson - The Good Samaritan

There are so many great bible verses about loving one another it was hard for me to choose just one, so I added several below. Now, you will have the hard choice of choosing which one you like best. Good luck...

 

Verse #1



1 John 4:11 KJV

 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

 

 

Verse #2

 

1 John 3:18 KJV

 

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

 

 

Verse #3

 

Luke 10:27 KJV

 

...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all they mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

 

 

 

Ask the kids - "Do you know what a parable is?"

A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. Jesus told many parables in the bible.

Today we are going to learn about one of those parables. It is about a Jewish man who was traveling on a road from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:30-37 KJV).

As this man was traveling, some thieves jumped him, took his clothes, beat him up, and left him.

It wasn't long until a priest came by that way and saw the hurt man. Do you think that the priest

The Good Samaritan Crossword Puzzle
Sunday School Activity

helped him?

No.

Instead, the priest went around him and left him there without helping him.

A bit later, a Levite came by the place where the hurt man was lying. Do you think the Levite helped him?

No.

Instead, the Levite looked at him, but did not help him. He just went around him leaving him there.

Finally, a Samaritan came by the place where the hurt man lay. You see, at that time, the Jewish people did not like the Samaritan people and the man who was hurt was a Jew. The Samaritan man who was walking by could have left the Jewish man, but unlike the other two men, the Samaritan decided to help.

Not only did the Samaritan man clean out the Jewish man's wounds, he wrapped them up in bandages, then he put the hurt man on the animal he was riding. Maybe it was a donkey or maybe it was a camel. The bible does not say.

He took the hurt man to an inn which is like a motel. He even paid for the man to stay longer. He even paid for the man to be taken care of while he was away.

The Parables of Jesus Felt Figures for Flannel Board

What Can We Learn from the Good Samaritan?

We should never judge people on how they look, how they act, or where they are from. We are to treat everyone with kindness just like the Good Samaritan.

Jesus told this story to teach us that we should act kindly to everyone. After all, God made everyone and he loves each and everyone of us.

If we are not kind to each other, we are not obeying God's word.

God lets each of us choose how we act. We can choose to be mean and unkind to people or we can choose to help others. By showing others kindness, we are letting God shine through.
 

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Gideon in the Bible Meets an Angel

Although many different Sunday school lessons can be taught from the story of Gideon in the bible, today we're going to focus on listening, following, and acting like Christians.

Gideon in the Bible
The angel set under an oak tree.
Photo: Anne Lowe

How many times have you talked to someone who says they are a Christian but they don't live a Godly life?

You may even have thought they were not a Christian at other times just by their actions and speech.

In today's world, it has become the 'norm' to live however you want when you want with no regards to the church or to God.

It is not supposed to be this way. The bible says,

James 1:22 KJV

 

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

God tells us in this one verse that we are to not only hear (or read) what is in the bible, but we are supposed to do it too. If we don't follow God's word, we are deceiving ourselves and thus, deceiving others just like lying.

Below is the story of Gideon in the bible where he meets an angel - The Angel of the Lord to be exact. Use it to teach your class how listening and following God's word is very important in our Christian lives.

Gideon in the Bible - Sunday School Lesson

At a time when the people of Israel had turned from God and turned to worshipping idols, the Midianite people began to come into their land and destroy everything. They took what they wanted and got rid of the rest.

 

The Israelites were so scared they fled from their homes and lived in caves in the mountains.

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 The bible tells us that there were so many Midianite people it looked like swarms of grasshoppers in the land. It also said they had so many camels you couldn't even count them.

 

What could the Israelite people do but run and hide?

 

You see, when people do not follow God, they become scared and try to run from their troubles. But, if we choose to listen to God and follow Him, he will help make us strong and face whatever trouble comes our way.

 

This doesn't mean we won't be scared from time-to-time. It just means that God is right beside us, leading us where we need to go to face and overcome our troubles and fears.

 

The Angel

During this time, a young man named Gideon lived in the land. He was an Israelite and his family was very poor. He was even the youngest in his family, but God had a very important, very special job for Gideon.

 

He was to defeat the whole Midianite army!

 

As Gideon was working one day, an angel appeared under an oak tree nearby. He began talking to Gideon telling him how important he was going to be and how it was going to be his job to defeat the Midianites.

 

What?!?

 

Gideon couldn't believe what the angel was telling him. How could he defeat so many people?

 

The answer was simple.

 

The angel, who was actually Jesus before he came to earth as a baby, said, "I will be with you."

 

The Lesson

What if Gideon hadn't listened to the angel of the Lord? What if he went about his business as he did everyday? What if Gideon didn't obey what he was told? What if he let fear control him?

 

The answer is simple - the Israelites would never have defeated the Midianites.

 

Because Gideon listened and obeyed, he led the small 300 men Israelite army into battle against the huge Midianite army and won!

 

Now, some of you will say, "But, Gideon lived in bible times. Or, Gideon wasn't afraid."

 

Both of these are true, but do you know what? Gideon was younger than the others. Gideon was poor. Gideon was scared. And Gideon was just like you.

 

The only difference in Gideon and people today is that Gideon listened to God and followed what he said. Even though we don't hear God talking to us like Gideon did (although, some people have), we have the bible. God's words are written inside so that we can have his words with us at all times.

 

Just like the verse above says, "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only". We need to stand strong in the Lord. We should always live like we know Jesus and we should always let others see we have Jesus in our hearts.

 

No one should ever look at us and wonder if we are Christians. They should be able to tell by our words and our actions.

 

 

 

 

 

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Follow God's Word Maze - Sunday School Activities

Here is a FREE maze to use as one of your Sunday school activities. It was developed to go along with the Gideon in the bible Sunday school lesson, but you can use it with any lesson you see fit.

If you like this maze, be sure to add your e-mail to the right so we can send you updates when new activities, games and lessons are available. We will ONLY use your e-mail for this site and if you decide you no longer wish to receive updates, it is easy to unsubscribe. Although, we hope that never happens.

 

Follow God's Word Maze

 

Make your way along the maze to get you (the stick person) to the Word of God.

 

 

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Bible Trivia Questions - Video

Here is a quick video to get you started on your next 'Bible Trivia' game. You can use the bible trivia questions in the video along with these trivia questions for FREE. It's amazing how much fun the kids can have with just some simple bible questions and some other kids.

You can also incorporate bible sword drills into the game for some added fun and learning.

I hope you enjoy this video. Be sure to subscribe so you won't miss out on upcoming bible game videos!

 

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Play Bible Trivia Using Bible Stories

Bible Trivia - Bible Verses
Photo:Vinicius de Carvalho Venâncio

Have you ever played a trivia game where you're trying to beat another person or a timer? It is fun and exciting. TV producers have even made hundreds of game shows using this same technique.

What makes these types of games so fun?

Basically, it is because you are racing against a clock or another person. You want to try to answer the question before the other team has a chance. You want to show that you know the answers, right?

I have to admit - I love playing the 'Family Fued' app on my children's iPods. It is fun to try to beat the clock!

Using this same type of system, gather up some bible trivia questions and get a game going! You can use this type of game with your Sunday school class, a Youth Group, a whole church congregation, or even invite surrounding churches for a full blown 'Bible Trivia Face Off!" (all in good fun of course).

Bible Trivia

Here are some bible trivia question about well known bible stories to help you get started. Use as many questions as you like during the game. Try to keep the answers short and sweet as it helps keep the game rolling along nicely.

These bible story questions have been taken from Daniel and the Lion's Den, Jesus Feeds the 5000, the 10 Commandments, and Ruth. Choose questions about bible stories you've been going over in class as it is fun for the kids to know the answers or at least most of them. You'll find they will become discouraged if there are questions about stories the majority of the kids have never heard before.

Questions and Answers:

1. What did Daniel do to get thrown into the lion's den? He prayed.
2. How many times a day did Daniel pray? 3 times (morning, noon, and night)
3. What was the name of the man whose field Ruth was gleaning in? Boaz
4. Who was Ruth's mother-in-law? Naomi
5. How many men were there when Jesus broke the bread and fish? 5000
6. How many loaves of bread and fish did Jesus start out with? 5 loaves of barely bread and two small fishes
7. How much food was left over when all of the people finished eating? 12 baskets full
8. What does the 10 Commandments say about being jealous? Do not be jealous of what others have.
9. What does the 10 Commandments say about lying? Never tell a lie.
10. What is the 5th Commandment about moms and dads? Always obey your mom and dad.

Watch a Bible Trivia Video for more trivia questions.

Find more bible trivia questions that following along with bible stories you've been discussing or make some up of your own. Be sure you decide how you'll play the game and about scoring before class begins.

You can have groups competing or you can let everyone compete as individuals giving the winner a ribbon, a new bible, or even a pack of gum. Whatever you choose, do it for the glory of God.

Bible Stories

Get the Ruth bible story for your kids or to teach your class.

 

 

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