THE Man vs. Wild – January 18th/19th
Bible Story: THE Man vs. Wild (Jesus tempted in the wilderness) • Luke 4:1-13
(Supporting: Matthew 4:1-11)
Bottom Line: Discovering what God says helps me make the wise choice.
Memory Verse: “God has breathed life into all of Scripture. It is useful for teaching us
what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole
again. It is useful for training us to do what is right.” 2 Timothy 3:16, NIrV
Life App: Knowledge—learning something new so you can be better at whatever you
do.
Basic Truth: I need to make the wise choice.
Activity
Grid-Lock Marathon (application activity)
What You Need: Sample grid, bags of colored squares
What You Do:
Pair the kids up. Give partners a bag of the colored squares you prepared earlier. Give kids one
minute to arrange the squares in a 4x4 grid (4 squares across and 4 squares down). Explain
that the only rule is that the same colors can't touch or be in the same row.
After one minute, allow each team to ask one YES or NO question about the colors and
placement of the squares then make any necessary adjustments to their grids.
Next, give the kids an opportunity to look at the completed grid sample for 5 seconds then make
adjustments to their grids.
Continue the pattern of letting each team ask a question, adjust their grid, look at the sample
grid for 5 seconds, adjust their grid again, and so on until one of the teams has solved the
puzzle by matching your “Grid-Lock Sample” as seen below. If you need to hurry, extend the
amount of time teams can look at the completed grid.
RED
BLUE
GREEN
WHITE
WHITE
YELLOW
RED
BLUE
BLUE
GREEN
WHITE
YELLOW
YELOW
RED
BLUE
GREEN
What You Say:
“It’s amazing how asking a few questions or seeing
the completed puzzle gave you help in knowing what to do. The more questions you asked or
the longer you looked at the completed puzzle, the easier it was to know where to go with each
of your squares. That’s how it is when it comes to following God, too. The more questions you
ask your parents and others who follow God, the more you dig into the Bible, the closer you
follow what God says … the better your choices will be. Why? Because [Impress] discovering
what God says helps me make the wise choice. [Apply] Know what’s in the Bible well
enough so that when you’re tempted to make a poor choice, you’ll know what God wants
you to do. That was Jesus’ strategy when Satan challenged Him to do something completely
selfish. When you’re feeling weak, do what Jesus did: use God’s Word to point you in the right
direction. It has the power to make you strong.”
FOR LEADERS ONLY
GOD VIEW: the connection between KNOWLEDGE and
God's character, as shown through God's big story
From a young age, Jesus grew in His understanding of God’s plan throughout time. He studied,
asked questions, and listened to teachers. But all that knowledge didn’t stay inside of Him.
When it mattered most, Jesus was prepared for whatever tests Satan threw at Him. He taught
others the importance of building their lives on a strong foundation of knowledge of God’s Word
and putting that knowledge into practice.
Knowledge is discovering something new so you can be better at whatever you do.
Landscapers and gardeners have to know the needs of different plants. Professional athletes
need to know the rules of their sport. Professors need to know the subject matter they teach.
But the most valuable knowledge isn’t found in a textbook, manual, or Google search. The
knowledge everyone needs, no matter their profession or stage of life, is found in God’s Word.
The knowledge we glean from the 66 books of the Bible tells us how to live our lives day in and
day out. But that knowledge is not an end in and of itself. We can know all there is to know
about God, but if we don’t put any of our knowledge into practice it is worthless.
We believe that God’s Word is the best place to discover something new about our world and
ultimately ourselves. And when we put those discoveries into practice it changes us from the
inside out and impacts the choices we make and the way we live. God is the source of all truth.
We need to dig into His Word and discover that truth for ourselves.
This month, let’s think about how:
(1) The Bible is full of important information we need to learn.
(2) Having knowledge is not enough. You have to put that knowledge into practice.
(3) When we know what God says, we will know Jesus and His plan for our lives.
This week, we’re discovering:
In this week’s Bible story, Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13
Supporting: Matthew 4:1-11). But Jesus was prepared! He knew all of scripture and was ready
for any and all of Satan’s tricks.
Our Bottom Line is: discovering what God says helps me make the wise choice. When
Jesus was tempted, He was able to fight Satan with truth from Scripture. But His knowledge
wasn’t something He was born with. Just like you and me, He had to discover it before He could
use it. That’s why it’s important for us to find out what God says and know His Word well
enough to use it when we are tempted to do something wrong.
The monthly memory verse is: “God has breathed life into all of Scripture. It is useful for
teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making
our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right.” 2 Timothy 3:16, NIrV
When tempted by Satan, Jesus used Scripture to do the right thing. He knew its power and
made wise choices because of His knowledge.