Satan the Deceiver

By Karen Noal

Teaching Goal:To help children understand what deception is and to realize how deceptive Satan can be.

Scripture:  Genesis 3:1-6 – “Now the serpent was more cunning that any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not east of every tree of the garden”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.”’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life and only a few find it.”

Materials:

• Several books, enough to make 2 stacks, one about 6” tall and another about 12”
• 2 yard sticks or dowel rods
• 2 matching funnels – paper snow cone cups will work
• Tape

In Advance: Make 2 stacks of books on flat surface. Tape dowels together at one end and put them on the shorter stack. Spread the dowels about 9 inches apart and put the wider end on the higher stack. Tape the funnels together to make a funny funnel machine at the wide end.

1. Play theme song
2. Pray
3. Review last lesson
4. Lesson and discussion

• Words written in bold are when the leader is speaking. Feel free to use your own words.

Go over the story of Eve and her being tempted by Satan. Who was the serpent? Was Eve afraid of the serpent? No, he apparently didn’t appear as something she would be afraid of, even though some people are afraid of snakes. How did he deceive her? He started by just talking to her and getting her to question what God had told her and Adam. Note: There is nothing wrong with asking questions, just be sure to go to God and His Word for answers. What did she do after she was tricked? She brought Adam into it too. We often want to involve others in our sin.

ACTIVITY: Place the “funnel machine” at the bottom end of the dowels. Watch what begins to happen. How can this be? We better try this again. Do it again but get at eye level this time to see what is happening. Even though it appears to be rolling uphill, it is actually still rolling down because it is starting at the wide end of the funnel and moving to the narrow sides. It is an illusion or deception to our eyes.

We often can be fooled by what appears to be what it’s not. Satan is very cunning and uses many ways to trick us. Satan does not want us to obey God and will do anything he can to deceive us. By continuing to read our Bibles, praying, and trusting in God, we can protect ourselves against Satan’s deceptions.

Demonstrate one more time to be sure children see the deception. Read Matthew 7:13-14. How do these verses relate to our activity? Discuss how what often looks easiest is often deceptive or leads us in the wrong direction, just as the funnel rolling toward the wide end looks like its rolling uphill but it’s not. The wide road is deceptive.

Have you ever been deceived before? Did you know it at the time or did you find out later? When we are deceived, we usually don’t realize it at the time. That’s what it means to be deceived. How did it make you feel when you found out? Remember, by continuing to read our Bibles, praying, and trusting in God, we can protect ourselves against Satan’s deceptions.

Memorize;

For protection when Satan deceives

Pray to God and see how he flees

Close in prayer