(adapted from “The Lord’s Prayer: An Illustrated Curriculum” from Illustrated Children’s Ministry, 2019. Used with permission.)
Think and Learn
This is the last lesson where we’ll be looking at the Lord’s Prayer. The first of this week’s verses are “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” This directly names the temptations and hard times we will face in our lives. The Jews faced many struggles, and it was a challenge to keep faith in God.
To be tempted is to feel the desire to make a choice you know you shouldn’t make. When we pray “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we can think of this as keeping us from the temptation to use violence or participate in harming the life of someone or something. Many times we are tempted to use our power in a way that hurts people. When we ask God to lead us not into temptation, we can think of that as a way to say we will use our power in God’s way, by being loving, just, and compassionate.
“For yours is the kin-dom and the power and the glory, forever,” are words of praise. It means that all the world, the power, and the glory belong to God, the one who can empower us to live out this prayer and bring God’s kin-dom to the world.
The prayer ends with “Amen,” which is a way of saying “may it be so.” By ending the prayer with this, we are committing to making this prayer a reality here and now.
Wonder
Have you ever felt tempted to do something you knew you shouldn’t?
What has helped you make the right decision when you feel tempted?
How have you seen power used for good? How have you seen it used for evil?
Do
In today’s colouring page, there are paths across the page, each with a different type of temptation you might face. On each of the paths, write how you would respond in a loving and caring way. When you’re done, colour in the rest.
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