Genesis 3

Lesson Aim

To understand that all human beings have sinned.

Hook 1: A puppet

Use a knee-length sock to make a snake puppet. The brighter the colours the better. A forked tongue made from card should be fixed into a mouth and two eyes added (googly eyes, two buttons or two round stickers).

A tree should be made from a branch with a real fruit suspended or if that is not possible a tree could be drawn on a large sheet of paper.

Story tip

When you tell the story have the serpent address the children as if they were Adam and Eve. Get one of the children to take a bite out of the fruit and pass it on to a second child (or yourself) to take a second bite.

Hook 2: Bowl of sweets

Place a bowl of sweets in front of the children and give an excuse for you to leave the room. As you are leaving tell the children in passing not to eat the sweets. Then have another person come and help themselves to a sweet and encourage the children to eat them saying “He didn’t really tell you not to eat them.”

When you return apply the similarities to the story of Adam and Eve.

Story tip

If you pretend to have a cough and are leaving for a drink of water, then warn the stewards or other leaders what is happening. Two helpful members of the church arrived with glasses of water for me before I could leave the platform!

Hook 3: Questions

Who can tell me any facts about me? Get someone who can write neatly, to write them up onto a large sheet of paper. Make sure that some positive and negative facts are given, even if you have to prime some of the leaders about things like your speeding ticket or the stationery which you stole from work.

Have a second large sheet of paper divided down the middle with headings ‘Adam’ above one column and ‘Eve’ above the second column

Ask the children for any facts which they know about either Adam or Eve. You should find that they give you most of the story. Don’t be afraid to reword some of the facts.

Application

The application should be based upon these points

1. Adam and Eve sinned and so has every other human being.

2. God sent Jesus to earth because every human being has sinned. Only through Jesus’ redeeming work at Calvary can people be put right with God.