When Sin Entered the World Lesson 1 The World Changed Because of Sin Objective: That the children will understand that death and all the problems that exist in the world came as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, but God still cares about people. For the teacher: Pray asking God to use this lesson in your life and in the lives of the children. Draw or look for a picture of a pretty scene or something beautiful that God created. Now draw or look for a picture that shows a problem that exists in your community. You might cut a picture out of a newspaper. (These two pictures or drawings will be used in the introductory activity for this lesson.) Now think, if everything that God created is good, why is the world full of problems and difficulties? Read Romans 5:12: Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die. According to this verse, what was the result of Adam’s sin? How do we know that God still cares about people? (There are many answers to this question, but one can be found in Romans 5:8.) Before class: ü Make sure the video equipment is in good working order. ü Learn the song and the hand motions. (The words to the song are found following lesson 5.) ü If you have not already done so, find or draw two pictures to use as an introductory activity. One should be of a pretty scene or something 1 When Sin Entered the World Lesson 1 beautiful and the second should show some sort of problem that exists in your community. ü Make copies of the worksheet for the younger students and bring crayons, colored pencils or markers. ü Bring newspapers, scissors, glue, pencils or markers for the older children. ü Depending on whether you are going to have the older students work individually or as a group, either bring blank sheets of paper for each child or poster board. Let’s start by talking with God Father God, thank you that you are good and that you made us. Help us to understand why the world is the way it is. Amen. Let’s talk about our own lives Show the children the picture of the pretty landscape or beautiful thing that God made. Ask, What do you see here? What does this picture tell us about God? Now show the children the second picture where they can see a problem that exists in their community. What is happening in the picture? Ask the children, If God is good and he made a good world, why do bad things like this happen? Listen to their ideas, and then explain that the answer to this question can be found in the video they will see. This video tells a story from the Bible. Let’s watch the video Show the video “When Sin Entered the World”. Ask the children to take note of all the things that changed in Adam and Eve’s lives after they disobeyed God. 2 When Sin Entered the World Lesson 1 Let’s sing the song using the hand motions Explain to the children that the song is written in God’s words as if he is the one singing. Let’s talk about what we saw Divide the children into small groups based on their ages and ask, How did Adam, Eve and Seth feel in this video? They were sad and worried. They were afraid. What bad things happened to them in the video? Let the children mention the things they observed. For example, Cain killed his brother, Adam and Eve had to leave the garden, they felt ashamed and the land didn’t produce like it did before. Why did these things happen? These things happened because they disobeyed God. Have the children look up Romans 5:12 in the Bible and read it out loud. Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die. Romans 5:12 Say to the children, God never wanted all these bad things to happen. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed, they became sinners. Adam, Eve and all their descendants did many bad things that harmed their lives. What did Adam and Eve’s son Cain do? He killed his brother Abel. How did this make Adam and Eve feel? Every one of us is a sinner like Adam, Eve and Cain. Because of this every one of us has to die. Has a family member or friend of yours ever died? How did this make you feel? Let the children tell about their experiences. Because of sin bad things happen to us also, and sometimes, like Adam and Eve, we feel afraid or ashamed. Has anything ever happened to your family that made you afraid? Would you like to tell us about it? Then say, God didn’t want these things to happen, but despite the consequences of sin, he still cares about people. How do we know that God still cares about us? Have the children think seriously about this. You 3 When Sin Entered the World Lesson 1 might want to mention God’s mercy, the many ways God cares for us and that Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for us. Have the children look up Romans 5:8 in the Bible and read it out loud. But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Worksheet for the small children This worksheet shows Adam, Eve and Seth in their house. Notice that they are afraid. Read the following verse with the children: Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die. Romans 5:12 Also read the line on the bottom of the worksheet: Despite everything, God still cares for us. After the children color their worksheets, they can take them home and show them to their parents. Activity for the older children For this activity you need: ü Newspapers with articles about suffering and evil. ü Scissors ü Glue ü Sheets of paper or poster board (depending on whether the activity will be done individually or as a group). ü Pencils or markers Have the children look through newspapers for articles about sinful things that happen. They should cut the articles out, then glue them onto their papers or onto the poster board and write a caption below each one saying “God doesn’t want ______________” (describing the negative 4 When Sin Entered the World Lesson 1 thing shown in the news.) They should also copy the key verse (Romans 5:12) onto their pages or onto the poster. Help the children find news articles that show the effects of sin. Explain that these things don’t come from God. Each child can do this activity individually, creating his or her own page, or the activity can be done as a group. Leave time at the end for the children to share their work with the rest of the class. Let’s talk with God to end the lesson Thank you God that you are good and powerful. You never wanted all these bad things to happen. We believe in your power to change our future. Amen. 5 When Sin Entered the World Lesson 1 Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die. Romans 5:12 Despite everything, God still cares for us. When Sin Entered the World Lesson 2 Sin Separates Us From God and Others Objective: That the children will understand that sin affects every area of life: our relationship with God, with others, with ourselves and with the world. For the teacher: Pray asking God to use this lesson in your life and in the lives of the children. Read the story of Adam and Eve found in Genesis 3. Then look for the answers to each of the following questions: After they ate the fruit what attitude did Adam and Eve have towards God? (Verses 8 and 10) When God asked them if they had eaten the fruit, who did Adam blame? Who did Eve blame? (Verses 11-13) Why do you think they blamed someone else instead of admitting that they had sinned? How did Adam and Eve view their own bodies after they had sinned (vs. 7 and 10)? How was nature changed after they had sinned (vs. 17-19)? Think about your own life. Sin brings guilt, shame, fear, the desire to lord it over others, and the desire to blame others for things we have done. Sin also makes it hard for us to appreciate what God gives us. Which of these feelings do you have? Describe some times when you felt far from God or you felt like your family didn’t understand you. Do you sometimes feel like you don’t even understand yourself very well? Do you ever feel like the world is a hostile place? 7 When Sin Entered the World Lesson 2 Before class: ü Prepare to have the children act out the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. o Look up Genesis 3:1-24 in the Bible, and be prepared to read it while the children act out the story. o Print out a copy of the snake mask on a piece of thick paper. Color it and cut it out.