Resisting Temptation: There's An App For That

Every week, I serve some awesome pre-teens at Lakewood Church through Level 56.

Level 56 is our exciting, high impact service designed exclusively for 5th and 6th graders. Our tweens discover an exciting new world where they can hang out with friends, enjoy games and fun activities and learn leadership and social skills through biblical principles that will prepare them for the future.

This month we are ministering on the topic Resisting Temptation: There's an App for That

Bottom line

There’s no better way to escape temptation than to run from it, and the best way to flee temptation is to be prepared for it.

Key Passages

• Genesis 19:10-17

Two men reached out and pulled Lot inside the house, locking the door. Then they struck blind the men who were trying to break down the door, both leaders and followers, leaving them groping in the dark. The two men said to Lot, "Do you have any other family here? Sons, daughters—anybody in the city? Get them out of here, and now! We're going to destroy this place. The outcries of victims here to God are deafening; we've been sent to blast this place into oblivion."   Lot went out and warned the fiancés of his daughters, "Evacuate this place; God is about to destroy this city!" But his daughters' would-be husbands treated it as a joke. At break of day, the angels pushed Lot to get going, "Hurry. Get your wife and two daughters out of here before it's too late and you're caught in the punishment of the city."   Lot was dragging his feet. The men grabbed Lot's arm, and the arms of his wife and daughters—God was so merciful to them!—and dragged them to safety outside the city. When they had them outside, Lot was told, "Now run for your life! Don't look back! Don't stop anywhere on the plain—run for the hills or you'll be swept away."

• Genesis 19:23-26

...The sun was high in the sky when Lot arrived at Zoar. Then God rained brimstone and fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah— a river of lava from God out of the sky!—and destroyed these cities and the entire plain and everyone who lived in the cities and everything that grew from the ground.   But Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.

Memory Verse

• James 4:7 

Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Objectives

For students: -To discover the story of Lot -To identify temptation -To develop tools to fight temptation

Summary

There’s no better way to escape temptation than to run from it. But temptation isn’t like a pack of wild animals pursuing us. It comes at us when we least it expect it, and it’s hard to see the danger. We need to prepare ourselves for tempting situations, be ready to give an answer when we are tempted, and be ready to run when there’s no other choice.

*******************My Personal Notes*******************

I think that this is an excellent lesson for our preteens. They are getting to an age where there are a lot of temptations that they have been warned about! This story teaches them to listen, obey without hesitation, keep moving forward, and to love others.

Listen, Obey, Move Forward

Lot hesitated and had to be lead out of the city. Another lesson is to keep moving forward. Sometimes we make the right decision and flee temptation but we keep looking back instead of moving forward. We wonder "what if" and question ourselves right out of doing the right thing. Lot’s wife looked back at the city after the men told her not to do this. She had to pay the price. 

Love Others

Another lesson is that God wants us to help those who love Him. When Abraham found out that the cities would be destroyed he pleaded with God to save his nephew. Many times we know that someone else's decision may lead them to a bad outcome and our love should compel us to help that person flee the temptation to do the wrong thing

Unshakeable Faith

Instead of being discouraged you have confidence. Because before I had a problem God already set the miracle in motion.

• God is faithful even if it isn't happening on my time table.
• God promised Abraham and Sarah a baby

Romans 4:20 NIV

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

• Don't consider your circumstances, consider your God.

Romans 4:19 NIV

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead.

• Even if you are believing for something that seems small, like a scholarship, know that God has you in the palm of his hands.
• When you magnify God your problems become smaller.
• It takes the same amount of time to be positive as it takes to be negative.

The disciples were on the way to heal a sick girl but a report came in that she had died. Sometimes you have to ignore the report.

Mark 5:36 NIV

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

• It's good to have information but sometimes you can know too much. If you listen to the experts long enough they will talk you out of God's best.

Matthew 19:26 NIV

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

God's ways may not seem logical like with Mary or the Fisherman

Luke 1:38 NIV

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.

• Mary was promised to have a child before she knew a man. Mary did not question the promise.

John 21

• Caught a miraculous number of fish on the advice of a "non-fisherman"

Victoria Osteen

When you are prepared you do a better job. There are some ways to prepare to follow God.

Psalm 100:4 NIV

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

• enter his presence in faith and good spirits.

Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

• Put on the armor of God.

• Read the Bible and see what God says about you.

Jeniro is on the go!

Ups & Downs: The Great Adventure

I usually serve with the Kidslife team in Level 56 on Saturdays, but tonight I served with the Lakewood P layers (Drama Ministry) to help the 1st-4th graders learn about love. I did however get the notes for this weekend and decided to do a devotional about what this particular topic means to me. The Level 56 Summer Break Focus Topic has been "Ups & Downs: God's Faithfulness. This weekend we are focusing on the "The Great Adventure" and I'm sure Jonathan did an amazing job teaching this message to the kids! The large bolded italicized text is part of the message that was shared.  The scriptures that I share below ARE NOT NECESSARILY the scriptures the kids heard at service; this is my personal devotional on the topic! 

God has a great big plan for all of us. He has the most amazing adventure already planned out for us! All we have to do is get ready, trust him and and go on this adventure.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

When we plan to do something EVERYTHING in the plan is included to lead us to that desired destination even the things that we see as insignificant. Like David; his work as a shepherd prepared him to defeat Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:34-37But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

In this story, I see Saul as Carl and David as Ellie: some people see the vision and some people don't. David didn't get an attitude, he just explained his case like the next video. David was more than ready to go on a BIG adventure.

The couple in this video was more than ready to go on a BIG adventure.




Point #1


Don't be afraid to dream BIG! 
Now, let's take a look at Carl after he has lost all of his dreams. 


Point #2


God always has good things in store for us.
Level 56 is the Lakewood Church exciting, high impact service designed exclusively for 5th and 6th graders. Tweens discover an exciting new world where they can hang out with friends, enjoy games and fun activities and learn leadership and social skills through biblical principles that will prepare them for the future.

Matthew 19:26 ...with God all things are possible.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  

Ephesians 3:20 [God] is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us

God created the entire universe; the things I want are nowhere close to the universe. Thinking about God as the awesome creator and that he is empowers me to dream big. If he can speak the sun into existence then my dreams are no match for God. I just have to believe.

Sometimes things don't happen the way we think that they should but our ways are not God's ways.

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”  declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Sometimes the people who we thought would share in a dream leave but it doesn't mean that God won't give me the desires of my heart. Furthermore, even though certain people didn't make it to our dream physically they still helped us get there and we should honor their memory without letting their memory impede our future.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

2 corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” [are] the things God has prepared for those who love him.

It's hard to lose sight of the fact that God has good things in store for us but we have to always remember that he does. I think Psalm 27 is a good representation of this fact. I'm sorry that I missed serving with the Level 56 team this week but I know the kids will be blessed by this message and I hope that you were too.

Psalm 27