Free Children's Ministry Curriculum Written by Sheryl Coats
Bugs Bugs and More Bugs
Hillbilly Days
Wonderfair
The Wacky Worship Workshop
The Celebration Medical Centre
The Celebration City Courthouse
Growing in God's Garden
The Armour of God
The Wild Wild West
Welcome to the Celebration Medical Centre.
The set: set up the room like an emergency room.
This week: We will discover that in order to avoid spiritual emergencies we need to resist temptation.
To teach the children that:
It sometimes seems to get old to review the rules week after week, but it is very important to do it anyways. Consistency is the key to effective discipline.
Remember to spend time in prayer this week for the children in our service. God is able to do great and powerful things when we seek his face. God has great things in store for us this week. HAVE YOU BEEN FAITHFUL TO SEEK HIS ANOINTING AND LEADING? We have been given a great responsibility!
Characters needed: Three stooge doctors, a patient, and Bobo the puppet.
A patient runs in with a large hook stuck in his mouth. He can't talk, only mumble hysterically. The three doctors try all kinds of weird things to remove the hook. For example. They try pulling, pushing, sawing with a large saw, they try to decorate it so it is not so noticeable, etc. They finally remove the hook and ask the patient why he was trying to eat a hook. He explains that he was at the pond and saw a fishing pole sitting there with a delicious piece of chocolate cake attached to it. He just couldn't resist taking just a nibble, but it was so good he couldn't see it going to waste on a smelly old fish so he kept eating and before he knew it he had been snagged by the hook.
Tug of war. Select volunteers to participate in tug of war battles. It is easy to illustrate temptation with this game and kids almost always enjoy tug of war. Place one person in the middle of the rope. Then fill both sides with kids to pull. Explain that one team represents a particular sin and the other represents what God wants desires. Allow the kids to begin pulling to demonstrate how Satan pulls at our hearts trying to get us to do things that are wrong. If you want to demonstrate further that if we have God on our side you can then allow a strong adult to help out on the team that represents good.
Temptation tag: Allow one of your leaders to be a dentist. He stands in the middle and cannot move his feet, but can bend and reach. The children must try to get as close as possible and grab a piece of candy from the floor around his feet. The leader tries to tag the children before they can reach the candy. If a child is tagged they must sit down. When everyone has been tagged have the kids return to their seats. Explain to the kids that flirting with temptation is dangerous. We may get away with it once in a while (like getting a piece of candy without being tagged), but eventually you are going to get caught. We need to stay as far away from sin as possible.
( you will need a large pretend injection) The three stooge doctors are about to perform an operation. (Perhaps you might have them operating to remove the chocolate cake from the previous patient who has now come in with a terrible stomach ache) The lead stooge doctor tells the other doctors not to touch the anaesthetic injection he has left on the table. He will be right back to help the patient. The other doctors decide once he is gone that they are big enough and good enough to give an injection and decide to touch it anyways. However, they both want to do it and end up fighting over it and one accidentally injects the other doctor who falls to the floor out cold from the anaesthetic. The lead doctor comes back in and says "I told you not to touch that!!" Explain to the children that God has told us what he doesn't want us to do. The bible is our guide for living. It tells us how God wants us to act. We need to resist temptation to disobey Gods word.
Memory verse: James 4:7
Puppet show:(Bobo comes up covered with chocolate pudding on his mouth)
Bobo: Howdy!
Leader: Hello Bobo.
Bobo: Say, what happened to you?
Leader: nothing happened to me. Why do you ask?
Bobo: Well, you look like you swallowed a watermelon, make that a couple of watermelons.
Leader: Bobo! That is terrible.
Bobo: Well, if the fat fits you must be wearing it.
Leader: Bobo!! I am not fat.
Bobo: Oh yeah??? Well, when you went to the doctor last week, why did the scale say "ouch! One at a time please"?
Leader: Bobo, doesn't your conscience bother you when you say terrible things like that?
Bobo: Nope, I don't think so.
Leader: what do you mean you don't think so?
Bobo: Well, how can something bother me if I don't know what in tarnation it is?
Leader: Your conscience is that little voice you hear inside you that says "don't do it. It's wrong to do that" Have you ever heard that little voice Bobo?
Bobo: Ohhhhh yeah. I've heard that little voice before.
Leader: When?
Bobo: When what?
Leader: Oh Bobo! When have you heard that little voice?
Bobo: Well, last week I heard that little voice when I was at school.
Leader: You did?
Bobo: that's what I just said isn't it?
Leader: Of course it is what you just said. I want to know what the voice told you.
Bobo: well, why didn't you say so? I was at school and I was really hungry so I was about to steal Robert's Twinkie and I heard that little voice say "you better not do that"
Leader: so did you do it anyways?
Bobo: Of course not.
Leader: I am really proud of you Bobo for listening to your conscience.
Bobo: I took Julies snicker bar instead. (Bobo snickers)
Leader: That is absolutely terrible.
Bobo: yeah it was kind of stale.
Leader: I meant it is terrible that you yielded to temptation like that. By the way, I just got a phone call from Mrs. Mary this morning.
Bobo: OH yeah???
Leader: Yes, as a matter of fact I did. Did you take that pudding over to her like I told you to this morning?
Bobo: I sure did. I took it right over. Yep I sure did. Aren't you proud of me?
Leader: You know, Mrs. Mary said that the dish was half empty when you brought it over to her.
Bobo: Why I beg to differ with her on that one. I am sure it was half FULL!!
Leader: But Bobo, it was all the way full when I gave it to you. What happened to the rest of the pudding?
Bobo: Would you believe me if I told you that the big bad wolf jumped out of the woods and ate up half of the pudding?
Leader: No, I would not believe that story. You ate that pudding didn't you Bobo?
Bobo: Perhaps I did have just a little.
Leader: Why did you do that Bobo?
Bobo: I just love chocolate. It is all your fault, if you had made butterscotch I wouldn't have eaten a bit of it.
Leader: That is a pitiful excuse Bobo.
Bobo: Well, I was tempted and I can resist anything but temptation.
Leader: How in the world did you eat all that pudding? You didn't use your hands did you?
Bobo: Of course not. I do have my manners to think about. I thought I might be tempted so I took along a spoon. Now that is preparation!!
Leader: That is preparation to sin is what it is. What you did was wrong Bobo. You should never put yourself in a position to sin like that. We need to stay as far away from sin as possible. It is hard enough resist temptation without preparing to give in.
Bobo: I feel terrible now. I was really bad wasn't I ?
Leader: Yes, Bobo, what you did was a wrong. The bible tells us to resist temptation.
Bobo: I need to ask forgiveness don't' I?
Leader: You sure do. You need to ask God to forgive you and you need to ask Mrs. Mary to forgive you.
Bobo: You're kidding right? Just asking God is enough isn't it?
Leader: No, I am as serious as I get. You need to ask Mrs. Mary to forgive you.
Bobo: Oh alright. But first all this talk about food has made me hungry. I think I will go have a snack first.
Leader: Bobo!!!
Bobo: Ok Ok. I will go find Mrs Mary first and then have a snack. Good bye everyone. And remember, don't give into temptation!! It ain't worth it.
Doctor says is like Simon says. One of the doctors will call out things such as "the doctor says cough" or "the doctor says scratch your neck" (sneeze, stick out your tongue and say ahhh, pretend you have a broken leg, etc) When the doctor says "the doctor says" the kids must perform the task, however if the doctor neglects to say "the doctor says" and just says "scratch you neck" they must not do the task. Have the doctor move through these as quickly as possible. If the kids act when they aren't supposed to they are out and must sit down. When time is up or all the kids are out have them all sit down. Explain that we need to listen closely to God's voice. Satan is often trying to get us to do things we aren't supposed to.
Tell the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan. Tell the kids that every time you say Satan you want them to boo (be sure to tell them to stop booing when you hold your nose). Every time you say Jesus they are to cheer. Every time you say tempted they are to say Uh uh!!! No way!! Not gonna do it!!
(you will need a large sheet of newsprint, approximately 3-4 feet long and markers) String the paper across the front of the room. Write the number 911 in the middle of it. Tell the children that you want them to come forward and write something that causes them to be tempted on the paper. For example, I am tempted to take a piece of candy from the store. Be sure to have helpers there to assist younger kids who struggle with writing. Once the paper is filled up with things that cause temptation draw the kids attention to what is written on the paper. Review the story of Jesus being tempted. Why could Jesus say no to temptation? Explain that Jesus came to help us resist temptation. We can BREAK free from it because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. We can tear through the power of temptation and say NO! At this point you can begin to tear the paper into small pieces. We don't have to give in to temptation. Jesus gives us the power we need to tear temptation to smithereens.
Copyright 1998, Sheryl Coats
