Lesson 5 Don`t open yourself up to evil

Don’t open
yourself up to evil
Suspendisse feugiat mi sed lectus
aoreet nec interdum
By Trenz Pruca
Year 2
Quarter
4
Lesson
5
1
n
o
s
s
e
L
w
e
i
v
r
Ove
Power Point: Don’t open yourself up to evil
Direction: It is not a game
Memory Verse: “...don’t have anything to do with evil.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (CEV)
There are certain prac,ces in the Bible that God has called wicked and evil. We are talking about Occul,st things such as witchcra<, astrology, psychics and fortune telling. The problem in the world today is that Satan has desensi,zed us to these evil things, even indoctrina,ng children from a young age to buy into their seemingly harmless and entertaining guise. Reading your horoscope becomes something fun, playing with a Ouija board or watching a horror movie is something exci,ng to do for a rush of adrenaline – but these things are not a game. They are not from God, and when we get involved in them we are opening ourselves up to evil and giving the devil a chance to work in our lives. This is especially prevalent during the celebra,ons of Halloween. With this lesson we want to expose these things for what they really are so the kids are no longer ignorant of how serious evil is. Bible Lesson: Saul consults a medium (1 Samuel 28 and 1 Chronicles 10)
The Philis,nes were about to aIack King Saul and he wanted advice on what to do. The prophet Samuel was dead so he went to a woman who could raise his dead spirit and get help. The decision to go to this woman and open himself up to evil ul,mately resulted in Saul’s destruc,on and death. Object Lesson 1: God cannot protect those who do evil
Just like football players wouldn’t run into a game without any protec,ve equipment, we should not live our lives without the protec,on of God. If we choose to do evil, we not only open ourselves up to something poten,ally very dangerous and harmful, we are walking away from God’s protec,on over our lives. Object Lesson 2: Evil will infect your enEre life
People can die from allowing infec,ons to spread through their bodies. In serious cases, the infected body part is amputated. It seems dras,c, but it is beIer to lose a leg than to lose your en,re life. In the same way, when you open yourself up to evil, it will start to infect your life. You have to make the decision to cut it off.
Object Lesson 3: If you love God, you should hate evil. If a true fan of a sports team really loves his team, he must hate his rival—so it is with God and evil. If you love God, you should hate evil. Teacher's Responsibility
This lesson can go very deep. Satan is being exposed in his underground tac,cs to steal the minds and hearts of our children. That means we must be on our guard. Remember your struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Sub 1: Don’t doubt God
Sub 2: Don’t get caught up in sin
Sub 3: Don’t quit when things get tough
2
Lesson Intro
Props
Actors
Music
PreparaEon
Door, 3 trick or treat bags, candy, witch/vampire/devil costume, trees, pumpkins
Witch, Ghost, Princess
Eerie music
Place the door in the middle of the stage; place the trees and pumpkin around the door
PresentaEon: (Eerie music starts. Trick or treaters walk up the aisle in their costumes) Witch: Oh my goodness – look at all this candy we’ve got! I love Halloween -­‐ this is so much fun!
Ghost: Yeah I’m so glad we didn’t stay home and play monopoly – this is way beYer than that boring game.
Witch: Yeah but when we get home we should play with the Ouija board. Ghost: And watch a scary movie while we eat all this candy!
Princess: Well…I don’t know if we should…I mean…it doesn’t sound that fun.
(Witch and ghost turn to the princess in disbelief)
Ghost and Witch: What? Witch: What’s wrong with you? Calm down, it’s fine. (Points to the door on the stage) Look – there it is! It’s the haunted house they were talking about in school.
Ghost: Maybe we should knock on that door next!
Witch: Yeah! Come on, let’s go. Princess: Guys…I don’t think we should go in there. Look! It’s so scary up there.
Witch: What’s your problem? Stop being such a baby! Ghost: Yeah, it’s gonna be fun! Come on. Witch: Wow…it’s so big. Who knows what’s in there. (Creeping closer to the door as the princess stands back. Starts to talk more nervously.) Ok, I’m going. Here goes nothing (reaches out to hold the door handle). One...two…three…
Teacher: Freeze! (Fade eerie music) Do you see what she’s about to do? She’s just about to open this door. She thinks it’s fun to go to a haunted house. Her heart is racing; she likes being scared – but the truth is she has no idea what is on the other side of this door. She has no idea what she is opening herself up to. She thinks it’s just a game. That is exactly how people think about evil. Maybe that’s how some of you think about evil. That’s what this whole Halloween season is about – people dressing up like witches, vampires, zombies…but all of those things are actually evil. When you do that, you are opening yourself up to evil. That means that you are actually opening up your life to the devil. I know that you don’t want to do that. Maybe you don’t know that when you get into all those things, though they look harmless and fun on the outside, they are actually evil. Lesson intro - Page 1
Lesson Intro
If you are a Chris,an and you love God, then you shouldn’t have anything to do with evil. Our memory verse says just that. In 1 Thessalonians 5:22, it says…
“...don’t have anything to do with evil.” Evil is anything that is wicked in God’s sight. He knows that you will be curious about evil things, but he is forbidding you to have anything to do with them. He is not being strict; He knows that these things can really harm you. You may think it’s no big deal. You may think it’s just watching a horror movie; it’s just having someone read my palm; it’s just reading a book about a wizard; it’s just doing some voodoo. But all of those things are evil. The moment you get involved in them, you are right here at this door, and you are opening yourself up to evil. There is no such thing as harmless fun when dealing with what God has called evil. It is part of the devil’s strategy to deceive you and lead you astray, far away from God. Don’t open yourself up to evil; it is not a game. 1. God cannot protect those who do evil 2. Evil will infect your enEre life
3. If you love God, you should hate evil
Lesson intro - Page 2
Bible Lesson
Saul consults a medium
Props
Door from intro, King costume, cloak with hood to cover the king, Bible costume for servant, witch-­‐like bible costume for medium, Samuel’s ghost costume, small black table, stool, 2 trees, 2 rocks, smoke machine, crystal ball, candle, spell book, oriental looking fabric to drape over the table and the door, make-­‐up for ghost. Actors
Music
PreparaEon
King Saul, Servant, Samuel’s Ghost, Medium
Eerie music
Place the stool and table on one side of the stage. Put oriental fabric over the table, crystal ball, spell book and candle on the table. Place the door behind the table with fabric over it, place the trees and rocks on the other side of the stage. Have the smoke machine set up in the back. PresentaEon: One of the main reasons that people open themselves up to evil is because they want to find out what will happen in their future. In the Old Testament, the prophets were the ones to tell the people what God said about the future, but during King Saul’s reign, the prophet Samuel died. One day King Saul had to go to war. He was so afraid of his enemy's army that he thought of another way to find out what would happen. (Start eerie music. Enter Saul and his servant)
Saul: Find me a woman who can talk to the spirits of the dead. I'll go to her and find out what's going to happen.
Servant: There is a woman at Endor who can talk to the spirits of the dead. Teacher: (Fade evil music to background) Evil prac,ces like contac,ng the dead spirits had been forbidden in Israel because they were evil in God’s sight. So that night, King Saul disguised himself in different clothing so nobody would know who he was (Servant help Saul remove his crown and put on the cloak and staff) and went to this woman's house. (Saul and his servant walk through the trees to the medium’s door) Right here he is at her door, and he is just about to open himself up to evil.
(Bring up evil music. Knock on the medium's door -­‐ medium is siHng at her table)
Saul: Will you bring up the ghost of someone for us?
Medium: (Trying to cover up her crystal ball) Why are you trying to trick me and get me killed? You know it is forbidden to talk to the spirits of the dead.
Saul: (Removes his hood) I swear that nothing bad will happen to you. Medium: Ok…who do you want me to call up?
Saul: Bring up the ghost of Samuel. Medium: (Looking into her crystal ball) Samuel! (Start smoke machine.) Samuel! Speak to us SAMUEL!!! (Samuel’s ghost walks out from the smoke. Medium and servant scream and fall back. Saul bows down to Samuel’s ghost). Bible Lesson - Page 1
Bible Lesson
Saul consults a medium
Ghost of Samuel: Why are you bothering me by bringing me back like this?
Saul: I am so afraid. The PhilisEnes are about to aYack me. God has turned his back on me and won’t answer me anymore. What should I do?
Teacher: (Fade out eerie music) Right here King Saul is asking a dead spirit for help, instead of going to God. That is evil. Today, many people do things just like this to predict the future. You know about psychics who read your palm, turn over tarot cards, or fortunetellers who look into a crystal ball to tell you what will happen in your future. Some of you think it sounds fun. Some of you may have even played around with it before, but it is evil. The devil is behind it. Even horoscopes are evil to God. Maybe you love to read your star sign to hear what’s going to happen to you – you think it’s harmless and some of you even believe in what it says but it is evil in God’s sight. The devil is behind it. Looking at the stars to predict your future disgusts God because He has the plan for your life and only He can reveal to you. When you open yourself up to evil by geing involved in any of these things you invite the devil right into your life. You let him in and allow him to do whatever he wants to do to destroy you. Over and over again in the Bible God warns us to not to have anything to do with these evil, wicked things. Saul knew this, but he didn’t listen. (Start eerie music)
Ghost of Samuel: If God has turned away from you and is now your enemy, don't ask me what to do. I've already told you: God will take the kingdom from you and that's just what he's doing! You have disobeyed God and that's why He is doing this to you. Tomorrow you will be defeated and you and your sons will join me here in the world of the dead. (Fade out the music.)
Teacher: King Saul was so terrified of what Samuel's ghost said that he fell to the floor in fear. Sure enough, the next day his army was defeated and he died along with his three sons. The Bible says he died because he disobeyed God and asked for help from a witch (point to medium) instead of asking God. He died because of it. This is how serious it is. You don’t open yourself up to evil, because it is not a game.
Bible Lesson - Page 2
Object Lesson 1
God cannot protect those who do evil
Props
Actors
Football shirt, helmet, shoulder pads, gloves, shoes, thigh pads, knee pads, elbow pads, mouth guard.
Football player
PresentaEon: Football is a great sport, but it is also very dangerous. Because of that, football players wear a lot of protecEve equipment. (Football player comes out in protecLve gear. Teacher points to each item upon menLoning it.) There’s the helmet, shoulder pads, gloves, shoes, thigh pads, kneepads, elbow pads, mouth guards. They need all of these things to protect them from geing hurt. They know that if they run onto the football field without them, they are puing themselves in danger of being badly injured.
In the same way, when you get involved with evil and open yourself up to the devil, you are puing yourself in so much danger. It’s in dangerous situa,ons when we need protecEng the most, but the scariest thing about opening yourself up to evil, is that God cannot protect you. The Bible says that God protects the lives of his faithful people, but the wicked disappear in darkness (1 Samuel 2:9). If you are living for God and you are keeping away from evil things, you are well protected like this football player (point to football player); you never have a reason to be afraid. God promises to protect you; he promises to keep you from danger and harm. However God cannot protect you if you are disobeying him by doing evil things. If you get involved with evil prac,ces like cas,ng spells, playing around with Voodoo dolls, having your fortune told to you – you are opening yourself up to devil. The devil and his demons are real – this is not something to play around with. They can haunt you, they can cause you to suffer, they will make you afraid, and they can harm you. This is serious – it’s so dangerous to open yourself up to evil. Just like you wouldn’t run into a football game without protecEve gear, you shouldn’t go through life without God’s protec,on. It is not a game. God cannot protect those who do evil, so don’t open yourself up to it. Object Lesson 2
Evil will infect your entire life
Props
Pictures of a gangrene infected leg, picture of an amputee, horror movie. PresentaEon: When you have an open wound and you don’t keep it clean, it can turn into an infecEon. You may not see it because it starts off small, but liIle by liIle the infecEon can spread to your enEre body. It can turn into something as serious as gangrene. (Put up picture of a leg with gangrene). Gangrene is so dangerous that it can infect your enEre body and even kill you. It is the same way with evil. When you open yourself up to it, it can infect your enEre life. Some of you think it’s ok to watch horror movies like this on (hold up DVD). You think it’s fun to turn off all the lights, close the curtains, and watch a scary movie. But what happens a<er the movie? You go to bed and you can’t even close your eyes because you hear sounds in the dark, because you see things in your mind. You can’t even fall asleep because you are afraid of the nightmares you are going to have. You have opened yourself up to evil and it has started to infect your life with fear. The same thing happens with Ouija boards. I know a boy who played with one of those. He said, “It’s ok, it’s just a game!” It is not just a game. When you play with a Ouija board, you are asking the devil to show you things that are not from God. This stuff is not a game; it is real. There are demons and there is a devil. If you’re not careful it can infect your life in such a serious way that it can lead to demon possession or even death, just like this infecEon can infect your enEre body to the point where it can kill you. When someone’s leg is infected with gangrene, they have a choice. They can let if con,nue to infect their body, or they can choose to get rid of the infecEon and cut off the infected leg (show amputee picture). It seems dras,c – but it becomes your only op,on – cut it off or it spreads. It is beIer to cut off the infecEon and lose your leg than lose your whole life.
It is the same with evil. Instead of leing it con,nue to infect you, you need to decide that you are going to cut it off. When you see the DVDs that make you afraid – throw them away (throw DVD to the floor). When your family starts watching horror movies – tell your mom you don’t want to watch this stuff anymore -­‐ you have to cut it off. The next ,me you are at your friend’s house and they bring out the Ouija board, you get up and you do something else. You think you are missing out on the fun but you’re not. You need to take charge of your life and take that decision that as much as you can, you will not let it infect your life. Don’t open yourself up to evil; it is not a game. Object Lesson 3
If you love God, you should hate evil
Props
Yankees/Mets power point, Mets shirt and hat, Yankees shirt and hat, face paint, Go Yankees posterboard, Go Mets posterboard, sound effect of crowd cheering. Actors
Mets fan, Yankees fan
PresentaEon: Here in New York City there are two baseball teams. There’s the Yankees (put Yankees/Mets power point on screen) and there’s the Mets. The fans from these two teams absolutely hate each other. (Start playing crowd cheering as Yankee and Mets fan enter with their posters)
Yankee fan: Yankees are number 1! We are number 1!
Mets fan: (Talking over each other) Woooooo!! Go Mets!! M to the E to the T to the S! Let’s go Mets!
Yankee fan: Oh no! What? You’re not a Yankee fan? Man, I hate the Mets!
Mets fan: Well I hate the Yankees!
Yankees fan: I hate the Mets and their stupid ugly logo!
Mets fan: Quit haEng on our logo! (Fans stand on opposite side of the stage with their arms crossed.)
Teacher: Freeze! These two people hate each other so much that they can’t even stand to be around each other. The reason they hate each other is because they love their team. This is how you should be with God and evil. If you really love God then you should hate evil. The Word of God says that we are to hate evil and love what is good (Amos 5:15). That means if you see something that is evil, something should rise up on the inside of you to the point where you can’t even stand to be around it. You need to think, “I can’t be near this, I hate this because it does not please God – it is evil!” You should hate those movies that have vampires and zombies in them because they’re evil. You should hate witchcra<. When you see people doing voodoo and Santeria and cas,ng spells, know that it is evil. (Point to the fans) Just like these fans refuse to have anything to do with each other, you need to refuse to have anything to do with evil. Don’t open yourself up to evil – it is not a game. If you really love God, then you should hate evil.
Life Lesson
Pumpkin iron pumping contest
Props
Sound Effects
PreparaEon
Door, pumpkins, no trespassing sign to put on the door, poison boIle, dumbbell
Eerie music, crow sound effect
Put the door in the middle of the stage towards the back. Dot some pumpkins around the stage.
Frame 1: It was that ,me of year again. Scarecrow was making a special announcement as Patrick and his pumpkin buddies listened closely, “Hear ye, hear ye all pumpkins far and wide. In just 30 days we will be having the annual Perrysville Pumpkin Patch Iron Pumping Contest. Who will be this year’s biggest and strongest contestant and be crowned the Iron Pumping King?” Everyone was ecsta,c; this was always the biggest and most exci,ng contest of the year. Patrick was determined to win.
Frame 2 Later on that day Patrick and his buddies were training way out in the pumpkin patch (liR up the dumbbell) when Conner the Crow flew by (play crow sound effect). He stopped and asked, “What are you liIle pumpkins doing?” “Training for the Iron Pumping Contest,” replied Patrick. “You’re gonna have to do more than that if you wanna win the show in thirty days. You need some fer,lizer from the Farmer’s Shack. That’ll make you huge and guarantee that you’ll win.” Patrick was interested, “How do I get there?” “Shhhhh,” Conner whispered, “Listen, you have to cross the watermelon patch, and follow the barbed wire fence all the way un,l you see the Shack. It’s wooden with a big latch on the door -­‐ you can’t miss it.”
Frame 3 (Start eerie music) That night Patrick and three of his buddies snuck out. They crossed the watermelon patch, followed the barbed wire fence, and before they knew it—BAM—there it was—the Shack! The door had a big latch just like Conner said. (Point to the sign on the door) There was a sign that read, “NO TRESPASSING!” One of Patrick’s friends piped up, “Ummm maybe we shouldn’t open it, I don’t think we’re supposed to.” “Who cares? It’s gonna help us win the compe,,on,” Patrick stated as he jumped up to open the door. (Fade eerie music)
Preaching Point: Don’t open yourself up to evil; it is not a game
What just happened? Patrick just opened the door to something very dangerous. He thought it was just a game. A lot of you do exactly the same kind of things. You open yourself up to evil, thinking it’s a game. How many of you read Harry PoIer books? What they don’t tell you about Harry PoIer is that the person who wrote it studied witchcra<. All those spells that Harry PoIer casts, all that power that he has – that’s witchcra<. Do you know where that comes from? The Bible says that witchcra< is from the devil. If it’s from the devil, then it is evil. Don’t play with it like it’s a game. If you have Harry PoIer books or movies, you need to get rid of them. Don’t open yourself up to evil; it is not a game. Patrick opened that door. Frame 4: As Patrick and his friends stepped inside, it was very dark but they could see boIles and boIles that lined the walls of the shack. They were all different shapes and sizes. “Where do I start? There are so many choices!” Patrick picked one of the big boIles and drank a liIle, it was a kind of biIer and he almost couldn’t get it down. He passed it to his buddies but they didn’t want any a<er seeing the look on Patrick face. “Fine I guess I will win the compe,,on,” Patrick said as he gulped down a liIle more.
Frame 5: The sun was coming back as they hurried back to the pumpkin patch. Just as they crossed the watermelon patch and jumped back into the pumpkin patch, they heard a voice they knew very well. It was Scarecrow. “Young pumpkins, I saw you were playing near the Shack. Be sure never to go into the Shack. There’s stuff inside there that is very dangerous. It’s not a game.” “Yes Scarecrow,” chimed the pumpkins. But Patrick thought, ‘He just doesn’t want us to win the compeLLon.’ Life Lesson - Page 1
Life Lesson
pumpkin iron pumping contest
Frame 6: Patrick and his buddies were training hard for a few weeks and now the compe,,on was only a week away. Patrick’s buddies were geing bigger than Patrick and might even beat him. Patrick wouldn’t have it. ‘I must go get some of that ferLlizer myself,’ he thought. That night Patrick went to the Shack all alone. This ,me he started taking sips from every boIle he could. ‘I’m gonna be so huge,’ Patrick thought. He saw a small boIle (hold up the poison boYle and put it in your pocket). ‘I’ll take this to help me during the compeLLon,’ he thought. Some of them even tasted kind of good. It was like a game.
Frame 7: The next couple of days, Patrick began to get bigger and bigger. Now he was bigger than all of his buddies. “Wow, Patrick you might win the compe,,on,” his buddies said. “I’ve been training over,me,” he lied. He could pump more iron than they could, but he didn’t tell anyone about his secret.
Frame 8: Three days before the compe,,on, Patrick was admiring himself in the mirror when he saw something was wrong. Patrick saw a big brown spot on his lovely orange skin! ‘Ew, what is that?!’
Preaching Point: Evil will infect your enEre life
Right there, Patrick was beginning to get infected. He didn’t even realize it. That’s exactly what happens to you. When you open yourself up to evil it starts to infect your enEre life. You start with just a liIle bit thinking it’s a game, thinking it’s no big deal. But when you open that door and start to let evil into your life, it begins to take you over. Patrick didn’t have ,me to worry about the brown spot. Instead he just tried to ignore it.
Frame 9: The day of the big compe,,on was finally here. All the pumpkins were so excited. There might even be some new iron pumping records set. Patrick’s buddies were doing very well. The spotlight came on Patrick – it was his ,me to shine. But Patrick looked horrible. He was almost completely brown and when he tried to pump iron he had absolutely no strength. “I just need a quick rest,” Patrick huffed. The judge gave him permission to have a short break.
Frame 10: Patrick went off to the side and pulled out the small boIle that he got at the Shack (pull out the boYle). He was about to chug it quickly but no,ced something he never saw before. It had been too dark to see in the Shack. On the boIle was wriIen a warning. It said “POISON -­‐ Do not drink!” It wasn’t fer,lizer a<er all—it was pes,cide used to kill weeds! The very thing Patrick thought was just a game was the very thing that was killing him. Point of Decision
Today we’ve told you a lot about different kinds of evil. Some of them you knew about, some of them you didn’t. Maybe you’ve realized that you actually have opened yourself up to evil. If you have, then you need to make a decision. You need to decide to ask God to forgive you, and a<er that, you need to make a decision to close the door to evil (slam the door closed). How many of you want to make that decision today?
Closing Prayer
Dear God, Thank you for loving me. God, I love you. Because of that I hate evil. God I’m asking you to forgive me for the ,mes that I’ve opened myself up to evil. Right now I make a decision to close the door to evil in my life. I will have absolutely nothing to do with it. Jesus, right now, I open up my heart, and I’m asking you to come. Fill me up with your power that I can make the right decisions every single day. I love you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. In Your name we pray, Amen.
Life Lesson - Page 2