Tag Archives: Eve

August 24, 2010 · 12:57 pm

Covered vs. Covered Up (Obj Lesson)


Time

10-15 minutes
Description

This object lesson teaches that we should not try to cover up our sin but instead recognize that it has been covered by the blood of Jesus.

Scriptures

  • Psalm 32:1-5; 103:12
  • 1 John 1:7

Materials

  • Foot air pump (like you use to pump up a bicycle tire)
  • Two large balloons (the same color)
  • Permanent marker with a wide tip
  • Piece of red felt or other fabric (at least 12”x12”)
  • Piece of dark blue felt or other fabric (at least 12”x12”)
  • Table
  • Tablecloth
  • Tape (duct tape is preferable)
  • Straight pin or push pin
  • Bible

Preparation

  • Set up the table at the front of the teaching area.  Try to elevate it so that it will be above the eye level of your participants.
  • Place the tablecloth over the table so that it hangs down to the floor and prevents participants from seeing what is happening behind it.
  • Write the word, “SIN,” on one of the balloons (while deflated) in bold letters so that participants will be able to read it when you hold it up.
  • Put the other balloon on the nozzle of the air pump.  You may want to tape it on to make sure that it doesn’t fly off when it gets some air in it.
  • Hide the air pump on the floor behind the table so that it cannot be seen.
  • Tuck the balloon that is attached to the nozzle underneath the tablecloth.  If you can get it to stay in the middle of the table, that’s great.  If not, you may need to tape the hose to the table.  Make sure that participants won’t be able to see the bulge caused by the air pump nozzle and balloon.
  • Lay the pieces of fabric and the 2nd balloon close by for use during the lesson.
  • Practice the lesson so that you are sure the participants won’t be able to see what you are doing behind the table.  (NOTE: if your air pump makes noise when you pump it, you might need to pump more slowly or oil the parts.)

Procedure

Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

  • “All of us sin sometimes, right?”  (Look for agreement.  If you don’t get agreement, you can have a volunteer read Romans 3:23.)
  • “God is not surprised when we sin.  He wants us to quickly admit it and start obeying Him again.”
  • “Unfortunately, what a lot of us do is we hide our sin from the people we love and even from God sometimes.”
  • “King David in the Old Testament was very close to God most of his life, but even he tried to hide his sin sometimes.”  (Ask volunteer to read Psalm 32:1-5.)
  • “David had done something very bad.  He had stolen something from a friend and then had his friend killed to hide what he had done.”
  • “For a long time after he did this terrible thing, he tried to hide it.”
  • “But then, a good friend of David’s – the prophet Nathan – came to David and told him that he knew AND GOD KNEW what David had done.”
  • “When David heard this from his good friend, He confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness.  Then he wrote this Psalm.”
  • “Notice that he says, ‘When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.’”
  • “David was saying that he was miserable the entire time he tried to hide his sin.”
  • “He was being eaten up on the inside even though he tried to pretend that everything was okay on the outside.”
  • “You see, many times when we sin, we are so afraid of what will happen if people find out that we try to hide it.”
  • “Sometimes we say that we hide the bad things we do and that it is like trying to ‘sweep them under a rug.’”
  • “Have you heard this expression before?”  (Look for responses.  If they haven’t heard it, explain that sweeping sins under the rug means that we try to hide them where people can’t see them – like sweeping dirt under a rug instead of really cleaning it up.)
  • “Let’s say that this balloon (show the balloon that isn’t attached to the foot pump) represents our sin.”
  • “When we are afraid of the punishment or consequences of our sin, we might try to ‘sweep them under the rug’ so that no one will be able to see our dirt, our filth.”  (Lay the balloon on the table at about the same spot where the hidden balloon is.  Then cover it with your ‘rug,’ which will be your dark blue piece of fabric.)
  • “But you know what happens when we try to hide our sins, to sweep them under the rug?”  (Listen for responses.)
  • “They GROW!”  (As you say this, begin to secretly pump air into the hidden balloon, letting it get bigger and bigger.)
  • “Sins are like mushrooms.  They grow best in the dark.”
  • “When we hide our sins, Satan will tempt us to sin more.”
  • “He will try to get us to lie about our sins and to do even bigger sins to hide what we’ve already done – like when David killed his friend just so that he wouldn’t have to admit that he stole something from him.”  (Keep pumping until the balloon is an impressive size under the dark fabric.)
  • “In darkness, our sins get bigger and bigger until they are impossible to hide.”
  • “Then, they start to show even though we’ve done our best to cover them up.”  (Pump balloon a few more times, until it lifts the cover so high that the balloon is clearly visible to everyone in the room.)
  • “But you know what?  God doesn’t want us to hide our sins.  He wants us to confess them.”
  • “In our Bibles, God tells us that he doesn’t want our sins covered up – He wants them covered!”
  • “You see, Adam and Eve tried to cover up their sin by wearing fig leaves, and the ancient Hebrews tried to cover up their sin by sprinkling animal blood over the box (the Arc of the Covenant) that held God’s law.”
  • “But neither of these were good ways to cover sin.”
  • “Fig leaves are itchy, and animal blood only covered up the Hebrews’ sin for a short time.”
  • “So, God provided a better way to cover our sins.  He sent His son Jesus.”
  • “When Jesus died on the cross, His perfect blood (perfect because Jesus never sinned) covered our sins for ever!”  (Cover the dark blue fabric with the red fabric.)
  • “In fact, the blood of Jesus does more than just cover our sins; it cleans them.”  (Have volunteer read 1 John 1:7.)
  • “So, it’s much better than just covering our sins.” (Have volunteer read Psalm 103:12.)
  • “How far do you think the east is from the west?”  (Listen to responses.)
  • “It’s pretty far, since the east and the west will never meet.”
  • “The blood of Jesus first covers our sins, and then Jesus removes them completely.”  (Use the pin to pop the balloon through the fabric.)
  • “Now we can understand what David says in his psalm.”  (Have a volunteer read Psalm 32:1-2.)
  • “We are blessed when our sins are covered by the blood of Christ.”
  • “So don’t try to cover up your sins; if you believe that Jesus is your Savior, then He has already covered them with His blood, removed them as far as the east is from the west and forgiven them so that they won’t count against you.”

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February 12, 2010 · 9:20 am

The Roman Road (LESSON)


Scriptures:
Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23
Romans 5:8
Romans 10:9
Romans 10:13

Description: Within the book of Romans, the author has given us a path toward salvation.  Some call it the Roman Road.  This lesson helps participants to memorize the Scriptures of the Roman Road so that they can share it with their friends.

Time: 45 minutes

Materials:

  • Printouts of the Roman Road pictures (You can find these on the Lesson Materials and Downloads page on www.teachingthem.com.  The file is called, “Roman Road – Cards.ppt.”  You will want one enough flash-card size sets for every person to have one.  To get this size, go to File, then Print on the Menu Bar of PowerPoint.  Then, under “Print What:,” choose Handouts (6 slides per page).  Change the slides that you want to print to “From: 2” and “to: 19.”  This will give each person three sets of the six pictures (one with just the chapter and verse, one with just the Scripture words and one with neither).  If you don’t want each person to have all three sets, choose just the ones you want.
  • Scissor or a cutting board to cut out the flash cards
  • Rubber bands or envelopes (one per person in your group)
  • Cut out the flash cards, and put them in rubber bands or in envelopes to make them easy to distribute.
  • Practice the lesson.

o  LCD projector, computer and screen to project the slides (if you don’t have these, you can print out full-sized versions of the slides to use as displays.)
o  Bible

Preparation:
o  Print all the sets of the flash cards
o Cut out the flash cards, and put them in rubber bands or in envelopes to make them easy to distribute.
o Practice the lesson.

Procedure:
Use the following script or modify to suit your needs:

  • “The author of the book of Romans gave very clear instructions about how we can be saved and go to heaven.”
  • “Several Scriptures in the book link together to give us the plan of salvation.”
  • “These Scriptures are often called “The Roman Road.”  (Show title slide.)
  • “There are two reasons for this.  The first is that the Scriptures are in the book of Romans, and they describe the path (or road) to salvation.”
  • “The other reason is called a play on words, or a clever way of using a familiar term in a new way.”
  • “The roads built by the Romans a few thousand years ago were famous around the world during the early church period, because they were all straight, paved roads that led back to Rome.”
  • “The Roman Road in Scripture won’t lead you to Rome, Italy, but it will help you to walk the straight path to Jesus Christ.”
  • “So calling it a ‘Roman Road’ is just a way to make it easier to remember.”
  • “I’m going to take you down the Roman Road, and we are going to memorize the Scriptures together.”
  • “That way, you will be able to share it with your friends if God provides you an opportunity to share your faith with them.”  (Show Romans 3:23 slide, and ask for a volunteer to read it out loud from his or her Bible.)
  • “This means that there isn’t anyone who has ever lived with the except of Jesus Christ who has lived without sinning.”
  • “Our sin makes us fall short of God’s glory, but God is perfect and without sin.”
  • “In the game of ice hockey, if a player breaks a rule, he gets sent to the penalty box, also known as the ‘Sin Bin.’”
  • “In the same way, when we break one of God’s rules, we have to pay a penalty in the ‘sin bin.’”
  • “We put ourselves into spiritual prison, and Satan is the prison warden.”
  • “He can keep us locked up, because we broke the rules.  God has given him that authority over sinners, because God is too holy to allow sinners into His presence.”  (Show Romans 6:23a slide, and ask volunteer to read just the first part of the Scripture from his or her Bible.)
  • “Wages are what you get paid for work you do.”
  • “This Scripture is saying that our payment for the work of sin that we have done is death.”  (RIP on the tombstones in the picture stands for “Rest In Peace,” which used to be a common sentiment when someone died.)
  • “We have earned death because of our sin, and there are two kinds of death that this Scripture is talking about.”
  • “First, there is spiritual death in our relationship with God.”
  • “Sin separates us from God.  It creates a giant chasm between us, and none of us can leap over that chasm to get back to God.”
  • “The second kind of death is the one we are more familiar with – death of our bodies.”
  • “Before Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they were going to live forever, but because of sin, they ruined their physical bodies.”
  • “What that physical body wears out of gets too sick or suffers a mortal injury, it dies.”
  • “So far, the death rate for human beings is just about 1 to 1 – one death for every life.”  (Exceptions might be Enoch and Elijah.  Show Romans 6:23b slide and have volunteer read it out loud.)
  • “This is a GREAT Scripture!”
  • “We earned death because of our sin BUT God has given us a gift – the gift of living forever with Jesus!”
  • “But notice that it’s a gift.”
  • “A gift is FREE!  There is nothing that you can do to earn it.”
  • “It comes from the generosity of the giver.”
  • “That means that we can’t earn our way into heaven; we can only receive it as a free gift from God.”
  • “Also, a gift is free, but you don’t have to accept it.”
  • “Millions and probably billions of people will live their lives here on earth and never accept the gift that Jesus bought for them.”
  • “Sometimes they don’t accept it, because they don’t know that it exists.  That’s why you have to tell everyone about the incredible gift Jesus bought for them.”
  • “Even more often, though, people don’t accept the gift, because they don’t trust the Gift Giver.”
  • “They think the gift is a trick or too good to be true or not worth having, so they don’t take it, and that’s a terrible shame, because Jesus was thinking about them when He bought it.”  (Show Romans 5:8 slide, and have volunteer read it out loud.)
  • “I said the gift was free, but that’s not totally true.”
  • “Someone had to pay for it.”
  • “It’s free to us, but it cost Jesus dearly.”
  • “Remember that I said that the wages of sin is death – the payment for our sin is that we have to die?”
  • “And remember that we are in the Sin Bin because we broke the rules and that Satan keeps the keys to our prison cell?”
  • “Well there is a way to pay the payment for our sin without us having to personally die.”
  • “In the Old Testament, the Hebrew/Israelites would kill animals to pay for their sins.”
  • “Animals could pay the debt we owed for our sin, because they were innocent and hadn’t sinned.”
  • “The problem with this arrangement, though, was that the death of the animal (really the blood of the animal) couldn’t clear our debt.”
  • “Animals are innocent, but that’s because they couldn’t sin if they wanted to – they don’t have the ability to choose to sin or to not sin.”
  • “So using their blood to pay for their debt was kind of like cheating.”
  • “It wouldn’t really pay for it.  It would just cover their debt for a year, but then the Israelite priests had to kill another animal to cover their sin again.”
  • “This had to happen every year, and they never really got out of Satan’s prison.  We just got to walk around the prison yard some. (joke – not meant to represent anything in doctrine)”
  • “In the end, Satan still owned us.  The Bible says we were his slaves.”
  • “We needed a better solution.”
  • “This is why Jesus came to live as a man on the earth.”
  • “He had to become like one of us and live a life completely free of sin.”
  • “That way, He qualified to pay our debt, because when He died, He didn’t have any debt of His own.”
  • “He took our punishment of death.  He paid our debt for us.”
  • “And the incredible thing is, He came and died for us ‘while we were still sinning.’”
  • “Who does something like that?”
  • “Do you give your friend money when he hasn’t paid you back the money you already gave him?”
  • “Do you buy your enemy a gift while he is cursing your name?”
  • “Nobody does that but God!”
  • “God loves us soooooooooo much that He overlooks our sin, our pride, our selfishness, our betrayal, and He pays the prison warden to get us out of prison!”
  • “That is an awesome God!”  (Show Romans 10:9 slide and have volunteer read it out loud.)
  • “I told you that what Jesus did was a gift and that you don’t have to take it.”
  • “But if you want to take it, this is the way to do it: confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.”
  • “That’s how you accept the gift.  That’s how you walk out of Satan’s prison.”
  • “You see, when Jesus died for us, He broke the lock off of the prison door.”
  • “Unfortunately, many people are staying in prison, because (like I mentioned before) they either don’t know the lock is broken, or they don’t trust the One who broke it off for them.”
  • “All they have to do is accept the gift Jesus bought, and they can walk straight out of that prison cell, but many choose to stay.  It’s very sad.”
  • “One way of summarizing what you have to do to be saved from the punishment for sin is A-B-C.”
  • “A is for Accept the gift that Jesus bought for you.”
  • “B is for Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.”
  • “C is for Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord!”  (Review A-B-C, Accept-Believe-Confess several times so that they remember it.  Then show the Romans 10:13 slide, and have a volunteer read is out loud.)
  • “This Scripture says that ‘Only God’s favorite people will be saved, right?’”  (They should respond with a loud, “NO!”)
  • “Only those who lead a good life will be saved?”  (Get them to respond with a loud, “NO!”)
  • “Only those who go to church every Sunday?”  (Allow responses.)
  • “Only those who give to the poor?”  (Allow responses.)
  • “Only those who help little, old ladies across the street?”  (Allow responses.)
  • “What does it say?  ‘EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!’”
  • “Halleluja!  That’s the best news you will ever hear in your life!”
  • “God doesn’t want to leave ANYONE behind!”
  • “EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!”
  • “You don’t have to be good looking or strong or smart or even good – God bought this gift for EVERYONE!  You just have to accept it!”
  • “On the cross, Jesus paid our entire debt!”
  • “Our bill is cancelled!”
  • “Satan has nothing against us!  He has no power to keep us in prison any longer!”
  • “That’s called the ‘Gospel!’  ‘Gospel’ means ‘good news,’ and this definitely qualifies!”
  • “That’s news so good you just HAVE to share it with somebody!”
  • “So I’m going to help you memorize this so that you can share it whenever God leads you to tell a friend or someone you meet.”  (Go through the next six slides slowly, allowing everyone to say the Scriptures out loud a few times before advancing to the next slide.  After the six slides that show the Scriptures, there are six slides with blank spaces where the Scripture or verse reference use to be.  See if anyone is brave enough to stand up and say it from memory.)
  • “Fantastic, but we need more practice, so I’ve made up some flash cards for each of you.”  (Hand out flash cards to each person.)
  • “I want you to find a partner and go through these flash cards to help each other memorize each step of the Roman Road.”
  • “You will notice that you have three sets of the six pictures.”
  • “One set shows the actual words of the Scripture.”
  • “One set shows just the chapter and verse reference, and the third set is blank – just the picture.”
  • “You can use whatever set you think you are ready to use.”
  • “If you don’t have anything memorized yet, use the one with the words.”
  • “If you kinda have the words, you might want to use the one with just the chapter and verse reference.”
  • “If you think you have it all memorized, use the blank flash cards.”
  • “Tell your partner which ones you want to use, and have him or her hold them up for you until you can say the Scripture.”
  • “Then trade, and you hold up the flash cards for your partner.”  (Ask for questions.  After you have answered them, have them start helping each other.  Allow ten minutes or so depending on time available.  Then give opportunities for individuals to come up front and recite all six Scriptures (if you count Romans 6:23a and b as two Scriptures).)

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April 19, 2009 · 1:11 pm

The Gift – A Biblical View of Sexuality (LESSON)


Time
3-4 hours (You may want to do this in segments of about an hour apiece.  The material easily breaks at the headings.  Of course, you are welcome to present only pieces of the material, as well.)

Audience
Youth and Young Adults – Please use caution and discretion when presenting this material.  It should not be presented without the knowledge and consent of parents and church leadership.

Description
This lesson helps youth and young adults to understand God’s plan for sex.  It shows that sex is a battlefield for the spiritual warfare between God and Satan and encourages kids to take a stand for sexual purity so that they can give the “gift” of sex to their life partner on the day of their marriage.

Materials
•    Participant guides – “Gift, The – A Biblical View of Sexuality – PG” (available on the “Lesson and Material Downloads” page.)
•    Pens/pencils for the kids to use to take notes
•    A box (about the size of a shoe box should be fine)
•    Ribbon and a bow
•    Tape for wrapping the gift
•    Assorted items to put in the box so that it makes noise when you shake it
•    A roll of duct tape
•    Whiteboard and markers
•    Note cards

Preparation
•    Make copies of the participant guides (one per person), and pass them out.
•    Put the assorted items into the box, and wrap it as nicely as you can.
•    At some point, I recommend giving a few note cards to each youth or young adult and allowing them to anonymously ask questions about sex on the cards.  You might want to hand out the cards before your lesson and explain their purpose, or you might want to wait and hand them out after the first or second parts of the lesson.  Collect the cards in an envelope or bag, and give yourself at least an evening to pray over them and formulate your answers.  I have found this to be a good exercise that allows them to ask some honest questions that are troubling them about sex.
•    Practice the script.

Procedure
Use the following script (or modify to suit your needs):

“The Gift”
•    “Today, we are going to talk about God’s view about sex.  Each of you has a participant guide and something to write with, so please take notes with me.”
•    “Let’s start at the beginning.  Can I get a volunteer to read Genesis 2:18-25 for me?”  (Select a volunteer to read.)
•    “Woman came from man.  It’s a beautiful picture.  Man and woman were once one.  Now, to regain that oneness, we need each other.”
•    “Notice that they were both naked and unashamed.  It was pure and good.  In fact, Genesis 1:31 tells us that God said, ‘it was very good.’”
•    “God gave Eve to Adam as a gift – a companion that was like him, a companion who he could share everything with – his thoughts, his emotions, his body, his spirit.”
•    “Sex was a crucial part of that gift, because it was through sex that the man and the woman experienced complete and total oneness – at least as complete and total as we can experience.”
•    “Well, a lot has changed about sex since God first gave it to Adam and Eve, but He still gives it to us as a gift.”
•    “In fact, it is one of the best gifts you will ever get in your entire life!”
•    “I can’t really even describe to you how incredible it is; it is precious and wonderful!”
•    “God is a giver.  He gets excited about giving us gifts – especially one as special as the gift of sex, but He doesn’t want us to open the gift until it’s time.”
•    “Remember when you were younger and Christmas was coming?”  (Pick up gift and hold it where it can be seen.)
•    “Wasn’t it exciting to see that gift under the tree?”
•    “To look at the gorgeous wrapping?  To shake the box?”  (Shake the box.)
•    “Did you ever want to just take a peek and see what was inside?”  (Wait for some responses.)
•    “Me, too.  Will any of you admit to having peeked at a gift or two during your lifetime?”  (Wait for responses.)
•    “Sometimes it just feels irresistible, doesn’t it?  You can’t stand not knowing what is inside that package.”
•    “But what happens if you peek?” (Pretend to peek behind the paper, and listen for responses.)
•    “Right.  Guilt, dread at being caught, a ruined surprise, no joyful Christmas morning.”
•    “Why is that?”  (Listen for responses – you are waiting for someone to say something like, “We took the gift before it was time” or “We got to see the gift in the wrong way.”)
•    “Exactly!  A Christmas gift has a specific time when it is supposed to be opened.”
•    “If you open it early, you ruin the surprise and the joy of discovery on Christmas morning.”
•    “While everyone else is saying, ‘Oooooh!’ and ‘Ahhhhh!’ and ‘Wow!’ you are feeling miserable and doing your best to fake excitement.”
•    “A very important part of my message to you today is that sex is like that Christmas gift.”
•    “It has a very specific time when it is supposed to be opened, and that is on the day of your wedding.”
•    “If you open it before then, you will ruin the surprise and take away much of the joy.”
•    “But if you can just wait until the right time, that gift will be a joy and a surprise to you and your spouse for the rest of your married life.”
•    “And there is another reason why you should wait to open it…because the gift is not really for you!”
•    “Sure, you have access to it, and you can open it if you want to, but it doesn’t belong to you.”
•    “That gift was given to you to cherish and protect until the day you give it to the person it really belongs to – your marriage partner.”
•    “God has given it to you, and you are the steward of the gift.  It’s your job to keep it safe and in excellent condition until that special day.”
•    “The good news is that someone out there has a gift that God gave them for you, too.”
•    “Hopefully, they are doing a good job of keeping it safe.”
•    “Some people don’t.  They take the gift and share it with other people….sometimes a lot of other people.”
•    “When you share the gift with anyone other than your spouse, you are doing something you have no right to do.”
•    “It’s not yours to share.   You’re just keeping it until it’s time to give it to its rightful owner.  You are just the steward, the keeper of the gift.”
•    “Think about it this way.  What if I had a gift to give you for Christmas, but before I gave it to you, I shared it with several different people?”
•    “I let them open the gift and use the gift, but then I decided that they weren’t the right people to share the gift with, so I took it back.” (Start unwrapping the gift.)
•    “Unfortunately, while they had it, they took off the nice wrapping paper.  They scuffed it up and dented it.  They used it for purposes it wasn’t intended for.”  (Continue unwrapping the gift.  Toss it around some, drop it and/or step on it.)
•    “So, when it’s time for me to share it with the one it was intended for, it’s no longer new and special.”
•    “Most likely, it is damaged in some way, and it could be damaged in such a way that it could even hurt the person I give it to.”
•    “I can do my best to rewrap it and cover up the dents and the scuffs and the tears, but I’m not going to be able to hide them for long.”  (Try to rewrap the gift in a hurried way.)
•    “How special would you feel if I gave you a gift that looked like this?”
•    “Would you feel like you were the most special person in my life?”
•    “Or would you be hugely disappointed?  …especially if you had saved my gift for me even though I shared yours.”
•    “Would you be just a little angry that I had shared your gift with strangers and let them do whatever they wanted to with it?”
•    “Well, you would have a right to be angry.  That would be incredibly insensitive and selfish of me.”
•    “We should do whatever it takes to protect the gift…to save it for that one person God intended it for.”
•    “But it won’t be easy.  I don’t know if you know it or not, but there is a war going on.”
•    “It’s a spiritual war between the armies of God and the armies of Satan, and one of their main battlefields is the gift of sex.”
•    “Satan wants to destroy the gift, and he is doing everything in his power to corrupt it, distort it, cheapen it, dent it, break it, twist it, poison it and pervert it.”
•    “To know why, we need to look at God’s purposes for sex.  There are three.  You can fill in the blanks in your participant guide.”

God’s Purposes for Sex – “POP!”

gods-purposes-for-sex-fg1
•    “Procreation – it means having children.  In Genesis 1:28 God commanded man to ‘be fruitful and multiply.’  He wants us to fill the earth.”
•    “Oneness – this is a mystery – no one knows exactly what it means, but through sex, two people become one – not just physically, but also spiritually, mentally and emotionally, as well.  Genesis 2:24 says that a man will ‘leave father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.’”
•    “Pleasure – this is the one people have the most trouble with.  Satan has so twisted our view of sex that many people think of it as dirty or bad, but it’s not.  It’s glorious and wonderful when it’s the way that God intended it.  Proverbs 5:18-19 says ‘May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.  A loving doe, a graceful deer – may her breasts satisfy you always, may you be captivated by her love.’ and the book of the Song of Solomon is a picture of the beauty and joy of the pleasure of sex between a married couple.”
•    “God wants us to enjoy the gift that he has given to us, and He doesn’t want us to feel bad about it.  He rejoices when a married man and woman give themselves fully to one another during sex.”

“The War”
•    “But remember, there is a war going on in the spiritual realm, and sex is at the middle of it.”
•    “Satan absolutely hates sex as God intended it, because of the three reasons we just covered.”
•    “When a married man and woman have sex, they create families and bring joy and hope into the world through the miracle of conception and birth.  Babies are full of potential, and when they are born to Christian families, they are likely to believe in the God of their mothers and fathers.”
•    “The closeness a man and woman experience during sex is the closest picture of the oneness of God in his three Persons.  We can actually understand this mystery much better when we experience the oneness of sex.”
•    “Finally, the pleasure that we feel during sex is offensive to Satan.  He doesn’t want us enjoying what God gave us.  That might lead us to feel gratitude and love for our Creator.”
•    “Satan hates sex, because it is powerful!  …the incredible gift of a loving God.”
•    “Let’s see where all this started.  Can I get a volunteer to read Genesis 3:1-7 for me?”  (Select volunteer to read.)
•    “Notice that the first consequence of Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was shame about their nakedness.  That’s a sexual consequence.”
•    “Satan’s first attack has a sexual consequence.  I think that is very interesting.  We should be asking, ‘What does sex have to do with the battle between Satan and God?’”
•    “Everything!  It’s a key battlefield!  Because of the three purposes God has for sex, it’s crucially important.”
•    “Now, there was nothing shameful about Adam’s and Eve’s nakedness.  Nothing changed in their bodies when they ate the fruit.  What changed was in their minds.”
•    “When they ate from the tree, they started to think about their nakedness differently than they did before.  This is where their shame came from.  Not from what God created but from what they did mentally with what God created.”
•    “So, this is Satan’s strategy.  He can’t do any damage to God, Himself, so he hurts the Creator through His creation.”
•    “By attacking us and the gift that received from God, Satan brings God grief.”
•    “And it didn’t stop in the Garden.  Satan is still attacking us and the gift.”
•    “I’m going to break you into small groups right now, and I want you to brainstorm all the different ways that Satan is attacking the gift of sex in the world today.”  (Break the kids into groups of 3-5, and have them brainstorm ways Satan is attacking the gift of sex.  They can write their answers on the second page of their participant guides.  If you need to give them a few ideas to get them started, mention pornography, sexual abuse, distorted views of what beauty is, etc.  Allow them five minutes to brainstorm, then have them share one idea per group until all ideas have been captured.  I recommend writing them on a whiteboard so that they can see the arsenal Satan is leveling against the gift.)
•    “Isn’t this incredible!  Can you believe how many different ways Satan is attacking the gift?”
•    “There was an interview with a veteran pilot who flew missions in Viet Nam, and he said something very interesting that I think applies here.  He said that you get the most flak (that’s the anti-aircraft artillery that you sometimes see exploding near planes on old war films) when you are over the target.”
•    “In other words, the enemy doesn’t bother to shoot at you if you are hundreds of miles from the target, but the closer you get, the more flak is coming your way.”
•    “When you are right over the target, he is going to fire everything he has at you.”
•    “Do you see what I’m pointing out?  Satan is launching all this firepower at the gift of sex.  That means it must be hugely, crucially important!”
•    “When we get close to God’s understanding of sex, we are threatening Satan’s strongholds.  We are right on top of what Satan doesn’t want us to discover.”
•    “Sex is a key battlefield in this spiritual war.”

“Rules for the Gift”
•    “God has set down some rules for the gift.”
•    “We don’t need to read them, but there are twenty-one rules for the gift of sex in Leviticus 18, and Leviticus 20 tells us what the consequences for breaking the rules will be – mostly death.”
•    “Basically, the rules are – no sex with…family, a woman during menstruation, someone else’s husband/wife, (related to) idol worship, persons of the same sex, animals.  I know, gross.”
•    “These are pretty good rules, but there’s no death penalty anymore – at least not physically.  What will die if you break the rules is your relationship with Christ and your ability to experience the beauty and wonder of the gift.”
•    “The New Testament is more appropriate for us to read about God’s rules for the gift.  Can someone read for us 1 Corinthians 6:15-20?”  (Allow volunteer to read.)
•    “Paul tells us that our bodies…are one with Christ…are the temple of the Holy Spirit…not ours….purchased at a price.”
•    “We are to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits.”
•    “Now, can someone read Ephesians 5:3-7?”  (Allow volunteer to read.)
•     “Okay, so we are not to allow even a hint of sexual immorality in our lives – not even sexual joking – because it is not appropriate for those who have been united with Christ.”
•    “Do you see the graphic on your third page?  Let’s fill that in.”

sex-uniting-god-with-fg

•    “God says that we are not to unite our bodies (or Him, because we are the temple for the Holy Spirit) with:
o    “Prostitutes, The Promiscuous (those that have sex a lot) or The Public (anyone other than our spouse)” – (Do duct tape example.  Invite several young men up, and put duct tape on their forearms.  This doesn’t work well in humid environments, so you might want to have some rubbing alcohol and a cloth close by to prepare the men’s arms.)
•    “This is a picture of what it is like to have sex.”
•    “The tape is now one with each man’s arm.”  (Then rip off the tape as quickly as you can.)
•    “When you are one with someone, and you separate, it hurts!”
•    “That person takes a piece of you with them that you will never get back.”  (Show the tape with the men’s arm hair stuck to it.)
•    “Now, if you unite in oneness with someone else, it’s going to be less ‘sticky.’”  (Reapply the tape to each man’s arm.  Then, rip it back off.)
•    “It’s easier to separate, but it’s also harder to create true oneness.”  (Reapply the tape and then rip off several more times.)
•    “The more you do this, the less ‘sticky’ (the less capable of true oneness) you will be.”
•    “By the time you marry, it may be very difficult for you to create oneness with your wife.”
•    “This is why God wants us to save our ‘stickiness’ (our oneness) for that one person.”
•    “Once you have lost your ‘stickiness,’ it’s very difficult (but not impossible) to get it back.”  (Thank volunteers, and allow them to return to their seats.)
o    “We should also not unite ourselves with ‘Our People (relatives), Our Parents or Our Progeny (our kids).”
o    “We shouldn’t unite ourselves (and God, remember) with ‘Porn.”
o    “…with ‘Persons of the same sex,”
o    “…or with ‘Perversions’ like animals and objects.”
•    “If you look at the list of things we are to avoid, it’s not really that difficult to follow God’s rules – especially if you never get started breaking the rules.”
•    “It’s when you cross the line that you get into trouble.”
•    “Once you cross it the first time, it’s much easier to cross it again…and again….and again…”
•    “So, that’s what God says we should stay away from.  Now let’s look at what He wants for us related to sex.”

“What God Intends”
•    “God wants us to experience the full beauty and joy of the gift of sex.  He’s given us some guidelines in Scripture that will help.”
•    “Can someone read for us 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8?”  (Allow volunteer to read.)
•    “So, we are to have no sexual immorality, and we should control our bodies.”
•    “We are unique in all of creation.  We aren’t like the angels or the animals that were created before us.”
•    “Angels are spirits without bodies.  They don’t have sex.  They don’t procreate. God didn’t create them to participate in sex.”
•    “Animals, on the other hand, have bodies and maybe spirits but not in the sense that they consider their actions.  They never worry about temptation or lust.  They just do what animals do – they mate when it’s time to mate.  It’s a simple response to a biological need.”
•    “We are between these two sets of created beings on the continuum.  We have both body and spirit.  We have the ability to consider our actions, to be tempted, to lust but also to resist that temptation.”
•    “Angels can’t have sex; animals can’t resist, but we can, and God calls us not to be angels or animals.”
•    “We are not supposed to completely abstain from sex (at least not most of us), and we aren’t supposed to have it whenever the urge hits us.”
•    “God calls us to control our bodies.”
•    “Some people act like angels, because they are afraid of awakening their desire.  This is okay if God has called you to be single and to devote your life to serving Him, but Paul says that most of us can’t do that.”
•    “Some people act like animals, because they feel that they can’t help giving in to their lust.  But this is settling for so much less than God has planned for us.”
•    “God wants us to have sex, but He wants us to control our bodies so that we don’t open the gift before it is time.”
•    “Now, can someone read for us 1 Corinthians 7:3-5?”  (Allow volunteer to read.)
•    “This Scripture is for married couples, but it’s good for you to know it ahead of time.”
•    “It says that the husband has authority over his wife’s body, and that the wife has authority over her husband’s body.”
•    “Neither of them has authority over his/her own body in marriage.  They are to submit to each other sexually, because depriving their spouse from sex might lead your spouse into temptation.”
•    “Remember, the gift is not for you; you’re just holding it for your spouse.  Part of that gift is your body.”
•    “When a married couple follows this teaching, there is such harmony in their marriage.”
•    “It teaches them to always think of their spouse first, and by doing that, they become one.”
•    “The more they put their spouse ahead of themselves, the more they look like Christ, who always put the Father’s will ahead of His own.”
•    “Marriage is a beautiful wonderful tool that God uses to shape us in His image.  The less we think of ourselves, and the more we think of our spouses, the more we resemble Him.”
•    “Finally, there is the Song of Solomon.  We’re not going to read it here, because, honestly, it’s very graphic.”
•    “God gives us a very erotic picture of sex between a husband and wife in this book, and you should know that it’s there as you get closer to marriage.  It will help you understand what God intends.”
•    “You will probably need a commentary to unlock its symbolism, but it doesn’t take much help before you start to realize how graphic the book is.”

“What If You’ve Messed Up?”
•    “But what if you’ve messed up already?”
•    “I know that there is incredible pressure out there on young people to have sex before you get married.”
•    “If you’ve messed up, I have to tell you that you can’t get your physical virginity back.  It’s just not possible.”
•    “The gift will not be new and perfect when you give it to your spouse on your wedding day.”
•    “But that doesn’t mean that it can’t be special and wonderful.”
•    “God can redeem any sin that you bring to Him.”
•    “All you have to do is confess it and repent of it – make a 180 degree turn and head the other direction.  Commit to cherishing your gift from now on, and God will bless your commitment.”
•    “On your wedding day, you will still have something very special to share.  It won’t be exactly as God intended it, but it can be the next best thing.”
•    “The important thing is that you’ve got to put an end to whatever you’ve done or are doing, and you’ve got to do it right away.”
•    “In the first chapter of Joel, God tells about His judgment on the people of Israel for their sin.”
•    “He sent armies of locusts to devour everything in their path, and they left the land desolate.”
•    “He says in Joel 1:4: ‘What the locust swarm has left, the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten.’”
•    “This is what happens to Christians who continue in sin that they know they shouldn’t be doing.  God disciplines His children, because He wants them to return to Him from their sin.”
•    “If you continue in sexual sin, the ‘locusts’ will do their work.  Your relationship with God will dry up; your prayers will stop receiving answers; your relationships with other people (especially those you are sinning with) will start to suffer…”
•    “But there is hope!  Restoration is closer than you think.”  (Have a volunteer read Joel 2:12-13 and then 2:25.)
•    “God says that if you will just turn back to Him, He will restore the years that the locust have eaten.  He will restore your relationship with Him and He will restore what you’ve lost in other areas, as well.”
•    “But the longer you persist in sinning, the longer and harder it is going to be to get back to God’s best for you.  God forgives you for your sins, but He will often allow you to suffer the consequences of them so that you will grow.”
•    “I would like to finish by telling you a story:”
•    “Maybe you’ve seen the e-mail that’s made several trips around the world or maybe you’ve heard the song. They are about a young girl who saw a string of gleaming white pearls at the dime store and fell in love with them.”
•    “They weren’t real, but to her, they were beautiful.”
•    “Working hard over the following weeks, she earned enough money (two dollars) to buy them and began wearing them everywhere she went – even to bed.”
•    “She only took them off for bath time, because her mother told her that they would turn her neck green if they got wet.”
•    “The girl’s daddy loved her immensely and would make time every night to put her to bed with a story and a kiss.”
•    “After finishing the story and tucking her in one night, her daddy asked her, ‘Sweetheart, do you love me?’”
•    “Enthusiastically, she answered, ‘Oh, yes, Daddy! Of course I love you!’”
•    “’Then give me your pearls,’ he said.”
•    “’Oh, no, Daddy! Not my pearls! But you can have Princess. She’s my favorite toy horse.’”
•    “’That’s okay, Sweetheart. I love you. Good night.’”
•    “He kissed her cheek and turned out her light as he left the room.”
•    “This exchange was repeated every night for a few weeks.”
•    “Each time, the young girl offered something other than her pearls, and each time her daddy patiently declined, kissed her goodnight and left the room.”
•    “Then one night, her daddy entered her room to find her sitting up in bed.”
•    “Her chin trembled, and a tear rolled down her cheek as she held out her pearl necklace to him.”
•    “’Here, Daddy. These are for you.’”
•    “With tears in his own eyes, her daddy reached out and accepted her dime store necklace.”
•    “Then, he reached inside his pocket and drew out a blue velvet case and handed it to her.”
•    “When she opened the case, she found a beautiful strand of genuine pearls.”
———-
•    “The story is such an accurate description of the exchange our Daddy wants to make with us if we are engaging in sexual sin.”
•    “Tight-fisted, we hang onto something cheap and unworthy of us.”
•    “The relationship might seem so important to us; it might seem like it’s the most important thing in our lives right now.”
•    “Maybe we aren’t sure how we can do without it…without him or without her.”
•    “Patiently, God continues to ask us to give it up.”
•    “Patiently, He listens to our excuses.”
•    “He waits for us to come to the point where we love Him more than we love this other person or this other thing and our sin.”
•    “When we do, He shares His plan for us, and it’s always ‘exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…’” (Ephesians 3:20, KJV)
•    “If you are in sexual sin right now, whether it’s a relationship or porn or something else, God wants you to know that it’s a dime store necklace compared to what He has planned for you.”
•    “The sooner you give it up, the sooner He can bless you with His best.”

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