Just as we are tempted, so was Jesus. After his baptism he was led out into the wilderness, where he was tempted like we all are. Exploring that passage is powerful (Mark 1:12-13 :¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,¹³ and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.), and this creative tool will help students go beyond understanding the story to applying it to their lives. This is part of the Lent Worship resource produced by Discipleship Ministries in the Rehab Series. For a discussion lesson that goes well with this activity, check out: Wilderness at (https://umcyoungpeople.org/the-latest/wilderness)

Download the “Top 5 Temptations We Face” PDF. You’ll need half as many copies as you have students.

• Break the group into pairs, and give each pair a handout and a pen.
• Have each pair complete the left side of the sheet, “What tempts us away from our faith.” They should put the top five there.
• After a few minutes, have the pairs exchange the pieces of paper, so that every pair has a sheet from one of the other pairs.
• Now have each pair fill out the right side, “How we can overcome this temptation,” with ways they can deal with the temptations that have been listed on the left side of the sheet.
• After enough time has passed, go around the group and give a couple of moments for each pair to share one or two of the temptations listed and how they would deal with each.

Example:
-Temptation of being too tired to come to church.
-Overcome the temptation by making a commitment to go to bed an hour earlier on Saturday evenings, which may mean not staying out as late with friends or not playing video games until the early hours of Sunday morning.