JESUS WAS TEMPTED

Series Objective: At the end of the series, the kids will understand the significance of
the episodes in Jesus’ story– that Jesus made the right choices while on earth, in order to
make heaven available to those who believe. And with that, kids will appreciate the life
that Jesus lived and therefore live a life that also seeks to honor God.

Note to preacher: The series objective is just a guide for you. You do not need to mention
it when you preach.

PT: Jesus is our God who heals and saves us.

PV: John 17:2 And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life
to everyone you give him.

INTRODUCTION

We are now on the third week of our series, Jesus: Story Mode. On the first week, we
talked about Jesus as a child in the temple and then last week, our lesson was about the
time Jesus was baptized.

CONNECT

Let’s play guess the word. I will flash some “temptations” on the screen with missing
letters. Some of them aren’t bad, but could lead to sin, unhealthy bodies, or low grades. If
you know the answer, raise your hand; you’ll get 200 KC Bucks for correct answers!

1. Playing V _ _ _ _ G _ _ _ _
2. Eating C _ _ D _
3. Eating C _ _ _ _ O L _ T _
4. _ H _ A _ _ _ G on a test
5. W _ _ _ H _ _ _ too much videos on the internet
6. Getting very A _ G _ _

Great job identifying “temptations”! Our lesson today is about the time when Jesus was
tempted. Let’s watch the lesson video first…

VIDEO: Jesus was Tempted

Now, let’s take a look at the Scriptures . . .

WORD

Luke 4:1 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 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.’”
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

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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.’”
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.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

We all undergo temptations. Even Jesus Himself experienced it. But the biggest difference
was Jesus did not give in and fall into committing sin. How did Jesus prevent Himself from
sinning? Well, there are two things Jesus knew that I want you to learn today. These two
things can help us big time in battling with temptation.

1. Jesus knew His identity.

Luke 4:3 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.’”

Jesus knew His identity or who He is. The devil was totally tricking Jesus. Jesus is the Son
of God already! But then the devil said, “If you are the Son of God, do this……” In short,
the devil was twisting truths to turn them into lies. The devil was even using truths from
God’s Word but Jesus knows the Word so well, that’s why He wasn’t tricked. In that verse,
it showed that Jesus knew His identity.

ILLUSTRATION: Identification Documents

I will show identification documents on the screen and tell me what each are. Raise your
hand if you know the answer. I will give 200 KC Bucks for each correct answer.

1. School ID
2. Passport
3. Driver’s License
4. Company ID
5. Dog Tag

These items have information on our identities; but even without these, we already know
our names, gender, birthday, etc. We should know who we are because God has given us
parents who named us, He decreed the day that we are to be born, God has assigned our
nationalities, and many more.

So if someone tells you that you are ugly, don’t be angry or sad. You can be confident and
secure because God’s Word says that we are made in His image and likeness. Simply put,
how we look is based on God, our Creator. In the same way, if you were made Filipino (or
whatever nationality) by God, then that’s what you are! Your citizenship can change, but
you don’t have to hate your skin color or the country that you come from. If you
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understand that your identity was given by a powerful yet loving and compassionate God,
then you know what you are and you can enjoy it everyday.

2. Jesus knew God’s identity.

Luke 4: 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him
only.’”

Jesus knew who God is and that only God deserves to be worshipped. Our previous point
is all about us being a creation by God, our Creator. This one, knowing God’s identity, is
about understanding that as His creation, we are to worship no other God except Him.

ILLUSTRATION: Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is known to have started the biggest tech giant in our time – Apple. Apple
brought us iPhone, Macbook, iPad, AppleTV, AppleWatch, iTunes, AppStore and a whole
lot more. Apple was doing great when Steve Jobs came in in 1997; but it became even
bigger, up until 2011, when he died. A lot of people were worried because the creator of
these modern hi-tech gadgets just died. People believed he’s the only one who can make
such things and can build a whole future of hi-tech gadgets. People who were die-hard
fans were so sad. Yes, there are people who idolized him so much to the point of worship.
They are just like pop-star fans who will spend a fortune to watch their idol’s concert.

For these Steve Job fans, the future is not clear because the Apple creator, their idol,
died. For us, our Creator is eternal. God is forever existing and will exist forever - until
eternity! He is so mighty and powerful. He deserves our worship. We should be giving our
all to a great big God who is also personal and loving at the same time!

PRACTICE

We talked about knowing our own identity and knowing God’s identity. But if you were to
choose between both, knowing God should win, hands down. As you get closer to God and
know Him more, your own identity will be so much clearer. As you read the Bible to learn
more about God, you will see your own purpose and understand His plan for your life as
well. So with that, I will tell you the same thing, read your Bible!

POINT TO JESUS

Jesus was tempted three times in the wilderness. The devil tried to show Him the easy way
out so He will not have to die on the cross. But Jesus loves us so much that even if it was
the more difficult thing to do, He resisted temptation so He will be worthy to die on the
cross and save us from our sins.

PT: Jesus is our God who heals and saves us.

PV: John 17:2 And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life
to everyone you give him.

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HUDDLE TIME

1. Do you have any questions or doubts regarding your identity?

2. Name two things that you have been doing in order to know God more.

TEACHER’S DEVOTIONAL

Temptations come in different forms. For some, it may be as simple as consuming food that
you are not allowed to have while for others, it may be a habitual lifestyle that you have
been wanting to stay away from but have not been able to. We fight with all our might and
yet, we come up short. We succumb to it and we feel like failures.

Not many realize it but when faced with temptation, we are in a real battle, one we have to
fight. How? We fight by using God’s Word, just as Jesus did in the wilderness. We fight by
praying, by fleeing or avoiding situations where we know we will be subjected to the same
temptations. Our fight is not a physical war but a spiritual one and only by relying on God
can we come out victorious.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others
experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can
stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. “

Are you struggling with a situation where you want to break free from and yet have been
unable to? Run to God whenever you feel tempted to go back. He knows and understands
what you are going through. He will save you.

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