Are You Tempted?
Lead us not into temptation
by Vicky Scott (revised, originally published in 2010)
Suitable for Whole School (Sec)
Aims
To consider the message behind the Christian period of Lent.
Preparation and materials
- Optional: you may wish to use the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Are You Tempted?), in which case you will also need the means to display them.
- Optional: you may wish to use some reflective music during the ‘Time for reflection’ part of the assembly. An example is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQpIVZ3SVgY (over 2 hours long)
Assembly
- Ask the students whether any of them know what Lent is, or when it starts.
Have any of them ever given up anything for Lent? If so, what? Was it difficult? What did they learn as a result?
You may wish to encourage discussion in small groups. - The word ‘Lent’ comes from an Old English word that means ‘lengthen’. The Christian festival of Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer. It remembers the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert, during which time he was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4.1–11).
Lent encourages Christians to think about how to improve their relationship with God - we can think of it as a sort of spiritual spring-cleaning. It begins on Ash Wednesday, which is on 2 March this year. The day before is called Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, when lots of us make pancakes to eat. Traditionally, making a pancake mixture was an opportunity to use up luxury food items such as eggs and butter, which were denied to people during the 40-day fast of Lent. - During Lent, many Christians take the opportunity to deny themselves something that they normally enjoy, to help them to gain a better understanding of Jesus’ life of service. Nowadays, only a small number of people actually fast for the whole of Lent, although some maintain the practice on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
- There are three traditional practices that are encouraged during Lent:
- prayer (justice towards God)
- fasting (justice towards self)
- giving to charity (justice towards neighbours)
Nowadays, people might aim to give up a bad habit or take up something that will bring them closer to God. They might also give the time or money that they spend on doing that to charitable purposes or other organizations. Sometimes, people use Lent as a time to begin something positive, such as helping with a voluntary service or performing acts of kindness. - According to the Bible, during Jesus’ time in the desert, he was tempted three times by the devil. First, the devil told Jesus to use his powers to relieve his hunger and turn stones into bread. Next, he challenged Jesus to put God to the test by throwing himself off a tall building so that angels would rescue him. Finally, the devil offered Jesus the whole world if Jesus would worship him rather than God.
The Bible teaches that temptation in itself is not wrong, but giving in to temptation is dangerous because it leads to breaking God’s rules for the best way to live. We learn from the story that physical satisfaction no matter the cost, the longing to be popular and the desire to be powerful are all big temptations that may face us today. Christians believe that Jesus experienced the same temptations that are common to us all. - Companies often use the theme of temptation in their advertising. They promise that if we wear a particular deodorant, we will attract others to us, and if we wear certain trainers, we will run faster or become more popular. Likewise, food companies seek to attract us to buy from certain shops or eat certain things. Temptation is used in this way to make a product more desirable.
- Ask the students the following questions.
- How do adverts try to tempt you?
- Have you ever seen an advert for something – a chocolate bar or a necklace, say – and then gone out and bought it?
You may wish to encourage discussion in small groups.
Time for reflection
Optional: you may wish to play some reflective music.
Ask the students, ‘What are we most tempted by?’
Do we find it tempting to lie to make ourselves look better? Are we tempted to cheat in exams? Are we tempted to gossip to our friends when someone has told us something in confidence that’s very personal to them?
Pause to allow time for thought.
When we give in to temptation, how do we feel? At first, we may feel pleasure, but the Christian faith teaches us that eventually, we will feel regret, guilt and pain.
Giving in to temptation is often the easy option. Each of us may be tempted by different things and it may be difficult for us to resist. The level of temptation is greater the more a person desires a particular thing. Someone who is trying to give up smoking may be tempted to have a cigarette if others are smoking nearby. Likewise, if a relationship is going through a rough patch, the idea of having an attractive new partner may be an offer that is hard to resist.
Pause to allow time for thought.
However, when we are faced with temptation, the message of Lent is that there is a way out for us: we aren’t helpless and forced to indulge ourselves - we can resist. The season of Lent comes to an end at Easter. On Good Friday, Christians remember that Jesus died on a cross in Roman-occupied Jerusalem. They believe that through his death and resurrection, Jesus brings us back to a good relationship with God, and this is celebrated at Easter.
Pause to allow time for thought.
Let’s take a moment to think about temptations that we’ve struggled with in the past or are struggling with now.
- How can we learn to resist those temptations?
- What steps do we need to take to achieve that goal?
Prayer
Dear God,
Please help us to deal with areas in our lives where we have become prisoners to certain temptations,
Whether it is to overindulge or to make ourselves look good at the expense of others.
Help us to see the way out when we are tempted,
That we may live lives that reflect increased peace and joy.
Amen.
Song/music
Some reflective music is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQpIVZ3SVgY (over 2 hours long)
