Youth Group Lesson on Temptation

Over the last few years, I’ve changed my eating habits. For the most part, I eat really heathy. As a result, I’ve lost about 10 pounds of fat and have a lot more energy. Overall, I feel great.

My approach to resisting unhealthy food is the same approach many students in your preteen ministry take when resisting the temptation of sin.

However, that approach doesn’t work.

I created a 5 minute video unpacking this idea. I share what that approach is, and why it isn’t effective. I also talk about what approach works and why it works.

After you watch the video, be sure to scroll down and check out the free preteen ministry lesson on resisting temptation. It includes a fun opening game and great discussion questions.

Enjoy!

Nick Diliberto, Preteen Ministry

Youth Group Lesson for Preteens on Temptation

DOWNLOAD THE PDF OFTHIS LESSON

Bible: I Corinthians 10:13, Psalm 119:11, Galatians 5:19-21

Bottom Line: Temptation is a part of life, but God is faithful and will always help us to overcome it.

OPENING GAME: Maze of Choices

Supplies/Preparation Needed

• Using blue painters tape, create a maze on the floor.
• Write down temptations preteens might encounter on a blank sheet of paper. One temptation per piece of paper. (ex: lying, cheating, being mean to your brother, etc).
• Place the sheets of paper throughout the maze.

Give students a few minutes to go through the maze (stay between the lines). The goal is to exit the maze within the time allowed.

After the game say:

Life can be like a maze. It can be confusing and we can sometimes feel lost. Today we’re going to be talking about how to overcome temptation.

You might have noticed many temptations throughout the maze. We’ll talk about those in just a minute.

TEACH

The Maze Runner – The Movie

On September 19, 2014, a 20^th Century Fox movie came out entitled The Maze Runner (the sequel came out in August/September of 2015).

Note: The Maze Runner movie is rated PG-13, so be careful about mentioning the movie to preteens. It all depends on your comfort level of talking about the movie. You can use this lesson without referring to the movie.

In this action-packed adventure film, a teenage boy wakes up in an elevator (called the Box) with no memory of his name, where he comes from, or where he is. As he exits to an outside field, he finds himself in a confined community with other teenage boys, living in a compound, prisoners inside the center of a gigantic maze that completely surrounds them.

The boy starts to slowly remember things, and during a campfire fight one evening with another teen boy, he somehow recalls his own name, Thomas. Through reoccurring nightmares and various strange events, Thomas soon finds out that there are things about this weird place of confinement that are beyond his imagination.

The other boys, who are also held, have been trying for three years to escape but every time someone tries, they meet their deadly fate with the Grievers, which are venomous monsters that literally eat them alive.

There is only one way out of this compound, and it is through the maze, which has twists and turns that shift and change directions every night. This has made it impossible to escape. Any boy who has ever tried to escape the maze has run into the Grievers. Most of these boys did not survive.

Now that Thomas has entered the compound, he’s determined to find a way out but soon discovers that escaping may be more difficult than he ever imagined. The movie is based upon the best-selling novel by James Dashner.

The events that take place in the movie The Maze Runner are similar to what takes place as we enter the mazes of our lives. There is only way out, and it is through the twists, turns and winding roads of choices we are destined to make. We will inevitably run into Grievers, which are temptations, and it’s up to us to figure out how to overcome them.

The good news for us is that we have a map or blueprint that helps us along the way. It is the word of God, and our way out is through Jesus Christ, who gives us the power to overcome every temptation.

Spoiler alert: In the movie, Thomas and several other boys did eventually find a secret compartment called the Map Room in the center of the maze that had cryptic messages written on stacks and stacks of papers. After sorting through the piles of secret messages and learning how to get past the Grievers, a few of the teenagers were able to flee the horrifying snare of the maze. They successfully made it through, conquering the Grievers (the temptations), once and for all.

Everyday Mazes

Have you ever been tempted to do something that you knew was wrong? Have you ever experienced the anxiety that comes along with a tempting thought? It’s like you feel excited and scared at the same time.

Your heart beats fast and your mind is racing while you’re trying to decide whether or not to do whatever it is.

Let’s just say you’re at school, walking down the hallway. It’s crowded with hundreds of students going from one class to the next. You see a young lady in front of you drop a $20.00 bill.

No one else seems to notice, so you quickly pick up the money. And in that instant, you have to make a decision.

Do you catch up with the girl who dropped it, or slide it into your own pocket and pretend that nothing happened? Tempting, huh?

Or what do you do when your favorite TV show goes off one Friday night and you realize that you’re not sleepy?

As you’re scrolling through the channels looking for another movie to watch, you run across advertisements with adult content. No one is in your bedroom except you, so do you stop and watch the commercial or keep going?

Your heart beats fast (which is a common reaction to temptation) and there’s a curiosity inside of you that says, “Just look at it. You’re not doing anything wrong by watching a silly old commercial . . .”

This is what I call temptation 101, a class that many people fail. It’s easy to do the right thing when people are looking at you, but how do you handle the test when no one is around?

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Temptation (which can also be described as a test) comes when we are faced with the choice to do the right thing or the wrong thing. Temptations are a part of life, but God is faithful and will always help us to overcome them.

Now what does the scripture in 1 Corinthians mean by no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind?

It simply means that everyone is tempted to do wrong because we are human, and it’s in our human (fallen) nature to desire sinful things.

And by everyone I mean everyone. You, me, our parents, people at your school, the pastors at our churches, the president of the United States, everyone!

Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:19 (NLT)

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 

Note: You might want to not read “sexual immorality” phrase when reading it to preteens.

What are the temptations that are common (or familiar) to mankind? These are things that are contrary to God’s word that every human being may be tempted to do at some point in life.

They are the lusts of our flesh, which can be found in the scripture above. The interesting thing about these common temptations is that they can be appealing, and sometimes even fun (in the beginning).

For whatever reason, it often feels exciting or adventurous to do something that you shouldn’t do. That’s what makes it so tempting.

If you’re with a group of friends who decide to go to Dairy Queen for some ice cream sundaes, that’s fun isn’t it?

But say your friends all want to eat inside and make fun of other customers while they’re enjoying their Blizzards and DQ burgers and fries. You know this behavior isn’t right, but a part of you notices how funny your friends are acting and how they’re laughing and joking, so you choose to join in.

Now you could have said, “Hey guys, let’s not do this; it isn’t right,” or maybe you could have excused yourself. But if you choose to sit there and make fun of people with your friends, you just gave in to the temptation.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:11 (NIV)

“Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Now although temptation is a very powerful thing, God has given us an escape plan that will help us get out of compromising situations. God’s escape plan for us is the instructions we find in His word.

The Bible says in Psalm 119:11:

“Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

This simply means that as we study and learn more about the word of God, we are making a deposit into our spirits (or our hearts). It’s just like having a bank account; you can only withdraw money that has first been deposited.

Every time you are faced with making a choice to do right or wrong, God will remind you of His word that has been deposited in your heart, and if you will listen to His voice you can make the choice not to fall into sin (or withdraw).

We are totally unable to endure temptation on our own. We cannot stand against the pressure of sin without the help of God. He is the only one who gives us strength, and if we follow His blueprint, we will be able to stand. He is the Master of the Maze.

I need a volunteer.

Before you is the maze you went through earlier.

This maze represents your life.

Have the volunteer walk through the maze and hit all the temptations along the way. As the volunteer approaches each temptation, hold it up for everyone to see.

For each temptation, ask:

• What is appealing about this temptation?
• What is dangerous about this temptation?

When you’ve gone through all the temptations, have the volunteer sit down.

Say:

As you travel through the maze of life, you’ll be faced with temptations of all kinds.

You will have to make a choice whether or not to fall into the tempting moment or to say no and move forward.

It may be easy at first, but it will get more difficult as time progresses.

Has someone ever lied about you before? Do you remember how painful it was and how vulnerable it made you feel? When someone lies about you it makes you feel horrible because people will look at you differently.

And it may take a while for the truth to come out, which adds to your misery because you know in your heart that what the other person said about you was not true.

So you try to explain and justify yourself, but if you can learn to give these situations to God and ask Him to reveal the truth, He will. It may take time and may not happen when you’d hope, but God will always allow the truth to be revealed.

Lust and envy derive from wanting someone or something so bad that you’ll do anything to get what you want. Have you ever wanted someone or something so bad that it drove you crazy?

It’s Monday morning, second period, World History and everyone is taking their seats. After roll call, Ms. China (your teacher) passes out test papers and instructs everyone to take out their pencils, be quiet, and to do their best. You did not study over the weekend, and you’re seriously thinking about cheating.

Instead of taking the time to study and prepare for the exam, you went to the movies, stayed up late playing X-box, or whatever you do.

You chose not to go over the material Ms. China gave you last week.

Now it’s the day of the test, and you’re not ready. So you decide to cheat because you NEED a passing grade, when in reality, all you had to do was buckle down and discipline yourself to study.

Then you could have received a passing grade without taking the risk of cheating, maybe even getting caught and ultimately failing the class.

The temptation to do things you know you shouldn’t do is something you will face the rest of your life but as you mature, you will come across different levels of tests; that’s a guarantee.

There’s no way around it. We are all tempted, but God is so faithful. He promised to help us along the way. We are not in this alone. We do not have to fight temptations by ourselves. God’s word is jam packed with promises of protection.

If we will take the time to read His word and develop a relationship with Him, we will find that when we feel weak, He is always strong.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

1. Have you been tempted to do something wrong lately?
2. How did you handle it?
3. Did you notice or recognize God’s escape plan during the temptation?
4. Do you know what it means to hide God’s word in your heart?
5. Have you seen the movie The Maze Runner, and if so, can you relate to Thomas and his friends trying desperately to escape the maze and the Grievers? (optional question).
6. Have you ever felt like you were trapped in a maze of decisions?
7. What has been the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make in your life?
8. Which of the temptations that are common to mankind have you experienced?
9. What does it mean that God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear?
10. Do you believe that having a relationship with God will help you during your moments of temptation? If so, how?

TEACH CLOSE

Learning how to overcome temptations is very important for every Christian.

It is important for adults too, as we have tempting moments also, and we all must learn how to depend on God for the strength to stand strong.

A temptation is a strong urge to do something contrary to the word and will of God. A tempting thought or feeling is almost always followed by a totally different thought or feeling that is in direct contrast.

Some people call this their gut feeling or their conscience. I like to believe that it is the voice and spirit of our loving Father, giving us the ‘way out’ that He promised in His word.

It’s also good to know that whenever you are tempted, it will not be beyond your ability to say no or walk away because the Bible says that God will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bare or handle.

That puts this temptation concept in a whole new category. It means that we are genuinely able to overcome any temptation as long as we are totally surrendered to God, look for the escape door, and actually take it.

End lesson.

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