Lesson 3: The crafty serpent.
Passage: Genesis 3 - After God instructed the first humans not to eat from one particular tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden, a serpent came to Adam and Eve when they were together in the garden. The serpent addressed Eve, asking her if God really said that they mustn’t eat from any tree in the garden. Eve corrected the serpent, saying that God allowed them to eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but told them not to eat fruit from the tree in the middle. She also elaborated that God told them not to even touch it or they would die. The serpent then contradicts God, saying that they would not certainly die, but that eating from that tree would make them wise like God, knowing good and evil. Eve believed the serpent, ate from the tree, and then turned to Adam to give him some too, and he also ate. The consequence for their disobedience was that they were sent out from the Garden of Eden where everything came easy, and had to endure difficulties of various kinds.
Big Idea: Actions have consequences, God has compassion.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class and introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Follow The Leader — Activity Leader
One leader does different actions (without speaking) while standing in front of the room, and the other kids follow their lead.
Take turns letting different kids be the action leader.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we will be learning more about the story of God’s creation in the Bible.
So far, we learned that God created the whole universe and everything in it. And then we learned that God put the first humans in a garden called Eden, and that we were made to be connected to the rest of creation, to God, and to one another.
Today we’ll be learning about a big mistake that the humans made in the garden, and what happened after.
Has there ever been a time when you made a big mistake? What was it? What happened next?
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video, we learned that God gave Adam and Eve one rule to follow in the garden. Does anyone remember what that rule was? Do you think it was a fair rule? Why or why not?
How do you think the snake convinced Adam and Eve to break God’s rule? What did the snake say?
How do you think the snake was trying to make Adam and Eve feel about God?
What was the consequence that Adam and Eve had to face after they disobeyed God? Do you think God was very disappointed in them? Do you think that God still loved them even though they made a big mistake?
What can we do when we know we made a mistake or did something wrong?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about Adam and Eve in the garden, and how they listened to the snake who tried to tempt them to break the rule that God gave them. Thank you that even though we know that our actions have consequences, you still love us and are always ready to forgive us and let us start over again. Please teach us to trust you and know that you want the very best for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Craft: Snake in the Garden — Activity Leader
Kids will add pony beads and googly eyes to pipe cleaners in order to make a little snake.
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit near the TV. Welcome them to class. Introduce yourselves .
Warm Up Activity: Follow the Leader — Activity Leader
One leader does different actions (without speaking) while walking around he room, and the other kids follow their lead.
Take turns letting different kids be the action leader.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we will be learning more about the story of God’s creation in the Bible.
So far, we learned that God created the whole universe and everything in it. And then we learned that God put the first humans in a garden called Eden, and that we were made to be connected to the rest of creation, to God, and to one another.
Today we’ll be learning about a big mistake that the humans made in the garden, and what the consequences were after.
Has there ever been a time when you made a big mistake? What was it? Were there any consequences that you had to face?
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video, we learned that God gave Adam and Eve one rule to follow in the garden. Does anyone remember what that rule was? Do you think it was a fair rule? Why or why not?
How do you think the snake convinced Adam and Eve to break God’s rule? What did the snake say? How do you think the snake was trying to make Adam and Eve feel about God?
What was the consequence that Adam and Eve had to face after they disobeyed God? Do you think God was very disappointed in them? Do you think that God still loved them even though they made a big mistake?
What can we do when we know we made a mistake or did something wrong?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the lesson we learned today about Adam and Eve in the garden, and how they listened to the snake who tried to tempt them to break the rule that God gave them. Thank you that even though we know that our actions have consequences, you still love us and are always ready to forgive us and let us start over again. Please teach us to trust you and know that you want the very best for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Craft: Snake in the Garden — Activity Leader
Kids will use strips of green paper, glue, and googly eyes to make a paper chain snake.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class, introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Who’s the Leader? — Activity Leader
Choose someone to be the Detective and have them go where they can't see the group. Choose someone else to be the Leader and make sure everyone in the circle knows who it is.
Have the Leader start an motion such as hand-clapping, thigh-slapping or foot-tapping. Everyone else in the group must try to copy what the Leader is doing as accurately as possible.
Call the Detective back in to stand in the middle of the circle. The Leader will change the motion every so often when the Detective isn't looking and all the other players must change their actions to mirror the Leader.
The Detective has three chances to guess the identity of the Leader. You can have the Leader be the Detective in the next round.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is week 3 in our series on the story of Creation. So far we’ve learned that God created the universe and everything in it, and that God placed the first humans in a garden called Eden and gave them everything they could possibly need.
We also learned that these Creation stories in the Bible are not meant to be read “literally” as though they were from a history textbook. Instead, they should be read as stories that teach us bigger truths about God, ourselves, and the world.
So we should keep that in mind today when we hear about a talking snake that tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God.
Let’s watch our video to find out more about this part of the story…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video we learned that God gave Adam and Eve one rule to follow when they were in the Garden of Eden. Can anyone tell me what that rule was? Do you think the rule was fair? What do you think is the significance of this rule?
Then we learned that a sneaky serpent approached Adam and Eve , and started trying to trick them into disobeying God. What did the serpent say to them to convince them to do it? What do you think was the serpents intention in saying those things?
What do you think this story is trying to teach us about temptation and what is really going on when we feel tempted to do things that we know are wrong?
What were the consequences that Adam and Eve had to face for their actions? Have there ever been times when you did something wrong and had to face some consequences?
After Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, did God abandon and give up on them? What did God do instead? What do you think this teaches us about God?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned today about Adam and Eve being tempted in the garden. Thank you that even though we are all humans who make mistakes, and even though our actions do have consequences, you never give up on us but instead show us compassion, love and forgiveness. Please help us to not beat ourselves up over the mistakes that we make, but to continue trusting in you and starting fresh each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Craft: Snake in the Garden — Activity Leader
Kids will use strips of green paper, glue, and googly eyes to make a paper chain snake.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
What was the one rule that God gave Adam and Eve in the garden? Do you think the rule was fair? Why do you think God gave them that rule?
What happened next? Who tried to trick Adam and Eve into doing what God said not to? What did the snake say to get them to do it?
What were the consequences (results, effects, etc.) that Adam and Eve had to face after they disobeyed God? Do you think that God was very mean or that God was being fair? Do you think that God forgave them?
Has there ever been a time when you made a mistake and had to deal with some consequences (results, effects…)? Do you think we can still be forgiven when we make mistakes?
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
What was the one rule that God gave Adam and Eve in the garden? Do you think the rule was fair? Why do you think God gave them that rule?
What happened next? Who tried to trick Adam and Eve into disobeying God? What did the snake say to get them to do it?
What were the consequences that Adam and Eve had to face after they disobeyed God? Do you think that God was very harsh or were the consequences fair? Do you think that God forgave them?
Has there ever been a time when you made a mistake and had to deal with some consequences? Do you think we can still be forgiven when we make mistakes?
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
What do you think the different parts of the story represent? (ie. the forbidden fruit, the serpent, Adam and Eve being sent out of the garden…)
What do you think is the message this story is trying to teach us about God and human nature?
Do you think that actions have consequences? What are some examples of this? Do you think that facing consequences is important and good for us in the long run? Why or why not?
Do you think there is always room for forgiveness when we or other make mistakes? Do you find it easy to forgive when someone wrongs you? Have you ever had to ask for forgiveness before?
