The Collective Worship Resource - from the Culham Institute in association with The National Society

Lent: Jesus faces temptation

AGE: Infants and Juniors

THEME: Lent: Jesus faces temptation

PREPARATION:

You will need

A box of 'Celebrations' chocolates.
Large felt or plastic letters to spell 'feasting' and suitable background (or write the words on a flip chart).
A stone and a bread roll, about the same size.
A picture of the Judean wilderness - one is provided to print on to an OHT.
A bowl of water to pour and an empty bowl to pour it into.
A good reader.
Children to play the recorder for the tune of 'Forty Days and Forty Nights', with verse one of the hymn on OHP.

DEVELOPMENT:

Involve the children. Hold the chocolate box in your hand as you talk and ask questions:

What do we celebrate each year when we remember the day we were born? (Birthday).
Whose birthday do we celebrate at Christmas when we give presents to each other? (Jesus).
What do we call the celebration of the time when Jesus rose from the dead? (Easter).

Get the children to offer ideas of other celebrations, e.g. Grandma's 70th birthday, weddings, baptisms, Eid, Divali etc..

Explain that celebrations are times of feasting, fun and sometimes giving presents. They are ways of REMEMBERING something important or special that happened perhaps a long time ago - even before we were born.

Tell the children that at this time of year, starting on Wednesday [if this is held in the week of Ash Wednesday] Christians remember something important that happened to Jesus. It was something that was very hard for him. It wasn't a time of celebration. It lasted 40 days and 40 nights - that's almost half a term. This time is called Lent. Although it wasn't a celebration, it was an important time in Jesus' life, which is why Christians remember it.

Take the children briefly through the events before Jesus's ministry began: how he was a carpenter until he was thirty and how he was baptized by his cousin John. Explain that people went to John to listen to him telling them about how to live as God wanted them to, thinking of others and not always pleasing themselves. John baptized them, dipping them into the water of the River Jordan and pouring some on their heads (slowly pour some water from bowl to bowl as you speak) to show that they could be clean from the wrong things in their lives. The people who were baptized wanted to show that they were truly sorry and wanted to change. Jesus had done no wrong things. But he came to be baptized to show he was like other people. When he was baptized something amazing happened. Let's listen.

READING:	Matthew 3:16,17 (from the Good News Bible or NIV)
LEADER:	This was before Jesus had done any miracles or healed people or taught them about God. Now a voice from heaven said he was God's Son and God was pleased with him. You'd think it was time to tell everyone and celebrate. But no! Let's hear what happened next.
READING:	Matthew 4:1,2
LEADER:	Into the desert! No celebration. No feasting - but... fasting (turn to the board/chart and remove the 'e' as you speak. Then show the picture of the desert). And the desert was a hard place to stay, not like home. There were very hot days. Very cold nights. No people, no shops, no food, no houses, no beds, no fun, no celebration. Then, after forty whole lonely days and nights with no food, Jesus was weak and tired and hungry. He was probably beginning to wonder if he really had heard a voice from heaven telling him he was God's Son... and then he heard another voice. Listen.
READING:	(from hidden voice) Matthew 4:3,4
LEADER:	So Jesus knew what temptation was. He believed what God said was more important than food. He knew he could turn a stone (show) into bread (show) if he wanted, but he also knew that his special power from God was for other people, not for himself.

Explain that some Christians want to show they are sorry for the wrong they do - called sin - and that, just as people came to John to be baptized, they go to church on Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. During a special ceremony some ash from last year's burnt palm crosses (show) is put on their foreheads (demonstrate) and they pray for God to forgive them and help them to do good things. During Lent, some Christians decide to make a special effort. They may decide to go without some meals, like Jesus did. Can the children remember what this is called? (Show the word again). Or sometimes people give up something special for the forty days of Lent - like chocolates (hold up box) and use the money for giving to a charity.

It is a way of remembering to say 'no' when tempted to do something that God would not like.

REFLECTION / PRAYER:

Suggest that everyone thinks of Jesus struggling through the desert as the recorder players slowly play the tune of 'Forty Days and Forty Nights' twice.

O Lord, help us each day to learn what is right.
Protect us when we are tempted to do wrong things.
Help us to remember that Jesus understands, because he was tempted too, but that he didn't give in.
Amen

MUSIC:

'Seek ye first the Kingdom of God' (Mission Praise, 590)