Jesus Tempted / Luke 4

Ice Breakers

If you could teach a class on anything you could choose to, what would it be?
To what age group or demographic?
Why?

Thoughts on Sunday’s teaching…

Two Sundays ago, by looking at Jesus’ baptism, we talked about how God has given us a brand new identity. We are his dearly loved kids that he’s proud of! This past Sunday we observed that when Satan tempted Jesus he went right to the core issue… his identity. Would Jesus trust in who God told him he was and live accordingly? Or would Jesus choose a shortcut to his mission that would short circuit his identity and completely sink his character?

What were your thoughts and impressions from this past week’s teaching?

Read together Hebrew 4:14-16.

  • What do we learn about Jesus here?
  • What do we learn about temptation here?
  • How is this helpful?

Application

The three areas that Satan attacked Jesus’ identity was through our very human desire for…

  • Appetite – Will you trust that God will provide for our needs?
  • Ambition – Will you trust that God has your best in mind and will work it out?
  • Affirmation – Will you trust what God says is true about you?

Do any of these resonate with you?

This is the difficult part, but James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to one another so that there can be healing. If you feel comfortable enough in your group, would you share a story of how one of these has been a struggle for you?

Next Steps

Read together 1 Corinthians 10:12-13.

Steve gave some ideas for how to respond to temptations in your life:

  • Use Scripture. Know it and keep it in front of you.
  • Ask for help – from a trust person as well as from your Dad in Heaven.
  • Trust in your identity, as God sees you, and act on it.

Have you used any of these approaches? How and did it help?

Is there one of these that you need to try using?

 

Share a story of where you’ve been able to resist temptation more often than not.

What tools have you found to be effective?